There are delicious foods in the world that do not photograph well in spite of what your Facebook and Instagram friends may think.
This would be one of them.
::cue Law & Order intro::
It's based off a dish my dad used to cook all the time when I was a kid, except his version is vegetarian, everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, and he loads it with something like two sticks of butter, which the dish (and more specifically, my version) doesn't need.
Ground beef
Chopped onion
Garlic
Zucchini, sliced not too thin
Sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Herbs of your choosing
Huge bag of mozzarella cheese
Brown the beef, drain, set aside.
Same pan, in a bit of olive oil or butter, sautee onion (~1/4) until translucent. Add one or two crushed cloves of garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add well-drained can of tomatoes (I used one that had oregano and basil) and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and crushing the tomato bits as much as you can with the spoon. Add spaghetti sauce (how big the jar depends on how much beef you have and how thick you want the sauce to be), simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Here's where you would add herbs/spices - I used oregano, parsley, a bit of fresh grated ginger... if I lived with culinary thrill-seekers I might have added a small can of chipotles (or chipotle powder.) I would also suggest adding about a teaspoon of sugar or so.
Remove from stove, stir in ground beef.
In a greased pan, layer slices of zucchini and mushrooms with a layer of the beef sauce, and a layer of shredded mozzarella; keep layering until you reach the top of your pan (finishing with cheese.) Bake at 425F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese turns golden. Let rest for 5+ minutes so the juices settle before you dig in.
You can't cut into this like you would lasagna. This is a messy dish, and there will be trails of cheese following your ladle and getting all over the outside of your bowl (don't even think of putting this on a flat plate.)
I made this a few hours in advance, so I had to put it in the fridge and it was cold when it went in the oven; so I baked it at 350F for 10 minutes covered in foil before cranking it to 425 and baking uncovered for another 25.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuna patties
Where I come from this would be a more complicated process involving boiling potatoes, cutting them, making a mash out of them with a decent flavor, and all that before you can even START making the dish itself.
I make the pantry version because it's quicker.
1 pouch instant mashed potatoes (there's a variety of flavors, pick any one you like)
Canned tuna (I use 4 small ones because that's usually what's in my pantry. You could get a big can, I guess)
1 egg
Bread crumbs
Crushed garlic
Parsley (FRESH parsley changes the flavor of these things tremendously, but I don't have any. =( )
White pepper
Olive oil
Preheat oven, 400F.
Make the mashed potatoes following the directions on the package. Mix in the garlic (as much as you want), bread crumbs, parsley, and white pepper. Set aside to cool a bit while you drain the tuna.
Add the tuna BEFORE adding the egg, because those potatoes retain heat well and you don't want scrambled egg in your mix.
Make patties in whatever shape or size you desire, brush some olive oil on both sides, and set on a cookie sheet. Top rack, 400F for about 15 minutes (they'll start looking a bit dry), then flip them, turn oven down to 375F, and give them another 15-20 minutes.
This would make about 12 decent patties, but I skimped a bit and they ended up being 13, so I didn't have room for that last one on the cookie sheet. I made it in the toaster oven and it came out crispier and more golden than the others (which I kinda liked better, personally).
You can eat these in sandwiches if you'd like. I prefer them over lime juice-sprinkled iceberg lettuce. They taste like summer to me and my 9-year-old loves them.
(I also put some grated ginger in them to appease my ginger fixation. The child did not notice and I didn't feel the need to fill her in)
I make the pantry version because it's quicker.
1 pouch instant mashed potatoes (there's a variety of flavors, pick any one you like)
Canned tuna (I use 4 small ones because that's usually what's in my pantry. You could get a big can, I guess)
1 egg
Bread crumbs
Crushed garlic
Parsley (FRESH parsley changes the flavor of these things tremendously, but I don't have any. =( )
White pepper
Olive oil
Preheat oven, 400F.
Make the mashed potatoes following the directions on the package. Mix in the garlic (as much as you want), bread crumbs, parsley, and white pepper. Set aside to cool a bit while you drain the tuna.
Add the tuna BEFORE adding the egg, because those potatoes retain heat well and you don't want scrambled egg in your mix.
Make patties in whatever shape or size you desire, brush some olive oil on both sides, and set on a cookie sheet. Top rack, 400F for about 15 minutes (they'll start looking a bit dry), then flip them, turn oven down to 375F, and give them another 15-20 minutes.
This would make about 12 decent patties, but I skimped a bit and they ended up being 13, so I didn't have room for that last one on the cookie sheet. I made it in the toaster oven and it came out crispier and more golden than the others (which I kinda liked better, personally).You can eat these in sandwiches if you'd like. I prefer them over lime juice-sprinkled iceberg lettuce. They taste like summer to me and my 9-year-old loves them.
(I also put some grated ginger in them to appease my ginger fixation. The child did not notice and I didn't feel the need to fill her in)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Stuffed mushrooms
Bear with me, I'm going to try to remember what all was thrown into the mix.
White button mushrooms (the pack had 24 big ones)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
BACONNNN
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Bleu cheese crumbles
Parmesan cheese
White wine vinegar (it WOULD have been white WINE, but I don't have any)
Bread crumbs
Assorted herbs from my pantry (namely - thyme, parsley)
Chicken bouillon powder
Olive oil
Butter
Salt & pepper
If you're looking for measurements, you're on the wrong blog.
Preheat oven, 400F.
Cut up the bacon into small pieces (I used 3 nice, thick slices), fry it up, set aside to drain. Hang on to that bacon grease for a minute. Hold it like you don't wanna let it go. YOU LOVE IT AND YOU KNOW IT.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel, separat the stems, and chop those up like the little bitches they are. Throw some herbs in there, a dash of the bouillon powder (how much you use will determine how much salt you'll need), bread crumbs, salt, pepper, all that jazz. Mix those up a bit, set aside.
Over a medium-high flame, heat just enough of that bacon grease to coat the surface of a pan, add a dab of butter, and cook the onion and garlic until they start to turn golden. Add the mushroom mixture and a splash of the white wine or white wine vinegar. Cook for about 5-ish minutes, stirring frequently. It should look like a gooey brown paste and smell like the food of the gods.
(This is where my father made fun of my mushroom-stuffed mushrooms and guess who doesn't get to have any, now. If you guessed my father you get to pat yourself on the back, good job!)
Transfer to a bowl and add the bacon, some more of the bread crumbs, and the three cheeses. Mix well and set aside.
Line up your mushroom caps with the stem(less) side down. Mix some olive oil into the rest of the bacon grease and lightly coat the tops of the mushrooms using a pastry brush.
Stuff the caps with the cream cheese mess and press the stuffed sides into a combination of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Set them on a baking sheet as you go. Make sure you use the kind with sides and not a flat cookie sheet, because they WILL release liquid and you don't want it sizzling at the bottom of your oven.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops turn a pretty color and you're done!
Try not to eat too many. 'Shrooms are best in moderation, as we all know.
White button mushrooms (the pack had 24 big ones)
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
BACONNNN
Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Bleu cheese crumbles
Parmesan cheese
White wine vinegar (it WOULD have been white WINE, but I don't have any)
Bread crumbs
Assorted herbs from my pantry (namely - thyme, parsley)
Chicken bouillon powder
Olive oil
Butter
Salt & pepper
If you're looking for measurements, you're on the wrong blog.
Preheat oven, 400F.
Cut up the bacon into small pieces (I used 3 nice, thick slices), fry it up, set aside to drain. Hang on to that bacon grease for a minute. Hold it like you don't wanna let it go. YOU LOVE IT AND YOU KNOW IT.
Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel, separat the stems, and chop those up like the little bitches they are. Throw some herbs in there, a dash of the bouillon powder (how much you use will determine how much salt you'll need), bread crumbs, salt, pepper, all that jazz. Mix those up a bit, set aside.
Over a medium-high flame, heat just enough of that bacon grease to coat the surface of a pan, add a dab of butter, and cook the onion and garlic until they start to turn golden. Add the mushroom mixture and a splash of the white wine or white wine vinegar. Cook for about 5-ish minutes, stirring frequently. It should look like a gooey brown paste and smell like the food of the gods.
(This is where my father made fun of my mushroom-stuffed mushrooms and guess who doesn't get to have any, now. If you guessed my father you get to pat yourself on the back, good job!)
Transfer to a bowl and add the bacon, some more of the bread crumbs, and the three cheeses. Mix well and set aside.
Line up your mushroom caps with the stem(less) side down. Mix some olive oil into the rest of the bacon grease and lightly coat the tops of the mushrooms using a pastry brush.
