Athlete's Palate: Dessert First

I must have sounded really good.

Like I really had things together around here.

You know, like committing to running three days a week for the next eight weeks. Or, purchasing the cookbook “The Athlete’s Palate,” which has loads of healthy recipes for endurance athletes.

But somehow — totally on accident, of course — I skipped to the dessert section. 

We’re starting with Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Don’t judge me. If it’s in this cookbook, they must be good for you. Plus, my mom was throwing a Valentine’s Day party and as an attendee I was required to bring a red, white, or pink dessert.

This cupcake recipe was contributed to the cookbook by Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau, who collaborate at their New York City bakery How Sweet It Is. 

Ingredients:

Cupcakes
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 ½ cake flour (I only had all-purpose)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon vinegar

Frosting
8 oz. of cream cheese (at room temperature)
½ pound unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 325° F. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla extract and vinegar. Combine wet and dry ingredients and fill your greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full with the batter. The recipe says to cook the cupcakes for 15-20 or until the cupcakes spring back when you touch them.

Since everyone coming to the party was supposed to bring a dessert, I decided to make them mini cupcakes, because people were going to have plenty of sweets. The mini cupcakes took about 15 minutes, so if you are going with smaller cupcakes, 15 minutes is probably the longest time you’ll need. Cook in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, and then remove them too cool completely.

And now, we have come to the frosting.

This is when you know you are making something good:

Make sure your cream cheese and butter is at room temperature and mix together until smooth. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar in batches and then add the vanilla extract.

The frosting makes a ton, and I don’t believe in going crazy on the frosting. It’s against my morals.

But, if you like more frosting than cupcake, you go ahead and do that.  If you decide to eat the leftover frosting with a spoon and nothing else, I won’t tell anyone.

Then, sprinkle on some colored sugar and make the cupcakes look all pretty. Or, if you're like me, try to make them look pretty. Sometimes it works out, but usually it doesn't.

Pretty or not, these cupcakes will still taste ridiculously good. Believe me.

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Some Valentine's Day tips for the dudes

Guys, in the words of Snoop Dogg, it’s time to step your love game up.

(yes, anytime I can mention Snoop Dogg here, I will take advantage)

We are four days out from Valentine’s Day, and some of you have literally done nothing towards showing your best girl you consider Feb. 14 different from Feb. 13.

This is not in your best interests. Trust me.

For some guys, I truly think Valentine’s Day is an enigma. They know it can be catastrophic to screw up, but they aren’t really sure how to not screw it up.

Before we get to some tips you can use, keep these two absolute truths in mind about women and Valentine’s Day:

Truth #1: women really just want to feel like they are worth your time and effort (and not just on Valentine’s Day, but especially on Valentine's Day).

Truth #2: women want to have the Valentine’s Day story that all their girls get jealous of when they discuss it the next day. And believe me; we all talk about it the next day.

If you only hit a home run once a year, V-day is the day to do it. Rock this day for your best girl, and it can get you several Get out of Jail Free cards.

One of the best ways to satisfy both of the absolute truths about women and V-day is simple: cook something yourself.

Getting in the kitchen — especially if you usually don’t — will make her feel like she’s worth putting in the extra mile for. Not to mention, it's pretty universal that we find men who cook incredibly sexy.

So, when she’s talking to the girls the next day, if she can say, “My man took me to my favorite (art exhibit, hike, band, store, etc) and then he cooked for me” all of her friends will burn with envy. Then they will go home and exclaim to their husbands or boyfriends, “why couldn’t you be more like (enter your name here)?!”

It doesn’t make sense to guys (and I don’t blame you) but friends burning with envy is a good thing. Believe it.

If you want something simple but special to finish off your V-day, go to the store and buy a cute container (shouldn’t be hard to find right now). Buy a roll of sugar cookie dough and some heart-shaped cut outs. Roll the dough out, cut out some heart shapes and stick on the cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheets in the fridge for at least an hour, so the hearts keep their shape when they cook. Let them cool and then decorate as you please. Stick them in the cute container you bought.

But, if you want to bring out the big guns and do more than baking, there are many places that can help.

Whatever you want to cook, there’s probably a video on the Web on how to do it.

My favorite cooking Web site in the world is www.allrecipes.com. There are videos, recipes and tips from real home cooks.  You can click on a recipe and it will have reviews from people who have tried cooking it, and many of them include tweaks and changes. You can learn a lot from the reviews, like good ingredient substitutes or how to make a dish healthier. They have a section of Valentine’s Day recipes here.

Check out www.lookandtaste.com too. They have videos for just about anything you would want to cook. They also have an awesome glossary that will tell you things like what mangoes are used for, and then demonstrate how to cut them in a video.

And if those don’t give you ideas and some help, there are oh-so many more.

Another Web site I really dig these days is Real Simple.  They have everything from food to beauty advice, and clearly, the overall goal is to keep it simple. This site has loads of easy, delicious dishes.

