FrriTATA!

Hello fellow food lovers,

It has been so long, I know, and truth be told I've missed my blog and all of you dearly. Which is why I'm back here writing.

With the onset of fall, we all need something to cheer us up when we awake and it is still dark (as you Seattlites have already come to terms with), as well as something to warm us up while we pull that extra sweater a little tighter around our shoulders. Nothing warms my heart and my belly more than a delicious brunch on a Sunday morning.

And the brunch dish I love most is one that combines savory eggs, protein, and leftovers from the previous night.

Thus, I bring you the frittata (you must roll the "r" and give an exaggerated twist of your hand while you say it, of course). I first learned about the frittata while watching Top Chef, in which contenders had to make a simple and delicious breakfast item for surfers on the beach (anyone seen it?--old episode). Bewildered, I watched this chef make some sort of baked egg dish that was sliced like bread. I was amazed. And just hearing him say the word "frittata," images of big Italian families eating around their old patios while they look out on their Tuscan vineyard sprung to mind (like Godfather without the guns? I watch too many movies). Watching it on the show, it seemed like a complicated dish that only the finest chefs at the finest restaurants could make. So I dared not try to make one until about four years later, on this grayish morning in Los Altos, California.

I've heard chefs say that the test of a true chef is how they make their eggs. And I agree with this to a certain extent. The egg is fickle. You must contain it, monitor it, and find that fine line between runny and overcooked. And while most people I know have successfully made a fried egg or an omelette, the two can also easily and royally messed up (pardon my french).

The frittata, however, is one of the easiest egg dishes I've ever made. The Italian word frittata, comes from the word, frito, meaning "to fry" in past participle; you spanish-speaking folk may recognize this. It essentially means an "open-faced omelette." However, the main and obvious differences from an omelette are that,

• It's baked in an oven and not fried in a skillet
• It is served as as a slice instead of folded over
• The raw egg is added to the other ingredients instead of cooking the egg and other ingredients separately and then incorporating the two 

So let's get to it. I was babysitting my 3-week old nephew at my sister's house. What I'm saying then, in clearer terms, is that I had a crying child in my left arm while trying to cook with my right in a kitchen that I wasn't accustomed to, so things had to be quick and easy. I found previously fried bacon, as well as leftover sauteed peppers and swiss chard from the night before. The bell peppers and swiss chard had been chopped and sauteed with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil (delicious in it's own right, by the way).

There was a beautiful baking pot of my sister's that I used, but for 3-4 people, any baking dish that is about 2 inches deep and 6 inches in diameter will give you about 6 pieces and should work perfectly. I cracked five eggs in and whisked them while adding coconut milk to add depth to the mixture. I used coconut milk specifically because it adds a nice sweetness and is a great option for people who are lactose intolerant. The milk also adds a nice smooth texture and whisking the two together helps add fluff and lightness to the final product.

Next, I crumpled in the bacon and threw in all of the veggies. Distribute and stir. For an added perk I sprinkled manchego cheese on top (and as I've already stipulated a thousand times over, manchego cheese is an essential part of my triology of necessary cheeses in everyday life).  Did I say essential and necessary to describe the same thing? Yes, yes I did.

I baked it (without a cover on top) for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. I checked it every five minutes by jiggling it--once the middle stopped jiggling like jello, I knew it was done. 

To serve, let it cool for about 10 minutes. Take a spatula and give the sides a nice scrape to make sure it won't stick. This baking dish was awesome so it wasn't necessary for me to coat the sides. **However, I would advise for most baking dishes that you spray with pan coat, rub with butter or oil so that the frittata comes out clean when you try to flip it.** Right before you serve it, put the serving plate on top of the baking dish, push firmly against it, and flip the whole dish over so that the bottom of the frittata lands firmly standing up. (Ta-da)

Then you just cut like a pie and serve! Garnish with cilantro, parsley, basil, or leftover veggies. Easy as pie-slice-of-frittata.

Some other frittata ideas I've seen/thought/day-dreamed of:

• Pumpkin and potato frittata (especially for this time of year)
• Greek, i.e. spinach, mushroom, feta
• Sundried tomato, chorizo, and cheddar (or even better, fresh Mexican cotija cheese)
• ...the possibilities are endless! Just treat like you would a leftover stew...all leftovers welcome

Now go and enjoy! And please, if there is ever any ambiguity about any part of my explanation or if you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.

Thank you for reading!

Love and Doughnuts as always,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

"Oh shit anotha bbq"

Dear Fellow Food Lovers,

It's about that time when clothes are shed, skins are bronzed, girls become beach babes, guys become hunky lifeguards, and meals turn from a boring let's-sit-around-a-table-while-its-dark-outside to a let's-endlessly-gorge-ourselves with burgers and bratwurst until the sun goes down at 10. Yes I am talking about the gatherings everyone loves--barbecues. Bbq's are popular for a number of reasons: its quick, its easy, you can invite all of your friends, and its a great excuse to get outside.  It is the quintessential summer activity in the United States, in which all the mothers who are tired of making meals day in day out let the men grill, in which men sport their latest bbq-frocks and boast about how they have perfected the sirloin. Bbq season is certainly among us at Colorado College--as I'm sure many of you have noticed, we have been averaging about three bbq per week. I must say, however, that as much as I enjoy the social aspect of bbqs, eating the same frozen patties and pre-cooked hot-dogs can certainly get a bit old. So here's how you can spice up your bbq with something a little more personalized, a little more zesty, and something even the kids can enjoy!

Make-your-own-patty. Making a burger patty is so easy I'm surprised more people don't do it. Ground beef is also incredibly cheap--I bought probably around 6 pounds of ground beef for under $20. Patties are like many of the other things I've written about--crepes, stuffed chicken, rubs--you can really use your creativity to do anything with them.

Now my brother and 10 of his dance friends are touring the country performing and doing workshops. They are called 50collective (comprised of 50 dancers) and they are amazing and wonderful and everyone should check them out. Heading from Chicago to LA, they stopped at Colorado College this tuesday to do a workshop and performance. Being road-worn starving artists, I held a bbq for them at my house. And they devoured everything. I mean ev-er-y-th-i-ng. I'll tell you why.

Rosemary-feta-portabella patties. It being my brother and all, it wouldn't well do to have just your average frozen patties. It needed to be better. So I bought ground beef, chopped in some rosemary, some sheep feta, some portabella mushrooms, some chopped garlic, chives, and finally, sprinkled it with truffle salt. Using my hands, I then proceeded to mesh it all together--like kneading dough. I then took small handfuls of this ground concoction, rolled into balls, and then flattened into a patty, ready to be grilled. Once cooked, they were topped with deliciously sweet grilled onions. Here's what they looked like before they were grilled:

There are many variations you can make to this recipe. For example a few months ago, I made homemade patties and put in gorgonzola crumbles, mushrooms, garlic, crispy bacon bits and a fried egg on top with runny yolk (just like they do in Espana and South America). It was cooked stove-top and was also positively scrumptious.

To serve on the side of these rosemary patties, I also bought some bratwurst, and served that with grilled onions, sauerkraut and relish. Hot dogs are really nice at bbqs because they are quicker than burgers for the really hungry folks, plus the obvious, they are delicious.

Given that these young dancers had been living on various American fast food joints on the road, they were in dire need of some fresh vegetables and fruit. So as any good bbq would have, I cut up some watermelon. A little trick I learned in Mexico is to sprinkle a little bit of salt and chile powder on the watermelon. This salty-spiciness really brings out the sweetness of the fruit. But of course, a good watermelon is great on its own.

I then made a mixed green salad with cold corn (another summer favorite--god I am excited for some Indiana corn!), peas, tomatoes, chives, and some cucumbers. To counteract the heaviness of all the meat in the bbq, I wanted to make a really light, really refreshing salad dressing. So I took two containers of goat milk yogurt (has the same sort of dry taste and texture as Greek yogurt), threw in about a cup of chopped fresh mint, the left over diced chives, olive oil, salt and pepper, and finally about 1 1/2 tablespoon of cumin. God I love my cumin! And it was fantastic! It gave the salad a sort of middle-eastern meets Mediterranean taste. People ended up putting it on their salad, their burger, their vegetables, and their hot dogs, so it's a great sauce/dressing for anything.

Next, I decided to make roasted vegetables. So I took a baking sheet, threw on raw asparagus, chopped bell peppers, onions, whole jalapeno peppers, and doused all of it in olive oil, sprinkled on garlic, salt, pepper, chives, and rosemary. Once the bbq began, I covered the sheet in tin foil and put the vegetables in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. When they came out, they had absorbed all of the wonderful salt and rosemary flavor, while remaining crispy.

To finish it all up, I made chocolate chip, butterscotch, pecan cookies. It was my mom's recipe! Great every time. Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven: 375 degrees

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

6 oz. chocolate chips (1 cup)

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Mix flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and mix in brown sugar. Add beaten egg and vanilla to butter and sugar. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add chocolate (and butterscotch) chips and chopped nuts. Spoon into little balls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes and it will be soft and gooey! I know they are good when someone in my house in the middle of the night eats 8 of them and leaves a trail of cookie crumbs...cookie monster?

And there you have it! A bbq feast with all the amenities for 12. A hungry 12. And there are your bbq basics! Roasted veggies, salad, watermelon, burgers, bratwurst, and homemade chocolate chip cookies to top it all off.

Now go off and try it my little brewskies!

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

I'll have some shrimp with my rum, please

Dear Fellow Food Lovers,

I was asked last minute to make something for a Cinco de Mayo potluck (which was fantastic by the way, thanks to my friends Amelia and Joanie). It was 6:30 and I needed something to be prepared by 7:30 but had no desire to go to the grocery store. So I thought about it and decided to capitalize on the frozen shrimp I've been keeping. Frozen shrimp by the way is in my opinion just as good as fresh shrimp you can buy at the grocery store, and ends up tasting the same once cooked.

My go-to move when cooking shrimp is to make an olive oil, butter, white wine, parsley sauce. But I didn't have white wine or parsley. What I did have however was rum. And when rum or any alcohol gets cooked, the alcohol evaporates and you're left with a more concentrated version of, in this case, sugarcane (or molasses). So then I thought, what contrasts well with the sweetness of sugar? Citrus. So I went with a rum-citrus-garlic sauce. Here's how I did it.

I washed the frozen shrimp in hot water until all of the ice was melted. Because this shrimp is already cooked (you can tell this by if they're translucent--i.e. not cooked, or a light pink color--i.e. cooked). Next, I chopped up some white onion and threw them in a pan at medium-high heat with some olive oil. I then put in about 2 tablespoons of butter.

I usually like to throw cilantro into anything I can, but I've gotten tired of getting a large bundle of fresh cilantro and having it go bad. So awhile ago, I bought some dried cilantro and threw a small handful into the pan with the onions. I have to say that while it added a nice flavor, it certainly was not as strong of a flavor as fresh cilantro--to my dismay.

Now keep stirring. I turned the heat up to high until the sauce started bubbling a bit (I wanted to get those onions cooked). While it bubbled, I threw in 2 cloves of pressed garlic. I could have also used ginger in my sauce--Jamaicans often make a sugar-cane juice with ginger in it, and this combo would have carried over well to this recipe.

Now came the experimental part. I've never cooked with alcohol other than white wine and drinking on the side (yes it is common for cooks to drink while they cook). I wasn't sure how much to put in or at what heat but given that alcohol burns off in high heat very quickly anyway, I figured not too much could go wrong.

I poured in maybe around 1/2 cup of Jamaican rum. This is purely an estimate, and should be judged by each person on the amount of shrimp you have, and the smell and taste of the sauce as you go along. I then poured in about 2/3 cup of orange juice and a squeeze of lime. Fresh oranges would have been nice as well, but again, I was low on supplies and this worked out well. I continued to stir at a high heat until I could no longer smell the alcohol of the rum. Then I put the sauce on medium heat to prepare for the addition of the shrimp.

Once I got the sauce to a taste I liked--it was buttery, a little sweet, and a little spicy--I threw in the shrimp. These only needed about 3-5 minutes to cook so pay attention! To top it off, I threw in some paprika, salt and pepper, and it was ready!

I was incredibly happy with the sauce; the contrast of the sweet rum and onions with the tart citrus and lime, the spicy paprika, the smoothness and richness of butter and olive oil, and the salt created a wonderful tasty blend in every bite! And I loved using the shrimp because shrimp has such a mild taste and tender texture that it carries many varieties of flavor well.

