Ok. So I missed blogging yesterday as the start of NO JO Mo or whatever the heck it's called. But it was for a good reason!! I promise! I was throwing a party, and I didn't really cook except for breakfast, and then making dip and guacamole.
Fail. But I made mulled or spiced cider. And that was a win. Especially with rum poured in.
A gallon of cider, a gallon of apple juice. Two orange peels. 3 cinnamon sticks. 6 whole cloves. Simmer. Forever. All day - this only gets better as it simmers, and it makes your house smel all pretty and it's very nice. And then you add rum and it just becomes an even more beautiful thing.
Today, I'm making carbonara for dinner. Lots of carbonara. Because it is delicious and we are hungry kidlets.
And it's cold, and let's face it, it's always better when you're eating dinner out of one dish with two forks. And you're sitting all snugged up on the couch in your *remarkably* still clean post-party place. :)
20081102
20081029
Update: The Pumpkin Chronicles
Ok, I've kind of decided to enter into that whole NoNaBloPo or whatever it is, where you commit to blogging every day in November.
Admittedly, food blogging Thanksgiving when I'm going to my Mom and Dad's house is going to be a bit rough, but maybe this year they'll let me help more with the cooking!! :) Glee!!
But anyways, I'm going to try. And to get myself all up in the sperrit, I'm mentioning this now, while I'm on my lunchbreak:
I am eating reheated pork chop and pumpkin polenta, and it's official. I am a convert. I am obsessed. It didn't get dry, it didn't get gross, the polenta is just about as wonderful as it was last night (not quite though, because it's microwaved and well.....we know how I feel about that).
I'm obsessed. I'm totally adding canned pumpkin to basically everything that I can. I am a canned pumpkin lover.
I will take and attempt any and all suggestions that I deem reasonable. I might even make chocolate pumpkin bread. Glee!!!
Ok, back to finish up my delectable delicious pumpkin polenta.
Envy me.
Admittedly, food blogging Thanksgiving when I'm going to my Mom and Dad's house is going to be a bit rough, but maybe this year they'll let me help more with the cooking!! :) Glee!!
But anyways, I'm going to try. And to get myself all up in the sperrit, I'm mentioning this now, while I'm on my lunchbreak:
I am eating reheated pork chop and pumpkin polenta, and it's official. I am a convert. I am obsessed. It didn't get dry, it didn't get gross, the polenta is just about as wonderful as it was last night (not quite though, because it's microwaved and well.....we know how I feel about that).
I'm obsessed. I'm totally adding canned pumpkin to basically everything that I can. I am a canned pumpkin lover.
I will take and attempt any and all suggestions that I deem reasonable. I might even make chocolate pumpkin bread. Glee!!!
Ok, back to finish up my delectable delicious pumpkin polenta.
Envy me.
20081028
In which we are whelmed
Since my first foray into the world of non-cured pork went so swimmingly, I decided to get tricksy and go for a second shot. This time, I changed basically everything except the cooking method. And y'know what? I liked them better the other way.
Balsamic and Sage Pork Chops with ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS PUMPKIN POLENTA!!!!
Recipe calls for 4 1-1/2 inch thick boneless center-cut pork chops. What you need to do, in my opinion, is get them with the bone in. Or, in retrospect, maybe just go for the thickness which the recipe recommends, which might have been my mistake.
You heat up olive oil in a big skillet. Meanwhile, you preheat your oven to 375.
Drizzle about 2 tablespoons (a few big glugs if all your measuring spoons are *cough* dirty) of balsamic vinegar in a bowl, as well as dropping in a chopped up garlic clove (or a shallot if *cough* for the first time in history, you find yourself out of garlic), 5 or so chopped up sage leaves, and some chopped up parsley. Drizzle in some olive oil too. Sprinkle in some salt, and some pepper of course.
About this time, also put about 2 and a half cups of chicken stock(or vegetable stock), and a cup of milk into a saucepot. Add some salt and pepper. Open a can of pumpkin PUREE (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!!!!) and add it into the milk/stock mixture. Stir and put it over hte heat until it starts to simmer. While it's getting all warm and friendly, swirl your pork chops around in the balsamic/garlic/herb mixture, and drop them in your skillet with your olive oil. Sear them for about 2 minutes on each side. After your 4 minutes are up, you're going to want to put them in the oven for a few minutes, until they're cooked through.
Just before you put the chops in the oven, pour a box of quick-cooking polenta into your stock/milk/pumpkin mixture. Whisk like crazy, and then put your chops in the oven in your skillet (wrap the handle in tinfoil, or even better, get a silicone skillet-handle-cover like I did!!!). Whisk whisk whisk and when it starts to get thick, add butter, parmesan, more salt, more pepper, and my secret best friend for this: ricotta. About a tablespoon of the ricotta. More if it's not creamy enough for you.
I definitely had to add more milk a couple times. Polenta is good like that, though. It will take all the buttery, milky love you give it and absorb it. And it will give you back something even more amazing.
As an aside, I am now a canned-pumpkin convert. I'm probably going to make macaroni and cheese with some really sharp cheddar and pumpkin in the cheese sauce. Yum!! Also, this is a SAVORY DISH, people. Don't go adding any brown sugar, maple syrup, etc. You can do that to your pumpkin pie filling. But your canned pumpkin is a beautiful thing in this polenta.
So basically, you take your chops out when they feel done to you. Mine felt like when I poked them they gave a little and then sprung back. Mine were also pretty anemic pork chops. But that's ok, because it meant I got to eat more polenta!!
In all seriousness, I didn't love the pork chops. They were ok. They were not great. They were too thin and a little dry, because they were so thin. The seasonings were nice. I think, if given the choice, I would have done something involving a creamier sauce, and maybe finished with balsamic instead of marinating them in it. But, for a first try, this created many new ideas and learning opportunities. AND a really bitchin' dish of polenta.
I'm honestly already thinking about ways that I can use this in breakfast tomorrow. Pumpkin porridge. Mix it in wtih our oatmeal. Eat it cold while no one's looking. Cut it into squares and fry it in butter. I don't know. But I officially need more pumpkin polenta in my life.
Balsamic and Sage Pork Chops with ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS PUMPKIN POLENTA!!!!
Recipe calls for 4 1-1/2 inch thick boneless center-cut pork chops. What you need to do, in my opinion, is get them with the bone in. Or, in retrospect, maybe just go for the thickness which the recipe recommends, which might have been my mistake.
You heat up olive oil in a big skillet. Meanwhile, you preheat your oven to 375.
Drizzle about 2 tablespoons (a few big glugs if all your measuring spoons are *cough* dirty) of balsamic vinegar in a bowl, as well as dropping in a chopped up garlic clove (or a shallot if *cough* for the first time in history, you find yourself out of garlic), 5 or so chopped up sage leaves, and some chopped up parsley. Drizzle in some olive oil too. Sprinkle in some salt, and some pepper of course.
About this time, also put about 2 and a half cups of chicken stock(or vegetable stock), and a cup of milk into a saucepot. Add some salt and pepper. Open a can of pumpkin PUREE (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!!!!) and add it into the milk/stock mixture. Stir and put it over hte heat until it starts to simmer. While it's getting all warm and friendly, swirl your pork chops around in the balsamic/garlic/herb mixture, and drop them in your skillet with your olive oil. Sear them for about 2 minutes on each side. After your 4 minutes are up, you're going to want to put them in the oven for a few minutes, until they're cooked through.
Just before you put the chops in the oven, pour a box of quick-cooking polenta into your stock/milk/pumpkin mixture. Whisk like crazy, and then put your chops in the oven in your skillet (wrap the handle in tinfoil, or even better, get a silicone skillet-handle-cover like I did!!!). Whisk whisk whisk and when it starts to get thick, add butter, parmesan, more salt, more pepper, and my secret best friend for this: ricotta. About a tablespoon of the ricotta. More if it's not creamy enough for you.
I definitely had to add more milk a couple times. Polenta is good like that, though. It will take all the buttery, milky love you give it and absorb it. And it will give you back something even more amazing.
As an aside, I am now a canned-pumpkin convert. I'm probably going to make macaroni and cheese with some really sharp cheddar and pumpkin in the cheese sauce. Yum!! Also, this is a SAVORY DISH, people. Don't go adding any brown sugar, maple syrup, etc. You can do that to your pumpkin pie filling. But your canned pumpkin is a beautiful thing in this polenta.
So basically, you take your chops out when they feel done to you. Mine felt like when I poked them they gave a little and then sprung back. Mine were also pretty anemic pork chops. But that's ok, because it meant I got to eat more polenta!!
In all seriousness, I didn't love the pork chops. They were ok. They were not great. They were too thin and a little dry, because they were so thin. The seasonings were nice. I think, if given the choice, I would have done something involving a creamier sauce, and maybe finished with balsamic instead of marinating them in it. But, for a first try, this created many new ideas and learning opportunities. AND a really bitchin' dish of polenta.
I'm honestly already thinking about ways that I can use this in breakfast tomorrow. Pumpkin porridge. Mix it in wtih our oatmeal. Eat it cold while no one's looking. Cut it into squares and fry it in butter. I don't know. But I officially need more pumpkin polenta in my life.
20081026
In which we veer
I know that this is a blog about cooking.
But it's also a blog about food, and food is something with which the majority of the females I know have a contentious relationship. 98% of us have said the phrase "I shouldn't eat this" or some form of it at one time or another. And really, if we're being honest here, it generally doesn't keep us from eating whatever it is. We say we shouldn't, and then we do, and we feel badly about ourselves because of it.
The majority of the girls that I know have body image problems. We think we're fat, or that our bodies are imperfect. We think that losing 15 pounds, or growing 3 more inches, or whatever it might be, is going to make us perfect, make us happy with our bodies. But honestly.... the kind of things that we're angry with our bodies for are the kind of things that won't change by losing 15 pounds or growing 3 inches.
My body has changed shape significantly over the past 5 or 6 years. Only one of my readers knew me then, and frankly, she's my mom. Through it all though, I've never had a problem about food. I mean, I've been happier since I started cooking for myself. I've discovered better things, and I feel like I'm eating better, because I know what's in my food.
No matter what else I worry about regarding my weight/shape/etc, I never worry about food. I blame myself for getting chubbier than I was before, but I don't think about cutting down on the butter intake. I don't resolve to join a gym, or work out in any other way. I just get mad at my body for not metabolizing as quickly as it used to. Weird.
It's not pro-active. In fact, it's hardly active at all. But I'm still not mad at food. I understand that I can eat whatever I want, as long as whatever I want is in moderation. I need to remember to moderate a little better, but in general I'm ok. I just need to remind myself of that from time to time. My doctor told me that I'm in perfect health. I need to be a little more active, but I'm healthy. I'm strong. It's time for me to enjoy myself and not blame my body, or my food.
Maybe it's that time for all of us. To just be healthy, to be active, and to not blame our bodies for what they're made to do. Let's try and just... be happier. be healthier. be calmer. be prouder.
