Hot As Shit Chipotle and Biscuit Monkey Bread

I love Star Wars and all things Star Wars related...well, mostly.  I have no time for Jar Jar Binks and I make myself tolerate the Ewoks.  Anyway, I found these two things last night.

Source

On Wednesday, I made Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup.  I learned something about chipotles in adobo sauce…if not prepared properly, they are freaking hot.  The recipe called for 2 to 4 chipotles in adobo depending on how hot you like it.  I like things hot, I put in three.  I pulled them out of the can, chopped them up and threw them in the soup.  It should have been something of a clue to me when all the dogs starting sneezing.  Then I started sneezing and so did Tiffany.  The air was thick with chipotle and I didn’t even realize it.  Once the vegetables and chipotle were done simmering and I put them in the food processor, the sneezing escalated and the eye-watering began.  Still no clue…I was happily making my soup and sipping my cocktail.  Once it was finished, I took Tiffany a bowl.  I then went back to the kitchen to get me a bowl.  While in the kitchen, I heard some coughing and the sounds of pain.  I ran back in the living room.  Tiffany’s face was red and she was staring wide-eyed at her soup bowl.  “What?” I said.  She replied, “This shit is hot!”  I went and got my bowl and tried it.  It was like I put the juice of 700 habanero peppers in my mouth.  There was absolutely no hint of the sweet potato, nutmeg or cinnamon in the soup, it was just straight up chipotle brew.  Turns out, I didn’t cut the peppers correctly.  I had never used them in the can like that…now I know.  Chipotle Usage 101 course = complete.

I made this recipe for breakfast.  It was so so good.  Word of warning:  when you make this you’ll need to go back to bed and take a mid-morning nap.  Enjoy!

Grands!® Cinnamon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake (http://www.bettycrocker.com)

Ingredients

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cans Pillsbury Grands Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1 cup packed brown sugar

¾ cup butter or margarine, melted

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with shortening or cooking spray.  In large food-storage plastic bag, mix granulated sugar and cinnamon.  Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each into quarters.  Shake in bag to coat.  Arrange in pan.  In small bowl, mix brown sugar and butter; pour over biscuit pieces.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center.  Cool in pan 10 minutes.  Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve.  Serve warm.

Do or Do Nots of Dragon*Con 2011

Spending the day at Dragon*Con can only be summed up through pictures.  Here is my guide to the DO's and DON'T's of Dragon*Con!

DO

DO NOT

DO NOT

DO

DO

DO NOT...she was beyond annoying

Left = DO and Right = DO NOT

DUH...DO

Carrot head...I'm going to go with DO

DO NOT

DO!!!!

White-haired Jedi = DO NOT

Left = DO NOT and Right = DO

For the love of God...DO NOT

DO

DO

DO NOT

DO NOT

I had my friend David pose for a fake picture...the guy in the cape and tie staring at our fake picture was only wearing that and nothing else...DO NOT

DO

DO NOT

DO

DO NOT

DO

DO

Couple on the left = DO NOT

DO NOT

DO

DO

DO!!!

DO NOT

DO

Brats in Beer, Cowboy Beans and the Black Bart

Me = meeting her on Sunday

Labor Day means cookouts, start of college football and Dragon*Con.  I’ll spend this afternoon watching football and tomorrow at the mother ship of nerd gatherings, Dragon*Con.  I’m super excited because one thing I am, for sure, is a nerd.  I have a massive Star Wars toy collection plus a tattoo of R2D2 on my leg.  I fly my nerd flag daily.  This year Carrie Fisher will be there.  I plan to meet her and I dream about spending happy hour with her.  I'm such a nerd that I plan to have her sign a carded vintage toy AND a copy of Postcards from the Edge. Trust I will take tons of pictures and share them here tomorrow.  As if all that weren’t enough, I plan to cookout on Monday evening.  This is what is on the menu.  Happy Labor Day and May the Force Be With You.

I will drink Black Barts while I make dinner and along with the meal.  A Black Bart is equal parts stout and cola.

Brats in Beer (http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMeals.do)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
4 bratwurst links
2 cups frozen pepper stir-fry (contains sliced green/red/yellow peppers and onions)
1 (8-ounce) bottle light beer
1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
4 Bakery hoagie rolls

Preparation
Preheat large saucepan on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.  Add butter and swirl to coat. Add bratwurst, cover and cook 5 minutes, turning halfway through cook time.  Add pepper stir-fry, beer and steak seasoning. Stir and cook 10 minutes, or until liquid is mostly absorbed, stirring occasionally.  Slice rolls lengthwise, leaving half inch to hold top and bottom slices together.  Place 1 bratwurst on each bun and divide stir-fry mixture between each serving. Serve.

Cowboy Beans  (http://www.publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMeals.do)

Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) can pork and beans
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1/4 cup hickory-smoke flavored barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon mustard
2 tablespoons cooked, crumbled bacon

Preparation

Open both cans of beans, draining black beans only.  Place in saucepan: pork and beans, black beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard and bacon. Stir and cook on medium 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve.

Planking on the Dark Side

Sadly, after the second blowing up of the Death Star things have been slow on the Dark Side of the Force. I discovered these images of planking and owling.  Really unfortunate, for such a formerly scary imperial power to be engaging in such trendy, stupid behavior. 

Planking

Owling

Gorilla Bread and Obsessive Posting

I often wonder if I’m posting on this blog too much.  Chances are the answer is yes.  However, I made a goal when I started this to post everyday for a year.  I’m big on goals.  It feels good when you complete them.  I’m on post #143 now.  I haven’t missed a day.  I was determined to try to be an unemployed overachiever.  I was a high achiever as a kid, too.  My sister and I decided, one time, to get in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing with our Barbie Dolls for the longest consecutive amount of time.  She lasted an hour and then said, “This is stupid, I’m going to watch TV.”  I continued to play.  I didn’t eat lunch.  I was a dictator.  The Barbie dolls got no breaks.  Barbie, Wonder Woman, Ken, intermittent Star Wars figures and the Sunshine Family were exhausted.  My hands were cramping from posing them throughout their giant Barbie house (really more of a commune or like the Manson Family at Spahn Ranch because there were a lot of them living them).  My sister breezed through a few times…rolling her eyes, eating cookies and calling me bonkers.  But on, I played.  It was a goal, damnit.  My mom finally ended it…it was time for dinner.  It had been the longest three hours of my life.

So I’ll keep posting.  It’s my goal.  I’m obsessive about goals.  I’m also obsessive about recipes.  I found this one yesterday and honestly can’t stop thinking about it. 

Gorilla Bread (from Paula Deen)

Ingredients

½ cup granulated sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1 stick of butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

8 oz package of cream cheese

2 twelve oz cans of refrigerated biscuits

1 ½ cups of chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon.  In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside.  Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes.  Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with ½ teaspoon of cinnamon sugar.  Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese.  Sprinkle ½ cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan.  Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on ½ cup of nuts.  Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of nuts.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Place on plate on top and invert.

This is one of my favorite post a day sites, Stormtroopers 365.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from this site.