Corn on the Cob - Take 2 (And a Guest Post!)

Ok, so my desire to eat corn on the cob wasn't really fulfilled last Sunday...so, I had to try again. Last night Josh grilled some of those steak fillets with bacon wrapped around them. I remember having these occasionally as a child, and I remember the bacon being my favorite part. Go figure, right. Anyways, I decided to make corn on the cob again, and I also roasted some baby red and yukon gold potatoes as side dishes.


The potatoes were really easy. I chopped them with one of my new knives that were a gift from my awesome friend, Katie, who I met working at the U. This knife is sharp and cut through those potatoes like they were butter. I was real careful while chopping. I have a history of cutting myself...like a lot. Josh was worried the whole time I was chopping. After chopping (some in halves and some in quarters) I just tossed them in a plastic bag with some EVOO and some salt, pepper, and rosemary. Then, I just layed them out on a pan (so the skin was facing up) and popped them in a 450 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

For the corn...no, I didn't try grilling again. I took the easy way out and boiled them. Josh and I both knew that we wanted to be able to eat and enjoy the corn last night. And, this time, Josh gave me a 10 out of 10 for the corn. :-) Gee thanks, hunny. Basically, he's saying I'm great at boiling water and setting a timer. :-) Haha. I think even HE could make the corn next time!

Anyways, here's my plate complete with the steak Josh grilled, the finished roasted potatoes, and the yummy corn on the cob! As you know, I'm not a huge steak fan, so I only ate about half of the steak (gave the rest to Josh) and I ate a LOT of potatoes...with ketchup of course. The potatoes definitely had a mild flavor, but any seasonings could be added easily. Overall, the meal was yummy and was a success. We ate out in the 3-seasons room, too! Yay!

Guest Post:

And, for the guest post...drumroll please...Josh made me a cheesecake!!! (This is a belated birthday surprise, and very much appreciated.) No, people, he did not from it from scratch. But, he had to use and mixing bowl, the mixer, a measuring cup, AND a spatula, so, his work was still much appreciated and after a few moments of internal deliberation. I decided it was blog-worthy. :-) After it chilled in the fridge, Josh had to add the cherry topping before serving. He had to get out the first piece and we all know what a chore that is, so it's messy, but it tasted pretty good. How would I rate him...I guess...well, being generous...probably a 6.8..maybe a 7 since he did decide to use a chocolate crust. :-)

Wow, two posts in a week...is that a new record for me???

I Grilled...Sorta

Last night we invited my Dad over and we wanted to grill out. So...I had the brilliant idea to try and grill corn on the cob to go along with the steak Josh wanted grill. I googled directions to learn more about grilling corn on the cob. It seemed simple enough. So, I decided to try it out. So, I cleaned the corn. And yes, you all know I grew up in Iowa, and yes, this is the first time I've ever cleaned fresh corn on the cob.

Anyways, after you cleak the corn, you have to leave some of the husks on. Then, you soak them in water for 15-20 minutes. You then have to tie the husks together at the open end, and then you can simply place the corn on the grill. You rotate it until it's charred all around. Here I am at the grill!!! Although, I must admit, Josh really did the grilling...the only time I was at the grill was for this picture. :-) (P.S. Isn't it sad I'm wearing a sweatshirt in May!!!)

For the steaks, Josh had wanted to go an actual local meat market, So, we did and he bought New York Strips. We simply let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then I pierced them all over with a fork, then Josh seasoned them. I don't really like steak. It's always just seems like a huge hunk of meat...which is it, but for tonight, I simply ate a small portion off of each of their steaks. I also baked some potatoes, but I guess I forgot to take a picture.

Oh, and how did the corn turn out. Well, here I am trying it out. To be honest, it was just ok. It was pretty crunchy, and I think that we should have kept on a few more husks to seal in more of the moisture and grilled it for a bit longer.

And, here is the conversation between Josh and my Dad after Josh tried it.

Dad: "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how was it."

