25 minute Coconut and Cilantro Curry Soup

CURRY; you either love it or hate it! English curry, Indian curry, Asian curry, French curry. Whatever the curry is, you better believe, I'm a fan of it. So, this is a recipe for all the curry lovers out there and for the gluten free peoples. 

Here is a Thai curry for you. Start to finish 25 minutes! Ready, set, GO!

Prep time: 25 minutes

Yield: 3 bowls

What you will need:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon grass, minced
• 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2/3 cup of coconut milk
• 6 oz dried rice straws
• 1 lime juiced
• Sliced red onions, chiffonade cilantro, thinly sliced jalapeños
• Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot over medium high heat melt the butter and combined garlic, ginger, lemon grass and curry paste. Fry until fragrant, about 4 minutes. 

Next, add the seasoned chicken strips and cook until they are opaque.

 Add the chicken broth, fish sauce, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. At this point, taste the broth for salt and adjust seasoning accordingly.You can also throw the noodles in the pot if you would rather do that. 

 Pour the boiling soup over the dried noodles straws in your serving bowls, add a squeeze of lime juice and garnishes, and serve. The noodle bowls will be ready to eat in a couple minutes.

You can also throw the noodles in the pot if you would rather do that.
 I ate some before I took the picture! Sorry! It was so delicious!

I hope you all enjoy and don't be afraid to give me feed back!

x

Asian Avocado Toast

Can toast be life changing?
YES.

I've never really got all of the avocado toast apps I've noticed popping up on some of Charleston's new restaurant's menus but now I do! 

A refrigerator full of fresh goodies from the grocery store resulted in little wonder:

Here is what you need:

Sourdough bread from the bakery (I always have them slice it for me!)

3 Tablespoons, finely chopped Cilantro

 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Jalapeno (Thinly sliced)

Fresh or Ground Ginger (your choice!)

2 Tablespoons, soy sauce

4 Limes, juiced

2 Garlic cloves, minced

Salt as you wish

"Pinch" of Sugar

2 Avocados, halved, peeled, pitted, mashed

1. Combine the cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated. Let them hang out together at room temp for 1 hour.

2. Lightly butter your bread and toast in your oven. Toast to your liking. Set aside

3. Incorporate the soy mixture with the mashed avocados. Garnish with cilantro and the jalapeños that have been soaking in the soy mixture for an added texture and spice! (The jalapeños made it for me!)

Enjoy and share with your avocado loving friends!

492 King and yes... Blue ice cubes.

Last night I tried out the new restaurant on upper King, 492 King. Some of you may have read about it in the Charleston paper or just heard the buzz about it through your friends, well indeed it is open! 

492 is located in the old Leon's Mens clothing store across from Union Provisions. It has been said that the building would have colaspsed soon if it weren't for the Relish Restaurant Group purchasing it. The building has been abandoned since hurricane Hugo.

 

Walking into 492 you are hit with sparkle. I LOVE IT. The light fixtures in the place are the most beautiful things I've ever seen. To be honest with you I was so impressed with the lighting I don't remember the other aspects of the decor. You guys will have to go see for yourselves!

The hostess greets you to your left side when walking in. She was friendly and sent us to a cozy bar to the right of the restaurant near the courtyard, while they prepared our table outside. The bar was nice it has large sliding windows to the courtyard for people just having cocktails. 

The drink I ordered was their most popular one, the Disco Sour. It was light and refreshing. It reminded me of a lemonade cocktail. 

The presentation is everything with this drink. It really makes it. 

The bartender was notified that our table was ready and handed us the check to close out. Another hostess showed us to the table that was located out on the patio. The patio area has really good, casual vibes. I dig.

The menu was clearly designed to under promise and over deliver. The descriptions are not going to sell the dishes for you, your server will and even then will not do them justice. We started out with their Lima bean and Mepkin Abbey mushrooms grits with the soft shell crab and pickled vegetables. 

The grits came out still in the pot which I thought was a nice touch, made me feel like I was back at home. The grits were light and different a welcomed change from the cheesey thick grits I've gotten so accustomed to. The Soft Shell Crab was tempura fried perfectly and the pickling on the tiny vegetables was just enough tarte. There was also a sauce with the crab not sure what it was but like everything else it was great. 

The next thing we ordered was the Broccoli Salad. I was not initially excited about it at all but the server said it was the best and if you don't already know, server recommendations are always the way to go. So we went for it and I'm glad we did. It was cooked just enough. It was al dente which I normally don't like but they dressed it with an Asian dressing that broke down the broccoli just a tad bit more and made it perfect topped with craisins and a sesame seed chip. ....still in shock a broccoli salad rocked my world like that. 

The final dish of the night was the Duck Breast 3 ways. Duck pate, duck confit and duck breast with a pistachio sauce and garnish. The duck pate is the best thing I've ever had. It melted in my mouth like butter! Super impressive and beautiful presentation.