They also have a page here of easy Valentine’s Day ideas, which includes five easy Valentine’s Day desserts. The desserts have basic ingredients you probably already in your kitchen. One is a chocolate panini recipe which literally needs two ingredients: chocolate and bread. Honestly, there’s no downside to that.

Valentine’s Day — despite its overall lameness in your eyes — truly has little to do with how much money you spend (OK, some of you high super high-maintenance girls, and that’s a you problem. Get a girl who is more into you than sparkly jewelry). If it even looks like you thought ahead and did something that’s meaningful to her, you’ve done your job.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year

Sunday. You know what it is.

An epic day of awesomeness that combines the two things we hold most dear at the Concession Stand: (in no particular order) food and sports. Also known as the Super Bowl.

The game itself rarely gets me pumped up. Being from Los Angeles, I am a NFL orphan. My football fan life has been spent voting for specific players more so than teams. Maybe that sounds lame to you, but what else am I supposed to do, vote for the Raiders or Rams? Please don’t make me.

This is where my brand of NFL fandom sort of falls into a crisis. Guess which two NFL players I enjoy watching above almost any other?

That would be Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, the two quarterbacks who will be facing off on Sunday. I’ve followed their careers since they were at Tennessee and Purdue, respectively.

Am I excited for Sunday? Oh. Yes.

While I am still deciding who to actually root for in this game, I did make my food choice between the two cities this week, and that winner is New Orleans.

No offense Indianapolis. It’s not you. It’s just that New Orleans food is so unique. And so… tasty.

I tried my hand at jambalaya this week, and consulted the recipe of the Commissioner; the Tailgating Commissioner, that is (and really, what other commissioner matters?). Joe Cahn has traveled all over the country in his RV, checking out how every corner of the country tailgates. He also happens to be tailgating in Miami this weekend, where the big game will be.

Cahn was kind enough to let me interview him a few weeks ago (you can read the post here) and one of the recipe suggestions he had was for his jambalaya. He’s from New Orleans, so you know he’s not messing around when it comes to jambalaya.

He said this recipe is interchangeable with just about any meat or seafood you want to use, but I stuck with chicken and sausage. You toss it all in one pot and let it go. For someone whose cooking skills are still a work in progress, that fact is much appreciated.

The recipe: (you can see the jambalaya recipe here, or the rest of Cahn’s tailgating recipes here)

Joe’s Jambalaya

Servings: 12-15

1/4 cup vegetable oil 5 cups chicken stock or water flavored with chicken bouillon

1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 tbs. minced garlic
salt and ground black pepper 4 cups long grain rice
1 ½ lbs. sausage cut in ¼-inch slices 2 tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet (browning agent)
4 cups chopped onions 2 tbsp. seasoning salt
2 cups chopped celery 2 cups chopped green onions
2 cups chopped green bell pepper

After cooking the chicken and sausage for a few minutes you remove them and start going on the onions, green bell peppers, garlic and celery in the same pot.

At least, you would have the celery if you liked celery. I don’t, and neither does anyone else in my family. If you’re from New Orleans, I’m sorry for breaking up the trinity there. My personal theory on celery is: if peanut butter can’t even improve the way you taste, you aren’t worth my time.

Ahem, but my celery issues aren’t important. Let’s keep going.

Once the peppers and onions soften, you toss in the chicken broth, the chicken and sausage, seasoning salt, and for red jambalaya, paprika.

Bring it to a boil, and toss in the rice. Bring it to a boil again, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir it well, re-cover and simmer for 15-20 more minutes, or until the rice is tender.

Then, you have pot of meaty, flavorful deliciousness that will feed a ton of people comfortably, and you don’t have to put a whole lot of work into it.

If it’s a food competition, my pick is New Orleans. If it’s a football competition, I’m going with the Colts, 31-24.

Happy Super Bowl everyone!

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Over the river and through the woods...

A couple of years ago, while a friend was over at my parents’ house with me, he grabbed some candy out of one of our candy bowls. Yes, one of our candy bowls.

“I don’t know anyone else who has bowls of candy out at their house,” he said.

I was in shock. I would even go as far as saying I was flabbergasted. Yes, I was. Flabbergasted.

“What?!” I said. “I know lots of people that do.”

After some thought on the subject, I realized the list of people I knew that had bowls of candy at their house looked like this:

1. My grandma

2. My mom

3. My aunts

It honestly never occurred to me that this might not be the norm. I thought it was just something everyone did, but really, it’s just a result of my Grandma’s sweet tooth, which rivals just about anyone else’s in human history. Which apparently, is genetic.

Today, at the last minute, I hopped in my car and drove out to where my grandparents live, which is a little over an hour from me. I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I’d like. They are two of my favorite people in the world and whenever I go, I basically eat and laugh at their funny stories.

What’s better than eating and laughing? Nothing, except eating and laughing with my grandparents.

Here is what I found upon arrival at their house today (in addition to the photo at the top of this post):

I try to eat healthy, I really do.

Once I step into Grandma’s house though, my self control, my rules, my waistline, all of it goes flying out the window.

My grandpa picked up TWO boxes of See's Candies earlier in the week, each weighing more than a pound.

