Cheeseaholics Anonymous

Anyone who knows me definitely knows that I am the ultimate cheeseaholic. I have never met a cheese I didn't like or wouldn't eat again and there is no cheese that I won't try. I would name you my all-time favorites but they are constantly changing as I try more and more cheese. However, the cheeses that you will pretty much always find in my refrigerator are blue cheese (preferably gorgonzola), feta, mozzarella (preferably whole not shredded), goat cheese, and some kind of cheddar cheese. However, my other main favs would be brie, camenbert, gruyere, fontina, havarti, muenster, pepper jack and manchego- delicious!

These are just the ones that I have more often, there are many other cheeses that I enjoy and I try to sample new ones as often as possible. In my new city of Palo Alto, I found this wonderful little market called "The Milk Pail" and they have a ton of cheeses and "specials" each week that are just awesome prices. I visited yesterday and got 6 different cheeses (which I am currently sampling all of them as we speak!) I thought I would share my awesome finds:

Domestic Gorgonzola Blue Cheese: "A creamy, succulent, sharp, and biting blue cheese. Gorgonzola is undoubtedly one of the finest and most famous cheeses in the world." I generally prefer Danish gorgonzola or roquefort blue cheese but this domestic one is pretty good. I mostly used it in salads but eating it by itself or with crackers is also very good. I got .7lbs for $3.90.

 Claudel Double Creme Brie: "This is a "double crème" soft cheese, rich in butter, whose rind is lightly covered with a white fuzz that hints of mushrooms." While the blue cheese was domestic, this is a french cheese. I am a sucker for soft, buttery cheeses and this one definitely lives up to that expectation. My favorite thing for brie is baked brie in a bread bowl! I got .525lbs for $2.62!! (This is a fantastic deal!)

Domestic Feta: "A domestic version of the Greek classic, made with a blend of sheep's milk and cow's milk. Used mainly in salads and recipes, this has to be one of the world's most versatile cheeses." Like blue cheese, I generally prefer the greek classic, but this domestic is very flavorful as well. As a side note, most feta cheese comes crumbled but buying it in block form is generally a lot cheaper and tastes just as good. I got .425lbs for $1.70- compare that to the crumbled in stores! 


These were ones I had tried before, now here are the new ones I am sampling. 
Prima Donna Gouda: "Prima Donna is a relatively mild style of a Dutch Gouda cow's milk cheese that is aged for one year. As compared to a four- or six-year Gouda, Prima Donna has a distinctly softer texture and a more subtle flavor. It has an ivory rind with a slight rose blush, a crystalline texture, and a sweet, nutty flavor with a caramel aftertaste. Prima Donna is a versatile cheese for pairing with wines yet it pairs especially well with bigger reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel." It was tasty, but I think I prefer other goudas I've had.

 Loleta Jack with Caraway: I couldn't find a description of this cheese, but basically it is a mild jack cheese with caraway seeds. I like the jack but I have discovered I'm not the biggest fan of caraway seeds. They have a ton of different varieties and I think I will try the jack with chiles next time.

Pacific Breeze Made from Goat & Cow Milk: "Flavor is complex with mellow and nutty taste." Of my three new samplings this was by far my favorite. I think it would be great in a cheese sauce, grated over salads or pasta, and it is delicious with just crackers or by itself. This one I will definitely be buying again!

My absolute favorite of these was the brie because I cannot resist brie. But other than that I think it was a tie for the gorgonzola and the goat/cow milk cheese. I always love suggestions of new cheeses to try so let me know if you have any favorites!