Stuff the caps with the cream cheese mess and press the stuffed sides into a combination of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow bowl. Set them on a baking sheet as you go. Make sure you use the kind with sides and not a flat cookie sheet, because they WILL release liquid and you don't want it sizzling at the bottom of your oven.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops turn a pretty color and you're done!
Try not to eat too many. 'Shrooms are best in moderation, as we all know.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Pineapple, cranberry & coconut cupcakes, w/malted coconut buttercream frosting
A few days ago I decided I needed to bake something with cranberries and coconut, and there are certain desires humans were not meant to fight.
There really isn't much to these cupcakes. The basic recipe is really meant to be for a small, simple, fluffy cake; I just didn't feel like making a CAKE.
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Drained crushed pineapple, as needed
Dried cranberries, as needed
Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix together the flour, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until well combined, fold in coconut.
No, really, that's it.
I was making those tiny little mini cupcakes you can eat in one bite, with the tiny little mini cupcake paper liners that are a pain in the ass to pull apart. At the bottom of the liners I put about 1/4 tsp of the pineapple and a couple of cranberries; spooned batter on top and baked for about 15 minutes.
No. Really. That's IT.
I made that batch a couple of nights ago as a test run, didn't get around to making the frosting until tonight, and of course by now all the cupcakes are gone. So I don't really know how this frosting will work with the cupcakes, but I can't imagine the results being atrocious.
Malted Coconut Buttercream Frosting
1 stick (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Buttercream frosting is the ONLY time I condone the -partial- use of this abomination. Ugh)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Almond extract (JUST a few drops)
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered malted milk
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut milk
Cream together butter, shortening and extracts. Add the sugar gradually, 1/2 cup at a time or so, continuing to beat in between additions. I add the sugar and stir with a spatula before turning the mixer back on, because I like not being covered in confectioner's sugar. Add the malted milk and continue mixing--I may or may not have used more than 1 1/2 tablespoons because I always say I'm going to start measuring stuff for the Very Purpose of this blog, then I start measuring, halfway through the process decide I need more of an ingredient, and then I just toss some more in, so let's call it 1 1/2 tablespoons and be done with it. This mixture will look a bit dry, and that's okay. Once everything's combined, add the coconut milk and then beat for a while until it's creamy.
So now I have a container full of this stuff in the fridge, and I won't get to know if it makes or breaks the cupcakes until I make The Real Batch tomorrow for this road trip with Ms. Lisa.
Tastes pretty good by itself, though.
There really isn't much to these cupcakes. The basic recipe is really meant to be for a small, simple, fluffy cake; I just didn't feel like making a CAKE.
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 stick (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Drained crushed pineapple, as needed
Dried cranberries, as needed
Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix together the flour, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until well combined, fold in coconut.
No, really, that's it.
I was making those tiny little mini cupcakes you can eat in one bite, with the tiny little mini cupcake paper liners that are a pain in the ass to pull apart. At the bottom of the liners I put about 1/4 tsp of the pineapple and a couple of cranberries; spooned batter on top and baked for about 15 minutes.
No. Really. That's IT.
I made that batch a couple of nights ago as a test run, didn't get around to making the frosting until tonight, and of course by now all the cupcakes are gone. So I don't really know how this frosting will work with the cupcakes, but I can't imagine the results being atrocious.
Malted Coconut Buttercream Frosting
1 stick (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Buttercream frosting is the ONLY time I condone the -partial- use of this abomination. Ugh)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Almond extract (JUST a few drops)
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered malted milk
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut milk
Cream together butter, shortening and extracts. Add the sugar gradually, 1/2 cup at a time or so, continuing to beat in between additions. I add the sugar and stir with a spatula before turning the mixer back on, because I like not being covered in confectioner's sugar. Add the malted milk and continue mixing--I may or may not have used more than 1 1/2 tablespoons because I always say I'm going to start measuring stuff for the Very Purpose of this blog, then I start measuring, halfway through the process decide I need more of an ingredient, and then I just toss some more in, so let's call it 1 1/2 tablespoons and be done with it. This mixture will look a bit dry, and that's okay. Once everything's combined, add the coconut milk and then beat for a while until it's creamy.
So now I have a container full of this stuff in the fridge, and I won't get to know if it makes or breaks the cupcakes until I make The Real Batch tomorrow for this road trip with Ms. Lisa.
Tastes pretty good by itself, though.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tiramisu
Abominations and experimenting aside, most people agree that I'm a rather good cook. I agree that I am ridiculously vain, and therefore concur.
This right here, though? This is the one thing I go out of my way to brag about. My tiramisu may possibly be the best thing in the history of ever.
Am I able to follow my own recipe to the letter? Of course not. There were factors outside of my control, see.
As I mentioned in the previous post, my sister was in charge of doing the groceries for her own demands. She went to the store quite late last night, and no liquor stores were open at that hour. We don't have any Kahlúa in the house. Today is Sunday. All of these things are bad.
The in-laws have Kahlúa. That's good!
But that would be stealing, and that's bad.
I'm pretty sure we'd pay it back. That's good!
Then I could make my tiramisu, and that's REALLY good, but I'm home without a car and J didn't go borrow the Kahlúa from his folks'. (That's bad)
So we make a non-alcoholic version. That's meh. I had something like a third of a shot of raspberry schnapps, and might as well get rid of it, right?
Okay, then.
2 cups strong coffee (or espresso) (I used the Mexican coffee from earlier today)
2 tbsp. sugar (skipped this, since my coffee had sugar already)
6 tbsp. Kahlúa (... ... ...)
Mix well, set aside to cool.
2 1/2 pkgs lady fingers
3 large eggs, room temperature, separated
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla*
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 oz. Cream cheese
*I've been known to use almond extract, raspberry extract, or 2 tsp Amaretto, instead
In a non-plastic bowl, beat egg whites until hard peaks form. Set aside.
In a non-plastic bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. (Make sure that both the bowl and the mixer attachments are chilled for this. I stuck them in the freezer a few minutes before mixing).
In a separate container, beat egg yolks, sugar & vanilla for about 2-3 minutes until pale-yellow & creamy. Add mascarpone and cream cheese (softened) and mix until well combined, about 3-5 minutes. The addition of cream cheese serves the purpose of giving depth, not flavor or texture. Just go with it.
Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, and once combined, fold about half the whipped cream as well. Put the other half in the fridge for later.
You'll need a pretty big container, or several. Line the bottom with the lady fingers dipped in the coffee mix (don't soak them too long or they'll fall apart, but make sure they ARE properly soaked), layer mascarpone mix on top. Repeat until you run out of room, finishing with a mascarpone layer. Cover and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
Ack, midnight kitchen lighting won't allow for a good shot.
I don't have cocoa powder, but I do have about 3lbs of Easter chocolate in the fridge......... poor bunny never saw it coming.
This right here, though? This is the one thing I go out of my way to brag about. My tiramisu may possibly be the best thing in the history of ever.
Am I able to follow my own recipe to the letter? Of course not. There were factors outside of my control, see.
As I mentioned in the previous post, my sister was in charge of doing the groceries for her own demands. She went to the store quite late last night, and no liquor stores were open at that hour. We don't have any Kahlúa in the house. Today is Sunday. All of these things are bad.
The in-laws have Kahlúa. That's good!
But that would be stealing, and that's bad.
I'm pretty sure we'd pay it back. That's good!
Then I could make my tiramisu, and that's REALLY good, but I'm home without a car and J didn't go borrow the Kahlúa from his folks'. (That's bad)
So we make a non-alcoholic version. That's meh. I had something like a third of a shot of raspberry schnapps, and might as well get rid of it, right?
Okay, then.
2 cups strong coffee (or espresso) (I used the Mexican coffee from earlier today)
2 tbsp. sugar (skipped this, since my coffee had sugar already)
6 tbsp. Kahlúa (... ... ...)
Mix well, set aside to cool.
2 1/2 pkgs lady fingers
3 large eggs, room temperature, separated
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla*
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 oz. Cream cheese
*I've been known to use almond extract, raspberry extract, or 2 tsp Amaretto, instead
In a non-plastic bowl, beat egg whites until hard peaks form. Set aside.
In a non-plastic bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Set aside. (Make sure that both the bowl and the mixer attachments are chilled for this. I stuck them in the freezer a few minutes before mixing).
In a separate container, beat egg yolks, sugar & vanilla for about 2-3 minutes until pale-yellow & creamy. Add mascarpone and cream cheese (softened) and mix until well combined, about 3-5 minutes. The addition of cream cheese serves the purpose of giving depth, not flavor or texture. Just go with it.
