International Taste Test Courtesy of World Market

Living in the spectacular mountains of western North Carolina, fall is tourist season. We're  overrun with leaf lookers trying to take in our beautiful scenery and because of that, J's restaurant is impossibly busy. With the cooler temperatures and the changing colors, we had to jump on an opportunity for a date before the hellish rush of October and we went out on the town.

Our primary goal (besides spending time with each other) was to buy a couch for our new house, which we did. However, with home renovations and the purchase of said couch (and chair!) our date night budget was slashed. Yet, there are still inexpensive ways to have fun and not miss out on any adventures. 

While in Asheville, we went to one of our favorite stores - Cost Plus World Market. For those of you that have never been, World Market is exactly what it sounds like; a store filled with international treats of all sorts - including homegoods from a variety of countries, jewelry with cultural flair, and a plethora of foreign food items. They have niche cooking utensils and hardware - like North African tajines, hammered copper pots for curry, Oktoberfest beer mugs shaped like boots and more. But to me, the most exciting part of the store is the imported food and beverage department that is filled with all sorts of spices, candies, sauces, beers and wines from around the globe. Some of the items are fairly familiar, like Toblerone chocolate bars or Nutella; and some we've heard of but never tried, like vegemite or spotted dick, but the majority of items are (to me) completely foreign. 

And for foodies like us, that makes for a perfect date night stop! For less than $12 we both got several treats to try - that's cheaper than one movie ticket at some A-ville theaters. Aside from the finances of it, this trip was partly inspired by a series of Buzzfeed videos where they give a panel of staff members food/drinks from foreign countries or cultures. These videos are hysterical - partly because we're learning about random foods ourselves, like Japan's Every Burger wheat crackers or the infamously awful malort liquor; but that also it seems each panel has completely different responses, someone will inevitably love it, and others will be skeptical if not grossed out (except everyone hated Vegemite). 

This video was our main inspiration. I knew World Market carried the Ramune soda and I was dying to try it! 

Ramune soda comes in a glass bottle with two chambers - a large one at the base and a smaller one in the neck. To open the soda, you break the plastic cap to create a plunger, push the plunger down hard on the lid to force a marble into the smaller chamber. This creates a whole lot of fizz and a very satisfying glass-on-glass noise. Apparently, the marble serves no practical purpose other than stopping the flow of soda if it were to get overturned - but for some (childish?) reason, it's a whole lot of fun! 

We tried the "original" flavor, and if I am to go by the pictures on the bottle it is cigarette-smoking pig, melon, life preserver and Japanese lantern flavored...but I think that's inaccurate. It's got a very clean taste that is very simple; it reminded me of a very weak ginger ale or lightly sweetened seltzer water. J also got a strawberry Ramune - which appeared to be a very popular flavor at World Market. It was very tasty and quite sweet, not unlike the Southern Nehi drinks. There are over two dozen flavors of these sodas (we saw about six at World Market) and I'm certainly eager to try more! These would make great stocking stuffers, too (and WM is the place for one-off single serving treats for gifts). 

Also, J grabbed a bag of chocolate covered Turkish delight which was nothing short of disgusting. This appears to be a more traditional variety of the "delight" flavored with rosewater and according to the packaging, paprika (no, we didn't read the ingredients list prior to purchase.. damn). I bit into mine and immediately spit it out. J attempted to eat two or three pieces to isolate the ingredients, but to no avail. 

We also got a bag Walker's shortbread shaped like Scottie dogs (a favorite in our house); a Nutfulle hazelnut truffle, which tasted like a Ferrero Roche treat on steroids and a dark chocolate wafer cookie which you place atop your coffee cup to get warm and gooey, this was a hit for J despite his mega coffee cup trying to swallow the cookie whole.  

If you're a remotely adventurous eater or suffering a case of wanderlust on a budget, I highly suggest hitting up a World Market, specialty store or even the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store. You can find all sorts of interesting treats and even pre-packaged items to make unique international meals. 

