Shark Week!

I love Shark Week!  It's pretty much the best week of the year.  A whole week of awesome Shark Stuff plus it usually falls on the week of my birthday!  This year I decided to have a Shark Week premiere party.  We got to not only watch the premiere of the Shark Week programming but also enjoy foods fit for a King Shark.  I served two types of seafood sliders, cupcakes and drinks with shark cubes. 

First up were the Parmesan Fish Sliders with Basil Aioli.  I chose to make these with a white fish (talapia) that I finely chopped.  To the fish mixture I added a mix of italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh grated parmesan cheese and let it marinate for a few hours. I then added a bit of egg mixture and a few tablespoons of italian breadcrumb mix to help bind everything together and formed patties.  After cooking the patties in a frying pan with a bit of vegetable oil I served them on a mix of potato rolls and sesame seed rolls.  I topped them off with a basic basil aioli and a basil leaf.  Since, I love a variety of flavors when I'm eating I decided to make a second slider as well.  For the second slider I made a Teriyaki Shrimp slider with a spicy mayo.  I made this very similarly to how I made the first slider.  

I replaced the talapia with shrimp, which I seasoned with a store bought sweet teriyaki sauce.  Once again I added a bit of egg as a binder and some breadcrumbs to make the sliders a bit less dense.  For the breadcrumbs in these sliders I chose to use a panko breadcrumb as opposed to the traditional italian breadcrumb.  I topped these off with a spicy mayo sauce and a splash of the honey teriyaki marinade to keep things on the cool/sweet side.  These sliders were by far the hit at the party over the italian persuasion fish sliders.  In terms of construction they were much more difficult than the fish sliders though.  The shrimp was definitely less moist than the fish so the fine chop that I gave them didn't produce patties that were as well formed as the fish patties, they were much more crumbly.  Next time, I will definitely run the shrimp through a food processor to get more of a ground shrimp texture. 

Since you can't have dinner without dessert I also served some Shark Themed cupcakes.  I made these the day before the party and just topped them off with the Shark fins right as my guest were walking in the door!  The cupcakes are a pretty basic lemon cake recipe-- I injected some raspberry preserves in the center with a piping bag, for a nice surprise.  I topped the cupcakes with a blue raspberry marshmallow frosting.  I had some awesome marshmallow frosting on a wedding cupcake a few weeks ago and I wanted to try to recreate this on these cupcakes.  The shark fins were made of a basic marshmallow fondant that I dyed a gray/black color with food coloring.  

I didn't use a recipe for the sliders, I just made one up as I went along.  Since they were such a hit the next time I make them I will write everything down and post it.  The cupcakes were just a standard lemon cake recipe.  The marshmallow frosting which turned out really light and fluffy I made by using a basic butter cream frosting to which I added a teaspoon of raspberry extract and 8 ounces of marshmallow fluff.  I had a million bags of marshmallows at home so I had tried to make my own marshmallow fluff but I was really unsuccessful at this, I ended up running out to the store and getting "real" fluff.  I have 1/2 a container of fluff left so I am definitly seeing more marshmellow frosted cupcakes in my future! 

Number 1

A couple years ago I picked up this silly saying about looking out for number one, ie yourself, as time has gone by I have taken this to heart. I wish I remembered where I heard this from or why it stuck as well as it did (if someone does remember, remind me!). Over the years (half in earnest and half in jest) I have said "You gotta look out for number one" in response to a lot of things: getting out of things I didn't want to do, making sure my young nieces remembered that life was not all about making other people happy, working out when I should be doing something of more utility (like work, laundry, spending time with my family), and million other things... Most of my friends and family know that I won't do things just because you are supposed to or out of obligation, so they don't even bother trying to wear me down about certain things because they know it just won't happen. (The only exception to the rule is my Mom, if she says it, it pretty much goes)

A few days ago, I heard about something that took place while I was in India and I thought it was pretty callous. It's not something really worth making a big deal of, because I am sure it won't end up affecting my life in the long run, but it certainly was something that left me speechless for a minute or two (and I usually ALWAYS have something to say). When I finally did formulate a thought, I couldn't help but think "The girl took lookin' out for number one pretty effin' seriously."

I am issuing an official amendment to the number one rule for myself: When looking out for number one make sure you are not mauling down numbers two through 25ish (or even running over one of their pinky toes a little bit).

Cool songs about number one.

Goldfrapp - Number One

Ms. John Soda - No. 1

Also, it's good to be home again, even if it is just for a week. :-)

Thanksgiving/Halloween

Everyone loves Halloween.  How could you not love halloween?  You get to dress up as whatever you heart desires, get into all sorts of trouble, and shriek wildly pretty much anytime anyone walks by.   Unfortunately, halloween is  not a holiday that is celebrated in India.  This was very sad for me.  (I even brought Halloween cards with me from the United States to give to all the new and awesome friends I was planning on making in India...)  

