The Five Dollar a Day Challenge - Day 2

Day two was really a winner, as I served up a couple of dishes that really went well together.  I did my shopping at Ralph's, admittedly, a rather expensive store.  I think that you can get much more out of your dollar if you shop around for things, and I will do this in the future to see how it goes, but since this supermarket was next to the video store, and my movies were two days late, I decided to try it out.  I really didn't get all that much for my money, but I planned on using some of the leftovers that were in my fridge and larder to supplement the meal.  I bought a red onion, 8oz of shredded Mexican cheese, and a broccoli crown.  It came out to a little over $4.  I shredded up two old chicken breasts, mixed it with some diced red onion and rolled it up with the cheese in some lightly fried tortillas that were on the verge of getting moldy.  This was then covered in green enchilada sauce, topped with cheese and popped into the hot oven.  To accompany this, I cooked a box of generic brand shells and cheese, and added the steamed broccoli crown.  The result was a match made in heaven!  And there was a ton of leftovers for lunch the next day!  Bonnie seemed to agree with this dish, and promptly cleaned her plate. 

The 5 Dollar a Day Challenge - Day 1

I really dont know where all of my money went.  Well, OK, that is not true - it all went to pay bills, and somewhere along the way I may have dropped some of it into a beer glass.  Well, that's not the point.  The point is that I have approximately $50 to last me until the next pay day....10 days away. 

So, I posed the question on Facebook - what would you eat if you had to live on $5 a day?  Of course, you could always do what my friends suggested, such as eat a $5 Footlong from Subway every day, or fill up on pasta and beans.  Really?  That's no way to live, and certainly no way to eat.  While I may be inclined to add some of these choices to the menu, I do not intend to live on these things morning, noon, and night.  I will do my very best to create astounding cullinary marvels using only what I have left in my larder and fridge, and half a sawbuck per day. 

Day one involved cleaning out some leftover tidbits that were in my fridge, so I guess that technically, I was cheating a bit since I already had two nice fillets of rock cod chilling out.  But, I made good on my $5 commitment at the grocery store, and I picked up 2 big tomatoes, 2 red jalapenos, 4 brown onions, a bunch of spinach, and one cup of wild rice mix in bulk.

I browned 2 of the onions in some olive oil, and added thin slices of the red jalapeno, cooking until everything was soft.  Then I put that aside, chopped and sauteed the spinich, adding a bit of garlic salt, then the diced up tomatoes and added them when the spinich was almost done.  I put that into the colander to drain off the excess water.  The filets were seasoned and grilled with a bit of olive oil in a very hot pan, searing one side.  Once the fish was almost cooked through, I covered it with the browned onion mixture, then the spinach and tomato.  Removing the pan from the heat, the dish cooled for about 5 minutes before being served.  The vegetable covered fish was served on a bed of wild rice mix.  I got two HUGE portions, one for me, one for Bonnie (the official critique gastronomique du nom nom).  

Well, day one was a sucess.  I met my financial goal of only spending $5 dollars - but I have to admit that I had some help.  Some might say that I cheated - since I already had the fish in my fridge, but hey, those are the rules.  Anything that I have stocked up already (including leftovers) is fair game.

El Perro Peligroso - a.k.a - The Danger Dog

Falling out of an all-you-can-drink tequila disaster in the wee hours of the morning, head steaming with sweat, neck covered in lip gloss, and beach sand in my shoes (how did THAT get there) has always brought back fond memories.  While it may be impossible to re-live my late teens, I can, as it has sometimes been said, live vicariously through food.  Enter.....the Tijuana Danger Dog.  Tiny little brown women, slowly grilling tiny little brown dogs, from tiny little white carts positioned strategically outside the club exit door pull in sweaty teens with the wafting odor of grilled onions and bacon.  When you've been filling your stomach with cheap tequila and beer (and subsequently emptying it in the urinal), nothing....and I mean nothing...makes you feel whole again like a bacon wrapped hot dog, TJ style.

The Method:
This is not complicated.  You wrap a hotdog in bacon.  Use a toothpick to secure the bacon while it crisps up around the weenie, then you remove the pick and brown all around.

