January 1st, 2010 I introduced Twelve in Ten, where Ryan and I took on a monthly "challenge". Six of them involved St. Louis restaurants we were wanting to try and six involved cooking challenges I wanted to undertake.

One year ago, I introduced our Twelve in Ten Challenge to this blog. The whole idea was that we would use 2010 as a year of trying new things. Because my dad has always taught me to set goals, I defined what this challenge would look like and we established 6 kitchen challenges and 6 new restaurants we wanted to try in 2010. Each month we tackled a different thing from the list and I can proudly say that all twelve challenges were a success!

Thanks to the challenge, we enjoyed a dinner party full of fire with friends, savored a fabulous meal after arriving by bike on one of the hottest days of the summer, and experienced two new kinds of seafood! (for a complete listing of the Twelve in Ten posts, click here and read about them all!) Because we had such a good time tackling new foods or experiences each month, we decided to adopt a similar challenge for 2011.

I pondered several different ideas before eventually setting on the theme for this year: BEST OF 2011. Ever since St. Louis Magazine came out with their list of Best Restaurants in STL last October, I've been eager to try several of them. Many of them I have already read about or they have been recommended to me, and by incorporating it into our challenge, it forces us to get out there and try them! Rather than select 6 at the beginning of the year, we're going to leave our options open and instead select a restaurant for each of the coveted spots as the time arises.

As for the kitchen part of the challenge, I wanted to stick with the "Best of" theme. A little research led to a cookbook titled The Twelve Best Foods. The premise of this cookbook is that there are twelve foods with the most potent micronutrients, which help find against diseases: broccoli, black beans, tomatoes, salmon, soy, sweet potatoes, oats, blueberries, onions, walnuts, spinach, and strawberries. Each recipe in the book features one of these foods. For the six months that we aren't eating out at restaurants, I will select two recipes from the book to make, so that by the end of the year we've tried a new recipe featuring each of the featured foods.

I'm excited about this year's challenge. These are meant to be fun, not stressful, and I think by leaving it open-ended like this, we ensure that we have the opportunity to try new things without it being overly difficult. Hopefully you enjoy following our journey through the Best of 2011 challenge!

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that we've completed our twelfth and final Twelve in Ten challenge. I'll reflect more on the challenge in general as well as introduce the 2011 challenge (which is still to be determined!) in my January 1st post. But first, I want to share our experience with Indian food!

I've only had Indian food once before, a lunch buffet that I hit up with some of my co-workers awhile ago. Since then, I've wanted to try it again, which is why I added it to our challenge list. We invited my brother-in-law, his lovely girlfriend Erin, and friends Zak and Lauren to join us for dinner and we met one cold Thursday night at Priyaa, per Erin's suggestion. While Priyaa has a daily lunch buffet, it is not available for dinner so we began to peruse the rather extensive menu and make our choices.

After a few minutes of contemplation we were all ready to order. Erin and Justin opted for the complete thali dinner, which came with several mini dishes in addition to their entrees (Lamb Korma Curry for her and Chicken Tikka Masala for him). Zak also chose a lamb curry dish, and Lauren got the largest crepe (aka dosa) stuffed with vegetable curry that I have ever seen. Note the dosa in the picture below; we all had a good laugh when this monstrosity was brought to the table!

Ryan and I both ordered korma curries, chicken and vegetable, respectively. Each of our meals came with a choice of bread and we went for the nan (spelled nan on the menu, though I always thought it was naan). I'll share a secret with you...while I enjoy Indian food, I'm really there for the nan. The flat doughy bread is always the highlight for me and Priyaa's nan was no exception!

The restaurant is relatively small and there were only a few other patrons eating while we were there. Priyaa appears to be family-owned and we had several different family members wait on us throughout the evening. Though they were silent, they never let you take more than a sip of water without refilling your glass. I couldn't complain about this; the curries were SPICY and I found myself guzzling water after every bite.

Would I return to Priyaa? I think so. The food was good, the prices were decent, and the service was fast. Still, there are plenty of other Indian restaurants to try in St. Louis and I'm anxious to see how they stack up! As always, it was fun to try a new restaurant and a fairly unfamiliar cuisine. Thanks Justin, Erin, Zak, and Lauren for joining us!


