Roasted Chickpeas Two Ways: Chai Some Chickpeas and Hummus Deconstruced

Here's something to add some fun to your life!  Or your salad, party, what-have-you.
Did you know you can roast chickpeas?!  Oh you most certainly can and should.  Even if you think you don't like them.  This magical recipe turns slop from a can into chic (or should I say chick...) snack, topping or bar munch.  This recipe was inspired by my trusty Peas and Thank You cookbook I told you about a while back.  I would double this recipe if I were you.  Just sayin.'

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chickpeas
Juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons or limes (I used limes because I didn't have lemons.  It was legit.)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1.5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least an hour, or a couple if you have time.  Spread chickpeas evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure they get nice and evenly crispy and brown.  These taste like hummus deconstructed, if you can imagine.

Want some dessert?  Try this next recipe over a salad with dried cranberries and pecans with a nice sweet vinaigrette or a splash of good aged balsamic vinegar.  Or eat them right off the cookie sheet.

Chai Some Chickpeas
1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
1.5 tsp garam masala
1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Pinch of sea salt
Light brown sugar (optional)

Combine all ingredients.  Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 25 minutes, stirring frequently.  Keep your eye on these even closer.  They tend to need more stirring to prevent burning since they have a higher sugar content.  Sprinkle a little brown sugar on these when they are hot out of the oven for a more indulgent treat.

Important storage tip: Make sure these have cooled completely before storing in an airtight container.  Otherwise, they will become a little chewy and odd.  I know this from experience, and so does everyone else who ate them at Thanksgiving.

Speaking of giving thanks, I am pretty thankful for this scoundrel.  What are thankful for this year?

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A Healthy Addiction? Garlicky Kale to Your Post-Thanksgiving Rescue

I'm not one of those people you're going to find saying, "oh, I'm SOOO addicted to exercise".  That doesn't mean I can't dream about it.  You're far more likely to find me eating some combination of bread and stuff that melts and saying "oh, I'm SOOO addicted to (insert bread and fat of the day)".  But in the past several months I've had a breakthrough.  I developed a healthy addiction!  It's kale.

Wait!  Don't leave!  Once I too was like you, thinking that kale, in all its ultra deep green roughness, could only be consumed comfortably after it had the Satan cooked out of it and had been covered in some sort of high sodium or high fat sauce to mask its overly healthy and virtuous taste.  And then, as it is known to do, Whole Foods (better known to some as Whole Paycheck) came to the rescue with its salad bar brimming with vegetables and toppings galore.  Of all the delectable delicacies in the salad bar, the garlicky kale was the crown jewel.  And then I was so cruelly betrayed.  I would sneak away to Whole Foods for lunch to have a rendezvous with G.K., and it was nowhere to be found.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, and I'm making garlicky kale from scratch.

Lucky for me, Brittany over at Eating Bird Food had the same addiction and did most of the leg work.  I doubled her recipe and doubled my pleasure.  The awesome thing about this salad aside from its delicious and addictive properties, is that it's even better the next day.  Definitely the only dressed salad I know of that can hold its own in the fridge a second day.  If you like Caesar salad, you're going to love this.

Garlicky Kale
(Recipe slightly adapted from Eating Bird Food)

1 bunch kale
1 1/2 Tbsp tahini
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (sounds weird but it's like soy sauce or tamari.  Sub tamari in a pinch)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (an ingredient definitely worth stocking in your kitchen)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sesame seeds to taste for garnish (optional)

1.  Remove tough stems from the kale and tear into bite size pieces.
2.  Combine all the remaining ingredients except kale and sesame seeds in a blender (magic bullet is awesome for this) until smooth.  Pour over kale.
3.  Use your clean hands (sorry, this is going to be your best way to do this) to evenly distribute the dressing and rub it into the leaves, like you're giving it a well deserved massage.  Relax, kale, you're feeling a little stiff.
4.  Wash your grubby hands, weirdo, and shake some sesame seeds on your delectable health food before you start shoveling it in your pie hole like it was bread with melty fat.  If you can manage to wait to eat and let this sit in the fridge for an hour or two, you'll love it even more.  If not, strap on the ol' feedbag.

