Some like to spend their money on sex, drugs and alcohol. I choose clothes.

Today my office closed early due to "inclement weather." It's funny because this weather isn't all that bad-- but I think corporate doesn't mind letting us out because my company is based out of Princeton, NJ and they have had a lot of snow days lately. We Californians never get a snow day... so I guess it's time we get one :)

Anyways... It's pouring, I'm at home balancing my "checkbook" (although I don't actually use those books anymore. I just check my statements online). I don't know about you but I keep track of my spending as a habit. In fact, when I'm bored, I total up all of my credit card debts (let out a little cry about it -- yes every time), how much actual cash I have and calculate how much money I have left for "fun." (And charitable giving of course)

I think in February, my back account hemorrhaged.
If my life in February were like a MasterCard commercial, it would go something like this:

Rent: $700
Phone: $100
Cable: $65
Car: $260
1 Ticket to Coachella: $300
2 Tickets to Alicia Keys: $190
2 Tickets to Dave Matthew Band: $170
1 Ticket to Bon Jovi: $30
Trip to NYC for 3: $1600
Anthropologie: $160
Marshalls: $100

Sarah: Heart Attack. (That doesn't even include groceries, gas or tithes - I don't complain about my tithes because I don't want God to punish me... haha. All joking aside, I am very grateful for what I have).

I like to look at it this way... some people like to spend their money on drugs, sex and alcohol. I like to spend mine on concert tickets and clothes. So, if I ever end up broke on the streets, at least it won't be because of substance abuse.

If you are reading this and you are a single male ages 25-35 and a millionaire... call me. I am a housewife in training.

Did I just share too much? Oh well. I don't care. I'm high on cake batter.

Sweat and Tears

Four hours. That's how long I labored over Gumbo today. You might be wondering why I would put myself through such hardship. That's what my dad asked me when I told him what I was doing. Well, believe it or not, I actually find it rewarding when I take on a challenging dish and the end result is not a disaster. I seldom cook. During the week, I usually will eat baked tilapia because it's easy and cooks fast or  spam and eggs. So, when I do take the time and money to cook my motto is go big or go home... I'm kind of like an Olympian that way ;). I used Emeril Lagasse's recipe, found in my previous blog (that includes recipe for the roux and the seasoning).

ROUX: THE MARATHON

Roux (pronounced Roo), is the key ingredient in Gumbo. Roux is the thickening agent for the stew and also gives Gumbo that unique sort of nutty flavor. Roux is oil and flour cooked over medium heat constantly stirred for at least one-hour and a half. When the directions say stir constantly, they are serious. The roux gets really hot and if you let it sit for a couple seconds, parts of it will burn and you have to start all over. It's important to use a pan that will hold heat well, like a dutch oven. Use a wooden spoon or a silicon whisk to stir and make sure you scrape the sides and the bottom.

A couple of tips if you dare to make roux:

• Silicon whisk scrapes the sides much better than a wooden spoon.
• Make sure you have drinking water and some sort of snack because you'll be standing over that stove for a long time.
• Maybe have a stool nearby if you get tired.
• Be very careful because the roux is very very hot and when it splashes on you, it burns for a long time.

You can make different colored rouxs for different types of Gumbo. I made a Medium Dark Roux.

Roux at different stages

Once the roux is done, you can move on to actually make the gumbo.

GUMBO

The Gumbo itself is fairly easy. I highly recommending chopping everything (the onions, green bell peppers, celery, green onion, basil and parsley) ahead of time. Make "Emeril's Essence" ahead of time as well. This seasoning calls for paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. I did not have cayenne pepper, I used chili powder instead.

Heat one cup and half of roux and add the onions, bell peppers and celery (a.k.a the trinity). Be careful because the roux can burn at this point. You add the garlic and slowly whisk in 8 cups of chicken stock. You simmer that for 50 minutes and in the meantime season the shrimp with Emeril's Essence seasoning. Then add the shrimp and crab and cook for another five minutes. I only used a little bit of crab because it's pretty expensive.

Serve over warm rice and there you have it... a taste of N'aw 'Leans.

