Anheuser-Busch Buys Goose Island

For those of use who live in Chicago we are quite familiar with Goose Island beer. Some of you have problem heard that Anheuser -Busch bought them for $38.8 million. Chicagoans all over are having mixed reactions to this. I read a poll where about 3,880 had been polled and were basically asked if they thought this would change the beer and was this a good or bad decision. The majority of them said they thought this was a bad idea. This is the initial story I read in the red eye,a condensed version. http://www.redeyechicago.com/news/ct-red-goose-island-redeye-porter-int20110328,0,655500.story I understand they're concern, and I kinda felt the same way but here are the facts as I've read them: * This deal has kinda been in the works for a minute, so obviously Goose Island has thought this out very well. *With Busch having now bought GI this should help with distribution,a problem I was unaware of,not that I would know because in no way am I a beer aficionado. Anyhoo.. *GI is currently only distributing in 30 states. That's it guys just 30. Did you know Busch distributes damn near all over this country? * Now here is the stinker a few of the beers are being dropped from the line because of capacity...what I don't want to happen is they keep "dropping beers because of capacity" and next thing you know,we don't recognize Goose Island beer anymore. After reading all the articles I've read I'm thinking this could be a really good thing. What about you? Did Goose Island sell out? Yes no or maybe,dont be afraid to post ur comments.

Chocolate brownies,with raspberry?

As I said in my previous post a friend of mine just moved back to MI from here and unloaded her cupboards on me...thats how I would up with Duncan Hines brownie mix.I didnt want to just make plain brownies so I wanted to try something different.I wanted to fill them with raspberry filling...didn't work.Maybe I didn't strain it well enough but after I filled the piping bag I just couldn't really get it to go thru the tip an into the brownie.Yeeaaahhhh, well after I realized this wasn't going to work I gave up the ghost and just froze the remaining filling.

The recipe is really simple, you'll need: a bag of frozen raspberries,c of water,4 squirts of lemon juice,half c of sugar..and an indefinite amount of cornstarch...
You just dump the berries in a pot on low heat along with the water, allow them to simmer for about 10mins in goes the sugar and lemon juice.Here's the tricky part: there was a recipe online that said to put the cornstarch in water and let it dissolve. So I did that with about ahalf c of cornstarch, and it really didnt thicken it like I wanted it to.I also put it dry cornstarch in it but it just wouldn't thicken. This is what I got
Tasty but not as thick as I would have liked it.

Now as far as the brownies go I followed the box directions, only thing extra that I threw in was a cup of raspberry yogurt. I love the moistness and that extra bit of flavor.After the bake I let them cool for about an hour and 15mins while making the white chocolate drizzle.


For the white chocolate drizzle you only need a few things:white choc chips,heavy whipping cream,white cocoa powder & nutmeg! That's it that's all.
I used half a bag of white choc chips and put them over the double broiler on low heat.
Add a c and a 4th of heavy whipping cream, and a pinch of nutmeg, and a tea spn of the cocoa power,you must stir cause if you don't it will get really clumpy.Using a whisk works really well. After about 15 mins it looks like this
From here you just get a spoon, large spoon and as you take it out of the choc and get ready to drizzle wipe the back of the spoon on the bowl. If you don't you will have choc dripping all over the brownie & the plate.

They're really delish! they have that really perfect amount of raspberry in them.Maybe next time I'll get the piping in the filling thing right!

Shrimp Bowl

Todays song of the day will be posted form here,for reasons I've explained before: Todays song is by Kenny Lattimore, its called Healing, this is such a beautiful song. This song got me thru soo much. I was transferring high schools, my sister had just left for college and whew, this whole CD was really a life saver for me but especially this song. He demonstrates such vocal awesomness on this song. Is it me or is he underated? This is the link just scroll downto # 30.
http://music.napster.com/kenny-lattimore-music/tracks/10458377#s_module=search_autocomplete&origin=search

I've said this before and I'll tell you again; I don't like chili,soup, stew, broth, gumbo or jambalya,anything along those lines. That being said I did something completely out of character yesterday..I made a soup/gumbo and I actually ate it, it was good. Actually I don't know what to call it yet. Here's how it went down:

A friend of mine recently moved back to MI from Chicago. She pratically emptied out her cupboards and gave stuffto me. Panera donates free bread to her son's headstart school to she gave me 2 loaves of bread plus a bread bowl. I had some leftover Cabernet marinara sauce I wanted to use before it went bad.So I made some dish thats a cross between a chicken pozole bowl , currently being sold at Chipotle and jambalya. I used these ingriedients:

Starting top right: Bell pepper( less than a quarter)

1 ear of corn, red onion( less than a quarter), 1.5 cloves of garlic,handful of cilantro chopped, approx. 12 pcs of shrimp, 2 pcs turkey sausage chopped.

