I have learned one thing over the last few weeks, and that it that I am definately blogging to cook not cooking to blog. As I stated at the beginning of this project, I am not a writer. I enjoy writing if I am bestowed the time to to do this , but with no time or real motivation it's much harder than I expected. I have been cooking through my absence from blogging however. The food part is the passion, so I haven't given up on that. My intent was to sit here on day an catch up on everything I have cooked in the last few weeks, but that would only be hum drum for you to read if it's posted that way. So that said , here I go on today's food and hopefully I will catch up along the way.
Today the freezer yielded some fresh Chorizo and I planned this meal out with my colleagues this afternoon. I decided to give a twist to a Garlicky Bean Burrito recipe from Everyday magazine. I started by cooking the crumbled chorizo and garlic in olive oil, and then I added the white beans and chicken broth and cooked until the means were mashed and heated through. This filling then gets added to either flour or corn tortillas and then lay the rolls in a baking dish, pour a bottle of Salsa verde over the top and then top with your favorite mexican or spanish cheese ( tonight I used cheddar, but pepper jack or manchego would be great!)
My office is having a family game tonight tomorrow and I decided to make some desserts tonight. I went back to my baking bible - The Great American Bake Sale. I made the Great American Brownie, which is pretty much a basic classic brownie, pretty similar to the Katharine Hepburn Brownie I have previously made. I also baked another favorite, Toffee Turtle Bars, as I know my friend Papo is a caramel fan . I changed up this recipe and left out the nuts, and the chocolate topping, and I made more caramel for the topping. Instead of toffee bars, they turned out like yummy chewy carmel bars. Hopefully everyone will enjoy and a fun time will be had by all!
In the meantime, if anyone who wants to pay me to write about food so I can find more time to do this, feel free to let me know and help me get discovered! I am thinking I might love test kitchen work.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday Night Sushi Tour
Tomorrow is Spud's 11th Birthday! Some months ago as we were wandering Chelsea Market he overheard someone giving a tour of the market. We asked about that tour and upon inquiring we found out about a sushi "tour". http://www.foodsofny.com/artofsushi.php Spud wanted to do this desperately and I gave him the choice to this instead of a birthday party, and he jumped all over it. I was thrilled to not have to give a kid party. This tour was actaully a sit down tasting dinner at Ariyoshi Japanese Restaurant, located at 810 Broadway (between 10th and 11th Streets), New York, NY.
It was a multi-course dinner done in two parts. The first part was a Japanese Tapas tasting. The second half was a sushi tasting. Sadly I forgot to take the menu, so heere is my best description of what we were served.
PART ONE
Course one: ( Served with Ichiban beer)
Fried chicken in Ponzi Sauce
Asparagus wrapped in Bacon in Ponzi Sauce
Seared Beef in Ponzi Sauce
Salmon & Yam wrapped in radish
Grilled Freshwater Eel
This portion of the meal focused on Ponzi sauces and the key ingredients and how different they can be just by changing the proportions of the ingredients.
Course two:
Miso Soup with Crab Yam dumpling
This was like Japanese Matzo Ball Soup, with a delicious rich miso broth, and a very tasty light dumpling
Course three:
Grilled Tofu served with 2 different kinds of miso sauces
This also focused on Miso and how many differnt types and flavors they can be. This didn't make me a lover of tofu still, but the miso sauces are so very good, and very different from each other.
PART TWO - Served with 2 sakes - One was sweet and served cold, the second was drier and served warm
Course four
Sashimi tasting: Red Snapper, Horse Mackerel, Yellow Tail
Course five
Sushi Rice, Salmon, Fluke and Eel Sushi
Course six
Blue Fin Toro Scallion Maki
The sushi courses focused on quality of sushi rice, chopstick etiquette, Real vs. fake Wasabi, and fresh vs. frozen fish. (it is illegal in the U.S. to serve fish that has not been frozen), and Nori ( the seaweed that wraps the rolls)
Course seven
Dessert which consisted of Green tea infused rice dish, made into something like large tapioca pearls.
This was a very different flavor, but nice and light and a very nice green tea flavor.
I highly recommend this dinner as a great introduction to Japanese cooking, and some insigh to the culture as well. Our host/guide for the evening was highly knowledgeable and very personable to be around, and the food was wonderful. Spud had a wonderful time and ate every last bite!