Prickly Pears

The new house we moved into has a wonderful backyard with a large cactus tree that grows prickly pears. We randomly decided to try one out, and they turned out absolutely delicious.
A prickly pear is the red bulbous fruit that grows on a cactus and is most commonly found in Mexico or the Western US. It is extremely juicy and flavorful and reminded us of a less sour guava. 
 One must use caution in picking a prickly pear so as not to get "pricked" by their very sharp  spines. The best way to pick prickly pear is with a strong pair of metal salad/barbecue tongs with the tips wrapped in duct tape. (Wrapping the tips prevents the tongs from piercing the skin).
Our first try we made a prickly pear cocktail with mint, honey, prickly pear juice and fresca. It was really refreshing and to jazz it up for a party, I would suggest adding a shot of tequila and maybe some orange juice. Our second go around, we decided to make a prickly pear vinaigrette with a prickly pear salad.

Here are the recipes:

Prickly Pear Vinaigrette
Combine all ingredients together:
Juice from the prickly pear
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
Honey
White wine vinegar
Olive oil

Prickly Pear Salad
Combine all ingredients together:
Cut Corn
Mixed greens
Red onions
Chunks of prickly pear
Cheese crumbles (whichever are your favorite)

 Toss both together and enjoy!

Another suggestion for prickly pears is the famous Prickly Pear Margarita. Here is a good recipe for one from Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network.

Game Day Feasts

My boyfriend and I are big Longhorns fans and this weekend their game against UTEP was not running on a channel we had at home so we went to a wonderful sports bar, the Old Pro. Watching everyone gobble down larger than life hamburgers, garlic fries, pizzas and tower nachos, it made me hungry for a game day feast of my own. Being on the more health conscious side, I wanted to create a feast that wouldn't ruin all of my hardwork. So for dinner we made grilled chicken sandwiches, garlic fries and a yummy salad. Here are the recipes:

(Served 2)
Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Caramelized onions and avocado
Marinate one chicken breast in your favorite BBQ sauce
While its marinating- prepare the onions and avocado
Put a little olive oil in a hot sauce pan with chopped onions, salt, pepper and a little sugar
The key to caramelizing onions is keeping it on a very low heat and let them simmer til they are perfectly done.
Slice the fresh avocadoes nice and thin and for some added heat we added thin slices of Serrano peppers.
Grill the chicken breast (about 5 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the middle but still juicy) and toast the sesame seed hamburger buns.
Cut  the chicken breast in half and place half a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on each half.
Assemble burgers with caramelized onions and avocado slices.

Garlic Fries
(for simplicity I got a frozen bag of waffle fries and baked them in the oven for about 25 minutes on 450)
Add to a mixing bowl: 2 gloves of garlic- thinly chopped, 2 tbs of olive oil, fresh parsley, and for some heat a little cayenne pepper, salt + pepper.
When fries are nice and crispy, slowly add to the bowl and mix so that all fries are evenly coated with the garlic mix.

Special Salad
Combine all ingredients and top with your favorite dressing (I used a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.)
Apple slices, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, sliced almonds, spinach and red lettuce leaves, and red onions.

We thoroughly enjoyed our feast and I hope you will too!

Farmer's Market

Until I moved to California, for some reason I am unsure of, I had never been to a real farmer's market. This one in Redwood City is like walking straight into a culinary heaven! It's only on Saturdays from 8am-12pm, but it is all wonderfully fresh produce, locally grown and is all really really reasonably priced. My favorite ingredients that I get every week (or when I run out) are: (and these are all $1 per bundle/ pound!) jalepenos, garlic, fresh herbs- basil, mixed chili peppers, cilantro etc., cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, etc. Other great items are the citrus fruits- lemons, limes, that are like 20c a piece! I also get exotic vegetables like various mushrooms- shiitake is exceptionally good! The fruit is unbelievably fresh - especially the peaches and nectarines are unlike any i've ever had before. The prices of the fruit are closer to grocery store prices but they are very much worth getting here as well!

You can also find homemade honeys, specialty pastries, homemade dips, and beautiful flowers- like these sunflowers we got for $5 a bundle! I look forward to the farmer's market every saturday now and I suggest to anyone who has never been, they are everywhere so find one close to you and check it out!