I just cut the top off this and dug the bread out of it.

It's a really simple recipe these are the only other things I needed.Cabernet marinara sauce,red pepper flakes & kumen. Oh yeah i used some white rice, I just soaked in warm water first.
On low heat pour half the pasta sauce in the pot, then half a cup of water. From here its just really a matter of dumping things in to the pot.The rice goes in last, then you season w/ 3 pinches of pepper flakes & kumen. ( I didn't use any measuring utensils guys sorry)

THis is to simmer on medium heat for about 15mins.The rice doesn't need to go in till about the 12th minute.Here's my finished product:

Topped w/ parmesan. It's spicy and I plan on eating the remainder today with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese! Ok so what exactly is this?soup,gumbo?

Heaven On Seven

I tried a new restaurant this week,guys. Its called Heaven On 7 its very Louisiana very creole, the area I sat in kinda reminded me of a back porch. It's a very busy atmosphere. One of the first things I noticed right when I sat down was that there were 12 different sauces on my table;12. Yes ya'll and though I didn't taste all of them I wanted to just show you a few of the most interesting,creative bottles.

I know you can't read it very well but its called Ass on Antarctica, this was a sweet spicy sauce,crazy right? Wait there's 2 more.

This was a hot sauce,I'm not really a hot sauce kinda girl but from what the waitress told me this is the kinda sauce that if your gonna use it ,you better have a glass a ice water in your other hand.

Yea you read it right, I was told this was more of marinade type sauce, but I just thought the bottle was the cutest dern thing!

Ok on to the food which really wasn't that great. I ordered the cajun chicken po'boy. It came with a salad ; if you consider wet spring mix,cucumber,tomato and shredded carrots a salad. My dressing was some kinda cajun honey mustard, not bad but nothing I intend to go back for.Onto the po'boy it was pretty ok. It was seasoned pretty well,high in sodium but a little over cooked.It was served to me in a very interesting manner,take a look:
There are sauteed green onions on it,roasted tomatoes as well. Hmmm I've never had a po'boy sandwich served to me quite like this. Of course I cut the onions and sprinkled a few of them on my sandwich. Now the coleslaw had bouts of flavoring.What I mean is there were spoonfuls of slaw that were seasoned and spoonfuls that were not...So yea...I don't intend to actually go back here under my own free will.

$625 for a cookbook...

Hey Bloggers & Bloggette's I'll be posting today's song of the day here because this computer runs some kinda script where it would literally take an hour to post a song in the song column. Upward and onward in honor of Nate Dogg's passing I decided to share my 2 favorite Nate Dogg songs with you. I don't really enjoy rap (especially not today's rap!) but nate dogg just had such a smooth voice and I always felt like he was waaayyy underated.
The first song is actually from the movie Head Of State, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyRjM-7Ic28
This song is called Regulate w/ Warren G.This is by far my fav Nate Dogg song ever! I think part of the reason I loove it so is because it samples Michael McDonald's I keep Forgetting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY


So by now your all on the edge of your seat wondering what is this business about a $625.00 cookbook. Well its true I didn't make itup. Here thumb thru it yourselves:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/extreme-eating-inside-the-new-625-cookbook-2464738/#photoViewer=1
Good news guys, its currently on sale for $461.00 !! I would never in my mind be able to justify spending that on 1 ckbk. 20 ckbk's yea but not 1.Please dont get it twisted I adore ckbk's. I have at least 35. When I was in college and broke( which was not out the norm) I used to love to go to the bookstoore and get 3 ckbk's and grab a comfy seat and read thru them like they were novels. I still do that occasionally.
This is no ordinary cookbook tho. There are things in here I didn't even know were humanly possible to do. I kinda think this book was made by genuis's because really who else woulda thunk this stuff. Yep I said thunk. Really guys this stuff is completely outta of the ordinary. There is a tomato water basil sphere's ,who does that?? seriously is it me or is this book the 9th wonder of the world(fax machines are the 8th). I'm gonna keep this post short and let you all look at the link urselves. If any of you buy the book, after you read it ship it to me please. I'll make a few photo copies of the things I like and send it right back,thanx.

