Today's Treat: Petit Fours

I got these tiny treats at AJ's at La Encantada in Tucson. I think the one on the left is a chicken.

Bangers and Mash

British food Saturday! There's something very comforting about this little tradition I've created for myself. There won't be any new episodes of Doctor Who until next year but BBC America is airing the new season of Being Human so I still get my Brit show fix.

Anyway, on to the food. I made Bangers & Mash this evening and it turned out quite lovely. Bangers & Mash is probably my favorite gastro-pub dish, and the simple name says it all: Bangers (sausages) over a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy.


I didn't do anything fancy, I even used a mix packet to make my gravy. I baked the pork sausages in the oven (15 min at 450) while I mashed up the potatoes with milk and butter. Everything got thrown together in a baking dish and then placed in the oven for an additional 10 min. (This last part isn't even necessary, I just wanted the sausage juices to run over the potatoes.)

Very simple, very delicious. Throw in some carrots and peas and you've got a meal!

F'Real

My friend Eboni and I were at Circle K last night when we spotted this concoction. For only $2.49 you can have an actual milkshake to pair with that day-old hot dog and nacho cheese. There was a large variety of flavors but the milkshake machine was kind of questionable. I'll forgo this sweetness for a time when I'm feeling more adventurous.

M&Ms

Brown Orange Yellow Tan Green.

When I was a kid M&Ms matched the interior of my house (built circa '75). And I liked it that way.

I grew up during the time period when Red was removed because of the Amaranth scare. (Amaranth was found to be a carcinogen, although according to Wikipedia it was never actually used in red M&Ms.) I remember a line in Peggy Sue Got Married when Kathleen Turner goes back in time and tells someone to "save the red ones" and my mom explained to me that M&Ms used to have Red and Purple. I guess when Red was reintroduced in the mid 80s it was briefly exciting. That is, until I realized I didn't like red. Once Tan was replaced by Blue it was all over. Who did M&M think they were? Skittles?

Having said all that, I do remember a trip to the FAO Schwartz candy department that ended with me purchasing about 2 lbs. worth of Black and Periwinkle M&Ms, and the subsequent chocolate binge that followed. So, like they say, color really doesn't matter.

Blender Is My Friend

Well it's not Saturday but nevertheless I found myself consumed by British television all night. I got a sweets craving around 9pm and had it in my head I was going to make some kind of British pudding. Unfortunately my kitchen cupboard let me down once again and I was lacking some crucial ingredients.

This was probably for the best because I also wanted to use up some peanut butter I'd had sitting around for awhile and I couldn't find a single bread pudding recipe that had peanut butter in it. Am I crazy? I think it'd be delicious addition.

Anyway, while I was looking up recipes I noticed a link for a chocolate peanut butter milkshake. I was sold. My blender had been tucked away in my cupboard all year and it was time for a reunion. The milkshake turned out beautifully, and really hit the spot.

1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
2 T cocoa
2 T peanut butter

(This makes enough for about two milkshakes. I also added some extra peanut butter.)

Groupon.com

Just a quick note about my new favorite website... Groupon.com offers daily coupons for restaurants and attractions in your area. I don't mean to sound like an advertisement, but they usually offer pretty good deals. (Nothing gimmicky like, "free appetizer when you buy two meals." More like, 60% entire cost of meal.)

I've been pinching my pennies lately so when I saw today's deal I flipped out: $30 worth of groceries for $15 at 17th St. Market. Holy cow! 50% off at my corner market? Yes, please.

I highly recommend this site, and you can use me as a reference:

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu4813363