Meal # 9 BBQ Pulled Pork

I began making this meal Friday night and it wasn't eaten until Sunday afternoon. I called my mom and asked her what I should do with this big piece of pork I had gotten. She advised I just toss it in old faithful (the crocky pot) with a whole bottle of bbq sauce and leave it for a couple of hours. I was nervous about this so I sawed the hunk of pork in half and decided if I messed up, I would only mess up half. Besides I wanted to make a yummy pot roast with the other half. So around 5:00pm I plopped the half brick of meat in the cp and dumped some BBQ sauce in there and put it on low. This was not a good or smart time for me to do this. I ended up setting my alarm for 6:30am (Saturday morning) to pull that blasted pork apart and make sure it wasn't burning. I crawled back in bed cursing my cooking obsession. I eventually woke up around 9 as we were heading to a fabulous book fair (where I was to obtain new cookbooks to support my habit) I looked in the abyss and wasn't quite pleased so I set it on warm and left for another 6 or 7 hours. I was beginning to think it would turn to mush but alas, it did not! It was perfectly yummy! I came home late Saturday night and put it into a Pyrex dish and stuck it in the fridge. Sunday afternoon, we had a few key players over to vote on this scrumptious looking pulled pork. I also made homemade coleslaw with a locally grown cabbage from my good friend Brent the cabbage man. We added some salt and vinegar chips and it was a classic feel good American meal.

Bri - 4
Gabriel - 4.65
Laura - 4
Tiff - 4

Average was a solid 4!

I felt very southern and a little red necked when it was all over with. I don't know which was more fun this very southern dish or my classy French souffle. At the moment, you can call me Bobby Sue from the hills of Alabama.

Bobby Sue
"You can never cook pork to much!" Deep thoughts by Bobby Sue

Meal # 7 Boeuf Bourguignon

Ah, Boeuf Bourguignon. My second French dish. My Frenchy friends the Bernals would be so happy to know that I tapping my inner French. It was quite an extensive meal and here is a summary of what I did to prepare this famous dish. I patted, defrosted, cut, sliced, seared, sauteed, diced, fried, chopped, baked, simmered, poured, measured, drank wine, lite my food on fire and dropped a match in my stew. Not in any particular order that is. I started cooking at 5:00 and ate at 9:30. My poor husband ate a brat to stave off starvation. I told him that it would be worth the wait. This was also my big meal that all my friends came over to try. Lastly, it was a celebration dinner of the Amato's one month anniversary! All rolled into one dutch oven made by my food idol Paula Deen. Just using her cookware makes things saltier. So the only real exciting part of this dish was the fact that I used 3/4 bottle of wine (and it should have been a whole bottle but I poured myself a glass before I read the directions) in this tasty stew. I was a little nervous serving up the church folk because it reeked of alcohol. Plus I added Brandy and lit it on fire. I was kinda scared because I felt like my eyebrows are placed nicely on my face and my hair had a lot of product in it. Joel was brave enough to help and of course there is a video that my team shot. Thanks Gabriel!

All in all. It was my best meal yet. I am still contemplating living in France and eating wine and cheese all day. I still have to convince the better half. I fed an army with this meal which I liked too. A couple of people low balled me and I will try to win them over with another lovely dish. :)

Ingredients used from list - wine, garlic, mushrooms

How many stars?
Alicia - 4
Amy - 4
Bri - 3.5
Brit - 4.4
Gabe 5.5 (thanks babe)
Jeff - 3.9
Jenny - 5
Joel - 4.25
Keith - 4.5
Amanda - 3.7
Caleb - 4.8
Bruce - 4
Andy - 3.5

Me? 4.7 It was magnificent! The sauce/broth/wine concoction was literally out of this world. Many felt differently about the pearl onions but otherwise every enjoyed
it.

Check out the video and pictures of my #1 meal yet!

The Wino Tiffany

Meal # 4 Spotted Dick (Puddick)

Today on the menu was my one time only Spotted Dick. I saw this in Publix one day and was kinda amused and kinda offended. Some friends and I looked this up a couple of days ago and we learned that it is an English dessert that used to be called Puddick. Long story short they cut the pud off and added raisins thus created Spotted Dick. I often refer to it as Spotted Richard to ease the awkwardness, especially when you are talking about eating it. The directions on the can said to boil the whole entire can in water for 35 minutes then open it and pop it out and enjoy. It also says that if I am not content with this pleasurable delight, I can send it back and receive my $4.96 back. So I just made a video to explain it all. Check it out. Here are the stats. I think everyone was surprised.

Stars:
Caleb - 2 stars
Gabe - 1 star
Joel - 3 stars
Keith - 3 stars
Amanda -2 stars
Andy - I don't eat new food
Robert - It's the best spotted dick I ever had. 3 Stars
Rachel - 2 stars
Brody - 3.5 Stars
Tiffany - 2.5 Stars

I hoped we all learned something today.

