December 22, 2009
We’re scant days away from CookFest 2009 … er, Christmas, and I’ve been compiling a whole mess of recipes to last through the weekend.
Wish I had pictures, but I’ll share those afterward if this all turns out well.
I’ve already got an idea about Shrimp Scampi, we’ll serve my now-perfected baked fish with roasted tomatoes and pesto, we’ll have to work a miracle with a pork loin of some sort, and then on to a frugal Almond Pecan Pie for dessert.
I know we’ll serve wine, but I’m hoping to make VH’s pineapple punch. Sounds delicious!
Clearly, there’s some fleshing out to do here, but we’ve got a good start.
December 11, 2009
Warning: the ultimate comfort food meal up ahead!
Possibly the least frugal mac and cheese ever?
My friend had an emergency root canal just when I was planning a nice housewarming dinner, so Hangar Steak with Shallots or Funny About Money’s son’s Steak Mirepoix had to be canceled in favor of something more dental victim friendly.
Many thanks to L.A.Daze for both heading off disaster and inspiring the direction of dinner!
This 9 by 13 inch pan is probably more than a 10-serving dish. But we’re pigs.
I borrowed this recipe from Culinary Adventures of a New Wife: Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese. I meant to make the cheap version, leaving out half the ingredients, but somehow that plan got turned around and I only cut back on a few items.
Dinner served hobo-style: we’re still unpacking, so half the furniture is just cardboard boxes.
2 8 oz. boxes quinoa pasta — Just used mini fusilli pasta [$1.66]
2 tbsp butter [$1.99]
1/3 cup flour — nearly 2/3 cup to thicken up the sauce [had on hand, ~$0.10]
1 1/2 cup milk — [had on hand, ~$0.50]
1/4 cup chicken broth — 3/4 cup to stretch the sauce [had on hand, ~$1]
1 cup low fat sour cream — [$0.75]
1/2 lb Velveeta, cut into cubes
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp ground mustard — [had on hand, $0.10]
1/2 tsp ground black pepper — [had on hand, $0.10]
1/4 tsp coarse garlic salt — [had on hand, $0.10]
2 cups reduced fat shredded cheddar — [$2.50]
1/2 -1 cup frozen peas — 12 oz of peas and pearl onions [$2.00]
12 oz of frozen langostino tails — [$9.00]
Total: $18.00
Surprisingly, it only worked out to about $1.80 per serving even with the premium langostino tails and really heaping servings. And I really liked it more chicken broth and no Velveeta. I went really heavy on the peas, luckily they were perfectly sweet.
What’s your favorite comfort food or perfect pick-me-up meal?
November 27, 2009
Reminder: I’m hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance this week, be sure to submit your best articles by Sunday!
Of course, you can’t cook every meal when you’re vacationing in Hawaii for the first time ever! We had some very nice meals out and the prices reinforced our decision to be frugal at least half the time.
Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on the North Shore: $13 per plate of shrimp scampi, $1 drink
Dole Plantation: Plate lunch ($9) and Pineapple Whip dessert ($4):
Happy Hour at Kona Brewing Co.: 4 beers, 1 6-oz. sampler beer for me, 3 appetizers ($33 after tip; party of three)
Dinner at Cafe Sistina: $41 per person, included 4 shared appetizers and 2 bottles of wine; party of 9
Buffet lunch at Indigo in Honolulu: $25 per person; party of 7 [You might not be able to tell, but there are about 15 different items on that plate. I was stuffed.]
We also had a mindblowing dinner at Lucy’s but I forgot my memory card at home. *heartbroken* We were treated to that meal by our local friends, and the entrees were around $25 each. The ahi tower was beyond fresh, the braised lamb just feel off the bone, and the coconut cranberry rice was amazingly moist and flavorful.
The costs were shared for a number of meals – we took turns treating each other so that the spending was relatively even across the board. Still, you can see how quickly you could spend hundreds just on eating! Luckily, that’s what a vacation is all about. 😉
November 12, 2009
NYC was wonderful. No new ode, I still feel the same way. There was perhaps less glitz sparkling in my eyes, but only because the trip was shorter and it took a little longer for the rigors of traveling cross-country to wear off.
May I recommend, by the by, always using SeatGuru.com before selecting your seats? It’s truly my own fault, but I felt like I was being punished for using an award ticket to travel. The outbound flight was ok, but the seat I was squished into on the return flight: a] wouldn’t recline (way to pick the row in front of the emergency exit), the overhead light was broken, and b] was right next to the galley where business class’s delectables were prepared and wheeled past me. Pasta, garlic bread, and brownies, oh my!
First, in pictures…..