But it's also a blog about food, and food is something with which the majority of the females I know have a contentious relationship. 98% of us have said the phrase "I shouldn't eat this" or some form of it at one time or another. And really, if we're being honest here, it generally doesn't keep us from eating whatever it is. We say we shouldn't, and then we do, and we feel badly about ourselves because of it.
The majority of the girls that I know have body image problems. We think we're fat, or that our bodies are imperfect. We think that losing 15 pounds, or growing 3 more inches, or whatever it might be, is going to make us perfect, make us happy with our bodies. But honestly.... the kind of things that we're angry with our bodies for are the kind of things that won't change by losing 15 pounds or growing 3 inches.
My body has changed shape significantly over the past 5 or 6 years. Only one of my readers knew me then, and frankly, she's my mom. Through it all though, I've never had a problem about food. I mean, I've been happier since I started cooking for myself. I've discovered better things, and I feel like I'm eating better, because I know what's in my food.
No matter what else I worry about regarding my weight/shape/etc, I never worry about food. I blame myself for getting chubbier than I was before, but I don't think about cutting down on the butter intake. I don't resolve to join a gym, or work out in any other way. I just get mad at my body for not metabolizing as quickly as it used to. Weird.
It's not pro-active. In fact, it's hardly active at all. But I'm still not mad at food. I understand that I can eat whatever I want, as long as whatever I want is in moderation. I need to remember to moderate a little better, but in general I'm ok. I just need to remind myself of that from time to time. My doctor told me that I'm in perfect health. I need to be a little more active, but I'm healthy. I'm strong. It's time for me to enjoy myself and not blame my body, or my food.
Maybe it's that time for all of us. To just be healthy, to be active, and to not blame our bodies for what they're made to do. Let's try and just... be happier. be healthier. be calmer. be prouder.
20081021
Cooking activities have occurred over the past week, never fear. I'll try to bust out a recap as coherently as possible. Stop me if I go to fast.
Monday
I love long weekends. I don't love long weekends where Jesse has to work and I don't, but I love when he comes home.
The best part about having Monday off? Laura and Steele came over, bearing beer and wine, movie theater snacks, and movies. I had thrown together a Crock Pot Roast that I found on a very fabulous blog that I have been trolling for ideas lately since I realized that my crock pot is a ROCK pot!!!
The pot roast fed 4 people. It was tender enough to shred and fall apart. It involved a powdered packet of grill seasoning, a powdered packet of Italian dressing mix, and a powdered packet of ranch dressing mix. Next time, I'm making my own spice blend.
If I had a bigger crock pot, I would have been able to add more veggies. I would have been able to get a bigger roast. Which would have been nice because next time, I want left-overs. But, I recommend this. It's pretty basic. I'm a big fan. :)
Tuesday
We had fried chicken. It was Jesse's request, and of course I complied. We're working on a side-project right now, which will hopefully be up and live soon for you all to enjoy, and since he's going to be doing a lot of the work on it.... but not getting a lot of the credit.... I'm going to acquiesce to most of his food requests for now. :)
The fried chicky was pretty good. It's generally pretty good. It wasn't transcendent, but I'm content to make good fried chicken.
Wednesday
Jesse had plans on Wednesday night, that involved bicycles and a bar. Not together. So I bought some mussels, some cambazola bleu cheese, and some bread, opened a bottle of wine, and had myself a party!!
Actually, it wasn't much of a party, but it was still nice.
And then Jesse came home, and that was nice. :)
Thursday
My friend Marla came over for dinner!!! I made this recipe from Rachael's website -- it seemed like a really good way to embrace both the lingering warm (white wine instead of red) and still aknowledge the snap to the air. It worked out brilliantly, although it had no leftovers, which was sad because it was damn delicious. I did not use frozen pearl onions. But basically I followed the rest of the recipe.
Friday
We like to do a Friday night burger. It's a nice end to the week, and a good kickoff to the weekend. And this week was an especially good week for a burger, since after work I picked up a Zipcar to go to the Fed Ex pickup place and get our copy of ROCK BAND 2!!! Woohoo!! Burgers and rockin' were most definitely in order. So burgers and rockin we engaged in.
I made Rachael Ray's Thanksgiving turkey burgers. The best part of these things, by far, and these were delicious burgers, was the cranberry-mustard spread that you spread all over the rolls. It's delicious. I plan to make this and smear it on everything. Toast. Kittens. Sandwiches. Anything.
It's delicious. It's literally 1/4-cup of whole berry cranberry sauce, and 2 tablespoons of grainy mustard. I used less mustard. It was glorious. Make this. spread it on..... anything. Seriously. You will thank me.
Saturday
This doesn't really have to do with food. But it's my blog, so I'll do what I want.
GO SEE NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST!!!!!!! We saw a Saturday matinee. It was wonderful. GO see it. Seriously. Why are you still reading. Work is not as important as this movie.
Ok. Till next time.
Monday
I love long weekends. I don't love long weekends where Jesse has to work and I don't, but I love when he comes home.
The best part about having Monday off? Laura and Steele came over, bearing beer and wine, movie theater snacks, and movies. I had thrown together a Crock Pot Roast that I found on a very fabulous blog that I have been trolling for ideas lately since I realized that my crock pot is a ROCK pot!!!
The pot roast fed 4 people. It was tender enough to shred and fall apart. It involved a powdered packet of grill seasoning, a powdered packet of Italian dressing mix, and a powdered packet of ranch dressing mix. Next time, I'm making my own spice blend.
If I had a bigger crock pot, I would have been able to add more veggies. I would have been able to get a bigger roast. Which would have been nice because next time, I want left-overs. But, I recommend this. It's pretty basic. I'm a big fan. :)
Tuesday
We had fried chicken. It was Jesse's request, and of course I complied. We're working on a side-project right now, which will hopefully be up and live soon for you all to enjoy, and since he's going to be doing a lot of the work on it.... but not getting a lot of the credit.... I'm going to acquiesce to most of his food requests for now. :)
The fried chicky was pretty good. It's generally pretty good. It wasn't transcendent, but I'm content to make good fried chicken.
Wednesday
Jesse had plans on Wednesday night, that involved bicycles and a bar. Not together. So I bought some mussels, some cambazola bleu cheese, and some bread, opened a bottle of wine, and had myself a party!!
Actually, it wasn't much of a party, but it was still nice.
And then Jesse came home, and that was nice. :)
Thursday
My friend Marla came over for dinner!!! I made this recipe from Rachael's website -- it seemed like a really good way to embrace both the lingering warm (white wine instead of red) and still aknowledge the snap to the air. It worked out brilliantly, although it had no leftovers, which was sad because it was damn delicious. I did not use frozen pearl onions. But basically I followed the rest of the recipe.
Friday
We like to do a Friday night burger. It's a nice end to the week, and a good kickoff to the weekend. And this week was an especially good week for a burger, since after work I picked up a Zipcar to go to the Fed Ex pickup place and get our copy of ROCK BAND 2!!! Woohoo!! Burgers and rockin' were most definitely in order. So burgers and rockin we engaged in.
I made Rachael Ray's Thanksgiving turkey burgers. The best part of these things, by far, and these were delicious burgers, was the cranberry-mustard spread that you spread all over the rolls. It's delicious. I plan to make this and smear it on everything. Toast. Kittens. Sandwiches. Anything.
It's delicious. It's literally 1/4-cup of whole berry cranberry sauce, and 2 tablespoons of grainy mustard. I used less mustard. It was glorious. Make this. spread it on..... anything. Seriously. You will thank me.
Saturday
This doesn't really have to do with food. But it's my blog, so I'll do what I want.
GO SEE NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST!!!!!!! We saw a Saturday matinee. It was wonderful. GO see it. Seriously. Why are you still reading. Work is not as important as this movie.
Ok. Till next time.
20081012
In which it comes full circle
My parents came down to Brooklyn yesterday, to visit. I was pretty excited, because after 24 years of my mom and dad cooking for me, and me coming home to see them, it was happy for it to come around and for my parents to come see us, in our house.
I decided that I would make my RoniCheese for them - it's easy because I've made it so many times, and it's always delicious, and it's something they've never had my way. I also planned to make an apple pie, because my dad loves apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese -- it's a New England thing, try it sometime.
They came down and their visit was a lot of fun. They brought Chloe, which was wonderful because of course I love any chance to see my puppins:
She's checking life out, getting used to the Brooklyn vibe.
After a nice walk in the park and a lovely afternoon of guacamole, chips, and fried pickles at my father's request, we set in to the pie-making and RoniCheese making.
I actually timed it just about perfectly, putting the pie in as I started making the macaroni and cheese. I finished the roni under the broiler as the pie was finishing baking, although I had to throw a little broiler at it after the pie came out.
My parents loved the food. They loved it. My dad loved it so much that his first remark, after a mouthful, was ..... "This is damn good."
That means a lot, because it was said in a tone of absolute honesty. And it was a new one for my dad, who generally has two settings, His cooking and Everybody Else's cooking:
His Cooking: "This is pretty good, huh??? Hey! This isn't bad!!"
Everybody Else's Cooking: "That's ok. Yeah, that's fine"
Heheh we tease him about it. But, it's true.
He loved it so much that he didn't give Chloe any noodles until almost his second helping. He hardly spoke until his second helping, at which point he started asking questions.
My mom really loved it too, but she was of course pre-conditioned to love it because I made it, which is a carryover of the Christmas Present Principle (you are my kid and I love you, so I will love anything you buy/make/give me). I'm really proud of it - it was delicious, the Asiago that I used on the top was perfect, and basically, it was a win. Even Chloe thought it was nommy.
I was so happy to cook for my parents. I was so happy to help them understand that this really is what I'm best at, and it's the best way I can show people that I love them.... have them sit at my table and eat something I made with them in mind.
I was so happy to hear my mom say that she was proud of me for our place, that she was happy about how these events had turned out, that she was happy to see us here and like this.
And I was happy to see my dog!!!!!
I decided that I would make my RoniCheese for them - it's easy because I've made it so many times, and it's always delicious, and it's something they've never had my way. I also planned to make an apple pie, because my dad loves apple pie with sharp cheddar cheese -- it's a New England thing, try it sometime.
They came down and their visit was a lot of fun. They brought Chloe, which was wonderful because of course I love any chance to see my puppins:
She's checking life out, getting used to the Brooklyn vibe.After a nice walk in the park and a lovely afternoon of guacamole, chips, and fried pickles at my father's request, we set in to the pie-making and RoniCheese making.
I actually timed it just about perfectly, putting the pie in as I started making the macaroni and cheese. I finished the roni under the broiler as the pie was finishing baking, although I had to throw a little broiler at it after the pie came out.
My parents loved the food. They loved it. My dad loved it so much that his first remark, after a mouthful, was ..... "This is damn good."
That means a lot, because it was said in a tone of absolute honesty. And it was a new one for my dad, who generally has two settings, His cooking and Everybody Else's cooking:
His Cooking: "This is pretty good, huh??? Hey! This isn't bad!!"
