Food, Fashion & Movies

Ok so what goes together better than getting dressed & going out for dinner & a movie? How about SoHo Meets SoLo fashion with dinner & a movie! Well, we asked, you want it, so here's your first dose of what we used to do - for those of you who weren't around back then, get ready! For those of you who were, you know what to expect! So either way, enjoy the fun!

Alrighty, so first up, we have fashion from Gap Spring 2009. There was a runway show back in September 2008 & here are a few photos of what the models were wearing.


The first, I think, is pretty cute. I'm really into big purses so this ensemble caught my eye. I'm definitely a T-shirt kinda' girl, so this exudes with comfort for me! The second one is pretty neat for a guy. If my guy wore Gap, this would be something I'd buy! Casual & comfy but could still be worn out to dinner! Now the 3rd pic is just NICE =D Moving right along! The last one is just plain wrong on so many levels, not to mention the girl looks like a mannequin! Is that a mannequin? Now you see why I'm puzzled :|

Ok so you're all dressed & ready to go out for some fun, so off to the movies! You get to the theatre but decide "Monsters VS. Aliens" (I love Kiefer but I'll wait for the DVD) isn't exactly what you want to watch so you & your GAP fashion BF hike over to the video store for a night in - you can get dressed up to sit on the couch, what!



My new favorite movie is "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith & Rosario Dawson! OMG talk about the perfect date movie... although I watched it while someone sat next to me & SNORED!!! Anyhoot, Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (2006, Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness) stars as Ben Thomas, a man at a crossroads. He embarks on a journey to help change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance in life. But when he opens his heart to a beautiful woman who needs his help, he risks everything he's planned for one last chance at love. From the director of The Pursuit of Happyness comes this "life changing motion picture you will not easily forget" - Pete Hammond, HOLLYWOOD.COM.


This was an absolutely amazing movie. I'm not a cry baby or anything (well, yes I am) but I cried a good bit during this movie. It's a very sweet movie. This man decides he's going to do all he can to help others then makes the ultimate sacrifice out of love. It's just a great movie, really. So if you haven't seen it, get it & watch it! If you have seen it, get it & watch it again! Here's a little clip to get your interested =)



Alright, the movie's all done & you're both starved. "Supper" time - shut up; I'm from the country!

If you guys don't already know, I love food! I love to eat & I enjoy cooking things that I really, really like. Two of my favorite foods are pan seared chicken & shrimp scampi, so anytime I can eat them together, I'm all for it! So with that, I bring one of my favorite dishes with two of my favorite foods! I usually it this with a baked potato, new potatoes or a salad, but you can also try it with pasta or rice.



Ingredients:

* 2 to 3 boneless chicken breast halves or tenders, about 1 pound
* 1 pound large shrimp
* 6 tablespoons butter
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 4 medium cloves garlic, smashed and minced
* 1/4 cup of chopped green onions
* 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning or seasoned salt blend

Preparation:
Lightly pound chicken between sheets of plastic wrap to an even thickness. Cut in strips about 1-inch wide.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with olive oil. Add garlic, green onions, parsley, salt, and seasoning. Heat over medium low heat and add the chicken and shrimp. Cook the shrimp and chicken mixture, stirring, for about 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. If shrimp are small, add them in a few minutes after adding chicken. Serve with potatoes, pasta, rice or salad. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
Serves 4 to 6.

MMM... did you make that? 8/31

This week is ALL ABOUT PRISON BREAK!! Even our recipe of the week has to do with Prison Break. HOW? Well, remember back during the first season when Linc was going to be given his last meal before they put him on the electric chair? Remember what he wanted his last meal to be?...That's right!!! Blueberry pancakes!!! why blueberry pancakes? Because that's what he used to make with his son LJ when LJ was a little kid. They used to make blueberry pancakes together for breakfast every weekend!!! I am not going to lie, that scene made me cry...BIG TIME!!! ok well here is our blueberry pancake recipe!!! ENJOY!!! (If you don't want to go through the hassle, you can just use your already made pancake mix and throw in some blueberries)

Use fresh or frozen blueberries in this pancake recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teasooon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen thawed blueberries, rinsed

Preparation:

In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; set aside.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Beat egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl; add milk and melted butter. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients; mix until batter is smooth and stir in blueberries. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake on hot greased griddle.
Makes 12 pancakes.