Tiffany

Meal #1 Thai Chicken with Rice

So today I wanted to make my first meal and I was more than excited. I had been looking through my recipes and cookbooks all day. My husband was hogging the computer doing his "school" work" and I had to make due with the few cookbooks that I had. Surprisingly I found many interesting recipes to use with my list. I was so excited that I decided to make my first meal (I still felt unprepared with my kitchen accessories) I chose a recipe in my crock-pot cookbook. I grabbed all my ingredients and set them on the counter. I threw the chicken in to defrost for ten minutes and cut up all my sauce ingredients (ginger, lime juice, soy sauce, salsa, peanut butter, cilantro for garnish). I don't know why I was rushing but didn't defrost the chicken all the way and it was still a tad bit frozen when I cut it up and settled it into the pot. I mixed the rest together and smoothed over the slightly frozen chicken, put the crock-pot on low and cleaned up my mess.

In the meantime, my terrific hubby and I went to Ross for clothes, but I was too distracted with my lack of kitchen supplies. As I wandered off into the kitchen section I found a killer souffle dish and two blue creme brulee dishes. When my husband found me he just chuckled. Later that day, I was with my friend Bri and we were on our way to Target for an emergency springform pan adventure. She was suppose to help me but she couldn't keep up because I was running. I was getting really anxious because some people (Amanda and Joel) had come over and were going to eat my Thai Chicken and they didn't have any rice. So we went on another emergency run to get Minute Rice. Then we ran out. However my anxious thoughts subsided because they left to get something faster like Taco Bell or McDonalds. Anyways, I got home and took a picture of my creation which looked like baby vomit. I was not impressed. When Amanda was here she told me that when she looked at it she couldn't even see the chicken part! Plus Gabriel asked me a couple of times if it was even chicken! Okay people, I know what I am doing. Back to dinner, I served up some rice and thai chicken for Bri and Gabriel with cilantro for garnish (which Bri ate after her meal all at once) I took some pictures of the first bite and they .....loved it!

Stars....**** Bri Turner

It was a success! I am super glad I started off on the right foot. Now for licorice cheesecake...

Chef Tiffany

I had been begging my friend to make my list all week and last night we were all together for J's birthday. The list started getting longer than I expected because everyone there was giving such great ideas (gumballs? really?) So I have more than enough to keep me busy for the next year. I am glad she put the rules in there but I am not quite sure about the naked one. I am confident about the singing one though. That will be a cinch. The number next to the ingredient is how many times I have to use that item. Take a look at my year....


Tiffany’s 2010 – 3rd Year of Marriage Cooking Goals

Avocado: 22
Almonds: 35
Reese’s Pieces: 12
Cucumber: 12
Gumballs: 3
Cloves: 5
Squash: 10
Cake Mix: 8
Pecans: 7
Jelly: 13
Olives: 25
Capers: 16
Liver Pâté: 1
Corn: 9
Wine: 27
Blueberries: 15
Tomatoes: 38
Licorice: 5
Cherries: 4
Garlic: 24
Pomegranate: 3
Artichoke: 10
Sweet Potatoes: 19
Pork Chops: 7
Lobster: 2
Orzo Pasta: 5
Gouda Cheese: 7
Honey: 12
Asparagus: 22
Spotted Dick: 1
Star Fruit: 3
Sprinkles: 5
Root Beer: 4
Cocoa: 33
Anchovies: 1
Sardines: 1
Rhubarb: 3
Pringles: 1
Corn Flakes: 3
Chicken Kabobs: 4
Ramen Noodles: 4
Parsley: 21
Yogurt: 8
Coconut Milk: 6
Pickled Pigs Feet: 1
Altoids: 1
Duck: 1
Cornish Hen: 1
Meatloaf: 1
Nerds: 1
Banana: 15
Snickers: 4
Sugar Cane: 1
Coconut: 2
Crickets: 1
Peanuts: 3
Quail: 1
Eskimo Pie: 1
Lamb: 1
Goat: 1
New Potatoes: 20
Plantains: 3
Soy Sauce: 5
Fried Green Tomatoes: 1
Lime Juice: 5
Pickles: 2
Hollandaise Sauce: 2
Chocolate Milk: 3
Beer: 10
Salmon: 2
Dolphin: 1
Scallops: 2
Shrimp: 8
Escargot: 1
Blue Cheese: 4
Radish: 5
Sharp Cheddar: 8
Tilapia: 4
Mango: 9
Herring: 1
Pine Nuts: 4
Soy Beans: 8
Oreos: 7
Vanilla Extract: 18
Nilla Wafers: 5
Almond Milk: 7
Tofu: 1
Kielbasa: 3
Pinto Beans: 7
Black Beans: 4
Caviar: 1
Mushrooms: 6
Ginger: 3
Lucky Charms: 1

I just saw dolphins and crickets! What? I can't even find those things! Is it legal to even eat dolphin....I will have to do some research. So I will start searching for recipes today and go to the store for some essential items. I'm not sure what I need but I must go...tomorrow my first meal!

Rules:
1. You must do each of those items as many times as listed, in different ways.
2. You can combine any items you want.
3. You can eat things that are not on this list.
4. You must invite people over to enjoy the meal you’ve created for at least one time, unless you only have 1 time to cook it.
5. You must be CREATIVE & JOYFUL as you cook.
6. You must cook one meal naked, but you can wear one oversized sombrero.
7. You must sing songs with the name of the food in it for at least one time of each food.