Everybody Else's Cooking: "That's ok. Yeah, that's fine"
Heheh we tease him about it. But, it's true.
He loved it so much that he didn't give Chloe any noodles until almost his second helping. He hardly spoke until his second helping, at which point he started asking questions.
My mom really loved it too, but she was of course pre-conditioned to love it because I made it, which is a carryover of the Christmas Present Principle (you are my kid and I love you, so I will love anything you buy/make/give me). I'm really proud of it - it was delicious, the Asiago that I used on the top was perfect, and basically, it was a win. Even Chloe thought it was nommy.
I was so happy to cook for my parents. I was so happy to help them understand that this really is what I'm best at, and it's the best way I can show people that I love them.... have them sit at my table and eat something I made with them in mind.
I was so happy to hear my mom say that she was proud of me for our place, that she was happy about how these events had turned out, that she was happy to see us here and like this.
And I was happy to see my dog!!!!!
In which we get stuffed
Ok, so I'm not the world's biggest appreciator of pork. My mom makes pork chops with cream of mushroom soup and they're good. Gie makes pork chops some other way, and they're good. The occasional pork roast finds its way onto my plate when it's cooked for me, and I'll eat it.But like so many things which I don't love wildly, I've never cooked any pork products with the exception of bacon.
My friend Marla and I were discussing cooking one day, and she mentioned that she made a mean pork chop. I remembered my friend Alyssa (a fellow Pretty Girl) telling me about some pork chops she once stuffed with pancetta and proscuitto. Leah mentioned pork tacos to me. Basically, I was thinking pig when I went to the store on Tuesday to try and figure out what we'd eat for dinner. On the train, I thought again of stuffed pork chops. For a while I was fighting the image of cornbread, asiago, and sage, which of course is a traditional stuffing but wasn't really what I was thinking for stuffing these chops. Eventually, I got to spinach, asiago, and mushrooms.
I consulted Alyssa to find what kind of chops she used, bone in or boneless, etc. I consulted Leah for any input she might have vis a vis cooking pork. And then, I procured my spoils and began the process. The rundown is as follows, before the photos: I sauteed garlic and sliced mushrooms, with a little lemon zest, then added the spinach and several handfuls of asiago.
I let that cool while slicing pockets into my pork chops (I sliced along the line of fat that is opposite the bone).
I salted and peppered the inside and outside of the chops.
I seared them for about 4 minutes a side, then put them in the oven to finish cooking (400 until my internal temperature thermometer went off).
I made mashed potatoes, and somehow managed to make them perfect. I think this was the result of a lot of pepper, plenty of butter, not too much milk, and no cream. Or something. ANyways, it was brilliant.
And now, the images:
20081006
In which I cook to help myself will the Red Sox into the ALCS
Basically, I'm stressin. The Sox lost last night. They need to win tonight, because I don't wan them to have to go back to Anaheim or LA or wherever the hell the Angels' stadium is....meh.
I don't want to type too long because I'm afraid that it'll upset the balance, so here's some pictures instead:
Fried Pickles... Yer doin' it right!! See?
God Bless Heinz Dill Pickle chips.
Also:
Ain't no thing but Alton Brown's chicken wings.
Also, big shout out to Jon Lester, Dusty P is still my boy, and stupid grocery store, eff you for only including one drummette in the package of chicken wings. But big ups for stocking Heinz pickles.
I don't want to type too long because I'm afraid that it'll upset the balance, so here's some pictures instead:
Fried Pickles... Yer doin' it right!! See? 
God Bless Heinz Dill Pickle chips.
Also:
Ain't no thing but Alton Brown's chicken wings.Also, big shout out to Jon Lester, Dusty P is still my boy, and stupid grocery store, eff you for only including one drummette in the package of chicken wings. But big ups for stocking Heinz pickles.
20081005
In which I make a leap
When I was a kid, I remember my mom occasionally making use of her CrockPot. I remember one special dish that she used to make that for some reason was the most delicious thing I'd ever had. I used to ask for Crock Pot Chicken, but of course, I would ask when Mom asked, "What would you like for dinner?" and by then, trust me, it was too late to begin making Crock Pot Chicken.
Today, the original plan was for me to be circumnavigating Manhattan (traffic free, thankfully) on a bicycle, to benefit MS research. However, today dawned rainy and cool, and the idea of a relatively inexperienced bike rider traveling 30 miles in a bicycle in the rain and on wet streets is frightening at best. At worst, it might cause me to never ever want to ride a bicycle again, because I have reasonably creaky knees (result of an unfortunate situation where an opposing rugby player decided my knee needed to go a way that knees do not normally go, plus a lifetime of ballet) in the cool and damp, and it raises the possibility of me getting in a crash, and the weather is still miserable as of this writing.
Anyways. The original plan was for me to be on a bicycle for 30 miles, starting at 7:30am. After I survived the grueling bike ride, I was to pick up my friend Kim from home, and bring her back to my house, where I would recuperate and we would hang out and talk about her upcoming wedding (gleeee!!!!!!!). I figured I would be too exhausted and possibly too sore to stand around cooking dinner, so I decided that we would have Crock Pot Chicken for dinner.
I'm a little frightened of recipes that rely heavily on canned or pre-made ingredients. I don't like condensed canned soups (with the exception of Campbell's Chicken Noodle), and I'm not a fan of granulated gravy mixes. This is purely a personal choice, and I don't judge anyone for using them... I understand that canned cream of mushroom soup is basically an ingredient these days in its own right, and I definitely understand that when you need to get dinner on the table for family and kids post work and pre homework, canned cream of chicken soup, some veggies, chicken and rice is a casserole that requires no thought. In fact, I just came up with ten different variations while typing that sentence.
That being said, I'm not wild about things that can last in a can up to 5 years.
Happily, I'm not riding a bicycle on wet streets for 3 hours this morning. I've been awake for 3 hours. I've washed several dishes, and I decided to make the Crock Pot chicken becuase I already had the ingredients and I'm pretty sure I don't know how else to use Cream of Mushroom soup and powdered gravy.
So basically, here is the recipe:
Chicken pieces - this recipe calls for boneless, but I like bone in. I used drumsticks and thighs.
Powdered chicken gravy - 1 packet
Canned cream of mushroom soup - 1 can
White wine or chicken broth - 1 cup
Cream Cheese - roughly 1 package.
You put the chicken pieces in your crock pot and sprinkle the chicken gravy powder over like so:
Then, you mix together your canned soup and your broth (didn't have any white wine to hand) and you pour it over the chicken business, throw the lid on your crock pot, turn it on low, and walk away. Just walk away. 7 1/2 hours later, you come back and add the cream cheese. 30 minutes after that, you remove the chicken, whisk the sauce until smooth, return the chicken to the rock pot, and serve the lot over rice.
Here is a picture to prove that instead of making a bechamel and mixing in mushrooms, and using poultry seasoning, ground herbs, and real salt, I used canned soup, canned broth, and powdered gravy mix:
I'm excited, nonetheless. I hope this is as good as I remember it. Also, I'm using my brand new rice cooker to make the rice for tonight!!! :) Bonus points for this rice cooker meaning that we can now try making sushi, because while I make bitchin' risotto, I'm not so good at regular old ....rice. And I'm certainly afraid of making sticky rice for sushi.
SO, here it is. There it is. Everywhere it is.
I'll be back at a reasonable hour to let you know how the food went! And how Kimmy's visit went!!! :) GLEEE!!!!
Today, the original plan was for me to be circumnavigating Manhattan (traffic free, thankfully) on a bicycle, to benefit MS research. However, today dawned rainy and cool, and the idea of a relatively inexperienced bike rider traveling 30 miles in a bicycle in the rain and on wet streets is frightening at best. At worst, it might cause me to never ever want to ride a bicycle again, because I have reasonably creaky knees (result of an unfortunate situation where an opposing rugby player decided my knee needed to go a way that knees do not normally go, plus a lifetime of ballet) in the cool and damp, and it raises the possibility of me getting in a crash, and the weather is still miserable as of this writing.
Anyways. The original plan was for me to be on a bicycle for 30 miles, starting at 7:30am. After I survived the grueling bike ride, I was to pick up my friend Kim from home, and bring her back to my house, where I would recuperate and we would hang out and talk about her upcoming wedding (gleeee!!!!!!!). I figured I would be too exhausted and possibly too sore to stand around cooking dinner, so I decided that we would have Crock Pot Chicken for dinner.
I'm a little frightened of recipes that rely heavily on canned or pre-made ingredients. I don't like condensed canned soups (with the exception of Campbell's Chicken Noodle), and I'm not a fan of granulated gravy mixes. This is purely a personal choice, and I don't judge anyone for using them... I understand that canned cream of mushroom soup is basically an ingredient these days in its own right, and I definitely understand that when you need to get dinner on the table for family and kids post work and pre homework, canned cream of chicken soup, some veggies, chicken and rice is a casserole that requires no thought. In fact, I just came up with ten different variations while typing that sentence.
That being said, I'm not wild about things that can last in a can up to 5 years.
Happily, I'm not riding a bicycle on wet streets for 3 hours this morning. I've been awake for 3 hours. I've washed several dishes, and I decided to make the Crock Pot chicken becuase I already had the ingredients and I'm pretty sure I don't know how else to use Cream of Mushroom soup and powdered gravy.
So basically, here is the recipe:
Chicken pieces - this recipe calls for boneless, but I like bone in. I used drumsticks and thighs.
Powdered chicken gravy - 1 packet
Canned cream of mushroom soup - 1 can
White wine or chicken broth - 1 cup
Cream Cheese - roughly 1 package.
You put the chicken pieces in your crock pot and sprinkle the chicken gravy powder over like so:
Then, you mix together your canned soup and your broth (didn't have any white wine to hand) and you pour it over the chicken business, throw the lid on your crock pot, turn it on low, and walk away. Just walk away. 7 1/2 hours later, you come back and add the cream cheese. 30 minutes after that, you remove the chicken, whisk the sauce until smooth, return the chicken to the rock pot, and serve the lot over rice.
Here is a picture to prove that instead of making a bechamel and mixing in mushrooms, and using poultry seasoning, ground herbs, and real salt, I used canned soup, canned broth, and powdered gravy mix:
I'm excited, nonetheless. I hope this is as good as I remember it. Also, I'm using my brand new rice cooker to make the rice for tonight!!! :) Bonus points for this rice cooker meaning that we can now try making sushi, because while I make bitchin' risotto, I'm not so good at regular old ....rice. And I'm certainly afraid of making sticky rice for sushi.SO, here it is. There it is. Everywhere it is.
I'll be back at a reasonable hour to let you know how the food went! And how Kimmy's visit went!!! :) GLEEE!!!!
20081001
In which I learn to like squash
I'll be the first to admit, I don't actually like butternut squash. I think it's disconcerting when a vegetable's most commonly-served state is puree. Puree sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, no less. Bleh. I'm all for mashed potato, mashed turnip, any other mashed vegetable you offer me, as long as you make sure there's plenty of salt and pepper, and NO BROWN SUGAR!!! I LOVE brown sugar, except in vegetable applications.
