The Adventures of a Calamari Queen
Christian, Wife, Mommy, Homemaker, Retired nurse, Fur-mama,living a simple and minimal life!
It’s been a long week here in the PNW, with the snow storm and power outage that happened. We have been stuck here at home for a week. I made some comfort food and enjoyed some nice time with hubby! So last Saturday (was safe to get out of the house) we watched the movie Haywire and ate at Red Robin (yum!)
I prepared this chicken dish last week! The recipe is from the food network 🙂 I added herbs like rosemary and thyme because I had them in the ref, and wanted to make use of what I had (it gives so much flavor and the house smells “delicious”).
Position an oven rack about 8 to 10 inches from the broiler and preheat. Grate the lemon zest and combine in a small bowl with the butter, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Mash with a fork to make a smooth paste.
With your fingers, gently loosen the skin on the chicken breasts, legs and thighs. Spread the flavored butter under the skin as evenly as possible. Halve the lemons and squeeze 2 halves over the chicken; season with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken skin-side up on a broiler pan (or a rack on a baking sheet). Position the halves about 2 inches apart with the thick parts of the legs facing the center. Arrange the remaining 2 lemon halves cut-side down next to the chicken.
Broil the chicken until the skin is light brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. If the chicken browns too quickly, lower the oven rack. Flip the chicken and the lemons and continue to broil until almost cooked through (a thermometer inserted into the thickest part will register 160 degrees), about 15 minutes. Remove the lemons, if browned; turn the chicken again and broil until the skin is brown and crisp and the thermometer registers 165 degrees, about 2 more minutes. Serve the chicken with the broiled lemons for squeezing on top.
My sister made these cupcakes tonight. She was craving for some yummy cupcakes and I was afraid that we didn’t have all of the ingredients for “gourmet” cupcakes! So she found this “simple” cupcake recipe and luckily for her we had all of the ingredients she needed! The recipe is from The Neelys (from foodnetwork website). I can say that it was quite delicious!
To make the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 (12-cup) muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy.
Slowly beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix together the milk, coffee, and vanilla in a measuring cup. Add 1/2 the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beat to combine, then add the milk- coffee mixture and continue to beat, then add the remaining dry mixture. The mixture will look thick and airy.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake until a toothpick, inserted in the middle of the cupcake, comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and let cool before frosting.
To make the frosting: Bring the heavy whipping cream to a gentle simmer. Add the chopped chocolate to a bowl with the butter and pour the hot cream over. Whisk the mixture until melted and smooth. Let it sit for 5 to 8 minutes until it thickens up.
Frost the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting using an offset spatula. Top each with a raspberry
We had a fun and tiring weekend! We did our first 5K race in cold, rainy, windy Seattle (Magnuson Park). For our “reward” we had Pho after and it was just the perfect comfort food after being outside in this kind of weather. We also had the first snow this weekend and we spent our Sunday afternoon outside, playing in the snow and then enjoyed some hot chocolate drinks!
I’m linking up with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday. I’ve been wearing the same thing since fall,lots of sweaters and boots( Hello Winter!!).
We had a quiet weekend this week! My husband was really busy with work and there’s nothing in the theater that we wanted to see. We cooked crispy orange beef, watched netflix movies, walked the dog, and organized our Christmas decorations! I showed Hubby some pictures of my lunch date with Sis and he can’t get over how “yummy” the Jambalaya looked. He requested we have to go back to Flat Iron Grill so he can get his own jambalaya:) I was happy to oblige!
A week before Christmas, I invited my friend Faye and her family over for dinner! It’s been a while since we saw each other because with my travel back to the Philippines and her giving birth to their second son,it was just impossible to have a little get together. It was so nice to see and have dinner with them and finally get to spend time with my godson, Cyrus, and hold her new baby! We had mac and cheese, mongolian beef, chicken mustard dish and cupcakes for dessert!
I can’t carry him anymore,such a big boy already!
I had lunch with my younger sister yesterday at Flat Iron Grill (my fave local resto). Hubby was out of town/Business trip for the last 3 days so we did a lot of girly stuff! Lunch then shopping after for some “sporty” clothes. My sis and I have been going to the gym almost everyday (except Sundays) for the last 3 weeks and we are doing Zumba classes together. This is the first time in my life that I’m really “exercising” HA!. It’s not a new year’s resolution, it’s just that I’ve been wanting to take Zumba for a while now and no more excuses for me not to do it:)
We had a nice NYE celebration at home! We had my inlaws and our friends. 2011 was one challenging year for me! I’m grateful for the year 2011, but I’m so glad that it’s over and I’m just looking forward to our 2012!!! Here’s some photos of our NYE celebration.
