His vs Hers: Personal Thin Crust Pizzas

We seem to have fallen off the posting train for the last few weeks, but we promise that we have definitely still been cooking and eating and haven't given into buying Chipotle burritos every night! Maybe only once a week. Tops. We promise.

Taylor recently wanted to make pizza from scratch and asked what toppings I usually like. Me being a fan of kale, him loving artichokes, and both of us being indifferent about the others' veggie choices, we decided to make our own personal pizzas.  Apparently the only things we could agree on were mushrooms and a tomato pesto base.


Reddit: the one place everyone goes to sink countless numbers of hours to procrastinate from real life. The best gem- aside from countless cat videos and pug pictures - has been this post for homemade pizza dough. Taylor swears by it and the pizzas in this post were made from following these directions, with one modification. Instead of leaving the dough to sit for 2-5 days, we waited it out for 7 days.

The 7 day sitting really helped to aerate the dough and gave it a really yummy, almost sourdough-like smell and taste.


We both started with a tomato pesto base, and then layered on shredded mozzarella cheese. From there, we parted ways and did our own thing.

On my (Katrina's) pizza, I went with:kale, thinly sliced mushrooms, and crumbled Italian sausage.


Taylor went the vegetarian route and topped his with mushrooms, artichoke, green peppers, and caramelized onions.


Pop these suckers in the oven for a good 10-12 minutes at 425F and you're ready to eat!

Baked Mini Chocolate Donuts (in less than 10 minutes!)

A few weeks ago, we added one of the most dangerous appliances to the kitchen... a mini donut maker (this one, to be exact)!! Being able to bake a batch of seven mini donuts in under 3 minutes is pretty much a dream come true! As you know, we are big fans of "cakenuts" (aka baked, cake-textured donuts) and I will continue to bake them until Taylor can convince me that we won't burn the building down by trying to deep fry them. haha!



Ingredients

1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup of water

(optional for icing & decorating)
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp water
rainbow sprinkles


Directions

1. Mix the boxed cake mix, egg, oil, and water together until you have a smooth mixture.
2. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag (or a Ziplock bag), cut the tip, and then pipe into each of the wells of the donut maker.
3. After about 3 minutes of baking, pop these lil nuggets out and set them out on a cooling rack.
4. While the mini chocolate treasures are cooling, mix the powdered sugar and water together in a small bowl to make the icing. You want the viscosity of the icing to be just a wee bit thicker than that of cooking oil.
5. Once the donuts have cooled, dip each of them into the bowl of icing and rotate to evenly coat the top.
6. If you're feeling super fancy, sprinkle on sugary sprinkle goodness!



Not going to lie.. I might've eaten half of dozen of these by myself before we took photos of the donuts for this post. I risked myself for... uh... quality control, y'know? You're welcome. ;)

Fresh Summer Salsa

Tortilla chips: the one thing we can never get enough of! I'll admit that I have a problem and will eat tortilla chips without anything on them because I like the texture and salty goodness of them. Taylor often judges me because, if he leaves a bag of chips opened within arm's reach of where I'm sitting, they get devoured by the end of the night.


Ingredients  - makes 10 servings

10 tomatoes on the vine
1 lime, juiced
1 red onion, diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup of diced cilantro


Directions

1. Dice the tomatoes and onions into even pieces and mix in large bowl.
2. Mince the jalapeno pepper, removing the seeds in the middle, and then add the diced pieces to the tomatoes and onions.
3. Dice the cilantro and add to the mix.
4. Cut the lime in half and juice both halves into the tomato mix.
5. Mix well until all of the colours are evenly distributed.


To serve, heat a baking sheet full of tortilla chips at 325F for 10 minutes for a lovely pairing of warm chips and cool salsa. We also accompanied this with our favourite iced tea with a couple slices of fresh lemons.

Using the leftovers from last night's pasta and clams

A couple of nights ago Katrina made a delicious and simple meal of clams, tomatoes and some spices (you can check out the post here). She ended up making more clams than my body has room for, so I improvised and made a few meals with the leftovers to bring to work the next day. This might take the title for the easiest meal that will ever be featured on this blog. Even easier than that tomato salad, I promise!

Add 1/3 cup (it really depends on how much tomato base you have left after the first meal, but we are assuming there is 50% leftover) of cream to the pan with the clams and tomato sauce, stir and bring to a simmer. Toss in some cooked linguine noodles and that's it. Done. Serve it. Or don't. Who cares? Eat it tonight while you're sorting your Magic: The Gathering cards, nerd. (I sort mine by spell type and color.)

Below is the ingredients list and directions for Katrina's clams in tomato sauce for reference.

Ingredients - makes 4 servings

1 1/2 lbs little neck clams
1 lb manilla clams
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 8oz can of chopped tomatoes (we used the kind with garlic & onions)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup white wine
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 lemon
1/3 cup heavy cream
Linguine noodles, cooked


Directions

1.  Make the clams and tomatoes as described in the original post here.
2.  Add the cream and bring to a simmer, then toss in the cooked noodles. Serve.

Enjoy!

One Pot Meal: Tomato Clam Stew

On sunny weekends, Taylor and I will bike to the International District to grab groceries at one of our favourite stores, Uwajimaya. They've got such a great selection of fresh seafood and meats and have great sales! On this particular trip, there were little neck clams on sale for $2.99/lb, which is the cheapest I have ever seen clams at the grocery store. Secretly I was walking over to the tanks thinking, "I CANNOT WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON SO MANY OF THESE LITTLE GUYS!!" Ok, that's a lie. I'm actually terrified of tanks full of fish (long story) and avoid them as best as I can, so I made Taylor scoop the clams out of the tank since the clams were surrounded but all these other tanks of fish. Yes, I am a wimp.


I still can't get over how beautiful these clams are! This was half of the batch of clams we used for the meal. The other half were manilla clams, which were on sale for $5.99/lb.


Ingredients - makes 4 servings

1 1/2 lbs little neck clams
1 lb manilla clams
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 8oz can of chopped tomatoes (we used the kind with garlic & onions)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup white wine
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 lemon


Directions

1.  Soak the clams in cold water for 20 minutes prior to cooking; They'll release all the lovely gritty stuff they've stashed in their shells.
2. Dice the cloves of garlic.
3. In a large saucepan, simmer the diced tomatoes, garlic, parsley, pepper, and wine for 15 minutes on medium-low heat.
4. Add the clams to the pan and cover with a lid to let them steam in the tomato bath. Remove the lid once clams are opened (should be about 10 minutes).
5. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon into the pan, over the clams.


We ended up eating this with our favourite crusty bread from the market, dipping slices into the soupy tomato base as we devoured the clams. So yummy!

P.S. We never ended up finishing the full 4 servings of the clams from this recipe. Instead, Taylor ended up making a killer batch of clam pasta in a creamy tomato sauce with our leftovers, which he'll be sharing next up on the blog.

Our Favourite Summer Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes

Taylor and I have been loving the sun and spending as much time as possible soaking up whatever rays are left after work. This sometimes means eating dinner at 9pm when the sun finally decides to start setting. We'll make a snack and hang out for a couple hours before coming back in to start working on the next meal. We're like cows-- grazing at every opportunity possible! ;)

Our favourite snack this season is this heirloom tomato salad with feta cheese. It's super cooling and so easy to make!

Ingredients - makes 2 servings

2 heirloom tomatoes (contrasting colours are perfect!)
1 English cucumber
salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese



Directions

1. Wash tomatoes and slice the evenly at about 1cm thickness.
2. Wash and peel the cucumber and slice at the same thickness of the tomatoes.
3. Evenly drizzle the tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil and sprinkle the salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle the balsamic vinegar on top.
4. Sprinkle the feta cheese on top & enjoy!


Serve as is, or add a side of your favourite crusty bread (we are in love with the baguettes from Pike Place market) with a side of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip!

Lemongrass Pork Shoulder Skewers

It's been hot, sunny, and generally awesome for a while now here in Seattle, so Katrina and I decided to get the grill out and try out a new dish that I've been wanting to make – lemongrass pork skewers. These have been a favorite of mine at every outdoor festival that has an Asian food stall. The citrus-y flavor of the lemongrass with the soy and fish sauce taste incredible on charcoal-cooked meats. Serving it on a stick reminds me of being a kid in the summer and barbecuing with my family.

This recipe is easy to put together and super wallet friendly. Pork shoulder is one of my favorite cuts of meat because of its low cost and ability to hold flavor. It's nice and fatty which is amazing for grilling. The fat content renders off during grilling and mixes with the brown sugar in the marinade to create a glaze that is unreal.