If you're looking for a more regular culinary trip outside your comfort zone, I highly suggest signing up for a monthly subscription service. We highly enjoyed our Goodies subscription - which sent us a box filled with 8-10 snacks per month for $7 - until the company closed. There are many other food services that fill almost any niche and price range. For example, Plated ($60) offers all the ingredients to a gourmet meal, plus instructions, delivered straight to your door; Skoshbox ($12) and Candy Japan ($25) provide Japanese candies, snacks and "goodies" monthly; Tiffin Trove ($15) sends the Indian ingredients for a meal, all you have to purchase is the perishable items; and there are so many more - from gluten-free, to healthy, to wine-of-the-month! Like our shopping excursion, they can be hit-or-miss (hopefully no one sends you Turkish delight) but the thrill of a monthly mystery package and taste-test is a great experience. 

So, never suffer from food-travel FOMO (fear of missing out) - you can easily escape the mundane by a quick trip to the grocery store. Even buying one new item can open your horizons! 

No Nonsense Chicken Enchiladas

You all know that after flavor, ease and expense are my highest priorities in food. And since we bought our house and moved, that has never been more true. Our kitchen is the only room that is unpacked and remotely functioning; but we are still scrambling to find all our utensils and have been slack grocery shoppers. With that being said, dinners have been quick and easy, and usually come in a bag - but I took the opportunity this weekend to cook a real meal, and make several meals for later, to be kept in the freezer.

A great way to save money, is to scour your grocery store for "reduced for quick sale" items. This is especially handy with packaged produce, like mushrooms and lettuce; dairy items and the biggest savings are in meat. If you're an astute shopper, you can easily figure out which days are flagged for restocking and reducing current inventory. Our favorite local store, Ingles, puts bright stickers on produce and bulk items and that's the first thing we look for. Grabbing deals like this can be hit or miss, and sometimes on impulse rather than need alone but they're real steals! Be especially mindful of items that freeze or dehydrate well.

The other day, I went to Ingles to get some breakfast items, and I walked past the meat cooler where almost three pounds of chicken thighs were on sale for less than $2. Did I need chicken thighs? No. But, I brought them home, cleaned and repackaged them in two-portion airtight containers and threw them in the freezer. I later used a pack for last week's chicken panang curry and thawed the remainder to make two batches of these chicken enchiladas.

With meat already on hand, the rest of the items are staples in our home, so this recipe is incredibly inexpensive and would be easy to make on a whim, too.

Since you're making the roll-ups yourself, this is a very economical way to make individual servings, servings for two or a family. I doubled the recipe, which normally makes eight enchiladas or four servings. But instead of making two batches of eight I cooked in a smart way that would give us the most meals with the least amount of waste - one batch of eight for when we had a couple of friends over and two batches of four that we could eat ourselves; we ate one 2-person batch that night and I froze the other 4-pack and the 8-pack. Eight servings or 3-4 meals for under $10!

I love that these enchiladas are hearty but without feeling heavy or over-dressed with cheese or sauce. I chop my chicken into big, rough chunks, which gives the filling a thickness and great mouth feel as opposed to some saturated with sauce and runny filling. The green chiles add a mild heat and sweetness and the cumin adds that traditional "taco" flavoring we all love. You could easily dress this up with more spices or even some roughly chopped cilantro (which I despise). Also, you can add other vegetables to the filling; the Progresso soups include black beans but if you had some extra sweet corn kernels, kidney beans, sauteed onions or mushrooms (look in your fridge for leftovers or the reduced section of the store) you could add 1/2 a cup or so to the filling, too!

The recipe only involves mixing up two different bowls of ingredients - one for "sauce" and one for filling, and actually rolling the enchiladas. It's that simple, which makes this a great recipe for little helpers. If you chopped the chicken, this whole dish could be made by your children. How much would they enjoy eating something they'd made?

I hope you're able to incorporate this meal into your own fiestas and family dinners!