My preflight and inflight snack system …
DFW’s downright neighborly …..
Woefully underdressed upon my arrival, TopShop and I immediately became acquainted. Those tights were really expensive but oh-so-warm. They were daily wear: kept my legs warm AND kept my feet from blistering up a storm in the new flats.
Citi sponsored free ice skating in Bryant Park. Am I the only one thinking that Citi shouldn’t be sponsoring anything at all right now?
Mamoun’s [just off the Astor Place subway stop] makes a mean schwarma sandwich. That was some amazing deliciousness for $5.
Gorgeous weather in the city …
I truly wish that I’d inserted my ARM in the photo for scale. That rib bone lying across the top was the size of my forearm. That platter was well worth the $22. [Blue Smoke restaurant, home of the first time I’ve had an amazing oyster.]
“Not to rub it in, but my treat because I can get this any time. I live here, you don’t!”
I hate you, friend. I love you and I hate you.
You, Ippudo, I love. Always. Home of the snarkiest [in a good way] waitstaff ever.
Waiter overhearing a reference to San Diego: “You’re from CA?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it. I just knew it’d play out like that!”
“??”
Waiter: “Miss? Miss? Would you like an extra bowl of noodles?”
Me: *mouth terribly full of pork*
Friend: Uh, she can’t talk right now, she just stuffed herself full of pork.
Waiter: Runs Away.
Me: *mouth still full* Wait!
Waiter to my sloooow-eating friend: “Can I take this away already?”
We: point and laugh at her.
Furry friends
Bye bye, awesome NYC food. Airport food [4 oz veggie orzo, 4 oz red potato salad, 2 oz chips: $6.50]
Then, in numbers …..
Ticket: $7.50
Day One: $29
Day Two: $62.50
Day Three-Five: $0
Day Six: $30
Day Seven: $95
Day Eight: $44.50
Total: $ 268.50
It’s a total budget cheat that I paid next to nothing for transportation [about $40 for airfare and Metro] and nothing at all for lodgings due to the repeat generosity of my friends. What kind of advice could really be derived from this? Have good friends in strategic places? For what it’s worth, I absolutely intend to pay it forward.
I spent a ton on clothes: $55 at TopShop for 2 pairs of tights and a pair of leggings. They’re all super comfortable and made of good material which is not the case for the discounted stuff I found at Filene’s [and they made me look funny.]
There was also a Blitzkrieg trip to H&M where I picked up a grey sweaterdress, black belt and white long sleeve for another $50. The sweaterdress replaces a black cowl-neck dress (circa 2002) and is now falling apart. The long sleeve is the beginning of my replacing ratty old long sleeved layers (circa 2004).
November 9, 2009
Aren’t these tomatoes beautiful? Eight ounces of mini mozzarella balls cost the same as a 8-oz chunk of the cheese that I’d normally buy; I’m glad I went with these little dollops instead. They were much easier to serve, just peel open the jar and plop – place gently – on the sliced tomatoes. A dash of olive oil and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar finished the plating nicely.
This salad was served with a side of buttered crumpets that I have no photos of because, er, I devoured them. They were awfully pretty, toasted, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Sorry!
October 29, 2009
I had to switch from an interesting stuffed bell pepper recipe found on Oil and Garlic that called for a tuna base to a boring old ground beef version because I couldn’t find capers today. This isn’t unusual; any recipe that calls for capers always gives me pause because I don’t want to buy a whole jar of capers only to use a single teaspoon. It made sense until I started tallying the recipes I’ve passed on simply because it wouldn’t taste right without capers.
I should buy capers so I can make these stuffed bell peppers/ripieni [Oil and Garlic].
This Halibut with Lemon, Butter, Caper and Dill Sauce [Closet Cooking].
This Tilapia Piccata [Closet Cooking].
What else should I make with capers? And why are they listed as “non-pareil” type capers? I know the definition of non-pareil for laymen, but not why or how it applies to capers/foodstuffs.
October 28, 2009
I don’t really sleep at night anymore. Trying to sleep is like cricket hunting. As soon as you think you’re close, the very awareness of your being so drives it away. You know it’s there, but sleep doesn’t have a substance you can grab onto and hold tight until it surrenders. You give up first…… Hours later, you might accidentally, caught unawares by your prey, drift off.
Some nights, that doesn’t happen until an inexplicable egg craving is satisfied. The poached egg with melted string cheese on a whole wheat English muffin is one way to go. It’s just missing a few slices of tomato to make it a full breakfast rather than just a post-post-midnight snack. Or perhaps the very lateness of the concoction makes it breakfast. I don’t really know. I just want muffins to come in two halves and a quarter so I can sop up all the runny egg yolk goodness.