I like to make a meal of this when I know I'm eating pizza (bread and melty fat) for dinner later that day.  It's all about balance, or so they say.

This is great for impressing friends that think they don't like healthy food.  You sneaky devil.

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Part 3 - MasterChef Casting Calls Wrap Up

The judges came back in the room after their deliberations.
"We are going to call three names.  If we call your name, that doesn't mean you made it.  If we don't call your name, that doesn't mean you didn't make it.  That sounds like a line, doesn't it?  But it's really not.  In each city, for each season, we go back through applications and notes and make phone calls, so please don't discount yourself.  With that said, please hang around if your name is..."

1.  ZZ Top look-alike that played harmonica and sang like he was at American Idol tryouts
2.  Jim Schmim
3.  Not Melody Ann

I shook hands with the roofer and lawyer that were on either side of me, we tasted each other's dishes, and I left with a huge grin on my face.  Because I did the best I could do, got awesome feedback, stepped out of the box and did something outside my comfort zone, and had an amazing experience.

Time to go grab a beer and finally exhale.  We walked down to River Street and headed for Vic's on the River for lunch.

For lunch, I had a Caesar salad that was so amazing I stuffed it in my gob before I could photograph it.  Amazing lemony white anchovies, biscuit croutons and parmesan crisps that when combined created a whole so much greater than its parts, and an excellent and refreshing foil to the rich and wonderful french onion soup.  Washed down with a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, and I'm a happy girl.   We capped it off with a trip to River Street Sweets and munched on some pralines on the waterfront.  Nap time.  I had to rest up (no sleep, remember)  before we headed out to dinner and our ghost tour.  I'd like to go ahead and give Lori her due credit for coming up with this idea.  I'd also like to point out I am a huge wimp and have no idea why I agreed to do such a thing as a ghost tour in the world's most haunted city.  But at this point, with a belly full of good food and tryouts under my belt, I laid in bed still blissfully unaware of what awful things awaited me.

The alarm goes off, we all get dressed for our fanciest dinner of the night and head out haphazardly without reservation or reservations.

Our destination of choice would have been The Olde Pink House, but there were no reservations available, and the wait likely would have been hours.  We walked past a beautiful restaurant with amazing smells and charm oozing out everywhere.  Let's eat here!  It's the Olde Pink House, duh.  We went in anyway to ask about wait times.  A handsome man held the door for us, walked up to the host and cancelled his reservation, exclaiming that instead he would like to offer his place "to these lovely ladies."  And that's how we were immediately seated at the best seat in the house.  The Pink House, to be exact.  I didn't get pictures here, because it was just inappropriate, ya know.  It was one of those perfect moments that a picture couldn't sum up when we started in on our cornbread fried oyster appetizer with a fresh basil aioli.  A large group was seated at the table next to us as we ordered our entrees.  I of course had to go with Duck Confit with Vegetable Crepes which was amazeballs.

"That girl at the table next to us looks like Eva Mendez," Lori said.  I looked over, amused, and slowly my amusement turned to panic.  And I'm sweating.  It couldn't be.  There in all their LA-stained glory were all the producers, judges and food critics from this morning.  We ordered a bottle of wine, and I freaked out as Lori and Ashley planned intricate schemes to get their attention.  Their themes varied, but their plans generally stuck to reliable tactics like forced tripping, yelling obvious questions in their general direction, and other reasonable methods.  We were almost late for our ghost tour, so we asked for some to-go cups for our bottle of wine (remember that crazy open container law) and started to head out.  I walked by their table, told them I enjoyed cooking for them today, and hoped they enjoyed the rest of their stay in Savannah.  They were over the top nice, and when Lori kept motioning and mouthing, "call her," behind my head, the sweet Latin American Studies major asked again for my name.  They remembered my dish and again said they enjoyed it, and I walked out completely elated.  Now if they'd just give me that call to come to LA...  :)

