It's tough work being a pseudo-stylish, impoverished student out on the town—and expensive. No matter how cheap the drink special and how reasonably priced the menu, a gal still has to watch her pennies. In many cases, when my bar and restaurant budget is running thin, the perfect solution is to entertain at home—after all, I have to give that crystal stemware a work-out now and then.

Trader Joe's

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I've recently had the opportunity to host a few dinners at my home. I simply love to cook, and getting the chance to try out my culinary skills—whether new recipes or favorite dishes—on my friends is always a treat. On of my favorite entrées to prepare when cooking at home is tuna steak with a citrus marinade (see recipe below). Lately, however, I've been having a devil of a time finding good tuna steaks at a reasonable price. I used to get wonderful wild caught steaks in the Whole Foods frozen fish section for under two dollars a steak. Unfortunately, no one else apparently did, because they dropped the frozen tuna steaks as their least popular seller in the frozen fish department. I resorted to Shop N' Save in Lawrenceville next; their tuna steaks weren't quite as thick and weren't such good cuts as the Whole Foods steaks, but they were cheap and convenient. However, the tuna steak supply has lately been spotty at best, and Giant Eagle prices on fish are never fabulous. The week before my dinner, though, I happened into the frozen fish section at Trader Joe's and found an excellent tuna steak pair, thick and generous cuts, for under $5.

Tuna Steaks

I am not in the habit of going often to Trader Joe's, both since it's new to the city and because it doesn't have the stock of fundamentals you'll find at the larger stores, but when I'm next shopping for a dinner party, you can bet Trader Joe's will be my go-to store. In addition to serving tuna steak with my favorite marinade, I pieced together some recipes I found online into a quick and easy chocolate mousse that turned out wonderfully rich and delicious. As a courtesy for fellow chocolate-loving hosts and hostesses, I have also included that recipe below.

Hamilton Beach Iced Tea Maker

In the last few weeks, as the Pittsburgh weather has moved from chilly to sweltering, I've increasingly found good use for two new appliance additions to my kitchen when entertaining at home. Last September, after a summer of making stove-top iced tea, I decided to purchase a Hamilton Beach iced tea maker. The problem with making fresh iced tea, of course, is the interminable wait. Boil the water, steep the tea, wait for the tea to cool down, and finally drink it. Well, with the iced tea maker, you have iced tea in ten minutes. It's as easy as making drip coffee, in fact, it works exactly same way, basically dripping the tea into an ice-filled pitcher. And it's always fresh and delicious. I've had an excellent time experimenting with different teas, making iced green tea, white tea and flavored tea; and it all goes right into a pitcher that fits on the refrigerator door. This iced tea maker has been simply excellent, and at only $20, there's no reason why every iced tea lover shouldn't have one.

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

Sometimes, however, in these muggy Pittsburgh summers, a chilly glass of iced tea just might not be enough. The other day, I found excellent new use for my Cuisinart ice cream maker. I first got the ice cream maker as a gift over the holidays after having put it on my Amazon wish list—and subsequently made a seasonally delicious batch of eggnog ice cream. I've made frozen yogurt a couple times since, but when I found myself craving a frozen margarita a few days ago, I remembered the ice cream maker. Unlike many electric ice cream makers, this once does not require the traditional salt and ice, but rather has a liquid-filled bowl unit that goes directly into the freezer. I keep it in the back corner of the freezer so it's ready whenever I need it. And so, I took it out the other day, filled it with a mix of tequila, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice, flipped it on, and after 20 minutes, had a perfect frozen cranberry margarita. Making frozen drinks in the blender is always problematic—the ice never gets chopped up as finely as I want it and the process of chopping melts too much of the ice and waters down the drink. With the ice cream maker, the drink never gets watered down because no ice or water is added. The ingredients simply get churned and frozen, just like in a slushy machine, all with real juices and fresh ingredients. It's absolutely the best way I've found to make frozen drinks. The only downside, as I discovered the other night, is that making a second batch can be problematic if the bowl doesn't have adequate time to re-freeze.

So, until my wallet recovers and the heat wave breaks, you'll know where to find me—I'll be sipping frozen drinks in my apartment.

Remember, the rarer the better

Citrus Tuna Steak

tuna steaks
olive oil
lemon juice
lime juice
Old Bay Seasoning

Put the tuna steaks in a freezer bag. Drizzle generously with olive oil, lemon juice and lime juice. Sprinkle with Old Bay to taste. Close up the freezer bag so that the steaks are covered on all sides by marinade. Put the steaks in the refrigerator and marinate for at least an hour—preferably, start marinating in the morning of your planned supper so the steaks have several hours in the marinade. Come dinnertime, my favorite way to prepare the steaks is to sear them, about a minute or two on each side, so they stay rare in the middle.


Easy Chocolate Mousse

one 8 oz package of cream cheese
2/3 cup powdered sugar (or Splenda)
1 1/3 cup powdered baking cocoa
1 pint of heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until well whipped. Add the sugar, baking cocoa and one cup of the whipping cream. Beat until well blended, slowly adding the remainder of the whipping cream. When completely blended, spoon into dessert dishes and chill for at least two hours before serving.


Frozen Cranberry Margaritas

1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup tequila (or rum for daiquiris)
1/2 cup Rose's lime juice
3 cups cranberry juice (also, try a blend like cran-raspberry or cran-pomegranate)

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of your electric ice cream maker. Blend (about 25 minutes) until frozen.