Picture it. Sicily 1928, a brick oven ready for pizza deliciousness. Now un-picture it and carry ya hip to Bacardi Rd., Nassau, Bahamas with a sexy gas oven and an even sexier pizza made by an ever sexierist pizza woman (who is me by the way). I be back y'all!!!!!!!!!!! I have since birthed my very own glutton (shakes fist at karma) in the form of Cassidy Danielle Swaby, who if genetics (and by genetics I mean me) is any indication will be one sexxxy beast. But anywho, back to bidness!
So, what do ya do when you need to feed two men and a woman who eats like a man???? Make homemade pizza, duh! Now I likes me some sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza as much as the next person but not alllll the time. So this Friday I made one of my favorite non-pepperoni, not red-sauce pizza. First I used some pizza dough that I made a day or two before, so it was just perfect. I rolled out the dough to a personal size and about 1/8 of an inch thick. Now, with this pizza I don't use a tomato based sauce. Rather I rub olive oil around the crust and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. You heard me, sesame seeds. Trust me on this, I'm married to an Alpha will golden eyes (Skee-Phi!). Then I used jarred minced garlic and a little of the juice as the "sauce". On top of that I tore up fresh mozzarella cheese and placed it over the garlic base. Then I placed chicken breast pieces that I seasoned with salt and sauteed over the cheese. The next ingredient takes this pizza from a donkey booty to a stallion booty (what up crazy K). Before I assembled the pizza I caramelized some onions. To caramelize onions, the process is low and slow. It takes a while but Sweet Baby Jesus, 6lbs, 8oz due to a high metabolism, them onions are sooo good. You slice about 1-2 medium sized onions and saute them in oil until they are sexy and brown like yours truly.
Ok, so take the caramelized onions and place them on the pizza last. Spread over the pizza liberally as this too will add the moisture you would be looking for in a normal red-sauced pizza. Then, I take this deliciousness and put it in the oven that has been pre-heated to 500 degrees. In 7 (seven) minutes, remove and enjoy!
Mannnnnnn every time I make this pizza, I wanna slap my mamma. But then I remember that she would slap me back and I would have no teeth and I would ask Daddy to fix them and he'd be like, no, you slapped my wife and I'd be like, but Daddy we blood and he'd be like, no and I'd be all sad 'cause toothless and sexy ain never been acquainted and well, you get the point.
I hope it doesn't take me a whole former fetus and two years later to make another entry!
Until we meet again biscuit buns,
Nahds
P.S. Heyyyyyy Heath!
Food Glorious Food!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Friday, August 26, 2011
Just call me Mrs. MacGyver.
Sugarbutts! Oh how I've missed you guys! And I'm sure you guys missed me too. Well since we've last spoken I and my gluttonous self have survived a HURRICANE! Yes, Hurricane Irene got a hold of the entire chain of Bahama Islands leaving some more devastated than others. But praise God there were no lives lost!
Now, I know what you all are thinking, "What did you eat Nahds?" Sigh. You guys know me. I like the good stuff. The fancy meals. The ones that take 24 hours to produce just so I can say I made it from scratch. Well Hurricane Irene had other plans for me. You see I am the proud owner of a super fancy gas stove. Well, it's not that fancy, but it's nice. You see unlike many other gas stoves, it's also electrical. Yeahhhhh, real fancy huh? So anyway, in order to use the oven you need electricity. We had none...wait let me correct that, we HAVE none (screw you in the nostril due to loss of power Bahamas Electricity Cooperation!). So during this entire, traumatic, hurricane-al ordeal I had no use of the oven. That only left me to get creative with the stove. Oh and there were no perishables b/c there would be no electricity and well I think you see where this is going.
So yesterday at about 1:40pm made it 12 hours without electricity and as usual I was hungry. And if I ate one more bite of rice I thought I would expire. So, I did what 90's television star MacGyver would do. I had taco shells, onions, jalapenos in a jar, tomatoes, limes and dried cilantro. What do you think I made????? OMG Hot Stuffs! You're right! Salsa it was! No tortillas? No problemo! I broke those Old El Paso taco shells in half and cooked them in a pan on my fancy gas stove top until they were crisp. Then I broke them up all rustic-like and WHAZAM.....chips and salsa. My hubbers said it was delicious. Then he said, "Nahds, I swear, we will never go hungry. You like MacGyver in the kitchen dread!" And then I thought, yeah, yeah you're right. I AM pretty awesome.