Since I missed it I am planning on making it up to myself and to all of you who didn't get to have as awesome of a Halloween because I was not around.  Halloween this year is a re-do, so everyone get ready for... Hallowgiving! Yup, you heard it.  I will be dressing up for Thanksgiving.  

My costume ideas so far are:   

Pumpkin, both Halloween and Thanksgiving themed 
Turkey, will be fun for all the kiddies 
Bumble bee, only cos that's what I wanted to be for Halloween   

I am open to suggestions if any one has any better ideas.   

I almost forgot the most important news: I will be home for the week of Thanksgiving, I get in to Dulles, Friday, November 20th at 2:30PM. 

*The inflatable turkey above was in a care package from some of my co-workers in Chicago. Thanks Scott, Sam and Allison!!!

Kelly Kapoor and The Office

I love "The Office," everyone in their right mind does, and I love Kelly from "The Office."

Charles Miner: Okay, I'm gonna call you "Kapoor", and you, "Hannon."

Kelly Erin Hannon: If we're changing names, can I be Erin? It's my middle name.

Charles Miner: Erin? Okay, that's... very pretty.

Kelly Kapoor: Well, you know what my name is? Rajanigandha, and I hate it. I hate it!

[runs out of Charles' office]

Kevin Malone: I thought Rajanigandha was a boy's name

What's not to love?  Not only do I love Kelly who is the perfect balance of self-involved and self-deprecation, I also love Mindy Kaling, who plays Kelly on "The Office."  I decided I loved her the first time I read her blog http://mindyephron.blogspot.com/ where she blogs about things she bought that she loves!  (The only irritating thing about the blog is that she stopped updating)  

Not many of you know this but... I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who is friends with Mindy.  Ok, so I don't really know what this chain is but I am pretty confident that it exists.  But, I am friends with someone who met Mindy (once) and she laughed at a joke he made and said he was funny.  He in turn thinks I am funny so I am sure if Mindy and I ever met she would think I was funny and we would hit it off and become like those inseparable best friends that play every day after school...er... I mean work, right?  Right?  

So why the tirade about how much I love Kelly and Mindy, well I just saw this: 

http://www.subtlesexuality.com/  

The music video is hilarious and awesome and I want this to spread like a case of crabs at MTVs spring break.   Also, I just saw the episode where Pam and Jim get married on the office and it was NON-STOP hilarity.  If you don't watch the office you should start stat um.  

I wish my work day was like a day at "The Office," even if it meant I had to move to Scranton, PA. 

The best 5K I ever spent

Ever wonder why why you see pictures of your friends and family on vacation in Mumbai they are looking a hot mess? Ever wonder why pretty much everyone, celebrities aside, are looking a hot mess in Mumbai? Well I have an answer for inquiring minds... even in the dead of what they would call "winter" here the high is at least 90 degrees and the humidity is off the charts. Ladies, its hard to look cute when you have to hose yourself down every time you get somewhere and you show up sportin' a hairstyle that looks like someones hand me down afro wig from a bad 70s costume party.

Most of you have seen my pictures on facebook and you must be thinking-- But despite the elements I am looking as cute as ever! I know I am pretty perfect, but I happened to have made one of the best decisions of my life, pretty unwittingly, before I left the US-- I got a super straight perm from Hair Mates in New York city. For around 500 bucks and 4 hours of my time I get to enjoy being able to have some of the best hair in Mumbai everyday. I am able to wash and brush my hair and walk out the door everyday. By the time I get to work my hair is pretty much dry due to the intense heat (even at 8:30 am).

For everyone out there that is tired of fighting with a blow dryer and flat iron every morning, I recommend you invest a few bucks and a few hours and get your hair permanently straightened at Hair Mates. The service is great there and the 500 covered, straightening and a hair cut. Hit the ATM first though, because the only take cash, don't hate though because C.R.E.A.M. too.

So that's 500 bucks, what about the other 4.5K you ask? I had LASIK at TLC Laser Eye Centers a mere 1 week and 3 days before I hopped on a flight to Mumbai. Everyone always raves about the improved quality of life they have after LASIK and I am jumping on that band wagon! Giddy up! I knew it would be great, but I never imagined it would be this great. I have perfect vision and I never have to worry about lost contacts, dust and dirt making my contacts uncomfortable to wear, etc. I have perfect vision from the time I get up until the time I hit the hay. I even have perfect, worry free vision in the pool where I will be tomorrow, with a stack of US Weekly's received via fed-ex today! (Thanks Gupi, love you girl!)