 

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso chicken enchilada soup or southwestern vegetable soup

1/3 c sour cream

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles*

1 t ground cumin

2 c chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 c shredded cheese

8 flour tortillas (corn works, too)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350. 

In a medium bowl, mix soup, sour cream, chiles and cumin. Pour 1/2 c soup mixture into ungreased 2 quart casserole dish for full serving (use smaller dishes if making smaller, freezable portions - 2 enchiladas per person). 

In another bowl, mix 1 c soup mixture with chicken and half of the cheese. 

Place 1/4-1/3 c chicken mixture in each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish. Pour remaining soup mixture on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover dish with a piece of alumninum foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. 

Bake 30 minutes, remove foil and bake 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before serving. 

If making to freeze: Only par-cook the enchiladas, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature then wrap with plastic wrap and foil to put in the fridge. When you want to cook it, pull it out the night before (so you'll have less reheat time) then cook at 350 for the final 15 minutes.

*You can use the canned green chiles, or roast your own if you have fresh peppers on hand. Green, sweet or red peppers would be good, but if you want to add heat add jalepenos or even something hotter! Toss your peppers on a baking sheet and place in a 500 degree oven. Cook until the skins are wrinkled and getting dark. Remove from the oven and throw them in a zip-top bag to steam, this will help the skin peel off, Rub them gently to remove the cooked skin. 

"Get Well" Panang Curry

My poor husband is sick. We thought his allergies were riled up from our recent new home renovation projects, but the sniffling has turned into coughing and a sore throat -- and now he's just pitiful. He's been curled up in our over-sized recliner with our "magic" (read: threadbare) blanket since last night. So today called for some serious get well food, beyond the Reese's cups I grabbed this morning, some real, homemade comfort food and I knew just the thing: panang curry.

If you've never had Thai food before or are intimidated by hot curries, this is a great place to start. The flavors are smooth and vibrant without being too spicy (heat or literal spice) and the ingredients are familiar, not foreign or off-putting (which also makes it easy shopping). Being filled with common vegetables and only a few non-pantry staples, you're able to ease out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.

Unlike some curry dishes, which can be thick and almost gummy, this recipe uses two cans of coconut milk, making for an almost soup-like sauce that is creamy and sweet and perfect served over rice.   This thinner sauce allows the vegetables and meat/tofu to shine as solid, beautiful bites independently of the broth instead of being coated in one-note of flavor. Each of the bites is able to full of flavor and texture - which is made even better by large cuts, especially on the meaty mushrooms. Go as heavy as you want on the vegetables - the original recipe called for tiny quantities and I've increased them by almost half and it's still a thin broth with hearty vegetable pieces - you could even add more!

 

I first made this recipe last fall - following the original to the letter - but have since adapted it to our tastes and to my "use what's on hand" leftover philosophy. We both enjoyed the traditional, tofu preparation but carnivorous varieties are delicious, too! After last Thanksgiving, I used the overwhelming amount of turkey and have continued to experiment with it. Today, I thawed out two chicken thighs, boiled them in heavily salted water and pulled the meat off of the bone. But honestly, you could use almost any pre-cooked poultry cut (I wouldn't use ground meat) but leftover KFC or grilled chicken leftovers would be delicious!

In addition to being an easy trip to the grocery store (only panang curry paste might warrant a search in the "ethnic" aisle - an easier to find substitute is red curry paste, which is the main ingredient in panang curry paste anyway), this recipe is completely painless to cook - using only one pot and taking less than 30 minutes to complete. With good mise en place and prepping all of your vegetables and proteins ahead of time, this recipe literally requires two steps - browning the spices and dumping in everything else!

I don't think I have an easier international recipe in my arsenal and this curry certainly beats chicken noodle soup for curing any cold!

