Vertical Chicken Roaster

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As you can tell from my blog. I like to roast chickens. It’s pretty easy, and cheap and filling. Plus you can get creative with the sides and everyone’s happy. I saw this vertical chicken roaster on World Market, and was like hmm, I’ll give it a try. It was $20 and I wondered if I could get a crispy all around chicken.

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So I prepped the chicken as usual. rinsed it, dried it stuffed and seasoned it. Stuck on the roaster at 425F. After about an hour I checked on it and it was pretty…but not what I expected. It was crisp all around, but the bottom didn’t golden and not crisp. I ended up just sticking it on a roaster to finish it off.

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Maybe it’s just me, I will have to google to see how to properly use it. But I do like the idea of it. Have you used one of these before? What am I doing wrong?

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Roast Chicken and Crispy Potatoes

So this dinner might take a couple of hours. But totally worth it. These crispy potatoes are OVEN BAKED and you are going to want to make them over and over again. I know I will, and I do. The roast chicken is so perfect. And crisp.
I used Emeril's Recipe for the perfect roast chicken. Listen to him. Do what he says. He's magical. Also I say, start the bird, first and foremost. It's takes the longest to cook.

And you already know how to make my green beans. So now onto the Crispy Oven Baked Potatoes!

Did you know that the type of potato matters? Russet (the big brown ones) are great for baking, but suck at boiling. they will fall apart. Red are awesome for boiling and they will hold shape pretty well. But the best potato for what we are doing right here? Yellow. Gold. Whatever you wanna call it. They are versatile. You can boil em, you can bake em. And that is what we are doing tonight.

Crispy Oven Baked Potatoes

Ingredients
5-10 yukon gold potatoes (or as many as you want to eat!)
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, your preferred seasonings

Directions
Preheat the oven to 500°.

Scrub your potatoes clean and cut them into bite sized pieces. Place them in a large pot of salted water. Bring this to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes, just until the edges are softened but is still hard in the middle.

Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with your seasonings. Cover the bowl with a large plate or a pot lid and shake vigorously to roughen up the potatoes.

Spread the potatoes in a single layer over a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 15 minutes until they’re brown and crispy.

 

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California Torilla in Lorton, VA

I don’t usually like to write about chain establishments, but sometimes when I get a chance to try something new to the area I don’t mind!

First off, I LOVE HARDSHELL tacos. I love the crunch. I NEVER eat softshell tacos. What a waste of a taco. If I want something soft I’ll eat a quesadilla. That being said, I love taco supremes from Taco Bell (don’t judge) and barbacoa tacos from Chipotle. BUT the only time I can have them is if I am going to eat them there. They get soggy, WAY TOO FAST at Chipotle.

Well there’s a new lunch place in town. California Tortilla. We were cruising the local shopping center to find a place for lunch, and lucky for us it was their training day. We popped in and ordered anything we wanted for free. While we ate, the owners and managers were there to tell us about the location, ask us our opinion and give us an extra hand with drinks and trash (don’t expect this on the regular, I think they were just getting feedback to be ready for their grand opening).

I ordered two hard shell tacos with steak and avocados, and I made it a “fresh deal” by added chips and guac and a drink. I ordered it to go, even though we were eating in. They pack the salsa and the sour cream separately…and guess what, by the time I got to the second taco, it wasn’t soggy. THAT IS AMAZING TO ME. I definitely like the vibe in there. They have a WALL of hot sauces, and a frozen yogurt place built in! They also have those touch screen drink fountains. SO MANY selections.

When asked how I liked this place, and if it was “better”, this is what I think. I feel like it tastes fresher. I like the guac better than Chipotles, and they have queso which is a favorite of the boo. They make everything in smaller batches to guarantee the fresh taste as well. I was happy with our lunch choice, and looking forward to eating there for lunch during the work day whenever I have a taco craving. They also have salads, burritos, quesadillas …so I pretty much can go there whenever I crave Southwestern food!