Gently fold the egg whites into the mascarpone mixture, and once combined, fold about half the whipped cream as well. Put the other half in the fridge for later.
You'll need a pretty big container, or several. Line the bottom with the lady fingers dipped in the coffee mix (don't soak them too long or they'll fall apart, but make sure they ARE properly soaked), layer mascarpone mix on top. Repeat until you run out of room, finishing with a mascarpone layer. Cover and refrigerate for about 2-3 hours. Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and sprinkle with cocoa powder.
Ack, midnight kitchen lighting won't allow for a good shot.
I don't have cocoa powder, but I do have about 3lbs of Easter chocolate in the fridge......... poor bunny never saw it coming.
Aloo Gobi
I'll be honest, I don't know what the hell Aloo Gobi's supposed to BE. A vegetable curry, I'm told? Alright. Sure.
Among the Rules of the House there is one that applies to anyone who comes to visit, ever: Bring home the necessary ingredients and I'll cook it for you. It's very simple, and I'm game for anything you come up with.
The sister recently decided she wants to be a vegetarian, and started looking through the vegetarian cookbooks. She wants me to make aloo gobi, I go over The Rule and she goes to the grocery store. So here it go.
1lb potatoes
2 tbsp peanut or corn oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chiles, seeded and finely chopped (and if you're me, also de-veined)
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro
In a small bowl, mix ground spices and the chili powder. Set aside.
Cut up potatoes, 1-in cubes. Cook them in boiling water for ~10 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil in a large skillet; add cumin seeds and cook for ~1 1/2 minutes stirring constantly (they'll start popping and smelling awesome).
Add chiles, cook for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add cauliflower, cook for about 5 minutes Stirring Constantly. Remove from heat while you drain potatoes.
Add potatoes and sprinkle the spices over everything. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook for another 10+ minutes while stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender.
Garnish with the cilantro.
And because there are days when I am, in fact, Mexican, I added a sprinkle of lime juice before digging in.
Tasty.
(The sister gives her seal of approval)
Among the Rules of the House there is one that applies to anyone who comes to visit, ever: Bring home the necessary ingredients and I'll cook it for you. It's very simple, and I'm game for anything you come up with.
The sister recently decided she wants to be a vegetarian, and started looking through the vegetarian cookbooks. She wants me to make aloo gobi, I go over The Rule and she goes to the grocery store. So here it go.
1lb potatoes
2 tbsp peanut or corn oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chiles, seeded and finely chopped (and if you're me, also de-veined)
1 cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
chopped fresh cilantro
In a small bowl, mix ground spices and the chili powder. Set aside.
Cut up potatoes, 1-in cubes. Cook them in boiling water for ~10 minutes.
In the meantime, heat oil in a large skillet; add cumin seeds and cook for ~1 1/2 minutes stirring constantly (they'll start popping and smelling awesome).
Add chiles, cook for about a minute stirring constantly.
Add cauliflower, cook for about 5 minutes Stirring Constantly. Remove from heat while you drain potatoes.
Add potatoes and sprinkle the spices over everything. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return to heat and cook for another 10+ minutes while stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender.
Garnish with the cilantro.
And because there are days when I am, in fact, Mexican, I added a sprinkle of lime juice before digging in.
Tasty.
(The sister gives her seal of approval)
Mexican coffee
I don't have the proper ingredients for the real thing. I don't even have a clay pot.
In a [preferably CLAY] pot, boil 4 cups of water over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add--
Orange peel
5 cloves
couple of cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup ground dark roast coffee
4oz piloncillo (raw sugar)
Them's the PROPER ingredients. My sister's made it a habit of always keeping oranges in the fridge, so that worked out fine--I shaved the peel in strips and not with a grater (make sure you avoid the white bits). I only have ground clove, so I did about 7 quick dashes of that. Likewise for the cinnamon, a few good dashes. I don't have my coffee maker anymore and all I have is instant coffee.... yeah, yeah, I know. I now also know that 1/2 cup non-instant coffee does not equal 1/2 cup instant coffee. Wheeee, I'm wired. Also, since it's instant--I added it towards the end and not at the beginning.
Annnnnnnnd I don't have piloncillo. Went with 1/2 cup light brown sugar, instead. This is the reason this entry is tagged under "abomination"--any real Mexican will tell you that there IS no substitute for piloncillo. My sister did, because, as Asian as she is, she is much, MUCH more Mexican than I am.
Simmer for 5 minutes, add a cup of cold water, cover and remove from heat.
Let it rest for 5 minutes. Strain before serving.
A long time to wait to enjoy a cup of coffee, but it's worth it.
In a [preferably CLAY] pot, boil 4 cups of water over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add--
Orange peel
5 cloves
couple of cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup ground dark roast coffee
4oz piloncillo (raw sugar)
Them's the PROPER ingredients. My sister's made it a habit of always keeping oranges in the fridge, so that worked out fine--I shaved the peel in strips and not with a grater (make sure you avoid the white bits). I only have ground clove, so I did about 7 quick dashes of that. Likewise for the cinnamon, a few good dashes. I don't have my coffee maker anymore and all I have is instant coffee.... yeah, yeah, I know. I now also know that 1/2 cup non-instant coffee does not equal 1/2 cup instant coffee. Wheeee, I'm wired. Also, since it's instant--I added it towards the end and not at the beginning.
Annnnnnnnd I don't have piloncillo. Went with 1/2 cup light brown sugar, instead. This is the reason this entry is tagged under "abomination"--any real Mexican will tell you that there IS no substitute for piloncillo. My sister did, because, as Asian as she is, she is much, MUCH more Mexican than I am.
Simmer for 5 minutes, add a cup of cold water, cover and remove from heat.
Let it rest for 5 minutes. Strain before serving.
A long time to wait to enjoy a cup of coffee, but it's worth it.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Son of the Return of the Freezer Revenge: The Stir Fry
So then I made that Stir Fry.
I have a bottle of Chile de Arbol oil that was a byproduct of making an insanely spicy salsa (by my standards. Meaning, not very spicy at all). The oil itself can't be considered a culinary weapon, but it does add a zing to dishes that is more flavor than heat. I'll try to post a recipe of that salsa the next time I find myself making it. It's really good, actually.
This is the oil that I used to sear the stir fry beef. Set aside, add a bit more oil, saute the carrot/celery/onion blend.
Added a bag of stir fry veggies that I happened to have in The Freezer, cooked over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, added the beef back to the pan. Gave it a couple of sprinkles of soy sauce and a good swirl of stir-fry sauce (thereby winning this entry a place in the "faking it" tag, but that sauce is pretty good!), cooked it for a minute or so longer, served over rice.
Not including prep time from earlier today (making the rice, sucker-punching vegetables, etcetera), this meal was put together in about 20 minutes. The 7 year-old ate a huge bowl of it, so I'm going to call it a success.
PS-You know what would have been awesome here and I didn't even think about? GINGER.
I have a bottle of Chile de Arbol oil that was a byproduct of making an insanely spicy salsa (by my standards. Meaning, not very spicy at all). The oil itself can't be considered a culinary weapon, but it does add a zing to dishes that is more flavor than heat. I'll try to post a recipe of that salsa the next time I find myself making it. It's really good, actually.
This is the oil that I used to sear the stir fry beef. Set aside, add a bit more oil, saute the carrot/celery/onion blend.
Added a bag of stir fry veggies that I happened to have in The Freezer, cooked over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, added the beef back to the pan. Gave it a couple of sprinkles of soy sauce and a good swirl of stir-fry sauce (thereby winning this entry a place in the "faking it" tag, but that sauce is pretty good!), cooked it for a minute or so longer, served over rice.
Not including prep time from earlier today (making the rice, sucker-punching vegetables, etcetera), this meal was put together in about 20 minutes. The 7 year-old ate a huge bowl of it, so I'm going to call it a success.
PS-You know what would have been awesome here and I didn't even think about? GINGER.
From the depths of my Freezer
At any given point in time I can usually dig around in my Freezer and find a bit of awesomeness.
Because I freeze EVERYTHING.
What I had in the fridge were some baby carrots, celery and onions, which by itself meant I could pretty much do anything I damn wanted.
Got some plain white rice to steam, sucker-punched my veggies in a tiny food processor, set everything aside for some stir fry I plan to whip up with some beef from... The Freezer. I usually buy a few extra packages of stir fry beef from the store, get home, wrap the entire package tight in a couple of layers of Saran wrap and forget all about them (in The Freezer) until they sound like a good idea again. They freeze well, and defrost remarkably quick.
