Fish n' Chips

Hey ya'll today I bring you the relaxing sounds of John Coltrane. Soul Eyes is a beautiful song thats kinda special to me because I played this in college for an audition,on the violin.It really rocked!! Anywhoooo I hope you enjoy!



Most of you know by now that I rarely fry anything,last weekend however I jus really wanted to eat some of the whiting that I had in the freezer,and I wanted to do something different with it.I decided to fry it, then I thought "ah I've got a potato in the fridge,I should make chips". So I did.I also made a zesty little remoulade sauce. I'll have to prewarn you however...I really didn't measure anything for the sauce, J'ai regrette(I'm sorry). Here is what you need:

So it starts w/mayo I would guestimate about a quarter of a cup.4 dash's of hot sauce and about a tbl spn red pepper,its pretty zippy! about a tblspn dill and lemon juice then salt to taste. Sometimes I add in green onions I just didn't have any that day.


for the potato chips

1)Get a deep pot and turn the eye on med, then pour in about 3 parts vege oil to 1 part sesame oil.Let the oil get hot it takes about 10mins well for my old ass stove anyway!.
2) SLice that tater up as thin as you can get,if you have a mandolin,use it.Make sure that you have a tray lined with paper towel for after the chips are finished.
3) Put the chips in,in 3 different batches. If you want them really crunchy leave them in for about 7 mins,then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.You gotta do it while they're hot!

Now for the fish and chips:

2 pieces thawed whiting,cut in pieces on bias

1.5 c's of flour & 1 c of cornmeal

2 c's buttermilk

Few dashes of salt & cayenne pepper

You will use the same oil you fried the chips in.

1) Soooo mix together the cornmeal,flour,salt & cayenne then pour the buttermilk in a bowl.

2) Dip the fish first in the buttermilk then coat w/...well coating(cornmeal mixture)

3) Fry about 4 pieces at a time,and when they come out lightly sprinkle with salt.These only need to be fried for about 5 mins,they will cook fast.

As you can see my chips were not as crunch as I would have liked but they were still pretty good,and hot! The fish was soo good especially with the sauce!

Banana Bread Pudding

For once today's song is actually current,LOL. Rumor has it is a really great song by the awesomely talented Adele.She's such a breath of fresh air in today's world where we've got ppl famous for being rich and having sex.Lookey lookey this girl can actually sing,and there are no sex tapes of her on youtube.

So I grew up eating banana pudding,the kind with vanilla wafers.Recently I've had a hunkering for a great dessert;so I was looking online for a nana pudding and I found a really great recipe here. It's a really great blog. Anywhoslbeees my recipe is kinda loosely based on that one.A few differences I should note tho:
I used farmers bread,worked well i'll use egg bread or challah next time
I used 3.5 bananas
I did not use caramel sauce
Unfortunately I used a cup of sugar :(

Now lets go to the fair!(the fair is the nana pudding)

So this is the condensed milk,vanilla ,cinnamon eggs and salt.Whisked really well.

This is that adorable little casserole dish I got from the antique store on labor day.I first buttered the bottom and sides of the dish,then  sprinkled brwn sugar and put down some of the nanas.None of this is exact science,dont fret just do it!

Continue to layer,sugar,nanas,custard mix & bread until your all out.If I had it to do all over again which i will soon hehehe I would have cut the bread in half.Sprinkle sugar and pinch od cinnamon on top when your done.Then put it in the oven on 350 for about 35 mins.It will be piping hot,wait for it to cool.Totally worth the wait...and that smell,amazing.My whole apartment smelled like fresh cinnamon and yumness.

After it cools go get one of those dessert cups you got for 50 cent at the antique shop and fill er up! When I made this I ate it hot,but since then i've eaten it cold and its just as great.The banana pudding I grew up eating was always cold. This is something I will be unable to make very often,because it is sooo good. I made it saturday and its almost all gone.I didn't even share any with anyone...shhh dont tell the others.

Spinach,squash and shrimp (3 S's)

Well yall have probably guessed by now that I'm not a big fan of rap.Today's song is classic rap,rap when it was actually a decent genre of music..I don't know what it is now.Round the way Girl is my very favorite LL Cool J song.It reminds me of a few of the women in my family,it's just a chill song. Also (interesting tidbit) This is the only rap song I know %90 of the words to!


The 3 S's well this just kinda came to me this week. I wanted a dinner with no carbs because I'd had toast for breakfast and a $8 sandwich from cafe Bacci.It was soooo good.Thats how I came up with this,and it was pretty tasty. Everything is cooked in layers and if you don't like alot of flavour this is NOT the dish for you.It's packed w/little pockets of goodness.Here's what you need:

 2 yellow squash,2 cloves garlic
handful cilantro,cup of shrimp,4th c 
of parmesan cheese,Spinach,olive oil,
lime juice,tagine spice,crushed chili pepper,salt.

1.As I said everything is cooked in layers. After the spinach has been washed and is draining,the squash has been washed & cut.In a saute pan with the heat on medium put enough olive oil to coat then in goes the shrimp,garlic and  2 caps full of lime juice and crushed pepper.Cook until pink,like this.

2.Take shrimp out and set aside then cook squash,with 2 pinches salt.Cook until fork tender so about 7 mins.Then set that aside.

3. Finally its time to cook the spinach.Pour more oil in the pan on low heat then put in the spinach. It's really important that everything be cooked in the same pan,so many amazing seasonings! Back to spinach,saute it with tagine spice,cilantro and salt.Cook until wilted.Then you can plate! Spinach should cover the plate,then squash on top of that lastly the shrimp and cheese and then....BAMN!!

Bakin & Eggs...prepare to wait.

Well kiddies today's song is the very reason I wanted to become a singer.This is kinda where is started when I heard Lisa Fischer singing How Can I ease the pain I wanted to sing forever,and I wanted her voice.Now I couldn't have been more than 5 when this came out,but I knew every single word and adlib,every single breath she took.If you are old enough to remember this song you know it was hott!

Sunday after church I went with groupon in tow to Bakin & eggs a nice little spot in lakeview. I got there shortly after noon and it was already packed and there were 4 or 5 families outside waiting to be seated.Luckily I was by myself,so i was able to come right in and sit at the bar.The place has a really country feel to it.These pics are taken with my phone's camera so bear with me.
You can't see it real well but the shelf is lines with mason jars,very rustic,very country!

This was how my bill came to me,how darling is this? I haven't seen one of these since I was doing laundry in my grandparents basement years ago.

I ordered the spinach,mushroom & gruyere frittat with the cheese grits and chicken sausage.The frittat was bland,like the mushrooms and spinach had not been seasoned at all.I won't be ordering that again.The cheese grits & sausage was amazingly tasty.I'll be back for those.As I mentioned before I had a groupon worth $15 and my bill at this point was only $11.So I headed over to the baked goods counter and this was the real treat.

I bought these 3 cupcakes and came in only $2 over budget.1 carrot cake,vanilla on vanilla and chocolate on chocolate.I can't wait to get back for more of these and to try some of their pies.If your in town and want to check it out here are my suggestions:

Get there before 11am,don't order the same frittata,and get a carrot cake cupcake!

Antiques (My 1st vlog!!!)

In lieu of today being the last holiday of the summer :( . I've chosen one of the best re-do's ever! Originally done by the Mama's & Papa's California Dreaming has always been a great tune but when Queen Latifah did it some years ago she really blew it out the water.Click on the link to hear beautiful music as you watch my first vlog!!

Ok guys here it is,this is my first vlog so the scenes with me talking will be upside down,LOL! Nevermind that,just look at all the cool stuff I bought!

Red Velvet Cake

Well todays song reminds me of home.Twas a favorite in my household and it combined 2 amazing artists in a ballad that will not ever be forgotten.The best is yet to come is an awesome song,appropriate for a wedding or a day at the beach...or for a friday morning blog.

Sooo for my bday I got a giftcard to Williams & Sonoma(the best place in the world) and I bought a red velvet cake mix.I finally decided to try it last night...I really hesitated in sharing this with you guys because i don't like the way the cake looks.I should have cut the top off the cake to make it look better...I didn't because at the time I didn't think I needed to at the time.Whenever I bake something does not come out the way I want it to.The taste of the cake..is pure yumness,but I just don't like the way it looks.I didn't have enough confectionary sugar it was 90 degrees and I was feeling crampish so I had to use the buttercream I had on hand,which made the icing not as stiff as i wanted it to be.Ugh,i would'nt call this a disaster cause its really good cake;it's just not perfect like I wanted it to.Also I threw away the box w/out copying the directions sooo i have no recipe.I'll just show you pictures and vent.

 


So this is how it all began the mix was only about $14,please be careful it will stain your counter tops. I spilled..cause that what I'm into.I used a lysol wipe with lysol sprayed on the counter,it faded but uts still there.I have company coming today!! I'll try bleach later to today.



After mixing for about 7 mins I greased to 9in pans and in the oven they went.

It really is a very smooth mixture,however as you can see i didn't really need two pans.The box said i would but i really could have baked it all in one bigger pan and cut it in half after it cooled.But nope I followed directions.

....and this is what I got.Onto the frosting,the recipe called for 3/4 c of confectionary sugar but I only had about 3/4's of that so i used store bought buttercream.What would you have done??Seriously I wanna know.

After whipping the frosting in shape I must admit I was pretty impressed.

I made waaay to much icing.My suggestion is use the box mix it's great but get your own recipe.To spruce the cake up a bit I sprinkled some red sugar on and a few white candy pearls.This is it..like I said the icing was not as thick as i would have liked to I couldn't do the spoon pattern with the icing.So that's that.Not real proud of the looks of it,but its delicious.

A Food Truck Social

Today I bring to you music from the un-sung Knowles sister,Solange. I prefer Solange over Beyonce.They both sing really well but Solange has a style and creativity...a uniqueness her sister does not possess.I decided is a spirited,peppy song that combines a present day Solange Knowles with the flavor of the supremes,and the Shirelles.You will like it!

This weekend I went to my very first food truck social.Whats that? Glad you asked, its where all of the best food trucks in chicago take about about 3 blocks space on the west side and ppl come and taste,listen to live music and enjoy.Some of the proceeds went to hungry children,so thats always good.

It started at noon and it was truly my intention to get there by 1245 at the very latest.Did not happen.I CAN NOT  watch the first 15 mins of Ghost whisperer and not see it thru,i just can't.I had to watch that and then I was waiting for a novel I ordered from amazon to show up...it never came,ugh. Anyhooslebee's I had to get an oil change first so I didn't there till about 230pm and it was packed.I didn't try as much food as I would have liked because the lines were waaayy too long.I got some goodies tho...

You see what I mean by crowded.... 

I thought these candles were adorable,and all handmade.  

Sweet ride is a great dessert truck and they never disappoint! 2 sugar cookies for $5! 

    

Then I headed over here:

where I got a German chocolate brownie for $3...something.It was ricccch but delicious.As I stated previously there were other trucks I wish i had gotten there earlier to try,but I really enjoyed what I did get.