Rosemary and Lemon Cookies

So I went to work the other day and a coworker had brought some cookies made by his wife. Mind you every cookie that she has made before has always been delicious. What was interesting about these cookies is that there were made with rosemary and lemon. Grant it, I have a taste for strong flavors, so this was right up my alley.

Imagine a sweet roasted chicken, without the chicken. Such great pairings of the herbs and citrus. I think the cookies would relate nicely with a fresh Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc. I have never had such a treat with inspiring flavors from a garden. They were a nice dessert to my day.

The moral to this post is to open your eyes to different flavors of cookies, rather than the chocloate chip or oatmeal raisin most of us were raised with.

Nothing in the Fridge

So i was stuck at home today working on my thesis since my work project was cancelled due to the rain. I hadn't anticipated being home for lunch and I really didn't want to go out of my way to go and buy food. Instead I search my empty refridgerator for something decent to eat. The holidays have just passed so I have some old tamales (pass...I've had enough until next Christmas). I had sandwich meat (no bread), old leftovers (whcih have grown moldy and I refuse to throw out because I dread having to wash the stinky tupperware, cereal (no milk), chips (no salsa)... It was just one of those days.

Still I refused to grab something to eat, even though I was craving french fries and a coke from the local burger shop. Instead, I did the unthinkable, I looked in the freezer. We happen to have some shrimp leftover from our New Year's cioppino. I thought "cool, shrimp defrosts easily". I put the shrimp under running water and again search the fridge for something to cook the shrimp with. I had garlic, butter, and celery. Even though I was missing lemon and white wine for a nice scampi, I made use of what I had. I put all the ingrediants together and made a quick and easy meal with those three ingrediants (adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste). I ate it slowly since the first bite was so good.

I was so excited that these three and easy ingrediants made such a rich and flavorful meal. I mean, I might never make the old scampi ever again. I never used to buy celery, but now that aromatic vegetable has become a staple in my cooking.

The moral of the story, when nothing is in the fridge, check out the freezer.

Yellowtail Collar

It's been so cold out lately that today I just didn't feel like cooking. Joseph (the husband) and I decided we would go eat some sushi. Japanese food is by far my favorite. If I had the means I would eat that everyday and if it weren't so difficult I would prepare some rolls on my own. Anyhow, we walked down the street to one of the many sushi locales, Sushisaurus. Greeted by the ever so energetic shushing chefs, we happily sat down at one of the tables.

We are big eaters so we ordered 3 rolls, some monkey bombs (spicy tuna stuffed mushrooms), and Joseph's favorite, yellowtail collar. This delectable specimen doesn't look appeasing at all. It looks likes the pieces of fish you cut off and throw away with the guts, but looks are deceiving...

The collar is fried and served with a ponzu sauce for dipping. It has a light butter flavor as it touches your tongue and as you chew it, it has the texture of a thick steak style fish. It's like combining a bass with a swordfish. It is just yummy. The best part it looking for the last pieces of fish stuck on the bone. If it is cooked correctly I will even munch on the fried fins. Deep fried fish fins are like potato chips to me.

Tip: There is one thing I always do when trying out a new Japanese restaurant, I always as the chef to prepare their favorite. It exposes you to so much more than what's I the menu. One time I was served a soup that was cooked for the service workers. I have no idea what it was called or what was in it, but it was one of the best soups I have ever had.

Marrow Bones

On days when I don't go in search of new eats, I will blog about ome of my past experiences. Here is one of my favorites.

My husband and I were in Las Vegas a few years ago to watch the Jersey Boys at The Venetian. We decided to grab something to eat before the show, finally stubbling in to Emril's Table 10. We glanced at the menu and noticed the appetizer for Marrow Bones! We had never tried them, so we decided to order up. The waitress looked at us a bit weird as she wrote down the order. Skeptical, yet still curious we anticipated the arrival of the meal, a meal my dog would love.

When our order arrived a snapped a quick picture. Proof that this is what we ordered. The picture and this story cannot do the taste justice, for it was the most decadent flavor I have ever tasted. It smelled of beef and spices. Served over the crostinis, it served as a beef butter. Oil, salt, and beef flavors burst with each bite.

To this day I try to remake what I had. Every time I make a beef stew I add in some marrow bones. I cook them slowly and when fully cooked I pull out the marrow, place them on a piece of bread and add a touch of salt and devour each bite. Although not the same a slowly roasting the bones, it is that oily beef flavor that I can't get enough of.

My experience with the marrow bones was so exciting that I don't even remember what my entree was.

The opening course.

My husband and I have a passion for interesting foods. We love the travel channel because it allows us to live vicariously through the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. Before I begin the blog I must give  some background on how my palate came to be. As a child I hated veggies, of course, and Campbell's tomato soup, which I still hate. Nonetheless I was raised in a traditional Mexican American home. Sunday mornings consisted of menudo (beef tripe stew) or chorizo (spicy sausage) with egg. I wasn't too interested in candies like skittles or m&m's, instead, I enjoyed chili powders and spicy tamarind paste. Oh, I was an odd one... Even in my family.

The main goal of this blog is to allow me an outlet to the world, to possibly open the eyes to timid eaters with my experiences and taste buds. I hope my adventures take me to some bizarre eateries and I will try to explain them all as I go along.