It was a multi-course dinner done in two parts. The first part was a Japanese Tapas tasting. The second half was a sushi tasting. Sadly I forgot to take the menu, so heere is my best description of what we were served.
PART ONE
Course one: ( Served with Ichiban beer)
Fried chicken in Ponzi Sauce
Asparagus wrapped in Bacon in Ponzi Sauce
Seared Beef in Ponzi Sauce
Salmon & Yam wrapped in radish
Grilled Freshwater Eel
This portion of the meal focused on Ponzi sauces and the key ingredients and how different they can be just by changing the proportions of the ingredients.
Course two:
Miso Soup with Crab Yam dumpling
This was like Japanese Matzo Ball Soup, with a delicious rich miso broth, and a very tasty light dumpling
Course three:
Grilled Tofu served with 2 different kinds of miso sauces
This also focused on Miso and how many differnt types and flavors they can be. This didn't make me a lover of tofu still, but the miso sauces are so very good, and very different from each other.
PART TWO - Served with 2 sakes - One was sweet and served cold, the second was drier and served warm
Course four
Sashimi tasting: Red Snapper, Horse Mackerel, Yellow Tail
Course five
Sushi Rice, Salmon, Fluke and Eel Sushi
Course six
Blue Fin Toro Scallion Maki
The sushi courses focused on quality of sushi rice, chopstick etiquette, Real vs. fake Wasabi, and fresh vs. frozen fish. (it is illegal in the U.S. to serve fish that has not been frozen), and Nori ( the seaweed that wraps the rolls)
Course seven
Dessert which consisted of Green tea infused rice dish, made into something like large tapioca pearls.
This was a very different flavor, but nice and light and a very nice green tea flavor.
I highly recommend this dinner as a great introduction to Japanese cooking, and some insigh to the culture as well. Our host/guide for the evening was highly knowledgeable and very personable to be around, and the food was wonderful. Spud had a wonderful time and ate every last bite!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Momufuku Ssam Bar
Wednesday evening I abandoned Coco and Spud to join my friend Carmy for dinner in nyc at the Momufuku Ssam Bar. A facebook friend had recently posted how much she enjoyed this restaurant, so I used this evening out and as excuse to try it. The restaurant is located at 207 2nd Ave. nyc 10003 corner of 13th St and 2nd Ave. It is a small restaurant with a long counter where you sit on wood backless stools opposite your guest. You get pretty packed in next to your neighbors. If you like to listen to other people's conversations, this is the place to do so. Our fellow dinner companions got quite an earful of my life that evening! This is not a comfy cozy place, but it is well worth the food! They leave piles of napkins on the table and chopsticks standing up in holders. Think cross between a bar, restaurant, and a malt shop!
It was a perfect selection for sharing and sharing we did. Our menu was as follows:
steamed pork buns – hoisin, cucumbers, scallions
( a yummy update on the chinese classic)
cracked jonah crab claws – harissa mayo
(seved cold on ice, and they were perfect)
bev eggleston's pork shoulder steak – japanese eggplant, hericot vert, watercress
( an interesting cut and innovative way to serve pork)
long island crescent duck – lobster mushroom, daikon, orange
(cripsy and delicious, with a lovely side of duck confit along side the sliced duck)
pb&j – concord grape, peanut butter nougat, ritz craker
( tasted just like a PB&J sandwich, but with a twist - more to come on this)
We had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir with it anad it was a lovely meal! the PB&J was amazing and watch for a blog soon to come where I will tell you about my attempt to recreate it!
Another find we came across was Wine Wednesday's at Metrazur on the balcony at Grand Central. On Wine Wednesday we got a bottle of wine for $15! It was a Merlot, and I couldn't tell you what it was, but for $15 in Manhattan, who cares? We sat right at the railing overlooking the clock in Grand Central, and it is just a great place to people watch. When you have an evening out like this with your best friend, it doesn't get much better!
