Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Although the pictured 14lb. Turkey cooked up too dry, it was only $3 and provided a lot of tasty meals.  I think the oven was too hot.  During the holidays, Turkey deals are everywhere.  It’s fun to get a giant Turkey for the price of a Chicken and better yet when it’s cooked well.  Lemon slices were placed under the skin of this one, unlike another Turkey we’ve shown.  Let’s see what happens next time — We try different methods and always shoot for juicy.

Prior to morphatizing the leftovers, we enjoyed the dark meat with Sage Mashed Potatoes (Potatoes, Butter, Sour Cream, Milk, roasted/fried Sage Leaves and Salt & Pepper), Roasted ‘What’s On-Hand’ Veggies (Celery, Carrots, Onions, Garlic and Sage Leaves roasted in the oven with Olive Oil, White Balsamic Vinegar and Salt & Pepper), and Cranberry Sauce made with fresh Cranberries, Water, Sugar and Orange Zest.

Then it’s on to make the Turkey Stock that’s strained through cheesecloth and skimmed of fat.  Prior to its preparation, most Turkey meat is obviously reserved to make the following or whatever YOU want.

We always have a Turkey Sandwich (or 10).  Sometimes it’s only Turkey Sandwiches, because they’re simple and good.  Sandwich variations are endless, but we often find basic the best.

This Turkey Chili was made with roasted and peeled Tomatoes and Chilis (Poblano, Anaheim, Jalapeno), Garlic, Turkey Stock, Chili Spices, drained Kidney and Garbanzo Beans, and large chunks of white meat Turkey.

Turkey Quesadillas with Sharp Cheddar and Pepper Jack Cheese, Salsa and Sour Cream.

Turkey Noodle Soup made with the Turkey Stock and leftover Roasted Veggies (pictured above), that were pureed, then strained to leave behind the Celery fibers — The process produced a flavorful Soup base in which to add Noodles and Turkey chunks.

An attempt at Shepherds Pie in a Mason Jar was put forth with a thickened version of the Turkey Soup (using Arrowroot), minus most Noodles, which was then topped with Sage Mashed Potatoes and Paprika and baked in the oven.

The Shepherds Pie wannabe ended up cooking together.  It was pushed over its fine line of doneness, bummer — There was a moment when it looked great and was surely hot enough to eat.  It should’ve been pulled out then.

Happy Holidays — Give a cheap Turkey a good home, your stomach.

We’ll be making lots of Cookies, Cupcakes and Halloween goodies to be posted here soon.  Until then, if looking for more Halloween action than that, I just published a list of unique events happening throughout the county.  It’s posted with links on Examiner.com, where I write as Orange County Food Examiner.  Above photos were taken by Steven Woo at a DC Halloween Party last year — Hover above to learn more.

We wanted to buy this giant fork (and spoon) at Pier 1 Imports, but they cost too much and there’s really nowhere to put them — Sooooo instead we played with ’em in the store.  Probably not the best example to set, but ‘crazy aunt’ status can be a good excuse to act silly.  We just dusted them off with laughter.  Can you see Lexi’s reflection in the fork? 🙂

Where’s the giant food?

Ready, Set, Blog!  It’s time for the first of (10) Challenges developed by Foodbuzz for Project Food Blog, a friendly contest amongst hundreds of talented Featured Publishers to determine the Next Project Food Blog Star.  What an honor that would be!  Oh, $10,000 is the PRIZE too.  Hello.  In Challenge #1 contestants will be put in a colander to see if they make it through to become (1) of (400) selected from (1,850+).  Each challenge eliminates more, until I’m left.  Here the judges want to know WHY I have what it takes to be “the one” and WHAT makes Nibbles of Tidbits unique and sets it apart from other food blog brands.  Good questions.  I hope to answer them clearly here in words and photos.

More about me and WHY I have what it takes to be the Next Food Blog Star*.

