blah blah blah

Blah blah blues, I dont know if its the six more weeks of winter or what but I am in a rut. I havent posted in a while because I dont see the point but I did get some really stinky cheese from Norway, thanks Anette.

My son was off from school for a week for mid-winter break and I have to tell you it felt like a month. Ramen noodles and canned soups hardly take a pretty picture and if you believe that I have some swampland that is waiting for a check from you. Who doesnt like crab? Well the kid does and this is all I could pry from his fingers to snap off a photo. Crab ballerina.



We plowed through some chicken breasts with a POM glaze. I have so much POM I dont know what to do with it, I have made it into syrups and balsamics and granitas (thats like a sorbet) and I have even put a dab behind each ear. Remember I entered a POM contest well I have news - I didnt win, though you can click the link and check out my recipe.



Artichokes with butter are good but artichokes with a caper mayonnaise are even better.



I have been helping others lately and it feels mighty good in fact I think I might make 'generosity' one of my characteristics from here on out. StirIt 28 is a month-long blogger-originated fundraising effort to raise money for the earthquake victims in Haiti, thought up by Bren of Flanboyant Eats, Chrystal of The Duo Dishes , and Courtney of CocoCooks. All of the proceeds from this event, and I mean ALL (100%) of the proceeds, are going directly to our partner charities: Share Our Strength and Yele Haiti. What an amazing event to participate in and I am so glad I did.



The remains of amazing Lettuce Wraps (Brooklyn Forager)




Red Cooked Pork bun and cucumber salad (RedCook)

Lemongrass corn soup (BalanceFood) She also made vegetarian dumplings and did an amazing job organizing the whole thing - special thanks are in order here.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls (Chez What?) Thats me, by the way. I also made some with shrimp.

Enchiladas Rojas (Fresh, Local and Best)

Walnut Cookies (Bloggerlicious Athena) (see the edge of the cookies) and a last-minute Chocolate Banana Coconut Bread Pudding (Joanne Eats Well With Others) Joanne also made vegetarian and non vegetarian stuffed mushrooms.

Celebration Cupcakes (My Baking Therapy)

Banh Mi preparation (group effort) and several other things that were gone before a photo was taken. I met some amazing people and had a great time! All proceeds from this fundraiser will be donated to Share Our Strength and Yele Haiti at the end of the month. If you'd like to contribute, but just couldn't make it, donations will be accepted through February 28th at Flanboyant Eats.

Give - its easy

I have been getting ready for this event today. I know most of you are no where near NYC but I thought I would post about it anyway. I will post a few pictures after it is over, if I have time to take any.

relax

The Sloppy

Justin at MarxFoods was kind enough to share his creativity with us over here at ChezWhat and as glad as I am that he did I have to say that he is such a tease with this fantastically sloppy creation that I feel like he needs to be flogged, thats right flogged, flogged with a boars bristly tail for his indiscretion and insensitivity. Enjoy!

It’s called “THE Sloppy.” And, it kick’s Joe’s ass. So much so that we couldn’t even find a name to replace “Joe”. We used ground wild boar meat, but you can probably use whatever ground meat your carnivorous heart desires. Brown the meat with some chopped onions.

Then add some pureed tomatoes, brown sugar, powdered mustard, garlic powder, Worcestershire (go easy on it), smoked paprika and salt. Use more pureed tomatoes than you think you need, because this is going to cook down by about a third and get nice and thick in about three quarters of an hour (thats 45 minutes in case you needed to know) and then this would be a good time to adjust seasoning.

When the mixture is almost done getting sloppy, start thinking about the rest of the sandwich. Fry some fresh jalapeno slices in olive oil until the seeds are lightly browned, then dry on a paper towel.

Fry an egg over easy. We used duck, big fat duck eggs.

Finally, rub a split brioche bun with some melted butter and grill it toast it or fry it in a cast iron skillet, toaster or broiler.

Grab a hand towel and huddle over THE Sloppy as you flash back to childhood and have a quiet moment to yourself. Dont believe it - check out the complete recipe and live it!

Eye Heart U

Hey its Valentines day!



You could celebrate Valentines all year if you had one of these waffle makers otherwise the heart shaped things only come out once per year.



Delicious malted waffles with mixed berries, powdered sugar and agave syrup.



Waffles getting ready.



Life isnt always perfect and this waffle proves it.