BBQ Chicken

Rudy’s BBQ, a Texas staple. Its all about their sauce, its got a nice little kick to it and its loaded with black pepper. Its delicious and the only BBQ sauce we ever have in our house. If you’re not in Texas and want to give some a try, you can order some online. Its soo good! We don’t think its that spicy, but for some their ‘Sissy Sauce’ might be better suited.

 

I marinated chicken in the sauce for several hours then continued to baste with the sauce as it grilled and it was delicious! Served with beans and sour cream & green onion baked potatoes… I love summer time!

 

Takashimaya Food Festival

While I was out this afternoon I stumbled about a Food Festival in the basement of one of Singapore’s department stores, Takashimaya. The fair showcases up to 50 stalls and the crow was elbow-to-elbow, making it very difficult to get any sort of pictures of all the food choices! It ranged from gourmet pastries and wine, sushi and various ice creams to “street” food. They apprently hold this festival three times a year, and the next will be in September, which is conveniently the same time I will be returning to Singapore but with hubby so I’ll get better pictures the next time around!

The one thing I couldn’t pass up was “Dragon Beard Candy.” It was too interesting to not pass up, especially cause you could watch them make this delicately intricate confectionery. The candy was once made only for royalty in ancient china. Malt sugar is melted with cornstarch, which is kneaded into a band. Then they work and stretch this band until they form tiny threads, which they say resemble a dragon’s beard hence the name. Have you ever seen a dragon with a beard? The threads are then divided into smaller pieces and are wrapped around a mixture of crushed roasted cashews and peanuts. These confectioneries pictured above are actually only about 1.5″ in length. They weren’t as sweet as I expected and tasted pretty much like peanut butter to me (but much harder to eat because the tiny threads are chewy!). While they aren’t the best confectionery I’ve ever eaten, they were still worth the experience; and they certainly look good!

Summer means fresh fruit

Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know I’m still here One more week of this business trip and I’ll be home and back in my tiny kitchen cooking up a storm. I’m missing home and good old home cookin, even though you can’t be the abundance of good inexpensive Chinese food in Singapore.

Summer is all about fresh fruit. There’s an abundance of good fruit, especially in Singapore’s tropical climate. I was craving something sweet and the only thing in my fridge here was a bunch of fruit… the perfect dessert! So I threw some mandarin oranges, watermelon and cherries in a bowl. Now cherries aren’t really a tropical fruit but I couldn’t help but buy them at the expat store; its summer time at home and I haven’t had my fix yet and cherry season will be over soon! Cherries are definitely one of my favorite fruits.

It was the perfect summer time dessert. The chilled fruit hit the spot!

i’ve been tagged

I’ve been tagged twice now – once by Cara of Cara’s Cravings and now by Brianna of Oishii and I figure its time to go ahead and participate.

Each player starts with seven random facts or habits about himself or herself. A tagged player then writes a blog entry with the seven things, as well as these rules. Then the player tags some others and lists their names on his or her blog. Remember to leave a comment for your newly tagged players, letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog!

So here’s my seven:

1) I married my high school sweetheart. We’ve been together for 7 years and survived a long distance relationship through college.

2) I played cello for 10 years as a child, starting at the age of 5. I also played piano for 6 years.

3) I’ve never had a real pet. And by that I mean the only “pets” i’ve had were a baby turtle for about 2 weeks when i was 8, and DH & I had a beta for a couple years until it recently died. Some day a cute puppy with a big red bow around its neck is going to show up at my door

4) I don’t like wine or coffee, but really wish I did.

5) My dream is to own my own business some day. I have lots of ideas: event planning, florist shop, women’s boutique, children’s boutique, coffee shop (ironic considering i don’t even like coffee), among many others!

6) I’m terrified of snakes. Seeing a picture of one/one of tv can bring me to tears if i’m caught off guard.

7) I’m currently in Singapore on business. This is my second of three trips. Its the only place I’ve ever been outside of the US which is sort of ridiculous since I live in central texas and mexico is only a couple hours away.

I tried to find nestie bloggers who hadn’t participated yet as far as I could tell. So I’m tagging: Deborah, Gillian, and Sarah.

no cooking for 3 weeks

i’m currently sitting at the admiral’s club in tokyo waiting for my flight to singapore. i won’t be back home for 3-ish weeks, so no cooking for me until i get home from this trip! lots of good chinese food! i can’t wait!

Cinnamon Peaches

I had a couple peaches sitting on the counter that would be bad tomorrow morning if I didn’t do something with them tonight. The only thing I could think of that sounded good was cobbler, but I’m not really in the mood to do that much baking. So instead i came up with this creation, served with graham crackers… omg, it was so good. And I’m normally a “if its not chocolate, its not worth the calories” kinda girl. but yummmy!! Serving with graham crackers is a must! It was like eating cobbler but without all the fuss

Warm Cinnamon Peaches

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ripe peaches, halved with pitts removed
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp butter, quartered
• Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare shallow baking dish (I used a pie pan)
2. Halve peaches, and using a melon baller or spoon remove red fleshy part of peaches.
3. Fill each peach with 1/8 Tbsp butter, 1 Tbsp brown sugar and top with several dashes of cinnamon.
4. Bake 15 minutes until peaches are warm and sugar melted. Serve warm.

“Fried” Ravioli

One of our favorite little Italian places has this fabulous jalapeno ravioli. I’ve been craving it but I’ve been trying to avoid eating out. I decide to try making some spicy ravioli using store bought cheese ravioli. I used whole wheat Butioni ravioli, accompanied by homemade marinara for dipping. Yummy!

“Fried” Ravioli

INGREDIENTS:

• 9 ounces Cheese Ravioli, prepared according to package directions
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup Italian dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Olive oil cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat broiler. Prepare baking with foil lining and spray with olive oil.
2. Dip prepared ravioli into beaten eggs, coating both sides, then into bread crumbs, coating both sides.
3. Place on prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray top of breaded ravioli with cooking spray.
4. Broil for 1 – 2 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Turn and spray with additional cooking spray; broil for 1 – 2 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Skewered Steak with Vegetables

This was my first attempt making kebobs. I wasn’t quite sure what blend of spices to use. When we grill steaks we normally just season with salt & pepper and brush with melted butter. Its the way hubby loves steak so I don’t normally use many spices on steak. I do have to say my first attempt came out great. I’ll definitely be making them again! Tonight I served them with roasted potatoes and grilled corn. Yummy!

Skewered Steak with Vegetables

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. beef, cut in 1 inch cubes
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• freshly cracked pepper
• 8 bamboo skewers
• veggies as desired (i used onion and red bell pepper)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak bamboo skewers in water for 20-30 minutes.
2. Drizzle cubed beef with worcestershire sauce. Season liberally with fresh cracked black pepper. Add kosher salt & thyme.
3. Grill until desired tenderness.

Thyme Roasted Red Potatoes

I usually make potatoes with a spicy blend of spices but wanted to try something new tonight. They came out great, they’d be great with the Parmesan Herb Chicken tenders I made the other day.

Thyme Roasted Red Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• ~5 medium red potatoes
• ~2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 – 1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wash potatoes and cut into sixths. Toss with olive oil until coated.
3. Add salt, white pepper & thyme. Season liberally with cracked black pepper.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes until lightly browned and soft. Toss with parmesan cheese as soon as it potatoes come out of oven.

Parmesan Herb Chicken Tenders

The camera battery was dead so I couldn’t take a picture of how tasty they looked but they were soooo good!! I served it with Parmesan Corn & Salad. I can’t wait to make it again.

Parmesan Herb Chicken Tenders

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 Tbsp Olive oil
• 8 chicken breast tenders
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• ~ 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 large egg, beaten

Breading:

• 1 cups Italian style bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1 Tbsp Thyme
• 1/2 Tbsp Rosemary
• 1/2 Tbsp basil
  
• 2 Tbsp parsley leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet or frying pan over medium to medium high heat.
2. Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Beat eggs with water in a second dish along side the flour. In a third dish, combine the breading ingredients. Coat chicken in flour, then egg, then bread and cheese mixture.
3. Cook chicken until deeply golden on each side. Cook chicken in a single layer, adding additional oil if necessary. If the chicken begins to brown too quickly lower heat slightly.