Panang Curry

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil
2 T chopped garlic
1 t grated ginger
2 T panang (or red) curry paste
2, 13.5 oz. cans coconut milk (FYI: I've tried this with light coconut milk and didn't enjoy it as much, but it's still good)
1 T palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 t salt
1 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1 - 1 1/2 T lime juice
1/4 c roasted and unsalted cashews, roughly chopped (much cheaper when bought in the bulk dry goods aisle)
1 1/2 c quartered white mushrooms
1 c chopped white or yellow onion
4 Thai basil leaves (optional - these are hard to come by here, so you can easily nix them)
4 - 6 oz. cubed protein (raw, extra firm tofu or any precooked poultry cuts)
10 broccoli florets
1 cup chopped red bell pepper (these can be expensive, so don't hesitate to use cheaper, green peppers)
15 snap peas (strings removed)

Method: 

In a well-seasoned wok or heavy-bottom sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, add ginger and garlic and sautee until light brown - don't let it brown too much or your garlic will be bitter.

Stir in curry paste. Whisk in coconut milk, sugar, salt, soy sauce and lime juice. Start with 1 T and add more to taste, it can be a bold flavor. Also, taste carefully for the salt; it doesn't take much but just a pinch brightens the flavor of every vegetable and the curry paste.

Add vegetables and proteins and simmer until tofu is cooked completely and vegetables are al dente (you can cook them softer if you'd like, but I prefer a bit of a bite).

Serve over warm rice, especially jasmine, and top with cashews and sriracha, if you like. And if you're a "dipper" like I am, this sauce is great soaked up by naan or spring rolls (we especially love Healthy Choice's Thai chicken spring rolls).

A Moveable Feast - Dining on Carnival Sensation

As I've mentioned earlier, J and I recently took a cruise to the Bahamas with friends. We were on the Carnival Sensation for four days and had a fabulous time. This was the first cruise for all of us and we didn't know what to expect. I assumed we'd be taken care of - who would want to be trapped on a boat with 1,000 unhappy and/or hungry customers, and we'd heard all the tales of the never-ending food - my doctor told me to make sure we paced ourselves and some online reviews cautioned us to pack plenty of stretchy pants. 

Yet, I assumed the food would be fairly run-of-the-mill like any hotel continental breakfast; decent, filling, in excess and proportionate to the price of lodging, but nothing to write home about. However, I was very wrong. So wrong that I am, in fact, "writing home" to you, my readers, about the stellar fare on the ship. 

First, let me say that we spent around $450 apiece for our tickets. This included the price of our cabin (queen sized bed, bathroom, but no exterior window and all amenities therein), any activities we'd take part in or view (including game shows, pool/hot tubs/waterslides, George Lopez's comedy club, Vegas-style cabaret and more), entry into the international ports (Freeport Harbor and Nassau) and all travel costs including four days aboard the ship. I thought this price for these items alone was reasonable; especially considering that a beach-area (not even ocean-front) hotel - where you aren't likely to be murdered or get bed bugs - runs around $100/night.

However, the price is incredibly economical when you add in the value of the food available to you.

There are "levels" of tickets that include larger staterooms - with windows or balconies, and seating in the "signature" restaurants - including a steakhouse-style hotspot. These restaurants are available to those with "basic" level tickets, but include additional charges.

We purchased the base level of ticket and had the following dining options available to us at no additional charge:

• Lido Deck Buffet - An outdoor buffet on the pool deck which serves  continental breakfast and made-to-order omelettes (7:00 a.m. - noon); lunch and dinner (noon - approximately midnight) with "grill" area hamburgers/hotdogs, rotisserie station and Mongolian wok
• 24-hour dining room - which featured several round-the-clock stations including a daily international buffet (American, Carribbean, Mexican and French were served during our cruise), hand-tossed made-to-order pizza bar, deli, salad bar, sweet station with no less than six dessert options, soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt machines
• All-you-can-drink water, juice, milk, lemonade, iced tea, hot teas, coffee and hot chocolate at either location, available all day. 
• Continental breakfast delivered a la carte to your room per order ticket hung on your door knob. 
• 24-hour room service from a wide menu of fruits, sandwiches, salads and desserts.
• And our favorite place, the Fantasy Dining Room, which served high-class, gourmet breakfasts (2+ courses) and dinners (3+ courses) in an upscale atmosphere. At each meal, we were offered a menu with 2-3 categories we could pick from - and if you wanted two desserts, three starters or one of EVERYTHING (yes, everything) they would bring it to you. Water, juice, milk, teas and hot drinks were available free-of-charge here during meals, too.