Josh: "Ummm, probably a 3."

And that, pretty much sums up the corn.

Guest Post! :-) Chicken Parmesan

My co-workers and I all went on a retreat last week. We were split into three groups to prepare the meals for the retreat. My awesome colleagues, Lauren, Ben, and Rachel were in charge of our dinner, and they created an awesome meal for us! I hung out in the kitchen with them...happy to snap pictures and I even learned a few things along the way.


The anitpasta tray. Sadly, I did not try anything...but the rest of the staff sure loved it all! I learned what artichoke hearts were, and how all these nice items come in a jar and you can just dump them out and wa-lah! It was also served with some crusty bread and olive oil...I missed that picture...oops. Ok, I'm kind of regretting not trying anything now...but oh well...next time.

The breading of the chicken for the chicken parmesan. Take chicken, dip in flour, dip in beaten egg, dip in breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan cheese. Then, simply fry in the skillet! I can do that for sure! Although, I have to admit...I couldn't watch for long. They big pile of raw chicken totally grossed me out...yuck!

They (Trader Joe's I think) also sell pre-breaded eggplant parmesan. Nice! Here it is frying (cooking? heating through?). I missed this part and the kitchen was small so I was trying not to get in the way. I ran in and snapped this picture and left. The marinara sauce is warming next to it.

Topping the chicken with some marinara and shredded cheese, and back in the oven to get all melty and even more delicious. What's not love that's fried, breaded, and cheesy...mmm...mmm...mmm...

My plate. Doesn't it look delicious!?! Roasted squash with greenbeans and onion (yes, I ate all my veggies for once!). I think they blanched the green beans first, then tossed them with the squash and some red onion and olive oil before roasting. I also tried the eggplant (never had it before)...and it was...really good! No, I did not highlight the cooking of the pasta...even I know how to do that! This meal was VERY tasty! And, posting this reminds me...Josh loves chicken parmesan. Maybe I'll try this on my own this weekend!

Thanks for being a guest post and answering all my questions Lauren, Ben, and Rachel! :-)

Oh, and if you're wondondering what meal I was part of orgranizing...breakfast. Anthony, Sarah, TR and I were the "Breakfast Club." We did not go all out...I'm definitely not ready to cook for others...yet. I did learn about the "Shake-n-Pour" pancake mix though. And, we provided fresh blueberries and chocolate chips. But yeah, our theme was, "make-your-own." Pretty clever...I know. The "Breakfast Club" rocks!

And, I failed to take pictures of our scrumptious lunch from the "Lunch Bunch" of Tam, Jasmine, and Brett. Sorry! They had the same concept as us..."make your own." So we ate some delicious deli sandwiches, veggies and dip, and had some yummy soups, chips, and Oreos.

Sweet Potatoes!!!

So, I'm that girl who always thought she hated sweet potatoes... Why did I hate them? Not sure...I think it was just one of those things where I always told myself I didn't like them. Well, something possessed me to give them another try (probably the upcoming holiday). So...I picked a couple up at the grocery store. I decided I would bake one and make baked sweet potato fries out of the other one.

Ok, I'm no chef...but I do know how to bake a potato. After it baked, I split it in half and topped one half with just some butter spray, salt, and pepper - the "savory" half, and then I topped the other half with a bit of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon - the "sweet" half. I wanted to try both flavorings/toppings...and I thought I'd like the sweet half better (if I liked either at all). And, my overall thoughts...drum roll, please...well, to my surprise...I actually LOVED the "savory" version. I didn't care much for the "sweet" version. But overall, a very yummy side dish that I can add to my food/cooking options!

The next day, I attempted to make sweet potato fries. I sliced a sweet potato so they were "fry-like", and then tossed the fries in a bag with olive oil, salt, and pepper and then baked them (flipping once half way). The fries were really good, too! Even though I did burn them (oops). And, when I make them again I will slice them more uniform I think too so the small ones don't burn so much.

So, thumbs up for sweet potatoes!!!