But that's for dinner tonight. Later.
In the meantime, I could go for some soup.
Simmer some more of those chopped veggies with some chicken broth (I don't have any at the moment, so it was water and chicken bouillon), a good clove of minced garlic, some herbs (thyme, parsley, cilantro--my folks always say it's pointless to use those last two together, and I disagree), and added lime zest from The Freezer... I left that on the stove for a good 40 minutes or so, then dug around The Freezer for some more stuff.
Frozen corn.... what's this, a baggie of shredded beef? Alright... this kinda looks like an ice-cube shaped lump of blanched spinach... yeah, I think I remember doing that, okay... Sweet.
Bowl: beef, some of the cooked rice from earlier, broth. Sprinkle of lime juice. If I had avocado this would be perfection. Daughter's vs. mine: mine has the spinach and cayenne pepper. YUM.
Because I freeze EVERYTHING.
What I had in the fridge were some baby carrots, celery and onions, which by itself meant I could pretty much do anything I damn wanted.
Got some plain white rice to steam, sucker-punched my veggies in a tiny food processor, set everything aside for some stir fry I plan to whip up with some beef from... The Freezer. I usually buy a few extra packages of stir fry beef from the store, get home, wrap the entire package tight in a couple of layers of Saran wrap and forget all about them (in The Freezer) until they sound like a good idea again. They freeze well, and defrost remarkably quick.
But that's for dinner tonight. Later.
In the meantime, I could go for some soup.
Simmer some more of those chopped veggies with some chicken broth (I don't have any at the moment, so it was water and chicken bouillon), a good clove of minced garlic, some herbs (thyme, parsley, cilantro--my folks always say it's pointless to use those last two together, and I disagree), and added lime zest from The Freezer... I left that on the stove for a good 40 minutes or so, then dug around The Freezer for some more stuff.
Frozen corn.... what's this, a baggie of shredded beef? Alright... this kinda looks like an ice-cube shaped lump of blanched spinach... yeah, I think I remember doing that, okay... Sweet.
Bowl: beef, some of the cooked rice from earlier, broth. Sprinkle of lime juice. If I had avocado this would be perfection. Daughter's vs. mine: mine has the spinach and cayenne pepper. YUM.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Cheesy spinach dip
What's all THIS crap??
This is me reaching fairly randomly into the refrigerator when I realized I had a huge bag of spinach I'd forgotten about, that needed to be used Real Soon. Like, NOW. Told my sister to bring home some chips and I got to work.
Tablespoon of butter, tablespoon of flour over low heat, cook a few minutes. I added about 1/4 cup of white wine, which in this case turned out to be Riesling, and even I know that's not a good idea. Riesling's too sweet, you want a dry wine, maybe a Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc. It's what I had, and instead of skipping the wine altogether, I went with it. I do what I WANT.
Now, this would have been fine and dandy like so, maybe more wine, but noooooooo. I went a weird direction and added..... MILK. To an acidic wine. I believe in my heart of hearts that I knew somewhere in my subconscious that this was a Really Bad Idea, but, like I said, I do what I WANT. Can you guess what happened? Curdling happened. I almost gave up on it then, but I had faith in this little abomination I was creating and I kept simmering until it became smooth and creamy again. Believe it or not.
I added a bit more milk (probably ended up using about 3/4 of a cup total, give or take).
Then I started throwing stuff in, not all at once, but little by little. CHEESES. Shredded Monterey/Colby blend, bleu cheese crumbles, grated parmesan. Dashes of white pepper, parsley. Stir frequently, and while that's simmering and melting and coming together....In a large pan heat some olive oil, add super finely chopped onion and garlic and saute over high heat until translucent. I added the huge amounts of spinach and covered, stirring occasionally until wilted. Drained it as best as I could and added it to my cheesy mess up there.
I simmered that for a while until it was nice and thick and cheesy and as scrumptious-looking as you can allow yourself to imagine it to be after you've seen it in its curdled stage. Removed from heat and added a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese, stirred until well incorporated, and voila.
It turned out to be delicious and everybody present loved the hell out of it and now it's completely gone, but that's not the point.
I still don't recommend trying this out for yourself.
(Aside from eating it with chips, I poured some over rice and it was awesome. Maybe making it thicker and baking it inside croissants would be fantastic. I could also see it over seared salmon. But seriously, don't make this at home)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Lunchbox
Every now and then the Daughter gets more than a sandwich to take to school for lunch. Some time last week she took some tuna sushi rolls, which I'm happy to report she loves. The thing with something like sushi is that you have to keep it cold, and those blue ice block things take up too much room in a little girl's lunch box.
That's when a snack like grapes comes in handy.
Place grapes in a single layer in the freezer until solid - you don't want one big block o'grape. Once they're frozen you can put them in a ziploc bag and they'll keep your food cold until lunch time arrives.
I cut her sushi rolls real thin, so they can go in a regular square sandwich container and leave plenty of room for the baggie of grapes in there, too (I use parchment paper as a divider).
That's when a snack like grapes comes in handy.
Place grapes in a single layer in the freezer until solid - you don't want one big block o'grape. Once they're frozen you can put them in a ziploc bag and they'll keep your food cold until lunch time arrives.
I cut her sushi rolls real thin, so they can go in a regular square sandwich container and leave plenty of room for the baggie of grapes in there, too (I use parchment paper as a divider).
The Carnivore Agenda, Spaghetti edition
Make no mistake: When given the chance, time, ingredients and caffeine, I would much rather cook pretty much everything from scratch. It's hard to tell from nearly every entry here, but I am ALL for spending 8 hours in the kitchen working on two or three dishes.
That is not the case, today.
An 8-item grocery list turned into a full cart, and in the interest of coming up with a quick dinner we decided on Spaghetti, the Faking It version.
1 box spaghetti noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice*
Roughly chopped spinach
Chopped parsley
Garlic
Grated ginger
Oregano
Chipotle (powder or en adobo)
White pepper
Bay leaves
The most pain-in-the-ass part of making spaghetti is getting that huge pot of water to BOIL ALREADY. Huge pot of water, some sea salt and a few bay leaves thrown in. While that's taking its sweet time, brown the beef and drain all the fat. Lower heat to a simmer, pour spaghetti sauce in (*I like the mushroom or meat ones). Add spinach, a clove of crushed garlic, some ginger, oregano, as much chipotle as you think you can handle (I add just a dash for flavor, not heat), white pepper, a couple of bay leaves. Simmer that until your water FINALLY BOILS, and leave it on there through the 9-11 minutes it'll take the pasta to cook (watch for the splatters). Just before the pasta is done, add the chopped parsley and another clove of crushed garlic into the sauce.
Drain pasta, remove sauce from heat and stuff your face with awesome.
Now, the garlic toast thing really works better with a baguette or something to that effect, but I don't have that kind of foresight when I do groceries. Soften some butter in the microwave (soften, not melt), add salt to taste, crushed garlic (because there just isn't enough garlic in this post already) and whatever herbs rock your boat. Spread over some bread and put it in the oven at 300F for some 10 minutes or so.
If you're worried about the garlic, that's what wine is for. Tomato dishes = red wine.
That is not the case, today.
An 8-item grocery list turned into a full cart, and in the interest of coming up with a quick dinner we decided on Spaghetti, the Faking It version.
1 box spaghetti noodles
1 lb ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce of your choice*
Roughly chopped spinach
Chopped parsley
Garlic
Grated ginger
Oregano
Chipotle (powder or en adobo)
White pepper
Bay leaves
The most pain-in-the-ass part of making spaghetti is getting that huge pot of water to BOIL ALREADY. Huge pot of water, some sea salt and a few bay leaves thrown in. While that's taking its sweet time, brown the beef and drain all the fat. Lower heat to a simmer, pour spaghetti sauce in (*I like the mushroom or meat ones). Add spinach, a clove of crushed garlic, some ginger, oregano, as much chipotle as you think you can handle (I add just a dash for flavor, not heat), white pepper, a couple of bay leaves. Simmer that until your water FINALLY BOILS, and leave it on there through the 9-11 minutes it'll take the pasta to cook (watch for the splatters). Just before the pasta is done, add the chopped parsley and another clove of crushed garlic into the sauce.Drain pasta, remove sauce from heat and stuff your face with awesome.
Now, the garlic toast thing really works better with a baguette or something to that effect, but I don't have that kind of foresight when I do groceries. Soften some butter in the microwave (soften, not melt), add salt to taste, crushed garlic (because there just isn't enough garlic in this post already) and whatever herbs rock your boat. Spread over some bread and put it in the oven at 300F for some 10 minutes or so.If you're worried about the garlic, that's what wine is for. Tomato dishes = red wine.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tuna Ring, in which my ability to speak English deserts me
It's Friday.