 

California Tortilla
Lorton Marketplace
Lorton, VA

 

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Life with Bawse

You can scroll and look at the cute pictures. The below is just me ranting about the injustice that pitbulls get for looking the way that they do.

This puppy. So much has happened. He is finally potty trained, did I mention that? THANK GOODNESS. He is now almost 11 months, and almost 70lbs. He still seems like a little guy, but he just all muscle. His face is still the sweetest face and his temperament goes to match. He goes to a daycare where he hangs out with 2 little boys ages 3 and 4.

Despite being a friendly and submissive pitbull, he still gets discriminated against? What, I should probably stop writing about it, because it still happens and really nothing I can do about other people's ignorance. Aside from proving them wrong after and having them be scared to make eye contact with me after.

Yep. I'm talking about at the dog park when some jerk yelled at us because Bawse was playing with his dog. He wasn't even watching his stupid dog, who repeatedly came up to Bawse who was playing with his German Shepard puppy friend Nalu and tried to start stuff. This husky was clearly a jerk. He kept coming through biting at Bawse's jowls and then running off, taunting Bawse to chase him. None of the times Bawse ran after him did he catch the husky, because Nalu, being the great shepherd that he is would always distract Bawse before he caught up to the husky.

The owner, who has been evil eyeing Bawse since he came into the park (we were there first), was so busy chit chatting to even see what his dog was doing. And the one time he looked up and saw my pitbull chasing his jerk husky he has the audacity, to tell us to take our dog and leave. Wow. Are you racist too you ignoramus? He yells at us about our dog bullying his, and how our dog is aggressive. Are you fucking kidding me? Have you SEEN how my dog plays? He's getting humped by every dog, and not fighting it, and he is constantly on his back letting all the other dogs sniff and dominate him. After awhile (because we weren't going leave on principle) he saw that he was wrong. And ignorant.

I can guarantee that I am more vicious than my dog. You can make fun of me, judge me, call me names all you want. It doesn't bother me. I know who I am and I am happy with myself as a person. BUT DON'T YOU DARE openly judge my dog, and cast your ignorant opinions out loud to me in public. My pup would love you regardless, he will lick you, greet you and love you, and he doesn't even know you. Because that is how dogs are. Why couldn't he give my dog the same chance to make an opinion instead of coming in with this idea of what Bawse would be like. It gets me upset, because like with people you can't just judge them by race, you formulate your opinions on your individual interaction with that person.

This makes me not want to go to dog parks. Puppy play dates anyone?

So, Bawse is also on some kind of separation anxiety/destruction mode. Might I add, they he was in his crate before we left. And this happened when we got back. I no longer have a couch. I am hoping he grows out of this stage.

 

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Pumpkin Bread

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Can I tell you something? I’ve never made a loaf bread before. Yes, I’ve made baguettes and other “rustic” breads from scratch. But the only thing I’ve made in my loaf pan was…meatloaf. So my gateway bread, is pumpkin bread. Then I will go for hawaiian style banana bread. And then start trying to make up some other sweet delicious bread.

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The best part of pumpkin bread, I think, are the delicious spices. A spiced bread is so yummy, and perfect for breakfast. I can’t believe I never tried to make it before.IMG_7629 IMG_7630 IMG_7634It’s so moist and delicious. I’m particular about the recipes that I use. I have to trust who’s writing it, OR I have to read it and mentally compute how it’s going to turn out. So I didn’t even bother googling a recipe for pumpkin bread. I knew what my favorite pumpkin bread was. Starbucks. So I went for that recipe, or something close to it.

Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Todd Wilbur’s Top Secret Recipes Unlocked

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups canned pure pumpkin puree
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.  Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt in a medium bowl.  Beat together eggs, sugars and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on high for 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin and oil and mix well.

Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix well. Pour batter into a well greased loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until the top of bread is brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Leave bread to cool in bread pan. Once completely cooled, remove from loaf pan and slice.

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What’s for Dinner?

