Fight the Heat, Have a Digestif

Apparently, Tom Skilling has it out for us Chicagoans.  First, he pelts us with THE record-breaking-national-news-making Snowpalooza of 2011.  Now, he is at it again with an excessive/intense level heat and thunderstorm warning.  Come on Skills, this is outrageous!!  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE fan of sweating, particularly when I am standing still or simply sitting motionless in a chair.  The only thing that would make it decidedly more relaxing is extra humidity.  So, bring on the rain.  I love living in Chicago, mostly because I get to constantly complain about the weather. However, this is crossing a line.  Let me put it this way, it is so hot that my normally hyperactive spaz of a dog did this when I asked if he wanted to go outside.  

Then, to compound this "excessive heat" matter even further, there came the age old dilemma, what to have for my after dinner snack/cocktail?  I'm a big supporter of the after dinner drink (which, up until this point, I always called an aperitif.  However, Google has informed me that I am incorrect and what I am really referring to is a digestif. Ahhh I now have to take back all the times I acted snooty in a French restaurant...  Shame.  I was told an aperitif is a drink you have with or as an appetizer.  You really do learn something new everyday) and I usually go with a “straight-up” liquor, like whiskey or bourbon.  A great digestif (sounds fancy, right?) for fall and winter but the thought of drinking something that “warms” my throat and stomach makes me want to faint.  As a snack, the usual go-to is Western Mix from Blain’s Farm and Fleet (yes, you read that correctly but don’t you judge me till you tried it) which is a mix of salty corn nuts, sesame sticks, some other kind of nuts and some indistinguishable tidbits (whatever it is, it's delicious) in a savory spicy flavor but again, I had issues with the firey throat thing.  No thank you.  To end this heat induced predicament, I had to come up with something that sounded refreshing and satisfied my cravings for an after dinner snack and cocktail.  Get ready because I think I’ve discovered a doozy… 

Watermelon and Lemon Sherbert with Chilled Patron and Lime Salt

BAM!  It is perfect because it is all cold, so very deliciously ice cold.  You have a super summer treat with the watermelon, throw in a salty component and then top it off with Patron (who doesn’t love Patron?!?!  Ok, even if you’re not a huge Patron fan, I strongly encourage you to whip up a batch of the watermelon and lemon sherbert), honestly, it works on all levels.  I found the Watermelon Sherbert recipe at Better Home and Gardens and just added the juice from half a lemon to each serving.  It is an extremely easy recipe (despite me hacking at it like a drunken pirate, which resulted in watermelon juice covering ¾ of my kitchen) and I was told that I have to make this again. 

I put the Patron in the freezer for several hours to make sure it was nice and cold and I think the only thing I should have done differently was put the shot glasses in there as well.  I wanted everything to be ice-tastic and I feel like frosted shot glasses would have been the proverbial cherry on top.    

For the lime salt, I combined 2 Tbs Kosher salt and the zest from 1 lime into a coffee grinder.  It made it a nice powder, which allowed for more coverage on the edge of the shot glass.  I juiced ½ a lime and mixed it all together.  I then placed it in a saucepan and let the mixture simmer on low to evaporate the moisture.  Make sure you keep stirring to prevent the salt from burning or sticking.  It will take a little bit but in the end, the salt should have the consistency of partially wet sand.  Once it is cool, use lime juice to rim the shot glasses and then dip them in the lime salt. (Tip: You only need a little bit of lime salt to get a lot of flavor!! Since it is ground up, the mixture is pretty dense and it might be way too over bearing if you lick off a lot at one time.  I speak from teary eyed experience.)  

I do guarantee one thing though, small sips of Patron followed by some outrageously refreshing Watermelon and Lemon Sherbert will be a welcome addition to your HOT summer nights.  

Summer, Summer, Summertime

Que Will Smith and D.J. Jazzy Jeff...  Now that we're starting to get in the mood, its time to gather the rest of my summer essentials.

For some reason (and you can call me crazy, I don't care) after I go swimming, I instantly crave a sandwich and when I'm sitting in the sun, I CRAAAAVE (hopefully the three extra A's make you aware of its intensity) lemonade. It's just how it is.  I can't fight it so a-sandwich-and-a-lemonading I will go.

The lemonade is a pretty simple find but my challenge is how to keep it from getting watered down in the hot summer sun.  If there is one thing that makes me fly into an uncontrollable rage, it is a watered down drink.  Kidding... but it isn't ideal.  I had an idea to create "lemon ice cubes," ones that would keep a drink cold but not dilute it.  For this, I sliced up some lemons, rinsed each slice in water and laid them out on a plate...

I sprinkled some of the slices with granulated sugar and then popped the whole plate in the freezer for a couple hours. When I pulled them out, they were ice cold and pure lemony perfection.  Then, I used the frozen lemons as ice cubes and placed the sugared slice on the rim of the glass (you know, to make it a little more sassy).  Side note: I'm pretty sure the sugared lemon slices would be an outstanding addition to a lemon drop shot or a lemoncello.  Haven't done it yet, but you bet your bottom I'm going to soon.

