Two: Wax Paper On, Wax Paper Off.

I'm a perfectionist. I told you that last post, but I want to tell you a little more about it so you get to know me a little better. I'm not exactly sure when this stage of my life started, but it was the worst it has ever been while I was in graduate school. I was balancing two jobs and a full course load in my first semester after taking three full years off from being a student to pursue a career that I ultimately decided wasn't my true path. I was really nervous about my ability to jump back in to school after that much time away but, much to my nerves delight, I managed to pull off a 4.0 in the first semester. Some time after that, it became the driving force for the rest of my time in grad school. I pushed every semester, added internship hours to my schedule, bringing me to working seven days a week, interning for two, and classes for three, yet told myself I had to maintain my 4.0. It consumed me, especially while working on major assignments. The stress manifested into physical symptoms; I often rocked a mean eye twitch during the last few weeks of the semester (I've never quite figured out how to wink - the eye twitch is the closest I can get). I would pace around my house to burn off anxious energy or catch a dance class when it would fit into my schedule, but my favorite stress reliever was spending time in the kitchen. I could whip up some buffalo chicken mac and cheese or some chocolate chip cookies and take my brain off of the giant research paper on the legal history and intricacies of sexual harassment on college campuses. (Quick synopsis: don't do it).  When I'd show up to work the next day with food for all, it was known that the treats were a result of stress due to my neurotic obsession with getting perfect grades.

For the most part, I could keep the perfectionism tied to school work, but that wasn't always the case. Here's an example. 

I spent the last Fourth of July at work (and the one before that and this year's, too). When possible, I would bring treats in to the girls at work to show them some love for working on a holiday (as if that really made up for it, but I was trying!) I then went to a free Andy Grammer concert where he didn't sing one patriotic song but that's neither here nor there. I don't exactly remember where I got the idea to make Rice Krispie Treat Flags, but alas, I went for it. (Quick side note: when was the last time you had Rice Krispie treats?! If you haven't had homemade Rice Krispie treats since you were 12, you should probably make this happen for this weekend. You're missing out. They're delicious and this recipe was easy, or at least I thought it should be).

Basically, you make a batch with red food coloring and press it into a cookie sheet, make a batch with no food coloring and press it into another cookie sheet, and a batch with blue food coloring into a deeper baking pan. There's some assembly required (we'll go over that in a second when you see the recipe), but I thought it was easy peasy (is that how you spell peasy? Have you ever typed it out before? Is it a word that should ever be typed out or just something your third grade teacher told you when you were told the rhyme on how to remember how many days are in each month?) Anyways, I go through the motions of making three different colored batches and go to press them into the cookie sheets and baking pan only to find out that I must have larger than normal cookie sheets and the melted Rice Krispie treat mixture doesn't take up the entire space. I'm not panicked yet. I think, I'll just grab the wax paper out of the pantry and use it to push down and spread the melted layers to the edges of the pan. It doesn't 100% work, but I leave the wax paper on each batch and give it time to cool down. Once they are sufficiently cooled, I go to peel the wax paper off only to find IT WON'T COME OFF. Now, I'm not the creator of wax paper nor would I ever claim to know the science behind wax paper, but I'm fairly certain people use it when they have sticky food things that they don't want to stick. Am I wrong? Why did it stick? I mean super stick like trying to take a sticker off of a mirror that the edges only peel up and you have to use some sort of machete or google home remedies to figure out how you're going to get it off.

As you can probably imagine, I am NOT amused by this. Not at all. Now, my mom was in town from Arizona at this time and she witnesses me throw what I'd classify as an adult hissy fit. I'm not proud of this. She probably had flashbacks to my childhood where I apparently would scream bloody murder in the car that she was driving in the wrong direction on our way home from my Grandma's when she wasn't. (I honestly have a killer sense of direction right now so maybe I knew something she didn't in my wise age of 3). I can't be sure, but there was probably tears and a curse put on Snap, Crackle and Pop. I was frustrated. I wanted the Rice Krispie treat flags to come out perfect and instead, I had wax papery treats that weren't symmetrical because the cookie sheet was too big. This is where I tell you how my mom is Supermom. She spent a long time with me slowly getting square centimeter by square centimeter of wax paper off of each grain of Rice Krispie. Much, much later, I was able to finish the assembly and get a handful of good looking flags and a bunch of pieces that didn't make the cut but still tasted like freedom or heaven or Rice Krispie treats. I survived my meltdown about the melted wax paper and my team got some patriotic goodies. (I also took a wooden hanger to the face this day and ended up with a black eye but that's a story for another time).