GRILLING MACHINE

I have learned from all different types of cooking methods, that grilling is by far my favorite. I use the grill for literally anything and everything. It is also one of the most healthy ways to cook, easy to do, and the flavors from the open fire make all foods taste so good. I have a grill pan that I cook vegetables in so they don't drop into the grill and it works fantastically.

Since I just moved into a house without a built in grill, my brother got me an outdoor gas grill that works so well and is very very affordable. I currently use it every night and I would be lost with out it! I am including this as one of my Essential pieces of equipment and this one was only $99!! (You do have to buy the gas separately, and filled its another $40).

Napa Valley- Elizabeth Spencer and Mustards Grill

For anyone who loves wine, they know that Napa Valley is the place to go! With over a hundred different wineries and tasting rooms, one can spend forever visiting and tasting wines. Now thanks to my wonderful father, I have been able to visit three times. One of the times we went we did a full blown "first trip to napa" visiting about 13 wineries a day. These included Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, Beringer, Peju, Opus One, V. Sattui, Silver Oak, Duckhorn, Elizabeth Spencer, Grgich Hills, Turnbull, Del Dotto (barrel tasting) etc. the list goes on an on. Of this trip, the most notable wine for its price and quality was at Elizabeth Spencer.
We tried a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Cuvee, which was absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced at $40 (you can find it cheaper at wholesale retailers.) It is described as having "excellent fruit extraction with delicious, ripe cherry flavors predominant on the finish of this classically structured wine." My dad and my brother bought a couple of bottles and are currently aging them. We recently went back there this past month for another trip and I now have a bottle of this wonderful wine that I will be storing in the wine cooler refrigerator that my mom got me!

This last trip to Napa we also visited one of what is now my top 10 favorite restaurants, the famous Mustard's Grill. The wait was absolutely ridiculous (for when we tried to make reservations they were already fully booked) but it was one of those places that you didn't mind waiting an hour and a half for.  We started off with their famous Onion Rings with house-made tomato-apple ketchup, which were very surprising for onion rings- light and crispy not heavy or greasy at all. Then my dad ordered the Half-Slab Barbecued Baby Back Ribs, pinot noir baked beans, cheddar-jalapeno corn stix (which is another famous dish). I tried his ribs and they were to die for- falling right off the bone.
I ordered the Tea-smoked Peking Duck with 100-almond onion sauce,  which was literally half a duck (anyone who ever orders duck knows they barely give you any meat at all) and this was the softest, most tender and flavorful duck I've ever had. It came with this delicious almond rice and curry sauce with fresh mango slices on top and it was just plain scrumptious. My boyfriend ordered the Grilled Balsamic Quail, goat cheese-fig toasts, arugula salad, which again was absolutely fantastic (of course I tried his too!) The quail was perfectly cooked and the combination of the arugula salad (which came fresh from their on-site organic garden) with the goat cheese and roasted fig toasts was so amazing that I have been eating goat cheese toasts pretty much every day since.
We ended with their other famous dish (yes we tried all of the favorites, who wouldn't?) the Lemon-Lime tart with a mountain of meringue. I am usually not a fan of lemon meringue, but this was so good that we polished it off even though we were already stuffed. While we did not try any of the wines, because we had been drinking since 10am and still had to drive back to Palo Alto, the overall meal was positively splendid and I cannot wait to take my mom back there when she comes to visit in October (this time I will make a reservation first!)

Ultimate Salad: Caprese

My absolute all time favorite salad without any doubt is a traditional caprese salad. It is by far the easiest salad to prepare, impossible to mess up and is good in any season (even though it is suggested to be only a summer salad).
It requires 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper) and takes approximately 5 minutes to prepare. However, it is very important that you have a good quality mozzarella (buffalo mozzarella is the ultimate but very hard to find) and a good quality olive oil. You want the tomatoes to be as fresh as possible and the basil leaves must also be fresh or it won't have the same zip. Thinly slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and top with basil leaves, salt and pepper. If you want to be fancy you can stack it and it you want to be super fancy add thin slices of prosciutto in between each layer. 