It was a perfect selection for sharing and sharing we did. Our menu was as follows:
steamed pork buns – hoisin, cucumbers, scallions
( a yummy update on the chinese classic)
cracked jonah crab claws – harissa mayo
(seved cold on ice, and they were perfect)
bev eggleston's pork shoulder steak – japanese eggplant, hericot vert, watercress
( an interesting cut and innovative way to serve pork)
long island crescent duck – lobster mushroom, daikon, orange
(cripsy and delicious, with a lovely side of duck confit along side the sliced duck)
pb&j – concord grape, peanut butter nougat, ritz craker
( tasted just like a PB&J sandwich, but with a twist - more to come on this)
We had a nice bottle of Pinot Noir with it anad it was a lovely meal! the PB&J was amazing and watch for a blog soon to come where I will tell you about my attempt to recreate it!
Another find we came across was Wine Wednesday's at Metrazur on the balcony at Grand Central. On Wine Wednesday we got a bottle of wine for $15! It was a Merlot, and I couldn't tell you what it was, but for $15 in Manhattan, who cares? We sat right at the railing overlooking the clock in Grand Central, and it is just a great place to people watch. When you have an evening out like this with your best friend, it doesn't get much better!
2 Meals from Last Week
So I have gotten a little lazy about blogging - I apologize to my public! :) Last week I managed to squeek out 2 nights of meals.
Monday I made Chicken Divan, page 358. It calls for Broccoli, but as that is my least favorite veggie, I made the dish with string beans. It is an incredibly rich meal, but the sherry flavor added to the cream sauce just make Divan, divine. ( I know - so bad, but it had to be said). This meal is rich enough and the vegetable is included, so this meal stands alone just fine. I good glass of white wine would be a lovely accompaniment however.
Tuesday night I prepared the Veal Marsala, page 457. This is a nice easy dish for a week night, and could easily be included into a busy schedule normal routine. It goes nicely over noodles, and can be served nicely with any green vegetable. I served it with some spinach on the side.
Speaking of easy weeknight meals, as I was catching up on my Gourmet magazines, (RIP) I saw an ad for the NEW Gourmet cookbook. Ruth came up with another 1200 recipes for the more modern cook. I guess they realized that the cookbook I am working from, although amazing, doesn't always fit into the lives of us working busy wives and mothers. I have to, of course, own this new book, so I warn now, this blog could change into the Garden State NEW Gourmet cookbook venture! We will have to see. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! Ruth also recently began a PBS show called Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth. Unfortunately I haven't been able to catch it yet, I noticed 2 of her first guests were Dianne Weist and Tom Skeritt. If anyone has seeen it yet, please comment in!
Monday I made Chicken Divan, page 358. It calls for Broccoli, but as that is my least favorite veggie, I made the dish with string beans. It is an incredibly rich meal, but the sherry flavor added to the cream sauce just make Divan, divine. ( I know - so bad, but it had to be said). This meal is rich enough and the vegetable is included, so this meal stands alone just fine. I good glass of white wine would be a lovely accompaniment however.
Tuesday night I prepared the Veal Marsala, page 457. This is a nice easy dish for a week night, and could easily be included into a busy schedule normal routine. It goes nicely over noodles, and can be served nicely with any green vegetable. I served it with some spinach on the side.
Speaking of easy weeknight meals, as I was catching up on my Gourmet magazines, (RIP) I saw an ad for the NEW Gourmet cookbook. Ruth came up with another 1200 recipes for the more modern cook. I guess they realized that the cookbook I am working from, although amazing, doesn't always fit into the lives of us working busy wives and mothers. I have to, of course, own this new book, so I warn now, this blog could change into the Garden State NEW Gourmet cookbook venture! We will have to see. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! Ruth also recently began a PBS show called Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth. Unfortunately I haven't been able to catch it yet, I noticed 2 of her first guests were Dianne Weist and Tom Skeritt. If anyone has seeen it yet, please comment in!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Self Invented Chorizo Recipe
Coco has been home and not feeling so well. Today he took out some fresh Chorizo I had bought, and the recipes I was saving it for needed ingredients I didn't have, so I made up my own recipe as follows:
Plain White Spanish Rice - Cooked according to package directions.
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 Onion finely chopped
3 links Fresh Chorizo
1/2 bottle or can of beer
1 can Red Beans drained and rinsed
1 can Black beans drained and rinsed
1 Can Diced Fired Roasted tomatoes, drained
Salt, Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder, and Cayenne Pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until soft and onion has sweetened. Cut off sausage casing and crumble chorizo into the pan and cook until browned. When well cooked, Pour 1/2 bottle of beer over and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. ( Be sure to unwind and drink the other half while you cook) Add the beans and tomatoes, use seasonings to taste and heat until very hot. Serve in pasta bowls over the Cooked white rice.