White Pizza

I made my very first white pizza guys and its pretty darn good!! A tad rich too. There are many different white pizzas but this one has potatoes with rosemary & dill on it,that's right! Though I do have a beautifully inventive mind I didn't make this up.I got it from pizza capri :http://www.pizzacapri.com/zgrid/themes/10264/portal/intro/index.jsp Except I used alfredo sauce. It is my favorite pizza from there.So here's the rundown on the rundown:

Here's what you'll need for the potatoes:I use 2 sm redskin potatoes,as this is not a potato pie,it's a pie featuring potatoes.
Steam the potatoes for about 15mins on high heat then toss them in enough olive oil to coat,pinch of salt & pepper,1 tblespn of dill & rosemary.When you get ready to put the potatoes on the pizza make sure you drain them so you don't have extra oil.

What you'll need for the crust:
After rolling out blind bake for 10 mins on 400.

What you'll need for the Alfredo sauce:

I grated the garlic and put in a saute pan on low heat with soup spoon full of butter.Then put in the chicken it was cute pretty small so it cooked fast.When its been cooking for about 5 mins;slowly and gracefully add in the cream,and 2 pinches of pepper.When it starts to curdle began to whisk in the cheese.Add cheese slowly(parmesan) and add untill sauce begins to thicken,to where its still a sauce but a thick one.Then turn the heatoff.It will thicken as it sits, on the eye but heat off.For the cheese I just used a white & yellow cheddar about a 1.5 c's of each. Then you dump the filling into the crust,allll the fillings. Potatoes,chicken & alfredo the whole kit & kaboodle,baby! It then goes in the oven for about 20mins on 400 degree's.

After it came out I brushed the crust w/olive oil & parmesan
Ta-da!! The best part??? leftovers!!

Whats in my freezer?

Well wouldn't y'all like to know,and today's ur lucky day! I really do try to eat healthy and right and all that stuff but there's a fair amount of processed food in my freezer. The freezer is where I tend to go for something fast that can be thrown in the oven or microwave.So here it is:

It seems that whenever I buy filo dough I buy too much,so this has been seated in my freezer since December.Next to that is my ground turkey,down for whatever,I love it for that.Behind that is frozen green beans.They are very old,I don't even want to think about how long they've been there.Last time I used them I stuffed a chicken breast with them,smoked gouda and baked in BBQ sauce.In the red & yellow Shorts(box)!! is turkey sausage,cause I don't eat red meat.Atop that is shrimp,which is a staple in my home.To me its as important as eggs,There are soo many things to do with shrimp!!

Left of the shrimp is a large frozen pizza. its just so easy when i get home,tired,don't feel like cooking.As much as I love food I have those days.Pizza goes in the oven and 22mins later I'm eating.Next to that in the plastic bag of garlic bread I made.Nope i didn't actually make the bread but I made the spread that goes on it. That bread will last me a while, and its pretty good.Under that is chocolate ice cream and empenadas.Again empenadas are one of those processed things I throw in the oven and 10mins later I'm eating.I really can imagine my life w/out them. Is that sad? In front if the pizza is a frozen tortellini that I will carry to work for lunch.Oh and it was on sale, I think like $1,love that.Chungs egg rolls mmmm.Sometimes I eat these alone,but normally they go in the oven whilst I'm frying rice and sauteing potstickers.

Now the freezer door:

The chicken potstickers I was just telling you about..I get them from trader joe's and they're like $3.So worth it because this one bag will last me 5 meals.You know how sometimes you get a bag and it's half full of air?? not the case here. Behind that is frozen corn and peas perfect for....I really dont have time to list all of that. Next to those are my tilapia fillets which thaw sooo fast.I really like that.If I sit them on the stove at 615pm they're thawed by 640pm. Sometimes I forget to stick my meat in the fridge and defrost overnight;when i do this comes in handy.In front of them are multi-purposed chicken breast slabs, i use then for EVERYTHING.Waffle fries,easy for the mornings.Put them on a cookie sheet on 400 and they are good to go in 20mins.So that's my freezer, not to processed right? Do you have any of the same things in your freezer? Don't be shy speak up,I wanna hear you!

Menna's Joint (The Only Legal Joint in Town)

Hi guys,did yall enjoy that macaroni & cheese?I just ate the last of it yesterday and I am begining to wonder how I ever ate mac n' cheese before.Whew that was good stuff....