So overall, 492 nailed it. I'm no professional but I do live to eat and this place delivered. The price is right, atmosphere is on point and the food and drink are unique and break the mold of the predictable Charleston restaurants. 

Date night, girls night, cocktails or dinner with the parents, this place will do it!

70 dollars for two people? Don't mind if I do! 

Sibling Love Today

Where to start??? So many things have happened since March 11th. Do I write about my euro trip, my recent business venture or "national sibling day"? I plan on getting to all but I'm writing today because National Sibling Day reached about and grabbed me... Or maybe it grabbed my heart? Ether way it encouraged me to write. Something I'm not amazing at but from time to time feel neccessary.
I usually shy away from this subject, just due to the fact it makes everyone else uncomfortable but here we go! 
Today, I am writing for the community I've become apart of that no one signs up for. People that have lost siblings due to an untimely death. This is a holiday most people take for granted. For me and many others it's a day that gives you that feeling in your stomach that you have a managed to oppress for months but still comes around Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, etc. And all of the sudden BAM it's there and it hurts. You miss not only your old life but you miss your old family unit, especially your parents and the bond you had with your oldest and best friend, your sibling. For me it was my big brother. He was the person that inadvertently taught me how to be me. The purpose of his life was so much grander than he ever knew. Sometimes I look back and think "wow, how did I not know his life was going to be short?" It was so full of purpose at every turn. There were crazy things he accomplished in his life. From traveling to 48 states in 27 short years to producing a little human being that has managed to clean up the mess he left behind in two short years. Whatever the purpose of his life may be, I know it's great.
I'm not writing this to bring attention to my loss and my hurt. I am writing this to let everyone in my "club" know I am with you today.


Sending love to my big brother today. Thank you for being you and no one else!

Comment!:

Hi Everyone!

I've been absent from Corkscrews and Cavaliers lately. This quarter in school has been by far my most challenging! I'm getting into my upper level management classes for my bachelor's  and my lab classes are getting more difficult as well.

Garde Manger class has by far consumed my life this quarter.

What is Garde Manger you may ask? Here is a definition for you:

A garde manger (French for "keeper of the food") is a cool, well-ventilated area where cold dishes (such as salads, hors d'œuvres, appetizers, canapés, pâtés and terrines) are prepared and other foods are stored under refrigeration.

The most difficult part of this class is the Banquet Event Order project. For all of you asking me to help with weddings and parties, etc. This is the class teaching me how to orchestrate an event like that! So to all of you, I will be properly equipped to help with your special day! 

So this is my 'Action Station' I chose for my project. It's a Shrimp and Grits station because who doesn't love Shrimp and Grits with an awesome sauce and good toppings?

This is the series of centerpieces I chose for all of my buffet tables. I guess design school wasn't a total waste of money! ;)

Those are my most interesting parts of my project. The rest would probably put you guys to sleep. So, I'll spare you!

Finished the project and haven't lost my mind YET. Still have a case study for Human Resources to finish then I am on a flight to PARIS, FRANCE!

A few more blog post and I will be reporting from France and Spain!

What time will it be then? UH #winetime !!

HELLO FRESH!

I recently posted on my Instagram account and my Facebook about a HelloFresh meal I was preparing for supper and it sparked some interest with my friends and followers. I thought I would just post the results here to provide more detailed feedback about how everything was!

This is not my first HelloFresh meal. It is my second box.

I want to start out first by saying when I saw the price initially I was like (I am a bargain shopper all the way) "Whoa! I can totally shop for less than that!" Well of course you can, but ask yourself if you are willing to pay for connivence and less prep time. Once you break down the box of 3 meals for 2 people at 69 dollars each you have a total of 11.66 per person. Not as outrageous as I thought.

I am a believer of staying out of the store to reduce the amount of money you spend on impulse buys. This takes you out of the store completely! LOVE THAT. I hate grocery shopping.

We have also cut down on over eating and food waste as a result of the portions.

I do want to give you a heads up they will charge you each week!!!!! So after your first meal as shipped out pause your account until you try the product to make sure you like it otherwise they will go a head, charge and ship for the following week and we don't want that.

Let me tell you how this meal program works:
You sign up at HelloFresh.com be sure to use my offer code so you can try 29 dollars instead of 69 dollars. Your price will vary depending on if you are getting the meal for 2 or 4 people. My price for two people is 69 dollars and that includes shipping.

Here is my referral code for the 40 dollars off! Share with anyone you would like!


Your box should arrive at the beginning of each week. It will include anything you need for the recipe perfectly portioned out. The only thing you will need in your kitchen would be things like butter, oil, salt and pepper. All of the fresh herbs, dairy, stock, meat, starches will come in your box.

Each meal is in its own separate bag so you will know what ingredients will go with what recipe.

Now on to what I thought of my meal last night!

