Southern Fare and Flare

I know I havent updated much but I promise this will be a good one!

Last week I went down to Savannah, Georgia for a conference (a part of my real life job) and I was excited. While New England got plummeted with snow, I escaped the cold. Even though 60F was still a bit cool, it was better than 30F.

And Ive always wanted to go to South not only for the scenery but for the FOOD... legit Southern food!

And with good food, comes food photos!

Fried Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Tomato Chutney

Lunch time after an early morning flight!

Fried Oyster Po'Boy

Home of some good ice cream in Savannah.

A whole mess of crawdads!

Apparently Irish and British food is popular. Shepherd's Pie

Low Country Boil with shrimp and crawfish

Shrimp and Grits! Legit!

Another trip to the South is definitely in order.

And now I need to work out.  

Funfetti Fun

Living on my own, Ive been trying to mix up my meals and search for new recipes. I was looking through Pinterest (new favorite website to find different recipes, craft ideas, and pretty much anything that sparks creativity), I typed in one word in the search box, "Funfetti".

Remembering my days of my childhood, I loved have sprinkles on my cupcakes, sprinkles on my brownies, sprinkles on my ice cream, heck I still do, but Funfetti brings it to a whole new level.

I think Funfetti is something that Pillsbury company invented it, incorporating the sprinkles into the cake mix. Woah mind blown.

So check this out: Funfetti Sandwich Cookies. From process to completion.

The batter

Laid out on the baking sheets

The hardest part: waiting.

Sprinkles

 

The finished product

Get the recipe here! http://www.bakedperfection.com/2011/04/funfetti-sandwich-cookies.html

Sweet, chewy, yummy, sprinkle-y. Once you bake these and have one, its hard not to have another one. Believe me, they are just THAT GOOD.

A Winter Return to Nantucket: Scallop Season

So last weekend, I returned to Nantucket for a brief visit to work on some business stuff with my former supervisor.

I have never been to Nantucket during the winter. Granted it has been a strange winter this year and I was expecting some snow on the ground; but it was absolute perfect: sunny, cold, the weather was gorgeous and without any tourists around, it was peaceful on the island.

One of the things that Nantucket is known for, in terms of food, are its Bay Scallops. I should know; I did research them on this past summer.

Nantucket Bay Scallops are one of the last wild and un-managed populations of scallops on the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Elsewhere, scallops have succumbed to aquaculture and the actions of the fishery industry. The fact that almost any Nantucket dish of scallops you get are wild, meaning harvested straight from the water,  makes a huge difference in terms of taste.

They are just so much sweeter and darn delicious. Once you have Nantucket Bay Scallops, you will never want any other. They even say that President Obama favors scallops only from Nantucket and so do I.

When I was on Nantucket during the summer doing research on them, I just kept craving for them. But during the summer, the scallops were still small and growing. October to March is the prime season for harvesting them out in Nantucket harbor and boy, they are worth the wait.

While on island, a party of us went to Fusaro's, a fairly new Italian restaurant on the island, for dinner. They were serving lightly breaded Nantucket Bay scallops along with smelt, calamari, and shrimp served over a bed of arugula as an appetizer special. Oh mygosh I just wanted a big plate of this. 

After that, I just kept saying to my friend who was accompanying on this trip, "This is worth the wait. This is one of the reasons why I studied bay scallops this summer. MMMM Yummmm." and then I couldnt talk anymore.

I definitely want to try these scallops raw and straight from the harbor. 

I just want to add the research aspect of it all though. The commercial harvesting of bay scallops is an important source of income for Nantucket, MA, adding $1 - $3 million to the winter economy. Maintaining a healthy population of bay scallops around Nantucket has a significant practical impact on the island economy. However, since the 1980s, the harvest has declined significantly. 

One of the things I am working on is how to bring back this population to bring back the Nantucket bay scallops so that everyone can experience this great and delicious delicacy. However because of this damn economy it's been hard to get research funding so its been tough sometimes to continue on with the research. 

But I babble on about non-food related things. 

FACT: Nantucket Bay Scallops are the best. Nothing can compare. 

Life on the Rural Side: Burgers & Fries

I apologize for not up-keeping with this blog. A lot has happened actually.
> I moved from Nantucket, MA to Durham, NH. Yea, not really the city life.
>And because Im not in the city anymore, its harder to find ideal places to eat out.
>But Ive been cooking a lot more often. :) More to come with that.

So because Ive succumbed to the rural life, the most common option of eating out are burger and fries. Not my idea of fun eating but I did encounter a place that puts burgers and fries to a twist. Plus its close by!

Out in Newmarket, NH, this small little town in Southern NH where its "Main Street" is really the span of 4 street blocks, lies this little place (literally) called Rocky's Burgers. Everyone in town (and surrounding towns) knows about this place.

