alphanovember:

Nomming on all the midnight carbs. #foodwechew

This is fun, check out my vine: https://vine.co/v/b2iF1Ft9l7z

After a long day of traveling, there’s nothing quite like coming home and having a nice meal you made yourself. Even if it is at midnight. 

Roasted Garlic Alfredo with tri-color rotini, peas, tomatoes, chicken and red peppers. Garnished with some fresh basil. 

alphanovember:

First #pesto of the season, and it tastes delicious with beer fest pretzels. #foodwechew (at Historic South Bloodworth)

One of the things I adore about cooking is the ability to substitute ingredients. Baking, I feel, has a lot less leeway in that particular area. (Although I’m sure there’s a pin on Pinterest somewhere out there just waiting to prove me wrong). Another thing I adore? Pesto. (Excellent segue, Patelectable). 

Pesto means warm weather. It means long, lazy, golden afternoons that stretch out into evenings. It means cold beers on my patio and gallons of sweet tea. It also means pollen until trees start blooming, but that’s neither here nor there. 

I enjoy experimenting with with different proportions in my pestos. I don’t actually LIKE a traditional pesto—it ends up being very strong and overwhelming and not very fresh tasting. 

I also don’t actually measure the proportions of any ingredients I used, it’s a terrible habit and i’m sorry. 

- handful of sliced almonds

- two or three handfuls of fresh basil leaves

-handful of peas (fresh or frozen is fine) 

- a sprig or two of mint leaves

- 2 cloves of garlic 

- 1 juiced lemon 

- generous drizzle of olive oil. (this is added gradually, you need to keep an eye on the consistency of the pesto and you add more as you want). 

- grated parmesan cheese 

- salt and pepper 

the great thing is that EVERYTHING is interchangeable. you could use walnuts or pistachios. (i’m going to use those next time). you can use shallots. orange or lime juice. mint or no mint. oregano. i don’t know, sun dried tomatoes. the thing is, it’s all going to taste awesome when you have some really great extra virgin olive oil. 

I made this the other day. It’s grilled salmon topped with a poached egg and dusted with cayenne and tarragon. Both the asparagus and the salmon were grilled the night before, for dinner. Hooray for leftovers! This proves that you can put a poached egg on just about anything and turn it into breakfast.

I’m not sure if I’ve shared my egg poaching tips before, but after research, I’ve learned some tricks to help with a consistent result. 

- Vinegar helps coagulate the egg whites. I’ve used red wine vinegar before, but it can tint things pink so stick with white, if you have it. 

- Put the egg in just before the water boils, and then turn the heat down. If it’s already boiling, turn the heat down, wait a little bit, and then put the egg in. 

- Crack your egg into a smaller bowl or ramekin. With your other hand, start stirring your water so a dent (don’t you love these technical terms?) or funnel forms in your water. Now gently slide your egg out of your ramekin into the little pocket of water you’ve created. The force of the stirred water coupled with the vinegar also helps keep the whites from drifting away from the yolk. 

urhajos:

Potato!

crackerhell:

yes good

(Source: thehootowlofdeath)

alphanovember:

Playing #souschef today.

alphanovember:

Playing #souschef today.