I stand by this.
I definitely pushed my squash puree around on my plate at Thanksgiving and Christmas the entire time I was growing up. Around my senior year of high school, I learned that I could put gravy on it, mix it in with my mashed potatoes, and almost convince myself it wasn't there. But I just. didn't. like it.
About 5 months ago, I ventured into my local Hale and Hearty Soup, and had their butternut squash soup. It was recommended to me by someone behind me in line. It wasn't bad, although I remember it needing a lot of pepper and salt. Nary a hint of brown sugar or maple syrup. Encouraging.
Since then, I'd been thinking about how that soup needed some cumin. I think everything needs cumin. I love cumin.
I've been adding cumin, garam masala, and curry powder to things lately... and thinking about adding them to other things. Witness, my meatloaf. So today, I decided to buy a butternut squash, and on a whim, bought some turnips. I had promised Jesse an apple pie, so I got the apples and flour for that as well.
I started out by halving and roasting the butternut squash, and cutting the turnips into chunks. I brushed them with curry butter.... 3 tbs butter and some curry, cumin, and garam as listed above. To taste, obviously. I brushed the veggies, sprinkled them with salt, and put them in to roast for 40 minutes at 425.
When they came out, I let them cool.
When I started making the soup, I cut up a carrot, a stalk and a half of celery, and half an onion. I cooked them until they softened in butter and olive oil (about a tablespoon of each). I added more of the seasonings listed above, and of course, salt. Then, I added the soft smushy veggies, which I cut up into chunks. Then, I added a lot of chicken stock, and let it simmer. I re-seasoned, and eventually, I pureed. (In retrospect, this is all reminiscent of the roasted tomato soup I made a while ago.) Then, I added a little coconut milk, and re-seasoned.
As you can see, yet again, nary a hint of brown sugar and maple syrup.
This is honestly, delicious. I'm really proud of it.
If seasoned differently, it could make a respectable sauce for a veggie lasagna - It could go over rice with some chicken and slake your curry craving. Basically, it's versatile. And it's happy.
Please undertake this. The roasting doesn't take too long, and you could definitely do the majority of the soup prep during the roasting. Try this soup. You will like it. I hope.
I stand by this.
I definitely pushed my squash puree around on my plate at Thanksgiving and Christmas the entire time I was growing up. Around my senior year of high school, I learned that I could put gravy on it, mix it in with my mashed potatoes, and almost convince myself it wasn't there. But I just. didn't. like it.
About 5 months ago, I ventured into my local Hale and Hearty Soup, and had their butternut squash soup. It was recommended to me by someone behind me in line. It wasn't bad, although I remember it needing a lot of pepper and salt. Nary a hint of brown sugar or maple syrup. Encouraging.
Since then, I'd been thinking about how that soup needed some cumin. I think everything needs cumin. I love cumin.
I've been adding cumin, garam masala, and curry powder to things lately... and thinking about adding them to other things. Witness, my meatloaf. So today, I decided to buy a butternut squash, and on a whim, bought some turnips. I had promised Jesse an apple pie, so I got the apples and flour for that as well.
I started out by halving and roasting the butternut squash, and cutting the turnips into chunks. I brushed them with curry butter.... 3 tbs butter and some curry, cumin, and garam as listed above. To taste, obviously. I brushed the veggies, sprinkled them with salt, and put them in to roast for 40 minutes at 425.
When they came out, I let them cool.
When I started making the soup, I cut up a carrot, a stalk and a half of celery, and half an onion. I cooked them until they softened in butter and olive oil (about a tablespoon of each). I added more of the seasonings listed above, and of course, salt. Then, I added the soft smushy veggies, which I cut up into chunks. Then, I added a lot of chicken stock, and let it simmer. I re-seasoned, and eventually, I pureed. (In retrospect, this is all reminiscent of the roasted tomato soup I made a while ago.) Then, I added a little coconut milk, and re-seasoned.
As you can see, yet again, nary a hint of brown sugar and maple syrup.
This is honestly, delicious. I'm really proud of it.
If seasoned differently, it could make a respectable sauce for a veggie lasagna - It could go over rice with some chicken and slake your curry craving. Basically, it's versatile. And it's happy.
Please undertake this. The roasting doesn't take too long, and you could definitely do the majority of the soup prep during the roasting. Try this soup. You will like it. I hope.
20080928
In which we celebrate.
Jesse's birthday is tomorrow. But Monday is a tough day to be celebrating birthdays. SO, instead we celebrated food-wise yesterday. It was really fun.
We started off with Cafe Lub's inaugural Saturday Brunch. The centerpiece of this brunch was Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. I will admit that I'm a bit mystified by this recipe. I've made it 4 times now. I'll admit right off the bat that I'm a good baker, and I have an especially good sense with yeast bakery. And yet... This recipe has never worked for me the way it should. The "rise until it doubles in volume" never happens.... on Friday night I let it rise for 3 hours, because of an impromptu nap. And still.... not doubled in volume. The cinnamon rolls couldn't even rise to fill the round glass pie plates I put them in this time (I don't have a glass 9x13 inch baking pan). I will admit that this time I used whole wheat flour instead of regular flour -- screw you Whole Foods and your absurdist baking section!!!! But still. I think next time I'm mixing the yeast in before I add the second bit of the flour. Or maybe I'll prime the yeast with a little of the sugar and some water. I just don't think my yeast wants to rise in the room temperature setting of the recipe.
Anyways. The cinnamon rolls were delicious after the proofing and the baking and the rigamarole. They ended up filling the pie pan while baking. It was delicious. Cafe Lub's inaugural Saturday Brunch was a success. I think the Mimosas might have swayed the jury. Or the bacon, which I think was perfect. The secret is to put it under your broiler WHILE the cinnamon rolls are in their last 10 minutes of baking. Flip the bacons at about 3 minutes left and then let them bake under the broiler (I know, I know.... but it WORKS) for a few minutes after the rolls are out, until they're YOUR desired level of doneness.
Then, for dinner, we went fancy again. Sometimes, you just need to turn it out.
Jesse requested an old favorite for his birthday dinner -- Steak Au Poivre. I turned to Alton once again, and was not let down.
However, first, we started with an arugula salad, vinaigrette made with dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and olive oil, topped with rounds of fried goat cheese.
I got the basic plan from another cooking blog that I read and lurk on, Cooking After Five. She got it from Ina Garten. I thank them both.
After the salad, we got down to the Au Poivre.
I didn't use tenderloin steaks, because a pound of tenderloin steaks last night was 30 dollars. It's almost pay day. I didn't have 30 bucks to spend on JUST 1 pound of steak.
I used top sirloin steaks, I think, which were perfect and lovely and I wish I hadn't been too hungry to take a picture.
I ground the peppercorns in my coffee grinder. I would recommend flaming the cognac only to supervised beginners, or people without wooden cabinetry, because it's fucking scary. I've done it twice now, and each time the flames have leapt up and I have somehow feared for my life. But I'm also confident that I won't burn the place down. I have an exhaust hood, and I used my grill lighter. I was much farther away from the flame than last time, which we wont' talk about it. There was no chance that I was going to light my cabinetry in the old place on fire. As far as you know.
For dessert, after the steak frites au poivre (because honestly, I'll never pass up a chance for french fries to soak up the au poivre sauce) I made a Red Velvet cake. Sans red food coloring because I'm afraid of dying my food. I had bad enough luck with roasting beets turning my chicken pink.
I had cake difficulties.
Clearly, I haven't baked enough cakes lately. IN fact, I haven't baked a cake since my roomie's birthday last November. Honestly, it's time to get back on the cake thing.
The cakes stuck to the bottom of the pan, but they were delicious. I got the recipe from Bon Appetit. I had to use a third of the frosting to stick together the two layers, because they were crumbly. I then frosted the cakes normally. The cake is delicious. I'm still really happy with it. I just wish I'd used parchment to line the bottom of the cake pan, and I wish that I'd let them bake a couple minutes longer, so the bottom would have been a little dryer. But then again, I was going to crumb coat and flat-top it anyways. So honestly, I'm disappointed but not entirely.
Here is a picture of the cake:
The frosting on the top is WAY thicker than I realized. Basically, I'm just out of practice in the area of cakery. SO, I am laying down a challenge to my friends.
Please come up with excuses for me to bake cakes. ANY excuses. It's a Tuesday. It's a pay week. Somebody's visiting. Make up an obscure holiday. ANYTHING. I'm going to buy some parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans. And we're going to have a cake situation at 2014. You heard it here first. I'll need some volunteer diners. Come on over and eat some cake with me. :)
We started off with Cafe Lub's inaugural Saturday Brunch. The centerpiece of this brunch was Alton Brown's Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. I will admit that I'm a bit mystified by this recipe. I've made it 4 times now. I'll admit right off the bat that I'm a good baker, and I have an especially good sense with yeast bakery. And yet... This recipe has never worked for me the way it should. The "rise until it doubles in volume" never happens.... on Friday night I let it rise for 3 hours, because of an impromptu nap. And still.... not doubled in volume. The cinnamon rolls couldn't even rise to fill the round glass pie plates I put them in this time (I don't have a glass 9x13 inch baking pan). I will admit that this time I used whole wheat flour instead of regular flour -- screw you Whole Foods and your absurdist baking section!!!! But still. I think next time I'm mixing the yeast in before I add the second bit of the flour. Or maybe I'll prime the yeast with a little of the sugar and some water. I just don't think my yeast wants to rise in the room temperature setting of the recipe.
Anyways. The cinnamon rolls were delicious after the proofing and the baking and the rigamarole. They ended up filling the pie pan while baking. It was delicious. Cafe Lub's inaugural Saturday Brunch was a success. I think the Mimosas might have swayed the jury. Or the bacon, which I think was perfect. The secret is to put it under your broiler WHILE the cinnamon rolls are in their last 10 minutes of baking. Flip the bacons at about 3 minutes left and then let them bake under the broiler (I know, I know.... but it WORKS) for a few minutes after the rolls are out, until they're YOUR desired level of doneness.
Then, for dinner, we went fancy again. Sometimes, you just need to turn it out.
Jesse requested an old favorite for his birthday dinner -- Steak Au Poivre. I turned to Alton once again, and was not let down.
However, first, we started with an arugula salad, vinaigrette made with dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, and olive oil, topped with rounds of fried goat cheese.
I got the basic plan from another cooking blog that I read and lurk on, Cooking After Five. She got it from Ina Garten. I thank them both.After the salad, we got down to the Au Poivre.
I didn't use tenderloin steaks, because a pound of tenderloin steaks last night was 30 dollars. It's almost pay day. I didn't have 30 bucks to spend on JUST 1 pound of steak.
I used top sirloin steaks, I think, which were perfect and lovely and I wish I hadn't been too hungry to take a picture.