So there you go! While using the rum probably made these shrimp more Caribbean than Mexican, they blended well with the rest of the flavors at the potluck! And its a great dish if you're cooking for many.

Other possible ideas would be using a tequila-lime sauce (Mexican), a coconut-rum sauce (Caribbean), a coconut-curry sauce (Thai), or a white-wine parsley sauce (Italian). Because shrimp exists in so many culinary cultures around the world, you can adapt this recipe easily to fit with whichever culinary theme you are striving to achieve!

Now good luck my little cocineritos! And definitely don't hesitate to experiment cooking with alcohol, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

They've Got The Devil In 'Em!

Hello Fellow Food Lovers,

I wanted to take a break from all the crazy experiments I've been doing and return to a childhood favorite: deviled eggs. I had made a dozen dyed easter eggs and came back from my week long vacation unsure of what to do with them. At first, I just ate them as hard-boiled eggs on my way to class in the morning. But then I got a craving, an itch that just couldn't be scratched for something more--more flavor, more texture...and what better than deviled eggs!

I am often surprised how many of my friends have either never heard of or never tried deviled eggs. These are a family favorite for me and so I've grown up with them since the beginning of time. It was always an Easter ritual to make and eat deviled eggs. They are so easy and simple that they can become your next family favorite as well!

All you need is:

Mayonnaise
Mustard
Pickle juice (just from your regular jar of pickles) and/or caper juice
Eggs
Paprika (optional but necessary in my view)
Salt and pepper
Capers (optional, but again adds a nice touch)

Now there are many different stories about how deviled eggs got their name, but the story I found the most popular is that an englishman, William Underwood, set up a small condiment business on Boston's Russian Wharf in 1822. At this condiment and spice shop, they had one spice called the "red devil" which was a seasoning process to use on various meats. To be "deviled" then meant that it had to have some sort of spicy kick to it, using something like dijon mustard, hot sauce, or cayenne peppers. This deviling process was than patented and trademarked by Underwood's company in 1870 and is officially the oldest food trademark still in use in the United States!

Deviling has now taken many different forms and variations, and deviled eggs are made with many different recipes. But I've had my fair share of deviled eggs and to this day I like this recipe the best.

First, you want to hard-boil the eggs. My general rule is put the eggs into the pot before it starts boiling, and then let them boil for about 7-8 minutes.

Now comes the tedious part of it. Peel each hard-boiled egg and cut in half length wise. If you're lucky, maybe a friend will do this part for you : )  Scoop the yolk out of each half, either with a spoon or just by bending the egg white back a bit (like getting an ice cube out of a plastic tray).

Once you've gotten all of the yolks out into a bowl, grab your mustard and mayonnaise. The mayonnaise is used for its fat content, which gives the yolks a fluffy texture. This time I used about 8 eggs total, so that ends up being 16 deviled eggs. Thus, for 8 eggs, I used about two large spoonfuls of mayonnaise. Next, I added a little less than one large spoonful of mustard. I used yellow mustard here but for more of a kick you can use dijon mustard. I apologize for these rough estimates but I've never measured out this recipe, and generally do it based on texture and taste.

Now comes my favorite part. I usually like to add about 3-4 large spoonfuls of pickle juice, or about 2 large spoonfuls of caper juice (the caper juice is much more concentrated). This helps add a salty vinegary taste to the deviled eggs, which is my favorite part about them. Then add salt and pepper to the desired taste. Keep mixing all of this together with a spoon or fork until the eggs look fluffy, and have the taste you desire. (I usually go for the most vinegary taste I can get without it making me cough. You also want to make sure you're not adding too much liquid, as that will make the yolks lose their fluffiness). If you add too much liquid, don't worry, you can add some mayonnaise and mustard to help it absorb.

Now take the mixture you've made and scoop the yolk back into the halved egg whites until they form little mounds. Sprinkle some paprika on each and top with a caper or olive. And then you're done! The whole process, including hard-boiling the eggs, takes about 1 hour. And they'll be gone in about 5 minutes. You'd be amazed how many you can eat!

Alright now its your turn to try! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment!

