Brooke's (mis)Adventures in Cooking!

Betta for ya Bruschetta!

2010-03-10T10:59:00.007-05:00

A couple months ago, Jessica, my roommate, and I threw a housewarming party for ourselves. After creating the VIP guest list and settling on a theme, the next step was to decide on a menu...my favorite part of course!

Now, if you know me, you know the one thing I am required to bring to every party I attend or host is buffalo dip...or as my family calls it, Brooke's Dip, so that of course was on the menu. However, unbeknown to my guests, I also used this party as an excuse to find some new recipes and experiment in the kitchen! The first, which we called Baby Tacos, were inspired by some online research but pretty much just my interpretation using the ingredients I liked! Then for my final party creation I opted for some fresh bruschetta! I had never made bruschetta before but decided to go with this lighter option since the other 2 dishes were quite heavy. It turned out to be a great decision, because it was a delicious addition to the party spread...plus I recently discovered it is a very versatile dish as well!

So here is the recipe I got from 'All Recipes'

Double Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:
6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, packed in oil*
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped*
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
shredded mozzarella cheese
1 french baguette*

Directions:
-Preheat oven to broil setting
-In bowl, combine roma tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt & pepper. Let sit a few minutes to marinate
-Cut baguette in 3/4 inch slices, spread on baking sheet, brush with olive oil if desired, put in oven for 1 minute*
-Remove bread from oven, top each slice with tomato mixture and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
-Put back in over and broil for 3-5 minutes more, or until cheese is melted!

Brooke's Tips & Tricks
*I found the sundried tomatoes on the relish/pickle/olive aisle in a small jar. Also the recipe doesnt say to chop them, but I did anyway
*If you don't have fresh basil, you can use dried, but fresh is better!
*I ended up with an italian loaf because I didn't read the ingredients, but it worked fine. Just cut the slices in half after slicing them, that way they aren't huge and be eaten easier *Be VERY careful not to broil the bread for more than a minute because it will burn very quickly!

Now, I said earlier this bruschetta was very versatile, so I took some inspiration from a meal I had when I went to Minnesota to visit Andy and his family over New Years. At the restaurant we went to, I had a bruschetta burger which was amazing, so I decided to make own spin on it!

I season and grilled and boneless chicken breast, topped it with some bruschetta and mozzarella cheese, put that on some ciabatta bread and broiled it in the oven for a few minutes! I completed my meal with some garlic mashed red potatoes and patted myself on the back! ENJOY!

Non-Recalled Brownies

2010-03-02T20:10:00.006-05:00

My parents neighbors are the Goldens, they include Mr. Mike and Mrs. Linda (and a few dogs that take up residence there). Mrs Linda is a school teacher, while Mr. Mike is the parts manager at LaGrange Toyota...I am a regular customer at LaGrange Toyota.

A couple months ago, on a saturday, while on my way to meet a wonderful friend of mine, Lauren, to help her with wedding planning, my car began to vibrate and my check engine light began to blink. Now normally I would have freaked out but this had actually happened to me before and my mechanics skills kicked in, so I pulled over, popped the hood, did a couple turns of my wrench and oula, fixed! Ok, we all know that unless the reason my car breaks down is because its out of gas then Im screwed. So of course I called dad and asked him if Mr. Mike was working so I could take it to Toyota. Well unless you live in a hole, you know that there have been a ton of toyotas recalled and since most people who own a car also have a job, therefore saturday is the day to have them fixed!

Well I pull up and see a wonderfully long line of recalled cars just patiently waiting to be fixed and a very frantic Mr. Mike running around trying to do what he does best...manage parts. Im sure when he saw me walking up he wanted to turn the other way and run! However, thankfully he did not. I told him what had been going on, he confirmed this with dad and said he would get me all fixed up before he left at 2...it was 1:00 already! I was thrilled because I know how busy he was (he showed me his 50-something missed calls on his phone) and also because I had planned to go to Atlanta at about 3:00 that afternoon.

Just as I had suspected, the problem was the same thing that had happened before...apparently my car has these 6 coils in them and they are going bad one by one, however they are about $100 or more to fix so instead of replacing them at once, my dad is letting them simply wear out on their own and replace them as needed...makes sense to me. Well just as promised, the coil was replaced and I was on by way to ATL by 3:00, thanks Mr. Mike!!

Cut to 3 weeks later, while on an errand run to the drug store I begin to feel a rumble and look at my dashboard and there was my check engine light just a blinking! Are you kidding me??? I thought, I can not have this bad of luck...well apparently I do. Well I do the usual call dad and head on over to toyota, except this time Im a little more upset than before! As soon as I pull up (on a saturday of course) I notice the ridiculously long line of recalled cars waiting to get fixed which are way more important than mine. Mr. Mike sees me coming, fear in his eyes, and matter of factly says "I hope you dont need anything done today." So I just go ahead and give him my keys, tell me to call me when its ready and walk away before he sees my tears fall. Now it wasnt the fact that I wouldnt have a car for a couple days, thats no big deal, it was the fact that this was the 2nd time in 3 weeks and it was going to cost my poor dad another couple hundred. Sorry Dad.

So my wonderful cousin picks me up and lets me use her car for the day while she is taking defensive driving and I settle in for a night on the couch. Then a toyota miracle happened, my dad called to say my car was fixed and I owed Mr. Mike big time, because any one else's car wouldnt have been touched until monday but due to my (dad's) connections I got a go to the front of the line pass...dad was right I do owe Mr. Mike.