This happens to me a lot. It's after lunch, and I have nothing for dinner ready. Nothing marinated. Nothing prepped. No rice made. This is a normal occurrence. From my instagram and blog, you're like oh Miemo cooks every day. Well, I do cook often, but if it's Lao food, it's preplanned and I've made a trip to the ethnic super store.

During the week, I get flustered thinking about what am I going to make that isn't going to take me 3 hours to cook. I'm no Rachel Ray, dinner is never ready in 30 minutes (because, HA, jokes on you Rachel, none of us have our mise en place ready to go when we get home).

So I've decided, as much as I am on pinterest and on instagram checking out #dinner. You probably are too. And since you've already seen me cook it on instagram you probably want the recipe. Well now I will share!

Seared Pork Chops, Mac n Cheese and Fresh Green Beans

In this meal, I'm pretty sure that the thing that took me the longest to make were the green beans!

Grocery List
4 bone in pork chops
1 lb of fresh haricot certs, french cut green beans
1 box of mac n cheese mix (and ingredients needed for it)
5 slices of thick cut bacon
1/2 lemon, zest and juice
1 shallot
3 cloves garlic
sliced roasted almonds
butter
olive oil
kosher salt & black pepper

Instructions
1. Boil 1 cup of water. Add 3 tbsp salt and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat. Add 2 cups of cold water and the 3 smashed garlic. Lay the the pork chops in a 13×9 in pan in one layer. Pour the now room temperature water, salt, garlic brine over the chops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. While the chops are brining, bring another pot of salted water to boil. Blanch the greens for 2 to 3 minutes until tender but crisp. Immediately drain and plunge in an ice bath. Drain and let dry completely. Set aside.

3. Set up your ingredients. Mince shallots, set aside. Measure out 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. Zest half the lemon into another small bowl.

4. Cook bacon. Drain on paper towels then chop into bite size pieces. Make mac and cheese according to box. Stir in bacon. Set aside.

5. Preheat the oven to 400F. When the oven comes to temperature, place a cast iron skillet, or oven safe skillet into the oven for 10 minutes. While this is preheating, remove the pork chops from the brine. Dry with paper towels. Rub a little olive oil on pork chops and season with salt and pepper or favorite seasonings. When preheated, carefully bring the skillet to the stove top. Over medium high heat, sear the pork chops on one side for 3 minutes. Flip over then carefully put the skillet back in the oven for 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness of chops) until the meat thermometer reads 145F at the thickest part. After cooked, remove chops from skillet and let rest while you make the green beans.

6. Heat a saute pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and butter. Stir until butter is melted. Add the shallots in the pan. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes until brown. Toss in the green beans and coat well with oil and shallots. Add the lemon zest and juice. Sauté 1-2 minutes until cooked through. Remove from heat and toss with almonds. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Plate your chops, mac n cheese and green beans, enjoy!

If you don't want to follow the instructions (to include multitasking) and just want the individual recipes. See below!

Easy Pork Chops and Haricots Verts

 

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Pumpkin Spice Macarons

I can’t believe I perfected this. Is perfect too strong of a word? I think I can say that when I’ve worked and tested a recipe multiple times to get the right recipe down to share. And EUREKA! I’ve done it. It’s all pumpkin errrythang season and I’ve made pumpkin bread and will be making pumpkin creme brûlées for thanksgiving.
Pumpkin spices. Did you know you could just make your own? With stuff you probably already have in your spice cabinet?
The pumpkin spice shells were a no brainer. Making a worthy filling was the hard part. Ganache will always be the right consistency. I promise. This will be the base for all my macarons now. Sorry if you don’t like chocolate!

Pumpkin Spice Macarons

Ingredients
For Filling:
5 1/4 oz of baker’s white chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup cold heavy cream
1/3 cup Libby’s pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the shells:
110gm sliced blanched almonds
200gm powdered sugar (then subtract 2 TBSP)
1 TBSP ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
3 egg whites (approximately 90 gms) aged at room temperature for 24 hours
25gm granulated sugar

Directions:
Melt and stir chocolate and butter over a double boiler until completely mixed. Should be warm to the touch. Transfer to a tall plastic container that would be good for an immersion blender.

