A Feast for a Jarl: Skyrim Dinner

My boyfriend Zak and I are avid fans of the Elder Scrolls series, and we often play Skyrim together. I'm a newcomer to the series while he has been a fan since Morrowind. In the midst of a new DLC that was to be released, Dawnguard, I decided to throw him a feast fit for a Jarl. I cooked him a delicious beef and butternut squash stew, baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, and sweetrolls! Yes, I decided to tackle the infamous desert that the Whiterun guards like to joke about. Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll. My boyfriend actually did steal one of the sweetrolls from my plate and quipped that little line with the silliest smirk on his face. What a butt. The recipe I used for the sweetrolls is from Gourmet Gaming, a food blog with recipes based on videogame food. The sweetrolls were perfectly soft, light and deliciously sweet, and the cinnamon-sugar glaze inside was perfect to bite into, and the cinnamon-cream cheese frosting added an extra sweetness to the airy rolls. Luckilly, I had a bundt cake cupcake pan, so I didn't have to create my own holes or mold the cake into the classic sweetroll shape.

The roasted vegetables were butternut squash, onions, carrots and asparagus, and the baked potato was simple with butter and some Montreal steak seasoning sprinkled on top. I love Montreal steak seasoning; top anything with it and it's addicting and delicious with a little kick. The stew was amazingly delicious and hearty, and I was surprised at how well butternut squash complimented the beef. I ended up adding some of the baked potato and roasted veggies to the stew for extra flavor.
              


Beef and Butternut Squash Stew
Recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Marsala wine
1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3 to 4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Heat 3 tbs of olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, and add the onions, thyme, rosemary and garlic. Saute until the onions are tender. 

2. Toss the beef in flour, salt and pepper and add to the pot, turning the heat up to medium high. Cook until the beef is browned.

3. Add the Marsala wine and stir up all the bits and goods at the bottom of the pan with a spoon.

4.  Add the squash and sun-dried tomatoes, stir, then add the beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an hour. Season with salt and pepper. Top with parsley and serve!

Pasta with Simple Garlic Sauce

I decided to make do with what was in my house and come up with a simple pasta recipe with a quick and easy sauce. The aroma of the garlic and olive oil cooking together is divine! I've made this quite a few times whenever I'm at a friend's house and the only things available to cook with are garlic, pasta, and olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of pasta (whatever kind you want)
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Parmesan Cheese to serve
• Parsley (optional)
• Salt & Black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a rapid boil and add the pasta, cooking for about 9 minutes.
2. While the pasta cooks, add the olive oil and garlic to a saucepan and cook on medium heat. When the garlic turns a golden brown, take the pan off the heat, add parsley and black pepper.
3. When the pasta is finished cooking, drain and return to pot. Add the sauce and mix it with the pasta. Top with parsley and parmesan cheese and serve.

Bruschetta and Fall Vegetable Soup

Last year my friend Nicole and I threw a little dinner party at my house and invited about seven friends over. We made tomato-basil bruschetta, which was extremely easy and delicious, and a warm fall vegetable soup. 

Bruschetta

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tomatoes
• 3/4 c fresh basil
• 1/2 of a French loaf
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO, you Rachel Ray fans)

DIRECTIONS

1. De-seed your tomatoes.  Dice up into small pieces.
2. Chiffonade your basil.
3. Combine Italian seasoning, tomatoes, and basil.
4. Cut your French loaf into 1 inch wide slices.
5. Heat a pan on medium-high heat with some oil in it.
6. Rub the clove of garlic on each side of the bread.
7. Fry your bread in the oil.  Remove when crispy and light brown.
8. Top with basil, tomato, and seasoning mix.
9. Enjoy!

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Rustic Fall Vegetable Soup

Nicole and I made this AWESOME soup.  7 amazing people came over and had some of it.  We adapted this recipe from the Cooking Channel website, by Kelsey Nixon.  We thought it looked too chunky, so we changed some things and we couldn’t find winter squash so we used yellow squash instead.

INGREDIENTS

Adapted Recipe

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 yellow squash, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup orzo
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 of a French loaf

DIRECTIONS

1. Dice up your onion and heat your oil in a soup pot on medium-high heat.
2. Add in the onion to the hot oil, allow onion to become translucent.
3. Add in garlic.
4. Dice your zucchini and slice your squash, add into your pan.
5. Peel your yam and dice it up.  Add to pan.
6. Add your tomatoes, seasoning, chicken broth, and orzo.  Finally, add in your salt and pepper.
7. Simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables cooked thoroughly. 
8. Ladle into bowls and serve with toasted/pan fried bread sliced 1 inch thick.