One Year Ago: Chocolate Mint M&M Cookies

This was the Twelve in Ten challenge I was most looking forward to. Ryan and I are both fire-lovers, him even moreso than me. He has a whole arsenal of stories from his teenage years during which he conducted many fire experiments involving large cartons of coffee creamer and flames reaching second story heights. Me? I just lit sticks on fire and occasionally found a hollow one that I would use to pretend I was smoking. Real mature. Thankfully that was the closest I ever got to being a smoker...I think a few puffs of my makeshift cigarette was all it took to keep me far, far away! I digress...


While this challenge began as a goal to make a flaming dessert, we really went the extra mile and instead had an entire meal of flaming foods. Our friends Mike and Maggie offered to host, fire extinguisher close by, and Maggie and I planned a menu that incorporated as much fire as possible: flaming shots & cocktails, Greek flaming cheese, Steak Diane, and for dessert, bananas foster.

Ten of us enjoyed a fun evening of flames. Dubbed "Torched" by Maggie, this was one of my favorite dinner parties yet! Not only is it incredibly exciting to set your food and drink on fire before consuming, but all that fire brought some serious heat. For someone who is never, ever warm, this was a dream come true!

The bananas foster had more than just a flashy presentation going for it. Though incredibly simple, it was a definite crowd pleaser. I ended up making a second batch because the guests weren't satisfied with just one serving of dessert! This is a great dessert for dinner parties. You can't make it ahead of time, but the whole process takes only a few minutes and you'll impress your fire-loving guests :)

Scroll down to below the recipe for more pictures from our Torched dinner!


One Year Ago: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies


Flaming Bananas Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:
-4 tbsp unsalted butter
-1/4 cup packed brown sugar
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-6 firm bananas, sliced diagonally
-4 tbsp dark rum
-ice cream, for serving

Directions:
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir until the sugar melts (approximately 3 minutes). Add sliced bananas, sauteing until a caramel-like sauce forms and the bananas begin to soften (3-5 minutes).
2.  Pour rum over the bananas mixture and carefully ignite with a torch or match. Allow the fire to ignite and shake the pan until the flames subside.
3. Serve bananas with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

First things first, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Ryan! Last year, I posted a bunch of wedding pictures in celebration of our first anniversary. I've gained a lot of new readers since then, so go check those out for some wedding stalkage. This year, I'll just post one of my favorite pictures of us in the past year (aka one of the only pictures where both of us have our eyes open and we're smiling!).

Ryan, thanks for another fabulous year of marriage....and, in relation to this blog, thanks for telling me when I make grammatical errors, soothing my kitchen tantrums, and answering my incessant questions about how something tastes. I love you and I love being married to you...can't wait for another great year!

Now onto the next matter of business, our October Twelve in Ten Challenge. This month a restaurant was up and it just so happened that a Groupon for The King & I, one of the restaurants on our list, was being sold one day. I immediately jumped on buying it and we set out for a little date night one Sunday evening after seeing the movie The Social Network (which I highly recommend!).

I had heard a lot of good things about The King & I, a pretty well-known Thai restaurant in St. Louis, and I went in with high expectations. Unfortunately, the actual experience fell short of what I'd been anticipating. The restaurant itself was your standard run of the mill Asian restaurant, no fancy decor or anything. This is pretty typical in the area though, and didn't bother me.

The menu was fairly extensive, but I went with my usual pick at Thai restaurants: pad thai. It's a Thai restaurant after all, shouldn't this be their speciality? I was craving vegetables after a pretty indulgent weekend and the waiter assured me that this dish came with plenty of veggies. Ryan debated over a few different dishes but ultimately went with the green curry with shrimp since he had never before tried green curry.

While waiting for our food, we realized that none of the patrons at other tables were eating with chopsticks. I found this odd and was a little disappointed; chopsticks are my favorite part of Asian establishments! Thankfully when the server brought our food (which came out fast!), he got us chopsticks upon our request.

I was pretty disappointed with my pad thai. The vegetables were anything but plentiful, but I wasn't too surprised. What bothered me the most was the sauce; to both Ryan and I, it didn't taste anything like the pad thai sauce that I know, love and enjoy at every other Thai restaurant we've been to. On top of that, the peanuts served on top of the dish (my favorite part!), were few and far between.

Ryan, on the other hand, was satisfied with his green curry. He ordered it 'mild' and it was indeed pretty mild. His dish was substantial enough for a meal but not an overwhelming amount and he had no problem finishing it off.