Warm corn syrup in the microwave for 10 seconds. Add to the chocolate mixture. Blend with immersion blender for a minute or so. While still blending stream in cold cream. Misture should become shiny and smooth.

Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon and salt. Blend until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For Shells

In a food processor, grind almonds and powdered sugar until the almonds are a fine powder. Add the spices. Pulse until well mixed. Pour the dry mix through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip eggs until frothy. Then slowly add sugar while the eggs are still whipping. Whip until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat. Gently add the dry ingredients to the egg whites. Fold the dry ingredients in approximately 50 strokes. Batter should flow like lava. Do not over mix.

Put the batter into a piping bag, and pipe one inch circles on a silpat/parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Tap the pan a couple times to help level the tops. Let rest for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 300F. Bake the shells for 10-15 minutes (check so it doesn’t burn!) with the door of the oven propped with a wooden spoon.

Allow to cool completely before trying to take it off the mat/paper. When cool, match up the shells by size.

Take the ganache out the refrigerator and spoon into a piping bag. Pipe on one shell and top with the other. Voila!

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2 Year Bloggiversary

Wow. I can't believe it's been two years already, since I started this blog. Two days later, after Miemonster Chronicles went live, I closed on my first home. So it's also almost 2 years since I've owned my home.

The condo is still the same, and not ready for a home tour yet. Lots to organize and decorate. Hopefully before I host Thanksgiving this year. Wish me luck harhar! But the blog has been through a lot! It's gone from not posting recipes, to actually posting some that I've put together. It's turned its focus to food, with a little bit of me here and there.

I've made lots of new blog friends, and discovered more blogs to read. I've become a lot more organized, scheduling 3 posts a week, trying to take more pictures (yet still not using my dslr, help!) and I'm encouraging my friends to blog too! I'm even contributing to othe blogs here and there!

I was thinking about doing a redesign, but you know, surprisingly, I still like the way it looks. Instead, I have decided to make it easier to print recipes by embedding links to google drive for the recipes that come out of my collection.

Thank you for those that take the time to read, comment and reach out to me through this. I love sharing this with you! Don't forget to check out From Maman with Love, for updates on my cookbook. It's currently only posting once a week, but thats better than nothing, plus you'll get to know which recipes are going into the book!

 

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The Little Pastry Chef

We made a quick trip to Princeton, New Jersey to support our team at First Class Fitment. As you already know, I had to get a taste of macarons while I was there. Found this place based off yelp. It isn’t known for their macarons, but there was limited information about macarons so I just took whatever I could get!

Super cute little shop with pictures of the baker’s adorable son everywhere. I am assuming he’s the little pastry chef. A display of cute tarts and mini treats looked appetizing but I was already full from lunch and saw that they had macarons.

I got the pistachio and lemon ones. They weren’t as pretty as I’m used to, and dare I say my pistachio macarons are better? The lemon ones were good though.

Based on the limited selection I would say don’t go out your way to get macarons in Princeton.

 

 

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Chuck’s Cafe

In the limited time I was in Princeton, NJ I did get to have tasty wings at a hole in the wall place called Chuck’s Spring Street Cafe . Set in a cute little area, you walk in and it’s pretty straight forward. You can get wings, ribs, cheese steaks, pretty much anything you would find in a deli. We were told by locals this is the place to get wings, and it had great reviews on yelp.

I ordered wings and curly fries. It comes with celery and bleu cheese, I opted for ranch. You pay for your meal and the friendly Asian (maybe Korean?) lady rings you up and brings it to you later. She’s super friendly and I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere. So far everyone we encountered in Jersey is friendly. I didn’t know what to expect!

I don’t usually like plain old buffalo wings, but these were pretty good. It is the only option for wing flavors and that was fine by me. Also the curly fries were awwwwesome, perfectly crisp, hot and seasoned. I finished it off with a glass bottle of cream soda.

Good recommendation!

 

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