Ingredients - makes 4 servings

2lbs boneless pork 

1 stalk lemongrass

1 shallot

3 cloves garlic

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions

1. Before starting your marinade, soak a handful of bamboo skewers in water. I used a baking sheet with a plate on top of the skewers to submerge them. 

2. Mince the lemongrass, shallots and garlic then add to a small bowl. You want a pretty fine mince on the lemongrass since the stalks can be a bit fibrous and are not the most pleasant to chew on. 

3. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and vegetable oil to create a slurry, then pour over your sliced pieces of pork shoulder, and allow to marinade in the refrigerator for a 2-3 hours. 

4. After marinating, take the pork pieces and weave them onto the skewer in a back and forth motion - like an accordion - so that the meat is well seated on the bamboo. 

5. Place your skewered meats on the grill for about 8-10 minutes a side, depending on how thick you sliced your pork, and serve hot off the grill. 

If you don't want to eat these as finger food, the meat is perfect for a banh mi sandwich – just slide the pork off the skewer and throw it on a french roll with carrots, cilantro, jalapenos and a bit of mayonnaise. Enjoy!

Kitchen Essentials | The Firsts

When I first moved out of my parents' house and started cooking for myself and my roommates, a few people recommended getting one of those giant sets of pots and pans. The 20-in-1 every-pot-you'll-ever-need kind of things. After taking a look at some of the selections at BBandB, they felt kinda cheap and didn't seem to be made to last. I knew the big set wasn't for me. I did some research on well made kitchenware, and cast iron skillets kept popping up in my findings. Cast iron has been used for a couple hundred years now, so I figured if it was good enough for my great grandma, it was probably good enough for me. I decided to purchase a Lodge 12" skillet and see what all the fuss was about.

Goddamn is it a beast. It took a bit of setting up, but after seasoning it for a few rounds it has become my go to pan in the kitchen. To season it, I poured a bit of vegetable oil into the center then wiped it all over the cooking surface, including the walls, with a paper towel. You want to leave a thin layer of oil across the entire surface – not too much though or it will get a bit gummy. Turn the oven to 500º and put the cast iron on the middle rack face-down for about an hour. The oil will char and turn a nice shiny black on the cooking surface. Do this a few times over a couple days and it will be ready to go. Once it's seasoned, it becomes a monster for almost anything you throw at it. Searing chicken thighs, frying bacon, sauteeing vegetables; it does it all and releases the food perfectly. The best part is that every time you cook with it and are using any amount of oil, you're seasoning it even more. Just be sure not to use soap when you clean it! Use super hot water and the rough side of a dish sponge to break up any bits that have stuck to the pan.

As my cast iron's right hand man, he needed a solid knife sidekick. I was in college, like a lot of people when they first move out, and I didn't have a lot of cash to spend on a badass kitchen knife, so I had to spend wisely. I did a TON of research on the most cost effective knives, and I kept hearing about one knife above all for the price - the Forschner Fibrox 8" chef's knife. This thing is a commercial kitchen workhorse and is meant to be used, dropped, stepped on, honed and ready to go on the daily. I'm pretty sure America's Test Kitchen uses this knife. It's about $28 and comes with a razor sharp edge that is easily restored with a quick pass on steel. It doesn't hold it's edge as well as other knives I have used, but again, a quick hone to line up the edge before you dice your onions or slice your tomatoes makes it a dream to work with. I love this knife and recommend it over my Shun Premier to anyone who asks about a good knife in their kitchen. I have owned the Forscher and my Lodge cast iron for about 5 years now and they could not be better. I truly cannot recommend these two items enough to anyone who is looking to build out their first kitchen.

Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Glaze

Happy National Donut Day!! I know most people get excited about pumpkin spice during the Fall, but to be honest, Taylor and I are just a couple of basic bitches who love pumpkin spice year round, so we're sharing our favourite donut recipe a few months early. 


Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Cinnamon Glaze Makes a dozen donuts (+2 extras for you to snack on)
Ingredients
1 box of yellow cake mix 1 large egg 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3/2 cup water 1/2 cup pumpkin puree  1 tsp cinnamon powder 1 tbsp butter
1 cup powdered sugar 5 tbsp water 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder 

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350º. Prep the donut tray by rubbing a generous coat of butter to each cavity. 2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the boxed cake mix, egg, vegetable oil, water, and pumpkin puree together either in a stand mixer or by hand until there batter is consistent. 3. Whisk the 1 tsp of cinnamon powder into the cake mix. 4. Transfer the cake batter into a piping bag. 5. Fill each cavity of a donut pan (we used this Wilton one from Amazon) 2/3 of the way and then bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes. (To test if they're ready, poke a toothpick in one donut. They're ready if there's no runny batter stuck to the toothpick when you pull it out.) 6. Let the donuts rest in the tray for 10 minutes before popping them out and transferring onto a cooling rack. 7. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, water, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder to create a glaze. The consistency should be as viscous as ranch salad dressing.  8. Once the donuts have completely cooled, dip each one into the glaze and set on a cooling rack to dry.
Ahh, our basic bitch cravings for pumpkin spice all the things has been slightly satiated... at least for another few weeks. 

Fried Chicken Tenders

So, we got a deep fryer. Katrina has a Goodwill not too far from her place and it’s easy to just pop in and see what’s on the shelves on the way home from work so we try to check in as often as we can. The fryer kinda looks like a rice cooker so we almost overlooked it, but once we realized what it was and saw that it was only $10, I snagged it instantly.

It’s a DeLonghi that holds a little over two pounds of food. There’s no temperature dial or gauge which we were a little nervous about, but according to the manual it is set to 350º which should be solid for most items. There’s a little spigot that pops out to drain the cooled oil making cleaning pretty easy. This thing must have been used only once or twice – it still had the packaging stickers on it. A wipe-down with some soap and water was all it took to make it look brand new. 

The other weekend we went to a cookout at a friend’s and he made some unreal adobo fried chicken, so that got us hankerin’ to try our hand at it. We decided to just do some basic chicken tenders as a test run to see if the fryer even worked.

We did a few different variations to see what produced the best results and ultimately landed on a pretty solid formula; the trick is to double batter before frying for seven minutes. We seasoned the tenders with black pepper and Vegeta (which you don’t actually say like the dude from Dragon Ball Z).

After seasoning we dipped the meat in buttermilk, tossed in a bowl of seasoned flour and repeated. After breading the tenders we let them sit for about 10 minutes so that the flour soaked up all the moisture. Fried ‘em for 7 minutes and then transferred to a rack to cool for a second. Insane crispness - the breading was super thick and crunchy. Popcorn chicken is actually pretty easy to do this way also – dice the tenders into chunks do the same double batter process. Works wonders.

Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

1lb chicken breast tenderloins
1 cup buttermilk

Vegeta seasoning

Breading mix, in a bowl:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rice flour
1 tbsp Paprika 
1 tsp Pepper

Directions

1. Season tenders with Vegeta and black pepper (we got pretty liberal with the stuff) 

2. Dip individual tenders in buttermilk, then roll ‘em around the bowl of flour. Now do it again! You want there to be "clumps" of the flour mixture, which will give the chicken strips a solid, crunchy coating (as seen in the photo below).
3. Let the battered and floured tenders sit for 10 minutes before dropping them into the fryer.

4. Lay tenders in a single layer in the fryer basket, or drop em in your pot of 350º oil and fry for about 7 minutes. Transfer to paper towels or cooling rack to dry for a bit before breaking those things open!

If you want to add some spice to your golden little nuggets, cut some Frank’s Red Hot sauce with melted butter until it’s of a desirable heat level, then toss your fried chicken in it and serve. 

If you're like Katrina and want to up the breading to chicken ratio, try making popcorn chicken! Cut the chicken tenderloins into bite-sized pieces and follow the same method for double breading with the buttermilk. Fry these for 6 minutes and enjoy!

Hello, World!

Hey friends!

Thanks for stopping by this little 'ol blog. We've been thinking about starting one for quite some time now and finally kicked our butts in gear to get this first post up. Funny how the biggest barrier is hitting that teeny orange "Publish" button to get started, right?


You've probably guessed by now that this is going to be our food blog. First and foremost, our favourite past time is eating yummy food. It's not hard to do when we're both also really excited by the idea of cooking together and - more often than not - end up overcooking for two. ;)  We're also at that point where we're learning what types of tools we like (and don't like) in our kitchens and trying to be smarter about how to build our tool sets moving forward. 

We're still learning and going through the life lessons of what it means to be a real adult and can't wait to share all of our trial and errors in the kitchen.

We're excited to do this and can't thank you enough for joining along.

Let's get messy and silly in the kitchen and eat lots of yummy food together, ok? Ok!