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

Top-That Tilapia

Hello Fellow Food Lovers,

Tonight I tried my hand at fish. Growing up in Seattle, I had my fair share of trout, salmon, and any other seafood you could possibly dream up (except maybe lobster). The one thing I have learned from all the fish fashionistas in Seattle is that there is one major mistake that people and restaurants make: an overcooked fish. While we're not talking sushi here, the best way to cook a fish is by doing the least amount of cooking necessary, with a rosy almost raw center. Like a medium rare steak. And you'll get a tender filet every time.

So here's what I did. I got two filets  of Colorado tilapia from Whole Foods. If budget is an issue, tilapia is definitely on the cheaper side. I've had tilapia in restuarants before but have never tried to cook it. What I have gained from experience, however, is that tilapia makes for a great quick and easy sauteed filet. Its a tender, very mild white fish; you don't have to pick out bones and its a great base for plenty of rubs. It's not too fatty, not too hardy: the perfect, simple, light, refreshing, filet. And incredibly easy to make.

For the filets I decided to try two different rubs for each. I also had just bought Japanese panko that I was eager to use as a crunchy outside crust.

Panko. For those of you unfamiliar to panko, it means "bread crumb" in Japanese and is made up of tiny crispy bread crumbs taken from the center of the bread. It's great to encrust chicken, meat, fish, or veggies like eggplant and zucchini. You can also use it as a thickener in soups, or as a quick crunchy topping for desserts. If anyone has ever ordered deep-fried goat cheese on a salad, that delicious chevre ball is coated in panko.

First, the rubs. As I've discussed before, rubs are an excellent way to quickly season any meat or fish--they add a lot of concentrated flavor in every bite while not overwhelming the taste of the meat or fish. For the first rub, I used the "Caribbean Adobe" seasoning from Penzey's spice shop. It is AWESOME in particular for fish. It's made with onion, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and garlic. Basically every possible goodness in one spice mix. I put around two tablespoons of the spice mix in a ziploc bag (you may always had more or less). I took one of the filets, rubbed some lemon juice and olive oil and put in the bag to coat evenly.

For the second rub, I experimented making one from scratch. I put in about a 1/2 tablespoon of dried ginger, teaspoon of paprika, a tablespoon of garlic salt, 1/2 tablespoon of cumin, and last but not least, about 1/2 tablespoon of coriander. It gave the fish a sort of middle eastern flavor. The measurements are purely guesstimates as I didn't use any measuring devices--but just put a little in at a time and taste as you go.

Once I had both filets rubbed, I dipped each one in the panko batter. To make the panko stick, I mixed about 1/2 cup of the panko with one egg. This way, the panko stays on the fish while its cooked and the egg helps to give the crust in also light fluffy texture. Unfortunately, once I threw the filets on the pan, the panko began to fall off. So, next time I would suggest adding a few tablespoons of butter to help it stick. It would also add a nice extra rich flavor. I would also suggest dipping the fish in just the egg batter and then coating with the dried bread crumbs.

I decided to saute the tilapia filets because it is easy and quick. However, with the panko, you can also bake the fish or deep-fry it in oil. For the healthier option, I quickly sauteed the fish in olive oil at medium heat. I'd give each side of filet 3-5 minutes, or until the fish is the tenderness that you desire. I can assure that with any fish, the less you cook it, the more tender. Fish tends to get chewy and rubbery the longer you cook it, and it cooks fast, so make sure to watch it closely!

Take the filets off the pan and voila! Panko-crusted tilapia is served. I have to admit that while I loved both of the rubs, I slightly preferred the coriander, paprika, and ginger rub I had made.

On the side, we made a salad with mixed greens, yellow cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. And a yogurt-based dressing. I was first introduced to yogurt dressings while in Slovenia, in which my host made a yogurt-sunflower oil dressing that was light, didn't welt the lettuce, and incredibly rich in flavor. It's a great base for any flavor--mix in cumin and you have more of an indian taste, put in honey and mustard for a sweeter honey-mustard like dressing, throw in mint and lemon juice for a more mediterranean taste. Any way, you can't go wrong.

For this dressing, we mixed in around a teaspoon of ground mustard, a teaspoon of cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a bit of honey. We used about a half cup of goat milk yogurt (because we both can't eat cow milk). This goat milk yogurt is excellent by the way, can be found at Whole Foods, and has the taste and texture of the dry Greek yogurt that is oh so popular now. Mix all together and the dressing is complete! The sweet taste of honey contrasted really nicely with the salt and spicy cumin.

