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Hello people of the internet! Thanks for stopping by. I think San Francisco is one dirty city, but I love it here. I'm a 9-5er with a mission to eat, drink, and travel as often as my resources allow. Documenting it is part of the fun.

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Posts Tagged ‘contest’

Kitchen Play : Pork Sirloin Tip Roast in Garlic Cream Sauce

It has been awhile since we participated in Kitchen Play, so we jumped at the chance to use the ingredient for this month – Pork! We took a shot at adapting the small plates course – Roasted Pork Loin prepared by Paula of Bell’Alimento. We used a pork sirloin tip roast that we picked up from Costco. It ended up being the main dish for the evening, served over pasta.

Kitchen Play - Pork

Pork Sirloin Tip Roast with Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
2 pound pork sirloin tip roast
kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup beer [we used Asahi Dry]
1/2 cup half and half

Kitchen Play

Directions:
Brine sirloin tip roast in kosher salt brine solution [1/2 cup salt for 2 quarts water] for two hours. Dry off the roast and coat with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. In a cast iron pan, melt butter and brown the pork on all sides over medium-high heat.

Kitchen Play

Once browned, roast in oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until the pork is 145 degrees on the inside. Remove roast from pan.

Kitchen Play

In the same pan [with the drippings], saute garlic. Add beer, half and half, and reduce by half. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Slice pork into 1/2-inch pieces. Top with sauce.

Since we didn’t have cannellini beans as suggested by the original recipe, we used pasta. The sauce came out on the richer, saltier side, and the pasta helped to balance that out. We have a few more of those roasts to use, so we’ll definitely try this one again.

Each month, Kitchen Play hosts a sponsored Progressive Party with six food bloggers assigned to create a dish incorporating the same product into one of the following courses: cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entrée (main course) and dessert. At the end of the month, a contest is held for blog posts and recipes inspired by the creations in each course. This month’s sponsor is the National Pork Board.

Kitchen Play : Apple Parfait

Since we bought the Costco pack of apples, it’s time for yet another entry for this month’s Kitchen Play. This time I’m looking for inspiration from the Apple Parfait recipe from Brandy of Nutmeg Nanny. Another recipe perfect for the weather we’re having.

Apple Parfait

Ingredients:
1 Gala apple, chopped into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice [used a Meyer]
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
8 oz. Daisy cottage cheese

Directions:

Take chopped apples and combine with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and vanilla in a bowl. Stir and let sit for 30 minutes.

Apple Parfait

Heat the mixture over the stove for about ten minutes or until the apples are soft but not falling apart. The sugar mixture should thicken up a bit too. Remove from heat and let cool. In a glass jar [I used a mug], add a spoon full of the cooled apple mixture and then a large spoonful of cottage cheese on top – continue until you reach the top of your jar!

Apple Parfait Apple Parfait

Tastes better than it looks, I promise! It’s hard to make cottage cheese look pretty, but I used Daisy cottage cheese because I like it a lot more than yogurt. Best of all, it is made of just three ingredients! Look at the label – it says cultured skim milk, cream, and salt. That’s it.

If you’re wondering what the dark purple substance is in the middle of the layers, it’s huckleberry preserves that my coworker brought back from a recent trip. Quite a tasty addition to the parfait!

Apple

Each month, Kitchen Play hosts a sponsored Progressive Party with six food bloggers assigned to create a dish incorporating the same product into one of the following courses: cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entrée (main course) and dessert. At the end of the month, a contest is held for blog posts and recipes inspired by the creations in each course. This month’s sponsor is the U.S. Apple Association.

Kitchen Play : Honey Apple Faux-jito

My favorite season is here! For San Francisco, it means that it is time to bust out with the sun dresses and shorts. The past week has been absolutely gorgeous, and while the earlier half of today was an exception, it should be nice and warm the rest of the week.

With this warm weather, I decided to base my entry for this month’s Kitchen Play on the Apple Mojito recipe from Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen. It’s super refreshing and perfect for the weather we’re having.

My recipe is short because it really is that simple!

Honey Apple Faux-jito

Ingredients:
3/4 oz mint
6 Gala apples
a Meyer lemon
lots of ice
honey to taste
1 liter of sparkling water

Honey Apple Faux-jito

Directions:

Juice the apples. Strain into a pitcher. Juice the lemon into the pitcher.