At this point, we were legitimately late for our ghost tour, and were sprinting down the streets, wine bottle in hand, looking for our meetup point.  We found our party and were congratulated for our open-container-savvy ways.  First stop was a graveyard.  I was totally not scared at this point.  Our guide, Tobias, told us to be sure to take pictures, and don't delete them until we get a good look on our computers.  Silly ghost tour, man.  It turns out Tobias not only owned this company, but he is actively involved in research with such reputable paranormal researchers as The Rhine Institute.  We went to the hospital where mental patients and yellow fever patients were treated and buried in mass unmarked graves.  Many were buried alive due to the coma-like state that was characteristic of yellow fever.  I started feeling pretty bad right about here.  Lori, Ashley and I were debating leaving the tour.  It was getting to be a bit much.

The worst was yet to come.  We headed to the slave trade square, where families were separated and humans were sold like household appliances.  The air was cold and thick here, and tragedy and fear were tangible.  Without going into too much detail, there was bad energy here, and we were ready to move on.  The tour reached a terrifying finale when at the last uninhabited house, we were given the awful and heartbreaking story of what had happened in this place. As the worst details were divulged, the lights in the top floor suddenly went out.  They keep lights on in the house to discourage vandalism and curious ghost hunters.  Downstairs lights remained on, and everyone seemed to be ready to head back to more populated areas.  Timers, maybe?  It was 11:56; maybe they were set for that random time, or maybe the timers were fast...  Whatever, it was time to go.  What had been Savannah's charming landscape of beautiful old trees and Spanish moss was now more terrifying than it was beautiful, even in the daylight of the next morning.  We all three slept in the same bed that night with no sleep.  Notice a trend here?  Good thing we hadn't loaded the pictures on Ashley's computer yet.  (Every single picture is full of these large, mysterious orbs.  No biggie.)   Lesson here- don't go searching for darkness.  You will surely find it.  I regret the tour, and will certainly not be going out looking for ghosts again.

The next morning, we decided to grab some brunch before heading home.  We also decided a sack of 24 Krystal Burgers would be a fitting appetizer.  We were clearly thinking rationally.  Breakfast on the beach sounded perfect, so we headed for Tybee Island.  We picked Fannie's on the Beach, which offered amazing brunch with these views.

Ashley ordered some mighty tasty fish tacos, and Lori and I ordered the Holy Grail of Eggs Benedict:  Two grit cakes topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise, swimming in a pool of pan fried garlic shrimp and butter.  Exhibit A.

It came with a toasted English muffin and a gorgeous variety of fresh fruit.  Seriously?!  Oh, yeah.  After a stroll on the beach, we headed back to North Carolina three very happy girls.

So I still haven't heard anything, but trying out for MasterChef was one of the best experiences of my life.  It made me more confident in my cooking skills and more ready than ever to pursue my passions.  I can't believe the overwhelming amount of support I received from family, friends and strangers.   So Thank you! I can't wait to try out again!  Until then, this redhead is staying in the kitchen, and telling you all about it.

It's hard to sum up the whole experience in these three blog posts, so if I've left anything out, or if you have any questions about any of it, you know where to find me!  Cheers.

Part Two- Behind the Scenes at MasterChef auditions

After pulling into the parking lot at Savannah Tech Community College, I stalled a little, assessing the sitch.  Not as many cars as I expected.  Lots of people toting some really extra large coolers and heavy loads.  I had my little satchel, lunchbox cooler and thermos.  Hmmm.  We walked through the double doors and my trusty companions grabbed us a table and chairs while I waited in line and registered.  I was contestant number 120, and I handed over my registration packet complete with hot sauce splotches.  The lady issuing numbers kept interrupting herself as she instructed me and said, "what?"  Like I had interrupted her while I stood there silent.  It was strange, and she was strange.  But probably an awesome person in real life when she wasn't processing registration packets.