Plain White Spanish Rice - Cooked according to package directions.
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 Onion finely chopped
3 links Fresh Chorizo
1/2 bottle or can of beer
1 can Red Beans drained and rinsed
1 can Black beans drained and rinsed
1 Can Diced Fired Roasted tomatoes, drained
Salt, Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder, and Cayenne Pepper to taste
Heat the olive oil and saute the onions and garlic until soft and onion has sweetened. Cut off sausage casing and crumble chorizo into the pan and cook until browned. When well cooked, Pour 1/2 bottle of beer over and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. ( Be sure to unwind and drink the other half while you cook) Add the beans and tomatoes, use seasonings to taste and heat until very hot. Serve in pasta bowls over the Cooked white rice.
Waffle Sunday
Saturday morning, Spud asked if he could make waffles, and I was eager to answer yes, and then promptly realized that we had so little in the house we were lacking milk and eggs, thus no waffles. ( we sadly didn't even have bread for toast) Spud ended up eating soup, and I made pasta with garlic oil and cheese for breakfast. A trip to the store on Saturday, yielded the proper ingredients, so after oversleeping Sunday following 2 nights of partying, I gave the Spud the recipe to make the waffles.
We actually did have buttermilk, so we were able to make Buttermilk Waffles, page 653. Spud actually made these himself, I just had to guide him through the recipe though as we decided to half it as this recipe as is yields 24 waffles! They were completely yummy. I whipped up some fresh heavy cream flavored with my newly acquired Dominican Vanilla ( very strong!) courtesy of my colleague, Papo, and it made for the perfect topping for these waffles.
We actually did have buttermilk, so we were able to make Buttermilk Waffles, page 653. Spud actually made these himself, I just had to guide him through the recipe though as we decided to half it as this recipe as is yields 24 waffles! They were completely yummy. I whipped up some fresh heavy cream flavored with my newly acquired Dominican Vanilla ( very strong!) courtesy of my colleague, Papo, and it made for the perfect topping for these waffles.
Light Cooking Week
I only managed to cook one meal home last week (10/7), and it was a very simple dinner. Pork Chops with Mustard Crumbs, page 482, brought me back to the Gourmet Cookbook. These are basic breaded pork chops, but with the added twist of rye crumbs over a mustard coating. It was quite tasty. I admit I cheated my side dishes this evening with frozen Cauliflower, and (GASP) instant mashed potatoes. I invented my own pan pork gravy though from the pan juices form the pork, so this helped to disguise the use of powdered potatoes.
Backing up to 10/3/09 - Classic Hoboken food!
Wow, I have been behind on cooking and definately on blogging. I need to back up and talk about one of my favortie meals I make, and the success and disaster that went with it.
Last Saturday 10/3, I had a group of friends travel to NJ to attend the Springsteen concert, and as I was initially invited to go with them, I definitely owed them dinner. I figured what better way to repay a friend and enteratin old friends then by cooking them an awesome meal? ( I hope they though it was awesome) This meal although one of may very favorites has not one recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook.
I started by going to my favorite bread Bakery - the Antique Bakery also here in Hoboken. ( In case I haven't mentioned it - we have some of the best food resources anywhere!) My personal favorite from Antique is their stuffed breads - They make Sausage and Pepper, Pepperoni and Cheese and Prosiutto and cheese. I bought a loaf each of the Sausage and Pepper and the Prosiutto and Cheese. These make wonderful appetizers/table snacks. Also to give the ultimate Hoboken dining experience, I served the bread with some of our finest Fresh Mozzerella from Lisa's Deli. (or Mutz as we call it here)
As a first course I served a basic Italian salad of mixed greens with oil and vinegar. This salad is so simple, chopped or torn lettuce of your choice ( I prefer a mix of red leaf and iceberg) I generously salt and pepper the lettuce and let it sit for a few minutes. I also like lettuce sligtly chilled so I serve it not too long after I take it from the refrigerator. After the salt has had time to dissolve on the lettuce, I add extra virgin olive oil and toss with my hands until fully coated and enoucgh to make the lettuice shiny. Then I add just a drizzle of red wine vinegar, but of course you can add this to taste. I happen to like it as plain lettuce, but you could add any normal salad additions here. ( Onions, olives, tomatoes and parmesan are good Italian additions).