MMM... did you make that? 8/24

SoLo's Cre-Jun Gumbo

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned gumbo & promised a recipe soon! Well, soon is today LOL! Gumbo is one of those traditional South Louisiana recipes that you just can't get anywhere else! I know you can find recipes all over the place but if it doesn't come from someone whose lived here all their life, it ain't right (sorry to the rest of Louisiana, the other49 states & beyond)! Also, if anyone tries to give you a recipe with tomato sauce in it, PLEASE RUN AWAY AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!! And gumbo is NOT just for cold weather, either! No ma'am (or sir)! I've cooked it twice this summer & my mom is trying to get me cook some for her birthday on September 3!

Now before we get to the recipe, I need to give you a little history lesson (far from boring, I promise)! There are two different types of gumbo: Cajun (chicken & sausage) and Creole (seafood). Cajun people are the folks who live in what we call "Acadiana" (not necessarily just that parish). Lafayette, LA is considered to be the largest Cajun city! Creole people are primarily in & around New Orleans, LA. In the Creole part of the state, seafood was virtully unlimited because of their access to the Spillway! On the other hand, in Cajun-land, their primary resource was things like chicken & sausage, thus the difference in the gumbo ingredients! Cool right? Yeah I know! BUT what's even cooler is yours truly has adopted both methods of cooking a delicious dish by combining them! The end result - "Cre-Jun" - is magnifico!!!!!!!

Anyway, on to the recipe. I'm not gonna say mine is the best in the world, but until I eat some that is better, I'll claim the crown LOL! You gotta' understand: I am VERY picky about food & before I learned how to cook this dish, I would not eat it because it can very easily be cooked the wrong way! "What's the wrong way", you ask? I have no idea because mine always comes out perfect LOL (modest devil, aren't I)!! So if you follow this recipe to the letter, I promise you will NOT go wrong! Enjoy my favorite South Louisiana dish!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE!

Mmm... Did you make that?

One thing that warms my soul is a great slice of sweet potato pie! If you've never had a slice then you've probably never been to South Louisiana or some other southern state! It's one of our favorite desserts & is absolutely wonderful after a nice bowl of gumbo (sorry - gumbo recipe will have to be another day LOL!) So grab you some Cool Whip & enjoy a slice of sweet potato pie with me!

What you'll need:

• 1 large sweet potato (about a pound)
• 1/2 cup of flour - optional
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 2 cups of sugar (or less depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1 Teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (I'll have to hunt you down if you use imitation LOL)
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of softened butter (leave out to get room temp BUT not too soft)
• 2 Pillsbury deep dish 9" pie shells (one would work, but I'll explain the reason for two below)

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Place sweet potato in large pot of water. Be sure to cover the potato completely. Boil for at least an hour or until "fork" tender.

3. Be sure to leave the pie shells out so they are room temperature.

4. When the potato is done boiling, just peel away the skins. I like to pick out the knots & little strings but you don't have to. They won't kill you!

5. Smash the potato with a potato smasher or a fork.

6. Combine potato & butter. Mix until butter is incorporated well. If you don't have a mixer of some kind, you can do this step by hand.

7. Add the 2 eggs & milk. Again, mix well but don't over do it!

8. Here's where you add 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon & nutmeg!

9. Go ahead & taste test now! If it's not as sweet as you'd like, add another 1/4 cup of sugar until it tastes the way you want it to.

10. Here is the optional part with the flour! If the mixture looks rather "soupy" to you, add 1/4 cup of flour. Mix it up & if it's still not the consistency that you'd like, add the other 1/4 cup. You do NOT want this thick now. It will thicken as it bakes & will continue to thicken while it's cooling!

11. Get the cookie sheet I told you about & place one of the pie shells on it; pour in the mixture. You may not be able to get it all in there, but no worries! Just put the rest of it up. It will keep in the frig for a couple of days. Besides after you make this one time, you'll want to make more so just go to the store, grab more ingredients & make another batch using a smaller potato so you can add it to what you already have in the frig LOL!

12. Grab a knife & cut right down the middle of the other pie shell. What you want to do is cut long pieces of the other shell so you can place on top of the pie! It doesn't have to be perfect pieces just as long as you something up there. Now this part is very optional. If you don't plan to do this, then pour half of the pie mixture into one shell & the other half in the other & you got yourself two pies!