Although pictured in my Contestant Profile with my Rocky Mountain Orange Cream Pie at the Fair, I’d opt for Foie Gras in a minute.  And after reserving a slice of the Pie for later, I’d want to smash it in a friend’s face for a laugh, fully deserving retaliation.  If you dish it out, you’ve got to eat it.  Overall, I’m sweet, savory and spicy, and rarely make the same dish twice.  I’ve cooked my way through various classics — Lobster Thermidor, Beef Wellington, Coq au Vin and countless others.  And I’ve explored foods from a number of cultures — Thai, Indian, Greek, etc.  I love to experiment and keen on purchasing ingredients I’ve never tasted and/or used before.  It’s almost as fun as Christmas to determine what to make with them.  Experimentation is how I discovered Parsnips (White Carrots) so long ago and I still can’t believe most I ask haven’t tried them.  I want to taste almost everything.  Too many Americans are missing out by not sampling different things.

More reasons WHY… I’ve been lucky enough to win several ribbons in the Orange County Fair’s Culinary Arts Competitions.  I also won a contest sponsored by Milk, whereas my recipe (Fennel-Cannellini Soup) and photo appeared in Gourmet and Bon Appétit Magazines sporting a Milk Moustache.  I won the Grand Prize in the Soup category.  And another recipe creation (Angel Cake Soufflé) was endorsed by Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen.  Family and friends call me with their food related questions and I love answering them.

Equal to my passion for cooking, I’d opt to eat out day and night until tiring of it.  I haven’t yet tired, but my wallet does.  The restaurant options are limitless.  Dining out is instant gratification, as it provides diverse food quickly, without having to do the dishes.  One of the finest meals out caused me to melt down my chair in excitement with every bite — I was under the table by the end of the meal.  Maybe it was the Wine.

Utilizing all I’ve learned with a fine palate, I like to uncover (by taste) what’s in a memorable restaurant dish to possibly re-create it at home.  I’ve been successful with a few favorites — One example is linked and others can be found in the ‘Copycat Recipes‘ category.  And finally with respect to WHY I have what it takes, I write as the Orange County Food Examiner on Examiner.com and for others as needed by way of I Need Text Co.  I tell people that starting my blog is one of the best things I’ve done, since I walk and talk FOOD all day long anyway.  It’s truly meant to be that I’m here right now.  Cheers.

* I’m not sure about the “Star” part of the title — I’m most interested in the “Project Food Blog” part, because I love FOOD (the true Star), eating, photography, blogging**, cooking, writing and a good old-fashioned competition.

** Are there better words than blog, blogger and blogging?  The terms are just so… not cool sounding.  I guess it’s too late now.

WHAT makes my blog (Nibbles of Tidbits) unique?  And what sets it apart from other food blog brands?

Nibbles of Tidbits is about the GOOD, the BAD & the FUNNY regarding FOOD — From Yikes to Ooo La La, as the heading states.  Having cooked like a maniac for twenty plus years, I’ve learned that some dishes turn out great and others turn out like crap.  And some published recipes and flavor combinations work and others are just plain wrong.  I report about it all.  Since I’ve fine-tuned my cooking skills over time, most meals turn out GOOD, and I’ve come to realize that the BAD can also be FUNNY.  Photos posted for this first challenge represent the good, bad and funny (GBF) regarding food and drinks.

Nibbles of Tidbits is FOOD without limitations — Thank God since I want to experience all aspects of it, especially that from the earth, food events, restaurants, product testing and comparison, easy recipe creation, unique ingredients, copycat recipe development, cooking shortcuts, special finds and all things interesting.  I sometimes find pleasure in fast food and frozen meals, but feel most excellent at a gourmet (non-stuffy) dining establishment with a glass of Wine in hand.  All is reported about with helpful and entertaining insight.

I’m a snob for freshness, quality and value and want to get what I pay for.  Don’t gouge me with inferiority and all should be good — I prefer not to write bad things, but truth is king.  With a few exceptions, I’ve posted daily for almost 2 1/2 years and challenges include… Taking photos before digging in, measuring ingredients before adding them to creations, and presentation (mine looks too elementary school sometimes).  Nibbles of Tidbits is unique for the reasons mentioned herein and we’re (I’m) excited to encounter more, eat well and laugh along the way.

