You Have to Wok Before You Can Run: A Lesson In Kitchen Humility

 

This evening, after a long Monday of work, I headed straight to the grocery store. This is a big accomplishment because most Monday nights all I want to do is head home and relax.

Luckily this grocery cart had space for my heavy bag AND groceries! IMG_0810

Within 30 minutes, I had all the ingredients for a delicious, healthy dinner sitting on my kitchen counter.

IMG_0811 I still had plenty of time, an hour, to cook dinner before Bo walked through the door around 8pm! I was so excited to surprise my husband with one of his favorite meals, hibachi style chicken and vegetables.

Before leaving work, I found this healthy recipe on the Weight Watchers website.  As soon as I walked home, I organized all my ingredients, ensuring I had everything I needed.

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First up on this evening’s to do list, was lots of practice in the art of chopping!

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After chopping, squeezing, and organizing all my ingredients I lined them up since the recipe said it was a “quick-fire” recipe and required lots of fast movements.

For the next 25 minutes, I carefully followed the recipe’s instructions to the tee.

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This should have been a delicious meal, reminiscent of our favorite Savannah Japanese restaurant, Hirano’s.

Instead, I ate these leftovers for dinner.

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Unfortunately, my Japanese attempt was horrible. The chicken was overcooked while the beautifully sliced vegetables were too crisp. The vinegar didn’t evaporate as it should have so the flavor tasted more of vinegar than soy sauce. Bo attributed some of the recipe failure to my new to me kitchen tool, the wok. Tonight was the first time I’ve used our wok and I didn’t realize that “pile high” doesn’t work well in a wok. Unfortunately, I overfilled it which caused the uneven cooking and lack of carmelization.

At first, I started crying. I felt defeated.

But, after a quick phone call with my mom and dad, I realized that this was actually a great learning opportunity. I enjoyed an hour chopping practice, relaxed in the kitchen, and learned something at the end of it. I also found a great Japanese Hibachi Chicken recipe to try again soon!

Have you ever learned a hard lesson in the kitchen? How do you handle kitchen failure?

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Eggland’s Best Foodie Night in NYC

Last night I had the great opportunity to participate in Eggland’s Best Seasonal Foodie Event at the Institute of Culinary Education. The evening was filled with delicious seasonal food, cooking lessons from  chef Erica Wides, and lots of pictures.

DSC_0003 IMG_3180 The Eggland’s Best staff was so welcoming and sweet! In addition, they all know how to throw a party. Just from the smiles, bubbly conversation, and laughter you could hear how much fun we were all having throughout the night.

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While we all mingled, there were three different passed appetizers.

DSC_0006 This was by far the most amazing appetizer! It was “egg sushi” or Japanese egg “tamago yaki” maki rolls with shrimp and edamame puree.

Mini baked  truffle egg custards. I found these akward to eat and way too fishy.

The final appetizer was a rostini with Serrano ham, smoked pimenton-deviled egg and roasted red pepper. I didn’t try this one but I saw many others try it and go back for seconds. Therefore, it must have been a winner.

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After the cocktail hour, chef Erica Wide spoke to us about the evenings menu, importance of fresh vegetables, and next steps. Our menu for the evening was as follows:

Eggland’s Best Event Menu

First Course

         Warm salad of asparagus, radishes, morels, baby carrots and sugar snap peas, with slivers of duck prosciutto, toasted walnuts, and a white wine-poached egg, with champagne vinaigrette

Entrée

         Crab and lobster ravioli, with fresh peas, fennel, leeks, golden beets, saffron and chives in a lobster broth with prosecco sabayon (like a hollandaise, but lighter and foamier)

Dessert

         Individual lemon pudding soufflés with mixed berries and rhubarb coulis

         Assorted meringue cookies petit fours

The most exciting part was that we were going to prepare each of these courses.

IMG_3211All smiles with Missy! DSC_0013 DSC_0014 DSC_0018 DSC_0019  I agree with Missy’s comment about the picture below. Why is she holding the sharp knife? 🙂 I had a blast with Megan, Amie, and Missy last night!IMG_3182 IMG_3185 IMG_3187 IMG_3189 IMG_3198 IMG_3200 IMG_3201 IMG_3204 IMG_3207

Healthy Happier Bear

After at least an hour of socializing and cooking, it was time for a few great Q&A session, dining, and more socializing.

Our first course was the warm salad which was also my favorite dish of the evening. I would love to recreate this at home for Bo. He’d love it!

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Our main course was crab and lobster ravioli. I actually only ate one of these as they were a bit heavy for my taste. However, most people finished their serving and raved about them.

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Thank you Eggland’s Best and Weber Chadwick for an amazing event! As always, I had a wonderful time learning and socializing in a great environment!

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The Daily Eats of Someone on the DL

In the wake of Saturday’s ATV trauma and injury, I returned to the trusted method of counting Weight Watcher points. Since I won’t be able to run for at least a few more days I knew it’d be important to keep my eats under control. In addition to counting points, I’m going to try and photograph my meals as well.

So, from someone on the Disabled List whose exercise was limited to yoga and the elliptical, here are today’s eats!

Breakfast in shining armor!

IMG_3011       Arnold sandwich thin, 1/2 c egg whites, 1/8 c salsa, 1 slice lowfat cheddar cheese

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My southern delicacy- okra and tomatoes! Okra, tomatoes, chopped lobster from Sunday night’s dinner

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Unpictured snack of Fage 0% and blueberries.

Dinner compliments of Buitoni and Foodbuzz! I will do a proper review of this quick and easy dinner tomorrow.

The main character!

DSC_0001   Gather the full cast of characters including local sauce, water, olive oil, large pot, and wild mushroom agnolotti!DSC_0005 DSC_0003DSC_0006DSC_0013 DSC_0011

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