Oh, and then we made cookies from Nicole's recipe.  We’re insane so we made 4 different kinds: pumpkin, minced walnut and dried cranberry (fan favorite), chocolate chip, and butterscotch.

Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

Hello there! It has been years since I last updated, and I apologize deeply for that! But, I am restarting my little food blog. :)

This dish is one of my favorites to make, and is always a hit in my home. The recipe is adapted from Ina Garten. I added chicken to the pasta, which brings an extra dimension of flavor and makes the dish, imo. It’s very easy to make as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs (2 cloves) minced garlic
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 lemons
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 1 pound dried fusilli pasta (bowties)
• 1/2 pound baby arugula /2 bunches regular arugula, leaves cut in thirds
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pint grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 roasterie chicken, cut into bite size pieces (I got mine already made from Target)

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the garlic, cooking for 60 seconds. Add the cream, the zest and juice from 2 lemons, 2 tsps of salt and a 1 tsp of pepper, Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until it thickens.
2. Cut the broccoli into florets and discard the stem. Cook in boiling salted water for 3-5 minutes. Drain the broccoli and shock in cold ice water to stop the cooking, set aside.
3. Cook the pasta according to directions on the box (about 12 minutes). Drain pasta and put back in pot. 
4. Add the cream sauce and cook over medium-low heat for 3 minutes. 
5. Pour the pasta into a large bowl (I used a giant bowl for this), add the arugula, tomatoes, cheese, chicken, and broccoli. Cut the last lemon in half and slice thinly, add it to the pasta. Toss well and serve hot!

New Jersey

It's been quite a while since I last updated! I've been very busy this month. My grandfather passed away on November 10, and my family took a weekend trip to New Jersey for his funeral. I grew up in Paramus, NJ, a town of shopping galore, autumn leaves, busy streets, and memories. I spent fourteen years of my life there until I moved to Clermont, FL after 8th grade. My friends Tina, Deep, Lais and Ashley made plans to see me while I was in Paramus. I haven't seen them in five years, and I missed them terribly. We kept in contact over the years, and Skyped a bit. It was a bittersweet time, with the sad funeral of my grandfather and the joyous reunion of my best friends.

On friday morning I woke up at the insane hour of 4 AM to drive to Orlando International Airport to catch a flight to Atlantic City, NJ. As we neared our destination I gazed out of the window next to my seat and was greeted by endless waves of autumn trees. I missed the changing leaves in the fall, Clermont has next to none, instead their place is taken by palm trees. When I walked outside the crisp cool 40-degree weather rushed at me, a far cry from the 80-degree weather in Clermont. I was happy though, I missed the cold, and was tired of the endless warmth. My family hopped into our rental car and drove to my uncle's house in Forked River.



My uncle and cousin talked with us for a while, and I ducked downstairs to pet their beautiful cat, Marie. Marie sat on a couch and purred the entire time I pet her, and she had dazzling green eyes and soft, fluffy fur. She looked like my own cat, Tigger, only Tigger is short-haired with gray fur. I have a soft spot for cats. My cousin was visiting as well from Michigan, and brought his adorable children along, Abigail and AJ. My grandma caressed AJ while I went into the kitchen to check out the food. They ordered Subway for us. A giant spread of sandwiches, cookies, salads and condiments covered the table.









I munched on a roast beef sandwich, then we drove to my aunt's little store, The Hippie House. It's a tiny store full of tye-dye shirts, peace sign necklaces, records, jewelery, and hippie culture memorabilia.





After visiting Forked River, we began the two-hour drive to Paramus. I looked out the window and reveled in the sights of places I've visited. Memories came flooding back to me all at once, and I missed this town more than I once thought. Paramus and Clermont are radically different. In Paramus, there's shopping centers everywhere, small businesses around every corner, delicious bagels, three giant malls, people are always on the go, never stopping, always going, going, going, the streets are alive every minute, trucks and cars zooming past at night when you're asleep, crisp, cold weather, snow in the winter, falling leaves in autumn. Clermont is quieter, slower, more tranquil, less small businesses, more Walmarts and dollar stores, more chain restaurants instead of bakeries and pizzerias, Publix in place of Shoprite, dead roads at 2 AM, crickets chirping at night, lush green fields instead of urban buildings, the nearest mall thirty minutes away. I longed for the endless shopping, the busy life, the local joints instead of the giant chain corporations.

