Blueberry scones.

New food post on "It's not done until you see smoke."

Enjoy!

Food + music post

http://itsnotdoneuntilyouseesmoke.blogspot.com/

Beef stew!  Try it, you'll like it :)

When I'm stressed, music is also a calming influence.  Here's what's on my playlist right now:

1. Florence + The Machine - Dog Days Are Over    [love her voice!]
2. Justin Nozuka - My Heart Is Yours    [can he please serenade this to me?]
3. Gabriel and Dresden - Tracking Treasure Down    [great workout song]
4. Brandon Boyd - The Wild Trapeze    [his new solo stuff is pretty good, still very much like Incubus]
5. Neon Trees - Animal     [I normally HATE music that's been in a commercial, but this one is catchy]
6. Black Eyed Peas - Rock That Body     [pure fun]
7. Muse - Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)    [let's ignore the fact that this is on the Eclipse soundtrack]

New blog!

I think that this blog will now be solely about fashion, shopping, and my "personal" life.

Cheers to a new cooking blog with my brother!

I'm the little fatty in the bunny suit.

http://itsnotdoneuntilyouseesmoke.blogspot.com/

It's a bit wordy, but just bookmark it or follow it for some yummy and not-so-yummy recipes and food adventures!

First post by me will most likely be cheddar-dill scones!  It'll probably end up being a MISadventure ;)

Enjoy my brother's humorous take on my mom's cooking!

Tamale Pie

My camera was not working properly when I was done making my tamale pie so I don't have a picture of it, but it was a hit! My dad actually ate two helpings of it, my boyfriend loved it, and my brother's friends finished what my family couldn't.

If you don't know what tamale pie is, it's basically a "pie" with chili (like beef chili) as its filling and with cheese and cornbread as its crust/topping. It's a deliciously fatty comfort food that I think most men would enjoy. I'm a comfort food kind of girl so I loved it. I'll have to put the recipe up sometime soon since it was such a hit.

Green Bean Risotto

Since I've been sick I haven't been able to cook, but Darryl is visiting me later this week so I told him I'd attempt to make tamale pie. Sadly, my dad doesn't enjoy tamale pie because he had to eat it often as a child, but Darryl really likes it. Hopefully the recipe I am going to use can make both of them happy. I'm reluctant to post the recipe since it's so long (it has a ton of ingredients!) but I will definitely post pictures of the results! I should be making it Thursday night, but we'll see...

I will post a recipe for my favorite risotto, though! It's so simple, it just takes some patience since you have to constantly stir and/or watch it.

Green Bean Risotto (from Southern Living)

• 1 pound fresh green beans
• 1 (32-ounce) container low-sodium chicken broth, divided
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Trim beans and cut into bite-size pieces. Bring beans and 1/4 cup broth to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove beans, and set aside.

Bring remaining broth to a simmer in a saucepan (do not boil), keeping warm over low heat.

Add butter, chopped onion, and garlic to broth in Dutch oven; cook 3 minutes. Add rice and white wine, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Reduce heat to medium.

Add 1 cup simmering broth to rice mixture in Dutch oven, and cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed. Repeat procedure with remaining broth, 1 cup at a time. (Takes about 20 minutes.)

Stir in beans, thyme, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

My favorite parts of this recipe are the thyme and Parmesan cheese. They just add such a perfect flavor and texture to risotto.

Chicken Marsala

I've never eaten chicken Marsala before since it isn't my favorite dish, but I enjoyed this recipe. My mom is the Marsala connoisseur (wow did I spell that right?) and she said that it was good, but she likes more sauce, and a stronger sauce. I guess I'll have to experiment some more!

It looks a bit messy, but it tasted good! I have no plating skills so I didn't even attempt it haha.

I used Tyler Florence's recipe and it was really simple. I think his addition of prosciutto is different from most recipes, but I guess it adds another dimension.

Shrimp and Asparagus

Picture of leftovers :)

Cooking

I kept making false promises on my old blog about cooking and posting pictures of the process + the recipe. This time around I will definitely post at least one recipe per week, and MAYBE one actual picture/cooking/recipe post every two weeks? I wish my camera wasn't so ancient...

I'll have time for intense cooking sessions during the next few weeks since I won't be working (thank you school system!), but these sessions will have to wait until after I get back from Vegas. I might be able to do something Wednesday night, but we shall see :)