The dish turned out well. My dad came over for lunch and had some as well and he liked it which says a lot to me because he is very critical. I don't think I will be making this again if I didn't have ready made roux.

Making Gumbo has given me a whole new appreciation for New Orleans cuisine. This blog is dedicated to those who are assigned the keeper of the roux.

CRISPY WON-TONS IN CINNAMON SUGAR

I have leftover won-ton wraps from when I made dim sum. My mom used to fry won-ton wraps and put powdered sugar on them. I sort of made my own version of that and rolled the won-ton in cinnamon sugar (that's just cinnamon and sugar mixed together). I then served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and raspberries :)

Go Apolo! (I'm currently watching Olympics)

Breakfast for Dinner - Oh What a Treat!

I love breakfast. I never eat breakfast, but I love the dishes served during breakfast time; eggs, potatoes, sausage and bacon. For dinner, I wanted to make something simple and easy so I decided to make breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is a treat and I needed to make myself feel better because I spent nearly $70 on ingredients for this weekend's Gumbo!

Potato and Chorizo Omelette with a Kinda Parsley Salad
I used another Jamie Oliver recipe, but slightly altered it.

Jaime's Ingredients:
- 4 Small waxy potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 Large Free-range or Organic Eggs (Jamie Oliver's got this thing about eating all organic, etc. I obviously think organic is too expensive).
- 2 x 2 ounces good-quality of Spanish chorizo sausages cut into 1/2 inch slices.
     **I'm not sure what 2 x 2 ounces means and I couldn't find Spanish chorizo at Safeway so I used   Spanish Linguisa. I think it's the same thing. I bought the 16 oz package and used half. Cooking requires way too much math.
- 2 Sprigs of fresh rosemary.
     **I used dry, but fresh probably would've been better.
- 2 Shallots, peeled and very finely sliced.
     **Jamie's recipe did not call for onions or shallots in the omelette itself, but I put green onions.
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
**I also added shredded parmesan cheese in the omelette. I love cheese.

Directions:

Heat the oven to broil. Boil potatoes until cooked then drain and steam dry.
Heat a non-stick oven proof pan, add chorizo slices and potato chunks.
     **Here's what I did wrong. I did not realize you had to put the boiled potatoes in with the chorizo, and I overcooked the potatoes so they were falling apart. As a consequence, I did not get my potatoes crisp so my omelette lacked some texture.

Take potatoes and chorizo out. In the chorizo oil, put rosemary then pour beaten eggs, chorizo and potatoes into the pan. Put in the oven until golden brown or cooked through the middle.
      **The dish cooks really fast. I think I had mine in the oven for 15 minutes and that was too long because it was a bit dry. I also did not have an oven proof skillet so I had to use the Dutch Oven and the dish was stuck to the bottom.

While omelette is in the oven, thinly slice the shallots. Put in some olive oil and lemon juice and let sit. Let the shallots pickle for a bit then add the parsley.

Voila! Dish is done. Serve with the pickled shallots and parsley on top. I ate the dish with a dollop of sour cream because, why not. My brother ate some and he put ketchup.

I LOVED the pickled shallots -- it definitely made the dish more interesting.

I would definitely make this dish again. I think I may add more cheese next time :)

I Hate to Admit it... Dessert

I hate to admit it, but I really like The Barefoot Contessa: Ina Garten. She is so snobby. To me, she embodies Whole Foods, but I wish I had her house in the Hamptons and her fabulous kitchen.

I got this dessert idea from her show today because I stayed home to work and of course, being the awesome multi-tasker that I am, I watched while I worked.

I don't know what it's called but, it's basically melted vanilla ice cream, store bought chocolate cake (no frosting) and raspberries.

I used store bought brownies instead. It's basically brownies and ice cream, but you can make it look a little more sophisticated. I bet if I put it on a shallow plate and used raspberry syrup and drew some sort of pattern over the sauce it would look like an expensive dessert. 

It was delish. I urge you to try it.

Bon-a-petit!

Quadruple jump spinning thingy? Pshhh, that's easy! Like the Big Easy (lame pun intended)

This weekend's culinary challenge is an ode to N'aw 'Leans it is February after all-- the month we celebrate Mardis Gras. I, however, am celebrating doing my very own tax returns for the first time ever. I'm glad with the money I'm getting back and have already spent it in my head. That is the American way.