It worked out really well (although, I recommend popping the lemonade in the fridge first and using the frozen lemons to keep the drink cold, because they were not that successful in making it cold) and doesn't it look absolutely refreshing?!?!  Oh, and I know this goes without saying but it also makes for a SUPER delightful vodka and lemonade.  Duh.

Now, onto the sandwich...  I tried this little gem while I was out to lunch with my friend at Pret A Manger and had to replicate it.  It is a Balsamic Vinegar Chicken and Avocado Sandwich and it is one of the best sandwiches I've had in a long time.

All you need is:
* A Hearty Bread (I used Healthy Multi-Grain from Trader Joe's)
* Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
* Balsamic Vinegar
* Wisconsin Swiss Cheese
* Avocado
* Lettuce

Slice chicken breast in half and tenderize, so that the cutlet is fairly thin.  Place chicken on grill for several minutes a side.  Before flipping, drizzle on desired amount of Balsamic Vinegar.  Toast bread and cheese, then  top with sliced avocado, lettuce and chicken.  (I let the chicken cool for a bit so it was room temperature and not hot.  Hot chicken on a hot day just doesn't seem that appealing.  Side note: I also had this sandwich later and used the leftover chicken straight from the fridge.  Both were delicious.)  Drizzle over some additional Balsamic to taste (I don't know about you but I love this stuff) and enjoy.

Now its time to go sit in my kiddie pool and have a delicious chicken sandwich with a super cooool glass of lemonade!!

One Mom's Garbage...

If I had to put a number on it, about 70% of the furniture in my apartment was acquired because my parents or another family member was throwing it out, 19% is stuff I borrowed from my parents for a party and then failed to give it back, 10% were garbage picked “treasures” and then 1% was purchased off of Craigslist.   I’m not lying!!  Ok, wait, I did lie.  I have one couch that was purchased from CostPlus World Market.  You can reconfigure the math but I hope you get the full mental picture that I live in a Salvation Army store.   On one hand, this is awesome because almost everything I “inherited” was free, but on the other, some looks a little worn.   I decided a fun summer project would be to redo the outdoor furniture so my yard can be a little more HGTV and a little less “apartment hobo.”  (Which is a real term for an apartment yard that consists of concrete, weeds, a paint-peeling deck and an “eclectic” grouping of old yard furniture.)  If you check out the before, you’ll notice that both the table and couch had the lovely dull sheen of weather beaten wood that can only be accomplished by sitting in the Chicago sun and rain for an entire decade. 

After my six stage process (for each piece mind you) of sanding, staining, staining again, polyurethaning (not really a verb but it should be because it’s definitely an action), sanding and polyurethaning one last freaking time, I was finally finished.  Here is how they turned out…

Even though I spent a good majority of my time in the garage cursing and sweating, I was so happy with how everything turned out.  Plus, it only cost me (ha, I say me but I really mean the boyfriend because he bought it for me) $30 for the stain, sandpaper and Poly.  Not too shabby.  And since I am a firm believer in “Whaaat?!  You’re selling 20 blue Mason Jars for $10 ?! I have no idea where I will use them but I will take them!” my little centerpiece only cost me around $10. ($1.50 for the jars, $6 for the flowers and $2 for the Citronella candle.  Everything else seen is stuff I had from a different yard sale purchase and I don’t remember how much I paid for them.)  LOVE IT! 

Now, I will leave you so I can make myself a shandy and hang out on my new deck furniture!!

Holy Chip

Dear Jiminy Chips,

While I appreciate the deliciousness of your amazingly thin and funky flavored chips, I refuse to pay the exorbitant amount you charge for what is ultimately 19 slices of potato.  The size of the bag is highly deceiving and I was truly tricked when I discovered it to be only a 1/4 filled.  I mean, come on, $4.99?  For a bag that isn't going to survive the trip home from the store?  Are you outta your damn minds?

I am outraged!  I am discouraged and now I am hungry!  I implore you to rectify this situation before I lose both my mind and all the $$ in my pocketbook. 

Thank you for your time,

Sarah 

---------------------------------------------

It is my anger towards "Big Potato" that has driven me to a manic state of homemade 'tato chip creation.  That, or I really wanted to deep fry something anything and was looking for a more convincing reason than its... Thursday.  Either way, I won because look at the potato chip bounty that resulted. 

This whole process was extremely easy to do (mainly because I had a very handy gentleman offer to dig the deep fryer out of the garage for me and slice most of the potatoes) and was significantly cheaper then store bought chips. 

WARNING:  All the chips that you are about to see cost a total of $1.56. 

I followed this easy recipe but would like to add some additional notes and findings.  

• Our potatoes were soaked in both water and vinegar. 
• While the larger slices were preferred with the Idaho potato (hereafter known as 'the regular potatoes'), the smaller slices were preferred with the sweet potato. 
• We discovered that the dryer the chips are, the better. They crisped up nice and didn't stick together. We left them laying out, ucovered all night and that seemed to do the trick.