I don't observe Lent, but it does give me an excuse to make some people around here eat fish.
There's a delicious abomination called a Taco Ring, you may have heard of it or even eaten it before. It involves croissant dough, ground meat, taco seasoning and a metric ton of CHEESE. It's pretty awesome, really, but I always feel like such a phony Mexican when I make it, because, seriously, taco seasoning??
Anyway, as I said, it's Friday. No meat for J today. We IMPROVISE around these parts.
Tuna Ring
Croissant rolls dough
Canned tuna (I used a 12oz can)
1 metric ton of shredded cheese
1 egg
Bread crumbs (what, about 2 tbs.? Give or take?)
Finely chopped parsley
Sprinkle of ground ginger
Sprinkle of garlic powder (which I hate, but this was a lazy, fakin'-it sort of meal)
Annnnnnnnnd...
Mashed potatoes. Again, I'm going half-ass on this, so I used instant. This was about making a Really Quick meal, not a gourmet one, bear with me.
Preheat oven, 375 degrees.
Drain tuna, mix with everything else.
Lay out the croissant triangles on an ungreased cookie sheet so they make this circle thing. It's a tricky thing, and I'm sure a masters degree in applied geometry would help make this easier, but do the best you can. Spoon the tuna mush onto it and fold the dough over it so that you end up with an actual ring. I could have taken pictures, but didn't. What. I'm just going to use pictures other people have successfully taken of a taco ring.
My croissant circle of doom never looks that cool.
Bake according to the directions on the dough can, usually 12 or so minutes at 375 degrees or until a nice, golden brown.
Mind you, this is what/how much I made. Yeah, after piling up all that tuna and the mashed potatoes and ALL THAT CHEESE, it was almost too much for just one can of croissants. And maybe my little circle of death would've looked much neater if I'd used two, but it worked out.
If I'd wanted to spend more time on this thing, I may have used roasted (or super finely chopped fresh) garlic, fresh grated ginger, maybe some steamed spinach. I'm kinda feeling some chopped green olives, here, or jalapeno.
Maybe next time.
I don't observe Lent, but it does give me an excuse to make some people around here eat fish.
There's a delicious abomination called a Taco Ring, you may have heard of it or even eaten it before. It involves croissant dough, ground meat, taco seasoning and a metric ton of CHEESE. It's pretty awesome, really, but I always feel like such a phony Mexican when I make it, because, seriously, taco seasoning??
Anyway, as I said, it's Friday. No meat for J today. We IMPROVISE around these parts.
Tuna Ring
Croissant rolls dough
Canned tuna (I used a 12oz can)
1 metric ton of shredded cheese
1 egg
Bread crumbs (what, about 2 tbs.? Give or take?)
Finely chopped parsley
Sprinkle of ground ginger
Sprinkle of garlic powder (which I hate, but this was a lazy, fakin'-it sort of meal)
Annnnnnnnnd...
Mashed potatoes. Again, I'm going half-ass on this, so I used instant. This was about making a Really Quick meal, not a gourmet one, bear with me.
Preheat oven, 375 degrees.
Drain tuna, mix with everything else.
Lay out the croissant triangles on an ungreased cookie sheet so they make this circle thing. It's a tricky thing, and I'm sure a masters degree in applied geometry would help make this easier, but do the best you can. Spoon the tuna mush onto it and fold the dough over it so that you end up with an actual ring. I could have taken pictures, but didn't. What. I'm just going to use pictures other people have successfully taken of a taco ring.
My croissant circle of doom never looks that cool.
Bake according to the directions on the dough can, usually 12 or so minutes at 375 degrees or until a nice, golden brown.
Mind you, this is what/how much I made. Yeah, after piling up all that tuna and the mashed potatoes and ALL THAT CHEESE, it was almost too much for just one can of croissants. And maybe my little circle of death would've looked much neater if I'd used two, but it worked out.
If I'd wanted to spend more time on this thing, I may have used roasted (or super finely chopped fresh) garlic, fresh grated ginger, maybe some steamed spinach. I'm kinda feeling some chopped green olives, here, or jalapeno.
Maybe next time.
Friday, January 1, 2010
41 lbs of turkey
That's almost as much as my daughter weighs.
I may or may not have 3 whole turkeys in my refrigerator, which may or may not need to be cooked TODAY.
And by "may or may not have," I mean I totally do.
I've never cooked a whole turkey before. This will be a learning experience, and hopefully Not At All a failed experiment.
If you don't hear from these turkeys again, it was the latter.
I think I'll need help on this one. I will be armed to the eardrums with Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Father Peter and maybe some Megadeth.
EDIT--After unloading one of these babies on my mother-in-law, it is safe to say that one of the turkeys was a definite success and the other one.... maybe not so much. Remains to be seen, since we annihilated that first one and no one had any hunger left for the second one. It's cooked, I'm not pleased with the visual results, tomorrow we'll see how it turned out.
Many, many pictures to go through, I will eventually post recipes and details.
EDIT v2.0--OR NOT. Guh, I'm such a slacker.
I may or may not have 3 whole turkeys in my refrigerator, which may or may not need to be cooked TODAY.
And by "may or may not have," I mean I totally do.
I've never cooked a whole turkey before. This will be a learning experience, and hopefully Not At All a failed experiment.
If you don't hear from these turkeys again, it was the latter.
I think I'll need help on this one. I will be armed to the eardrums with Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Father Peter and maybe some Megadeth.
EDIT--After unloading one of these babies on my mother-in-law, it is safe to say that one of the turkeys was a definite success and the other one.... maybe not so much. Remains to be seen, since we annihilated that first one and no one had any hunger left for the second one. It's cooked, I'm not pleased with the visual results, tomorrow we'll see how it turned out.
Many, many pictures to go through, I will eventually post recipes and details.
EDIT v2.0--OR NOT. Guh, I'm such a slacker.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Rice balls and cupcakes
I love onigiri. In the simplest of forms it is easy to make, minimum involvement required, yummy, and cheeeeeeeap.
My pantry is in a sorry state at the moment, but I always have something like 5 varieties of rice on hand and my last can of tuna was some roasted-garlic thing I bought a few weeks ago on a whim.
Plain, steamed white rice, a little bit of mayo in the tuna and nothing more (the Daughter is picky about tuna)... I didn't even use any seaweed today, although I did put Tabasco sauce and pickled ginger in mine.
And because I honestly just don't feel like doing anything complicated today, I finally used that box of Cherry Chip cake mix that's been in my pantry forever, to make it into mini cupcakes. I have some buttercream icing in my fridge from the last time I had to make some (same recipe as here), I'm probably going to put some malt powder and food coloring in it and call it a day.
UPDATE - Throw in a frozen blueberry on top of that icing, baby. Oh, yeah.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Caramel popcorn
It's been a very long time since we've bought microwaveable popcorn. I used nothing but the minimum amount of vegetable oil to pop the corn.
A couple of tablespoons of brown sugar and a nice sprinkle of sea salt over low heat, couple of tablespoons of butter, once that's well dissolved about a tablespoon of milk. I may have added a bit more to thin it out.
And in hindsight it may or may not have been better to let the freshly popped corn cool off just a little before assaulting it with melt-your-skin Hot Caramel, but it was ai'ight. Poured caramel in a thin stream while stirring a bit, and when all the caramel was in I shook the hell of the lidded pot for a while. Let it sit, shake some more. The pot was still very hot, so then I moved them to a large bowl and moved them around until they were cooled off, because I wasn't looking for popcorn balls.
Tasty.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Pumpkin citrus cake
All this pumpkin's gotta get used somehow.
Streusel center
All measurements here are approximate
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4-5 Tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Chopped pecans
3 Tbsp cold butter
Mix all dry ingredients, crumble butter in, set aside.
Pumpkin Citrus Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of ground nutmeg and clove
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
Dried cranberries (Aldi sells these fantastic orange-flavored cranberries that were PERFECT for this)
Preheat oven to 350F
Soak dried cranberries in Very Hot Water, just enough to cover them. Leave 'em soaking while you make the cake.
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt together. Add pumpkin, butter, extracts and eggs - beat until smooth.
Drain cranberries (save the water) and place at the bottom of a well-greased pan. I used a Bundt pan, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to make an upside down cake with other fruits, maybe some candied orange peel or ginger (I love me some ginger), whatever you're into.