At night we ate at On The Border,a tex-mex restaurant next to Chili's. I ordered a pork tamale and chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice. Our table had tons of nachos with dipping sauces. I fell in love with tamales right then and there. They have an interesting taste, of corn and pork, soft, almost creamy, a texture change from the usual tortillas that I reveled in. Afterwards we decided to see what the Bergen Mall looked like. Five years ago, when I left, it was a dead mall, almost abandoned, and Tina told me how they were fixing it up and adding new stores. I laughed at the thought of this empty brown building being crowded and popular. I would eat my words when I saw the modern building with Target, Bobby Flay's Burger Palace, Whole Foods, new clothing stores, and people rushing in and out. I think my jaw dropped at that moment. They really did revamp the entire place. I walked into Target and bought a blue leopard-print flat iron for my hair, and my father ran into a friendly face from his old job at King's Supermarket. At night I slept soundly, even with the rushing traffic outside my hotel room.

In the morning the funeral service was held at Washington Memorial Cemetery, and afterwards lunch was served at Lieto's Italian Restaurant. The waiters poured soda into our glasses and served soup, salad, and the main course of our choice, along with desert.











I ordered the chicken Parmesan, sprinkled cheese over my pasta, and watched my niece Jessica run around the restaurant. I was eagerly waiting for the arrival of Tina and my friends after lunch, and excitement ran through my veins. The chicken parm was tender and delightfully cheesy, a true classic. Desert was served afterwards, a little round ball of chocolate and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream.





I was standing in the middle of the restaurant when I looked behind me to see Tina grinning at me.
Needless to say, we both screamed in happiness and embraced each other, my eyes brimming with tears over the sight of my best friend. I was truly happy in that moment, the smile on my face could never be wiped off, every single thought on my mind was that of joy and shock and anticipation. We scrambled to Deep's car, where I hugged her and Ashley, and we drove to Lais's home to pick her up along for the ride. Our plan was to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the new movie theater in Garden State Plaza. The entire car ride was a nostaliga wave, with me pointing out our old middle school, parks we used to walk along, the library Tina and I visited over the weekend, my old house, the Shoprite my sister and her husband worked at and met, the KFC Tina and I frequented, the bank where in 4th grade we took a field trip to visit and count pennies in that amazing machine. I was in awe of everything.

We made it to GSP and rode the escalator upstairs, shoppers strutting past in peacoats, bags in their gloved hands. We grabbed tickets and snooped around a few stores before we made it in time for the movie, complete with popcorn and soda. After the movie, Tina and I headed to Bobby Flay's Burger Palace to eat dinner.



I ordered a Napa Valley burger, complete with a medium-well beef patty, watercress, goat cheese, and lemon honey mustard. Tina ordered the Bobby Burger, which had blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. We skipped on the crunchified option, which puts potato chips on your burger of choice, but nordered french fries. We found a table outside of Whole Foods and ate our din-din an chatted about college life.





The Napa Valle burger was delicious. I had never had goat cheese before, and I enjoyed the creaminess of it, and the watercress was a welcome addition instead of the usual lettuce. After eating, we strolled around Whole Foods. There's a Whole Foods in Orlando that I've been to twice and loved, and I am quite jealous of Tina for having a Whole Foods so close to her home.









Turkey and geese for the holidays! We happened to stumble upon some rather  amusing bottles of wine.







The next morning we drove to a little bagel shop. Now, New Jersey has far superior bagels to Florida. I believe it's the water that makes them so amazingly light and soft. I used to have a salt bagel for breakfast when I lived in Paramus, and I deeply missed the bagels of NJ. The Florida bagels cannot compare to these masterpieces. So, I ordered a fresh, hot buttered salt bagel.



BEST. BAGEL. OF. MY. LIFE.

After eating that God-Tier bagel, we bought some flowers t put on the graves of our loved ones. I stumbled upon this amusing piece of art.



Teehee.




















My brother wanted to take a walk around Dunkerhook, so I took my camera along and snapped photos of the autumn scenery.





We then drove to Hackensack to pay a delicious visit to B&W Bakery. Inside, a girl at the counter complimented my camera while I made the hardest decision of my life: which delicious treat to buy?











I opted for a mini cannoli. Flaky and creamy in a cute little package.



My brother wanted to show his wife these historic homes and a very historic bridge nearby. History lesson ahoy!







George Washington crossed that bridge. I walked upon a piece of history right near my home town. Talk about awesome.





I flew back to Clermont Sunday night. I wish I could go back, stay longer, see more people, explore old places. I miss Paramus.