Peppercorn Steak 

with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Recipe

 Ingredients:

Sirloin steak

Baby potatoes

Spinach

Shallot

Sour Cream

Stock concentrate

Finished product

Overall this meal was awesome! I really like the recipe. I started at 5:15 and was eating by exactly 6:00. The fact that there is very little prep involved with these meals also keeps your kitchen cleaner.

At first glance the recipes seem to simple to be good but everything I have made was very flavorful. They are well balanced meals and the product arrives fresh.

I give hello fresh 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted one because of price and auto draft policy.

Hope this post helps everyone. If you have any additional questions you can email me at laceylgaddy@gmail.com

or find me on Instagram. @corkscrewsandcavaliers

Just to edit this post a little bit. I wanted to let you guys know that this recipe was 570 calories.

Finally, after four years!

 Welcome to Corkscrews and Cavaliers!

So glad your visiting!

My name is Lacey! I created this blog spot in 2011. Yes, I know it's taken me years and a lot of life experiences to get off my butt and actually write but here I am, giving it a shot. It's a funny thing I choose to start blogging now, it's probably the busiest, most demanding time in my life! I'm still super excited none the less and happy to have the opportunity in this blog post to tell some you about myself, share some photos and a few of my favorite things. 

The two photos above are what really inspired me to some-what tell my story.. or document my new life... Not really sure what to call this new adventure of mine, I just know it's mine and no one else's. 

Back to the photos, Me and my brother, Stan.

I'll start out first by comparing he and I briefly. I am the caterpillar and he is the butterfly. I was always afraid of going off the beaten path where he always welcomed it. So, when life brought things to me I always let them pass me by to afraid to live a little... or a lot and he went after every opportunity that came his way. 

December 17, 2012, Stan, my oldest and closet friend, passed away, I spent a year grieving his loss and sitting stagnant, trying to figure out how in the world I could get things to go back to normal, with my parents, with my business, with friends and with me just feeling like the old me.  I finally came to the realization that I wasn't ever going to have my 'normal' again. I was never going be the me that I knew. So, I began the journey of getting to know the new me. 

January 1, 2014 came knocking at the door and while everyone was making New Year's resolutions about their new exercise routine, I decided to make a bucket list (A long term bucket list of things I wanted to achieve in my life).

Here are a few items from my list:

Move to Charleston

Attend Culinary school

Graduate

Make new friends

Be a better friend to my old ones

Judge less

Listen more

Travel abroad 

Start exercising

Own a sweet beach cruiser

Before I even made the bucket list I decided to close the business I owned, luckily I ended up selling instead. That gave me the opportunity to de-stress and re-group.  Over the course of about 6 months I worked in an office setting while I decided what I was going to do with my life. I woke up one morning, called my friend in Charleston and told her I was coming down to look for a job and apartments. I found a job and an apartment and prepared to move. I can still remember thinking how scared I was to leave my parents, my hometown, my old friends but I kept on and in two weeks I was living in Charleston!  From then on I was checking things off my bucket list left and right. If I got scared or worried about what other people thought of my decisions I would stop and think, "what would Stan do?"

I found a job at a local restaurant, hostessing and eventually serving. I moved on to my next task--the dreaded school. Yes, I had to go back but for what? and where? I went with my gut, the Art Institute, it was where I wanted to go after high school but never did. It was my chance to do it all over and I did! I'm having a blast and learning so much. Presidents list three quarters in a row :)))) Finding your passion is an exciting thing.

Photo above is an artisan pizza I created.

After enrolling in school, I began settling in to my apartment.... Just kidding! If you know me then you would know my apartment was decorated from head to toe by the end of my first week in Charleston. So, I've just enjoyed adding to it to make it perfect for me! Disgustingly clean, just how I like it! Decorating my home is probably my favorite hobby. Very much into arts and crafts as well.

During all of this transition, loving my family from a distance was just what we needed. We all began to adjust and some-what heal, if that even exist. Our relationships grew and we learned our new roles in each other lives after Stan's death. 

The photo above is of me and my precious nephew Eli, prepare to see a lot of him on here!

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I'm proud to announce I actively work on my bucket list. Adding, taking away, marking things off and continue to work at things on it like being a better friend. I'll create another post to include my new additions. 
One of my most recent purchases was a plane ticket to France and Spain! I am super proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and just going for it! Look for post on my trips in March and April! ....Travel abroad...Check.

I'm thankful to have my big brother to encourage me to do such bold things everyday.
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Corkscrews and Cavaliers is a blog featuring the ups and downs of a 20 something-cavalier loving-culinary student's gastronomic adventures-grieving the loss of a sibling-low country residence, finding herself again. 

....with Cavalier in toe.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a writer nor do I claim to be! I am new at this so bare with me through the typo's, sentence fragments and just plain ol' stupid post. ;-)