Bitchin' Kitchen Thursday

I know I've been MIA lately. Sorry. I mostly PA TV series' and features these days, but lately I've been working a few commercials. The jobs are shorter day-wise, the days are longer hour-wise, but the pay is about $50 more/day than TV or feature jobs and the long hours can easily turn into double days, so the checks go a little further. I can't really go into any of the details this publicly without the threat of getting sued, but I hope that clarifies things a bit. Onto this week's recipe.

I lived in Barcelona for a summer about 7 years ago and have since returned twice, though I wish more. I lived in Segovia the following Spring. My two favorite tapas (Translation: snackies) were croquetas (Translation: croquettes) [Pronounced like the sport croquet with a -TAHS ending] and flautas [fl-OWW-tahs]. This week I will show you how to make two kinds of flautas, one vegetarian and one not.

The name flauta comes from the Spanish word for flute. The Castillian flauta is not to be confused with the Mexican flauta, which is like a large taquito and, incidentally, looks more like a flute than its Castillian counterpart, which is so named after the thin bread used to make it. The Castillian flauta is a bocadillo [boke-ah-dee-yo] or sandwich.

Castillian Flautas

For both kinds of flautas, you will need:

A thin, crunchy baguette 

Very ripe tomatoes

A little olive oil

If it's a long baguette, cut it into halves or thirds. Split the halves or thirds like the above picture, exposing the white. At this point, I like to rub a halved garlic clove on the bread, but that's just me. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the white sides of the bread. Cut the tomatoes in half and mush their centers into the bread and olive oil. Rub the tomatoes up-and-down the bread, covering each slice until they look like the ones above.

For the main ingredient, choose:

Cheese (Idiazabal)

-or-

Ham (Jamon Iberico)

and enjoy!!

I will try to be more blog-involved next week. I HAVE been reading all of your blogs, just not commenting as much lately because I've been reading from my Blackberry. It's a new model that I'm not used to and I have trouble doing much else with it right now, but I'll get better! 

Mahalo.

Does your creative process ever look like this??

I'm trying to write a western...

Um, yeah.



Mahalo.

Bitchin' Kitchen Thursday

I used to order avocado eggrolls at restaurants out here all the time. Unfortunately, one appetizer of the tasty treats is more than the average person's daily caloric intake. This is my healthier homemade version and it tastes just as good.  

BAKED CALIFORNIA CLUB ROLLS

 
Eggroll wrappers or tortillas

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

Monterey jack cheese, shredded

2 Roma tomatoes, diced 

1 chicken breast, grilled or roasted and diced

1-2 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped

Butter or margarine, melted
A little red onion, diced
Garlic powder
Cilantro

(Optional) ranch or thousand island dressing, for dipping 

1) In a bowl, mix together the tomato, chicken, onion and bacon. Stir in some cilantro and garlic powder to taste.

 

2) Assemble the rolls with a little avocado on bottom (too much will bland the flavor), two tsp of the above mixture and a couple pinches of cheese sprinkled on top.

3) Aline the rolls on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter or margarine.

4) Bake at 400 degrees F 12-15 minutes for tortillas and 15-20 minutes for eggrolls.

5) Cool on a couple paper towels for 5 minutes. Halve the rolls diagonally and eat!

Mahalo.

RE-RACK!

Let's buy 20 of these things and take beer pong to the next level!

Bitchin' Kitchen Thursday

This week I will be sharing my favorite fondue recipe. I'm still on a travel job in Hawaii and have no kitchen right now, but I've made this dozens of times and know it well enough to make when I'm blackout drunk and have. It's surprisingly simple. My friends beg me to make it all the time and everyone loves it. Pictures will have to be added when I return to the mainland and have a kitchen again, but a visual aid isn't really necessary. Enjoy!

Classic Cheese Fondue

1 lb Gruyere, grated

3/4 lb Emmental (sometimes spelled Emmentaler), grated

6 tsp cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 garlic clove, peeled and halved 

2 1/4 c. (18 oz) Sauvignon Blanc

1-2 crusty baguettes, cut into pieces for dipping

1) In a large bowl, toss the grated cheese with the cornstarch and dry mustard.

2) Rub the bottom and sides of a pot or fondue-maker with the garlic.

3) Add the wine to the pot and heat to a strong simmer (bubbling, but not boiling).

4) Stir in the cheese one handful at a time, waiting for each handful to completely melt before adding more.

5) Reduce heat and serve with bread.

Mahalo.

5 Things I'm Not Proud Of

Thing 1: I am from an upperclass white suburb of Boston, but I developed an accent growing up because I wanted to sound cool like my cousins from Southie and it still comes out occasionally.

Thing 2: In 8th grade I wore too much eyeliner and pretended to like the band Slipknot because of this boy I had a crush on. It worked. He asked me out and we dated for half a summer until I went to Europe for 3 weeks and dumped him for a boy with an accent. The first boy and I are now friends on Facebook and he has an important job in the government. The second boy was a Brit named Craig. Craig wanted to have a long-distance relationship and write letters to each other, but I didn't give him my correct address or phone number and threw his out immediately because I was a heart-breaker who listened to nu-metal and wore baggy pants.  

Thing 3: My mom forced me to do ballet and gymnastics when I was little. I really really hated them. Some of my recital costumes included: a sea horse (Little Mermaid), a bright pink elephant (I was a toy in Peter Pan I think), a French townie/lynch mob member (Beauty and the Beast) and a normal/mean duckling (Ugly Duckling).

(There were no pink elephants in any other productions of Peter Pan that I know of, but there was this humorous and politically incorrect song about "red men" in the 1953 Disney version)

 

Thing 4: My movie tastes are sort of tomboyish. I love action and westerns and anything directed by Scorsese or the Coens, but the movies Ella Enchanted, Pride & Prejudice and Practical Magic are a few guilty pleasures of mine.

Thing 5: Two boyfriends have privileged me with breakfast in bed. Both occasions were marred because I spilled a beverage on their sheets.

Mahalo.

Until I'm able to return to the mainland...

Please enjoy Doglander:

Mahalo.