Anyways... I will be attempting Gumbo and will be using Emeril's recipe. I thought I'd share it with you. Perhaps you would like to embark on this challenge with me and you can let me know how yours turned out. Gumbo seems like a difficult dish to make so cross your fingers for mine because if it turns out decent, I just might invite you over for dinner :) 


P.S. I'm up watching the Olympics-- men's figure skating to be exact. It's unfortunate they are airing it so late-- unfortunate for the fans: old women and gay men. My personal favorite is Johnny Weir. The commentators often describe him as doing things "on his own terms." Unconventional  I guess... or dare I say rebel? Of course. Only in figure skating will the rebel be someone who wears sequence and feathers. Suck it Russia. U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!
Emeril's Country File Gumbo

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2005

Prep Time:

45 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 15 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

3 quarts

Ingredients

•                1 1/2 cups Medium Dark Roux, see How To Roux, recipe follows

•                2 cups diced onions

•                1 cup diced celery

•                1 cup diced green bell pepper

•                1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

•                2 quarts shrimp, crab or chicken stock

•                1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds, browned in a skillet, and drained on paper towels

•                2 bay leaves

•                1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

•                Dash hot sauce

•                1/4 teaspoon cayenne

•                1 1/2 teaspoons salt

•                3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•                2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

•                1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

•                1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage

•                1/3 cup green onion tops, chopped

•                1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves

•                2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

•                1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves

•                1/2 cup file powder, or to taste

•                Steamed White Rice, for serving

Directions

Heat the roux in a medium-sized heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions, celery and bell pepper. Stir mixture until onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the browned sausage, bay leaves, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

Bring gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until gumbo is slightly reduced, about 50 minutes. (Gumbo should cook long enough for the roux flavor to mellow and for any floury taste to dissipate.)

Season the shrimp with the Essence in a small bowl. Stir in the seasoned shrimp, crabmeat, green onions, parsley, thyme and basil. Cook until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Sprinkle in file powder and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more, or pass file at the table for guests to thicken as desired. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Serve in warmed soup bowls over steamed white rice.

How to Roux:

3 cups vegetable oil

5 cups all-purpose flour

Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.

For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter. Remove about 1 cup of the light colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for the Delmonico's Seafood Okra Gumbo.

For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready. Remove about 13/4 cups of the medium colored roux, cool completely, and set aside for Emeril's Country File Gumbo.

For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready. Remove all of the remaining dark roux from the pan and cool completely. Set aside for the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.

Yield: about 4 1/2 cups roux

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Inactive Prep Time:

NOTE: The timings for various shades of roux will vary depending on the cooktop as well as the amount of roux made. (A smaller amount will cook in much less time.) If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Hot Plate: Dim Sum Give Me Some

Chinese New Year is this month and every year my family celebrates by going out for Dim Sum. I'm not Chinese, but all of my step-in-laws are. I love Dim Sum and what I love about Chinese New Year is that all of the married people have to give the non-married people -- like me -- money. Props to the Chinese for rewarding us singles on this very month we celebrate love. Unfortunately this year, my family will be going out for a regular Chinese dinner instead of Dim Sum, so I decided to host my own Dim Sum get together with some friends-- on a Thursday. What was I thinking?!?

I guess I was thinking Asian food doesn't typically take long to make, unlike those braised French dishes. The preparation however, is time consuming even if you're just making dinner for four.

On the menu (everything is practically wrapped in a won-ton):

Pork and Shrimp Sui Mai (pronounced Shoo-My) - The filling called for shrimp, ground pork, sesame oil, garlic, green onions, Sherry (but I used Brandy because I didn't have Sherry), egg whites, corn starch and soy sauce. Mince the ingredients together in a food processor and plop a tablespoon of it onto a round wonton wrap, then steam. Here's how it turned out:

SIKE!! That's the picture from Tyler Florence's book where I got the recipe. Here's mine -- in all defense, Safeway only had square wonton wraps which made it very difficult to wrap.

