Accidents happen

When God gives you a disastrous Alton Brown recipe for pumpkin bread that does not cook in the middle, you make bread pudding with the remains the next day.

What it should look like...

What happens after I let it cool and transfer to a wire rack...


The middle. Pumpkin pudding, maybe?

Wok-Seared Lamb Rib Chops

Another restaurant in Las Vegas with a great surprise included Noodle Asia. The menu seemed to cater to the Asian tourist population with authentic goodies and satisfyingly-slurpy noodles. I was very excited about the Kim Chi, and, honestly - very, very excited about the spicy beef tripe. The plan was to feast on some appetizers before our Cirque show, but a *cough* self-induced pistachio gelato feast only an hour earlier left little room in the tummy. The restaurant did have a special, though: Wok-Seared Lamb Rib Chops.

The waitress was very kind, but could not speak English well, so I could only have her release little information about the preparation of the lamb. All I heard was, "Chinese five spice and cook it three times."

Once she delivered the food, I went into full Fred Flintstone, brontosaurus bone, growling-mode. I admit, I'm not a pretty eater. The crispy outside and fatty, spicy meat made me melt. I forced myself from ordering another two rounds, since it was an appetizer and only served with three of the meaty lollipops. Instead, I took notes. The spices are almost perfect, but the intense crispyness can only be found with a wok. For a Wednesday night supper, it wasn't half-bad.


Wok-Seared Lamb Rib Chops

- Frenched lamb rib chop (around 8 lollipops)
Marinade
- 1 tbs ginger
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- 3 cloves of garlic (crushed & finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
- 1/2 tsp Sriracha
- s & p

Mix the marinade ingredients. Apply to lamb and marinate for a few hours in the fridge. Before cooking, take the lamb out of the fridge and allow to rest for an hour. This prevents the lamb from being too cold and only cooking on the outside. Heat the oven to 325.

Add to a pan on medium-high heat with oil. Sear on both sides until browned. Place lamb in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

After resting the lamb on the counter for 15 minutes, cut eat individual chop off the rib. Heat a pan with oil in high heat. Carefully sear the lamb on each side until crispy, 2-3 minutes on each side.

Enjoy!

I'm gonna miss you, puppy.

Our lovely puppy of twelve years passed yesterday. Heather left us yesterday on her birthday, but we were fortunate to spend a relaxing day with her celebrating with her favorite foods; cheese and cupcakes.

I'll miss her cold wet nose laying next to me on the couch.

I'll miss her stealth-mode when she tries to sneak a taste of our food.

I'll miss her love of food. Remember how excited she was about my birthday cake?

There are lots of memories, but most of all, I'll miss a great friend.

Love ya, pup.

Pumpkin ravioli with fried sage

Our new favorite!



- 1/4 can of canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 20 wonton wrappers
- 12 fresh sage leaves (6 whole, 6 chopped)
- 2 tbs. butter
- 1 small clove of garlic (minced)
- 2 amaretti cookies (crushed)
- 1 tbs. of parmesan cheese
- orange zest (1/4 of a large orange)
- pepper
- glass of water

Place a skillet on low heat and add butter. Allow to cook and slightly brown.

While cooking butter, mix pumpkin, garlic, cookies, parmesan cheese, chopped sage, orange zest and pepper to taste. Mix and set aside.

Place wonton wrappers on a board with the glass of water close to the working station. Add a teaspoon of pumpkin filling to one corner of the wonton. Leave enough room to seal the ravioli. Place you finger in the water and moisten the edges of the wonton. Fold so it is shaped like a triangle and make sure to seal the edges.

Add to salted water. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add remaining fresh whole sage leaves to butter to fry.

Place ravioli in a bowl and pour browned butter with sage on top.

Hip to be square

I don't need another reason to eat cupcakes -- but a square cupcake? Genius! And they're pretty tasty to boot!

Fresh Bakery cupcakes can be purchased in malls in the Baltimore area. We found stations in White Marsh mall and Towson Town center so far. The cupcakes are great - moist, and not too sweet.

The poor girl at the station ran out of red velvet, which are rumored to be fantastic. Pick some up if you are lucky to find them in stock.

Bye-Bye Summer

We've entered Fall and I have been told that my lack of Summer entries is beyond disappointing. I agree. Honestly, nothing too new in the cooking front during these past few warm months. Much of the time was spent attempting to understand the quirks of the stove and oven in our new place.

We always have a crab feast during the month of July, and apparently, my family shows great architecture promise for crustacean shells.

We also drive to Kilby Cream in Rising Sun, MD to end great dinners with fresh milk ice cream creations. Check it out in the Fall for a corn maze along with seasonal ice cream flavors.


You can also get close and personal to these wonderful farmyard animals.


Including this one...