13. Place the pie (or pies) in the oven & bake at 350 degrees for about an hour to an hour & 15 minutes. Be sure to check the pie after one hour. You'll want to stick a knife right in the center. If the knife comes out clean (not wet) then you can remove the pie(s) and let it cool. If it's not, let it bake for 5 minutes at a time until the knife does come out clean!

Now I enjoy my pie as is, with no toppings but some people do enjoy it with a dollop of whipped cream on top! If you do, knock yourself out! I promise that you will most definitely enjoy this slice of southern goodness! Until next week, big hugs & lots kisses!

Recipe Credit: SoLo; Photo credit: Grannyloohoo from Oklahoma

MMM... did you make that? 7/13

"Did You Make That?" is SoHo meets SoLo's Recipe section!! YUM YUM!!! SoLo and SoHo's passion for cooking has driven them to create some delicious recipes of their own. Every week, a new recipe will be posted to give our readers a chance to experiece food how SoLo and SoHo see it. We will include some of our own recipes and recipes from you favorite foodnetwork chefs. This is also a great opportunity for you to show off your dish too!!! Just post your recipe and you might be surprised to learn your entry has been chosen as our weekly top pick!!!!! YOU COULD BE OUR FOOD STAR OF THE WEEK!!!

This week's recipe... Citrus Glazed Talapia!!!!!!!!!

Being from the south, catfish is the preferred fish, but I don't care for catfish very much. I love different flavors, so I decided to try this after a good friend told me how good talapia is. Not only is it good, but it's very good for you! It is the leanest of all fish. The meat is flaky & white & just plain good! I usually eat it with a veggie of some kind & potatoes (either baked or mashed)! This is one of those versatile dishes as well! You can use lemon juice, orange juice, sautee it or bake it! I prefer to bake & use orange juice because it's not as tart as lemon juice but hey, either way it's amazing & you'll love it!


Here's what you'll need:

• 6 talapia filets (thawed)
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 cup of white cooking sherry
• 2 tbs of butter (not margarine)
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
• Onion powder
• Parsley flakes
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 9 x 13" glass baking dish
• Small sauce pan
• Basting brush

And the instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
   
2. Add the butter to the sauce pan & melt on a low fire - we don't need this to burn!
   
3. When the butter melts, add seasoning: onion powder, garlic powder, pepper & salt. Sorry guys, but I don't measure this stuff. A rule of thumb would be a 1/2 teaspoon of each, but I do it to taste so use your own judgement! If you like it spicy, by all means, add more pepper! If you like less salt, then don't add it now because you will need to add more to the fish.
   
4. Keep the butter mixture on a low fire while you get the fish ready to go into the oven.
   
5. Spray the glass baking dish with a light coating of cooking spray! I use butter flavor Crisco spray simply because that's what's always in my pantry but there is no rhyme or reason to that theory LOL!
   
6. Lay the filets in the dish (make sure they are not dripping wet & not really dry), take out the brush & brush a little of the butter mixture over the fish. Sprinkle the filets with a little salt!


7. Slide the fish in the oven for about 10 minutes, uncovered.


8. While the fish is in the oven, add the orange juice to the butter mixture, turn it up to medium fire & mix well. If you'd like more glaze, you can add another 1/4 cup of orange juice. Also, you're gonna' put this glaze on & put the fish back in the over later on so if you want it baked in but not so dry, it's a good idea to make a little extra! It won't hurt a thing if you do!


9. Remove the sauce pan from the fire & add the sherry. NEVER add cooking wines over a flame because you could end up with singed eyebrows or worse LOL! Remember, the sherry does contain alcohol.


10. Return the sauce pan to the stove & mix well again! Leave it alone but watch it. It will begin to thicken but you don't want it to stick, so stir it every now & again.


11. After the 10 minutes are up, the alcohol flavor/smell should be just about gone & it should actually look like a glaze now! Take the fish out of the oven & pour the glaze over the fish. You can use the brush again to make sure the glaze is evenly distributed.


12. Sprinkle parsley flakes over the fish & put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. I like the glaze baked in so I leave it closer to 10 minutes but it's up to you. The fish is basically done so no big deal!


13. Take the fish out of the oven, garnish with a few sprigs of parsley & orange slices & you're done!

I'm a huge fan of the baked potato & this fish goes great with one! You can also have it with baked new potatoes or mashed potatoes. Any veggie you want is perfect as well! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo credit: http://www.thefoodpornographer.com/, Recipe credit: SoLo