I ground the peppercorns in my coffee grinder. I would recommend flaming the cognac only to supervised beginners, or people without wooden cabinetry, because it's fucking scary. I've done it twice now, and each time the flames have leapt up and I have somehow feared for my life. But I'm also confident that I won't burn the place down. I have an exhaust hood, and I used my grill lighter. I was much farther away from the flame than last time, which we wont' talk about it. There was no chance that I was going to light my cabinetry in the old place on fire. As far as you know.
For dessert, after the steak frites au poivre (because honestly, I'll never pass up a chance for french fries to soak up the au poivre sauce) I made a Red Velvet cake. Sans red food coloring because I'm afraid of dying my food. I had bad enough luck with roasting beets turning my chicken pink.
I had cake difficulties.
Clearly, I haven't baked enough cakes lately. IN fact, I haven't baked a cake since my roomie's birthday last November. Honestly, it's time to get back on the cake thing.
The cakes stuck to the bottom of the pan, but they were delicious. I got the recipe from Bon Appetit. I had to use a third of the frosting to stick together the two layers, because they were crumbly. I then frosted the cakes normally. The cake is delicious. I'm still really happy with it. I just wish I'd used parchment to line the bottom of the cake pan, and I wish that I'd let them bake a couple minutes longer, so the bottom would have been a little dryer. But then again, I was going to crumb coat and flat-top it anyways. So honestly, I'm disappointed but not entirely.
Here is a picture of the cake:
The frosting on the top is WAY thicker than I realized. Basically, I'm just out of practice in the area of cakery. SO, I am laying down a challenge to my friends.Please come up with excuses for me to bake cakes. ANY excuses. It's a Tuesday. It's a pay week. Somebody's visiting. Make up an obscure holiday. ANYTHING. I'm going to buy some parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans. And we're going to have a cake situation at 2014. You heard it here first. I'll need some volunteer diners. Come on over and eat some cake with me. :)
20080926
In the immortal words of Tim Gunn....
Make it work.
On Wednesday night, I made yet another bangin' risotto. I also had my first foray into braised greens. Basically, it was a night of fabulousness.
Red Wine Risotto with Beet Greens
I guess step 1 for this risotto is:
Roast a chicken with beets, new potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Realistically, of course, you could just buy a bunch of beets from any grocery store, and remove the green tops... or even just buy beet greens. But roasting a chicken also gives you the chance to make risotto with homemade stock, and trust me, it makes a difference.
So you roast the chicken the night before (I can't believe I don't have a blog on this. I'll post one, I promise), and you boil the carcass with an onion, quartered, a carrot cut into big chunks, a celery stalk cut into chunks, some herbs if you have them, and 3 or 4 peppercorns. Boil them until it smells delicious, skim the fat, and put it in the fridge.
Next night, you cut up the beet greens, slice up 4 cloves of garlic, and braise the greens : put the sliced garlic cloves into a big pan iwth some olive oil, and cook gently until everything smells heavenly. Then, throw in the greens, and some salt. IMMEDIATELY add some red wine and some broth. The greens are tough and bitter. They need to cook down and soften. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and let the greens cook until the liquid has all cooked away. Add some butter about 5 minutes after you add the liquid, and stir it in to make things all tasty and delicious.
While you're simmering the greens, you should also be starting the risotto and for the stock, you can use your own homemade stock, and it will be delicious. When everything is finished, you stir the braised beet greens into the risotto, right about the time you add the last bit of butter and the parmesan. And then.... we have glee.
It is delicious. Try it.
On Wednesday night, I made yet another bangin' risotto. I also had my first foray into braised greens. Basically, it was a night of fabulousness.
Red Wine Risotto with Beet Greens
I guess step 1 for this risotto is:
Roast a chicken with beets, new potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Realistically, of course, you could just buy a bunch of beets from any grocery store, and remove the green tops... or even just buy beet greens. But roasting a chicken also gives you the chance to make risotto with homemade stock, and trust me, it makes a difference.
So you roast the chicken the night before (I can't believe I don't have a blog on this. I'll post one, I promise), and you boil the carcass with an onion, quartered, a carrot cut into big chunks, a celery stalk cut into chunks, some herbs if you have them, and 3 or 4 peppercorns. Boil them until it smells delicious, skim the fat, and put it in the fridge.
Next night, you cut up the beet greens, slice up 4 cloves of garlic, and braise the greens : put the sliced garlic cloves into a big pan iwth some olive oil, and cook gently until everything smells heavenly. Then, throw in the greens, and some salt. IMMEDIATELY add some red wine and some broth. The greens are tough and bitter. They need to cook down and soften. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and let the greens cook until the liquid has all cooked away. Add some butter about 5 minutes after you add the liquid, and stir it in to make things all tasty and delicious.
While you're simmering the greens, you should also be starting the risotto and for the stock, you can use your own homemade stock, and it will be delicious. When everything is finished, you stir the braised beet greens into the risotto, right about the time you add the last bit of butter and the parmesan. And then.... we have glee.
It is delicious. Try it.
20080923
Bird's the Word.
As many other bloggers, and NeoYorquinos in general, have no doubt noticed, it was cool this weekend. The first few days of fall have not disappointed. In fact, yesterday and today were stunningly pleasant, and prompted the following statement from a friend:
"When you start thinking about tights and soups, it is the beginning of a good thing".
I don't necessarily share her love for fall, but then again, I'm the girl who can come up with a new list of favorite things about New York with every passing week, let alone season. September is just bogged down with memories for me, and I find it hard to bear the weight of the nostalgia while moving through the month in a cheerful fashion.
Then on Sunday, during the partypartyparty, I drank an amazing red wine. I saved the bottle, so we can get it again.
I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy red wine.
I mean, we drank some when we drank our way through the hurricaine a few weeks ago, but that wasn't so much for any reason other than... y'know.... it was cheap and 4 bottles of white wine seemed a bit excessive.
Last night, as you may have read, I made a meatloaf. It was.... to quote Jesse.... Bangin'. It really was. I brought some for lunch today. If we had bread, I would be bringing meatloaf sandwiches for lunch until it was all gone.
Meatloaf is, I'll admit, a cold weather food. It really is. And I love it. I probably spend the last week or so of hot hot weather wishing it was November, so I could be thinking about soup and turkey and not about how to cook without making my place a sauna.
Then, I had a hell of a day at work today, and at 3:30 I didn't even care about eating dinner. I just wanted to buy a bottle of red wine and get into bed. I think it was the chill in the air, the last day of wearing a dress with no tights, all that plus the workday.
I decided on my walk to the wine store that I couldn't let Jesse starve. So, I made the snap decision to roast a chicken and some vegetables. It's comfort food. It's good with red wine. And it takes an hour to cook, which definitely gives us time to work through one bottle of wine. Heh.
I'm pretty satisfied with this roast chicken. I've made it a lot of times, and every time it's been pretty fantastic, and like fried chicken, it's gotten better each time. I love roast chicken. It makes abysmal days better. And with roasted potatoes, shallotts, garlic cloves, and beets, life should be good.
Mind you, in late October, I'm going to be wishing it was July again. And you can all shake your heads, point me back to this entry, and remind me that in late September, I was happily roasting chicken and drinking red wine.
"When you start thinking about tights and soups, it is the beginning of a good thing".
I don't necessarily share her love for fall, but then again, I'm the girl who can come up with a new list of favorite things about New York with every passing week, let alone season. September is just bogged down with memories for me, and I find it hard to bear the weight of the nostalgia while moving through the month in a cheerful fashion.
Then on Sunday, during the partypartyparty, I drank an amazing red wine. I saved the bottle, so we can get it again.
I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy red wine.
I mean, we drank some when we drank our way through the hurricaine a few weeks ago, but that wasn't so much for any reason other than... y'know.... it was cheap and 4 bottles of white wine seemed a bit excessive.
Last night, as you may have read, I made a meatloaf. It was.... to quote Jesse.... Bangin'. It really was. I brought some for lunch today. If we had bread, I would be bringing meatloaf sandwiches for lunch until it was all gone.
Meatloaf is, I'll admit, a cold weather food. It really is. And I love it. I probably spend the last week or so of hot hot weather wishing it was November, so I could be thinking about soup and turkey and not about how to cook without making my place a sauna.
Then, I had a hell of a day at work today, and at 3:30 I didn't even care about eating dinner. I just wanted to buy a bottle of red wine and get into bed. I think it was the chill in the air, the last day of wearing a dress with no tights, all that plus the workday.
I decided on my walk to the wine store that I couldn't let Jesse starve. So, I made the snap decision to roast a chicken and some vegetables. It's comfort food. It's good with red wine. And it takes an hour to cook, which definitely gives us time to work through one bottle of wine. Heh.
I'm pretty satisfied with this roast chicken. I've made it a lot of times, and every time it's been pretty fantastic, and like fried chicken, it's gotten better each time. I love roast chicken. It makes abysmal days better. And with roasted potatoes, shallotts, garlic cloves, and beets, life should be good.
Mind you, in late October, I'm going to be wishing it was July again. And you can all shake your heads, point me back to this entry, and remind me that in late September, I was happily roasting chicken and drinking red wine.
20080922
Party Party party party party redux!
Happily, the BBQ was a wonderful time.
7 people (one of whom wasn't drinking) went through an impressive amount of foodstuffs and beverages. 16 or 17 burger patties, 5 or 6 hotdogs, a bag of tortilla chips, a jar of salsa, a bowl of guacamole, the majority of my Beau Monde dip, 30 beers, 2 bottles of wine, half a vodka watermelon, and the bulk of the bottle of vodka that didn't go into the watermelon. And 12 rootbeers.
It went great. People drank a ton, they loved my food (possibly because they were drunk), the people who came got along great, I got to cook on my grill... And that was an excellent addition. I mean, most of the time when people have to cook during a party, they're left all alone while everyone else has fun. But last night, people came outside to talk to me at differing stages while I was lighting the grill or cooking or whatever. It was nice. Plus, it got me a chance to hang out with people individually, which is always awesome even at a big party. I like to have the chance to talk to people 1 on 1.
It was great. It was so much fun, and I'm so happy that we did it.
And now, tonight, we're having meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The meat loaf is part ground beef, part ground lamb, seasoned with curry powder, tumeric, garam masala, cardamom and cumin -- very curry-esque.
I love meatloaf, ps. I've never had a bad meatloaf, and so I would make it several times a month if I could. It's easy to change and you can probably make it a hundred different ways, at least. My first try at meatloaf (the first time I ever ate it, I made it) I used Bisto powder and mixed it in red wine and poured all that in...I nailed the texture, but according to Jesse and Kristin, it wasn't the meatloaf they were used to...
But I loved it.
And I'm pretty optimistic about this one. Smells nice so far. :)
I'll let you know how it turns out.
7 people (one of whom wasn't drinking) went through an impressive amount of foodstuffs and beverages. 16 or 17 burger patties, 5 or 6 hotdogs, a bag of tortilla chips, a jar of salsa, a bowl of guacamole, the majority of my Beau Monde dip, 30 beers, 2 bottles of wine, half a vodka watermelon, and the bulk of the bottle of vodka that didn't go into the watermelon. And 12 rootbeers.