Being an almost-millennial with the FMO (Fear of Missing Out) and an old-school cheapskate, I wanted to get my foodie's money's worth and we certainly did. 

We got up early each morning to pack in as much food, er.. um.. adventure into each day and ate breakfast around 7 in the Fantasy Dining Room, had lunch with bits from both the Lido and 24-hour buffets around noon, a snack (usually a sweet) mid-afternoon before our naps, dinner at 7 in Fantasy and late night snacks (sometimes Hobbit-style second dinners) around 11.

But, I suppose, the best way to portray the quality, quantity and value of Carnival's spread, is to show you! 

We took pictures of a variety of the dishes we ate in the Fantasy Dining Room, that you'll see below. I was so impressed with not just the flavors, but the impressive plating. Each plate was well thought-out, they did  dramatic tableside presentations of all the chilled soups and used spot-on techniques/knife cuts for each element. In addition to showing you the beautiful plates, I am giving you a glimpse at how impressive of a deal this experience was - if you were to eat this quality of food (as often as we did) on vacation on-land, you'd be shelling out a pretty penny! You'll see in italicized parenthetical the cost of a comparable dish at a national franchise or supermarket. 

Here's a glimpse of what I ate last week: 

• The breakfast I ate every day (and once at lunch) - smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese, capers and red onion. (At our favorite grocery store, Ingles Markets, 3 oz. of smoked salmon is $8 - so figure at least $24 dollars only on the protein)

• Starter: seared duck breast salad with oranges; Main: grilled chicken breast with roasted vegetables; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake (Molten lava cakes run $6.29 apiece at Chili's Bar & Grill franchises; J and I ate at least $30 worth of those things).

• Starter: Indian spiced pumpkin soup; Main: broiled lobster tail with grilled shrimp; Desserts: Grand Marnier souffle and banana creme cake (An oven roasted lobster tail plus one vegetable side at Red Lobster runs $30.99)

• Starter: fresh vegetable spring roll; Main: flat iron steak with vegetables; Desserts: tiramisu and banana creme cake. (Olive Garden's tiramisu is $6.29 per serving; and that's only one of my desserts...)

• (Sea Day Brunch) Starter: tropical fruit plate with cottage cheese; Main: bacon macaroni and cheese -- Alas, no pictures. We left our phones in the room; which is really disappointing because the plating for the fruit was top-notch!

• Starters: A "study in sushi" and chilled asparagus vichyssoise; Main: veal parmigana; Dessert: baked Alaska. (A comparative veal dish at Romano's Macaroni Grill clocks in at $23).

And here's a look at J's meals:

• J ordered eggs benedict every morning except our first, when he had a waffle with a stewed banana in a dulce de leche caramel. 

• Starter: hot spinach artichoke dip; Main: flat iron steak with vegetables; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake. (Applebee's spinach artichoke dip appetizer is $7.99 and TGI Friday's flat iron steak runs close to $15.00)

• Starter: alligator fritters; Main: broiled lobster tail with grilled shrimp; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake

• Starter: shrimp cocktail; Main: "gourmet burger" with fries; Dessert: cappuccino ice cream cake (Olive Garden's chocolate ice box cake is around $6.50).

• Starters: A "study in sushi" and crab cake' Main: veal parmigana; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake. (A crab cake sandwich with one cake at Joe's Crab Shack is $10.79).