Put the steamer over an inch or two of boiling water in a Wok for 10-12 minutes. It tasted ok. Much better than I expected. I concocted a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and chili sesame oil.

Budah's Vegetable Delight in Ginger Infused Chicken Broth - This dish is a hybrid of two dishes. Budah's Delight is the vegetable version of Sui Mai, except that the wrapping is closed. The filling consists of leeks, carrots, baby bok choy, shitake mushrooms (which I substituted for oyster mushrooms due to Safeway's limited selection). The veggies are roughly chopped and stir fried first in sesame oil, then let cool to room temperature, then put in a food processor. 

Mine turned out really watery. Egg whites and corn starch is suppose to bind the filling, but it was still to runny. Wrapping the darn things was a very messy process. I steamed the delights and served it in the ginger infused chicken broth.

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps - This recipe I got from Rachel Ray which I highly recommend. The dish is easy and delicious! Rachel Ray the person kind of annoys me with her bad wardrobe and her acronyms, but I really do like this recipe. Lettuce wraps aren't typically served in Dim Sum, but I have made this before and I had to have something I knew would taste good. 

Hoisin (Chinese barbecue sauce) is what makes this dish very flavorful. You could probably put hoisin on anything to give it that distinct taste associated with China... even put it on bacon maybe?

Because I had a lot of leftover shrimp, I stir fried it with some fancy green and yellow string beans I got at the Grocery Outlet (thanks to Molly).

Lots of prep work required the night before and as usual I was up until 1:00 a.m. -- but the guests were happy, or at least they were nice enough to pretend to like my food.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

(Happy New Year)

Hot Plate! Salads that take too long to make and Lil' Wayne

I was in a pouty mood today because the weekend that I had been looking forward to since last winter is not happening, so to make myself feel better (or at least get myself distracted), I decided to cook. I have reached a turning point in my life. For the first time ever, I did not go shopping to make myself feel better, instead I cooked and I blogged. I can't decide if I should jump for joy or weep. I have taken my first step to recovering from a shopping addiction, and simultaneously took my first step to becoming Paula Dean. I guess that's not so bad. Everyone loves Paula Dean-- but that's because she can actually cook. I would just be a sad pathetic version of Ms. Dean. With that said, I made Roast Carrot Salad with Avocado and Orange and Lemon Dressing. I know what you're thinking, salad! Pssshh! That is so easy. I admit it was not difficult but it took longer than it should have. Salads should NOT take longer than 30 minutes to make Jaime Oliver!

Here's how it went down:

I roasted these sort of different colored carrots (although I'm starting to doubt that the yellow-ish ones were carrots because it tasted weird. I think it's parsnip!)

Before I popped the carrots in the oven, the recipe called for some sort of cumin marinade/dressing. I mixed cumin seeds, garlic, thyme, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a mortar and pestle. Ok, well that's what I would have used, had I had a mortar and pestle. I  had to improvise and use the back of a spoon and when that didn't work I threw it in a Ziploc and smashed it with a can.

I coated the carrots with the cumin marinade prior to roasting. While the carrots roasted (for 30 minutes!), I read my latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine and Lil' Wayne was on the cover. I learned -- while roasting carrots -- that Lil' Wayne is going to prison for 12 months for gun possession. Has he learned nothing from T.I. and other rappers before him?!? He said he's "looking forward to" prison. In case you were wondering who is Lil' Wayne, here's a picture. I must warn you, he has got one ugly mug. Also, please note that I'm not really a Lil' Wayne fan, he just happened to be on the cover of my mag.

Now that you've lost your appetite looking at Lil' Wayne's tatted body, here's the final product in comparison to the one in Jaime Oliver's book. Once the salad is assembled, the recipe called for a dollop of sour cream. The dressing is made with orange and lemon juice that I roasted halved along with the carrots.

I don't think I will make this winter salad again. The cumin gave this salad a Moroccan flavor and it was interesting, however, I think it was too much work for something that's not a main dish.

I leave you with this advice: If the recipe calls for cumin seeds, you can probably get away with cumin powder because the recipe will probably ask you to crush the seeds anyway. That's what Jaime Oliver did to me. He had me get cumin seeds, just to have me smash them when I could've bought them pre-pulvarized.