And if you want to make it into little appetizer bites for a party, you can use cherry tomatoes, little mozzarella balls and basil leaves and put them on a toothpick. In this case, pre-marinate the tomatoes and mozzarella balls in the olive oil and balsamic so when you skewer them they won't be dripping and will be easy to eat!

My Malbec

As I previously mentioned, I am not only an aspiring chef, but an aspiring sommelier as well. Just to note: A sommelier is "someone who orders and maintains the wines sold at a restaurant and usually has extensive knowledge about wine and food pairings." I absolutely love ALL wine and drink it as often as possible (without being an alcoholic of course!) I have had the pleasure of having really nice wines, such as a Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1990 (approx $160), as well as finding everyday gems like the Gascon Malbec 2006 from Argentina (approx $12).  My palate is still forming, and since my wallet adheres more to the "everyday gems" I have discovered that when trying to find wines to fit a smaller budget, looking outside of the Cabs, Merlots and Chardonnays one can find exceptional other varieties. My favorite being the Malbecs.

I can credit this to one of my very first tries at a malbec, the Ottone I Barbera Piemonte DOC 2006. It is described as "A ruby red colored wine with an intense, yet delicate nose of red fruits, flowers, and wood. On the palate, it has plenty of fleshy red cherry flavors and a pleasing, crisp finish. A great food wine, it will highlight your favorite pasta, pork, braised beef, and strong cheese dishes." In fact, we tried it with a delicious pepper jack cheese which really brought out the spicy flavors of the wine. It was absolutely scrumptious and I have been hooked on Malbecs ever since. I have gotten my mom into this trend as well and her current favorite is the Gascon Malbec 2006 previously mentioned above. (She actually ordered a case of it! Which is a great budget trick if you know you really like a wine.) It is a very drinkable wine and surprisingly goes well with meals you wouldn't traditionally serve wine with. For example, we have had it with both fajitas and enchiladas. If you would like to read more about Malbecs in general, here is a good article.

Bok Choy

I was never very familiar with bok choy until I found it on sale one day at the grocery store and thought I'd give it a try. It is generally used with asian cuisines, which I love to eat and cook, so I put it in a beef stir- fry. I absolutely fell in love with it and now I buy it as often as possible! I'm going to make it again tonight and thought i'd share the recipe. Another favorite from the food Network:

Beef with Soy Sauce, Ginger and Bok Choy

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce/ 225 gram) sirloin steaks
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pak choy or bok choy
• 8 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 a garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 lime, juiced
• Olive oil

Directions

On a very hot griddle pan, cook your seasoned piece of sirloin steak until medium or to your liking. Place in a plate and allow to rest for 2 minutes.
Now cook your greens in salted boiling water until tender.
While hot, douse with a good couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, and sprinkle with the garlic, ginger, chilli, lime juice and olive oil.
When the greens are cooked, simply divide onto two plates, thinly slice up the sirloin steaks, place on top of the greens and drizzle with any of the infused sauce left on the resting plate.

I will be adding mushrooms, spring onions, and thai chilies to the mix and serving with a side of white rice. Yum yum! 

 

Essential Equipment for the Kitchen

GLOBAL knives are absolutely positively essential and wonderful! My brother and his fiance are fantastic gift givers and they have given me two chefs knives, a pairing knife, and a bread knife from this GLOBAL series. They also got me this awesome stainless steel knife block to keep them safe in and this super sleek cutting board to go with it. While all of these items are a little on the pricey side, for anyone with even a little bit of seriousness when it comes to cooking, good knives and a good cutting board are absolutely essential!