See my Project Food Blog Contestant Profile linked below — MAKE ME YOUR BABY.  I’ll make you proud! 🙂

The Deep Fried Butter at the Orange County Fair is kinda like the giant horse you pay $5.75 to see, but viewing the horse is more satisfying.  It’s at the Heart Attack Cafe, the Butter, not the horse (yet) — Who knows, maybe next year.  We weren’t gonna bother with the Deep Fried Butter, but someone in the group had to have it.  They found another sucka, haha.

The deal is this… It’s basically a Churro that’s injected with Butter in the center, then plugged at both ends and frozen.  It’s then re-fried to order and one big yuck!  Why would anyone want a Butter-stuffed, frozen then refried Churro?  They serve them sweet with Cinnamon, Sugar and Whipped Cream, or savory with Garlic Salt, Parmesan and Marinara Sauce.  Either way it’s ridiculous, but surprisingly the Chips underneath were okay with the Marinara. 

Note:  The Marinara Sauce was so unexpectedly yummy that we asked the brand.  We learned it’s San Benito and will be looking for it in stores.  It appears something good came out of the Heart Attack Cafe afterall — Check out other crazy OC Fair food options here.

More funny at my expense — The Orange County Fair Competition Results are now in.  My entry is the only one above without a Ribbon.  Oh well, can’t win ’em all.  And today I shot more video than photos, but most times when I thought I pressed record, I stopped the video (and vice versa), thus lamely captured our walking and talking most of the day, instead of the interesting, yummy stuff, haha.  Duh!  In defense, it was difficult to see the ‘REC’ light in the bright sunshine and I unfortunately got it backwards along the way.  It won’t happen again.  Gotta laugh though, which is easy since we’ll be going back soon.

Happily others we know did well in the OC Fair Competitions.  Hover over the above photos to learn more about each — And get to the Fair to see the results of all competitions.  Congratulations to ALL winners!

The above dish truly represents ‘The Bad‘ and ‘The Funny‘ about this blog.  The Tangerine Dream Bars (wannabe) was going to be an entry in the Culinary Arts Competition at the Orange County Fair, but it didn’t happen.  I was gonna cover the top with Powdered Sugar, but unfortunately there’s no masking the soupy, unset middle. 🙁 I’m not exactly sure what went wrong here, since it turned out good last time.  Wouldn’t you know it — Two hours before submission time I discovered it looked like this.  Oh well, good thing my other entry was delicious and successfully submitted.  The Orange County Fair starts this Friday, July 16th.  The results will be posted opening day.

Our only entry in the Culinary Arts Competition (1st Show) is the Chocolate Layered Surprise.  It’s formed with alternating layers of Milk Chocolate, Waffle Cone, Dried Cherries and Pecans, then cut in squares and drizzled with White Chocolate.  We’ll be submitting (2) additional entries in August for the 2nd Show.

It’s a Marble Rye [whose] purchase was inspired by a Seinfeld episode.  We still love Seinfeld and need a laugh as we continue to work with Network Solutions on a few nagging technical issues.  In searching for the above link, we stumbled across a blog named after the famous episode — Very cool, we might have picked that ourselves.  Each morning this week we’ve enjoyed Marble Rye Toast while thinking about Jerry mugging an old lady for a loaf — Shut up y’old bag. 🙂 Next we want to bring a loaf to a dinner party and then take it back when the hosts aren’t looking.

Note: This site is safe, has always been safe and will continue to be safe as we work through current technical issues.  This post is a break from the madness — There’s a lot of interesting reports coming down the pike.

