Tuesday, May 31, 2011

happy (grey, wet and cold) tuesday!

i have been reading a lot on the interweb that most of you are experiencing spring, even summer like weather over the past few weeks and well, to be honest, im totally jealous. here in portland we are still wearing our wellies, scarves, long pants and rain jackets. when we arrived in portland for good, last june (18th to be specific) we had a week of this grey cr*p and then bright warm skies! ALL day EVERY day till about late september. and by being up so far north on the planet, the daylight sticks around until close to 10:30! it is glorious! just thinking about it make me giddy!

sigh.

so, until the sun comes out to stay, i will continue to occupy myself with indoor activities. most of which consists of blog reading, cooking, playing with figgy and dreaming of remote beaches and tropical islands.

i came across this new publication that i am DYING to subscribe to McSweeney's: Lucky Peach


What’s inside Issue One (taken from the website):

• Peter Meehan and David Chang report on their travels in Japan, Tennessee, and Spain
• Anthony Bourdain’s take on the classic Brittany Murphy film, Ramen Girl
• An instant-ramen taste test with Ruth Reichl
• John T. Edge introduces the New Orleans specialty, ya ka mein
• Debunking the Myth of Authenticity with Todd Kliman
• Explanations of MSG headaches and alkaline noodles from Harold McGee
• Art from Tony Millionaire, Matt Volz, Richard Saja, Scott Teplin and others
• Recipes from Chang, Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, and Wylie Dufresne

is anyone else as excited for this as i am? have you subscribed yet?

till next time,
amanda

Saturday, May 28, 2011

dinner tonight: a cheap cut of meat braised in wine

the mr and i have been on a strict budget lately. we had not 1 but 2 banging vacations already this year (vegas AND new orleans) and with a wedding looming - do you know how much it costs to throw a giant party? ugh, we are trying to keep money in the bank. so dinner tonight is Chicken Thighs Braised in Garlic and White Wine served with rice. also note that the mr is on couch tour*, it's not like we are sitting at home picking our noses or anything.

the original recipe comes from Real Simple Magazine but i've modified it just a little by cutting it down to 2 servings, used brown rice instead of white and a red bell pepper instead of jarred hot cherry peppers.

ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1/3 cup AP flour
2 skin on/bone in chicken thighs
1 sm yellow onion or 1/2 large onion quartered
4 cloves of garlic thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper sliced in 1 inch pieces
2 tbs olive oil
1 cup dry white wine (plus more for drinking - channel your inner julia here, we all know i did)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup brown rice (cooked or cooking whilst you make the chicken, like a good little chef)

method:
in a dutch oven or heavy bottom soup pot, heat olive oil on medium heat
combine oregano, salt and pepper.
pat chicken pieces dry, rub spice mixture to completely coat the chicken. dredge in flour.
add chicken to pot, cook each side 4 min until golden brown. remove and set aside on clean plate.
add onions and cook 2 min until light brown. add garlic and bell pepper. cook 2 more min until brown.
add wine and chicken broth. bring to boil. season if needed. lower heat and add chicken back to pot. bring to a simmer. cover and cook for 30 min or until chicken is completely cooked through.

serve with rice in a big bowl and a glass of the white wine.

chicken simmering away in wine


* for those of you who don't know, couch tour happens when Phish is on tour and you stream the live show from your computer and rock out just like you were in the crowd

ps: please dont judge me on my crappy iphone pictues

what we are drinking tonight

what we are drinking, thanks to our resident bar tender (mr murtyka himself):

aperol spritz
1 part aperol
1 part dry white wine
1 part sparkling water
lemon twist
ice

what is aperol you ask? wiki knows all

well hello new fella

for a few years now i have had a love/hate relationship with blogs. i can spend an entire day reading my Google Reader, most of which is comprised of food blogs, design blogs, weddings blogs, crafts blogs, cocktails blogs, fashion blogs, canning blogs, and geek-ery blogs. i generally love all the blogs i read, until i get sick of reading about how perfect all the authors lives appear to be. so, ive decided to start my own blog to show the world that i too, have a perfect life. dammit.

i would like to blog about mostly food - cooking it, eating it, buying it, reading about it, etc. i will promise to post recipes along with pictures when i make something at home. i will also blog about our travels (our = mr murtyka and i's), mrs figglesworth will have her own posts, of course. i will post awesome things that i find on the interweb and i promise to keep my wedding post to a minimum (maybe just a recap of the events after the actual events take place). i have awful grammar and spelling habits that i promise to break, and i will try to keep the cursing to a minimum.

questions, comments and answers are always welcome and appreciated.

till next time,
amanda
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