Mexi Mac and Cheese

I tried out some spicy mac and cheese. I'm dating a guy who can't handle a meal without meat, so we had some simple pork chops on the side, grilled or fried up with some seasoning salt. I can't remember now. I'm playing catch-up with the blog, so there's a chance the meat in the pic was chicken or steak in disguise. I wouldn't know for sure. The pasta, however, has a recipe with notes, so that-I know about. And here it is.

(Also- I wanted to include a photo of the pasta as it came out of the colander- it looked like a brain. And I think that's pretty great.) 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 poblano peppers or 2 ancho chilies (not sure what I ended up with)
• Salt
• 1 pound bow-tie pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups milk
• Freshly ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I added this- the peppers I got weren't super hot)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 1/2 cups grated Mexican cheese blend
• 1 firm avocado, diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 small vine-ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 4 scallions, green and white parts, chopped (I forgot these)

MAKING IT

1. Heat the broiler to high and blacken the poblanos on all sides, 12-15 minutes. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover tight with plastic wrap or place in a paper sack; cool for 10 minutes, then peel, seed and chop. (This worked- I'll vouch for it)
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. Add salt and the pasta and cook al dente.
3. Heat a saucepot over medium heat; add the olive oil, onions, and garlic and cook until tender, 6-7 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and when it melts, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the stock and milk and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, the cumin, and the coriander and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheese with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight pattern until the cheese melts.
4. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce and the chopped poblano peppers. Toss the avocado with the lime juice. Serve the mac-n-cheese in shallow bowls and top with the tomatoes, avocados and scallions.

SERVES
8 as side, man. Recipe said 4, but gee whiz.

Valentine's Card Party

I found some valentine's that were given to and given by my older brother when he was a tot. I scanned them up, printed them out and bedazzled them. Why mess too much with a good thing? I had the design girls over to do some of their own handiwork as we enjoyed some snacks. They ended up with things apparently too cool for me to photograph-anyway, enjoy looking over their shoulders as they work.

(Check out the bunny bow tie)

Fruity Trio of DELIGHT!

I put together three fruits, a teaspoon of sugar and found myself in pure ecstasy. Wha?! Yeah. That's right. It was pretty darn good. 1. bananas, 2. blackberries, 3. kiwi. Try it for yourself. (Also try the chocolate almond croissants at Le Quartier. Delish! That's the pastry in the background, BTW.)

Bowl Glazin'

For the past few years, the university where I work has put on an event called Empty Bowls. It's actually an international thing and you can read about it here. The art department gets volunteer community groups together to make and decorate ceramic bowls. Then people can purchase a ticket to get a handmade ceramic bowl, soup and peace of mind that they donated to charity. I got the marketing team to do some larger pieces, but I've since gone back to do some on my own. I even got my fella to go with me- super fun. 

First, here's a larger one on a bowl shaped like a flower pot- before firing.

 

Now after a trip to the kiln:

I always like them better with my pencil lines still in- but those burn away during firing. Blast! Eh. 

I don't have photos of the finished product of others that I'd like to share, so I'll just wait. I like instant gratification- before AND after in the same post. I hope you agree.

Chicken Paprika

Here's a recipe that I tried recently from a recent issue of "Everyday" magazine. It turned out pretty well, but I thought it was a little lacking in flavor punch. I suggest adding more salt and maybe some cayenne. I served it with rice on the side. Hurray! (I got a rice cooker for Xmas, so it's kind of a big deal to make some rice). I think I added a little chicken broth, pepper and paprika to make it meld a bit. Recipe below. 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced across the grain 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch wide strips
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley 
• cayenne pepper to taste (1/2 tsp to start)

 Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, 1 tablespoon sherry, the garlic, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in 2 teaspoons oil.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth and the remaining 1 tablespoon sherry. Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch until dissolved.
3. Heat a 14-inch, flat-bottomed wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes upon contact. Swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Add the chicken mixture, spread in a single layer and cook undisturbed for 1 minute. Using a metal spatula, stir-fry until the chicken begins to brown, about 1 minute; transfer to a plate.
4. Lower the heat to medium and swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onion and bell pepper; season with salt and stir-fry until softened, about 1 minute. Add the paprika, return the chicken and any juices to the wok, increase the heat to high and stir-fry until just combined. Swirl in the broth mixture and stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the sour cream, parsley and cayenne.

Opera Poster Spring 2011

The image for this poster had to do a lot. The opera is actually two separate operas performed one after another as the composer intended. However, the mood of each opera is opposite and the stories do not interrelate. The one connector that I found is love: The Telephone is about a guy trying to ask his gal to marry him, but he has to resort to calling her on the phone since she can't put it down. Cute. The Medium is about a drunk gyspy fortune teller who accidentally shoots her daughter's best friend thinking he's a ghost. He was hiding in a puppet theater trunk thing. The bottom area is for text.

Magazine Illustrations Winter 2010-11

The university alumni magazine had some opportunities for small illustrations this winter. One article was about alumni who had jobs that dealt with food. One pair runs a pumpkin patch outside of Omaha, another is a chef at a local restaurant here in Lincoln and the last runs her own granola bar business. Very cool stuff.

Another article used a tiger in the grass as a metaphor.

Xmas 2010

Holidays get me into the crafty mood. This last Xmas I made a wreath, a stick tree and ornaments with some crafty kids in my extended family. A goal of mine in 2011 is to do more crafty activities with kids—maybe even in an official volunteer capacity.

The wreath—made with old glass ornaments I picked up on the cheap at thrift stores, a styrofoam ring and xmas greenery candle ring that I cut apart. With a little hot glue and I was good to go. (I used a vintage filter on my camera phone, that's why the coloring is so fun, ha ha.)

The stick tree was really a black stick tree from Halloween decorations in the fall. I repainted it a soft blue-green and decorated it with antique pastel glass ornaments and glass birds. I anchored it in an old glass jar with rocks in the bottom and some battery powered lights. I think it turned out pretty swell.

 

I have to share an older creation that I made with my dad. It's a welded metal tree made from scraps my dad had laying around his shop-ex: a bottle opener as one branch. I've got the images here of it all dolled-up. I hope to make some smaller versions in March with him in his new shop. I've already sold a couple of medium-sized trees through my etsy shop: melagerie.etsy.com.

Crafty kids: We made ornaments for the tree out of flat styrofoam cutouts. I had scrapbooking papers that they traced and glued to the forms. Then they added shaped confetti, glitter glue (bad idea for travel!) and fuzzy pipe cleaner hooks.

Grow Without Borders

This past year we (the marketing department) worked on a new admissions campaign at the university where I work. We brainstormed concepts and came up with "Grow Without Borders" to highlight our high percentage of students who study abroad and unusual learning opportunities our faculty offers. "Grow" brought up images of plants, animals, and microscopic elements, while "borders" meant maps, astrology imagery and travel. Using vintage clip art and scientific drawings we pulled the two areas together visually. We coupled that with nature photography and vibrant color palette balanced with mellow neutrals.

Process:

Images of some of the final printed pieces. We got to do some bevel embossing, sculptured embossing, foil embossing and spot varnish. This complicated things quite a bit, but it was totally worth it!

Pies of the Past

I know when to cheat when it comes to cooking. Get the pre-made pie crust. It's so basic, that making it yourself doesn't add much. Just brush on melted butter and sprinkle on chunky sugar and maybe some cinnamon—spend your time decorating rather than rolling and kneading. Examples of what I mean: