Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Adopt a GF Blogger: March


It's been quite a while since I participated, so this month, I rallied and adopted the delicious looking Purple Velvet Torte from Elana's Pantry. It cleverly disguises a bunch o' veggies into dessert form, so I had to give it a go.

The end result is delicious! Mine's not quite as good looking as Elana's is, but it tastes fantastic. I had mine with a little vanilla ice cream, of course.

Make sure y'all subscribe to Book of Yum so that you can participate in Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger next month.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Greek Nescafe Frappe

My latest obsession, which my Twitter followers are well aware of...the Greek Nescafe Frappe iced coffee, also known affectionately as Greek crack. You can order Nescafe Frappe online, or haul your ass down to the local Greek market (Papa Cristo's in Koreatown will do) like I did, and stock the pantry full. This coffee provides the best caffeine buzz on the planet--long lasting, no jitters. I get things done.

The good people of Nescafe International emailed me to verify that the Frappe is indeed gluten free. I can't even imagine the horror that would ensue in this household if it weren't.

Keep in mind that the American version of Nescafe is not the same coffee. You must buy the Greek Nescafe Frappe. I promise it will make you happy.

To demonstrate how to make the iced version, here's my Greek crack dealer Peter Siaggas to get you folks at home addicted as well.


video

Now that I'm properly caffeinated, I'm off to make this Chocolate Torte as my contribution to Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Pasta Bolognese

Sundays are perfect for making a one-dish wonder like pasta bolognese, enchiladas, chili, pot roast, or a casserole. Comfort food at its best, with plenty of leftovers to start the work week off right.

For this recipe, I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, and it was just as tasty as when I made it with beef. I still used the pancetta for flavor, but you can use turkey bacon if you like. My pictures turned out terribly, so I'm not posting any! Seriously, the lighting in my kitchen needs a makeover, stat.

Pasta Bolognese (adapted from Food & Wine)

INGREDIENTS
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, or 6 baby carrots, finely diced
1 medium celery rib, finely diced
2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta OR turkey bacon, finely diced
1 1/4 pound ground beef OR ground turkey
2 large garlic cloves, chopped, or 1 teaspoon of minced garlic from the jar
1 cup dry white wine
One 28-ounce can peeled Italian tomatoes--seeded and finely chopped, juices reserved
1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup heavy cream
2 lbs. GF pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 8 minutes. Scrape the vegetable mixture into a large bowl.

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the saucepan and heat until just shimmering.

Add the ground meat and cook over moderately high heat until just barely pink, about 5 minutes. Return the vegetable mixture to the saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost evaporated, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the chicken stock, thyme and bay leaf. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover partially and cook over moderately low heat for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the heavy cream and cook the sauce just until heated through.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain well, return to the pot and toss with the sauce. Serve the pasta in deep bowls and pass the Parmesan at the table.

February Grocery Store Spending

Welcome back to my own personal Recovery.gov.

Total February Grocery Store Tally: $501.95.

Down 22% from January!

A lot more respectable...however...we were still filming for the first 17 days of February, so I think I still spent too much money on groceries.

It's only halfway through March, and I'm well on the way to exceeding February's tally.

Much like the Federal Government, it seems I haven't really shown that I've learned from my mistakes. February's decline may have just been a fluke. We'll see.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Free Radio Cast Pictures

I'm beside myself giddy pumped up right now cause I just had the pleasure of watching the premiere episode of the 2nd season of Free Radio. I love it so much, and I'm thrilled for y'all to see it.

For those of you who are new here from the Twitter, Free Radio is an original, improvised comedy show set in a fictional radio station, and celeb guests come on the show playing themselves. Lance Krall managed to get us a second season pickup, and it's going to be a very, very funny eight episodes.




Sarah Baker, Brian Huskey, Lance Krall, Anna Vocino, and Gerry Bednob.

The bestest cast on the planet.

Season two of Free Radio begins airing Thursday April 2nd at 11pm eastern/8pm pacific on VH1.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Maui: Four Seasons vs. Food Trucks

How's that for a vista? That's the view from the oceanfront walkway on Wailea Beach in front of the Four Seasons Maui, where we spent 5 days and 4 nights escaping from reality. It was a first time trip to Hawai'i for all three of us, and I know it's a stereotype to fall madly in love with Maui, but damnit, if that place isn't paradise, then I don't know what is.


The Four Seasons has GF options at breakfast every morning. I pilfered a GF black currant scone off the buffet line, and told our lovely server to pack two more for the road, which she obligingly did. She told me that the hotel is very familiar with GF restrictions and that I can substitute fruit for any gluten-filled item on the menu. So props to the Four Seasons and their awareness of GF requirements! For what things cost in Hawai'i, they should be able to substitute precious metals for toast.


Some of the best food we ate was from the multitude of food trucks parked on the side of the road or at the beaches. We feasted on fish tacos, shaved ice, chili, smoothies, and anything grilled. My preoccupation with food trucks, which began this summer in Los Angeles with driving around the Valley looking for the best taco truck, has blossomed into a full blown obsession. My first travel food show will be me eating food from food trucks. Fun for me, sucky for everyone watching.


A fantastic side of the road food stand in South Maui is the Makena Grill, run by a kick ass lady named Marissa, who served us kabobs, coconut rice, grilled corn on the cob, and fresh grilled bananas with honey cream sauce. You can find the Makena Grill on Makena road about 5 minutes south of Big Beach. This beach is my favorite Maui beach thus far, with sand the color and consistency of gluten-free yellow cake batter.


Back to life. Back to reality. I dig my reality, I truly love it. But Hawai'i is one of the most fantastic realities I've popped into. Playing all day, exploring the whole, beautiful island is a fantastic adventure, and then returning back to the Four Seasons to live large in our home-away-from-home comprises what could be the perfect day.

Friday, March 6, 2009