After that we watched "The Lovely Bones" and I wished the electricity was back on so I could inquire about whom I needed to contact to get 90 mins. of my life back after watching that crap. Seriously it was pretty dumb. I'm not excited to go back home because lots and lots and lots of canned tuna and rice awaits me and well I'm not too cool with that but I'll see what I can do, because I am you know, Mrs. MacGyver. Can't wait to tell you guys about my next restaurant venture! I've already picked out what I'm gonna wear and everything! Ok, ok, I'm gone, for real.
TTYL Juicy Fruits!
Now, I know what you all are thinking, "What did you eat Nahds?" Sigh. You guys know me. I like the good stuff. The fancy meals. The ones that take 24 hours to produce just so I can say I made it from scratch. Well Hurricane Irene had other plans for me. You see I am the proud owner of a super fancy gas stove. Well, it's not that fancy, but it's nice. You see unlike many other gas stoves, it's also electrical. Yeahhhhh, real fancy huh? So anyway, in order to use the oven you need electricity. We had none...wait let me correct that, we HAVE none (screw you in the nostril due to loss of power Bahamas Electricity Cooperation!). So during this entire, traumatic, hurricane-al ordeal I had no use of the oven. That only left me to get creative with the stove. Oh and there were no perishables b/c there would be no electricity and well I think you see where this is going.
So yesterday at about 1:40pm made it 12 hours without electricity and as usual I was hungry. And if I ate one more bite of rice I thought I would expire. So, I did what 90's television star MacGyver would do. I had taco shells, onions, jalapenos in a jar, tomatoes, limes and dried cilantro. What do you think I made????? OMG Hot Stuffs! You're right! Salsa it was! No tortillas? No problemo! I broke those Old El Paso taco shells in half and cooked them in a pan on my fancy gas stove top until they were crisp. Then I broke them up all rustic-like and WHAZAM.....chips and salsa. My hubbers said it was delicious. Then he said, "Nahds, I swear, we will never go hungry. You like MacGyver in the kitchen dread!" And then I thought, yeah, yeah you're right. I AM pretty awesome.
After that we watched "The Lovely Bones" and I wished the electricity was back on so I could inquire about whom I needed to contact to get 90 mins. of my life back after watching that crap. Seriously it was pretty dumb. I'm not excited to go back home because lots and lots and lots of canned tuna and rice awaits me and well I'm not too cool with that but I'll see what I can do, because I am you know, Mrs. MacGyver. Can't wait to tell you guys about my next restaurant venture! I've already picked out what I'm gonna wear and everything! Ok, ok, I'm gone, for real.
TTYL Juicy Fruits!
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!
So, last night was one of those nights where the heart was willing but the body was weak. You see, I make this delicious chicken sandwich, but a part of this deliciousness is the fresh bread that I make for the sandwich. That was not happening at 8 pm. But I decided to make the sandwich anyway only this time I wanted to use the whole wheat sandwich rounds I had. Man this sandwich gets me every time! I LOVE it lol. Ok, so this is how I make it:
First I cleaned one chicken breast and washed it in lime juice. Then I pounded it out to about twice its size. This makes the meat tender and it lessens the cooking time to allow for juicer meat. After that I marinated it in a buttermilk and Tabasco mixture for about 10 minutes. Sometimes I'll do it for about 30 minutes or so. It further tenderizes the meat and the end result is oh sooooo good!
After the marination sensation process is done I shake off any excess buttermilk and coat the breast in some flour I seasoned with salt. I dipped the floured chicken in egg and then added a final coating of plain Panko bread crumbs. Immediately after that I put it in a sauce pan with a little olive oil on medium heat and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes each side. From there I let the magic happen!
I know I'm not the only one who dances when I get to eat. I damn near Dougied when I ate this sandwich. Y'all I almost ate my fingers and the plate along with that sandwich. Picture it, Nassau, 2011... So, I like my sandwiches dripping, messy, juicy. This sandwich was no different. As I bit down the crunch of the Panko gave way to moist, tender and tangy chicken meat. The juices from the sandwich dripped down my hand and on to the plate. Not one to waste I sopped it up with the sandwich still in my hand. Each bite was a crunchy and tender bite of heaven! Sweet 6lb, 8oz Baby Jesus lying in a manger it was good! I wasn't able to take a pic of it because well, I ate it. But I will post a pic of the one made with the homemade bread. THAT one was even gooderer. Oh yeah babes, sandwiches this good need made up words to describe them.
Well, now I'm hungry again (as usual). So I think pizza is in order for lunch. I'm thinking veggie. Yeah, that'll do!