It went great. People drank a ton, they loved my food (possibly because they were drunk), the people who came got along great, I got to cook on my grill... And that was an excellent addition. I mean, most of the time when people have to cook during a party, they're left all alone while everyone else has fun. But last night, people came outside to talk to me at differing stages while I was lighting the grill or cooking or whatever. It was nice. Plus, it got me a chance to hang out with people individually, which is always awesome even at a big party. I like to have the chance to talk to people 1 on 1.
It was great. It was so much fun, and I'm so happy that we did it.
And now, tonight, we're having meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The meat loaf is part ground beef, part ground lamb, seasoned with curry powder, tumeric, garam masala, cardamom and cumin -- very curry-esque.
I love meatloaf, ps. I've never had a bad meatloaf, and so I would make it several times a month if I could. It's easy to change and you can probably make it a hundred different ways, at least. My first try at meatloaf (the first time I ever ate it, I made it) I used Bisto powder and mixed it in red wine and poured all that in...I nailed the texture, but according to Jesse and Kristin, it wasn't the meatloaf they were used to...
But I loved it.
And I'm pretty optimistic about this one. Smells nice so far. :)
I'll let you know how it turns out.
20080921
Party party party party
As some of you may remember, 2 and a half months ago, we endeavored to have a cookout on the 4th of July.
The summer blew up in our faces, and caused that not to happen.
We are just now getting round to having that cookout. Today.
Most of our friends bailed on it, which makes me sad. Because we bought a crap-ton of food and now people either can't come, or they're coming late, or leaving early, and like.... Meh. I feel disheartened.
But, anyways, we are having a party and I made bread for dip, and guacamole and orzo/vegetable salad, and we bought pre-made burger patties which I KNOW is a sin, but they were cheaper and more precise than buying the pounds of ground beef and trying to do it ourselves. However, I am going to apply some taste-inducing stuff TO the pre-made ground beef patties, since they're.... y'know, just ground beef. It's the best I can do.
I'm excited. I thought it started half an hour ago, but I just checked the invite, and I totally told everyone 3. Goober = me.
But, excited to see whoever shows up also = me!!
The summer blew up in our faces, and caused that not to happen.
We are just now getting round to having that cookout. Today.
Most of our friends bailed on it, which makes me sad. Because we bought a crap-ton of food and now people either can't come, or they're coming late, or leaving early, and like.... Meh. I feel disheartened.
But, anyways, we are having a party and I made bread for dip, and guacamole and orzo/vegetable salad, and we bought pre-made burger patties which I KNOW is a sin, but they were cheaper and more precise than buying the pounds of ground beef and trying to do it ourselves. However, I am going to apply some taste-inducing stuff TO the pre-made ground beef patties, since they're.... y'know, just ground beef. It's the best I can do.
I'm excited. I thought it started half an hour ago, but I just checked the invite, and I totally told everyone 3. Goober = me.
But, excited to see whoever shows up also = me!!
20080911
In which we dish.
We've had some good cookery as of late.
Monday night, we had a Rachael Ray creation -- Chicken Marvalasala, and Pappardelle with Rosemary Gravy. I really love chicken marsala, and this was a bit of an un-orthodox take that tickled my fancy. The chicken's not breaded, and it requires 3 different pans to make this. The first one, I'm happy about. The second created some frustration for me. BUT, regardless, it was delish and I messed with the gravy for the linguine a little bit -- I didn't have rosemary or tomato paste. So, I used a tablespoon of canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead.... it was delish. We were eating it cold out of the serving bowl later that night.
Tuesday night, we had pizza. The crust was magnificent. The toppings were red pepper pesto, mozzarella, kalamata olives, and garlic cloves. I baked it at 450. The garlic cloves actually got soft and sweet. The pizza didn't get oily. The cheese was nicely brown. In short, this was a happy pizza. We ate the left-overs for breakfast the following morning.
Last night, we had my macaroni and cheese, with broccoli. We used orechiette pasta, and instead of gruyere and emmenthaler, we used medium and sharp cheddar. Instead of pancetta -- thick cut bacon. It was amazing. The bacon. Sooo beautiful. And so nice to find when you take a big bite -- a bit of pasta, cheese, broccoli, and bacon.
I threw the broccoli into the cooking pasta with about 30 seconds left before al dente. Just to get it up to temperature and cook it a little. It cooked a little more in the cheese sauce/broiler combo.
Tragically, I had to put it in the microwave today at work. I hate microwaves. My favorite way of reheating my mac is to put it in a skillet with an ovenproof handle (or a handle wrapped in tinfoil) with some butter and milk or cream. I smush everything around so that the sauce can become cheese sauce again, and then I sprinkle some shredded cheese and breadcrumbs over the top, because I love the crisp, and I broil it for a few.
The crisp has now been re-named the Sog for today. Mope.
Tonight, we will again venture into Rachael Land with an Olive Frittata and Rach's Mom's 15-minute Tomato and Bean Stoup.
We discovered Saturday that the best time to plan a menu is when you're starving. We flipped through one Rachael Ray cookbook and found a million options for food this week. Generally it's like pulling teeth because we generally plan while well-fed. Clearly, starvin'Marvin' is the way to go.
Heh.
Friday is Turkey Burgers, and Saturday is Chili. Mmmmmmm fall is in the air.
Monday night, we had a Rachael Ray creation -- Chicken Marvalasala, and Pappardelle with Rosemary Gravy. I really love chicken marsala, and this was a bit of an un-orthodox take that tickled my fancy. The chicken's not breaded, and it requires 3 different pans to make this. The first one, I'm happy about. The second created some frustration for me. BUT, regardless, it was delish and I messed with the gravy for the linguine a little bit -- I didn't have rosemary or tomato paste. So, I used a tablespoon of canned fire-roasted tomatoes instead.... it was delish. We were eating it cold out of the serving bowl later that night.
Tuesday night, we had pizza. The crust was magnificent. The toppings were red pepper pesto, mozzarella, kalamata olives, and garlic cloves. I baked it at 450. The garlic cloves actually got soft and sweet. The pizza didn't get oily. The cheese was nicely brown. In short, this was a happy pizza. We ate the left-overs for breakfast the following morning.
Last night, we had my macaroni and cheese, with broccoli. We used orechiette pasta, and instead of gruyere and emmenthaler, we used medium and sharp cheddar. Instead of pancetta -- thick cut bacon. It was amazing. The bacon. Sooo beautiful. And so nice to find when you take a big bite -- a bit of pasta, cheese, broccoli, and bacon.
I threw the broccoli into the cooking pasta with about 30 seconds left before al dente. Just to get it up to temperature and cook it a little. It cooked a little more in the cheese sauce/broiler combo.
Tragically, I had to put it in the microwave today at work. I hate microwaves. My favorite way of reheating my mac is to put it in a skillet with an ovenproof handle (or a handle wrapped in tinfoil) with some butter and milk or cream. I smush everything around so that the sauce can become cheese sauce again, and then I sprinkle some shredded cheese and breadcrumbs over the top, because I love the crisp, and I broil it for a few.
The crisp has now been re-named the Sog for today. Mope.
Tonight, we will again venture into Rachael Land with an Olive Frittata and Rach's Mom's 15-minute Tomato and Bean Stoup.
We discovered Saturday that the best time to plan a menu is when you're starving. We flipped through one Rachael Ray cookbook and found a million options for food this week. Generally it's like pulling teeth because we generally plan while well-fed. Clearly, starvin'Marvin' is the way to go.
Heh.
Friday is Turkey Burgers, and Saturday is Chili. Mmmmmmm fall is in the air.
20080908
In which I make a better butter.
I know. My title makes you think that I'm a blasphemer. Admit it. It's ok.
I'm not.
I'm a truth-teller.
A couple weeks ago, I was thinking about how to make toast more nutritious. I mean... don't get me wrong, I love me some toast. In a big way. Toast + Me = love. And toast with plain old butter is a beautiful thing. I mean it.
But there's not so much benefit to eating toast first thing in the morning -- you eat breakfast to give your body some calories to burn throughout the day -- to kickstart your metabolism, as it were. And while butter does provide some necessary calories, it's not enough. So I was thinking of foods that are high in good calories, good fats, vitamins, etc... and that are mushy.
I came up with Avocado.
Avocado has tons of good fat and good healthy calories, AND it's mushy and spreadable. Not to mention it's deliciousness. And since it's mushy and spreadable, it would go well WITH butter to encourage the melt-itude AND the smush-itude and the yum-iosity.
So on Saturday, I took our avocado, and some butter, and I created a concoction.
Joh's Avocado Butter:
1 medium ripe avocado (a little past ripe is still ok. smushy is key)
1/2 stick salted butter at room temperature (salt is key to bring out the yum of the avocado)
2 pinches salt (small pinches)
5 grinds black pepper
Zest of 1/2 lemon.
Cut open the avocado, take out the pit, and scoop out the green flesh into a bowl. Smash it up with a fork or potato masher. Add your soft butter, and smush with a fork or potato masher to combine. Add the salt, pepper, and lemon zest. A little chili powder is not misplaced here.
Roll this up in plastic wrap.... tightly. You want it to look like a fat cigar. Put it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.
After about 15 mintues, take it out of the freezer and transfer it to the fridge. You don't want it to ACTUALLY freeze.
This is delicious spread on toast. Especially if it's home-made bread to begin with. It would also be amazing on a simply grilled piece of fish, as a flavorant. Once the fish comes off the grill, plate it and cut off a round of the avocado butter and put it on top of the fish. Done. Deliciousness.
I really really think that this should be attempted by one and all. It's good for you!!! And yum-tastic. Promise!!!
I actually cooked some stuff that I want to post pictures of over the weekend, but for now, I'll do a quick rundown.
On Friday I reached a state of joy involving my fried chicken. I found the proper ratio of flour to panko to make the coating the way I like it. I used the right oil. And possibly MOST amazingly, I found the perfect vessel for it.
My blue Le Creuset casserole dish has been seeing the light of day a lot more lately. It was the pot in which I made some yum-tastic risotto wtih excellent results, most recently. And then, on Friday, I realized that the perfect pot in which to fry some chicken would NOT be my cast-iron skillet (iron oxide breaks down oils and causes them to become unhealthy) but, my enameled cast-iron Le Creuset!! The enamel kept the iron oxide from getting into the oil, and the casserole is the right size, and the chicken fried beautifully, which is in no small part thanks to the fact that my stove is no longer on a 37 degree backward tilt....
I used a little too much oil, because I was thinking of my cast-iron skillet and how I never had enough oil. But if that's the only problem I had... then I'm ok with that. I'll take too much oil (Since it wasn't greasy.... I drained it properly) over it burning because of too little oil.
I made biscuits on Saturday to mop up the left-over gravy from Friday night.
Sunday we had late-night Carbonara. Mostly because we wanted something cheap after we went out and had brunch and got silly.... and also because Fresh Direct was supposed to make a delivery between 10 and 11:30, and didn't come until after 12:30. Frustrating.
Anyways. Tonight I will hopefully post some pictures of all this stuff. And of other things of which I took photos yesterday, if I'm so moved. If you're so lucky.