And for dessert, we enjoyed a bowl of coconut-milk based, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (great for glutards, lactards, and anyone who likes the taste of coconut milk). Throw some fresh cut strawberries and some whip cream and you've got a delicious sundae.

So there you go! The whole meal only took about 10 minutes to prepare and 5-7 minutes to cook--a great meal to whip up when you're starving! I would give an upper estimate to cook this for two of around 20 minutes for the whole process.

Now go off and encrust something and enjoy the delicious contrast of a crunchy outside and tender inside. You can honestly try it with anything!

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

My My Apple Pie

Hello Fellow Food Lovers,

I think we can all agree that pie has become a staple part of the "American Dream" culture. Apple pie in particular, while not originally from the United States, has still become a culinary icon of the U.S. For many families, it symbolizes important holidays such as Thanksgiving and July 4th.

Apple...Mac...get it?!

Anyways, in my family, pie isn't just a delectable treat, it represents the very essence of what my family considers important: food and spending time together. It is a ritual and a symbol. What do I mean by this? Since I can remember, we've baked pies together--blackberry pies in late august, pecan and yam pies for Thanksgiving, apple pies when the apple tree bloomed in the fall, and strawberry rhubarb pies for my mom's birthday. We even served blackberry pie at my sister's wedding a few years ago. Like many families out there, pie represents the ritual of the family coming together for holidays and special occasions, as something everyone can participate in for its creation, and eventually for everyone to enjoy.

Actually, since I'd like to dedicate this blog entry to my family, here's a little family photo back in the Croatian homeland. Here's to you, Blumraks!

So then, like my mother did for me, I want to pass on this very easy pie recipe. I think making a pie from scratch (including the crust) can be very daunting for people, and pie crusts often turn out not how we had hoped. In the tradition of passing on recipes and tricks of the trade to the next generation, I pass on to you my family's awesome apple pie recipe and secrets you can use to make any pie delicious.

This pie most closely resembles the original Dutch apple pie style, which includes cinnamon and sugar in the filling, and a lattice crust. Other styles include Swedish (which has no crust), English (which is more a pudding including raisins and figs and other scrumptables--new word I made up), and French (which is more of a tart). I warn you--this entry is a bit longer than the rest, but it's because I go into great detail about the preparation to make sure you know every step and every trick. The length doesn't mean it's difficult or that it takes awhile!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First, start with the insides. This way, you can let whatever you mixed in marinate and blend together (the berries with the sugar, or in this case, the apples with the cinnamon and nutmeg).

Here's what ya need:

• 6 cups apples, peeled and sliced--Granny smith apples have proven to be good for this
• 2 Tbs tapioca
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• A dash of nutmeg for good measure... Sometimes I even like to sprinkle some in my hair when I've had a rough week. What do you think holds it up?

Now mix these ingredients together. You know what my favorite thing about this recipe is? Almost all baking recipes require you to be so exact. Mix the dry ingredients. Then mix the wet ingredients. But oops! don't put in the butter before the egg or it will mix with the gluten in the flour too early..blah blah blah. It's too precise for my liking. But apple pie is different. Here are the ingredients. Mix 'em. Done. Or should I say afgelopen in Dutch?

Let these insides marinate and the tapioca to absorb all the juices. P.S. tapioca is great for all fruit pies--especially berry pies--because it soaks up the extra juices so your pie crust doesn't get soggy.

Now turn to your pie dough. For apple pie, I double this pie recipe so that I have the bottom shell and extra dough to lay over the top, either to make a lattice design or a sheet with cut out little apples.

Here's the recipe you can use for all pies (the bolded numbers are the doubled amounts for the apple pie):

• 1 1/2 cup flour --> Doubled= 3 cups
• 1/2 cup cold butter (or Crisco if you want to get really unhealthy but really delicious) --> 1 cup
• 1/4 tsp salt --> 1/2 tsp
• 1 tsp sugar --> 2 tsp
• 4 Tbs cold water (with ice cubes) --> 1/2 cup
• At least one cup shredded cheddar cheese (this is just for apple pie)

Now caution! This unfortunately, but highly necessary, is one of those recipes that you MUST mix the dry and wet ingredients separately first. And it is very important to keep the butter and the water cold, as these will determine how flaky your crust is (and believe me flaky is good).