Not be forgotten as a contributor to the value, is the amazing service we received in the Fantasy Dining Room. Carnival prides itself on "getting to know" everyone cruising - our room steward, Richard, addressed us by name and Alvin, a waiter in the various bars sought us out by name - and they do the same in the dining room. They would ask "Amanda, how is your meal?" or "Robert, would you like more coffee?" The dinners took longer because of the ceremony of ordering each course individually and receiving drinks and breads, but it was worth it because we were so well taken care of. And each evening we were a part of "Showtime" with the Maitre'd where the waiters and servers would dance and sing for the dining room.

I mentioned another perk earlier: the free  room service available 24/7 (minus soda and alcohol orders). Neither of us have ever had the privilege of ordering from a room service menu, and now after knowing how "the other half lives," I can see the allure. The ship provides complimentary terry cloth robes for each room and I must say there's nothing quite like drying off from the pool, throwing on an over-sized, fluffy robe and eating from a covered dish in bed. We ordered on two different occasions - once we each got sandwiches from the deli, and the other we got salads and sweets. The food was nothing short of delicious; it was of the same quality as any of the dining rooms including great plating (see that snazzy cheesecake with piped whipped cream and strawberry puree?) and attention to detail (like my Caesar salad which was tossed to order, not with bottled dressing but the real deal eggs and anchovies stuff). 

I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and was utterly spoiled (and maybe fattened) by the terrific food on our cruise. Honestly, I have struggled the past few days with not eating every two hours and having to shop for, cook, plate and clean up after our meals. This shock of coming back to reality has further confirmed that cruising is the way to travel. Everything is done for you - you just have to get up and walk to eat or a see a show (which after eating and being lulled to sleep can be hard) - and there isn't any of the "where do you want to eat/I don't know where do you want to eat" arguing. If you're looking for a vacation, seriously consider cruising, especially with Carnival; we're already thinking about our next trip (to the buffet). 

Caribbean Fare - Conch & Cocktails

For the vacation we've been planning since before we got married, J and I and a couple from church (our Wednesday Game Night buddies) went on a four-day Caribbean cruise. Last Saturday, we drove to Port Canaveral, Florida, got on the Carnival Sensation ship on Sunday, hit Freeport Harbor and Port Lucaya (on Grand Bahama Island) on Monday, Nassau on Tuesday and spent a day at sea on Wednesday. This was an amazing trip and I want to tell you all about the fun we had!

This trip fulfilled so many firsts for us - my first trip to Florida, our first cruise, first international excursion, and first double-date vacation.

Even with all the new adventures, we stuck to some of our best vacation traditions, including exploring the local food scene.

In Freeport, we were running from Tropical Storm Bertha who descended upon us as we arrived at the beach in Port Lucaya. It was a torrential downpour with taxis not returning to the ship for three hours, so we took a Bahamian "alcove tour" as we searched for shelter from the storm. After being soaked to the bone, we happened across a candy shop where I bought a favorite Caribbean soda - Goombay Punch.

Note my sopping wet shirt!

Goombay Punch is a fruity, yellow soda with the most prevalent flavors being pineapple and lemon. It's a bold flavor bursting with fruitiness and sugar. I tried a sip and was blown away with how shockingly sweet it was. For perspective: a can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar, a can of Goombay Punch has 54 grams of sugar. That's almost 1.5 times as sweet as a traditional Coke!! The bright flavor and sugaryness overwhelmed me but I couldn't quite put my finger on why it tasted so familiar. Then I got a whiff of the bright yellow, bubbly liquid and I figured it out: if you took a bag of gummy bears, melted them down and added a touch (only a touch) of carbonation, you'd have Goombay Punch. I think this could be a good base for a Caribbean cocktail - think rum and Coke, but with Goombay - or in teeny tiny servings, but there was no way I could drink 12 ounces of this in a sitting!

Next, we headed to try a Caribbean staple - conch. Conch is the seafood item from the beautiful, curved pink conch shells (you know, the big, cliche shells you put to your ear to hear the ocean). It is an "edible marine snail" that is illegal to harvest in the United States, so it is rare to see on American menus (since it must be imported from the Caribbean). We knew we had to seek out these critters while we had the chance!
After going into sugar shock from my soda, we stopped in at After Dock, a restaurant in the center of the shopping district for conch fritters.