While we are on essentials, there is one piece of equipment that I do not believe I could live without. My wonderful boyfriend gave me this and I am still inclined to believe it is one of the best presents I've ever gotten! They come in all different sizes and I currently have the mini (3-cup) and the 7-cup Cusinart food processors. They do absolutely everything you could imagine you would need them for and they are super easy to clean (the parts can go in the dish-washer). And these items are very affordable $39.99 and $99.99 respectively. This is an absolutely MUST HAVE!

The knife block, cutting board and food processor can all be found at  Bed, Bath and Beyond. If you are on their mailing list they will send you frequent 20% off of one item coupons that are absolutely wonderful when you want to splurge a bit!

Rodney Yee Yoga for Beginners

I have practiced yoga on and (very) off for the past few years, but I would still consider myself a beginner. I have tried both yoga classes and yoga DVDs and have always enjoyed them but found it difficult to keep a routine going. I have found that the yoga DVDs tend to fit in with my schedule better, as well as I generally feel more comfortable trying new or harder positions in the comfort of my own home! I have purchased four of Rodney Yee's yoga videos and I absolutely love them! They are all beginner/ intermediate poses and routines but each one completely different from the next and of varying lengths of time. I got all 4 DVDs and my yoga mat from my very favorite place, TARGET! They are very affordable, (3 DVDS came together in the POWER UP series for $29.99) and I definitely recommend them for anyone taking up yoga or getting back into it.

My Food Network Hero: Bobby Flay

While I love creating my own recipes, whenever I need inspiration or don't know how to make something in particular, I will in no doubt look to the Food Network. In fact, I can credit the inception of my love for cooking to the Food Network shows, especially to my hero Bobby Flay. You can watch him on any of these Food Network shows: "Boy Meets Grill," "BBQ with Bobby Flay," "Grill it! with Bobby Flay," "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," or "Iron Chef America." I was watching Boy Meets Grill today and he was grilling "flatbreads" (also known as pizza) and I was inspired to attempt my own pizza making night.
Here is one of Bobby Flay's recipes that is simple and easy to make. I think I will try a variation of this!

Grilled Flatbread with Ricotta cheese and roasted garlic oil

Roasted Garlic Oil:
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cloves roasted garlic

1 recipe Flatbread, recipe follows
1 (8-ounce) container ricotta cheese, drained
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 plum tomatoes, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil
Place oil and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain.
Flatbread:
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil, plus more for bowl
Mix water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand 5 minutes to proof. Gradually pour in 2 cups of the flour and stir to incorporate. Mix for about 1 minute to form a sponge. Let stand, covered, for at least an hour.
Put sponge in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, add the salt and oil, then add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dough. Remove from bowl and knead. Place in a clean oiled bowl and let rise, slowly, about 2 1/2 hours. Divide dough into 4 balls, if desired, let rise again for 1/2 hour, and then roll out as desired.
Flatten flatbread dough, gently press into a large rectangle, brush liberally with olive oil, and throw on grill. Grill on both sides until golden brown. Spread 1 side with ricotta, sprinkle with salt and pepper, scatter tomatoes over, drizzle with Roasted Garlic Oil, and garnish with basil and more freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 individual flatbreads or 1 large flatbread

Fresh Healthy Tip: 

You can use FAT-FREE or LOW-FAT ricotta to reduce both calories and fat content. Also, use the garlic oil sparingly! A little will go a long way.

25-Minute Miracle Workout

I am not a personal trainer, body builder or gym rat but I have tried almost every kind of cardio activity, weightlifting and sculpting exercises and exercise videos there are and I have created this workout for myself from a mix of everything I have tried. I have found that this quick but rigorous 25 minute work-out has really worked for me!

Here are the exercises. Do any order you want (besides the warm-up and cool-down) and feel free to mix up the variations to keep it fun!

For the weights, start light and build up as you go. Anywhere from 3-12 lbs will work well.

Warm-up

2 minutes Jog in place

(This is important to get your heart-rate up to start the workout.)

