Sunday, March 17, 2013

Northern Fish Products


Strolling down the waterfront this afternoon made me realize how much I’ve missed living by the water. It in no way compares to California, but it’s pretty amazing in it’s own wonderful Washington way. The three of us decided to bundled up & go on a search for some fresh fish & chips. We stumbled upon Northern Fish Products, an old-fashioned specialty fish market with quite an amazing view for their backyard! The service was wonderful, great friendly staff, and great portions!






Calamari & Chips!

Fish & Chips!

Northern Fish Products
Address: 2201 Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone Number: (253) 272-4104
Website: www.northernfish.com
Parking: Private lot
Price Range: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 9 am - 7 pm
           Sat 9 am - 6 pm
           Sun 10 am - 5 pm


-N.



Friday, March 15, 2013

Neiman Marcus Bars


Neiman Marcus does clothes, shoes, accessories etc like no one does. Now they’re even taking over the bakery world?! These are Neiman Marcus bars and they. are. AMAZING. They're very rich& chewy & decadent, almost like a kicked up brownie. It has a vanilla cake bottom, and a sweet crunchy creamy cheese topping. 




Ingredients
1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs
1 block Philadelphia cream cheese
4 C powdered sugar

Instructions
Preheated oven to 325 °  
Beat 1 egg, butter, cake mix
Pat into a 9x13 dish
Mix soft cream cheese and 2 eggs
Stir in powdered sugar
Spread over cake mix
Bake for about 45 minutes until done
*It may still jiggle a little right in the middle, it will continue to cook a little after you remove it from the oven. You don't want the edges to get overdone.

You have to have a glass of milk with these. Or try them hot with a scoop of ice cream. Or if you’re like my sister & I, have one with milk, then go back & have the second with icecream! 

-N.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Duke's Chowder House


My sister & I have always had a special place in our hearts for Duke’s. We’ve always started (& ended) the trip off with a few Grapefruit Nirvanas & their delicious Jr. cheeseburgers. Normally we’d end at Duke’s in Tukwila after a long day of shopping, but today we visited Duke’s at Tacoma’s waterfront. The amazing food + the awesome view = our new favorite location!


Today’s pig out session included:
Local Penn Cove Steamers in Mac & Jack’s beer

crispy fried calamari with Tequila lime aïoli and wasabi aïoli

New England style creamy clam chowder

Jr. cheeseburgers with Tilamook’s extra sharp cheddar & crispy potato wedges

 & of course, Grapefruit Nirvanas with sugared rims (x4)!

I'd like to rewind & do that meal again. 
-N. 

Duke's Chowder House 
Address: 3327 Ruston Way, Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone Number: (253) 752-5444
Parking: Private lot
Wifi: Free
Happy Hour Hours: 3-6pm & 9-close 7 days a week!
Price Range: $$

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sushi Sushi Sushi!


Sushi is l o v e. I could eat sushi all day, everyday.  But I start to feel weird when I have to alternate sushi restaurants because I don’t want them to recognize me by my obsession with fried tempura rolls.

I’ve always thought about making sushi at home. But to tell you the truth, it has always been something that I’ve found intimidating. Me?! Create a roll from scratch!? Let’s be a bit realistic.  But ok!

L came to town Friday night & we decided it’s time to take on the Sushi challenge. Saturday we went to World Market to pick up some sushi rolling mats and then trekked onto H-Mart to pick up the making for our sushi pig out sesh!

There was quite a bit of preparation work that took place before we actually started rolling out the rolls. But once all that was done & ready, it was actually quite easy!








Ingredients
1 ½ cups Sushi rice  
2 Tbsp Sushi vinegar (rice vinegar with added salt and sugar)
4 Nori seaweed sheets (cut ¼ off each sheet)
½ C crab meat (chopped finely)
1 ½ avocados
½ cucumber
1 cup all-purpose Gluten Free Flour
Japanese Pank bread crumbs
1 egg
Ice cold water
8 Large shrimp
Cream Cheese (Philadelphia brand is gluten free)
Gluten free soy sauce
Oil for frying

Instructions
Cook sushi rice in a rice cooker per instructions.
When completely cooked, add in sushi vinegar and set aside.
Cut your avocados and cucumbers into thin strips and set aside.
Cut ¼ inch thick strips of cream cheese and set aside.


Shrimp Tempura
Prepare shrimp by rinsing and peeling. (Leave the tail on)
Lay shrimp flat and flatten out by pinching with your fingers. (This will help the shrimp to stay flat.)
Mix flour, egg & cold cold water and gently mix to create your tempura mix.
Dip each shrimp into the tempura mix & then into the Panko bread crumbs.
Deep fry shrimp for 2-3 minutes.
Set on paper towel to cool.