The fritters were like a mix of a crab cake and a hushpuppy. They were fried bread fritters with hearty chunks of conch inside with a spicy seasoning and a bold dipping sauce, like a zesty thousand island dressing. The conch pieces were chewy but the flavor was great and the breading was fluffy and light. I imagine that like most invertebrate seafood items - scallops, calamari, mussels - conch can easily develop into a tough, rubbery meat. I enjoyed the dish and would certainly eat this again, and would love to try different preparations of conch. 

J and I also toasted our adventure with Bahama Mama cocktails. These drinks are fruity, usually made of pineapple and orange juice, and rum-filled. The After Dock's version was heavy on the grenadine and ruby red grapefruit juice giving it an acidic bite to match the rummy burn. Being constantly vigilant to avoid heartburn, I'd prefer a more traditional cocktail with a little less citrus and more "gentle" fruit juices.

If a trip to the islands isn't in your future, here's a more traditional Bahama Mama recipe to give you a refreshing taste of the Caribbean. 

Ingredients:

1/2 fluid oz. rum (Tortuga is made in country, if you're going for authenticity)

1/2 fluid oz. coconut rum (Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay has been a favorite of mine for many years)

1/2 fluid oz. of grenadine syrup

1 fluid oz. orange or grapefruit juice

1 fluid oz. pineapple juice (I'd go heavier on the pineapple, lighter on the citrus)

1 c. crushed ice

Method:

Blend all ingredients in an electric blender until at a slushy consistency or mix rums and juices, pour over ice and pour over grenadine for the "sunrise" ombre effect. 

J's Strong Finish to the Chopped Challenge

Tonight was the last evening of our family Chopped-style cooking challenge, with J cooking a great spread with his$16 budget.

Here's the basic guidelines of our competition:

1. We must make three courses for four people. 
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at Grocery Outlet for all of our main ingredients (tax not included).
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons. 
5. We must include mom's sabotage item - course and item chosen sight unseen. 
6. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge:

• Up to 2 c. flour
• Sugars/honey
• "Basic"spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• Onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• Milk
• Oils/butter
• "Basic" condiments - ketchup, mayo, mustard

I cooked Saturday and Dad played chef last night. 

And I'm not saying it because he's my husband and the light of my life, but J really got screwed with the sabotage ingredient - root beer-flavored Magic Shell. He'd bought an interesting set of groceries to begin with (with which I wouldn't have known what to make), but this ingredient was downright gross, even in the dessert round. Mom and I are the only ones who even enjoy root beer and certainly not outside of a glass or a float, but J was very creative! 

Here's the lowdown on J's menu:

Appetizer: Vegetarian taquitos made with flour tortillas, homemade refried beans (from a can of baked beans), Queso Suave canned "cheese," Zatarain's rice and onions, and topped with a crumble of spicy Cheez-It snack mix. I loved this! You all know I'm a sucker for Mexican-style dishes and this was no exception. Using the baked beans lent the taquito a very smoky flavor, almost like barbeque, which made it feel more hearty. The only thing that could've made it better would be guacamole, but we're guac snobs and only eat Wholly Guacamole's Organic guac anymore. 

Entree: A pork chop filled with an apricot preserve and onion stuffing, J's signature sweet carrots and steamed broccoli with "cheese." This was a great meal and is something we would easily cook, and eat, any day of the week. And I think that gets to the heart of this challenge. It's a lot of fun to goof off and cook with crazy ingredients, but it shows us how resourceful we can be to make $16 go a long way. Feeding your family can be made easier with creativity and making wise choices. (Note: this is not to say that there isn't still food insecurity, food deserts and hunger issues nationwide; or that it can be solved with a trip to GO). 

