bacon caramel toffee

while in vegas i purchased a box of vosges chocolate ok not just chocolate but bacon caramel toffee and a bacon pancake mix.  today i opened the toffee.  i enjoyed it but the others didn't seem too since they didn't want a second piece, guess that means more for me.

gilly gilly

i'm not sure what this meal really is called or if it even has a real name.  it might just be something that my grandma made up on her own but i do know that she called it gilly gilly.  i also know that this was one of the few dishes she knew how to make.  it's a meat and potatoes dish with a grandma ho twist.  the spin on this dish is that it's cooked with soy sauce.  all you'll need is ground beef, potatoes, onions, water, soy sauce and sugar.  yep that is all there is to it but sadly i have no idea where to begin to tell how much of each ingredient to use, when it's done just serve it rice.

this dish was a staple in my grandma's house and i honestly can't remember a time when i left her house without eating this, with the exceptions of thanksgiving and christmas.  in my opinion gilly gilly is very good but taste aside there is something about this meal that instantly warms my heart and makes me reminisce on childhood memories.

thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories!!

goodbye to my favorite sweatshirt, that's right my red hooded sweatshirt.  you've been faithful during the past nine-ish years. if you look close you can see the wear and tear but i seriously loved this thing. it's true, love as in past tense because today i retired the dang thing. not the good or proper kind of retired but the sad i have no use for you kind of retired (please insert your best fake cry).  i wish that i could restore you to your original state, back to the glory days before you were too stretched out and full of holes.

may you rest in peace red hoodie where ever you may be.  i will always cherish the warm times we had.  i hope you find a nice spot in the sun, i'm sorry you didn't see much of it during your life with me.

turkey day 2010

sala thai

i can't stress enough how amazing sala thai really is.  we started with tom yum gai and although we thought we ordered a different kind of soup this one was still good.

green curry chicken, if it was up to me it'd be a little spicier but the other ladies don't like it so this is a milder version.

this plate of pineapple fried rice never disappoints.

this was the first time i've had the bbq ribs here and it won't be my last.  how have i never stumbled across these on the menu before now?

mangoes and sticky rice is always my favorite part of the meal!

shepherd's pie

the past few days i've been wanting to make shepherd's pie. it started because alexis is not eating gluten, corn or dairy. i thought this could be a dish that i could make without any of those things and that it'd still be a type of comfort food for the cold weather we've had. this didn't end up happening while we were together but i had time today while watching football to make it. since alexis would not be eating it i added the little bit of cheese i had and used a package of mixed veggies that had corn in it. since i've never made this before i read a few recipes online and then did my own thing. i used both ground beef and ground pork and cooked it with garlic, onions, a can of tomato paste, a can of stewed tomatoes, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. while that was cooking i peeled some potatoes and mashed them with butter and heavy cream.  i put a layer of meat mixture at the bottom of a pan then topped it with a layer of potatoes and baked it for 45 minutes at 350.  it turned out good but i think i need to make some changes if i decide to make it again.  next time i'd make a pan gravy to serve it with so i'd need to change up some of the ingredients to mess with the gravy.

el mansour

there is a first time for everything and tonight was my first time eating moroccan food.  we went into the city to celebrate punky's 30th birthday at a spot called el monsour.  here are all the dishes i was able to try:

harira soup (spicy lentil bean)

 salad mohammed v (tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and cucumbers) - this place was brought to our table to share among all of us.  we dipped our bread into the different sauces and veggies.

bastela du chef, basically it's philo dough filled with spices, almonds and chicken.  it was really good but also very strange.  it was like eating cinnamon flavored chicken wrapped in a sweet flaky pastry.

for my entree i picked the lamb and chicken kabobs served with couscous and vegetables.

king hassan is really a banana fried in dough.

overall the experience was wonderful but the food sharing is less than appetizing.  i mean i don't mind sharing my food but it's just fingers dipped into everything by everyone and that is kind of gross when you step back and think about it.  i'm all for finger licking good don't get me wrong but i'm not into other peoples mixed with mine.  you feel me knockin'... let me in.