How To: Remove melted plastic from your pots & pans

Confession:
While taking my frittata out of the oven, I stuck an oven mitt over the handle of my skillet so that no one would burn themselves... well the inside of the mitt was not heatproof and apparently was made of plastic fibers.  So, it melted itself to my handle.
After some googling, I read that if you fill your pot up with water, sprinkle some baking soda in there and bring to a nice simmer, the plastic would be easy to scrape off.  Well, that's great, but my problem was not inside a pot... it was the handle.  So here's what I did:
Filled a stock pot up with water and added some baking soda.  I turned the heat to high and when it started to look bubbly, i stuck my pan handle in the pot.  After a few minutes, I removed the handle and tried scraping off the plastic with a wooden spatula.  It was working!  I stuck it back in a few times and kept scraping until all the plastic was gone.
It had a slight film from the baking soda all over it, so I just gave it a quick wash and it was like new!
What did we ever do before Google?

Long Neck Clams in a White Wine Sauce

So easy and so delicious!

Ingredients:
1 bag of clams (about 24)
1 lemon, quartered
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 tbs. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 tbs. onion, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 bottle dry white wine
dash of red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and white ground pepper to taste

Soak clams for about 15 minutes in a tub of cold water and let all the grit fall to the bottom.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a high sided skillet.  Add onions and garlic and saute on low heat until translucent.  Add wine and bring to a boil.
Pick the clams out of the tub with your hand inspecting each one.  If you find one that is slightly open, tap on it and it should close.  If not, throw it out - it's dead. Put the clams in a strainer and give them one last rinse.
Once the wine has come to a boil, turn heat down to med-high, add clams and cover.  Cook until the clams start to open.  Start taking the open ones out and placing them in a separate bowl.  Continue to do this until all clams have opened.  If you find that some have not opened, you can continue to cook longer to see if they will open.  If not, throw them away - they are dead.
Add the parsley, red pepper flakes and lemon to the wine and continue to simmer until reduced by 1/2.  Use a wooden spoon to press on the lemon wedges to release their juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once the wine sauce has reduced by half, return the clams to the skillet and give them a quick toss. Once all the clams have had a chance to swim in the wine sauce, pour them out onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Egg White Frittata

The majority of frittatas that I cook are made with egg whites.  This one I threw together with left over ingredients from the night before.  Egg whites were left over from making Nutella Gelato and the spinach was left over from my Tilapia and Spinach dinner.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1/4 c sauted spinach
2 tbs. cottage cheese
2 tbs. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 scallion, sliced
2 tbs. chopped red pepper
kosher salt & white pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and add to a buttered oven proof skillet.  Cook on med heat until mixture starts to bubble.  Add to a preheated 350* oven and bake for about 10 minutes.

You could just continue to cook this on the stove top, but I like to stick it in the over to insure that I don't burn it.  :)  Also, if you top the frittata with some freshly grated cheese, sticking it in the oven will brown the top nicely.

Chinese Chicken Meatballs

I just through this together real quick and honestly... could be my new favorite food. They are delicious!!

1/2# ground chicken or turkey (I used chicken)

1 tbsp Lake Shore Drive Seasoning

2 tbsp dried cilantro

1/4 c panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp veg oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and roll into 1" balls

Place on cookie sheet and cook on 400* for 25 mins

Serve with dipping sauce, recipe below

1/4c soy sauce

1/4c dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1-2 tsp sriracha, depending on how spicy you like it (i like it spiiiiicy!)

The only reason I used the Lake Shore seasoning, was because I need to go grocery shopping... In place of the seasoning, you can use sliced scallions. I also would have used fresh cilantro if I had some on hand.

Enjoy!

Office Overhaul

I'm really excited to redo our home office. Currently, it has an Asian theme... dark maroon walls, Asian decor... we call it the "Hotel" because its so dark in there, you can sleep-in forever!

So here is my inspiration board... everything is falling into place and I get more anxious every time I find a new item for the room.

Birthday Aftermath

The party was a hit! I even have the battle scars to prove it! I love finding those UPI's (Unidentified Party Injury) after a great night out. lol. Today I feel like I got hit by a train... which sucks because we will be on a flight to Paris tomorrow. I forgot how much fun pinatas were...

Here is a picture of the cake I had my girlfrind, Sabrina, make for my burger loving husband. It turned out AWESOME!

BBQ Deliciousness

Today is my husbands birthday, so I planned to have a few friends over for a BBQ. Even though he missed his flight home from PA last night.. The BBQ must go on! (don't worry, he's flying in this afternoon)

Here's what todays BBQ menu looks like:

Mini Burgers
Steak Fajitas
Mini Chicken Kabobs
Guacamole

These recipes are some of our all time favorites, so I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Mini Burgers

equal parts ground round and ground sirloin
a few pinches of Mikes Rub
a dash of worcestershire sauce

Patty into 3" rounds, about 1/2" thick

BBQ until the meat is cooked to your liking

Top with cheese and serve on a mini potatoe roll with lettuce, tomatoe, pickles, ketchup and mustard.


Steak Fajitas

1-2# flank or churrosco steak
1/4c soy sauce
1/4c veg oil
3 tsp honey
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tbs ginger
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tsp ground blk pepper

Marinate for 48*

BBQ until the meat is cooked to your liking

served on soft flour tortillias and top with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded mexican cheese, hot sauce and sour cream.


Mini Chicken Kabobs

1-2# chicken breast, cubed
1 red onion, cubed
1 zuchinni, halved and sliced
1 sm pkg baby bella mushrooms, halved
Season with olive oil and your choice of poultry seasoning.

Skewer 1 of each on small bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for a few hours, so that they don't burn when you put them on the BBQ

BBQ until chicken is cooked through.


Guacamole

3 Hass avocados
1/2 plum tomatoe, diced
1 tbs white onion, diced
1 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp of Mikes Rub

add everything to a small bowl except for the avocado

let veggies marinate for 15-20 mins for best taste.

1/2 the avocados, remove the pits, score the meat and remove with a spoon

add veggie mixture to avocados, smash with a fork and serve

First Things First

My sister suggested that I start keeping a journal of my travels... My husband suggested I start a blog to post my recipes... ugh... reading and writing are not exactly what I consider fun... I'd rather have a glass of wine, or two or three... or four. But, for the sake of memories... here I go!