Cooking Blog

Yo,

I started a new blog all about cooking. Please check it out @ www.orchidgrill.blogspot.com.

Thanks

Weekend

10.26.08




We had a laid back weekend which was very nice. On Sunday we got the chance to take some pictures of Darcy and she ate up the spotlight. We also watched the Saints play a home game in London, but they won so no harm done.

Audri and I both have busy weeks ahead of us, which includes Darcy dressing up as an 80's dancer for Harvest Fest ( that is what happens when Halloween gets baptized ) and I've downloaded "What A Feeling" on my iphone to play as her background music.

Tonight the Phillies can win the World Series in 5 games which was my prediction, but I just blew it by typing it out so game 6 we will see you on Wednesday. That game will start later because of Barack Obama's 30 minute special on the 4 major networks. No one will notice though because ESPN keeps saying that NO ONE is watching the series. They are just upset that they don't get to talk about Dustin Pedroia running the bases all out, or about how gutsy Jason Varitek is, or how Fat David Ortiz is. GO PHILLIES.

She is Crawling.

She finally did it. Thursday Darcy made the decision to crawl (and say Mama). That morning she was in bed with Audri and I and kept getting on her hands and knees and pulling the blankets toward her, that evening when she got home, she chased a tennis ball across the living room floor. Now she is an unstoppable crawling machine which means I should stop blogging and go pick up my child before she eats a computer chord.

8 Months

Darcy turned 8 months old today. She is so close to crawling and loves to roll across the living room floor. Last week we brought the Dogs in to play with her and she and Jeter instantly bonded. He was so gentle with her, letting her pull his hair and gouge out his eye balls. Last weekend we took Darcy to the Disney Store, she had a lot of fun, but I think Audri and I had more fun thinking about brining Darcy to Disney.

In other news: I have officially healed from my sinus/ deviated septum/ uvula trimming surgery. Big surprise- it was miserable. The nose part wasn't so bad, but having your uvula trimmed is worse than waterboarding. The results are incredible though, both nostrils are filled with air when I breathe, great job Dr. Scndndhejadhdaixlaehådnfakdfleaygond.

Audri is doing well, this week she became a minimalist and emptied out her closet and I love her for it. We went to the last 2 Saints games, the Monday night game vs. the Vikings with our friends Jeremy and Kasie Ulmer / and the Raiders game with James and his friend Michael. Both games were lots of fun, but the Raiders game ended in a Saints victory.

OH, and Lulu got engaged to Kyle Cassagne. Much love to the both of them. The wedding reception is going to be at this gorgeous old mansion in the Pass. The only thing left to plan is to have Maroon5 play the reception.

Ok, off to cook dinner: here is the recipe for the week ( Thanks to Mr. Bobby Flay ):

Ingredients
Grilled Poblanos:
3 large poblanos
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
BBQ Onions:
2 sweet onions, skin-on, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
Canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill BBQ Sauce (or your favorite jarred variety)
Coleslaw:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small head cabbage, cored, finely shredded
2 carrots, finely shredded
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
Chicken:
2 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (8 ounces each)
Canola oil
8 flour tortillas
2 grilled sliced poblanos
Barbecued onions
Coleslaw
Guacamole, recipe follows
For the poblanos:
Directions
Heat the grill to high.

Brush the poblanos with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the chiles on the grill and cook until charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill, place in a bowl and cover with plastic for 10 minutes. Remove the skin, seeds and stem and cut into thin slices.

For the onions:
Brush the onions with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill and cook until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush with some of the bbq sauce during the last few minutes. Most of the skin should come off on the grill, but if not, take it off when the onions come off the grill.

For the coleslaw:
Whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, celery salt, celery seed, vinegar and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot, onion and scallion and stir to combine, season with more salt and pepper, if needed. Let slaw sit at least 15 minutes before serving.

For the chicken:
Heat the grill to high.

Whisk together the ancho, cinnamon, cumin, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a small bowl.

Season top side of the breasts with the rub mixture, turn over and season the back with the remaining salt. Drizzle with some of the oil and place on the grill, rub side down and grill until lightly golden brown and a crust has formed, about 3 minutes. Turn the chicken over, close the lid and continue cooking until just cooked through, about 6 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grill the flour tortillas briefly, just to mark and heat. To build the tacos, fold each tortilla around some of the chicken, poblanos, onions, coleslaw and guacamole.

Fire Roasted Green Chile Guacamole:
2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1 poblano chile, roasted, seeded, peeled, and diced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 fresh limes
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings