Nikki Murray » Cooking

Italian Feast

Nikki Murray — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:46:37 +0000

Mom was gracious enough to bake a large Italian feast for our large non-Italian family. Even with 8 people here, we had more leftovers than we knew what to do with. On the menu: baked rigatoni, lasagna, garlic bread, sausages and sautéed bell peppers.

Also, a few bokeh pictures thrown in for good measure… (I was playing with new camera toys while the delicious food was being prepared.)

Father’s Day cupcakes

Nikki Murray — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:00:55 +0000

This Sunday required a special batch of cupcakes for the super awesome dad I happen to love and live with. For the batter, I used traditional chocolate cake batter, substituting coffee for the required amount of water. Half the cupcakes had chocolate espresso frosting (chocolate frosting mixed with about 3 tablespoons of espresso – ZING!) and topped with fresh coffee beans. The other half had cream cheese frosting, a favorite in the house, sprinkled with espresso grounds. The results were delicious.

Wednesday cupcakes

Nikki Murray — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:18:45 +0000

Because cupcakes aren’t just for the weekends…

Sunday cupcakes

Nikki Murray — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 15:09:47 +0000

Sometimes I cook stuff

Nikki Murray — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:14:15 +0000

Typically, I hate cooking. It’s not that I don’t know how- it’s that normally I just don’t care. However, the fact that I don’t cook regularly makes it more appreciated when I actually do. (Go me!) Here’s what I’ve been up to the last few days:

homemade tortilla chips - I chose to make these on the hottest day of the summer

I was sweaty by the time I was finished, but they were worth it

applefuckingdelicious - an apple cobbler mistake that went SO right

shredded chicken mixed with cheese and homemade enchilada sauce

first layer of rolled enchiladas - I always need at least two layers

and this is why I need two layers - they disappear FAST

Lunch: fried rice

Nikki Murray — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:21:06 +0000

It took multiple attempts to come up with a fried rice recipe that I am really fond of. The magic ingredient that really makes it delicious is the Dynasty oyster sauce. I ran out a few weeks ago and foolishly bought a substitute (Sun Luck) when I found my local Kroger no longer stocked the Dynasty brand. The flavor just wasn’t the same, so I ordered some bottles of Dynasty online. They arrived yesterday, just in time, as the eldest of our brood was strongly requesting it.

garlic and onion powder, Jane's mixed up salt, soy sauce, and Dynasty oyster sauce

double the cookers, double the rice

sesame oil for the wok

light swirl is the soy sauce, dark swirl is the oyster sauce

I usually add in the scrambled eggs near the end

this was a full dish about five minutes prior to this photo