While I'm not sure what went wrong with the pad thai, I would give The King & I another go sometime. It definitely didn't compare to some of the other Thai places we've tried in St. Louis, but I think I would like some of the other menu options, such as the curries. Though the food was a miss for me this time, the service was fast and the prices were reasonable, so I'm not completely ready to write off the place! Ultimately, I'm once again glad for this challenge, and the fact that it forces us to branch out and try new places!

One Year Ago: Apple Puff Pancake

This month's Twelve in Ten Challenge ended up being a twofer...and it coincided perfectly with our trip out east! In retrospect, I am very, very thankful we happened to be on vacation when the need to squeeze in a September challenge arose. Firstly, because Ryan's Aunt Julie was a huge help in the lobster prep (and by that I mean Ryan and I were mere accessories to the task at hand!). I don't think I could have tackled fresh lobster at this point, as you'll see by my face in some of the pictures below! Secondly, fresh seafood from the coast of Maine vs. "fresh" seafood in Missouri? No comparison; this one clearly worked out for the best!

My goal for this particular Twelve in Ten Challenge, which was actually a Ryan suggestion, was to make something with shellfish. As I said, this ended up becoming a two-part challenge. We were able to fulfill part of it while in Kennebunkport, Maine, and then had another shellfish experience in Boston a few days later. While this may not totally qualify as "cooking" in either case, I'm still counting it because it's my challenge and therefore my rules! The whole purpose of this challenge was to expand our food horizons and as you'll see, we certainly did.

First up: the lobster. I've had lobster tail once or twice before and I've seen lobsters swimming in the tanks at grocery stores, but never have I combined these two experiences. Never, that is, until last week! In the end, our experience was much more authentic than a trip to the nearby grocery store. Ryan's aunt and cousin took us to one of the many Lobster and Fish Houses in Kennebunkport where we plugged our noses, selected a dozen soft-shell lobsters, and left, live lobsters in tow!


Once back at their house, the lobsters were transferred to the kitchen sink for a few final moments of...freedom? (can you call it freedom when they're tied up? I suppose not...) Samantha, Ryan's cousin, demonstrated the art of lifting (and consequently, throwing ;)) a captured lobster. Soon the water was a'boiling and the lobsters' time was cut short! One by one, each was thrown into the pot. Julie was on lobster duty, Ryan manned the pot, and I played photographer. Much to our surprise, the lobsters succumbed to their fate without a single scream. Minutes passed and before we knew it, bright, beautiful (and dead! I checked and double-checked!) lobsters were removed from the pot.


After a quick lesson in shelling lobster, I found myself knuckles deep in lobster meat, spraying lobster juices across the dining room table and blissfully digging in. Paired with corn on the cob, potatoes, and a nutty brown bread, we couldn't have asked for a more authentic lobster boil! Thank you again, Julie, what a fun way to complete our challenge!


Just three days later, Ryan and I found ourselves walking all over the streets of Boston. On a sunny Saturday, we ventured off of the historic Freedom Trail for yet another new shellfish experience. This time: oysters! I'd read online about the oyster shucking lessons at Mercado del Mare, a fish market in the North End neighborhood of Boston. We agreed that it fit nicely with our Twelve in Ten goal and decided to take advantage of the free lessons.

Oysters were completely new to me. Not only was I unfamiliar with shucking them, I had also never eaten one! The woman, presumably one of owners of the shop, who taught us was great! Friendly and helpful, she did a great job explaining and showing us the process before letting us fend for ourselves. We shucked two different kinds of oysters, one type from Maine and the other from Cape Cod (we preferred the Maine ones!).

I felt like a true easterner, shucking oysters and throwing them back with a little cocktail sauce and lemon juice. Strange textures don't bother me, so I liked the oysters, although I struggled with finding a way to eat them gracefully! For those of you living in, or planning to visit Boston, I highly recommend taking some time on a Saturday afternoon to shuck some oysters! (They only offer lessons from 1-3 pm on Saturdays.) Lessons are free and you pay for what you eat.


Both shellfish adventures were had were a blast. Without the Twelve in Ten Challenge, I don't think I would have sought out oyster shucking in Boston...and yet I'm very glad we did! What new food experiences have you had lately? I need ideas for upcoming challenges!

For more Twelve in Ten posts, click here.
One Year Ago: Apricot Bran Bread