Shrimps & Scallops with a White Wine Broth

So this was the lovely dish I wanted to post yesterday, but couldn't due to my internet fiasco. What a bummer that's been. But much like many an afternoon, i spent some quality time in my local Panera sipping on some fresh brewed coffee with my laptop on the table, answering emails messages, catching up on blogs. I swear the people that work there know me by now. haha...

Anyway... I asked my mom the day before Mother's Day what she would like to eat. I asked sometimes early in the afternoon. Several hours later...still no decision. But I waited patiently and patiently and patiently. Ain't I a loving daughter? Finally...Pasta. Scallops. Shrimp. Ok, so brain turns and what do you get? Angel hair pasta with sauteed shrimp and scallops in a white wine broth.

Delicious? Why...it's pasta-licious. Sorry...that last bit was corny.

 Serves 3-4

Shrimps & Scallops with a White Wine Broth

1/2 box angel hair pasta
6 oz diced tomato
2 large garlic clove - rough chopped
5 oz evaporated milk
1/2 tbsp oregano
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/2 c white wine
1/2 lb shrimp - deveined and shelled
1 lb scallops

In a sauce pan, heat a small drizzle of olive oil and saute the garlic for 30-60 seconds. Add the shrimp and scallops and saute until the shrimp have turned a nice shade pink and the scallops are slightly whiter in color. Some of the juices will be released. Stir several times to cook all the seafood.

On a high to medium heat, add the wine and bring to a slight boil. When the wine has reduced slightly, lower the heat and add the evaporated milk. Add the tomato and oregano. Stir occasionally. Let it simmer for a good 15 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste.

While that cooks, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Season with salt and cook the pasta until al dente roughly 8-10 minutes.

Place some of the paste in a large enough plate and ladle some of the shrimp, scallops and sauce over. Serve warm.

Ummm...internet disconnected?!?!

I had a post all nearly ready to go. In fact it was my Mother's Day dish. I was pretty excited to share it with you all (which I still am), when the inevitable happened. My internet was disconnected. It's not the kind when it will miraculously start up again out of thin air. This is much worse. As I worked on set yesterday, I happened to check my email from my phone and I had received an email from AT&T saying that my DSL service is disconnected per my request. What request?????? I don't remember sending any request certainly not to disconnect my internet. As you can imagine the confusion, slight anger at all this. Sure enough when I got home, I couldn't even check my emails. That just added fuel to the fire. no notification of any kind was sent to let me know that this was gonna go down.

I think that was the final nail in the coffin my internet relationship with that company. Not only has trying to reach customer service a hassle, but it's just not what is used to be when I first signed up with them. That means I'll be mooching off the free wifi at Panera for the next few days. Or at least until I switch carriers and set everything up.

I apologize for the lack of food in today's post, but I promise to be back tomorrow. I promise :)
--
Sent from my BlackBerry®

Frozziyo

With the frozen yogurt crave, there's been a myriad or little shops popping up around difference cities. I was invited by a couple friend of mine for a little catch up time over some froyo. Frozziyo located in Pasadena near PCC (Pasadena City College). The location of the place is sandwiched between two other large stores on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, CA. They've only been around for a year, but from the couple hours I spent chatting up with my friends a good amount of patrons walked in and out with their yogurt.

They got a nice selection of flavors. Vanilla, chocolate, plain tart, pomegranate, rev velvet, green apple...I think there's a couple other flavors there, too.

I get myself half plain and half pomegranate, which was a nice choice. I enjoyed quite a lot. Then again. I love me some froyo every now and then. My topping of choice is usually some fresh fruit like strawberries and pineapple with some granola and nuts. Today it was walnuts. A good afternoon well spent with friends and a frozen dessert.


Frozziyo
1771 East Colorado Boulevard,
Pasadena, CA 91106

Hot dogs, cupcakes and a day for Mothers

Cheap eats are hard to find sometimes, but at Costco you won't have that problem. Not sure if Sam's Club has something like this. Can't say for sure as I've never been to a Sam's Club. Costco is one of those Warehouse stores that sells an endless amounts of products in bulk at decent prices. I take a trip there once a month or every couple months. I also get my contact lenses from their optical department. Been happy with the service for years. Anyway...one of the great things about Costco is their outdoor concession stand.

The lines can sometimes be pretty long, but they're usually worth the wait. A large slice of pizza for a dollar something. Hot dog or a polish dog for a buck-fifty and that includes a drink with free refills. Their famous chicken bake it really awesome. Chicken, bacon and cheese...yum!!!. It's a small selection, but it's definitely good eats. Pizzas...whole or by the slice are totally big, but so awesome.

Today I stuck with a traditional simple delicious hot dog. Toppings are self-serve, so I put some relish, mustard and ketchup. I would have added onions, but I didn't feel like, it this time around. Sometimes a good ol' fashioned hot dog is all you need to fill you right.

As promised here's the inside cross-section of the red velvet cupcake that I had gotten the other day from Crumbs Bake Shop.

 The photo looks a little dark, but I assure you it's a red velvet cupcake with a cream cheese frosting.  Yummy!!

Lastly...to all the mother's out there. Here's a lovely flower for you.  :)

Happy Mother's Day!!! (I ♥ my mom!!!)

I want some Crumbs

It just so happens that a neighbor of mine had given us a $10 coupon good for use to a several eateries at the Americana. Hey coupons for free food, why not? One of those choices was Crumbs Bake Shop. Next to Michael Stars and Trattoria Amici. I've been there several times before and I enjoy the cupcakes quite a bit. It a nice treat after a long walk.

Plus, the cupcakes are huge! Just how huge? Oh, I'de say larger than the size of my fist. Literally!!!

I get two red velvet, one Bryant Park, and one Cookie Dough. 

Oh, delicious cuppy cakes ready to be eaten by yours truly. I didn't eat it all, of course. I did share with my mom. It is mother's day weekend after all. I ain't greedy. I share when sharing is required...when it comes to food. ;-)

Here's the descriptions of the cupcakes from their website:

Red Velvet: Authentic red velvet cake with rich cream cheese frosting and edged with red velvet crumbs

Bryant Park: A chocolate cake with chocolate mousse inside, topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting, chocolate cake crumbs, and white chocolate shavings around the edge

Cookie Dough: Vanilla cake with chocolate fudge filling covered in our signature vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with soft chocolate chip cookie pieces and topped with a chocolate chip cookie.

 Inside the Bryant Park

Inside cookie dough

Each cupcake has a nice blob of mouse, ganache, or frosting in the center. Mmmm... Just eating half of each is enough to fill me up some what. I'm telling you they are BIG!! They do have a cupcake that's nearly the size of a cake. I'll have to share with you how the red velvet looks inside tomorrow. It was tempting to chomp down, but I didn't want to push it and end up with massive sugar high. I mean look at how thick that frosting is one there!!! hahaha... One cup cake is already a lot. :)

I eat cupcakes the same way I do muffins. Bottom first, then the top along with the frosting after.


Crumbs Bake Shop
779 Americana Way
Glendale, Ca 91210
818.502.0050

Stewed Tomato and Orzo

I've been having a mild case of the sniffles and sneezes lately. I don't want to get sick. I. WILL. NOT. GET. SICK!!! I'm take every precaution in making sure that I'm well enough before my trip. That's the worst thing that could happen. *crossing fingers* So I've got juice and tea and fruits and veggies and...and...soups and...stews in mind for the next couple weeks. I'm not leaving anything to chance. Allergies beware I ain't giving in without a fight! :)

Anyway...I actually wanted tomato soup, but ended up making this. A tomato stew, of sorts...with diced tomatoes, chopped carrots, orzo, ans some veggie stock. Simple and easy and tomato-y goodness. Have I mentioned that I love tomatoes?

Serves 2

Stewed Tomato and Orzo

1 12oz can vegetable stock
1 12 oz can diced tomato
1 large garlic clove
1 large carrot - peeled and rough chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c uncooked orzo
pepper to taste.

In a pot, sauce the garlic in the olive oil for 30 seconds. Then add the tomato sauce and stock. Bring the whole thing to a slight boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer. Stir occasionally. Add the carrots and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes until the carrots had become tender. 10 minutes before serving add the orzo. Again stirring occasionally so that the orzo will not stick to the pot. Season with pepper to taste.  The orzo will absorb some of the sauce.

El Charro

Margaritas are usually on order for Cinco de Mayo, but I was driving and ya know...I was thinking responsibly. *wink wink* So my other alternative was to have myself some really tasty authentic tacos. Let's see it was about close to 4pm. The freeways were probably clogged and well that didn't sit well with me. As much as I love driving sitting in LA traffic ain't no sunshine. So rather than head south towards Downtown Los Angeles, I headed north to the city of Montrose, it is west of La Canada Flintridge.

 El Charro. The city Montrose really isn't your typical place to find good Mexican food, but I can assure you...it's good stuff. They've been in the area since 1955. And if you've been in business that long, you know you're doing something right. My mom had suggested this place after I mentioned craving for tacos on Cinco de Mayo. It would be fitting that she be my meal companion for this trip. The place isn't too big and not too small. It has booth seating or regular table seating as well as cantina (bar) for those wanting a little cerveza. Luckily it wasn't crowded as it was in the middle of the afternoon when we decided to get some chow.

 Upon seating we were brought some water the the waiter and some in-house tortilla chips along with some salsa. We ended up ordering a second basket.

 My mom orders the fish taco meal. That thing looked huge! With a side to tartar sauce, shredded cabbage on top and a couple wedges of lemon. There were two homemade torillas underneath that hill of cabbage.

I order the carne asada combo meal. Left to right - Two carne asada tacos, pico de gallo, rice with an olive garnish and bead with melted cheese. The beef for the carne asada were nice cubed chunks with shredded cheese on top. These weren't small sized like some places either.

Look at that delicious taco. I ate both of them right up with some of the beans and salsa. These are some good tacos I've had in a long while. I do want to go back and try their tostadas and enchiladas.


El Charro
Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
3741 North Verdugo Rd
Montrose, CA 91020
818.249.2405