Exercises

1 minute of Alternating lunges and bicep curls simultaneously

Start with a weight in each hand, keeping your elbows pinned to your sides. While stepping into a lunge with your right foot (lower until your thigh is parallel to the floor), lift the weights up in front of your body. Lower the weights as you press through your legs back to the start. Alternate legs.

( A lesson learned from Jilian Michaels, it is important to work both big muscles and small muscles at once- burns more calories and works muscles more thoroughly).

1 minute of Jumping Jacks

( To really get your heart-rate up, cross legs back and forth while jumping)

1 minute of Basic Squat with Shoulder Press

1 minute Jump Rope with Alternating Punches

While "jumping rope" instead of keeping your arms by your side, alternate forward punches while feet jump up and down.

1 minute Alternating Side Lunges with Tricep Kickbacks

I couldn't find a picture that demonstrates these two together so here are the separate exercises and combine!

1 minute Circular Sit-ups

Start lying on your back with arms behind your head. Begin like you are doing an oblique crunch to one side, but then continue to circle around your abs slowly, first to the front, then to the other side then back to the oblique crunch. Alternate directions.

1 minute Bunny Hop

With both feet together and arms at a 90 degree angle by your side, jump forward, using your arms to propel you forward. Jump forward 5 times, then jump backwards five times. Continue until the minute is over.

1 minute Diagonal squats with lateral raise

On the down, lift arms straight up by your sides and return when back up.

1 minute BREAK/ get water

1 minute Dead lifts

(Use a heavier weight for this one if you can.)

1 minute Bicycle sit-up

1. Lie on your back with your knees at chest level and your arms flat on the floor.
2. Alternate extending your legs by extending one leg out straight and as you bring it in extend the other leg out.
3. Continue to repeat this process like you are riding a bicycle until the required repetitions are completed.
4. Make sure you keep your back flat during the movement. If you are unable to keep your back flat then reduce the extension of your legs.

(The importance of these are the technique, not how fast you go!)

1 minute Squat Thrusts

Perform the squat thrust by standing with your feet together and squat down with your arms outside your legs and your hands on the floor. Kick your feet backwards until you are in the push up position maintaining a straight back. Without pausing, jump your feet back forward between your hands and jump up lifting your hands straight up to the air.

1 minute Push-ups

(Do whatever level you can)

1 minute Ski-jumps

Stand with feet together. Bend the knees and jump to the right as far as you can--think of jumping laterally rather than vertically. Land with soft knees and immediately jump laterally to the left.

1 minute Hip-Thrusts

1. Lie on your back with your legs bent 90 degrees at the hip.
2. Slowly lift your hips off the floor and towards the ceiling.
3. Lower your hips to the floor and repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

1 minute Double Crunch

1. Lie back onto floor or bench with knees bent and hands behind head. Keep elbows back and out of sight. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest.
2. Start position: Hands behind head and knees bent at 90 degrees.
3. Leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominals and raise shoulders off floor or bench. During the crunch, also bring knees towards chest.
4. Return to the start position.

1 minute high-knees

1 minute BREAK/ get water

1 minute Pilates Swim

Lie on your stomach with the legs straight and together.
Keeping your shoulder blades settled in your back and your shoulders away from your ears, stretch your arms straight overhead.
Pull your abs in so that you lift your bellybutton up away from the floor.
Reaching out from center, extend your arms and legs so far in opposite directions that they naturally come up off the floor. At the same time, get so much length in your spine that your head moves up off the mat as an extension of the reach of your spine. Keep your face down toward the mat; don't crease your neck.
Continue to reach your arms and legs out very long from your center as you alternate right arm/left leg, then left arm/right leg, pumping them up and down in small pulses.
Coordinate your breath with the movement so that you are breathing in for a count of 5 kicks and reaches, and out for a count of 5.

1 minute calf-raises with chest pull

1 minute Plank

(Advanced option: Alternate pulling knee into chest while maintaining plank position).

Cool-Down

2 minutes Sun Salutation