Honey Apple Faux-jito

Add mint and muddle. Add ice. Add the sparkling water and honey to taste.

Honey Apple Faux-jito

I ended up making a pitcher of this honey apple faux-jito, which Ryan and I polished in the evening. Guess we were thirsty! The version I made only had four apples, so the apple flavor was more subtle. I used a teaspoon of honey, which added just enough without being too sweet. Honey flavor without the honey sweetness. It’s really up to you how you want to make it. I was also pleased to have another chance to use the SodaStream!

Each month, Kitchen Play hosts a sponsored Progressive Party with six food bloggers assigned to create a dish incorporating the same product into one of the following courses: cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entrée (main course) and dessert. At the end of the month, a contest is held for blog posts and recipes inspired by the creations in each course. This month’s sponsor is the U.S. Apple Association.

#TravelNeeds Contest

#TravelNeeds PC Housing Travel Contest
How to enter:
Tell us the one thing you can’t travel without, and be entered to win a FREE 3-night stay at The Signature at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, courtesy of PC Housing, a San Diego corporate housing company with short-term rentals available nationwide. ENTER NOW through Friday Aug 12th for your chance to win!

My entry:
Camera with full battery power – charger optional! It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I enjoy capturing the moments as reminders of where I’ve been and what I’ve done. If it’s a short trip, I can usually get away with charging up beforehand, but on longer trips, I bring the chargers and adapters with me.

There have been occasions where I have left my charger at home, and this resulted in me spending time locating a store in which a charger could be bought! Since it’s cost me a pretty penny, it’s at the top of my packing list. I don’t usually forget anymore.

Enter the contest at the link above! I’d love to hear your answers too, so drop me a comment below.

Kitchen Play : Tiger Prawn on a Kiwi Raft

We drove up to visit Ryan’s dad over the long holiday weekend and decided to bring the latest Kitchen Play ingredient up with us – kiwis! We tackled the amuse bouche. The recipe that would inspire our own creation was prepared by Monica of Sweet Bites.

We used tiger prawns instead of lobster and substituted the scallion mayo with a lighter kiwi salsa. Because they resembled rafts rather than boats, we also switched out the name.

Tiger Prawn on a Kiwi Raft

Tiger Prawn on a Kiwi Raft [with Kiwi Salsa]

Ingredients:
1 dozen tiger prawns, peeled
1 tbs cold unsalted butter

6 kiwis
1/2 cucumber
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup cilantro
2 tbs lime juice
salt
pepper

Kiwis

Directions:

Kiwi Rafts:
Take four kiwis and take the three largest slices from each. Remove the skin if desired.

Kiwis

While it makes for a lovely photo, I prefer my kiwi without the fuzzy skin.

Kiwi Salsa:
Combine the cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Either chop by hand or use a food processor to chop into small chunks. Peel the two other kiwis and the ends of the other four kiwis used for the rafts. Dice the kiwis and add to the mixture. Add lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste.

Kiwi Salsa

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the kiwi salsa turned out. Ryan used a mango salsa recipe he found and substituted mango with kiwi instead. It’s definitely milder in flavor since a kiwi tends not to be as sweet and tangy as a mango.

The salsa also looks pretty neat. The seeds look like sesame.

Prawns:
Preheat the pan to medium-low heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Add prawns and sautee them until just done [not overcooked].

Assemble and serve. Kiwi raft. Prawn. Kiwi Salsa.

Tiger Prawn on a Kiwi Raft

The dish passed the audience test! Ryan’s dad gave us the thumbs up on this one. Usually we leave these experiments for ourselves.

Prior to this contest, I hadn’t thought of using kiwifruit in cooking. I usually keep it simple, cutting them open and enjoying the insides with a spoon. This was a recipe experiment that I would try again, perhaps with riper kiwifruit.

Each month, Kitchen Play hosts a sponsored Progressive Party with six food bloggers assigned to create a dish incorporating the same product into one of the following courses: cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entrée (main course) and dessert. At the end of the month, a contest is held for blog posts and recipes inspired by the creations in each course. This month’s sponsor is ZESPRI kiwifruit, which are in season from summer until November. Here are ten reasons to go out and buy some kiwis if taste isn’t enough of a reason for you: Vitamin C, Fiber, Potassium, Low Glycemic Index, Antioxidant, Folate, Magnesium, Lutein, Zinc, Vitamin E.