Posts tagged the happy problem
December 30, 2010 · Filed under ABOUT, Lunches, Recipes · Tagged cd baby, free range eggs, itunes, quiche, rock bands, Sam Shaber, spinach feta tomato quiche, the bashful, the happy problem, twitter
Smiley Eggs
Yes, on the way to making a spinach, feta and tomato quiche this morning, I looked down into the bowl and what do you know?
Must’ve been those free-range eggs I used.
I’ve been gone for a loooong loooong time and really I have no excuse. Ok that’s not true. I have lots of ’em. Most of them have something to do with the TWO bands I’m in now, and how busy they’ve been keeping me. (In fact as I type this, concurrently baking a butternut squash to make a great crostini spread with goat cheese and cinnamon for New Years Eve), I am actually procrastinating from listening to the rough mixes of the new happy problem album. Look out 2011 – big things are coming from the Punky!
And wait Punky, you say you have TWO bands now?
Oh yes, my little chefs, (I wanted to type “cheffies” but that just looks like some variety of blue cheese, so…), I am in TWO bands now, both very different from each other and both looking for bass players.
Ahem.
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April 13, 2010 · Filed under Desserts, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks/Appetizers · Tagged chinatown, cornbread, dessert, east river, easy, jiffy mix, new york, peaches, Sam Shaber, sugar in the raw, sweet, the bashful, the happy problem
Okay, I realize it’s not very punk to say the word “HOLLA”, but really that’s just the sound you make when you taste this surprisingly sweet n’ easy cornbread. Witness Peachy Punky Sweet Cornbread!
Eet a-make-a you HONGRY!
Yes, this is a good one, especially with summer coming on.
Summer isn’t for like two months, Punky.
Whatever. Shutup. And come with me… Read the rest of this entry »
August 21, 2009 · Filed under Recipes, Snacks/Appetizers · Tagged appetizer, basil, boogie, disco biscuits, goat cheese, parmesan, Sam Shaber, spinach, the happy problem, tomato
These are the easiest thing ever, people, I’m serious. And I don’t get serious very often, so this must be HUGE. Seriously, you just shave, plop, and blot. 2 minutes. Total perfection. And I wanted to find a cool, punky name for them, y’know, like “Sid Viciousnesses” or “Ramonezones” or something. But then I thought of awesome jam band the Disco Biscuits and suddenly there was no going back. Witness:
Don't they just make you wanta BOOGIE?
Now there are few things farther from punk than a jam band. First, jam bands have real musicians who tend to play their instruments extremely well. Second, jam bands do not wear make-up, leather pants, lace stockings, or nose rings. Third, the goal of the jam band is to gently rock and rhythm their audiences until they swirl and flutter gracefully around the floor like little entranced butterflies just out of the cocoon, whereas punk bands SLAM their audiences over the head, from the side and in the face with LOUD, PUSHY, OBNOXIOUS, ANGRY, CYNICAL emotion. YEAH! HAH! UNGH!
I will say that cynicism goes well with the jam bands at times too, though they tend to express it with more of a “heh” than a “HAH!”, if you know what I mean.
But nevertheless! A recipe title is a recipe title, and I have just enough integrity to know when it’s time to get my jam on. So, grab a sheet pan and a cheese grater, and come with me…
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August 13, 2009 · Filed under Desserts, Recipes, Snacks/Appetizers · Tagged banana, blondie, chocolate, debbie harry, easy dessert, Ina Garten, paula deen, punky chef, Sam Shaber, shortbread, strawberry, the happy problem
Yes, you will experience rapture when you bite into these sweet, smooth, chocolaty, shortbread bars. Plus, it’s one of the greatest Blondie songs of all time, and Blondie were one of the greatest punk bands of all time, so it’s alllll coming together, eh? Witness The Raptures: Chocolate-Strawberry-Banana Shortbread Bars…
"Hang each night in rapture..."