We took our seats and watched ALL sorts of people file in and settle into line.

Oooh!  Here's Beefcake.  He was destined to be our bestie for the coming hour or two.  He made lasagna with homemade noodles and bechamel sauce and was really nervous.  And beefy.  I hope he made callbacks, but have no idea.

Look!  Here we are waiting.  Ash on the left, me on the right and the sweet, but ghostly, face of pallor right smack in the middle.  Poor old girl was feeling like a squashed beetle.

Check out this dude.  Yeah, that dude way in the back of this fuzzy picture standing behind his table and being a total cheater.  Although the rules very specifically state you can not bring any heating devices and your dish should be cooked ahead of time, he prepared what I think was chicken marsala on two gas stoves in the middle of the room in front of a very hungry, anxious crowd full of nerves and critical stares. He made sure plenty were watching when he cracked his eggs with one hand and loudly chopped his herbs.  Don't be that guy.

An hour into the wait, my number was called.  I filed in line with my group of 19 others and we were led into the room of uncertainty as our peers clapped, hooted and hollered.  It was a fun feeling, like starting a big race.  As we entered the room with the judges, we were given a space on some tables that were arranged in a horseshoe.  I'd say it was approximately 2 feet square.  "Put your stuff down and move over," said the really hot and skinny LA cool girl being the boss of us.  "Get all your stuff out, but don't open or start plating anything."  Well that's nice, it makes it easier.  

"Ready?  Have everything plated in three minutes when I say go.  After I say stop, get your hands off the table and don't touch ANYTHING.  If you touch your paperwork after I say stop, you'll be disqualified.  It's my property now, so make sure it's on the table.  Three... two... one...  GO."

Hands shaking, I ripped a banana leaf in half, marveling how blessed I was that it made a clean and beautiful tear, laid it across my rectangular platter, and tore three beautiful leaves off my hydroponically grown lettuce.  One, two, three lettuce cups in a row.  Thermos of meat opened, I clumsily forked out a couple tablespoons on each leaf.  I opened my pickled onions, filling the room with the very distinct smell, and I felt like vinegar was everywhere.  A few onions on top so my pork is pretty in pink.  20 seconds left.  Mango salsa on top of each, no time for cilantro, wipe the plate, "STOP."

A cool looking hipster girl came by my table.  "Oh those are so cute!  I'm not a judge, but I really want one.  They're so pretty!  Can I have one?  What are they?  Oooh, how do you know how to cook Mayan?  Awesome!  I'm a Latin American Studies major too!  Well thanks!"  She walked away and whispered something to the producer.  Here comes the food critic:

"This is cochinita pibil?  I'm from LA, so I eat a lot of authentic Mexican food."  He takes a bite.  No expression.  He looks at me.  "And this is very good.  So tender."  Another bite.  "And this mango salsa, what are the peppers?  Ah, habanero.  No wonder the heat is starting to get to me."  He is sweating through his shirt, but that happened before he got to my table.  Uh oh.  Was it too hot!  No way!  I tasted it this morning and it was barely spicy.  He must be a wimp, but at least he was a nice one.  Eek!  Wonder what he's saying to the other staff over there.  Here comes the guy asking about our TV personalities and our dish of choice.  He asks a lot about my personal history, personality, cooking style, strengths and weaknesses.  Tough questions, but he's a heck of a nice guy, this Duffy fellow.  "Oh this is the mango habanero salsa everyone is talking about."  Oh no.  "Yeah, I was afraid it might be a little hot..." I said.  