"At Rocky's, we proudly serve fresh, 100% certified Angus beef, delicious chicken breast, and all-natural, grain fed bison burgers, and now turkey burger. Not a meat lover? Not to worry. We also make delicious homemade black bean veggie burgers and serve veggie chili and veggie hot dogs." Their burgers are really good and really big!  They come in all different options and fixings. And they are certainly not considered fast food; they build your burger to order. So each order takes about a 15 minute wait but it is so worth it. Not only are their burgers good and big, their fries are plentiful. A small fries will keep you full. Ive also ordered chili-cheese fries alone and Ive always had left-overs. So good.

But instead of me hyping about it, here are some photos:

The California with a veggie burger

A custom burger with American Cheese, Fries, Mushrooms, and BBQ sauce.

Sweet Potato Fries shared amongst two people.

First try of a Fried Oreo. Can I just say, it wasn't like YUM DELICIOUS; it was merely okay. But I think the sad part is that I wouldnt mind have like 2 or 10 of these. Fat kid thought at its finest.

So if youre ever in the area: Rocky's Famous Burgers, 171 Main Street, Newmarket, NH. http://www.rockysfamousburgers.com/index.html is a must.

Happy Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Now eat cake.

ACK Cooking Series: Cinnamon Rolls

On my last full day in Chicago, I had a few minutes in food heaven: Ann Sather's Cinnamon Rolls. These cinnamon rolls were so soft, warm, and gooey; everything that a breakfast/ brunch dessert should be. Ever since that morning, Ive been wanting to a good cinnamon roll, and I mean a GOOD cinnamon roll. And since there are no Ann Sather's in New York or Massachusetts, it was either to go back to Chicago or suffer with substitutes...

And then I found the recipe.

ANN SATHER'S CINNAMON ROLLS (from the Chicago Tribune)
Makes 12 rolls
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 cup milk, scalded, cooled
1/4 cup (2 ounces) butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar glaze, optional, recipe follows

1. In a large bowl, stir the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into the warm water and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in milk, melted butter, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and 1 cup flour. Beat with a spoon or an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Gradually stir in 11/2 cups flour, keeping the dough smooth. If the dough is still moist, stir in 1 tablespoon flour at a time to make a soft dough. Cover with a dry cloth and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the raised dough in half. On a lightly oiled board, roll out (with a lightly floured rolling pin) and stretch 1 piece of dough to make a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Spread 2 tablespoons of the soft butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Beginning on the long side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll fashion. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Cut the dough into 2-inch slices. Place on greased and floured baking sheets. Let the dough rise (in a warm place) until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
5. Bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Take the baking sheets out of the oven and place the cinnamon rolls on a wire rack to cool.
6. Top rolls with a sugar glaze immediately, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

POWDERED SUGAR ICING
Makes 1/2 cup
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk, plus additional as needed

1. Combine sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl. Stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is loose enough to drizzle.


Warm, soft, gooey, sweet, yummy, delicious, and best of all, HOMEMADE.
Now, they werent exactly Chicago's Ann Sather's cinnamon rolls. They were quite small compared to  Ann Sather's because I was too impatient to let the dough rise. But dang, I make a good cinnamon roll.

Quick FYI: Research shows that the smell of baking cinnamon turns men on the most http://bit.ly/b1qgAR Oo honey, I'll make cinnamon rolls any time you want me to ;P

Here are some photos of my cinnamon roll making.

  Made my own icing

The dough

Rolled out, cinnamon and brown sugar stuffed, cut and ready to put in the oven.











Out of the oven

The final product

Love. Yum.

Appreciation for your Food

In my normal time (when Im not blogging), I study marine science and biology. So whenever I go out to eat with friends and I order a seafood dish, my friends always ask,
"Why do you eat fish? Arent you like a "fish-hugger"?"
I always shoot back at them and say,
"Really?" as I shove a piece of fish down my throat.

Im sorry but as much as I love studying fish and seafood, I also love eating it.
Why, a perfect example of this is exactly what is happening this summer. I am studying the bay scallop population here on Nantucket (I wont get into the nitty-gritty of it. It takes too long) and ever since Ive been studying them, I have been just craving to eat a scallop, which recently has been fulfilled.
Another example is back in college during lab class; when I would dissect an animal for class, I tend to get hungry. Then right after lab class, I head straight to the cafeteria.

You're probably thinking: wow, you're disgusting and pitiful.
All my vegetarian and vegan friends out there are probably hating me to forever.

But here is how I think of it: You have a better appreciation for your food and your meal if you kill it yourself. You work for your food.

The other day, I went out to eat with a friend because I was too lazy to cook. I had lobster and my friend gave me a piece of her scallops (because you know, I research them and all).

Now this lobster wasnt all ready prepared to be eaten with merely a fork.

I had to tear into this baby. And it felt great. I felt all primal like way back when, when our early Homo sapiens/erectus ancestors didnt have tools and had to hunt for their food. Yea, that way.

Check out this carnage.

See, I wouldnt appreciate my food if it was prepared for me poorly; actually I would be pretty upset.

So I love food, especially seafood, when I catch it myself or rip into it myself. I appreciate it a lot more.

Moral of the story here is yes, I study marine animals and yes, I eat them but I appreciate it a lot more if it was caught by me, killed by me, prepared by me, or ripped into by me.