Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy

LeenaEats
LeenaEats

Leena (Teaches Someone Else to) Cook: Nick’s First Lesson

Leena (Teaches Someone Else to) Cook: Nicks First Lesson

This is Nick and I, circa 1999-ish. I know what you're thinking. I was just as hot in 12th grade as I am today. Who knew?

Meet Nick. I’ve known Nick since my freshman year of high school, when I tripped while jogging and fell on my face in front of the entire gym class. Nick teased me endlessly, and a friendship was formed.

In our 15 years of friendship, we have bonded over many things–marching band, roller blading, and most recently, food. Nick loves it but wants to learn more, and I love it, know a lot, and love to talk. A perfect combo if you ask me.

Recently, Nick asked if I could help him form a weekly dinner plan that he could execute in between attending nursing school and his  day job. His goal? To stop eating frozen pizzas and tv dinners when he is short on time, and to use his few free days to cook more.

Check out the plan I created for him and how well it worked for him (plus food porn) after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

July 26th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | View Comments

Leena Smokes: a Delicious Dry-rubbed Chicken

Leena Smokes: a Delicious Dry rubbed Chicken

My bad-ass smoked dry-rubbed chicken half.

I love smoking meat so much. So little work (especially since 1. I own an electric smoker and 2. my husband LIKES to do it), so much delicious, smoky meat for the effort. Thus far on this blog, you’ve witness me smoke pork shoulder, pork ribs and drums of heaven, all with relative success and deliciousness. Oh, and let’s not forget my epic charcoal-smoked leg of lamb.

So on a recent Sunday, while on the hunt for something to cook for dinner that would provide us with food for a few days, I thought of the humble chicken. I could cut it into halves and slather them in delicious dry rub, then smoke them for three hours or so (for a 3.5 pound chicken). The results would equal some delicious dry-rubbed smoked chicken pieces for dinner, and another half of smoked chicken for us to shred and make into bbq sandwiches, quesadillas, enchildas…mmmm. Done and done.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 31st, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains, Meat, Poultry, Smoking | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Artichoke Risotto with Goat Cheese

Leena Cooks: Artichoke Risotto with Goat Cheese

My artichoke risotto topped with goat cheese and Italian parsley.

Here in California, artichoke season is already in full swing. I love to eat them steamed whole, dipping the leaves in butter with a bit of salt and scraping the soft flesh off with my teeth. If you’re a fan of artichokes, you know they have a short season, and I find it necessary to eat copious amounts of them during that time because they just don’t taste as good out of season. And maybe a slight food addiction that I pass as a career choice.

Read the rest of this entry »

May 10th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains, Risotto | View Comments

Leena (butchers n) Cooks: Drums of Heaven (Andouille-stuffed smoked chicken wings)

Leena (butchers n) Cooks: Drums of Heaven (Andouille stuffed smoked chicken wings)

The lengendary drums of heaven--andouille-stuffed smoked chicken wings.

I have thought about this day for a long time. The first and only time I made drums of heaven was in culinary school. My partner and a bad-ass chef taught me to butcher chicken wings so the bone was completely clean, but the skin and flesh still attached, creating a casing. We filled the chicken wings with homemade andouille sausage, and then smoked those suckers until they were golden brown. I remember they tasted amazing.

Read the rest of this entry »

April 26th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains, Meat, Smoking | View Comments

Leena Cooks: How to make a kick-ass rack of ribs w/ an electric smoker

Leena Cooks: How to make a kick ass rack of ribs w/ an electric smoker

My first two rack of ribs--utter meaty goodness.

I love a nice rack of smoked pork ribs. The way the fat caramelizes into crispy chunks of deliciousness, the way the dry flavors the meat so much, you don’t even need bbq sauce, the way the meat just falls off the bone…and the general laziness that can ensure whilst smoking said ribs with an electric smoker.  Thankfully, Santa Claus knew how I lazy I was and that the electric smoker was more affordable (only $70) and more adapted for my environment.

Santa must know how much I like pork.

Read the rest of this entry »

March 8th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains, Meat, Ribs, Smoking | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Dark Chocolate Pudding with Candied Pistachios

Leena Cooks: Dark Chocolate Pudding with Candied Pistachios
My dark chocolate pudding with candied pistachios. Make someone love you by making them this for Valentine’s Day!