As a main course I made homemade ravioli. I used the Basic Pasta recipe I always use from the Joy of Pasta, but for my filling I used Adalgiza and Tessie's Ravoli Filling from where else, but The Lost Ravoli Recipes of Hoboken. This is a meat filling that is fairly rich made from cream cheese, spinach, parmesan, veal and pork. It is a very easy filling as well as it is not actually precooked prior to be put inside the ravoli. this recipe is the basis for an entire memoir on one woman's search for the orgins of this recipe. With this dish, I served my mother's classic Bresciole recipe. This dish is like little Italian pot roasts and cooks down into very tender and tasty meat, and the sauce with it compliments the ravoli well. As usual Joe the butcher, didn't let me down when I ordered my meat. I don't even know what cut of beef this is - I call Joe and say I need 14 pieces of bresciole meat. Please feel free to post comments and I can further post the recipe if anyone is interested. As my side dish from the same book, I also made Spinach Torta alla Hoboken. This is a delicious Spinach, egg and cheese dish - sort of like an Italian crustless quiche. This meal is best served with a good Italian Chianti, which I bought but my dinner guest was kind enough to also bring a bottle that was perfect with the meal.
My dessert wasn't as good an effort. I was attempting an Epicurioius recipe I found for Chocolate Ravoli http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Ravioli-in-Bittersweet-Chocolate-Sauce-231566 The filling was a great success and I ended up serving it like a custard in a dish. The pasta for this I didn't not have luck getting the dough to a workable consistency. It was tasty, but I just couldn't make its work. I also adjusted the sauce and made it with white chocolate instead of dark to offer the contrast to the custard.
I hope my guests enjoyed the meal as much as I did cooking it ( and eating it) I will have to keep practicing with that chocolate pasta dough.
Last Saturday 10/3, I had a group of friends travel to NJ to attend the Springsteen concert, and as I was initially invited to go with them, I definitely owed them dinner. I figured what better way to repay a friend and enteratin old friends then by cooking them an awesome meal? ( I hope they though it was awesome) This meal although one of may very favorites has not one recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook.
I started by going to my favorite bread Bakery - the Antique Bakery also here in Hoboken. ( In case I haven't mentioned it - we have some of the best food resources anywhere!) My personal favorite from Antique is their stuffed breads - They make Sausage and Pepper, Pepperoni and Cheese and Prosiutto and cheese. I bought a loaf each of the Sausage and Pepper and the Prosiutto and Cheese. These make wonderful appetizers/table snacks. Also to give the ultimate Hoboken dining experience, I served the bread with some of our finest Fresh Mozzerella from Lisa's Deli. (or Mutz as we call it here)
As a first course I served a basic Italian salad of mixed greens with oil and vinegar. This salad is so simple, chopped or torn lettuce of your choice ( I prefer a mix of red leaf and iceberg) I generously salt and pepper the lettuce and let it sit for a few minutes. I also like lettuce sligtly chilled so I serve it not too long after I take it from the refrigerator. After the salt has had time to dissolve on the lettuce, I add extra virgin olive oil and toss with my hands until fully coated and enoucgh to make the lettuice shiny. Then I add just a drizzle of red wine vinegar, but of course you can add this to taste. I happen to like it as plain lettuce, but you could add any normal salad additions here. ( Onions, olives, tomatoes and parmesan are good Italian additions).
As a main course I made homemade ravioli. I used the Basic Pasta recipe I always use from the Joy of Pasta, but for my filling I used Adalgiza and Tessie's Ravoli Filling from where else, but The Lost Ravoli Recipes of Hoboken. This is a meat filling that is fairly rich made from cream cheese, spinach, parmesan, veal and pork. It is a very easy filling as well as it is not actually precooked prior to be put inside the ravoli. this recipe is the basis for an entire memoir on one woman's search for the orgins of this recipe. With this dish, I served my mother's classic Bresciole recipe. This dish is like little Italian pot roasts and cooks down into very tender and tasty meat, and the sauce with it compliments the ravoli well. As usual Joe the butcher, didn't let me down when I ordered my meat. I don't even know what cut of beef this is - I call Joe and say I need 14 pieces of bresciole meat. Please feel free to post comments and I can further post the recipe if anyone is interested. As my side dish from the same book, I also made Spinach Torta alla Hoboken. This is a delicious Spinach, egg and cheese dish - sort of like an Italian crustless quiche. This meal is best served with a good Italian Chianti, which I bought but my dinner guest was kind enough to also bring a bottle that was perfect with the meal.
