Where's the beef? It ain't here!

So two weeks ago my girl Kelly Ditto came over to make dinner for my husband and I. While I was full o' baby, she and my other friend Jennifer Ditheridge had been wonderful about stopping by and bringing some din din and some seriously good laughs. She and Jen are definitely on my short list of people that crack my ass up! It's funny because whenever we'd go out while I was pregnant, the three of us look like a Golden Chocolate Creme Oreo. Two Amazonian beautiful blonde's, with this short little round chocolate sister in the middle. (Side note: I am eating some right now...sorry I was pregnant and they were talkin' to me when I walked by them on the shelf at the grocery store and I can't just throw away half a bag of Oreo's just because I'm not pregnant anymore... that's wasteful!)

So on a healthier note, Kelly made these vegan empanadas that were off the hook. She got the original recipe from Veganomicon and tweeked it a little bit. They were ridiculously wonderful. Now originally I was going to retype the recipe and post it, but this recipe is so long that it makes Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" look like lite reading for a Sunday afternoon. That coupled with my new job as hourly milkmaid, has me short on time for typing. I must also warn that it does take a long time to make these empanadas, about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but they are SO worth it if you have the time. Whether you are a vegan, vegetarian or a carnivore I highly recommend adding this cookbook to your library.

En mis sueños soy Halle Berry...and then I wake up!

So as of late I have been doing alot of fantasizing. In my flights of the imagination I wake up naturally, in a large bed, the room smells of peonies. I've got a body like Halle Berry and my hair is already perfectly coiffed. Next to my bed there is wet cappuccino waiting and when I walk out to my connecting balcony overlooking the ocean, a spread of smoked salmon, fresh fruit and Mimosas await me.
Then reality (a.k.a Isaac's fist) smacks me back into the real world. I've got seven inches of bed on a California King, while my husband has the other sixty five and sharing that seven inches with me are a dog on top of my legs and a three year old, sleeping on my face. I lay there in agony feeling my body turn blue from human and animal tourniquets. My body looks more like giant kiwi and my hair...two words...Don King. Yea I went there.
I did unknowingly sign up for this nine years ago when Ian in his locs and cigarette hanging from his lips asked, "Yo baby, what's yo name?" and then asked if he could take me on a first date to Napa. He had his A-game on that day, so I should have known that it would end in marriage, two kids a dog and plan.
So since I can't throw the Calgone in the tub and whisk away to Big Sur on tough parenting days, I'll settle for some dreamy food that gives me the same feeling. My fav that I just fall in love with over and over again are Spanish Tapas. There are only two places in Sacramento to get them and one is overpriced and the other only hires women that are made out of piss and vinegar. Sorry I know that was mean, but these broads are the most angry, impatient, rude employees on the planet. I've never had good service there and niether have any of my friends, but we tolerate it because it's the only place that we know of. The places that I desire are Zuzu in Napa and Cha Cha Cha in San Fransisco. This recipe is for Cha Cha Cha's Cajun Shrimp via Epicurious. One of my favorite dishes that they have made over the years. I hope that you enjoy it too!

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup Cajun Spice Mix
12 oz dark beer
2 cups heavy cream
1 lb peeled shrimp, medium
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

CAJUN SPICE MIX
1/2 cup sweet paprika
2 1/2 Tbs cayenne pepper
2 1/2 Tbs garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbs ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbs ground white pepper
1 Tbs dried thyme
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container.

PREPARATION
In a heavy saucepan, mix cajun spice mix and beer. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to make a thick paste. Don’t let it burn.
Gradually stir in cream to make a smooth sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes or until sauce becomes thick and turns a rich rusty color.
Add shrimp and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat and cook shrimp over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Serve with fresh baguettes.

A Better Life through PBS?

So yesterday was the first day of the new year and the hippie, spiritual, Stevie Nicks side of me thought that the day would be filled with inspiration and relaxation. I was wrong. It was one of the most trying days that I have had in a while. The son was in "hella crazy" mode, the dog refused to go outside to the bathroom, except to jump in the damn compost bin and eat out of it like it was a Chinese buffet and the husband was gone rafting all day so I was on my own. Eight and a half months pregnant, short on patience and long on irritation.
I walked by the opened bottles of Napa Station Cabernet and Scaia Corvina on the kitchen counter like ten times. I felt like one of the crackheads on Celebrity Rehab jonesin' for a sip. After getting everyone that was irritating me down for a nap, I settled for a hot chocolate and some PBS; and sat there on the couch watching Wayne Dryer tell me how to materialize the life that I want through visualization. I have heard this about a gazillion times; I watched "The Secret" and read "The Answer" and even realized going through my library that I have a Wayne Dryer book. But something that he said stuck with me as I thought about the events of the past year.
2010 was a year of feeling that Ian and I were doing "big thangs" in terms of getting this restaurant off the ground. In six months, we secured two separate investors, found our dream property for the restaurant, had the greenlight from the city of Sacramento to create a super "green" establishment and in the matter of a week lost it all. Deposit gone, property gone, investors adios and just as we were dusting ourselves off and getting ready to start over again, two blue lines on a pregnancy test put the kibosh on all of that. I think I cried for about a week straight. Visualize your wants my ass.