Ok, one last thing for you to think about...

Lil' Wayne's body is literally covered in tattoos. Where is he going to put the new tattoos he'll get while in prison?

Hot Plate! I judge books by its cover

I initially did not plan on cooking this weekend because two days ago, I went to my dad and stepmom's house for dinner and as always brought back bags of leftovers. Whenever they cook for the family, they make dinner for 50 people instead of 14. The meal is comprised of three main dishes and rice. I, of course feel guilty for not eating each dish because they went through the trouble of preparing the food so I end up consuming more than I should. They really are holding me back from my dream of becoming a Victoria's Secret model. Who knows, I could have had my own version of Project Runway by now. Better yet, I could have been Padma Lakshmi and host Top Chef-- lookin' hot and eating for a living. Can you imagine being Padma? Having guys salivate over you instead of repulsed by you when you lick a heaping spoon of chocolate ice cream, or when you consume an entire container of sour cream? At least that's what I would do if I were Padma.

Enough about my delusions and more about cooking. I purchased a new book over the weekend, Jamie Oliver's Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life. This is an instance in which I judged the book by its cover. I spent almost $40 on a book I did not need, but liked how it looked... why? I guess because I'm shallow like that.

I tested out two recipes from this book.

WARM CONCERTINA SQUID WITH GRILLED LEEKS AND A WARM CHORIZO DRESSING
I drove around town just to make this salad. The produce isle at Safeway is quite pathetic-- plus they did not have any squid. Not even the frozen kind. So, I went to Whole Foods in search of baby leeks, squid and different colored carrots. I never knew that carrots came in a different color other than orange! (The carrots are for a different dish I haven't made yet). Once I had gotten to Whole Foods a.k.a Whole Paycheck, I figured I'd buy the rest of the items there. Unfortunately for my wallet, I had to buy everything organic because they only sell organic (although I think they hide the non-organic produce to trick you), so I ended up spending twice as much!

This dish is found in the "Winter" section of Jaime at Home. I chose to make this dish because it seemed simple and healthy -- but the dressing was made from chorizo and chorizo grease, so I guess that just cancelled it all out.

I had some doubts about this dish, especially the dressing. The dressing is made of chorizo, balsamic vinegar, garlic and rosemary. I wasn't sure how the combination of chorizo and balsamic would taste-- but it was fantastic! I guess I shouldn't question Jaime, just do as he says. There were, however, some cons to this dish as well -- radicchio. I am declaring that I do not like this read leafy cabbage because it is too bitter. I can never understand people who like the taste of bitter (bitter melon for instance). It's just wrong.

Radicchio: Bitter like an ex-wife or ex-husband.

A side-by-side comparison. To the right is what my dish SHOULD have looked like. I couldn't find baby leeks anywhere.

I would definitely make this dish again minus the radicchios. Radicchios are now next to cilantro and parsley in foods I hate.

I don't know if it's because I'm new to cooking, but dishes like this one, seem too laborious for the end result.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH MUFFINS WITH A FROSTY TOP

These muffins are a lot like carrot cake-- in fact I think if no one told me it was butternut squash, I would think they were carrot cake. This recipe was pretty simple. I also had some doubts about this dish because the frosting called for half a cup of sour cream! Sour cream in a frosting sounded strange to me. Then I thought, who knows, these Brits come up with weird stuff. The cakes were tasty, the frosting however, was a bit too sour for me. The recipe called for two big table spoons of confectioner's sugar-- but I must've used 2 cups because I had difficulty balancing the sweetness and sourness of the frosting. I made these muffins for my co-workers.

As you can see, my sad little muffin looks nothing like the picture next to it. Instead of putting dried lavender on top, I put chopped walnuts. Let's face it, where am I going to get dried lavender besides a potpouri mix?

I used Valentine's paper I got for Christmas :)

Now I'm off to plan my meal for company on Thursday.

Happy cooking!

P.S... Prior to my cooking craze, I spent way below $100 a month for groceries... but I also age eggs and noodles a lot for dinner. Now, I'm spending almost $50 a week!

P.S.S... Salads do NOT make good lunches the next day.