Mid-Week Feasting

Bonjour! I'm finally working at a normal pace, so I can blog happily! Have you noticed our new look? It's still a work in progress, but we're working hard over here at TheSizzle!

As you know, I love food. Lately, as this half marathon and several beach trips are approaching, I have taken to eating all of my meals at home, cooking super healthy thangs, but NEVER sacrificing flavor, quality ingredients, and the occasional nibble of dark chocolate. My new favorite treat is the flax seed dark chocolate bars from SweetRiot. I know flax seeds and dark chocolate sound gross, but trust me it's quite tasty. 

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Last night, me and some good friends had a small gathering and ate a delicious meal. My friend's boyfriend is a new hot up and coming Chef in Houston (stay tuned for an interview!) and he prepared most of the meal. I obviously brought some of my black beans because I accidentally made enough to feed an army (they were very well reviewed, thank you very much!) The menu consisted of:

-Roast chicken, stuffed with fresh herbs from their backyard garden & potatoes

-Oven roasted cauliflower

-Asparagus salad with Shallot vinaigrette & Walnuts (I ate the whole bowl almost)

-Black beans

You can email me at thesizzlehouston@gmail.com for recipes, as I don't want this to be a terribly long-winded post!

Our delightful spread. Healthy, delicious and so so filling.

blanched asparagus salad with shallot vinaigrette, walnuts & shaved parmesan

roast chicken with herbs

ready to demolish.

Needless to say, I went home totally stuffed and content that I had eaten my fill, and run 5 miles prior. 

I can't wait to share my exciting news with y'all! I'll give you some hints: It involves vacationing. Somewhere awesome. 

Have a lovely humpday amigos!

Meathead Friday

Feliz Friday folks! It's actually here, and it's not longer "Thriday" (someone asked me if it was "thigh-day"..soo Thriday isn't going to happen anymore.)

For starters, Meathead Friday is not necessarily going to be an ongoing "thing" but I figured I'd give it a shot.

¿Qué es Meathead Friday? You might be asking...Well my friends, it's a bit of a one two punch. First we shall discuss fitness, then we move on to how to undo all the fitness....FOOD.

Sidenote: My amiga Kelsey over at Foodie Photo Blog and I ran out from work for a quick #nom on Thursday and came up with the term...#nomaste. like namaste but..not. Cheesy, yes? Did we get a kick out of it? Obviously. And that's what matters. Frequent and hearty laughter is the answer.

 As you may/may not know, I'm gearing up to run a 1/2 marathon in San Diego this June. So I've been running a lot (duh) and have peppered in a few "Tabatas". Tabatas are also known as "15 minutes of constant muscle burning". But I LOVE them. Sometimes you feel like you might die, but you always want to hug your sweaty self after you're done. I noticed an increase in strength and muscle tone after a couple weeks. I also pair these with the iPhone app "Nike Training". You can build and customize workouts and they also make me feel a little bit like fainting, but in the healthiest way possible. Below you will see the Tabata link that someone showed me, and then I'll include a Nike link. See? This way you can be fit and eat all the foods. 

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Here's the NIKE LINK.

Now. Onto the foods. I love red meat. I eat it very sparingly as I used to not be able to eat it at all, so I have to eat it in moderation. That being said, every once in a while, all I want is a delicious, juicy, well crusted and seared STEAK. 

Back in the old days when I was just a fledgling cook, my idea of cooking a steak was handing it to my Daddy and watching the magic happen on the grill. NOW, after some total meat fails, I have tweaked and perfected my method. I don't think it's "unique"  by any means, but it's amazing. 

MEAT RULES:

1.) Find a sexy steak at your butcher. I usually go with a NY Strip. Hug it, take it home. 

2.) Let the steak sit out till it's room temp, pat it dry with some paper towels and SALT that thang like you've never salted before. Cracked pepper too if that's what you like to get down with. 