Pour about 2/3-3/4 of the batter on top of the cranberries--that streusel stuff has a way of going for the bottom of the pan like it's a race. Sprinkle the streusel center over this batter and spoon the remaining batter carefully over the streusel.
Bake for, I kid you not, about an hour. I've been experimenting with this recipe a few times and I'm yet to find an exact time. Baking it at 375F turns the edges too brown too quickly before the rest of the cake is done, and it's also a little hard to gauge because the streusel center stays rather moist and sticking a knife in to check for doneness is a bit misleading because of this. Whooooo, that was a busy sentence. If you make this, keep an eye on it after 45-50 minutes, make sure it's not getting burned, do the knife/toothpick thing if you must--some sticky on the knife is okay (the streusel), as long as you're not seeing blatant raw batter. And if you figure out a more accurate baking time, LET ME KNOWWWWWW, PLZ, THX.
It doesn't help that my oven's temperature likes to fluctuate any way it pleases.
Whenever it finally does come out of the oven, cool for about 20 minutes and flip onto a serving plate.
Glaze
(approximate)
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp orange extract
Water from the cranberry-soaking business earlier--strain any stray seeds
Combine sugar and orange, and then add the water, a few drops at a time, until easily stirred. You don't want it too runny, but not quite spread-like consistency. It's a GLAZE, you know what that's supposed to look like, right? Drizzle it over cake while the cake is still warm so it drips nicely.
Once the cake is cooled COMPLETELY, sprinkle about 1/2 a teaspoon of confectioner's sugar over it using a fine mesh sieve. This is just for added pretty (and added sugar), it's technically completely unnecessary.
This cake is awesome with coffee.
Streusel centerAll measurements here are approximate
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4-5 Tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Chopped pecans
3 Tbsp cold butter
Mix all dry ingredients, crumble butter in, set aside.
Pumpkin Citrus Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of ground nutmeg and clove
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
Dried cranberries (Aldi sells these fantastic orange-flavored cranberries that were PERFECT for this)
Preheat oven to 350F
Soak dried cranberries in Very Hot Water, just enough to cover them. Leave 'em soaking while you make the cake.
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt together. Add pumpkin, butter, extracts and eggs - beat until smooth.
Drain cranberries (save the water) and place at the bottom of a well-greased pan. I used a Bundt pan, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to make an upside down cake with other fruits, maybe some candied orange peel or ginger (I love me some ginger), whatever you're into.
Pour about 2/3-3/4 of the batter on top of the cranberries--that streusel stuff has a way of going for the bottom of the pan like it's a race. Sprinkle the streusel center over this batter and spoon the remaining batter carefully over the streusel.
Bake for, I kid you not, about an hour. I've been experimenting with this recipe a few times and I'm yet to find an exact time. Baking it at 375F turns the edges too brown too quickly before the rest of the cake is done, and it's also a little hard to gauge because the streusel center stays rather moist and sticking a knife in to check for doneness is a bit misleading because of this. Whooooo, that was a busy sentence. If you make this, keep an eye on it after 45-50 minutes, make sure it's not getting burned, do the knife/toothpick thing if you must--some sticky on the knife is okay (the streusel), as long as you're not seeing blatant raw batter. And if you figure out a more accurate baking time, LET ME KNOWWWWWW, PLZ, THX.
It doesn't help that my oven's temperature likes to fluctuate any way it pleases.
Whenever it finally does come out of the oven, cool for about 20 minutes and flip onto a serving plate.
Glaze
(approximate)
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp orange extract
Water from the cranberry-soaking business earlier--strain any stray seeds
Combine sugar and orange, and then add the water, a few drops at a time, until easily stirred. You don't want it too runny, but not quite spread-like consistency. It's a GLAZE, you know what that's supposed to look like, right? Drizzle it over cake while the cake is still warm so it drips nicely.
Once the cake is cooled COMPLETELY, sprinkle about 1/2 a teaspoon of confectioner's sugar over it using a fine mesh sieve. This is just for added pretty (and added sugar), it's technically completely unnecessary.
This cake is awesome with coffee.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Chicken and Rice v2.0
Yeah, I got nothing on Kroger's baked chicken.
I made a different version of that other chicken and rice, in which I actually purchased uncooked chicken and marinated it and did my experimenting around with it for a while.
Let's see, what's in here... some red onion, parsley, ginger, garlic, lemon zest... added after the picture was taken - balsamic vinagrette, honey, lime juice, mustard, thyme, ponzu sauce... I don't know, I just raided my fridge and made it up as I went.
I left that in the fridge for a few hours, baked it, cubed it, decided I had used perhaps Way Too Much Onion and ended up making a very plain cream sauce (as opposed to the onion cream sauce in the post linked above). It was good, I guess. I mean, I'm glad I liked it, because I ended up making obscene amounts of it and have pretty much been eating nothing but for the last 4 days, but I'll take crispy, roasted chicken skin over skinless any day.
Reason/excuse = I actually made this for the pot luck at work and I wanted something that could easily and quickly be ladled onto a plate with minimum fuss. Thus the lack of bone and skin.
I made a different version of that other chicken and rice, in which I actually purchased uncooked chicken and marinated it and did my experimenting around with it for a while.
Let's see, what's in here... some red onion, parsley, ginger, garlic, lemon zest... added after the picture was taken - balsamic vinagrette, honey, lime juice, mustard, thyme, ponzu sauce... I don't know, I just raided my fridge and made it up as I went.I left that in the fridge for a few hours, baked it, cubed it, decided I had used perhaps Way Too Much Onion and ended up making a very plain cream sauce (as opposed to the onion cream sauce in the post linked above). It was good, I guess. I mean, I'm glad I liked it, because I ended up making obscene amounts of it and have pretty much been eating nothing but for the last 4 days, but I'll take crispy, roasted chicken skin over skinless any day.
Reason/excuse = I actually made this for the pot luck at work and I wanted something that could easily and quickly be ladled onto a plate with minimum fuss. Thus the lack of bone and skin.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Pozole
I should make it a point to ALWAYS have pozole in my freezer, ready to defrost at the earliest sign of a craving.
All I had was a salad mix instead of plain lettuce, and I had no radish, and the only lime juice I had was frozen (Mexican grocery store sells limes at 10/$1. Sometimes I use 10 limes in one DAY, sometimes they sit in my fridge a while. If they start looking like I need to use them up, I juice them and freeze the juice in handy, single use ice cubes). And no salsa, so I had to use chipotle powder.
Not bad, though.
All I had was a salad mix instead of plain lettuce, and I had no radish, and the only lime juice I had was frozen (Mexican grocery store sells limes at 10/$1. Sometimes I use 10 limes in one DAY, sometimes they sit in my fridge a while. If they start looking like I need to use them up, I juice them and freeze the juice in handy, single use ice cubes). And no salsa, so I had to use chipotle powder.
Not bad, though.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chicken and rice
I have a thing for roasted chicken, and it borders on "unhealthy obsession."
Roasted chicken is pretty much perfect. A whole chicken costs barely more than a sub, and you can get something like 3-4 meals out of it (more like 2 meals for me, because, seriously, I LOVE roasted chicken).
We went to Kroger tonight and they had this huge 16-piece chicken thing for 8 bucks. Add to this the recent acquisition of a toaster oven, and dinner was on its way.
Chicken was baked for about 23 minutes at 325F (so the package instructed), and while that was happening I made some white rice with frozen corn thrown in. Since both of these things sort of cook themselves, I busied myself with making an onion cream sauce.
There are things I keep in my freezer to make lazy meals even easier than they already are. For example, I love parsley with a passion, but I never use an entire bunch before it starts going bad. So I dry it up as much as possible using paper towels, then finely chop it, blot out more moisture, and then store it in an airtight container in the freezer. When I need some, I bang the container on the counter a few times, shake it up, and it goes straight into whatever I'm cooking. Better than dried parsley.
(I also do this with cilantro)
Another thing I keep in the freezer is cubes of chicken or beef broth. The chicken ones are usually a result of a roasted chicken binge, when I take all the meat off the bones for the 2 picky eaters in the household, throw the bones in a pot with whatever peels/stems/leaves I have leftover when cleaning up vegetables for storage, and simmer over low heat for about an hour. The beef ones happen as a side effect of shredded meat for flautas or salpicon (which I'll probably post about eventually, but tonight is not the night).
I have 2 ice trays specifically for the purpose of freezing broth.
So, this onion cream sauce.
(I may or may not also have a thing for cream of-'s)
Roux drill - melt about a tablespoon of butter over low heat, add equal amount of flour and whisk until it dissolves, allow to cook for a bit until thick.