Dryer talked about when things don't happen according to your visualization it's for a reason, and after the fact Ian and I realized that. This pregnancy has been wrought with complications and if we had tried to open our first restaurant during that time I can't say that me or this baby would be here today. But that's not the thing that stuck with me. It was about living in that life that you want and staying positive. On my Facebook profile I have a statement that says, "I only hangout with people that make me laugh". For some reason I didn't do that alot the later half of the year. Things got serious, friends lives around me got complicated and as a result I got mentally weaker which manifested itself into poor health. Now I'm not saying that I didn't want to be there for my friends that needed me, but like any athlete you can't overexert yourself and not refuel. I didn't make sure to continually refuel myself with the people in my life that make me laugh so hard that I make that wheezing sound and tear up.


So my New Year's resolution is that I will make an effort to surround myself with positivity this year. I will take inventory of how much sadness, pain and antagonism that I take in and make sure to combat that with equal if not greater amounts of their antonyms. I always say to my sister who LOVES horror movies, "I can't watch the "Grudge 3" without watching "The Carebear Movie" after it." Those are words to live by friend! So remember, negativity can come in many forms, people that you interact with, the evening news reporting about murders and a weak economy, commercials for antidepressants and even Facebook post from people that have nothing better to do than complain EVERYTIME they post. If all you read and listen to is how the world sucks, then guess what... your world will.

Mo' Betta with Butta?

As of late, I have really been craving to try out some new recipes; push the limits of what I know how to do and add some tricks to the bag. So last night I thought that I would dabble in some Indian cuisine and try making Murgh Makhani, also know as Butter Chicken. Now there are about a hundred different versions of this dish and how you can prepare it. I choose a recipe that didn't involve a trip to Peshawar and wouldn't take three days to make. (I was short on time, and dinner hits the table at 6pm in our house.)

As usual, I did have to tweak the preparation of it. The original recipe technique for cooking the chicken would have dried it out in my opinion and I also wanted more of a puree of the "gravy" versus a chunky stew that this recipe called for.
I have to say that it was a success, because Ian had fourths and now there's barely any leftovers. I would like to try this dish again, tweaking it a bit more. Alot of the online recipes called for fenugreek, which this recipe did not call for, and garam masala which after an hour in the grocery store with a three year old telling me he needed donuts and pudding, I had no more patience to look for.
So please try it, enjoy it and tweak it as you like!

Ingredients
For Marinated:
800 grams of chicken cut into pieces (preferably boneless)
1 tablespoon slightly sour yogurt
1 tablespoon(s) vinegar or lemon juice
1 teaspoon(s) each of coriander, cumin and red chili powders
1 onion finely chopped
2 teaspoon(s) each of ginger, garlic pastes or finely chopped ginger and garlic
salt to taste

For the Gravy
4 large tomatoes chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh cream
1 teaspoon(s) each of coriander, cumin, red chili and black pepper powders
2 teaspoon(s) each of finely chopped ginger and green chillies
salt and sugar to taste
melted butter, fresh cream and finely chopped cilantro leaves for garnishing

Preparation
Heat half the butter and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or olive oil on medium-high in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add the chicken along with the marinade. Par cook chicken so that the outside is browned, but the interior is still raw. Pull the chicken from the pan and set aside. (Make sure that the dish that you put your chicken in has high sides. You want to retain the juices from the chicken to add to the gravy later.)
There should still be some remaining marinade in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter in a saucepan and add the red chili, coriander, cumin and black pepper. Fry for a few seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt and cook uncovered for about 7 minutes till the puree thickens and the fat separates. Pull the mixture off of the heat and carefully pour into a blender. I suggest that you wait a couple of minutes to let the mixture cool. IMPORTANT: Most blenders have a removable plastic cap that can be used to add ingredients to the blender while blending with out having to remove the entire lid. When blending hot items, I suggest removing this cap and using a kitchen towel to cover the opening and slowly pureeing the ingredients as not to splash yourself with hot gravy. After you get a smooth puree, return the gravy to the saucepan. Stir in the cream and reduce the heat to low.
Add the chicken and chicken juices, chopped ginger and green chillies to the simmering gravy. Sprinkle salt to taste if needed. Mix well. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or till the curry and chicken is thoroughly heated through.
Just before serving pour melted butter over the curry. Garnish with a swirl of fresh cream and finely chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with Jasmine rice and Naan.