The Madness:
This is where things get a little bit scary.  The dog must be dressed in the proper fashion, and this means that it has enough fat to re-line your previously decimated esophagus.  The bun is smeared with mayonnaise (an absolute necessity) and mustard.  Because I'm already going all the way here, I melted a small piece of cheese on my dog.  It is then topped with grilled onions, ketchup, and hot sauce.  A bit of pickled jalapeno is optional, because after all, you don't want it causing trouble while you are waiting in line to cross the border.



The last thing anybody is worried about as you file out of a rocking place like the legendary "Club Safari" are calories.  More important things are on your mind...like, "was that her real phone number?"  Word to the wise....you are only young once.

The final foods of 2010

Here are just a few pictures of the last few dishes of 2010.  At a recent dinner party, we feasted on cheese, olives, grapes, bacon wrapped chicken livers (rumaki), braised short ribs, roasted Brussels sprouts, risotto d'oro, and mai tai's made with a very tasty Venezuelan rum.  I had a quick lunch of dungeness crab and beer, and later made some lump crab cakes.  My resolution this year is to document more of the delicious foods, and take more pictures.  I am looking forward to a great new year, and I am hoping that my friends and family will join me to be a part of the dinner celebrations that I am planning for the future! 

You can't beet that!

I don't exactly know where beets ended up getting a bad name. They are one of the tastiest little things in the world, especially when they are fresh. I am guessing that the little purple circles that make their way into the lineup at the Sizzler salad bar are what have turned most people off. Yeah, those are not that good....but they come from a can! Get a hold of some fresh beets, and you have a double delicious treat. The bulbs are great when you steam them (about 25-40 minutes depending on the size) and you get the greens! A bunch of beets, complete with the greens only cost about $2 right now at Henry's Market and they are ORGANIC. Here, I used them two ways. Steamed golden beets are peeled and sliced, and drizzled with just a little bit of butter and salt. They have a wonderful flavor that is all their own. The chopped greens were sauteed with onions, olive oil, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. This was all laid upon a bed of quinoa (a grain that is actually related to the beet and spinach family) and served with a nice garnish of New York steak.

Oh, the joys of fall.

One of the wonderful things that start to make an appearance in the fall are "winter squashes". These wonderful things are known by this somewhat misleading name because they are built to last through the winter, not because they grow during the cold months. In fact, these rather hardy squashes take a rather long time to grow during the summer months. What sets them apart from the summer squashes (like zucchini and yellow crookneck squash) is that they have a very hard, thick skin. This skin is cured a bit by letting the squash sit out in the sun once it is ripe. What you are left with is a fabulous vegetable that you can store at room temperature for months at a time....virtually all winter! So, if you have the storage space, buy them up as they reach rock bottom prices during the fall. They have diverse names, like Acorn, Delicata, Spaghetti, Butternut, Table Queen, Banana, and many many others. Cooking these basically involves the same process, no matter what you choose for your table. You cut the squash in half, remove the seeds and pulp, and then put them in a pan with 1/4 inch of water, flesh side down. Bake them at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Then, you can scoop out the flesh, or leave it in the shell to serve. An easy way to season them is to turn them flesh side up, sprinkle some brown sugar, salt, pepper and cinnamon in the hollow and put them back into the oven for 5 minutes. A little bit of butter can add to the richness.

Tonight, I filled a Delicata with a wonderful mixture of fresh sauteed collard greens, onions, garlic, Hot Silva Linguica, and cooked winter wheat berries. A bit of grated Swiss cheese topped it off. This was a wonderful way to represent the bounty of the fall harvest season
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Some Recent Meals

Oh, I know. What is the point of having a blog if you never bother to update it? Well, post-graduation, life took some getting used to. In addition to the new jobs, new apartment, and new car, there comes a new attitude. I think that I have now settled down a bit, and will be able to get back to cooking like I mean it. One interesting change is that I am not on a college budget anymore, so I am looking forward to creating a few dishes that really use some quality ingredients! Also, my job at The Cosmopolitan Hotel has brought cuisine back into my life, and working with fantastic people like Chef Amy DiBiase has given me new perspectives and ideas. Here are some pictures of a few dishes that I worked up during the summer: