Sunday, November 16, 2008

Wasabi and Dynamite

A great afternoon/evening in Denver yesterday.

Jesse Black invited me to the Denver Dynamite Soccer teams home opener. Game was at 7:15.

Seeing as I'd be heading to Denver, I called TommyT to see if him and Jennifer wanted to do sushi. Its almost always a yes.

We went to a new place that Tom had found with some guys from work. I don't know the name of it... but it was awesome. The thing that made it so great was good sushi and two new things I had never tried:
  1. Seared pepper encrusted Tuna, and
  2. Fresh Wasabi!

The tuna was awesome. Its just a very different taste. The pepper and tuna combination is almost sweet, but of course a bit hot at the same time. Just an excellent "different" taste.
The fresh wasabi was also a new taste. Almost like a picked pepper or something, in look and texture; but had the kick of wasabi. I'd pop a piece of sushi, chew it for a minute, and then throw a few wasabi morsels into my mouth and chew them up. Crisp/crunch and then the wasabi kick. Excellent! Something I am going to have to ask for every time I get sushi from now on!

After that it was up to the Dynamite home opener. It was so fun because I saw so many people I hadn't seen for so long - and all of the "kids" with their new babies. And then the game itself was great. First time I've ever gone to a soccer game! The first half was pretty much even (I think it was 3 to 3 at half) and then the Dynamite came out the 2nd half and dominated; with the score ending 11 to 6. They had some nice runs of 3 scores, and Jesse had 2 goals - which was very sweet. Everyone around me were either his friends or family, and the crowd would go wild when he scored - so it was very cool. And while most of it looked like targets of opportunity to me (but I don't know much about soccer); there were also some very finely executed plays with some great passes, feigns, and then score. Very cool.

And on the way home I stopped and got a Triple Venti Spiced Pumpkin Latte.

So all in all, a great afternoon/evening!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Chicken and Dumplings

It was a cold day, Melissa posted on Facebook that she was making pumpkin bread - and I decided on comfort food for dinner. This uses premixed ingredients - which makes if fast but still homemade.

  • 2 Chicken Breasts, cut in 1" pieces
  • 1/2 Orange Bell Pepper, diced
  • 1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
  • 1 Leek, sliced thin
  • 2 Stalks celery, diced
  • 2 14oz cans of chicken broth
  • 1 "small size" can Cream of Chicken Soup
  • Bisquick


I made this in a French cook pan, but it could also be made in a skillet.

Put broth in pan and turn on high, add vegetables and chicken and bring to a boil, then turn down on low and simmer. I let this cook for 30 minutes or more until we were almost ready to eat. Meanwhile make a serving of biscuits according to the Bisquick recipe.

When almost ready to eat, remove the chicken and veggies and set aside. Bring broth to a boil and spoon drop biscuits into the broth, cooking for 6 minutes on medium, covered. The broth will thicken because some of the dumplings will dissolve into the broth.

Remove dumplings and scrape the bottom of the pan if it got thick enough to start sticking. Stir in soup and add chicken/veggie mixture. Cover and immer for a few minutes until the soup is bubbling.

Serve!

Pictures are on this Facebook Album.

Tostada with Pumpkin Seed Honey

Based on recipe by Mission Foods


  • Corn Tortillas Oil for frying
  • 2/3 cup toasted Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas)
  • 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Orange Juice


Fry the tortillas in oil until golden brown, drain excess oil on a paper towel.

Separately, melt the brown sugar in the orange juice in a pan and add the pumpkin seeds. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

Let cool for 15 - 30 minutes... if you have the time. This will let it thicken a bit. Its best if its a bit like honey or syrup.

Lastly, drizzle the tostada with the mixture.


I made these for a potluck so cut the tortillas in 1/4s like chips; with one whole one in the center. I let them sit out for 30 minutes on wire racks before plating them so that they syrup would soak in a bit - but it wasn't soggy at all.

Pictures can be found on this Facebook Album.