Aaah, yes, Are you ready? Are you drooling? This one borrows a bit from Paula Deen‘s Orange Citrus Dessert Bars (the shortbread part) and a bit from many recipes by my all-time cooking idol, Ina Garten (the chocolate part), and of course the rest is all PUNKY. Come with me…
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July 22, 2009 · Filed under Dinners, Recipes · Tagged chicken dinner, easy roast chicken, healthy, Ina Garten, one knife, one pan, one spoon, peewee potatoes, punky chef, Sam Shaber, the happy problem
Okay fine, so the title of this recipe is a little over-the-top. But listen to me people, this really is a punky miracle dinner: juicy, savory, flavorful chicken and crispy, buttery potatoes done all in one pan and ready in 35 minutes! Say it out loud for fun times: FREE-RANGE SAVORY CHIX n’ POTAYDUZ!
Seriously, have you ever seen anything so delicious in your LIFE?
Now, let me start by giving credit for the inspiration for this dish to my all-time chef idol, (and hopefully my future-best-friend), Ina Garten. (I love you, Ina.) Ina Garten recently was seen on the Food Network cooking a whole chicken in a big pan with all the vegetables scattered around it at the same time. “That is genius,” thought one Punky Chef. But I must say, Ina’s version looks very complicated to me – lots of stuffing and tying-off and tucking, not to mention the hour and half in the oven. Well THIS punk is just too hungry and impetuous to ever wait that long! So instead, I have taken the general idea and made it my own… just like Andy Warhol with the Campbell’s Soup Cans, eh? Ha-HAH! PUNK IT UP. (And come with me…)
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July 18, 2009 · Filed under Lunches, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes · Tagged Aunt Punky Chef, carrots, easy, greek olives, healthy, lunch, nephews, newman's own salad dressing, parmesan, punky chef, romaine, Sam Shaber, the happy problem, tomatoes
Yes… I’M BACK! I know your life has been empty and hungry without your Punky Chef. So sing to the heavens, hug thy neighbor, and get EXCITED, people. I’ve been busy traveling and working on many things happy problem. (New songs! Visit www.myspace.com/thehappyproblem. Sorry, brief promotional moment.) AND, Punky Chef is now AUNT PUNKY CHEF. Witness my two gorgeous new nephews – born within 24 hours of each other to my sister and my sister-in-law:
Punky Ryder - doing his very first Elvis impression
Punky David - doing his first Johnny Rotten impression
So I’ve been enjoying the baby parade for the last three weeks, and am now getting back to my teensy kitchen and starting to cook again. And just to ease us all back in, I’m throwing this fabboo, quick, healthy lunch at you. Witness Lucky 7 Salad!
Do ya feel LUCKY, Punk?
Yeah, it’s pretty much the easiest ever, thanks to our “7” theme and also to the wonderful people at Newman’s Own for the dressing. Come with me…
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June 24, 2009 · Filed under Dinners, Recipes · Tagged annie lennox, barbecue vegetables, dinner, doritos munchie mix, free-range chicken skewers. veggie skewers. barbecue skewers, Ina Garten, jetblue, marinade, pj harvey, Sam Shaber, the happy problem
Some call these skewers, some call them kebobs, a cute, freckled English guy I once knew named Luke even called them “ke-babs,” (which of course I thought was as cute as he was), BUT these tasty little numbers are so flavorful and emotionally rewarding that I am now officially re-christening them. Witness Free-Range Chicken and Veggie Ka-POWS!
They're the stars of the show!
Brace yourself for the greatest summer barbecue experience of your life. (Look how cocky Punky’s become!) And I don’t even own a barbecue grill, (or a backyard, for that matter), so I’m also cocky enough to have borrowed one from a friend. (Fine my wonderful friend Kate had actually INVITED us over for dinner on the grill, but I was still cocky enough to bring my own FOOD to said barbecue and use Kate to experiment on. Such cockiness.)
But YOU will feel cocky TOO when you make these, because they are easy, healthy, cheap, and BURSTING with flavor! So get-cher skewers and come with me…
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