Italian-Inspired Burgers

I'm back! Sort of :). 

In May of 2008, I first fell in love with Italy. For my first solo trip abroad, I visited Firenze, Pisa, and Venezia and promised myself to return here for good. So on the 2nd of July 2012, I flew from Los Angeles to Berlin to Roma. For almost 9 months now, I have been living in Europe trying to realize my dream of remaining in Italy (yes, even with its economic and political problems) for the rest of my life. Although it does not look like it is going to happen this time around, I plan to come back here after 90 days; and while in the States, I plan to apply for a long-term visa. 

Baked Spicy Buffalo Wings and Fries

Has anyone caught the football* fever yet? I am not into sports, but it is nice to see my international colleagues get excited about their countries for the Copa Mundial/World Cup being held in South Africa. I haven't been seeing much coverage of the games on English-speaking channels here, but on the Spanish-speaking channels, it has been big news.

Even though I'm into sports, the Copa made me want to cook sports-related food items like wings and fries. Now that I can eat solid foods again, I decided to make these wings and fries my first real meal. I don't know if the positive, delicious outcome of this meal was because it was my first solid-food meal or if it was because of the recipe. I am sure the answer lies in both of those reasons. These wings and fries are crunchy and beyond flavorful on the inside and moist and yummy on the inside.

Whether you have football fever or not, you must make these wings and fries. They are beyond amazing and so flavorful. My teeth, tastebuds, and stomach enjoyed them very much. And what did I watch on TV while eating them? Toy Story 1 and 2 haha. So much for football fever in this household!

TEETH UPDATE: I would first like to thank my oral surgeon, his assistants, and my two good friends for making this wisdom tooth procedure so easy and pain-free. I requested to be sedated during the process and allowed my oral surgeon to remove not one but all four of my wisdom teeth! I didn't feel one ounce of pain during and after the procedure. My good friend took me to the dentist and back home. Then, she removed and replaced my gauze and monitored my medicine intake for most of the day. Later, my other friend took over and brought over ice cream and stayed with me until I could fend for myself. I truly am grateful for them. I am also thankful to all of my blog readers for thinking and praying for me. It is nice to graduate from mashed potatoes, ice cream, pudding, and baby food. :)

Well, enough of that. Here are the recipes!

YUM! I want more right now!

Spicy Buffalo Wings

adapted from Life's Ambrosia

1.5 to 2 lb chicken drummettes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
About 1/4 cup canola oil
Wing sauce (recipe on her site) I used Frank's Red Hot Sauce and butter because I had a bottle in the cupboard (follow the recipe for the sauce on the back of the bottle).

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Combine flour, seasoning salt, pepper and granulated garlic in one gallon plastic bag.
In a bowl whisk together egg and milk. Put chicken wings in the egg wash first and coat (I also seasoned the wings with seasoning salt while sitting in the egg wash). Transfer the wings to the plastic bag with flour. Seal the bag and shake to coat.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lay wings in single layer. Drizzle with canola oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Wings should be golden brown and crispy. Prepare the wing sauce while your drummettes are cooking.

Jo Jo Potatoes

reduced and adapted from Life's Ambrosia for one person

Non-stick spray
1 tablespoon butter, melted (I didn't use)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 6 – 8 wedges each
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray, set aside.

Pour olive oil in a bowl over the cut potatoes. Combine seasoning salt, flour and cayenne pepper over the potatoes to coat.

Bake on prepared cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Turn and bake for 10 more minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5–7 minutes or until browned (I skipped this step).


*I am referring to the definition of football recognized by the majority of the world, not U.S. football.

Old-Fashioned Bacon Meatloaf

Why do so many cooks still act like they assume only women cook? For instance, aside from using "y'all" all of the time, Paula Deen frequently addresses her audience as "ladies" or "women" even though she has two sons who love to cook. On Spanish-speaking cooking shows, the male and female hosts address the audience as "señoras" ("ladies" or "women"). I just don't get it; it is so frustrating to me. Click here for more...

Pot Roast

If you don't like your different food items to touch each other, please don't look at the subsequent photos. :)

When Monica from Lick the Bowl Good and I decided to meet up for the first time, we went to Mimi's Cafe. The first I ever ate at this restaurant, I was happy with what I ordered so I never went again until my meeting with Monica. She gave me some suggestions on what to order, and one of her suggestions included pot roast with mashed potatoes. I don't normally order or even eat pot roast, but I was in the mood for a comforting, "home-cooked" type of meal and veggies.

Well, that pot roast was AMAZING! It was so tender and succulent, and the mashed potatoes and veggies were perfectly seasoned. The dish was so good that I kept thinking about it for days. I then decided to try making it myself for the first time.

After unsuccessfully looking for a copycat recipe for the Mimi's Pot Roast, I decided on the recipe found on Pioneer Woman's site because she didn't use a crockpot. I cooked the meat for half the time she suggested because my oven overheats (I have to cook half the time for every recipe I use), and the meat wasn't ready (see photo below).
So, I ending up cooking the meat for one more hour, and it came out just as tender as it looks on Ree's site. I served this pot roast with leftover colcannon, carrots, and onions. Although it was tender and flavorful, it didn't taste like the pot roast at Mimi's. Maybe it was because I didn't use fresh thyme and rosemary, and I used all broth instead of wine. I don't know, but I guess I'll have to keep on trying. For the next time, I'm going to use a crockpot and a different recipe. Nevertheless, this pot roast came at a close second place.

*UPDATE* After eating it a second and third time, the flavors have melded, and the pot roast tastes amazing. I think the only missing is the gravy. I used the juices from the broth as my gravy, but a real, thickened gravy would make this even better than the pot roast I had at the restaurant. So, please make gravy out of the leftover beef broth by making a small roux (about 2 Tbsp flour + 2 Tbsp butter) and adding the juices to the roux. I wish I had done that.

Pot Roast
adapted by Pioneer Woman

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 whole Chuck Roast (mine was 2.5 lbs)
2 whole Onions (I used 1/2 onion chopped in long, semi-circled cuts)
6 whole Carrots (I had only 2 carrots and chopped them in smaller pieces)
Salt To Taste (Try using Lawry's Seasoning salt)
Pepper To Taste
3 cups To 4 Cups Beef Stock (can substitute one cup of broth for red wine if you want)
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste (I didn't have)
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste (I used dried, about 2-3 Tbsp)

Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and butter.

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices. When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved or chopped onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan, and sear it for about a minute or two on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.