You can slice the potatoes by hand if you’ve got some time to kill but I would recommend getting one of these little ditties.  

(Don’t be alarmed at the prices in the link... we found this one at the Korean grocery store by our house for $20 and it works great. Those should just give you an idea.) It saves so much time and all of the slices come out in perfect little ovals!!

Once I pull the deep fryer out and load it up with the oil, I deep fry until my little heart is content because I don’t want to clean it up. So, if I figure, if I keep deep frying things, I’ll never have to actually wash anything. This resulted in me having potato chips for dinner one night (ahh I love being an adult – take that mom!) and coming up with some deliciously flavored chips and awesome dips. My chip guinea pig (aka: the idea man) sampled all the flavors/dip and ranked them in order of preference below.

Have you ever eaten a potato chip that made you forget you even had other food on your plate, because they were too delicious to stop eating? No? Well whip up these sweet and sour delights and you will have that very experience. Who needs a sandwich and pickle when you have chips like these staring right at you!

Wisconsin has given us things we love (Germans, cheese, beer) and things we hate (a stupid football team that wears a dumb green color, Brett Favre, angry teachers). Let me tell you though, when you put the best Wisconsin exports on a chip, you are teleported to holy cheese head heaven. Makes me forget the Packers even exist.

This creation was perfected by Sullivan’s Steakhouse and when paired with a martini, it will ease any stress-anxiety-bitterness you may have. Guaranteed or your money back. Well, I won’t actually send you money but you get the idea.

If you are dealing with a less than agreeable woman, then serve her one of these chocolate delights. A little sweet, a little salty… she’ll return to her pleasant disposition in no time.

All of the recipes can be found here.

The cleaning of the fryer and straining of the oil was less than ideal but now I have put on a solid 10 pounds due to the chip frenzy and my hands and luxuriously moisturized.

The Beer Garita Senor

With summer quickly approaching (I use the word ‘quickly’ loosely because it is the middle of May and I wore my down-coat and scarf last weekend, however, this is Chicago and we could be in a hot box
tomorrow), I've spent my afternoons day dreamin' of the perfect cocktail to enjoy outside, in a hammock, on a boat...etc, etc.  While any cocktail will be enjoyable, I've come to the conclusion that the "perfect" summer thirst quencher needs to fulfill a certain criteria.  It needs to be:

1. Deliciously refreshing - One day in the near future it will be 91 degrees outside with 80% humidity.  A gentle breeze will be a faint memory as you try to remember a day when the wind caused the rain to come in sideways.  Oh, and there won’t be a single cloud in the sky.

2. Easy to make - Let's face it, the heat will affect my brain in such a way that the thought of standing around, measuring out liquors I can't pronounce (what is Curacao anyway? no idea) will be too complicated a task. 

3. Reasonably priced - I'll definitely need to make enough to last me a whole three months.   Being on a teacher's schedule, I'm allowed several days throughout the summer where I drink before noon, just because I can.  It’s not alcoholism, it’s celebrating freedom from teenage tyrants.  Don't judge me!!  Anyway...  

My drink of choice this summer is what I am now calling The Beer Garita Senor. 

The recipe is as follows:

·     Premixed Jose Cuervo/Sauza Margarita Mix (around $15 for 1.75ml)

·     Coronitas (7oz Coronas that I found at Binny's - $5.99 a six pack)

·     Ice

·     Salt if desired  

Salt rim (which I didn't do here - sad face) of mini fish bowl (I found these suckers in the candle isle at the dollar store by my house - oh how I heart thee Dollar Tree) and fill with ice. Pour in Margarita Mix (it’s up to your discretion, I'm not here to tell you how much is too much :) but you usually want to aim around a 2:1 ratio of margarita to beer.)  Open Coronita and place it into the fish bowl upside down (flip quickly!) *Sidenotes: Coronita will have to pressurize, so it will empty about half way...just want to make sure there is enough room in the fishbowl - I may have freaked out when I first did this.  Also, the Coronita will literally be sitting in your drink, so I washed off the bottles beforehand.*  And I'm done.  In order to prove that this concoction meets all of the summer time cocktail requirements I: 

1. Drank it - It is probably the most refreshing thing I've ever had in my life… Second to the cups of water I guzzled while attempting to run the Chicago Half Marathon… so on that scale, you can see it’s pretty refreshing.      

2. I may or may not have asked a certain someone to time me while I made them.  It took me exactly 2 mins and 16 second to make three (although, I did not salt the rim).  He was annoyed at having to do this but got over it when I handed him The Beer Garita Senor to make up for it. 

3.  Coronita - $1, Margarita - about $1.50 per serving X 2 servings = $4  Ole!

I'm all about the proof people!! 

Have a happy summer AMIGOS!  If you have the desire to drink one at 11:30 on a Wednesday this July, call me :)