Anyhoo I went back to college town this weekend, thats right East Lansing MI.One of my dearest friends got married! And my bff asked me to be her sons God-mother!! Well the christening isnt until May but I'm soo excited. I wanna share with you one of my favorite things about East Lansing. It's not a very busy city and it tends to go to bed early but it has its treasures.It didn't take me very long to discover this particular treasure!

Menna's joint is located in downtown east lansing right in the bar hopping area.They also have other locations in Lansing and Mt.Pleasant. Ya'll know Lansing and East Lansing are 2 different cities right? East Lansing is NOT the east side of Lansing two different area codes. Ah I've digressed, ahhem as I was saying Menna' s Joint is located in a hot spot.Even though they're only a block away from Buffalo Wild Wings they hold they're own. Whats a dub? it's whatever wrapped in a giant tortilla.YESS !!! yumness!Look at this menu !http://www.mennasjoint.com/

Menna's not only stays open till like 4am but they deliver just as late. This is the perfect spot for after hours eating,especially if your drunk,trust me(did I mention I went to Michigan State Sparty on!) If you are going after hours and its summer please know that they're will be a line. Wrapped around the door,its that good.

Let me share with you my fav dub. This is the CT Dub,the first on the menu and rightfully so!NO SOUR CREAM,I understand to each his own but hold the sour cream.It's hot and the cheese is all melty and the potatoes are seasoned and the chicken is yuumness and the wrap is heated,and its like $6.00

It's big and you get what you pay for.You know everybody has their vices,whenever I go back to Lansing my hair stylist demands that I bring her some of Garrett's Chicago mix.Menna's is my east Lansing vice,I have to have it.

Not your mama's macaroni

I'm doing the song of the day inside if the post today.I'm posting from a different computer and the song of the day are is not co-operating,oh well.Any whoo todays song is.....Luxurious by Gwen Stefani. I forgot how much I liked this song until I recently saw her in a ...Loreal? comercial. I remember when this song came out thinking "this is the millioneth time this beat has been sampled,what now?" But it actually became my jam,I think she actual brought some justice to the beat! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kR4nhlEMs

So now on to the business. Yesterday I did something that I didn't forsee myself every doing. I am very serious about my macaroni and cheese,I dont like anything interfering with it,or taking away from it. However last yr I came across a recipe for macaroni & cheese w/buaffalo chicken....3 nights later I drempt about it.Still didnt try it. Recently I was reading recipes as i do so often and I saw something that reminded me of it.So I gave it ago.This is my spin on it.I tried to tone it down,because this is so un-healthy it should be featured on Eat This Not That.I didn't bread & fry the chicken or use half & half. Heres what I did do:

1)Boil the pasta buisness as usual.Mince up 2 cloves of garlic and a hand full of cilantro.

--Why am I using cilantro cause in the words of John C. Reily from Stepbrothers "I'm here to f&*% sh*& up!!" No seriously I wanted to put some kinda if fresh herb in it...anything fresh this thing is not a healthy recipe!!

2) Get these 3 things:

3) Begin to shred the chicken.I used store bought rotisserie.This is done but just puling it apart with 2 forks.If its not as shredded as you'd like dont worry when you put it in the pan and its heated,shredding will be easier.

4) I used 3 types of cheese: white & yellow cheddar and colby. The majority of it I grated but I wanted to leave out some hunks to put in and on top of the pie.

5) In a saute pan with the heat on low(remember the meat is already cooked) put in enough olive oil to coat,garlic and chicken.As it begans to heat you can start pulling the chicken.Pour 7 dash's of hot sauce and a tble spn of crushed red chili flakes.After its been on for about 7 mins and its pulled to your satisfaction dump in the cilantro and turn off the heat.

6) At this point the pasta is done cooking and drained. Just go ahead and dump the pasta in with the chicken.It's very simple. Sprinkle 2 handfulls of that shredded cheese into it. Use a mixture.

6) Mix it around and if your a really cheesey person like me,sprinkle a lil more.Sprinkle all you like but make sure you have hunks to go on top.If that means you have to stop and cut more so be it!

7) Spray the baking pan with butter,pour in the macaroni and top it with the hunks.

8) It goes in the oven on 400 for 12 mins and comes out looking like this

I could have used more chicken and cilantro,but ut was so good,i can't wait to devour more of it for lunch!! It's spicy with this amazing bite and the chicken is just heavenly.Charlie Sheen isn't the only one who wins!!