Where To Go, YO!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Thai Red Curry Deviled Eggs TRADER JOE'S STYLE!


This is the first ever guest recipe. This recipe is by Andrea Lynn and can be found in her new publication, The Trader Joe's College Cookbook.




Most of these recipes require signature Trader Joe's items, many of which I couldn't find a replacement for. So I went for a classic that I've never even tried before! Thai Red Curry Deviled Eggs, mmm.





 You will need:
  • 1 (9.3-ounce) package Trader Joe's Cage Free Fresh Hard-Cooked Peeled Eggs (6 eggs)
  • 2 TBSP mayonnaise
  • 2 TBSP Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce
  • 1 TSP lime juice
  • 1 scallion (chopped) plus extra for garnish
  • 1 TSP kosher salt
Unfortunately, the closest Trader Joe's near me is as far away as Athens, GA and my muffler can't handle that right now. So, I substituted the Trader Joe's Cage Free Fresh Hard-Cooked Peeled Eggs for 6 large eggs that I hard-boiled myself and instead of Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce I used 1 TSP regular Thai red curry paste.

The first thing you need to do is boil the eggs. The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook has a convenient Tips& Techniques section at the back of the book.

But for y'all who don't have a copy yet; put your eggs in a pot with water, enough to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil then cover the pot with a lid and remove it from heat. Let the eggs sit in the pot for 12 minutes. Carefully drain the eggs and refill the pot with cool water. Now you can peel the eggs without cooking your hands.

Cut each unpeeled egg in half lengthwise. Daintily scoop out the yolk and place it in a small mixing bowl. Place all egg halves hallow side up. Once you've got all the yolks, add the mayonnaise, scallions, lime juice, salt, and red curry paste or Trader Joe's Thai Red Curry Sauce.

Spoon the yolk mixture into the hallows of the egg halves. Garnish with the extra chopped scallions.


These were yummier than I thought they'd be! The only problem is saving them for when my boyfriend gets here . . . this isn't going to work.

Well, this is MY entry for the I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook READER GIVE-AWAY!

Wish me luck.


Love,

Liz

ENTER NOW, READER GIVE-AWAY!! The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook could be yours!

Compliments of Andrea Lynn, author of The I love Trader Joe's College Cookbook, and her publicist, I have in my possession 2 copies of the cookbook. One of them, my dears, is for YOU!

"But, Liz . . ." You ask hesitantly, "How can I acquire such a thing?"

WELL! Send in your favorite ORIGINAL recipe. Whichever I find the most scrumptious and creative wins their very own copy of The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook! I'll even pay for shipping and handling.

Seriously though, ORIGINAL recipes. I know how to make chocolate chip cookies, it says on the bag of chocolate chips. And please don't send it something you found on the side of a cereal box.

Email all your entries to me at eaquerusio@yahoo.com with the subject heading "Entry" or something to do with the contest. Like "Contest" or "Reader Give-Away" or "Don't Delete This!". You have until August 14th. Please, make it delicious.

Love,

Liz

Monday, July 18, 2011

A Few Quick Tips For Extra Yumminess

Just sitting around, thought I'd share a couple of hard earned cooking secrets.

NUMBAH ONE!

Next time you're making cupcakes from a box, try adding chocolate syrup! Give each cupcake one good squirt on top of the batter before you pop them in the oven. The chocolate syrup makes them ridiculously moist and super chocolately! It works great with Devil's Food as per my recent experience tonight.

For any cake flavor, substituting sour cream in place of milk or water will give your desserts a moist, fluffy texture. I hear tell you could even use fruit yogurt!








NUMBAH TWO!

Shallots! Shallots are a scrumptious alternative to regular onions. Trust me, after you try a shallot you will never buy a red onion again. I use them in pretty much everything to anything. They're terrific in a salad, sandwich, a light tomato sauce, with beef, topped on a steak, with chicken, in pasta salad, potato salad, whatever you want. They're a lot more crisp and lighter than a red onion, but on the other hand a bit stronger. If you don't like onions, I don't know what to say, you're hopeless so I don't expect you to appreciate anything like this.

I actually like them in my salad sandwiches. Say what? Salad sandwich. I get a whole wheat pita half, romaine lettuce hearts, tomato, shallots, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a dash of salt. So tasty.

NUMBAH THREE!

When boiling up some pasta, add a drop of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. The salt flavors the pasta, and the olive oil prevents it from sticking to the sides and bottoms of the pot.


NUMBAH FOUR!

Who spilled my cocaine!?
Which brings me to my next point. The previous tip usually gets me into the pickle of having wet salt. Wet salt sucks. It clumps up your shaker and ruins the rest of your salt. Easy way to prevent this, rice. Put a few grains of rice into your salt shaker. The rice will absorb any extra moister within the shaker saving your previous little time and temper.





That's all my tips for now. I'll call my Nanny and see if I can't squeeze out some of her Great Depression tips or my sister for some busy-mother-of-two tips.

Keep a look out for news on the up-coming READER GIVE -AWAY of Andrea Lynn's The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook and the book tour under the same name! Check out the link above to visit Andrea Lynn's website and peruse her fabulous recipes and articles.

Love,

Liz

Friday, July 8, 2011

READER GIVE AWAY!! The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook!! Also, Eclair RIng!!



Author and chef, Andrea Lynn surprised me with an email last week regarding her new publication, The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook. Miss Lynn has made a name for herself in food writing for such publications as Art Culinaire and appeared on NPR's Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me! and The Martha Stewart Show. Trader Joe's is a specialty grocery store responsible for putting "innovative, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods" in conveniently located shopping malls since 1958. Miss Lynn has graciously and helpfully collaborated all the delicious signature Trader Joe recipes and ingredients into a single tome.

Even more graciously, Miss Lynn has offered to host a reader give away. One SPECIAL reader will get a copy of The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook! MORE importantly, I'M going to get my OWN copy and get to test out of of Miss Lynn's favorite Trader Joe's homeplate! So excited. Soooo delicious.

With these recipes I shall conquer the blog-o-sphere with a guest post on Miss Lynn's virtual book tour for The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook! I'll be debuting my post on July 19th, so keep your little eyes peeled. Now to get the ingredients. However, the closest Trader Joe's is in Athens, GA. Can you say, road trip?


Wanna jump the gun on me and get a copy of your own? Andrea Lynn's The I Love Trader Joe's College Cookbook is available now at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com among many other book stores and other such places.

Switching up the pace a little bit, I thought I'd tantalize you with a whiff of things to come.


BEHOLD! The Eclair Ring! Coming this weekend to a tummy in me.

Love,

Liz