TTYL Honey Hams! Until we eat again!
First I cleaned one chicken breast and washed it in lime juice. Then I pounded it out to about twice its size. This makes the meat tender and it lessens the cooking time to allow for juicer meat. After that I marinated it in a buttermilk and Tabasco mixture for about 10 minutes. Sometimes I'll do it for about 30 minutes or so. It further tenderizes the meat and the end result is oh sooooo good!
After the marination sensation process is done I shake off any excess buttermilk and coat the breast in some flour I seasoned with salt. I dipped the floured chicken in egg and then added a final coating of plain Panko bread crumbs. Immediately after that I put it in a sauce pan with a little olive oil on medium heat and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes each side. From there I let the magic happen!
I know I'm not the only one who dances when I get to eat. I damn near Dougied when I ate this sandwich. Y'all I almost ate my fingers and the plate along with that sandwich. Picture it, Nassau, 2011... So, I like my sandwiches dripping, messy, juicy. This sandwich was no different. As I bit down the crunch of the Panko gave way to moist, tender and tangy chicken meat. The juices from the sandwich dripped down my hand and on to the plate. Not one to waste I sopped it up with the sandwich still in my hand. Each bite was a crunchy and tender bite of heaven! Sweet 6lb, 8oz Baby Jesus lying in a manger it was good! I wasn't able to take a pic of it because well, I ate it. But I will post a pic of the one made with the homemade bread. THAT one was even gooderer. Oh yeah babes, sandwiches this good need made up words to describe them.
Well, now I'm hungry again (as usual). So I think pizza is in order for lunch. I'm thinking veggie. Yeah, that'll do!
TTYL Honey Hams! Until we eat again!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Make Me Wanna Slap Yo' Mama Mia!
I never need an excuse to eat out but on Saturdays I claim that I don't want to cook and thus, therefore we gatta go out to eat :-). I know, I'm so freakin' clever right? Anyways a few months ago, my husband and I were on a search for something to eat. We were driving around playing our usual game of "What do you want to eat?" The conversation usually went like this:
Me: (said for the 90th time since I last ate) "I'm hungry."
Jamaal: "What do you want to eat?"
Me: "It doesn't matter, I'm going to die."
Jamaal: "So I could stop on the road for some dirt?"
Me: "You make me sick. Also, I'm hungry."
Jamaal: "What do you want?"
Me: "I don't know, what do you want?"
Jamaal: "NAHDIA!"
Me: "Don't yell at me, I'm hungry..."
Jamaal: "........"
Me: "Iloveyou."
I think you get the picture. So this one Saturday was like the others where we began to drive in the general direction of our home. We decided to take West Bay St. and head down the Cable Beach Strip to see if we would see somewhere we would like to eat. As we got ready to go around the round-a-bout near Starbucks I spotted a little Italian Restaurant we'd been threatening to try. So I said to Jamaal, let's go there. To my surprise he said, "Sure!". So we pulled up to Capriccio Ristorante. We walked inside and took in the cozy atmosphere. It reminded me of the Italian Restaurant Jamaal & I dined in on our honeymoon in Paris. I instantly fell in love with it.
Now, being the food snob that I am I always think of the worst when I try a new place. However we were here and I wanted to give Capriccio a chance. For an Italian place the wine list left much to be desired. We ordered the best of the worst, a cheap blush and went on to the food menu. My eyes went to the Cheese Tortellini in a Mushroom Red Cream Sauce. I was sold. Anything made with heavy cream is hard to mess up. Jamaal got the Chicken Alfredo. We waited, sipped our wine and ate delicious garlic bread.
Finally the moment of truth was here. The dish that would decide if I would come back. I actually told our waitress that I love to eat and if the food tasted good I would tell everyone and put it as my status on FB. (If I may, I would like to ask you to imagine this moment in slow motion.) She set the plate down in front of me, I immediately smiled. It looked gooooood. I picked up my fork, sprinkled some Parmesan on top, put the first bit into my mouth and LORD HAVE MERCY! Just thinking about it has me hot AND bothered. It.was.perfect. The tortellini was perfectly al dente. Each bite broke the soft seal that held the most perfectly seasoned pillow of delicious cheeses. This heavenly goodness was covered in the most rich tomato and cream sauce. I ate it ALL. It was so good! As I looked across the table at my love his eyes were closed with delight. His apparently did not let down either.
We left Capriccio that evening vowing to not only come back, but to tell everyone to go there also. And I kept my promise, I spoke of the restaurant in my status as soon as I got home. If you are ever in the area, you must stop by and taste what is the best pasta I have had to date. Sadly now I wish I hadn't written this because now I want some for lunch and I have no way of getting it :-(. Perhaps some husband or Soror or friend reading this will feel sorry for me and bring me some...perhaps. :-(
TTYL Sugarbutts!
Oh and P.S. I'm hungry.
Capriccio Ristorante
Me: (said for the 90th time since I last ate) "I'm hungry."
Jamaal: "What do you want to eat?"
Me: "It doesn't matter, I'm going to die."
Jamaal: "So I could stop on the road for some dirt?"
Me: "You make me sick. Also, I'm hungry."
Jamaal: "What do you want?"
Me: "I don't know, what do you want?"
Jamaal: "NAHDIA!"
Me: "Don't yell at me, I'm hungry..."
Jamaal: "........"
Me: "Iloveyou."
I think you get the picture. So this one Saturday was like the others where we began to drive in the general direction of our home. We decided to take West Bay St. and head down the Cable Beach Strip to see if we would see somewhere we would like to eat. As we got ready to go around the round-a-bout near Starbucks I spotted a little Italian Restaurant we'd been threatening to try. So I said to Jamaal, let's go there. To my surprise he said, "Sure!". So we pulled up to Capriccio Ristorante. We walked inside and took in the cozy atmosphere. It reminded me of the Italian Restaurant Jamaal & I dined in on our honeymoon in Paris. I instantly fell in love with it.
Now, being the food snob that I am I always think of the worst when I try a new place. However we were here and I wanted to give Capriccio a chance. For an Italian place the wine list left much to be desired. We ordered the best of the worst, a cheap blush and went on to the food menu. My eyes went to the Cheese Tortellini in a Mushroom Red Cream Sauce. I was sold. Anything made with heavy cream is hard to mess up. Jamaal got the Chicken Alfredo. We waited, sipped our wine and ate delicious garlic bread.
Finally the moment of truth was here. The dish that would decide if I would come back. I actually told our waitress that I love to eat and if the food tasted good I would tell everyone and put it as my status on FB. (If I may, I would like to ask you to imagine this moment in slow motion.) She set the plate down in front of me, I immediately smiled. It looked gooooood. I picked up my fork, sprinkled some Parmesan on top, put the first bit into my mouth and LORD HAVE MERCY! Just thinking about it has me hot AND bothered. It.was.perfect. The tortellini was perfectly al dente. Each bite broke the soft seal that held the most perfectly seasoned pillow of delicious cheeses. This heavenly goodness was covered in the most rich tomato and cream sauce. I ate it ALL. It was so good! As I looked across the table at my love his eyes were closed with delight. His apparently did not let down either.
We left Capriccio that evening vowing to not only come back, but to tell everyone to go there also. And I kept my promise, I spoke of the restaurant in my status as soon as I got home. If you are ever in the area, you must stop by and taste what is the best pasta I have had to date. Sadly now I wish I hadn't written this because now I want some for lunch and I have no way of getting it :-(. Perhaps some husband or Soror or friend reading this will feel sorry for me and bring me some...perhaps. :-(
TTYL Sugarbutts!
Oh and P.S. I'm hungry.
Capriccio Ristorante
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
I need Sugar!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's not often, but every once in a while I crave the thing that all diets say is death to the good shape I so covet, sugar! Thankfully though it's a craving that only comes about once a month. I say thankfully because when I'm craving something, I don't go out and buy it, I make it! Today was no different. I woke up with a need to bake. I looked within and asked myself what I wanted to eat and self replied, lemon meringue pie. So there I went at 10am on my way to make this pie. I got out all of the ingredients and low and behold, homie didn't have any sugar. Not Brazilian fine crystal sugar, or West African Cane Sugar imported from the planet formally known as Pluto, plain old white, in the bag sugar. I felt as if I was a failure. But my pity party didn't last long. I just figured I'd search for recipes that didn't need white sugar! Ginger Snap cookies.
Needless to say they came out perfect! Ok, that is a lie. I repent. They came out perfect with the second batch. You see the first batch Basketball Wives Reunion was on and Tammi's wig was offensive and well I lost track of time. The second batch however is almost all gone. Yes, I made 12 cookies and yes, maybe only 6 are left. Don't judge me. Doing so will send you straight to hell...I checked.
I can't wait to see what I'm making for dinner. I've excited my own self (I hate when people say 'own self') now. TTYL Divas & Divoes
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