Marie Callender’s Classic Combo — 1/2 a Turkey Sandwich, French Fries and a Cup of Soup for $5.99 is a good deal, although you hardly get any Fries.  I jokingly accused the Waiter of eating my Fries on the way over, haha.  It just looks funny.  It’s two ounces they say.  Perhaps one more ounce might look a little better. 

Aside from the lack of French Fries, I left full and satisfied.  The service is always good at the Marie Callender’s 17th Street location in Costa Mesa.  I love their Potato Cheese Soup with Tabasco.

Our Banana Split Cake started out as a fun idea, but unfortunately it didn’t quite cross the finish line.  Good thing we’re testing out recipes before entering ’em into the 2010 Orange County Fair Culinary Arts Competition — This one certainly wouldn’t win a ribbon.  The concept is entertaining and it tasted really good, but one can’t submit a Cake looking like this. 🙂

With ripening Bananas and Strawberries on hand and the recent receipt of Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook, we created a Banana Split Cake.  We started with a prepared White Cake Mix evenly divided into 3 round baking pans — Then mashed a Banana, pureed a few Strawberries and got out the Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup.  As shown below, we added each respectively to the divided mix. 

We baked the Cakes, then set them aside to cool completely — We did get that part right, although it may not look that way.  We made an amazing Cream Cheese Frosting from the Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook.  It’s called Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting (p. 37).  Before adding the Pecans that are called for in the recipe, we reserved and divided a portion of the Frosting to mix pureed Strawberry into one and Chocolate Syrup into the other, and then added Pecans to the remainder and chilled all in the fridge.

To build our Banana Split Cake, start with Chocolate Cake on the bottom, then add a layer of Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting, followed by Banana Cake, Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting, and ending with Strawberry Cake on top.  We then smothered the assembled Cake with Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting.  It held together at first, but then you see what happened.  We ultimately separated the layers and frosted each separately with the Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting.  Office co-workers usually don’t care what it looks like.

Next time we’ll add less Strawberry puree and Chocolate Syrup to the Frosting and less Frosting in between the layers.  We might also want to chill the Frosting a little longer or make more Cake, so the layers aren’t as thin.  Perhaps we’ll add sliced Strawberries and/or Bananas in between the layers to avoid sliding Cakes.  Again, it tasted pretty good, therefore it’s worth another try.

Note: So far we like what we see in Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook by Southern Living and look forward to making the recipes we’ve tabbed in it.

My Brother-in-Law just told me a funny story.  One of his co-workers learned that purchasing a maximum of (5) Green Beans at one time doesn’t weigh anything, thus he’s usually not charged for them at the checkout stand.  After fine tuning his discovery, he went to the supermarket daily for a week, until he had enough Green Beans to make a meal.  Can you believe it?  It’s true.  And he’s not poor either — He owns two houses and has a great job.  I’m still laughing about this.  In some ways it’s moderately inspiring (haha), but I certainly wouldn’t want to go to the supermarket every day.  Hope he doesn’t stumble upon this blog or my Brother-in-Law is in trouble. 🙂

Note: Photo is of Fava Beans, which are generally more expensive than Green Beans.

These flowers are found at the Corona Del Mar Farmers’ Market.  I bought different ones for Mother’s Day, but can’t post ’em due to more technical issues with Network Solutions.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  This site is safe and we’ll soon have refreshed permissions to post new photos.  We’re pushing hard to get ALL resolved, cuz we ain’t happy about it either.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom — Sorry you’re cookin’ again.  Last year I wrote the following poem as an entry into an OC Foodies Mother’s Day Contest.  Although I didn’t win, it still applies.

She cooks for me on her Special Day — My Mom’s dishes are delicious, what can I say? For that reason and immeasurable more, there’s no other Mother I could ever hope for. She’s loving, giving and likes to eat, thus OCFoodies’ Mother’s Day Gift would be the BEST treat.

Note: The prize was (10) $50 Gift Certificates/Cards to (10) amazing restaurants.