Robots and Ravioli

When your doctor puts you on bed rest starting at month 5 of your pregnancy, by the time you get to month 7 you start to go a little crazy. Hormones coupled with wanting to get the hell out of house start to get at you and you start thinking of crazy scenarios, which by the way is driving my husband crazy. So the latest "Girl Interrupted" delusion that I had was, "Does Ian still love me?" I could slap myself for even typing it, but I went there.
So for the past week I have been acting like a damn fool, trying to get a response out of my man that reinforces his passion and love for me after 8 years of being together. I will give you an example...
Crazy Ass Act #102: Dancing in front of Ian, while he's trying to watch TV, wearing my son's Transformers' helmet, half naked and talking sexy through the helmet's microphone so that I sound like Optimus Prime.
My Reasoning: He's a Sci-Fi geek. He's gettin' two great taste that taste great together. Hot wife and super sick Sci-Fi hero.
The Reality: He laughed his ass off, didn't think it was hot and pleaded with me,"N'Gina Saran Kavookjian go sit down somewhere, anywhere and PLEASE take the helmet off!"

Ok ok ok, failed attempt. Now I know that that kind of behavior would only really be tolerated and or appreciated by some dude at Comic Con, or with a man that likes to play W.O.W or Dungeons and Dragons. So I changed my game plan...
Non-Crazy Ass Act #702: Home-made Pumpkin and Butternut Squash Ravioli with Braised Chicken Thigh Meat for dinner.
My Reasoning: The boy likes to eat
The Reality: He loved it. Complimented me a thousand times, gave me the biggest kiss and said," THAT is why I married you!!!"
Eureka!!!! I followed it up the next night with some home-made meatballs and tomato puree on top of spaghetti. Got the same reaction times 10!!!
So ladies when you're feeling low and that your man isn't giving you the attention that you need, or you're friggin crazy like me and he is spoiling you with attention, but all the blood in your body has gone to your growing baby and not your brain...cook him dinner and put lots of love in it. It's alot more practical than dancing around with a robot helmet on your head.

Quick Credit

With my pregnant brain in overdrive I forgot to credit the photo from Erin L. from Yelp.

Ah Sweet Fried Goodness!

I don't think that I have ever written a restaurant review on this blog. I tend to think that most critics are asses and would rather base my experience off of actually going to the restaurant and making a decision for myself. So I won't call this a review, but a compliment to some people doing a damn good job at cooking the BEST soul food in Sacramento; and when I say the BEST, I do mean it!
So this past Thursday, while hunting for bathroom tile, my husband and I were looking for a place to get something to eat. On the way to the tile store, off of Folsom Blvd, I had noticed a new restaurant called Mama Sue's Kitchen Chicken and Waffles. Out front was a very bored, ghetto fabulous young lady shakin' a sign trying in all her apathy to get people to come inside. I told Ian that we should check it out and got a, "Oh hell yea!" in response.

After slapping Ian for looking at Miss Ghetto Fabulous's ample backside, we walked inside and took a seat. It was clean, roomy, smelled like grandma's house and had the old school jams on the radio. A very personable waitress approached us and gave us menus that we quickly scoured over. They had all the basics that you would expect on a soul food menu. Ian selected the Deep Fried Catfish with Greens and Mac n' Cheese and I ordered the Fried Chicken Breast and Waffle.
Food hit the table not 15 minutes after we ordered, it was steamy hot and the plates were busting over with Southern goodness. We jumped in and started to partake in the ecstasy that was Soul Food. I peeled back the crust on the chicken and immediately knew these people were not playin' around. The key to GREAT fried chicken is to always season the meat as well as your flour. Many places in Sac neglect to do this, so after the crunchy crust falls off your chicken, you're left with bland meat to dig into. At Mama Sue's you could see the seasoning on the meat and I knew that this was going to be good.
I went to take a bite of the chicken and was quickly scolded by Ian that I had to take a bite of everything together with the syrup. Ian likes to remind me that he, in his red beard, freckled, Irish glory is more black than me. So I did as I was told and I think a small tear spilled out of my eye. Vanglorious!!! The chicken was well seasoned and very balanced, the waffle was buttery and fluffy, and the syrup was not over the top sweet. On their own, everything on the plate was great and together they were only better.
Ian's Catfish was delicately breaded and so moist on the inside. The greens were perfectly savory and full of meaty pork bits. Now the Mac n' Cheese was not all that, but I've been spoiled by Esquire Grill's Mac n' Cheese. Once you have a four cheese Mac with a Bechamel base you can never really go back to Mac n' Cheese made with processed powdered cheese substitute.
We surprising ate every last drop. We were full until 7pm that night. We sat there completely satisfied.
I broke off the last piece of fried chicken skin and looked at Ian and said,
"Do you know what this is?"
"What?"
"This is Chicharones for Black people!"
"You're stupid N'Gina"
We did the full people's laugh, which is like two "huh huh's" and then paid and thanked our waitress.
So if you are hankerin' for some seriously good soul food, you need to go to Mama Sue's. The prices are super reasonable, the food is fabulous, service warm and inviting and did I mention they have all you can eat Fried Chicken on Sunday's! Whaaaaaaaat!

Mama Sue's Soul Food Kitchen
10113 Folsom Boulevard
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
(916) 363-3977