Chocolate pudding does NOT photograph well. I had two different set ups, a layered pudding dish with the pistachios and the spoon you see above, and took around 100 photos, only to have two come out not looking like dog doo on a spoon, to put a finer point on it. But I suffer for you, dear reader. Because I know whether you have a special someone in your life or you’re rocking the single life, you want, nay, NEED you some chocolate.

And not just a stupid little box of chocolates in the shape of a heart, but a rich, thick, hearty chocolate dish that doesn’t just fill your tummy–it damn near gives you a hug.

So let’s hug it out with my Dark Chocolate Pudding and Candied Pistachios.

Read the rest of this entry »

February 12th, 2010
Posted in Appetizers, Leena Cooks, Mains | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Thomas Keller’s Fried Chicken at Thursday Night Smackdown!

Leena Cooks: Thomas Kellers Fried Chicken at Thursday Night Smackdown!
My chicken turned out a bit more brown than Keller’s, but perhaps good old TK just doesn’t like that much brown. Perhaps he is a food racist. Or perhaps a certain bitch that wrote this sucks at deep frying. The world may never know.

Check out this week’s Leena Cooks over at my gal Michelle’s blog, Thursday Night Smackdown. Fried chicken and house fires ensue. Get excited!

~LTG!

***UPDATE***It’s up! Go forth and enjoy my crunchy fried chickenness!

February 1st, 2010
Posted in Gastro Fridays, Leena Cooks, Mains, The Gastronomical Leena | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Beef n Lamb Chipotle Chili & Leena’s Chili Method

Leena Cooks: Beef n Lamb Chipotle Chili & Leenas Chili Method
My beef and lamb chipotle chili

I love making chili. It was the first recipe I really conquored, really understood inside and out. This meant I could experiment with the ingredients and cooking methods without messing up the final result. This meant I was a culinary goddess. A HOT culinary goddess.

Read the rest of this entry »

January 25th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Ghetto McGuyver Cooking cuz Bekins Screwed Me

Leena Cooks: Ghetto McGuyver Cooking cuz Bekins Screwed Me
This chicken is basted with my tears from my failed moved. Thanks, Bekins!

Oh, I loves me some incompetent people. Don’t you? We knew the move had gone too smooth up to that point. We had made a cross-country road trip (with my cat!!) from Chicago to San Francisco with pretty much no issues. We caught up with a slew of good friends, and were able to drive through some gorgeous freaking areas in the great US of A. We had paid a highly reputable moving company, Bekins, a crap ton of money to move our life to San Fran for us. Everything was going swimmingly. Then the driver Bekins hired to bring my life to me got a divorce, and his wife put a hold on his cdl license, making it illegal for him to drive, making it the first of THREE delays on my shipment. That is when the metaphorical crap hit the fan and Leena had to cut a bitch…with her words. Read the rest of this entry »

January 11th, 2010
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | View Comments

Leena Cooks: Thai Shrimp Curry w/ CSA produce!

Leena Cooks: Thai Shrimp Curry w/ CSA produce!
The remains of a most delicious Thai shrimp curry.

I know, I know. I am just as bummed about the death of Michael Jackson as all of you are. The media is already commenting on how much money he left, the custody of his children, but I believe there are more pressing matters at hand. Like wtf ever happened to Bubbles the Chimp?! Who gets custody of that little bundle of diaper-wearing, banana-eating joy? It is almost too much to take. So what better way to drown my celebrity death sorrows than a spicy curry dish? I really wish I would have taken a proper photo of this curry, because hot damn if it isn’t the best new dish I’ve made in my kitchen in a year. A gigantic, cruise-ship sized thank you goes out to my two gastro gal pals, Jackie (who created the recipe) and Cari (who posted about it on her blog so I could steal the recipe!). The ingredients require a bit of searching on your part, especially if you don’t live near a decent Asian store, but it is totally worth the trouble to create this spicy, sweet, sour dish of happiness. And no, this is not an Indian curry, but a Thai curry. Same general region of the world, different type of brown people, completely different dish. And if you wear a white glove while making it, MJ will be smiling down upon you. Be sure to ask him wtf he did with Bubbles. Read the rest of this entry »

December 22nd, 2009
Posted in Leena Cooks, Mains | View Comments
« Older Entries

About | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Contact | 2010 LeenaEats.com

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

View in: Mobile | Standard