Rough Times

There have been some rough times in the wicked good foods world.... I am currently out of work, which came as kind of a surprise. There is good news though , I can now explore the world of the culinary arts. I'm looking into culinary schools in the area and hope to take advantage of the opportunities there.

I did skip this week's TWD, and even though I didn't blog about it I did make the banana cream pie the other week.

So now that I have had time to digest these new things going on in my life , I will be back to blogging cause really I have all the time in the world!! Next up is the chocolate cream tart which sounds simply amazing.

Also look for reviews of a few new products I have recieved.

Thanks for sticking with me everyone!

Lemon Curd Cheesecake

Two Saturday's per month my husband is in EMT class. At least one of those days they have a potluck where I'm sure all of the student's wives/ girlfriends contribute something yummy. This week I contributed cheese cake. At first I was going to make caramel apple cheesecake , but it was getting late so I opted to use the lemon curd I had saved. I did a quick google and found this recipe.

1 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies (40 cookies) i used graham crackers

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel i didnt have any lemons .. oops!

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup lemon curd

3 eggs

Frozen raspberries, if desired these were not desired :)

1.Heat oven to 325ºF. Mix cookie crumbs, 1 teaspoon of the lemon peel and the butter. Press evenly in bottom and up side of springform pan, 9x3 inches.
2.Beat cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar, lemon curd and remaining 1 teaspoon lemon peel until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Pour over crust.
3.Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until center is set; cool 30 minutes. Run metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen. Refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
4.Remove side of pan. Garnish with raspberries

the finished product. courtesy of the iphone...

p.s sorry for the AWFUL picture , but I assure you this was YUMMY!
p.p.s from what i hear the guys loved it too!

Diane's Market Kitchen

One of the things Sara and I were able to do while I was visiting in Seattle was to attend a cooking class. So Friday morning (March 20) we boarded the ferry and made our way over to Diane's Market Kitchen. We ended up being the only people in the class so that made it even more fun. The class we had signed up for was appetizers. When I say that everything we had was SO good , that's an understatement. Diane only uses fresh ingredients most from local farmers and small businesses . We learned every Sunday Diane takes her class for the morning down to the Pike Place Market to pick out the freshest things to cook with for the day!

Sara hard at work

While all of the recipes were AMAZING my favorite was the Pear and Cheve crostini. The recipe can be found here.

For anyone who is in the Seattle area , I would definitely check out Diane's.

I'm the worst...

I am the worst blogger!! and I have SO much to share!!!! but for now I leave you with this ... which is not food related... however something just as close to my heart

Seattle...

I am officially back online , however I am on my birthday trip! (its monday the 23rd) I went to visit my best friend Sara. We will be having super yummy meals , and a cooking class too!!! I will definitely be taking pictures , and will share them here sometime next week. Until then , Happy Thursday!

OH NO!

So my computer crashed , so as a result I won't be posting for a bit. But I will still be baking along with Tuesday's with Dorie. Thanks for checking in with me. Hope to see you on the flipside!

Week 5 and Rachael Ray .. Again

I skipped week 4. Oops. This week I was serious! haha I planned out meals, and then I made them! I made another lasagna as TM requested it, and he asks for next to nothing. I also made Paprika Chicken which was the recipe featured on the episode of Rachael Ray that I went to! It was SO yummy!



Paprika Chicken

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 pounds mixed boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
• Ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded, quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 2 tablespoons ground sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped cornichons or pickles

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation

Place a large pot of water over high heat to cook the pasta. When the water boils, salt it well and drop the pasta in. Cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic to the pan, and cook until the veggies have softened, 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and return the chicken to the pan. Add the paprika, allspice and stock to the pan and bring up to a bubble. Simmer until the chicken has cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Reserve.Toss the cooked noodles with the butter, dill, chives and parsley.Serve the chicken over the noodles and garnish with the chopped cornichons

my notes: I omitted the peppers, we are not a pepper house. I also added about 1 tablespoon brown sugar it smelled "spicy" but I think that was in my head. I also omitted the fresh herbs I just forgot to buy them. I also skipped the pickles , just no thanks!



This turned out SO well , I would make it again and again!!. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I forgot to take them I was so hungry!!