Now it’s time to roll!
Cover your bamboo sushi mat with shrink wrap (to keep rice from sticking to the mat)
Place your nori shiny side down on the bamboo mat.
Wet hands, and spread ¾ cup rice over nori.
Turn your nori over rice side down.
Assemble your roll by placing a line of crab meat down the middle of the roll, add cream cheese to one side of the crab meat & cucumber and avocado to the other side. Place 2 fried shrimps on top of the crab meat.
Roll your bamboo mat over half way and then over the rest.
Cut into 8 pieces with sharp knife.
Drizzle with spicy mayo & have fun stuffing your face :)


-N.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Pike Place for the win!


I love living in Washington, & what makes me love it even more with each passing day is the access to the fresh seafood and produce. It’s officially Springtime now & the farmers markets are starting to pop up in every neighborhood! :)

Monday was amazing. The sun was out to play, I did work on a surprise lab exam, and was released from class 3 hours early! It was THE perfect day. With all that extra time in the sun, I went down to wander Pike and to pick up the makings for dinner. I love Pike Place Market. The goodies and treasures are ENDLESS! It's always so alive down there. I could seriously wander that place for hours and hours on end. 

Now onto the yummy recipe I have for y'all! Citrus grilled salmon with a side of buttery garlic spaghetti! 





Ingredients for Grilled Salmon
-1 large fillet of salmon (cut into 4 single serving size fillets)
-1 lemon ( ½ sliced, ½ squeezed)
-2 oranges (1 sliced, 1 squeezed)
-4 T olive oil
-4 T butter, divided
-1 T garlic, pressed
-1 tsp garlic salt
-1 T dijon mustard
-1 tsp garlic powder
-2 tsp dried parsley
-salt & pepper

-Instructions
-make a make-shift “pan” out of tin foil so that it can be placed on the grill
-lay down orange slices
-lightly salt and pepper both sides of each fillet & place ontop of orange & lemon slices
-in a small bowl combine orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, dried parsley, garlic salt, dijon mustard & garlic powder
-pour mixture all over salmon
-top each fillet with a tablespoon of butter & a lemon slice
-grill for about 10-15 minutes (salmon should be pink & flaky)

Ingredients for Garlic Spaghetti
-½ box thin spaghetti, cooked
-½ cup grated Parmesan
 cheese
-5 tsp olive oil

-3 clove garlic, pressed
-1/2 lemon
-4 T butter, melted

Instructions
-Pour in olive oil and chopped up garlic into a small frying pan and let it cook over low, until the garlic starts to brown on edges. Immediately remove from heat and reserve.
-In a large bowl, toss cooked spaghetti, olive oil, butter, Parmesan cheese, and the garlic oil you had on reserve.
-squeeze lemon on top & serve with salmon.

Enjoy! 

-N.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Summer '13, please do hurry.









Desperately missing cherry vodka snow cones, spending the majority of my days in a bikini & tank, riding around town with the windows down & music up, lake & pool days that would turn into stupid drunken crazy nights, spending the next morning piecing together what kind of trouble we'd caused the night before, eating sushi until we literally have sushi coming out of our ears, mimosa Sundays!!, . :( Just another 2 full quarters of school until we're reunited ladies!

-N

Friday, March 1, 2013

Love via hand pies


Well it’s that time of the quarter again…preparations for final examinations have commence. Which in the wonderful World of Me means my oven is working on overtime!

I love pies. Cupcake pies. Mason jar pies. Hand pies. I love them all! There’s something that’s so comforting about the smell of a pie baking in your oven while you frantically find a way to cram an entire quarter’s worth of information into your already fried brain. 

Today on the menu are mini cherry heart hand pies! They’re perfectly proportion and just so ooey gooey yummy! 






Ingredients:
1 pkg Pillsbury ready made pie crust
1 can cheery pie filling
1/8 tablespoon almond extract
½ T butter (melted)
1 T cinnamon sugar
Heart shaped cookie cutter (you’ll need a good sized one to be able to contain the filling)

Instructions:
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Unroll pie crust and cut it using a heart-shaped cookie cutter or any desired shape. (If you have extra, like I did, stamp out some smaller hearts & use it to dip into the leftover pie filling!)
-Place a bottom shape on a silicone-mat, and top it with a heaping tablespoon of the cherry pie filling, making sure to leave room around the edges for sealing.
-Lay another heart on top, and use a fork to crimp the pies shut on all sides.
-Brush each cherry hand pie with the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
-Bake at 400-degrees for approximately 18 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Enjoy & revel in the fact that while you’re enjoying these delicious hand pies, I’m having a meltdown, freaking out about finals! 

-N.