Dessert: J used hamburger buns and canned strawberries to make bread pudding dressed with a homemade caramel made from the Magic Shell and a berry meal replacement shake. It was a beautiful caramel, with perfect consistency and a terrific coloring, but it tasted like licorice, or maybe Nyquil. I liked the bread pudding itself, it was warm and gooey and the strawberries added great flavor. But that Shell -- one hell of a blow. 

This has been so much fun for all of us - the cooking and the eating! And it's so do-able for any family. Consider doing one round a month, a Chopped progressive dinner or making your own creative twists; we've already thought of other sneaky games like doing our own shopping, then flipping a coin to see if we switch carts. I encourage you and your families or friends to give it a go; you may just surprise yourself with your own ingenuity and skill!

And yes, I did apologize to the boys for whipping them so badly. And no, I don't think it was beginner's luck. 

Dad's (Also Delicious) Chopped Menu

Tonight is Night Two of our Chopped-style competition, wherein each of us (me, Dad and J) cooked a three course meal for our family of four using only $16 worth of GO Grocery Outlet goodies.

Here are our basic rules:

1. We must make three courses for four people. 
2. There can only be 60 minutes between courses. Pre-prep is allowed. 
3. We can only spend $16 at Grocery Outlet for all of our main ingredients (tax not included). 
4. Cannot use coffee/caffeinated items (including chocolate) for dietary restriction reasons. 
5. We must include Mom's sabotage item - course and item chosen sight unseen. 
6. The following pantry staples are allowed free of charge:

• Up to 2 c. flour
• Sugars/honey
• "Basic" spices - not things like zatar or Chinese five spice
• Onions
• Up to 4 eggs
• Milk
• Oils/butter
• "Basic" condiments - ketchup, mayo, mustard

I cooked last night, and set a damn fine example. Tonight, it was Dad's turn. 

He did a very technique-savvy menu that was pretty impressive using this $16 set of ingredients. 

Including Mom's diabolical mystery ingredient - Little Debbie Starfish Cookies - in the appetizer round! 

Appetizer: A chorizo-style Scotch egg with deep fried pickles and honey vinaigrette. Normally, a Scotch egg is made with a boiled egg cased in sausage breading. Dad took the time to scrape the blue icing off of the starfish and crumbled them with oyster crackers and mixed it with pre-cooked, frozen chorizo breakfast sausage - now that's working through adversity! And, I have to hand it to him because I despise pickles but actually enjoyed the thin, not overly sour fried pickles. 

Entree: Italian sausage stuffed cabbage and zucchini boats with smoked oysters and habenero cheese. The cabbage reminded me a lot of our Russian favorite, golubtsi. It was filled with sausage, spices and rice (another pre-cooked, frozen ingredient!) and was so hearty. Instead of individual rolls, dad was really creative and stuffed the entire cabbage, wrapped it in cheese cloth and served it like big slices of cake! The zucchini boats were refreshing and full of flavor - that cheese was SPICY! This was such a filling course for so little cost; I couldn't even finish my plate.

Dessert: Now this is exactly why I was terrified to compete against J and Dad. They've both worked in a variety of food service jobs and are stellar cooks with great technical skill. So, I wasn't surprised that Dad made a pear and mini cinnamon donut gallete (homemade pie crust of course). We actually started a movie while he finished up his dish and the smell of cinnamon, roasting fruit and toasty crust filled the house. It was an intoxicating scent and the flavor didn't disappoint, either. We added a spoonful of vanilla ice cream (not from his items) to each plate, just to finish off the quart - had he included a whipped cream or ice cream this would have been sheer perfection (or that's what I tell myself to feel better). 

I was thoroughly impressed with this meal; especially the creativity and technical skill. 

J is our final chef-testant tomorrow night and we're all excited to see what he makes. Because of the sheer awfulness of the sabotage item, he was given it early and has been frantically rearranging his groceries and scouring the web for recipes. We shall see! 

Tune in tomorrow for another installment of good family-food-fun!