Nibbles of Tidbits has a lot of exciting posts coming up.  We’re reviewing a couple Cookbooks from Southern Living.  We recently attended an amazing event sponsored by the California Avocado Commission and just hosted a few small parties we need to report about.  Network Solutions, our hosting provider is currently updating its server, thus we’ll be posting photos of all once the maintenance is complete.  At that time, we’ll resume the feast(s) for your eyes.

Not sure if you can tell from this photo, but a big chunk is taken out of the bottom of this package.  It inverts about an inch and a half.  We already know that we’re paying more for less these days — But to me, this type of shrinking package is sneaky.  I don’t respect it.  These Licorice Pastels are from BevMo.  And they’re not that great tasting either, since they’re soft not crunchy.

Funny story… A friend and I were walking around Corona Del Mar hungry one day.  First we learned all the restaurants we wanted to eat at didn’t open until 5PM, then remembered Zinc Cafe & Market.  We’d heard a lot of remarkable things about it, but still hadn’t been there.  Finally made it there and enjoyed looking at all the fabulous stuff — Cheese, Sandwiches, Soups, Salads, Pastries and Market Items galore!  We were paralyzed with indecision and also learned one must order food at the register, while staking out a coveted table at the same time.  All will be fine for another visit and the proprietors seemed friendly too, but we wanted to kick it and be served at the time.  Thus the story continues…

After another 5 or 6 block walk, we ended up at CoCo’s for ease, nourishment and familiarity.  And it was interesting to learn that CoCo’s Restaurant & Bakery is currently offering a Wine & Appetizer Selections Menu.  We were impressed with the progressive offerings and opted to try the Brie Appetizer Platter (one small Brie wedge served warm crusted with Macadamia Nuts and another topped with a Jalapeno Raspberry Sauce) and the Crispy Green Bean Sticks.   All sounded fun and good, but yuck — Sorry. 

The Macadamia Nut Brie was okay (mostly tasteless), and the other microscopic sized Brie wedge was stone cold, seemingly direct from the fridge with the flavor to prove it.  The Grapes didn’t look good and the Bread was sparse.  The Green Beans were tolerable, but better re-heated in my toaster oven until extra crispy, with real Ranch Dressing, instead of the lumpy version we were served at CoCo’s.  We laughed thinking about the quality Cheese and Bread we could’ve been enjoying at Zinc Cafe. 🙂

Inspired by the Cheese & Charcuterie we saw at SideDoor in Corona Del Mar, we’re testing Cheese to select the best for a Cheese Tasting Party I’ll be hosting.  The goal is to make our platter as special as theirs.  We learned the importance of preliminary testing by quickly ruling out the TJ Morbier from France, Cheese #1 (Above).  It was awful.  I don’t like having to write this because it’s not appetizing, but it smelled and tasted like stinky feet — Not good!  I definitely wouldn’t want to serve it to guests, as it could be a turn off from the rest.

I ultimately decided on 5 – 6 Cheeses from Trader Joe’s and can’t wait to plate them with Calabrese Salami and Black & Green Olive Bread, with a complimentary selection of fresh Pears, dried Montmorency Cherries, Pecans, Garlic Stuffed Olives, Red Grapes, Mustard, Club Crackers, Pita Chips, etc.  Check back to see how our Cheese & Charcuterie measures up to the platters at SideDoor.

Next time I’ll have to pin this note to my shirt instead of posting it on my office door. 🙁

I recently came across this Rhubarb Dry Soda at Bristol Farms — And first must mention that the Bristol Farms in Corona Del Mar Plaza is an amazing store.  It’s a bit cramped when crowded, but I usually want to buy almost everything I pass by.  This visit the Rhubarb Soda caught my eye.  Have you ever seen it before?  I hadn’t and rarely eat Rhubarb, but had to try it out of curiosity.  And the verdict is… Next flavor please.  I like the carbonation and flavor options of the Dry Soda Co. Sodas, but this flavor not so much.  It’s described as refreshingly tart and complex, which is true, but it also tastes a bit like Grass and Dried Cherries.  The initial taste isn’t good, but the after taste isn’t bad, if that makes sense.  We’d like to try their Kumquat, Lavender, Vanilla Bean, and maybe Cucumber flavors next time.  They also make a Juniper Berry and Lemongrass Soda.  Overall, we’re excited to see such unique flavors.  Bravo to the fun of that!