At the end of the day, would the wax paper fiasco or less than a 4.0 be the end of the world? No. They wouldn't. And that's something I've had to learn in order to keep the eye twitching to a minimum (unless I'm actually attempting to wink but I usually know better). I'm sure everyone has something that causes them stress but I imagine that a lot of that stress is out of our control. How could I have known that the wax paper was going to fail? Did perfect grades really mean anything then or now that I'm a year post graduating? In the words of my good friend Mase, we have to "breathe, stretch, shake, let it go". Celebrate your successes and your learning moments like you will the Fourth of July - eat a hot dog and run around your backyard with a sparkler. I'll be there, spelling out my name and singing "Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue" (because if Andy Grammer won't do it, I will).

Recipe Number Two: Flag Rice Krispie Treats

1 Large Box of Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Cereal

2 16 oz. Bags of Mini Marshmallows or 3 10 oz. Bags

2 Sticks of Butter

Red Food Coloring

Blue Food Coloring

Salt

First, make two batches of Rice Krispie Treats (Each batch: 5 tbsp. butter, 5 cups mini marshmallows, 5 cups Rice Krispies cereal).  Leave one plain and color the second with red food coloring.  For best coverage, put the food coloring into the melted marshmallow mixture and then add the Rice Krispie Cereal.

To make the Rice Krispie Treats,  melt the butter in a medium sized pan on medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the marshmallows. You don’t want the pan to get too hot or the marshmallow mixture to boil or you will have tough/chewy Rice Krispie Treats. Stir the marshmallows slowly as they melt. This process should only take a few minutes. As soon as the marshmallows are melted, turn off the heat and add the food coloring. When the marshmallow mixture is the color you want add the Rice Krispie cereal and a pinch of salt (trust me - the salt makes it delicious).

Press the plain and red Rice Krispie Treat mixtures into two cookie sheets (make sure they are the same size) in a thin layer. If you're going with the wax paper, be sure it's going to peel or maybe use some nonstick cooking spray to give yourself a little assurance. They should only go up about 1/2 of the way up the side of the cookie sheet.  Let them set for approximately 15-30 minutes.

Cut the sheet of Rice Krispie Treats into three equal pieces. (Look at the cookie sheet horizontally and make vertical cuts). Each of these will be a “stripe” in the flag.  If you want, make a guide with a piece of aluminum foil to help make even cuts.  Repeat with the sheet of plain Rice Krispie Treats.

Start with a red layer, then place a plain layer on top of the red. Repeat one layer of each color to create the base of the flag.

Cut the remaining third of plain and red Rice Krispie sheets in half vertically. Layer the red, plain, and repeat on the right side of the base.

Make up a smaller batch of blue Rice Krispie Treats (3 tbsp butter, 3 cups mini marshmallows, 3 cups Rice Krispie Treats.)  This is where I used the deeper baking pan. It shouldn't cover the entire bottom; condense it to make a thick blue section for the flag. You will want to butter up your fingers a bit so you can mold the blue piece into its place on the base of the flag (remember, no one likes when thing stick to things they shouldn't).

Try to make sure the top was as flat as the bottom.  Once completely cool, use a knife to cut you Rice Krispie Treats Flags.  Trim off a little bit on the left and right edges if necessary.

For a play by play of this recipe with picture steps, visit here.

I wanted to post this ahead of the holiday weekend so some of you brave souls could give this a whirl for your upcoming celebrations! I will be attending a cookout on Sunday and plan on making some fun summer sides. I'll be sure to keep you posted so you are ready to impress at your next BBQ!

Happy Cooking!

- Kela

P.S. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the love after my first ever post. You sure know how to make a girl smile! If interested, feel free to share the blog with friends!

One: (I'm the opposite of) Crab(by) Cakes

A week ago someone suggested I started a food blog. For years I've been posting pictures of my meals on social media so this wasn't completely out of the question. Yes, I admit it; I'm one of those people who posts carefully crafted photos (foodtos, if you will - actually don't. I just made it up and it's a terrible play on words and should never be repeated) of their meals online. If someone asks, I'll pass along the recipe I loosely followed to create the post-worthy meal. I can count on a solid amount of likes and probably a few unseen eye-rolls ("there she goes posting another picture of her dinner. I mean, how many ways can someone cook chicken?!" - if that's you, this blog isn't going to be your cup of tea, slice of pie, entire pepperoni pizza or any other food you love a whole bunch).

