San Francisco!

I'm proud to say I didn't cook one single for the past three days.  No breakfasts, no lunches, no dinners, no sack lunches, no snacks.  Nothing.  Why?  Well, six of my girlfriends and I headed down to San Francisco for three full days of catching up, eating, shopping and exploring without children to dress, feed, or drive around.  I gotta say, it was wierd being away from my children for one full day. But three?  Wow!  Of course I missed everyone like crazy, and wanted constant updates by text or email, but this time away was something we all desperately needed.

Need amazing mexican food? Then Mamacitas is a must stop in San Francisco.  Located on Chestnut street, this small restaurant is the place to be! Great margaritas, tasty tacos, and an extensive tequila list.

A highlight and must have on the trip... an Irish coffee at the famed Buena Vista.  They are a little smaller and not quite as strong as a few years back, but just as tasty!

Another highlight? Okay, this is probably the highlight for me.  Visiting the stunning and amazing Fleur de Lys, with Hubert Keller.  Hubert is a world renowned chef, starred on Top Chef Masters, and appears in many other cooking shows, including one he hosts.  The drinks were to die for.  And I'm not exaggerating.  Oh my lord.  I quietly told the dining room manager/Sommelier that I was a huge fan of Huberts and he told us to come back later that night so he could introduce us.  Woop woop!

We may or may not have 'borrowed' one of the menus from the bar so we may or may not try to copy some of them.

Next stop on our amazing food tour of San Francisco?  Ozumo... an awesome contemporary Japanese restaurant!  A big party had made reservations at almost the same time as ours so they had to move us to a private room.  Not just any room, but their private sake room in the middle of the restaurant.  Floor to ceiling walls made of glass with floor to ceiling glass shelves holding hundreds of sake bottles.  We felt and looked pretty dang important with the treatment we were receiving!  And we loved every minute!

A small portion of the massive quantity of sushi ordered... I think each gal had two to three plates of sushi!  Hamachi, Unagi, Toro, Spanish mackerel... heaven. Spicy (super spicy!) tuna rolls, miso soup, spider rolls... the list takes too much time to type!

There were many other stops along the way in San Fran.  Cupcakes, cocktails, shopping, more cocktails and more shopping.  What an amazing weekend full of no cooking and lots of girl time.

Cutting Chiles

I learned a great tip from one of my favorite websites, Cooks Illustrated.  If you plan to cut a hot pepper, dip your fingers in oil and only touch the pepper with those fingers.  (Don't put oil on the hand you'll be cutting with!)

Once done cutting up chiles, wash your hands with soap and water.  This trick will help eliminate any of the sting sticking to your fingers/hand and potentially transferring to your eyes or mouth!  Love tips like this!

White Chicken Chili

Tonight I made a pretty amazing white chicken chili. This type of chili definitely isn't my favorite compared to the usual meat/tomato based chilis.  But, this one was pretty good! 

I excluded most of the chili/heat from the recipe so the kids could eat it.  But, I did chop up jalepenos that the adults could add to their bowls for extra spice.

This is a similar recipe to the one I used, but this one is for 8 servings.  Great for freezing the extra portions for another meal!

Chicken Chili, courtesy of Cooks Illustrated
3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (2 whole breasts, split)
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 poblano chiles , stemmed, seeded, and chopped medium
3 Anaheim chile peppers (medium), stemmed, seeded, and chopped medium
2 medium jalapeño chiles, seeds and ribs removed, flesh minced
2 medium onions, minced
2 Tbsp ground cumin
6 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 Tbsp ground oregano
8 c. low sodium chicken broth
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro
4 scallions, sliced thin

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Sear the chicken, skin side down, until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and sear on the second side until browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the skin.

Add all of the chiles except the small jalapeño, the onions, garlic, cumin, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer half of the chile mixture to a clean plate; set aside.

Stir in the broth, chicken, and beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked, abut 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a large plate. Continue to simmer the chili, uncovered, until it has thickened, 35 to 40 minutes.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding the bones. Stir the shredded chicken, reserved chile mixture, lime juice, cilantro, scallions, and small jalapeño into the chili. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the chili is too thick, stir in additional water to thin it out. (The chili can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)

4th Birthday Party

This weekend is Blake's 4th birthday party! We went with a plane theme and the kids will be making and throwing balsa wood and paper airplanes in a giant gym we rented out.

I made a airplane ticket for the party invitations.

Making one of the favors - personalized airplane cookies.

I added a lollipop stick to the cookies.

The finished cookies, stuck in to oasis foam which is covered with red crinkle cut paper.

I'm loving the clouds on the birthday cake I made. I want excuses to make more cakes with clouds!

The finished cake, with 'sky writing' and a balsa wood airplane taking off...

"Baggage Claim" where party goers picked up their personalized cookies as well as a goodie bag with little parachute men and rubber planes.  And yes, those are 'air sickness' bags used for the goodie bags, set inside a small suitcase...

Another fun airplane themed item for the party: Pilot License photos!  I used thick foam board and printed out the wording, then pasted it on.  I used a sharp blade to cut out a hole to stick your head through...

We used all our rolling luggage to carry party supplies and decor to the rental facility.  The suitcases were then used as decoration go with the airplane/airport theme.  But, it was so extremely convenient to have things packed in a rolling suitcase that I may do this for all future parties that we have away from home!

Chocolate Chip-Raisin-Oatmeal Cookies

Nothing warms me up, or my house, like baking a batch of cookies.  Today I was craving an oatmeal based cookie.  I opted for the Quaker Oats classic recipe for Oatmeal Raisin; but it seemed a tad boring so I used jumbo red raisins and added a dose of chocolate chips to satisfy my sweet tooth. 

C's first taste of a cookie was a hit.  Well, who can resist yummy oatmeal with sugars, raisins, and chocolate?  Okay, hers was sans chocolate, but still...

And yes, every cookie should be accompanied by a glass of milk.  Pinky up! 

CRO (Chocolate-Raisin-Oatmeal) Cookies, adapted Quaker Oats recipe
1/2 c. (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 c. Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 c. jumbo raisins
1 c. chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats, raisins and chocolate chips; mix well.

Drop dough 1 1/2-2" rounded balls onto ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Chill unbaked cookies for 10-20 minutes then place in the oven. 

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.  Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 dozen depending on size of cookies you create.