Too Cool For Words

A friend had this video posted on her blog and I just had to share it!

I can't imagine how much time it took to make this video, but it is too cool for words.

Adobe Photoshop Cook by Lait Noir on vimeo.com

Enjoy...


Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

Spring Has Sprung!

On Saturday my sister came in to town to continue with the birthday celebrations for my dad.  

My mom had gotten Dad a kite and an airplane for his birthday, so it was time to play!

This was take 2... the first time the string came off the kite.  Dad was not allowed to tie it on this time.

Success!  Turns out that Dad is a pretty darn good kite flyer.

Laura assembles and applies decals to the plane. 

The plane did not fly well, but that wasn't her fault.  I think it was a design error.  Every time the plane landed (well, came to a crashing halt would be a more accurate description) the right wing kept popping out of its socket.  It was really fun for the 8 or so 'flights' it did survive. 

Despite the fact that everything in this field looks drab and gray and my dad and sis have jeans and jackets on, it really was a beautiful day!  It was the first day that really felt like spring.  In fact, I wore shorts for the first time since September. 

And just to prove that spring truly has sprung, here are a few pictures from my mom's garden:

I love how crisp and clean these tulips are.

Pretty Purple Pansies!

Since it felt like spring outside, it put me in the mood to cook some more spring-like foods.  I mean, I love those rich, roasted meals that just scream winter, but I am ready for foods that are a little lighter... in flavor and in calories.

Stumbled up on a new cooking blog, Natalie's Killer Cuisine, and saw she had a very 'springy' recipe that day - Lemon Chicken Wrapped Asparagus.  I couldn't resist!  It looked so simple, light and healthy... just what I've been craving.  

1. Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/2" thick.  (I went ahead pounded out two extra breasts since I will need them on Wednesday night for PW's Chicken Piccata...)

    

Other ingredients - Asparagus, Lemon Slices, Lemon Zest, Mustard Powder and S&P

2. Assemble the rolls

After seasoning the the chicken with S&P, lay the asparagus on the chicken and sprinkle the mustard powder and lemon zest on top.  Roll the chicken up and secure each one with a couple of toothpicks.

3. Cook the rolls

 

Brown on all sides on the stovetop, then finish cooking the chicken rolls in a 350 degree oven. 

4. Eat up

 Served with Parmesan Asparagus Couscous

Super easy meal that turned out to be quite tasty, healthy and filling.  Only thing I will do differently next time is to make a quick white wine or lemon butter sauce after I pull the chicken from the pan.

Tomorrow night's dinner - Broiled Tilapia Parmesan. 

Chicken Empanadas, Part 2

Saturday was a busy day full of fun, family, and food.  I love days like that.

The fun and family part of the day will be chronicled in another post.  This one is all about the food. 

Specifically, Chicken Empanadas.

It was 'assemble and bake' day. 

The only ingredients the filling lacked were the chopped olives and hard boiled eggs.  I know, they may seem like weird (or gross, as my mom would say) ingredients, but they really are essential to balancing the flavor and texture of the filling. 

Who said food can't be fun?!?!?

After stirring those two items in it was time to assemble the empanadas.  I had no idea what I was doing, but I sure had fun doing it!

Step 1: Place a couple of tablespoons of the filling on each disc of dough

Step 2: Moisten the edges with water and seal them tightly.  Then moisten the edges with water one more time.  They look like 'blobby jellyfish' at this point.

Step 3: 'Braid' the edges by folding and pinching... or something like that. I can't explain it, I just did it. Right before putting the pan in the 425 degree oven, brush them with an egg wash.

Then wait. 

Who knew 20 minutes could feel like an eternity? 

I started to get a little anxious and needed to find something to keep me occupied so I looked up a recipe for Dulce de Leche and worked on that for awhile. 

Not like it was really tough (open a can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in a pie dish, cover tightly with foil and put it in a bain marie for an hour and a half), but still, it kept me busy. 

I also made an apple filling to go with the Dulce de Leche for some dessert empanadas. 

Okay, so maybe I was more than a little anxious.

Finally the timer rang ...

The finished product (photo by R)

I squealed with delight as I pulled them from the oven for several reasons:

1) They smelled heavenly

2) They looked delicious

3) They had not exploded, as I had feared they would

R came in to see what the noise was all about and after the confusion was cleared up, he bravely volunteered to taste-test.  What a guy. 

The empanadas got rave reviews from both of us.  Definitely a  hit! 

Only problem - tons of leftover filling and no more empanada dough.  Easily remedied with a quick stop by Fiesta this afternoon. We now have 9 more empanadas hanging out in our fridge. 

Dulce de Leche's flavor was great, even though I just should have let it go a little longer.  It's a bit runnier than I wanted it to be, but I ran out of patience.  I put a little of it in with the apple filling and some mozzerella cheese to make the dessert empanadas.  They were pretty fab too!

And the 'runniness' of the dulce de leche certainly didn't stop me from eating it again tonight for dessert. 

This time I drizzled it over my Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.  Mmmmm.