So, mix flour, salt, and sugar.

If you have a pastry blender, great! You're life will be easier. If not, take the cold butter, take two sharp small cutting knives, and cut the butter into the flour, salt, and sugar. You know you're done when the butter has been evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture into very small little round balls (like smaller than the fingerprint of your pointer finger). The best chopping technique I found is to hold a knife in each hand, put the knives into the mixture with the points down, and sharp edges pointing away from each other. Then cross the knives and pull part. You can get going really fast at this and you will protect yourself from harm. You might find this ridiculous, but being a poor college student as I was all summer, this is what I did instead of buying a pastry cutter. And believe me, there is no way of getting around this step--cold butter is the most important thing!

For this apple pie,  I decided to put some cheddar cheese in the dough so that when it baked, the cheddar cheese was already baked in with it. Cheddar cheese and apple go together like...well you would be surprised, I promise! Use how ever much or little cheese as you like to your taste, but again, I would start with at least 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese mixed in. You're gonna find yourself wanting more.

Now add the cold water and continue to cut butter into dry mixture. Add cold water as needed (but try not adding too much as it will mess with the consistency. At a certain point, you're gonna say the hell with it, throw down the knives, and just get in there with your hands like grandma used to. Knead and grab the dough until it starts sticking to itself. Then, divide the dough into two even round balls.

Roll the first ball out onto a floured surface (either with a pastry roller or an empty/full-unopened wine bottle--I swear you can find cheap alternatives for anything in the kitchen). Roll the dough out until it covers your approximately 9 inch pie plate. You're gonna want it so that the dough falls into the plate with excess falling over the sides. Now take a sharp knife, and cut around the plate, cutting off the excess dough hanging off. If there are any holes or tears (which is expected) use this extra pie dough to cover them up, attaching with a dab of cold water. (No one will notice once its baked).

Now put in your filling.

Taking the other ball of dough, roll that out as well until it's big enough to cover the top of your pie. Once you have that, lay it over, cut off the excess all around, and fold the sides of the bottom shell over the top shell around the whole circle. Next, I like to take a fork and press in around the sides of the whole circle to make a nice design. Lastly, I cut an apple design in the top--this both looks nice, and allows hot steam to escape during the cooking process.  You can add whatever design you like, but make sure to poke some holes in the top to allow for this extra heat to escape.

Now your preparation is complete! All-in-all, this part only took me one hour. It's one of the easier, faster pies to make. Unless you're picking the apples yourself...

Put in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.


Then bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.


These times aren't exact, so just check often and you'll know it's done when the crust turns a light golden brown!

P.S. There is usually extra dough, so I like to roll out whatever is left, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar and roll into a log. Then I chop this into 1/2 inch thick cinnamon-sugar rolls and throw 'em in the oven with the pie for 8-10 minutes. You can munch on them while you wait for the pie!

P.P.S. For this pie, I had a LOT of extra dough so I decided to make a small apple-nut roll. I rolled out the excess dough, threw some left over chopped apples, some cinnamon, a handful of chopped pecans, and rolled it up like a log. I threw the log in and then chopped it up after taking it out of the oven.

Voila! Take out of the oven and enjoy. Hog it for yourself to enjoy or share it with friends and family.

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen

{fah-HEE-tah}. Or {fah-JAI-tah} if you're trying to mess with the waitress at your local Mexican restaurant

Dear Fellow Food Lovers,

I'm sorry for my 2-week hiatus. It was due to a combination of spring break and allergy season in the 'Springs. But alas, I start my return back to the blogging world with your good 'ol traditional fajitas.

Fajita. The fajita originally comes from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where during roundups, cowboys would butcher the cows to feed all the workers. The throw-away meat (e.g. hide, stomach, entrails, and skirt steak) was given to the vaqueros or "Mexican cowboys", who unfortunately, given the sentiments of the time, were not seen as equals to the white cowboys. But alas, they managed to make something delicious out of it, including the popular menudo you see in many street tacos, tripe, fajitas, and other such popular Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.

So if it's just leftover meat, why do we pay $18 for fajitas at Jose Muldoon's when we can make better one's at home! They are  simple and easy to put together on the spot, and great for big crowds. Not to mention that they are delicious!