I decided just a card wouldnt be enough so I decided to do what I do best (or at least try to) and cook him a sweet treat...brownies to be exact. After much research I decided on Cheesecake Brownies, they looked pretty and the original pick of s'mores brownies seemed to messy. So here is the recipe that found for some delicious cheesecake brownies I found online...complete with tips, suggestions and additions from Brooke :)

Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients for Brownie Batter
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 oz unsweetened chocolate cut into pieces
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup all purpose flour

Ingredients for Cheesecake Batter
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice (Brooke's optional ingredient)

*Preheat oven to 350
*Butter/spray 8 inch pan
*Heat chocolate and butter in saucepan over medium heat until just melted
*Remove from heat, pour into bowl and whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour until thoroughly mixed and shiny
*Pour into pan
*Using electric mixer, mix cheesecake mixture in bowl until smooth
*Dollop over brownie batter and swirl with knife to create a marbled look
*Bake for 35 to 40 minutes

Brooke's Tips:
*You may want to use semi-sweet chocolate if you like a richer brownie, I think I will next time!
*The cheesecake batter made quite a lot so it may cover the entire brownie mixture rather than looking marbled, so if you are going for aesthetically pleasing food then just cut the cheesecake mixture in half and make little 'valleys' in the brownie mix so the cheesecake batter goes down further instead of sitting on top.
*Mine took a little longer to bake, so if it needs longer thats fine, just use to knife method to determine readiness...and of course if you like them more fudgy then dont worry about the knife not coming out clean.

ENJOY!

Unfortunately I didnt take a picture of my creation, however I did find one online that looks exactly like them!

Oh and the brownies were delivered to Mr. Mike (after a taste test from me of course)
who thoroughly appreciated them, just as I did when he fixed my car!!

Lets get cookin!

2010-03-01T18:30:00.010-05:00

Well, here we go again! Thats right, Im back for my second go round at blogging! I got a wild hair today at work and decided that I needed something to occupy my time and hopefully entertain some of my my friends at the same time. My long lost blog came to mind so I dusted off the dust from my old posts and realized that the last time I wrote anything was March 3rd 2009...2 days away from being an entire year. Now I like a good coincidence as much as the next person, but I think this was more than that...I think someone else had a hand in this (You know who You are)

Now for those you wonderful people who followed my last blog may remember it being a collections of updates on my life and what Id been doing. When I look back at that I realize that may have been a little narcissistic...I mean who did I think I was thinking everyone would want to know every detail of my life? Not to mention trying to document every detail was very exhausting, which is one of the reasons I think I stopped. This go round Im trying something different! If you know me, you probably know I LOVE to cook and entertain! I love cooking for people and trying out new recipes, however these past few months I havent really had any people to cook for. Andy moved to Korea so cooking for him is out of the question (and trust me, we did that ALOT) and I have moved out of my parents house (finally) they dont get the relaxing joy of having me cook either. Also I dont have any parties to host. Most of my friends are married so no more wedding showers...guess baby showers are next! (Try not to leave me too far behind guys). Anyway, I decided that since I cant physically always share my cooking with others, this is next best thing...sharing my recipes and kitchen adventures!

Now I want to go ahead and make out a little disclaimer list before anyone gets food poisoning or burns down their house..

1. I AM NOT repeat AM NOT nor I claim to be Rachel Ray, Giada or Emeril. I have no training in cooking. In fact, I just had to make a mad dash for the kitchen because my potatoes were boiling over. I dont have a cooking show (although there's always hope) Everything I do or cook was self taught...so take everything I tell you with a grain of salt (literally, if you want).

2. I try to keep my meals that I make as healthy as I can without feeling like Im eating cardboard or grass. So many of my recipes will call for reduced fat stuff, but feel free to use normal ingredients if you ever decide to brave it and actually try one of them. Yours will honestly probably taste better than mine dammit.

3. With that being said, I do not skimp on desserts very much. Most of my life I havent really eaten dessert, but the last few months I cant get enough which means I also cant get enough of the gym, but thats another story for another blog. Now I may use the occasional 1/3 less fat philly or go easy on the sugar or butter, but if your gonna make something sweet, then make something sweet. I just try to eat one small piece and make everyone else eat the rest...my work friends know that very well! So yea, rock out with the chocolate every now and then.

**also, when Im cooking for other people who arent necessarily a semi health nut like me, I go all out. So my appetizers and party food are safe for everyone..happy eating

4. Like I said before, I am usually cooking for myself, unless I invite people over to use them as my guinea pig. So sometimes my measurements wont be very precise, I apologize ahead of time and Ill do my best to make them make sense!

5.Again, I am just a novice wanna be chef so dont expect me to give you a recipe for rack of lamb or tuna tar tar. In fact, I dont eat meat very much so when you get a protein recipe its usually going to be made with chicken, ground beef/turkey, or shrimp...maybe some sirloin strip every now and then, I love a good beef stir fry.

6. I like spicy food, so I had extra heat to everything...you dont have to follow suit

7. I am usually ALWAYS hungry so even if what I cook isnt that great, Im gonna eat because Im that hungry (and also a little bit prideful)

Ok, so now the disclaimer has been read...I hope whoever finds their way to reading this blog finds some good recipes and enjoys 'my' cooking! I will post my first adventure shortly! Feel free to give suggestions or reviews :)