And so on.
I'm not.
I'm a truth-teller.
A couple weeks ago, I was thinking about how to make toast more nutritious. I mean... don't get me wrong, I love me some toast. In a big way. Toast + Me = love. And toast with plain old butter is a beautiful thing. I mean it.
But there's not so much benefit to eating toast first thing in the morning -- you eat breakfast to give your body some calories to burn throughout the day -- to kickstart your metabolism, as it were. And while butter does provide some necessary calories, it's not enough. So I was thinking of foods that are high in good calories, good fats, vitamins, etc... and that are mushy.
I came up with Avocado.
Avocado has tons of good fat and good healthy calories, AND it's mushy and spreadable. Not to mention it's deliciousness. And since it's mushy and spreadable, it would go well WITH butter to encourage the melt-itude AND the smush-itude and the yum-iosity.
So on Saturday, I took our avocado, and some butter, and I created a concoction.
Joh's Avocado Butter:
1 medium ripe avocado (a little past ripe is still ok. smushy is key)
1/2 stick salted butter at room temperature (salt is key to bring out the yum of the avocado)
2 pinches salt (small pinches)
5 grinds black pepper
Zest of 1/2 lemon.
Cut open the avocado, take out the pit, and scoop out the green flesh into a bowl. Smash it up with a fork or potato masher. Add your soft butter, and smush with a fork or potato masher to combine. Add the salt, pepper, and lemon zest. A little chili powder is not misplaced here.
Roll this up in plastic wrap.... tightly. You want it to look like a fat cigar. Put it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.
After about 15 mintues, take it out of the freezer and transfer it to the fridge. You don't want it to ACTUALLY freeze.
This is delicious spread on toast. Especially if it's home-made bread to begin with. It would also be amazing on a simply grilled piece of fish, as a flavorant. Once the fish comes off the grill, plate it and cut off a round of the avocado butter and put it on top of the fish. Done. Deliciousness.
I really really think that this should be attempted by one and all. It's good for you!!! And yum-tastic. Promise!!!
I actually cooked some stuff that I want to post pictures of over the weekend, but for now, I'll do a quick rundown.
On Friday I reached a state of joy involving my fried chicken. I found the proper ratio of flour to panko to make the coating the way I like it. I used the right oil. And possibly MOST amazingly, I found the perfect vessel for it.
My blue Le Creuset casserole dish has been seeing the light of day a lot more lately. It was the pot in which I made some yum-tastic risotto wtih excellent results, most recently. And then, on Friday, I realized that the perfect pot in which to fry some chicken would NOT be my cast-iron skillet (iron oxide breaks down oils and causes them to become unhealthy) but, my enameled cast-iron Le Creuset!! The enamel kept the iron oxide from getting into the oil, and the casserole is the right size, and the chicken fried beautifully, which is in no small part thanks to the fact that my stove is no longer on a 37 degree backward tilt....
I used a little too much oil, because I was thinking of my cast-iron skillet and how I never had enough oil. But if that's the only problem I had... then I'm ok with that. I'll take too much oil (Since it wasn't greasy.... I drained it properly) over it burning because of too little oil.
I made biscuits on Saturday to mop up the left-over gravy from Friday night.
Sunday we had late-night Carbonara. Mostly because we wanted something cheap after we went out and had brunch and got silly.... and also because Fresh Direct was supposed to make a delivery between 10 and 11:30, and didn't come until after 12:30. Frustrating.
Anyways. Tonight I will hopefully post some pictures of all this stuff. And of other things of which I took photos yesterday, if I'm so moved. If you're so lucky.
And so on.
20080903
In which the times, they are a'changin'...
Hey kids.
I'm contemplating a new layout and a new theme behind the blog. I think the name might even change from Life is Nommy to something else. I'll be sure to keep you posted -- you'll be the first to know. Maybe the second -- Jesse will be the first because he's going to have to help me do the fancy shmancy stuff.
However, in the interim, I will do my best to keep updating. We've had an interesting month of August. Basically, it was peppered with a week of us being able to afford groceries, and a week of us not being able to afford them, rinse and repeat. I made risotto and soup, we had fabulous friends over and I mistakenly tried to use one pound of ground beef to make 4 burgers.... which I will never do again.
Saturday our ship righted itself, mostly. I ordered a bunch of groceries from Fresh Direct. We had steak on Sunday night after our groceries were delivered -- beautiful thick boneless shell steaks grilled, with sauteed green beans and shallots - I grated lemon zest over the top and tossed right before serving.
It was lovely.
Monday was an adventure.
It was our anniversary - we've been together for two years. Strange.... and wonderful. For our anniversary, we decided to have lobster for dinner - it's my favorite fancy food. We had been planning it for a few days, but hadn't gotten around to actually calling and ordering any from anyplace.
Monday morning, I woke up at about 9am (on Labor Day. EWW!!!) and decided to get up and call Whole Foods to make sure I could get some lobsters from them.
Apparently I missed a memo.
Selling live lobsters is against Whole Foods' principles. I didn't realize grocery stores HAD principles. So, back to the drawing board. I called Gourmet Garage. Nope - we don't sell those.
I checked Food Emporium's website - very expensive.
Jesse reminded me about The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market -- I leapt with glee and proceeded to call them over and over trying to get someone to confirm for me that they were open. I checked Chelsea Market's website - no word that they were closed. However, I couldn't get an answer on the phone.
Eventually, I just decided to go find out for myself.
I started with the grocery stores near my house - one's fish counter wasn't open on Labor Day. The other didn't have a department for fresh fish - only frozen.
I went to Union Square. I started walking west.
Garden of Eden was out of lobsters.
Several grocery stores along 14th street didn't have lobsters.
Chelsea Market, and therefore The Lobster Place, was closed.
Balducci's, a super-shmancy grocery store didn't sell them.
The Food Emporium I passed didn't sell them - only frozen lobster tails.
I went back to Garden of Eden, and was told that they had another store at 23rd street. I called Jesse and asked him to find the address.
I went in, and finally procured, three hours, 9+ grocery stores, and the start of my only sunburn of hte summer later.... two beautiful lobsters. For an exorbitant price. But.... they were worth it.
I am a lobster purist. So, I boiled them in heavily salted water, showing no mercy and no notice if they DID scream, which I don't think they did. I had to hold the lid down when one of them tried to fight being boiled alive. He could not escape me.
It was delicious.
It was the perfect end to an anniversary. A day where we went out and played frisbee in the park, walked around, got outside, and I got righteously sunburned. Of coruse, my dress had matching deep v's in the front and back, and I only got sunburned in the inverted triangle of open skin on my back. Which means that shirtless or in a tank top, I look VERY silly. But, it was incredibly well-earned. I loved every minute of it. And one sunburn in an entire summer, even a pretty righteous one, is ok with me if it's earned on a gorgeous day with my boyfriend celebrating two years together and many many more to come.
until next time.
I'm contemplating a new layout and a new theme behind the blog. I think the name might even change from Life is Nommy to something else. I'll be sure to keep you posted -- you'll be the first to know. Maybe the second -- Jesse will be the first because he's going to have to help me do the fancy shmancy stuff.
However, in the interim, I will do my best to keep updating. We've had an interesting month of August. Basically, it was peppered with a week of us being able to afford groceries, and a week of us not being able to afford them, rinse and repeat. I made risotto and soup, we had fabulous friends over and I mistakenly tried to use one pound of ground beef to make 4 burgers.... which I will never do again.
Saturday our ship righted itself, mostly. I ordered a bunch of groceries from Fresh Direct. We had steak on Sunday night after our groceries were delivered -- beautiful thick boneless shell steaks grilled, with sauteed green beans and shallots - I grated lemon zest over the top and tossed right before serving.
It was lovely.
Monday was an adventure.
It was our anniversary - we've been together for two years. Strange.... and wonderful. For our anniversary, we decided to have lobster for dinner - it's my favorite fancy food. We had been planning it for a few days, but hadn't gotten around to actually calling and ordering any from anyplace.
Monday morning, I woke up at about 9am (on Labor Day. EWW!!!) and decided to get up and call Whole Foods to make sure I could get some lobsters from them.
Apparently I missed a memo.
Selling live lobsters is against Whole Foods' principles. I didn't realize grocery stores HAD principles. So, back to the drawing board. I called Gourmet Garage. Nope - we don't sell those.
I checked Food Emporium's website - very expensive.
Jesse reminded me about The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market -- I leapt with glee and proceeded to call them over and over trying to get someone to confirm for me that they were open. I checked Chelsea Market's website - no word that they were closed. However, I couldn't get an answer on the phone.
Eventually, I just decided to go find out for myself.
I started with the grocery stores near my house - one's fish counter wasn't open on Labor Day. The other didn't have a department for fresh fish - only frozen.
I went to Union Square. I started walking west.
Garden of Eden was out of lobsters.
Several grocery stores along 14th street didn't have lobsters.
Chelsea Market, and therefore The Lobster Place, was closed.
Balducci's, a super-shmancy grocery store didn't sell them.
The Food Emporium I passed didn't sell them - only frozen lobster tails.
I went back to Garden of Eden, and was told that they had another store at 23rd street. I called Jesse and asked him to find the address.
I went in, and finally procured, three hours, 9+ grocery stores, and the start of my only sunburn of hte summer later.... two beautiful lobsters. For an exorbitant price. But.... they were worth it.
I am a lobster purist. So, I boiled them in heavily salted water, showing no mercy and no notice if they DID scream, which I don't think they did. I had to hold the lid down when one of them tried to fight being boiled alive. He could not escape me.
It was delicious.
It was the perfect end to an anniversary. A day where we went out and played frisbee in the park, walked around, got outside, and I got righteously sunburned. Of coruse, my dress had matching deep v's in the front and back, and I only got sunburned in the inverted triangle of open skin on my back. Which means that shirtless or in a tank top, I look VERY silly. But, it was incredibly well-earned. I loved every minute of it. And one sunburn in an entire summer, even a pretty righteous one, is ok with me if it's earned on a gorgeous day with my boyfriend celebrating two years together and many many more to come.
until next time.
20080818
In which I give in to temptation
I will admit it, I am highly suggestable. One post like this one on Smitten Kitchen, and I'm dead meat. So of course, I casually slid dishes into our weekly menu that will feature slow-roasted tomatoes. I'm sneaky.
Jesse and I went grocery shopping on Saturday, and we stopped at the Union Square Greenmarket, because we have a lot of tomato-heavy dishes, plus a sangria, in the plans and what better way to make yummy dishes than with actual ingredients from an actual farm, instead of from Whole Foods? So, we bought a pint of little yellow teardrop tomatoes, a pint of red cherry tomatoes, and one big honking ugly/beautiful green heirloom tomato which I will be using in a tomato/red onion salad tomorrow night.
Anyways.