To start, I made guacamole. Now this is not a necessary item to make for fajitas, but homemade guacamole is always a treat. For the guac I used these ingredients:

• 4 avocados (this made enough guacamole for two people's dinners, and 6 friends to "taste", i.e. inhale, and there was still some leftover)
• 1 small white onion (by small I mean touch your pointer finger to your thumb and its the size of the circle that makes)
• 1 lime
• A small heap of cilantro (I would say about 2 cups in total, but I edge on the larger portion of cilantro)
• 3 roma tomatoes
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper
• 1 large spoonful of Cumin (remember our friend cumin from my first blog entry?)
• Paprika (mainly for a nice decoration on top)

Now blend the avocados, 2 of the tomatoes, some of the cilantro and cumin in a blender. This will give your guacamole a creamy, milky texture. Now this step is not necessary, but I found that smashing the avocado took a lot of time and left the guacamole chunkier than I like.

Here is a visual comparison: the one on top was not made with a blender, and the one on the bottom was. They are both delicious, it's just a matter of preference--but they will definitely taste different!

 

After blending, mix in the last tomato diced into small pieces, the rest of the cilantro, the diced onion, a squeeze of lime, salt, pepper, and paprika on top. Mixing in these last ingredients as diced rather than blended will give your guacamole a nice appearance of red, white, and green colors (yay Mexican flag). They also add some firmer texture to the smooth creamy blend you have just prepared. Alright now guacamole done! Either snack on it with Tostitos while you make the fajitas, or put in the fridge for later consumption.

Now to the fajitas. I had two more of the small white onions so I chopped those up, along with one red bell pepper. I threw them in a pan along with about 3-4 tablespoons of butter. I start with these first because they take the longest to cook. Make sure to keep stirring, as the onions and bell peppers will burn easily and need to be moved around every minute or so. These cooked for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat. You'll know its ready when the onions turn a tan color and have a sweet taste to them (and they'll smell fantastic).

In between stirring the onions and bell pepper, I took the tortillas and placed them on a plate in the oven, set at 250 degrees F. Next, I began cooking the meat in a separate pan.

I first started cooking already chopped up beef I bought at the grocery store. The beef was labeled for stirfry, so I figured that would work for fajitas as well. WRONG. This beef was rubbery and tasteless. It tasted like day-old cheap Chinese beef, the kind that has a grayish color and takes forever to chew. No matter what spices I put in this beef, the texture and taste were awful. So, for the future, do NOT buy stirfry beef at the grocery store! Try to find skirt steak, beef labeled for fajitas, or just get thinly sliced cuts of beef, cook, and dice 'em yourself.

But! Do not fret about my fajitas. I had a package of already diced grilled chicken that I threw in the pan once discarding the beef. This chicken was already cooked and thus only took 4 minutes to heat up. I threw in a few tablespoons of butter, some pieces of cilantro, and some Mexican chile seasoning that included oregano, cumin, salt, chile pepper, and onion, and lastly a squeeze of lime. Stir, and it's ready!

Now each person takes out a warm tortilla from the oven, throws on some of that fabulous guacamole you made, a dollop of sour cream, the bell peppers and onions, a couple pieces of chicken, and Buen provecho (meaning to enjoy your meal)!

In total, the onions, bell peppers, and chicken made four well-stuffed fajitas. You also have the option of adding in shredded cheese, salsa, and rice and beans. I also considered making a corn-mango-cilantro-lime salsa that would have added an interesting sweet taste to the mix, but my mangos were frozen and would have taken too long to unfreeze. But, it's an idea for the future!

All-in-all, the guacamole took about 30-40 minutes to make (the chopping and the picking of the cilantro took the most time). Making the bell peppers and onions took about 20 minutes. And the meat, if already cooked, only takes 5 minutes, and if uncooked only takes about 10. If you're trying to use uncooked skirt steak (which I would suggest in honor of the original vaqueros who ate them) it will cook faster than if you were cooking a T-bone or rib-eye. In total, that gives us an upper estimate of 1 hour 15 minutes in total to prepare and cook guacamole and fajitas. Not too bad, right?

No go and try fajitas my little vaqueritos/as. You'll be surprised how easy and delicious they'll be!

As always,
Love & Churros