Then I started playing with it--added some milk... a few beef broth ice cubes, about half an envelope of onion soup/dip mix, some parsley from the freezer, some thyme (chicken + thyme = OTP). I just messed with it until it was the consistency and amount that I wanted.
I wish the end result had looked as pretty as it was tasty. For a half-assed meal thrown together out of things in my pantry/freezer and an impulse buy at Kroger, it was much better than it had any right to be.
Roasted chicken is pretty much perfect. A whole chicken costs barely more than a sub, and you can get something like 3-4 meals out of it (more like 2 meals for me, because, seriously, I LOVE roasted chicken).
We went to Kroger tonight and they had this huge 16-piece chicken thing for 8 bucks. Add to this the recent acquisition of a toaster oven, and dinner was on its way.
Chicken was baked for about 23 minutes at 325F (so the package instructed), and while that was happening I made some white rice with frozen corn thrown in. Since both of these things sort of cook themselves, I busied myself with making an onion cream sauce.
There are things I keep in my freezer to make lazy meals even easier than they already are. For example, I love parsley with a passion, but I never use an entire bunch before it starts going bad. So I dry it up as much as possible using paper towels, then finely chop it, blot out more moisture, and then store it in an airtight container in the freezer. When I need some, I bang the container on the counter a few times, shake it up, and it goes straight into whatever I'm cooking. Better than dried parsley.
(I also do this with cilantro)
Another thing I keep in the freezer is cubes of chicken or beef broth. The chicken ones are usually a result of a roasted chicken binge, when I take all the meat off the bones for the 2 picky eaters in the household, throw the bones in a pot with whatever peels/stems/leaves I have leftover when cleaning up vegetables for storage, and simmer over low heat for about an hour. The beef ones happen as a side effect of shredded meat for flautas or salpicon (which I'll probably post about eventually, but tonight is not the night).
I have 2 ice trays specifically for the purpose of freezing broth.
So, this onion cream sauce.
(I may or may not also have a thing for cream of-'s)
Roux drill - melt about a tablespoon of butter over low heat, add equal amount of flour and whisk until it dissolves, allow to cook for a bit until thick.
Then I started playing with it--added some milk... a few beef broth ice cubes, about half an envelope of onion soup/dip mix, some parsley from the freezer, some thyme (chicken + thyme = OTP). I just messed with it until it was the consistency and amount that I wanted.
I wish the end result had looked as pretty as it was tasty. For a half-assed meal thrown together out of things in my pantry/freezer and an impulse buy at Kroger, it was much better than it had any right to be.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Pumpkins
All over the internet you'll find pages advicing you that Jack-o-Lantern type pumpkins are not the kind you want to use for baking. Too stringy, no flavor, not sweet enough, blah, blah, blah.
Fact: IT'S FRESH PUMPKIN. I don't care how you look at it, it's still better than crap-in-a-can. Besides, it seems like such a waste.
Too stringy? Before you do anything with it, you have to bake and puree it. If your puree is stringy, You're Doing It Wrong.
No flavor? Were you planning on eating it by itself? You're weird.
Not sweet enough? Add more sugar to the dish, come on, people, this isn't rocket science.
I got a great run out of last year's pumpkin (read: about 3 gallons worth), and I didn't hear anyone complain about the cream-cheese filled, streusel topped, pumpkin/cranberry muffins.
I started out with a massive pumpkin that I had to bake in 3 different batches, and which produced as much puree as roughly 3 small houses. A good bit of it is stored in my freezer now, but I kept about half a gallon in the fridge to experiment a bit over the next couple of days.
Tonight I made a cream of pumpkin base, because I wanted to try savory and sweet versions (savory won, no contest), and a cranberry/citrus flan that sounded much better in print than it actually was. I mean, it was decent. If someone served that to me at their house I'd eat it and enjoy it. Just like I ate and enjoyed it tonight, but I probably won't be making it again.
Cream of Pumpkin
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Evaporated milk
Pumpkin puree
Salt
White pepper
Making a roux is easy stuff--melt butter over low heat, add equal amounts of flour, let it cook/dissolve/get creamy and thick. I had something like 1/4 cup evaporated milk in my fridge, so I used that, let it thicken again, and started adding pumpkin puree. I didn't measure it, but I probably added about 2 cups (maybe less), gradually. It seemed a bit too thick, so I added a bit more regular milk (probably another 1/4 cup or so). Salt/white pepper to taste, topped with fresh parsley. It was definitely more than decent, and if The Husband enjoyed Cream of- soups more I'd probably make it on a regular basis.
Tomorrow I might try to make pumpkin noodles. I've been wanting to try that for a while.
Too stringy? Before you do anything with it, you have to bake and puree it. If your puree is stringy, You're Doing It Wrong.
No flavor? Were you planning on eating it by itself? You're weird.
Not sweet enough? Add more sugar to the dish, come on, people, this isn't rocket science.
I got a great run out of last year's pumpkin (read: about 3 gallons worth), and I didn't hear anyone complain about the cream-cheese filled, streusel topped, pumpkin/cranberry muffins.
I started out with a massive pumpkin that I had to bake in 3 different batches, and which produced as much puree as roughly 3 small houses. A good bit of it is stored in my freezer now, but I kept about half a gallon in the fridge to experiment a bit over the next couple of days.
Tonight I made a cream of pumpkin base, because I wanted to try savory and sweet versions (savory won, no contest), and a cranberry/citrus flan that sounded much better in print than it actually was. I mean, it was decent. If someone served that to me at their house I'd eat it and enjoy it. Just like I ate and enjoyed it tonight, but I probably won't be making it again.
Cream of Pumpkin
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Evaporated milk
Pumpkin puree
Salt
White pepper
Making a roux is easy stuff--melt butter over low heat, add equal amounts of flour, let it cook/dissolve/get creamy and thick. I had something like 1/4 cup evaporated milk in my fridge, so I used that, let it thicken again, and started adding pumpkin puree. I didn't measure it, but I probably added about 2 cups (maybe less), gradually. It seemed a bit too thick, so I added a bit more regular milk (probably another 1/4 cup or so). Salt/white pepper to taste, topped with fresh parsley. It was definitely more than decent, and if The Husband enjoyed Cream of- soups more I'd probably make it on a regular basis.
Tomorrow I might try to make pumpkin noodles. I've been wanting to try that for a while.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Unhealthy love for Ginger, brought to you by poor grammar
Powdered ginger has its place (the store's shelves), but nothing compares to the taste and smell of the fresh, grated, Real Thing.
That said, as much as I love the stuff, I just don't go through it quickly enough before it starts going South. And you know what I hate? The actual act of grating it, because my grater is tiny and lame, and more gets stuck in the little holes than what comes out through them.
Alas, not anymore.
I freeze my ginger. Shave the peel off, wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and a couple of layers of aluminum foil, and freeze those suckers. Then, when I need it, it's like shaving ice, and nothing gets stuck to the grater. In fact, I can even grate it with a butter knife.
This was one of the better epiphanies I've had while Not Spending Time In Barcelona.
And now, a picture of awesome ginger that does NOT belong in the freezer:
That said, as much as I love the stuff, I just don't go through it quickly enough before it starts going South. And you know what I hate? The actual act of grating it, because my grater is tiny and lame, and more gets stuck in the little holes than what comes out through them.
Alas, not anymore.
I freeze my ginger. Shave the peel off, wrap it in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and a couple of layers of aluminum foil, and freeze those suckers. Then, when I need it, it's like shaving ice, and nothing gets stuck to the grater. In fact, I can even grate it with a butter knife.
This was one of the better epiphanies I've had while Not Spending Time In Barcelona.
And now, a picture of awesome ginger that does NOT belong in the freezer:
White chocolate cake with raspberry/almond filling and marshmallow fondant
For my 6th wedding anniversary this year I decided I had to recreate our actual wedding cake - Something white chocolate something something, raspberry/amaretto filling, something else.
That sounded about right and easy enough, but I also decided I wanted to experiment with fondant.
It was going to be glorious and I had big plans for this fondant involving black food coloring and skull sculpting (my anniversary's on Halloween), but I used liquid food coloring and at best that fondant turned a dark slate GRAY that wasn't doing the trick.
I ended up going in a completely different direction, white on white, using some fondant cutters my sister had acquired on a whim.
It turned out pretty, I guess. Not what I wanted or was going for visually, but flavor-wise it was actually pretty awesome. Unfortunately, my skull was not very photogenic.
Now, I don't drink anymore. Like, AT ALL. Amaretto was out of the question, but that doesn't mean YOU can't use Amaretto. Also, fair warning, this is The Most Elaborate thing I've EVER done in my kitchen.
White Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
~1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup half & half (or milk, if you must)
1/3 cup butter, softened (if you plan on using margerine or shortening, get the hell out of my blog)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 eggs, separate whites from yolks (room temperature)
When baking cakes, I tend to add just a tiny bit more butter and sugar. It's a moisture issue. Don't add too much, or leave it alone altogether if you don't know what you're doing.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
Melt chocolate and 1/4 cup of H&H--you can use a double boiler or the microwave, in 30 second intervals, until fully melted and smooth. As a general rule I sneer in the direction of microwaves, but honestly, it's just more effective at the white chocolate melting thing. Add remaining H&H, set aside to cool.
Beat butter on medium-high until softened and a little fluffy. Add sugar and almond extract, mix well.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until combined after each one.
Alternate adding the flour mix and the melted chocolate, beating on medium-low after each addition until just combined.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into cake batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or so, give or take.
***
I baked this in 2 8in. round pans, cooled them for 10 min. on a rack, then unmolded them to level them with a serrated knife. Once completely cooled, to prevent the raspberry filling from seeping and bleeding, I covered the top of what would be the bottom half and the bottom of the top half with a thin layer of buttercream icing, and made a sort of... what, well? Barrier? I'm sure there's an actual name for this--a border of the same icing all around the outer edge, to keep said filling from spilling out the sides once you put the other half of the cake on top. Does that even make sense? I should have taken pictures of the process.
Spoon filling inside "well," place other half of cake on top, and spread the entire thing with buttercream frosting--just a thin layer. This is a crumb layer and it doesn't have to look perfect, the name should give you a clue as to how it will look. Refrigerate for about an hour, and then you can give it a healthier layer of buttercream.
You could decorate the cake at this point, most people prefer buttercream anyway. If you want to continue on to fondant, let this thicker layer of buttercream set in the refrigerator for about an hour as well.
Raspberry filling
6 oz fresh raspberries (average store package)
2/3 cup water (I used juuuuust under this measurement, because I was going to add... almond extract. Or Amaretto, if that's your thing)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I also used a pinch grated lemon peel, orange peel would be nice, too)
3 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
Combine raspberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice/peel in a saucepan and bring to a boil; simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat, strain, and return to simmering.
Whisk the dissolved cornstarch into the mixture, bring back to a boil, and simmer for another 5 or so minutes, stirring every now and then.
Remove from heat, add almond extract, and cool completely, giving it an occasional stir until it thickens to an almost jelly-like consistency. You'll probably have more than you need, but that's a good thing.
Buttercream frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening.... look, I know what I said, but shortening helps buttercream stand higher temperatures, and besides, this frosting was only going to be used as a primer here. Stop looking at me that way.
1/2 tsp almond extract (you can use vanilla, but I wanted to stay with the theme)
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp milk
Cream butter and abomination together, add almond extract, and gradually add the sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. It's okay if it looks a little on the dry side--once it's all mixed, add the milk and then beat until fluffy. Keep it covered with a damp towel until use or it will crust.
And then.......... the fondant.
Tara has a FANTASTIC tutorial on this here, complete with recipe, pictures and techniques.
I've never actually tasted regular rolled fondant, but I know it's got a bad rep. This stuff is actually kind of delicious, if a little sweet. I added almond extract here again--honestly, you'd think it would be overpowering at some point, but it really wasn't.
It's also worth noting that I made the fondant the night before, because they say it's easier to work with if it's had time to rest. I have to say this was one of the most FUN substances I've ever worked with in the kitchen. This recipe made more than twice what I needed to cover this cake, by the way.
Enjoy.
That sounded about right and easy enough, but I also decided I wanted to experiment with fondant.
It was going to be glorious and I had big plans for this fondant involving black food coloring and skull sculpting (my anniversary's on Halloween), but I used liquid food coloring and at best that fondant turned a dark slate GRAY that wasn't doing the trick.
I ended up going in a completely different direction, white on white, using some fondant cutters my sister had acquired on a whim.
It turned out pretty, I guess. Not what I wanted or was going for visually, but flavor-wise it was actually pretty awesome. Unfortunately, my skull was not very photogenic.
Now, I don't drink anymore. Like, AT ALL. Amaretto was out of the question, but that doesn't mean YOU can't use Amaretto. Also, fair warning, this is The Most Elaborate thing I've EVER done in my kitchen.
White Chocolate Cake
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
~1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup half & half (or milk, if you must)
1/3 cup butter, softened (if you plan on using margerine or shortening, get the hell out of my blog)
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 eggs, separate whites from yolks (room temperature)
When baking cakes, I tend to add just a tiny bit more butter and sugar. It's a moisture issue. Don't add too much, or leave it alone altogether if you don't know what you're doing.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, set aside.
Melt chocolate and 1/4 cup of H&H--you can use a double boiler or the microwave, in 30 second intervals, until fully melted and smooth. As a general rule I sneer in the direction of microwaves, but honestly, it's just more effective at the white chocolate melting thing. Add remaining H&H, set aside to cool.
Beat butter on medium-high until softened and a little fluffy. Add sugar and almond extract, mix well.
Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until combined after each one."I love dipshit cooking instructions like "add eggs, one at a time." Alright. How many hands do YOU have?"
Alternate adding the flour mix and the melted chocolate, beating on medium-low after each addition until just combined.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and fold into cake batter.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or so, give or take.
I baked this in 2 8in. round pans, cooled them for 10 min. on a rack, then unmolded them to level them with a serrated knife. Once completely cooled, to prevent the raspberry filling from seeping and bleeding, I covered the top of what would be the bottom half and the bottom of the top half with a thin layer of buttercream icing, and made a sort of... what, well? Barrier? I'm sure there's an actual name for this--a border of the same icing all around the outer edge, to keep said filling from spilling out the sides once you put the other half of the cake on top. Does that even make sense? I should have taken pictures of the process.
Spoon filling inside "well," place other half of cake on top, and spread the entire thing with buttercream frosting--just a thin layer. This is a crumb layer and it doesn't have to look perfect, the name should give you a clue as to how it will look. Refrigerate for about an hour, and then you can give it a healthier layer of buttercream.
You could decorate the cake at this point, most people prefer buttercream anyway. If you want to continue on to fondant, let this thicker layer of buttercream set in the refrigerator for about an hour as well.
Raspberry filling
6 oz fresh raspberries (average store package)
2/3 cup water (I used juuuuust under this measurement, because I was going to add... almond extract. Or Amaretto, if that's your thing)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I also used a pinch grated lemon peel, orange peel would be nice, too)
3 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup of water
Combine raspberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice/peel in a saucepan and bring to a boil; simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
Remove from heat, strain, and return to simmering.
Whisk the dissolved cornstarch into the mixture, bring back to a boil, and simmer for another 5 or so minutes, stirring every now and then.
Remove from heat, add almond extract, and cool completely, giving it an occasional stir until it thickens to an almost jelly-like consistency. You'll probably have more than you need, but that's a good thing.
Buttercream frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening.... look, I know what I said, but shortening helps buttercream stand higher temperatures, and besides, this frosting was only going to be used as a primer here. Stop looking at me that way.
1/2 tsp almond extract (you can use vanilla, but I wanted to stay with the theme)
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp milk
Cream butter and abomination together, add almond extract, and gradually add the sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time. It's okay if it looks a little on the dry side--once it's all mixed, add the milk and then beat until fluffy. Keep it covered with a damp towel until use or it will crust.
And then.......... the fondant.
Tara has a FANTASTIC tutorial on this here, complete with recipe, pictures and techniques.
I've never actually tasted regular rolled fondant, but I know it's got a bad rep. This stuff is actually kind of delicious, if a little sweet. I added almond extract here again--honestly, you'd think it would be overpowering at some point, but it really wasn't.
It's also worth noting that I made the fondant the night before, because they say it's easier to work with if it's had time to rest. I have to say this was one of the most FUN substances I've ever worked with in the kitchen. This recipe made more than twice what I needed to cover this cake, by the way.
Enjoy.
Welcome
As with every project I start, there is always the possibility that this will be no more than a flash in the pan. Pun is probably intended.
I cook a lot, I like to feed people, I like to make up stuff in the kitchen, and more often than not these experiments are successful.
Drop a line, tell your friends, and stop by for a meal if you're in the area.
I cook a lot, I like to feed people, I like to make up stuff in the kitchen, and more often than not these experiments are successful.
Drop a line, tell your friends, and stop by for a meal if you're in the area.
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