"Oh, no they loved it.  They were all back there talking about how good it was."  Compliment number three.  Is this happening?!  Could I really make it on the show, or even just to callbacks?!"  I'm getting really excited now.  The judges go through the last couple of people.  One person with a ZZ Top beard sings and plays harmonica, and the judges eat it up.  Another 55 year old man has pink hair, the girl two over from me is wearing a see-through shirt.  Maybe I should have worn my eye patch?  The judges wrap it up and leave us in the room as we deliberate.  I make friends with the lawyer and roofer next to me.  You wouldn't believe the crazy array of folks here.  The plated dishes are mostly beautiful, but some people have some Nutso sounding dishes.  I'm feeling pretty good.  The judges come back in with the results.

Stay tuned to the third and final installment!!  Haha, I always hate it when TV shows do that to me, so I get this sick pleasure out of doing it to you.  But seriously, my fingers are tired of typing, so stay tuned.

MasterChef Casting Call Part 1

So for those of you who have been following my MasterChef casting call audition, here's how it went!  I have to preface it by saying that it was an awesome experience, and it meant the world to me to have so much support from family, friends and readers.  I was truly overwhelmed with gratitude, so a sincere thank you goes out to every single person reading this!

It began on Friday morning by hacking up a ridiculous sized piece of meat, pouring the marinade I made the night before over the hacked pieces resting in my beloved dutch oven, and packing it in the cooler along with all my ingredients for the mango salsa, pickled onions, banana leaves, and the rest of the marinade.  I wasn't sure how well equipped the kitchen in our hotel room would be, so I was careful to pack plenty of knives, containers, etc.  My sister arrived and joined Ashley and me for the car ride down.

We arrived at the hotel, which was about 20 minutes away from downtown, but very clean, pleasant and well equipped.

My cozy little hotel kitchen

We settled in, I made my salsa and pickled onions, and we got ready for dinner.  We drove downtown and decided to try out Moon River Brewery and ordered some amazing beers with dinner.  I had the Rosemary IPA (India Pale Ale), and it was incredible.  I love IPAs in general, but the very subtle rosemary in this one played so well off the citrus character of the hops and added a festive Christmas tree feel to it too!  Ashley ordered a beer that was better than a dessert.  Her Sweet Potato Ale was not sweet or spiced, but was a perfectly refreshing and full bodied ale.  The rim was dusted with a mixture of crushed nuts, spices and brown sugar and it made a huge impression!  Yum.  I don't remember what Lori ordered, but clearly it was not as good as mine and Ashley's... sorry, Lo.

Rosemary IPA up front, Sweet Potato Ale to the right, mystery (Belgian?) ale to the left.  Sorry for the fuzzy photo!

We gobbled up some standard pub fare, and headed down to River Street, which was looking pretty desolate for a Friday night.  Before heading back to the hotel to crash, we grabbed a beer to go...
Yes!  Wait!  Did you know about that?!  Savannah has an open container law that allows you to literally roam the streets of downtown with beer in hand.  Weird and wonderful.  I had to take a picture as evidence.

After heading back to the hotel, it was straight to bed.  Oh, did I mention that poor little sister was so sick she was hacking her brains out?  It's true.  No sleep for you!  Does that make me sound mean and cruel?  Probably.  But I really did feel so bad she felt so bad.  We tried our best to take care of her, but it turns out Mel and Ash care isn't as effective as amoxicillin.  I got up at 3am to line the dutch oven with banana leaves and wrap them around the meat like a present.  At least Miss Piggy can be all snug and warm in her sheets even if I can't.  I guess I should count my blessings that I wasn't snuggling up to sleep in an oven like this pork was.  Into a 275 degree oven until I clambered out of the bed again at 7.  I got up at 4.  WHAT?!  The oven light isn't on!  Tailspin into panic!  Turns out the oven light was just broken, and it had indeed been cooking and I would indeed get to present my dish as intended.  I got up at 5.  Good.  Still cooking.  Ash got up at 5:30, got Lo some water to ease her coughs and grumbled as she went to the bathroom and took world's longest shower.   Wet headed cousin climbs back into bed, I climb into shower. It's 8am and I am yelling.  Get up!  Am I going to have to go do this thing by myself?!  I'm so sweet in the morning.  It's 8:30 and we're all in the car on the way.  We pull into Savannah Tech Community College and everyone is toting the coolers to the door.  Awesome!  My hands are sweaty and now I am so nervous I feel the urgency of needing a bathroom STAT.  Sweaty is gonna look so sexy, how could they dare not put me on the big screen?
Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll give you all the sweet behind the scenes details of MasterChef casting calls...