You can probably skip this Cookbook — It’s Williams-Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen: Starters (2006).  I’ve finally gotten around to utilizing it.  The colorful recipe photos are beautiful and offer so much promise, but when gettin’ down to wanting to make any of them, the pickings are slim.  Some recipes are impractical, others don’t even sound good, and ingredients should be altered in the pictured recipe I made.  It’s the Purple Bell Pepper & Goat Cheese Terrine (p. 33) substituting Red Bell Pepper, since Purple Bell Peppers are hard to come by.  Other than that, I followed the exact recipe and thought my unveiled terrine to be too runny and salty.  If you still want to make this recipe after this report, it’s recommended that you use half the Salt and Milk that’s listed, and possibly replace the Shallot with chopped Green Onion or Chives.

* I also have Williams-Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen: Desserts and will post what we ultimately make from it.  I hope it’s better than this Starter.  If you cannot view the enlarged recipe well enough to prepare a better version of it, tell us in a comment.

A new law went into effect on January 1, 2010.  California became the first state to ban Trans Fat in restaurants.  I certainly don’t need Trans Fat, also known as Partially Hydrogenated Oils, but have a big problem with the government telling restaurant owners what they can and cannot use/serve in their respective food businesses.  It’s like rewriting a chef’s recipe.  Responsibility is with oneself.  There are more important issues to be tackled by local and federal government, which are blogged about elsewhere.  This is supposed to be a happy place. 🙂

* Photo is of Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, California.

We finally visited Tapas Restaurant Night Club in Newport Beach near the John Wayne Airport — It’s only been open about 16 years.  Under the Hot and Cold Tapas Menu, we tried the Lamb Chops Madrilenas, Cheese Fundido and Artichoke Toasts. 

We prefer to emphasize the positive on Nibbles of Tidbits, but we’re also truthful in our reports.  I deferred the Tapas review to my dinner guest, who wants to remain anonymous (she’s infamous, ha).  She wrote the following:

After wondering for years about Tapas Restaurant Night Club in Newport Beach, we finally got the chance to visit this venerable institution, which has been tucked away in a strip mall for the last 16 years. The dictionary definition of Tapas is “small snacks that are often served as an appetizer along with alcoholic drinks, originally from Spain” — Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, after our visit tonight our conclusion is that this concept is all tapped out.

First, the restaurant itself has lost whatever appeal it used to have on a visceral level — it is now dirty, dusty and damaged. Second, the food sounds good on the menu but it is just plain BLAH. For example, the Artichoke Hearts tasted like they came straight out of a can (they even had that can smell to them). The bread was stale and tasteless and the Cheese “Fundido” — which was baked Manchego and Goat Cheese with Spanish Chorizo – sounded divine but was barely edible (congealed). Ditto with regard to the bland Potato (Bomba). The only good Tapas we tasted was the Lamb Chops.

Equally tasteless was the décor, with broken tiles lining the floors everywhere and Spanish outfits hanging from the walls that were literally covered in dust. Finally, we were served on plates that did not even remotely match! In sum, don’t bother with Tapas as they are all tapped out. 

Tapas Restaurant Night Club’s sustainability must be through the night club, bar and entertainment.  We wish all restaurants well, thus hope they take more pride in their Tapas (for its namesake and for Pete’s sake), and why not tidy things up a bit?!

Who has the right of way when trying to navigate around the excess displays in a grocery store?  It’s getting a little ridiculous.  Why does every aisle have to be loaded such that only one cart can pass at a time?  It causes too much congestion and makes me feel like I’m on an obstacle course.  I’m not going to buy an item because I have to trip over it — Stop the madness.  It doesn’t make for a pleasant shopping experience.