3.) Heat your skillet. I mean HOT. Preheat your oven to 350.

4.) Do not be afraid of smoke. Maybe you should turn off your smoke alarm and open a door/window. Serious. 

5.) Slap your dry steak onto the skillet and enjoy the sizzle. Now, I'm a firm believer in the medium rare/rare move. So I usually go 2-3 minutes each side. Once both sides have seared and cooked for the desired amount of time, put a large pat of (gasp!) BUTTER on top of the steak and pop it into the oven. 

6.) Baste. Baste like you've never basted. Take a spoon and baste your steak with the melted butter for about 3-4 minutes. Now take it out, and let it rest another 4-5 minutes. 

7.) My favorite method is to slice up the steak and serve with a nice pretty salad or some hearty mashed potatoes. VOILA.

hi you.

And there you have it amigos, 'Meathead Friday'. Lemme know what you think! 

Spring.Sprang.Sprung.Sp...aghetti.

You've already learned that I like the foods. Now I get to show you my food love. 

I made this dish a while back; it reminds me so much of Springtime, even though Houston has most recently been like "sauna time" or "I can't even decide what climate I want to emulate" time. 

That being said: I give you linguine con crema di basilico e parmiggiano reggiano. Say whaaaa? I just spoke Italian to you. #Nomcity.

oh yes.

If pasta is your "thang", then look no further. And here's how it's done folks:

INGREDIENTS:

-Some fiiiiine linguini. If you go outta the box, that's cool, but if you use something fresh (ahem Central Market has fresh hand-made pastas) then you'll notice a significant taste 'bump'. 

-2 Bunches 'so fresh and so cleanclean' Basil.

-1 Carton heavy whipping cream. (um yeah, you thought this was going to be 'skinny'? Get outta here)

- 2 or 3 cloves fresh garlic (See?! This recipe is vampire proof too. I'm always lookin' out for ya)

-1 Plastic box thingie (the smaller one) of Gran Padano cheese. You can sub fresh grated parmesan or reggiano but TRYYYYY not to use Kraft powdery stuff, k? 

PROCEDURE/SCIENTIFIC METHOD/THIS IS HOW WE DOOOO IT (to be sung to the melody of Montell Jordan's song, because duh). 

-Separate your cream into halves, and put half in a saucepan and start to simmer. NOT boil. You don't want it to clot or break, because then you're in trouble and I can't save you. 

-While the water for your pasta is getting hot, put your garlic, and basil leaves into the food processor. Add a drizzle of olive oil (a LIGHT drizzle, just enough to make a 'paste' of your garlic and basil). 

-Cook your pasta, I do it a little al dente style because it's mo' bettah. 

-Add the cream that was NOT in the pan to your food processor 'paste'. Let it blend and become smooth (operator).

-THEN. Add your basil/garlic/cream concoction to the simmering cream in the pan. Make sure you slowly incorporate it in, and here is where you can add your salt/fresh cracked pepper to taste. 

-Add a robust (love that word) handful of your cheese to the sauce, and stir stir stir. 

-Once the sauce is BARELY bubbling, you're good to go. (HINT: If your sauce become TOO thick, add a tablespoon at a time of your pasta water till you reach the perfect saucy consistency)

-Pour the sauce over whatever amount of pasta you choose to eat, sprinkle the remainder of the cheese on top, and VOILA. You can even be super fancy and add a basil leaf for garnish. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you cook, you must have music. (And probably a side glass of wine) Otherwise it tastes bad. It's science. SO head on over to Spotify and make a playlist. I'm a HUGE fan of listening to the Rat Pack and oldies while I cook. It works. Promise. Here's a link to my "Starred" list on Spotify. From there, you can browse around my other lists; #holla.

Actually, I lied. Check out THIS Starred list which looks #weaksauce right now but give me a week and your mind will be blown. #trustme

And now you know. If you make this recipe, let me know what you think!! And as always, feel free to leave your questions, comments, concerns.