Technique: Cooking with Dried Chilies

I'm going to let you in on a secret-
Rarely do I ever make the same thing the same way, and I almost NEVER cook soup with an idea of what kind of soup I want it to be.  It just keeps life more interesting, and helps me take advantage of whatever I might have in my fridge or pantry at the time without sending me to the store again.  Another little secret is that I go to the grocery store probably 3 or 4 times a week.  I adore grocery shopping.  The inspiration from the soup I made last night came from two things: the giant pig bone I had sitting in my fridge, and the nice little dried ancho chilies I picked up yesterday at Food Dog.  If you've never cooked with dried chilies, it's a damn shame.  Let's fix that right now.  Not only is it super cheap and easy, it adds depth of flavor like nobody's business and will totally impress your friends.

The good news is you can find these spicy little numbers almost anywhere.  Check either your produce department or the ethnic foods isle.  They can be purchased loose or in bags with several in them.  Ancho chile is my favorite because it has this smoky, sweet, almost raisin like flavor to it.  There are many types: pasilla, chile de arbol, cascabel, and more- you should definitely explore.  One of the best ways to cook with dried chilies is to make your very own chili powder.  How impressive does that sound?!  Guess what... it's easier than putting pants on.  Almost.  Basically, you just grab an assorted handful of  chiles with their seeds removed and toss them in a cast iron skillet with some cumin, paprika, what-have-you, and toast them up a few minutes so they are fragrant before tossing them in the blender.  My dad is a pro at this and used to toast them up in the oven.  This will make your house smell incredible.  Check out Alton Brown's easy and fail proof recipe for specifics.

Want something even easier to do with them?  Use them in a soup or sauce for flavor so authentic your burps will probably sound like mariachi music.  Cut the top off one or two peppers and slit that mother open.  Scrape out all the seeds (most will fall out on their own) and remove  the "veins" (lighter colored stringy fibers on the inside of the pepper).  Mine barely had any visible veins, so I didn't worry much with it.  Put them in a medium container and cover with hot, but not boiling, water.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes.   Remove plastic wrap and drain if you're looking to make a paste, or if you're making a soup, you can leave the liquid in there.  Even if you want a paste, save that drained liquid to cook beans, rice, or whatever in it.  Yum!  If you drained them, use a blender (I like my magic bullet for this) to puree them.  If you're making a soup like I did, you want this yummy liquid to stay where it is.  Put peppers and liquid in a blender and puree, or use an immersion blender in that same container to make it super easy.  I ran my puree through a strainer before I put it in my soup.  Totally optional.  After the chiles were in the water with the pork bone I boiled the heck out of, it was clear from my pantry that tortilla soup was in order.  Here's what I did:

1.  Cover bone with water and boil the crap out of it for several hours.
2.  Remove bone and let it cool.  Pick meat off of it and toss it back in the pot with the water.
3.  Rehydrate one dried chile (ancho is what I used) and puree it in its soaking water.  Strain and add to pot.
4.  Chop one onion roughly.  You guessed it, into the pot.
5.  There's corn kernels in the freezer.  Shake about a cup into the pot.
6.  Dump one can of beans into the pot (I used the white ones because I am burnt out on black beans).
7.  Dump can of fire roasted tomatoes in pot.  Add two Tbsp garlic powder, and one of oregano to pot.
8.  Add two chopped up links of chorizo style meatless sausages.
9.  Add 1/3 cup jarred enchilada sauce.
10.  Add the almost used up whole grain tortilla chips in the back of the cabinet after crushing them.

