Eat The City: Pupusas, Yuca, and Tamales Oh My!

So we didn't cook this week, burn out don't you know, but that's okay because it gives me a good starting point for a new feature on the blog.  We eat out at least once a week, (I know, I know) but we always try to make it fun and different.  So I've decided that I want to highlight a few of the places, and dishes, that we try here in the Greater Dallas area.  Hopefully it will inspire you local readers to get out and try more eclectic eats.  Even if you're not in the area, I bet you can find similar places in your area. 

Don't You Forget About My Delicious Caramelized Onion & Sausage Pizza

Now that we will all spend the rest of the day with flashbacks to The Breakfast Club in our heads, let me start this post by thanking all of you for sticking around.  I must apologize for the lag in posting, but I work a high stress day job and we've come into my busy time.  Meanwhile, Shorty has just been promoted at work (Yay, Shorty!!) and is taking on new responsibilities and demands.  We talked last night and both agreed to try and post more frequently.  With that being said Shorty and I have continued our game and have been cooking like crazy.  In addition, we've made several non-game related, but super delicious, dishes and we even had some special guests help out in the kitchen.  We love you guys so keep checking back with us.  There is a lot of fun, yum-tastic stuff coming your way.

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad

Again, I'm behind with my post...  As much as I love cooking and taking the photos, it just seems that the posting part gets away from me...  I spend all day on a computer at work, and by the time I get home, staring at a computer screen is the last thing I want to do...  So today...I decided to do my blog at work!  :-)  Just kidding...or am I...????

My recipe this week came from the book Ten: All the Foods We Love and Ten Perfect Recipes for Each by Sheila Lukins.  I really love the concept behind this book, but must admit I was a bit scared when I pulled it off the shelf, because there is a crown roast on the front cover, and from what I hear, those aren't cheap!

Regardless...the recipe I did this week was Zuni Roast Chicken.  According to the book, this recipe came from a restaurant, and is the juiciest chicken ever; I promise--it didn't disappoint.  I started by preparing the whole chicken by patting it dry, sticking some sage and thyme under the skin near the breasts and thigh (and I added some dill and basil that a coworker gave me from her herb garden; so fresh!!!), and then generously coating the outside with coarse salt and black pepper.

Where's the Beef???

Note: This post is not for the Vegetarian.  Keep that in mind before scrolling down.

Okay, as many of you may have noticed, we have never featured beef on this site.  Even though I love vegetarian dishes, neither of us is a vegetarian, as should be apparent by the chicken and fish dishes we have featured.  So here's the deal... I'm allergic to beef.  Yup, you heard me right.  My body can't process it.  I can hear your gasps of disbelief, but it's true.  I'm from Texas and I can't eat cow.  To make it even weirder, I worked on a ranch in my early 20s as an honest to God cowboy.  I worked the cows all day, but I couldn't eat them.

Now before you feel sorry for me you should know that I can make almost everything beefeaters eat in poultry, pork, seafood, or vegetarian options.  It's actually not bad, there are so many options and I've become good at making things work.  In fact, I have beef eaters who can't tell the difference between my vegetarian dishes and real beef.  Remember, it's all in how you season and cook.  So, needless to say, you will never see me make a beef dish on here.  Sorry, but if the game pulls a beef option I will either rework it so I can use other options or I will roll again.

Wait, wait, don't go away!!  We will do our best to accommidate all types of eaters here at Scrumdeliocious.  I said that "I" would never make a beef dish, but Shorty LOVES beef.  He makes beef dishes regulary, I just don't eat with him.  So if you're a beef lover, just be patient.  I'm sure Shorty will find a way to sneak something up here soon enough.  In fact, the image is from his most recent evening with his best friend.  They had a sudden hankering for steak and eggs so they grilled up a man sized portion of beef and fried up three eggs each.  My arteries hurt just looking at it, but he swears it was delicious. 

Breakfast for Dinner

Ok...so who doesn't love breakfast?  Especially when you can have it for dinner!  I love eating breakfast for dinner...because normally breakfast is such a rushed meal, but when you have it for dinner, you can to relax and enjoy the goodness...

This week, well--last week, I ended up with another blog...and I've put off writing my entry as long as I could.  You see, I'm actually in the process of cooking THIS week's meal, so this post must be done!  This post comes from Breakfast-And-Brunch-Recipes.com.  The site consists mostly of quiches and casseroles it seemed, so I just picked a basic one and went with it.  After reading the ingredients, there was no way it could turn out bad.

Vegetables in a Cobbler?? Well, Why Not?

I know, I know, I'm a week behind again.  I have been sick for over a month.  I got over bronchitis only to get better and immediately succumb to the worst allergies, EVER!!  Thankfully, I'm almost back to normal and it's time to get caught up.  So here I sit with my cup of tea (I'm a huge tea drinker.  I have about 20 flavors on hand at any given time.), a waiting book, some great music, and a post I haven't been looking forward to doing.  Not because I'm tired of sharing with you wonderful people (There are people out there, right?  I hope.  Hello?), but because it was just so lackluster it bores me to even think about it again.

Yes! We Have No Bananas, No Bananas Today...

...because we used them to make Vietnamese Baked Banana Cake!  As I've mentioned before, I hate to throw out food. so when my bananas get ripe I always end up making banana bread.  This isn't a bad thing by any means since I love banana bread.  However, I found this new recipe over at Almost Bourdain that made me drool instantly and decided to try it, instead of my old standard, the next time.  So I waited, and waited, for my bananas to reach the right stage. Of course, I waited longer than suggested, but one can only sit watching bananas ripen for so long before a shower is needed.

At this point I must mention that I used six standard bananas rather than the twelve finger bananas the recipe requested.  Hey it's six of one, half dozen of the other, right?  I also didn't have the correct sugar, but I learned via the wonder that is the internet, that I could throw standard sugar into my super-duper food processor and make it into the sugar I wanted.  The was extremely simple and took almost no time so don't let it stop you from making this dish if you can't find the sugar the recipe requests. 

Wicked Cool Chowdah!

Although I'm not a Northerner by birth, I love the North, especially the North East.  I spent several years in NYC and NH, before coming back home for family.  I found I really thrive in the cold and have my fondness for their seafood, in all its many forms, knows no bounds.  So when I ended up with Clam Chowder this week for our game I was ecstatic and, honestly, a bit nervous.  I've always thought chowder or chowdah, as the New Englanders call it, would be difficult to make.  I was amazed at how wrong I had been.

Can't talk...must cook...

So it's not quite time for another weekly challenge, but I've been cooking all week, and taking pictures, and I need to share them with someone!

For St. Patrick's day, I took some advice from a coworker of mine, and made cake balls.  I could go into detail about how it's done, but I'll just let you check out Bakerella's Blog.  This dessert is really her domain.  These are so amazingly delicious...and so easy to make.  You should go buy a cake mix right now and make them.  I'm not kidding...go now!!!

Quickfire Challenge - Cheese Sticks

So last Friday (my day off for the week) I was watching the Rachel Ray show, and she had chef Rocco DiSpirito on as a guest: he made baked fried cheese!  Talk about comfort food!!!  And the best part...there were 3 main ingredients!!!  I had to try this recipe as soon as humanly possible...

So I got my ingredients together; string cheese, egg whites, and bread crumbs.  Chances are most of us have these three things already in the house.  His recipe says to beat the eggs until foamy, but peaks haven't formed (I beat them a little too long, but oh well...)  He also calls for Panko bread crumbs, but I couldn't find any at Wal-Mart that day, so regular bread crums would have to suffice.