My grandpa told me, “I asked grandma if I could try one of hers” (this is her box):

“She said, ‘well, I’ll trade you.’”

This is my grandpa’s box:

Within two hours of being here, I’d eaten fresh tamales, peanut M & Ms, and one piece from each of their See's boxes.

But that’s the beauty of going to Grandma’s house.

The rules are different. My Grandma would be the first to tell you.

And Grandma's rules are the only rules I care about.

Especially this rule, expressed eloquently by my cousin last year when she was in fifth grade.

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Taste of the Town: Vancouver

  Gnocchi at Amarcord, an Italian restaurant in Yaletown. Photo courtesy of Geoff Peters.

My mom always calls me a planner.

While most of my family is perfectly happy to make things up as we go, that makes me want to run around and scream. I like to have a plan. You know, for like, everything.

This includes my restaurant choices when I’m in an unfamiliar area. When there’s no plan in place (NOOOO!)  we invariably end up at some boring fast food  becarestaurant use no one can agree on what to eat.

I don't want this to happen to you. So, if you are heading to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics that begin Feb. 12, I want to make sure you know your food options before you get there. That way, I won't have to worry about you not having a plan.

It's a sickness. I know.

Now, seeing as I have never had the pleasure of visiting Vancouver myself, I enlisted some help. Geoff Peters runs an awesome food blog on the Vancouver restaurant scene, called http://www.dineouthere.com/restaurants/ which also has fantastic photography (you already saw one at the top of the post, and there's more to follow).

Geoff says if you are staying near all the Olympic action, you won’t have to look far for some incredible restaurants. There are two “outdoor celebration sites” (as deemed by the City of Vancouver) for the Olympics, Livecity Yaletown and Livecity Downtown. We are going to be focusing on the Yaletown area. Geoff said all of his suggestions are within a 10 minute walk of Livecity Yaletown.

So, when you hit that point when you need to stop your “outdoor celebrating” and get your grub on here are some ideas. If you want more info, check out Geoff’s blog. All photos in this post are courtesy of Geoff Peters.

Hamilton Street Grill (1009 Hamilton Street): You can order the traditional steakhouse food at this spot, like steak and salmon. But the item Geoff mentioned that stuck out to me was the Lamb Burger with curly fries. Check out Geoff’s review of Hamilton Street Grill here.

 

Capones (1141 Hamilton Street) : This jazz club has everything from New York-style gourmet pizza to pastas to beef tenderloin to halibut. Bonus: there’s live jazz every night.

Urban Thai Bistro (1119 Hamilton Street): If you are jonesing for authentic and affordable Thai food, check this place out. Read Geoff’s review here.

Amarcord (104- 1168 Hamilton Street) Geoff calls this spot “truly great and unpretentious Italian food.” He also suggests you try the Gnocchi, which he calls “mouthwatering.” You can read Geoff’s review here, if for some reason you need more convincing to visit this restaurant.

There are also several chain restaurants in the area that Geoff suggests:

 Milestones: They serve salads, pastas, steaks and have several locations around Vancouver.

Earls: This spot serves burgers, pasta, pizza among many other things and there also several locations in the area.

Cactus Club Café: This restaurant serves salads, steaks, sandwiches and also has several locations.

Keg Steakhouse: I think the name is pretty self-explanatory. Check out their website for locations and more information.

Thanks for your help Geoff! And, for any of you lucky enough to be headed to Vancouver for the Olympics (or for any reason, really) eat well. By the sounds of it, that shouldn’t be too hard.

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Getting started...

Why I didn’t think of this sooner, I’ll never know.

Basically, I like two things (outside of my boyfriend, my family and the Arizona Wildcats): sports and food.

I read/write/watch/listen to an absurd amount about both. I watch sports and cooking shows on TV and that’s about it. I download sports podcasts and food show podcasts. And, uh, I won’t go too into depth about how much food I actually consume on a daily basis. No need to scare people off right at the start.

So, here I am, starting a blog where food and sports will co-exist quite happily. It’s as the world should be, really. One of my favorite quotes was said by a football player in an interview with Sports Illustrated some years ago: “Food is my favorite food.” Truer words were never spoken.

I plan on covering the two from any and every angle possible. Nutrition, fitness (I do NOT claim to be an expert in either, as my thighs will attest), cooking, Q & As with people in the know, and rating stadium food (also known as CONCESSIONS! Are you rolling with me here?)

Sports and food always say a lot about a culture. I’m fascinated by different cultures and how they affect our decisions and our lifestyles. I think sports and food can tell you more about a culture over just about anything else.

I’m definitely not vegetarian, definitely not vegan, and definitely not a health nut. I simply love In-N-Out too much. But I do try to eat healthy as much as possible; I just fail miserably from time to time. If there weren’t such a thing as chocolate chip cookies, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

I’m looking forward to all that I’m going to learn and all that I can share with anyone who stumbles upon this blog.

Oh and P.S. Be patient with my photography skills. I’m hoping they will become photography SKILLZ, but I have a long way to go.

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