Saturday night we made mussels, and hit the mother lode as far as live ones are concerned -- we had a grand total of 3 casualties in the whole 4 pounds of mussels!! I was shocked, to say the least. And thrilled. Ecstatic. Gleeful!! So I used the same recipe as I've used in previous efforts and had similar success. The sauce-to-bread ratio was much better this time. Basically, everything was just more wonderful this time. Happydays.
While we were enjoying some good food this weekend, we were also trying like crazyfolk to put our apartment to rights. I have painted the kitchen archway, and the stripe on the living room wall. My clothes are put away. All the bookshelves have been built by my wonderful, handsome boyfriend, as have a filing cabinet and a set of shelves. Books are being unpacked. Slow-roasting tomatoes for 3 hours was the perfect preparation, considering that I could set them up and leave them while unpacking.
After htey finished, Jesse made me a pie crust, and I made a quiche with the tomatoes as the centerpiece - egg, bacon, shallots, green peppers, some pulverized roasted garlic cloves from the slow-roasting, and gruyere, lots of shredded gruyere, with the tomatoes dropped in, cut-side-up after the egg mix went into the blind-baked crust. It was great, and we had left-overs for brekkie this morning. Good times.
To use up the rest of the tomatoes, I made soup. When I put the quiche in, I also started sweating some celery and another shallot. When they got all soft and clear, I added about 2 cups of chicken stock-in-a-box, and when that boiled, the tomatoes and garlic cloves that were left. That simmered for about 15 minutes, and then I blended the whole thing up with my immersion blender! Woohoo!
Once the blending was complete, the quiche came out of the oven, and while it was cooling I poured some milk into the soup, to cut the acid and thin it out a little.
We had the roasted garlic and tomato soup as a first course, and then the quiche. And of course, we topped off the night with amazing ice cream sundaes!! Please, if you ever see Herrell's Peppermint Hot Fudge in a jar at Whole Foods (or anywhere else...) BUY IT!!! It will change your life, I swear.
Ok kids, until next time, in which we lasagna-fy enchiladas!
Jesse and I went grocery shopping on Saturday, and we stopped at the Union Square Greenmarket, because we have a lot of tomato-heavy dishes, plus a sangria, in the plans and what better way to make yummy dishes than with actual ingredients from an actual farm, instead of from Whole Foods? So, we bought a pint of little yellow teardrop tomatoes, a pint of red cherry tomatoes, and one big honking ugly/beautiful green heirloom tomato which I will be using in a tomato/red onion salad tomorrow night.
Anyways.
Saturday night we made mussels, and hit the mother lode as far as live ones are concerned -- we had a grand total of 3 casualties in the whole 4 pounds of mussels!! I was shocked, to say the least. And thrilled. Ecstatic. Gleeful!! So I used the same recipe as I've used in previous efforts and had similar success. The sauce-to-bread ratio was much better this time. Basically, everything was just more wonderful this time. Happydays.
While we were enjoying some good food this weekend, we were also trying like crazyfolk to put our apartment to rights. I have painted the kitchen archway, and the stripe on the living room wall. My clothes are put away. All the bookshelves have been built by my wonderful, handsome boyfriend, as have a filing cabinet and a set of shelves. Books are being unpacked. Slow-roasting tomatoes for 3 hours was the perfect preparation, considering that I could set them up and leave them while unpacking.
After htey finished, Jesse made me a pie crust, and I made a quiche with the tomatoes as the centerpiece - egg, bacon, shallots, green peppers, some pulverized roasted garlic cloves from the slow-roasting, and gruyere, lots of shredded gruyere, with the tomatoes dropped in, cut-side-up after the egg mix went into the blind-baked crust. It was great, and we had left-overs for brekkie this morning. Good times.
To use up the rest of the tomatoes, I made soup. When I put the quiche in, I also started sweating some celery and another shallot. When they got all soft and clear, I added about 2 cups of chicken stock-in-a-box, and when that boiled, the tomatoes and garlic cloves that were left. That simmered for about 15 minutes, and then I blended the whole thing up with my immersion blender! Woohoo!
Once the blending was complete, the quiche came out of the oven, and while it was cooling I poured some milk into the soup, to cut the acid and thin it out a little.
We had the roasted garlic and tomato soup as a first course, and then the quiche. And of course, we topped off the night with amazing ice cream sundaes!! Please, if you ever see Herrell's Peppermint Hot Fudge in a jar at Whole Foods (or anywhere else...) BUY IT!!! It will change your life, I swear.
Ok kids, until next time, in which we lasagna-fy enchiladas!
20080814
In which we hit perfection.
Hi folks.
I have returned to the blogosphere!!!
Since I last gorged on photos, I have indeed cooked. McDonalds has not infested my life. We're still good. We just happen to have had a few crazy weeks, a lot of weekends spent not at home, or not home much, and as such, no really regular shopping or cooking. BUT, cooking has happened. We had burgers one night, I made mussels with my family at Cape Cod, grilled pizzas with family and friends at my parents' house the weekend before.... I've made risotto and soup and chicken marsala. Two nights ago, I had a huge craving for fried eggplant rounds, but couldn't for the life of me remember to buy eggs.... so we didn't have fried eggplant rounds. But I did master falafel, finally.
Now, this was my style falafel. AKA, not what you find in your local Falafel spot. I shape them into patties and I don't deep-fry, and I've come to believe via the evidence on Tuesday night that self-rising flour is indeed the best method for making falafel (I use it as a binder, and to coat the patties before frying.) -- I've tried bread crumbs of all ilks, seasoned, unseasoned, panko, fresh, whatever, but self-rising flour does everything better, and without compromising the texture, which is what I like second-best about my falafel. Basically, I'm really proud of these.
2 cans chickpeas - smash them with a potato masher.
About a tablespoon of minced onion - I reconstituted dried, because I had it for dip and had a little left over.
A minced clove of garlic, I think.
Cumin, Garam Masala, Curry Powder, Tumeric, Chili Powder, Salt.
A few sprinkles (probably 3 tbs total) self-rising flour.
A little water (only if it dries out.)
Smash, mash, and mix all the above ingredients together, and heat your oil (I used almond oil because it's good for high-heat cooking. Pick your fave) in your skillet.
When a little flour fries on contact, form the first patty, and pat it gently into some extra flour. Use a spatula to put it into the oil, because the oil will splatter and give you grease burns otherwise.
Put down a few more, depending on how big your skillet is and how much your stove tilts one way or the other. Don't add too many or the oil will lose too much heat.
Let them get a nice crisp on the first side. Leave them longer than you think you need to. Then, flip. They should stay together and flip easily if you've left them long enough. If not.... don't flip them yet!
Take them out when they're crispy on the second side, and then put them on a cooling rack that's on top of a paper-towel-covered cookie sheet. This way they don't sit in their own grease.
Eat with mango chutney if you're feeling snazzy, or in a pita with some veggies. Delish.
Last night, we went to see the Dark Knight which was awesome and terrifying and amazing all at the same time. Then, we went to Pommes Frites for a nutritious dinner of french fries and sauce. I had the Irish Curry, which is the best sauce possibly....ever. Jesse had Lemon-Dill Mayo. Also yummy. THEN, we caught the Dessert Truck in Astor Place, which was exciting because until last night, it was basically something I'd heard about from others, but never seen, because I went to school in the Bronx, now live in outer Brooklyn, and work in Midtown. Not where the Dessert Truck hangs out. But I've now had one of the top-5 BEST Creme Brulee's in my life, from a truck on the side of the street. (FYI: of the other 4, 1 was at French Roast and 3 were in Paris.)
In all, last night was basically perfect. I had 3 of my 4 favorite food groups -- Potatoes, Brown, and Dessert (the other group? Beer.) That's right. Potatoes. Brown food (like bread and chocolate). And Dessert (does this need a qualifier?) In a gorgeous city on a gorgeous night with my wonderful boyfriend.
I hit it. :)
I have returned to the blogosphere!!!
Since I last gorged on photos, I have indeed cooked. McDonalds has not infested my life. We're still good. We just happen to have had a few crazy weeks, a lot of weekends spent not at home, or not home much, and as such, no really regular shopping or cooking. BUT, cooking has happened. We had burgers one night, I made mussels with my family at Cape Cod, grilled pizzas with family and friends at my parents' house the weekend before.... I've made risotto and soup and chicken marsala. Two nights ago, I had a huge craving for fried eggplant rounds, but couldn't for the life of me remember to buy eggs.... so we didn't have fried eggplant rounds. But I did master falafel, finally.
Now, this was my style falafel. AKA, not what you find in your local Falafel spot. I shape them into patties and I don't deep-fry, and I've come to believe via the evidence on Tuesday night that self-rising flour is indeed the best method for making falafel (I use it as a binder, and to coat the patties before frying.) -- I've tried bread crumbs of all ilks, seasoned, unseasoned, panko, fresh, whatever, but self-rising flour does everything better, and without compromising the texture, which is what I like second-best about my falafel. Basically, I'm really proud of these.
2 cans chickpeas - smash them with a potato masher.
About a tablespoon of minced onion - I reconstituted dried, because I had it for dip and had a little left over.
A minced clove of garlic, I think.
Cumin, Garam Masala, Curry Powder, Tumeric, Chili Powder, Salt.
A few sprinkles (probably 3 tbs total) self-rising flour.
A little water (only if it dries out.)
Smash, mash, and mix all the above ingredients together, and heat your oil (I used almond oil because it's good for high-heat cooking. Pick your fave) in your skillet.
When a little flour fries on contact, form the first patty, and pat it gently into some extra flour. Use a spatula to put it into the oil, because the oil will splatter and give you grease burns otherwise.
Put down a few more, depending on how big your skillet is and how much your stove tilts one way or the other. Don't add too many or the oil will lose too much heat.
Let them get a nice crisp on the first side. Leave them longer than you think you need to. Then, flip. They should stay together and flip easily if you've left them long enough. If not.... don't flip them yet!
Take them out when they're crispy on the second side, and then put them on a cooling rack that's on top of a paper-towel-covered cookie sheet. This way they don't sit in their own grease.
Eat with mango chutney if you're feeling snazzy, or in a pita with some veggies. Delish.
Last night, we went to see the Dark Knight which was awesome and terrifying and amazing all at the same time. Then, we went to Pommes Frites for a nutritious dinner of french fries and sauce. I had the Irish Curry, which is the best sauce possibly....ever. Jesse had Lemon-Dill Mayo. Also yummy. THEN, we caught the Dessert Truck in Astor Place, which was exciting because until last night, it was basically something I'd heard about from others, but never seen, because I went to school in the Bronx, now live in outer Brooklyn, and work in Midtown. Not where the Dessert Truck hangs out. But I've now had one of the top-5 BEST Creme Brulee's in my life, from a truck on the side of the street. (FYI: of the other 4, 1 was at French Roast and 3 were in Paris.)
In all, last night was basically perfect. I had 3 of my 4 favorite food groups -- Potatoes, Brown, and Dessert (the other group? Beer.) That's right. Potatoes. Brown food (like bread and chocolate). And Dessert (does this need a qualifier?) In a gorgeous city on a gorgeous night with my wonderful boyfriend.
I hit it. :)
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