Let this simmer for at least an hour, stirring frequently and skimming fat off the top.  When almost ready to serve, heat 1/3 cup vegetable oil in cast iron skillet until a bead of water flicked into it makes it hiss and dance like nuts.  Fry one tortilla per lucky person eating this, one at a time.  About thirty seconds on each side is good before removing to a plate lined with a paper towel.  Break up into chips for garnish and add to individual bowls of finished soup.  Top with avocado if you have it.  I had mango salsa and cilantro, so there you go.

Tortilla soup for the soul.

This is the first time I have ever made tortilla soup, and it was my favorite.  I will definitely be adding this to my favorite dishes I keep in circulation.
Leaving for MasterChef casting calls in the morning!  I couldn't be more excited, and I can't even express how grateful I am for all the encouragement I've gotten from you guys, family and friends.  Thanks for routing for me!

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MasterChef Casting Call this Weekend!

Did I say I'd wait until Monday to tell you my secret?  Oh, well.  I am way too pumped to hold it in, and goodness knows I can use all the prayers, good vibes and positive thoughts I can get this weekend as I travel to Savannah for the open casting calls for the reality TV cooking show, MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay.

This is incredibly out of character for me.  Don't get me wrong, I am all about some cooking competitions.  I'm guilty of even turning potlucks at work into Iron Chef matches.  Dad and I still compete in the kitchen (although he always wins).  The kicker is that I hate reality TV.  In fact, I don't even have TV.  I watch my episodes of The Office, Parks and Recreation and Modern Family on Jeremy's computer.  I don't enjoy the drama, cat fights, and overly staged cheese factors of a reality show.  But when it comes to food it's a whole new ballgame.  I've even learned to love Iron Chef. ("Squisant!  ...Yes...")
...Did anyone get that reference other than my own sister?  Yes?

The truth is, I have a lot of respect for not only Gordon Ramsay and the top chefs that make this show so successful, but I also have loads of respect for any amateur cook who has the gonads to really put himself out there and possible make an arse out of himself on National Television, all in the name of his passion and love for food and cooking.  Did I mention the perks of networking, meeting other cooks, bloggers and food writers, and spending an incredible weekend in one of my favorite cities with my sister and cousin?  So first thing Friday morning, off we trot to Savannah so I can make an arse out of myself while doing what I love most.

Okay, I won't make you wait any longer.  So what am I going to make, for Pete's sake?!  Oh, you know, just some Cochinita Pibil.  What, you haven't heard of it?  Allow me to introduce you...

It's pork...  It's not vegan, yo...

Ewwww!  Can you see the little hair folicles?!  I really should have let my butcher cut this up for me.

Marinated overnight in chilies, ground annatto seeds and citrus...

Wrapped in banana leaves...

(Only after playing matador with the leaves because you are a child)  That's clearly why I'm not wearing make-up as well.  Children don't wear make-up, Dodo.

Braised slowly in the oven for hours, shredded, and eaten with tortillas or fresh lettuce like tacos, with a garnish of pickled onions and Mango Habanero Salsa.

This is a traditional Mayan recipe that has been around for hundreds of years.  It's not widely available (at least around here), but it's one of my favorite things I've ever eaten.  I was pretty pleased with the trial run, so I plan to present the same version on Saturday!  There is no way to heat anything, so I'll be cooking everything ahead of time in my hotel room with a full kitchen, transporting the meat in a thermos, and everything else in a cooler, and plating it when it's my turn.

This is something I never imagined myself doing, but now I'm so looking forward to the experience.  I decided there was no reason I shouldn't or couldn't do it, so Seize the Day!
More details on the history of the dish, inspiration, preparation and recipe will be forthcoming...  Thanks for reading!

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