First, let me tell you about three things that I love.

I love to cook. I'd always helped out in the kitchen growing up. Besides being a good guy, my dad is also an incredible cook and a great teacher. To be the best, you have to train with the best. I learned two of my favorite cooking lessons from him: 1) never follow a recipe exactly and 2) cook as if every person you're feeding is eating for three. Now, I may have paraphrased a little there, but these were unspoken rules in our house. He learned them from his giant Italian family where food was such a big part of family gatherings, big or small. We were spoiled with love and laughter when we visited my Nonno, or any of my Zios or Zias, and were fed to our hearts' content and our stomachs' capacity. In our house, my dad would call out "aiutami!" and my sisters and I would be there to help stir the pot of sauce and meatballs on the stove, to help construct his infamous breakfast casserole, or stuff the Thanksgiving turkey with the most delicious stuffing your could ever possibly eat in your life, ever. (Seriously, ever.) Now my dad lives across the country and those big Italian family gatherings are fewer and farther between, but I still feel like I'm paying homage to my family and my roots when I'm cooking. I have big shoes to fill, but I'm doing my best to make them proud. Family - that's the second thing that I love.

Third - I love when people post recipes online; visions of making buffalo chicken lasagna, bacon cheeseburger dip or mini cheesecakes don't come to me in my sleep. I am inspired by the people I follow on social media who knocked it out of the park with their crock pot pulled pork sliders, by the menus I read at restaurants that tell me "you totally can make your own crab cakes at home", and the endless hours of time I spend watching cooking television shows and adding cooking competitions to my bucket list. This blog is for the people, like me, who are inspired by others. I hope you'll enjoy reading this, that you'll keep sharing food ideas with me, and that you'll try some of these at home whether you're cooking for your family of five or it's just a single serving.

Before I share my first recipe, I want to disclose that I am a perfectionist in the kitchen. This is something I have struggled with in the past; I get pretty upset when a meal goes a wry or doesn't taste as delicious as I was intending. It can be frustrating when things go wrong, when you thought you had an ingredient at home so you didn't buy it at the grocery store only to find out you were wrong, or when you spent a lot of time making something that barely seems mediocre. So I'm going to challenge myself to share even the blunders with you and hopefully we can create some changes together! My goal is at least one recipe a week. Let the games (or gas stove flames) begin!

 Recipe Number One: Crab Cakes & Rémoulade

This weekend I went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill and have had crab cakes on my brain ever since. I can be pretty impulsive (once I get an idea in my head, I have to do it). This goes the same for cooking - as soon as I thought that I might be able to make crab cakes on my own, I made myself a shopping list and headed to the grocery store after work. It probably wasn't pretty - I went to the store hungry after being on my feet for 8.5 hours but I managed to go to the store, unpack my groceries, and whip up some delicious crab cakes and remoulade (fancy name for dipping sauce or at least that's what I'll say it is) in under an hour and 15 minutes! I'll call that a win any day. I followed this recipe from kitchn loosely to create my dinner! Here's the recipe with my modifications!

Serves 4ish (makes 12 crab cakes)

For the crab cakes:
1 pound lump crab meat
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1 diced fresh jalapeno pepper (sans seeds)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup panko crumbs, plus additional for dredging
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

For the rémoulade: 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sweet relish
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Couple dashes of hot sauce

*Disclosure: I didn't actually measure anything - just threw some in and decided when it looked like enough but these are the suggested amounts from the recipes for those who would rather not guess*

For the crab cakes, combine the crab meat and peppers in a large bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix gently until well-combined. Using a 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop out crab mixture and form into a patty with your hands. Dredge the cakes in additional panko crumbs until completely covered. Arrange the cakes on a sheet pan and chill until ready to cook.

Heat a few glugs of canola  oil in a large aluminum or cast iron skillet over medium-high to high heat. Cook crab cakes (in two batches if necessary, adding more oil as needed) until crispy and light golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Take the cakes out of the hot oil and let them breathe for a few minutes on a plate with some paper towels to soak up extra oil. Serve with a dollop of the delicious rémoulade.

For the rémoulade, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and you got it!

There you have it friends! My first ever post about food! I'm so glad you decided to read it and hope you will continue to read any upcoming posts!

Happy Cooking!

- Kela