My dessert wasn't as good an effort. I was attempting an Epicurioius recipe I found for Chocolate Ravoli http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Ravioli-in-Bittersweet-Chocolate-Sauce-231566 The filling was a great success and I ended up serving it like a custard in a dish. The pasta for this I didn't not have luck getting the dough to a workable consistency. It was tasty, but I just couldn't make its work. I also adjusted the sauce and made it with white chocolate instead of dark to offer the contrast to the custard.
I hope my guests enjoyed the meal as much as I did cooking it ( and eating it) I will have to keep practicing with that chocolate pasta dough.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Pasta Dinner
Last night Spud was begging for pasta to go with the re-directed turkey, so I figured I would accomodate tonight. I admit I am exhausted after not sleeping to well last night, so this blog will probably not do this dish justice, but it was delicious. The Pasta with Bolognese Sauce, page 221 did not dissappoint. Bolognese is one of my favorite dishes, and somehow I have never made this one, and it is the best I have had. It contains every element that any other bologneses usually only use part of. This one has the carrots, celery and onion, the milk and white wine to go with the tomatoes. It uses ground meatloaf mix instead of whole pieces of meat. It is a nice easy recipe and will definately be a regular in my food repetoire.
Re-directed Dinner
Last night I set out to make Chicken Divan, I asked Coco to take the chicken out of the freezer. When I got home, the recipe was more involved than I felt like making, so I decided to do a change over to an easier Rachel Ray Recipe from Everyday magazine. I decided to use her Chicken Fried Steak recipe and changed it to Chicken Fried Chicken. The only problem was that when I opened the package Coco took out, I realized he took out the Turkey cutlets, so dinner became Chicken Fried Turkey. This recipe makes a really nice pan gravy to go with it. I further cheated this meal with frozen green beans and instant mashed potatoes, but it was like eating a homemade tv dinner. The dish turned out pretty well with the turkey substitution.
Sunday Night Supper
After overeating yesterday and travelling today with a late lunch ( dare I admit fastfood at a rest area!) we decided to eat a little later this evening and a little lighter. Spud requested brussel sprouts for dinner, probably one of the few 10 year olds in America who's favorite vegetable is brussel sprouts. I ran to the store for a mini-shopping trip, and the local grocery just didn't have them. I am not sure what the season of a brussel sprout is. So as a second choice I bought Swiss Chard to make Swiss Chard Gratin, page 543. Spud didn't like it, said it reminded him of Spinach Souffle, and he has declared that eggs should never be with spinach. This dish has no eggs in it though, and was quite good. It actually calls to make it with spinach too, but I just made it with all Swiss Chard. It was really more like a more complex version of creamed spinach. I liked the touch of chicken stock in with the cream, it adds a more intersted flavor. I think I will try this with creamed spinach in the future as well. Of course the best part is the cheesy, breadcrumb topping that bakes and get crispy. I made this side with Veal Scallops with Lemon and Capers, page 456. I love this dish as it is so light and easy and full of flavor. I admit that I hate capers though, and I leave them out when I make this dish.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Desserts to Tailgate with
I had been planning a tailgate football party with friends for a while now and I had had dreams of cooking all this amazing tailgate food, but life just got in the way. Thank goodness for friends who are fellow foodies, because my friend, Carmelita jumped in and did everything for an amazing tailgate. We had Hebrew Nat's, Beef Burgers, Turkey Burgers, Italian Sausage, peppers and onions and all the fixins. Everyone brought amazing sides and we were overkilled on the desserts. One of my friends made amazing butterscotch bars and delicious cheesecake squares. I never had a chance with her caramel brownies, they were gone instantly. We had no shortage of brownies, but is there really such a thing as too many brownies? I made Katharine Hepburn's Brownies, page 688 which I have made before as they are famous and have been published by a few cookbook authors. These are the best classic brownies, a perfect blend of fudgy & cakey. I also made the Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, page 674 and I am pretty sure these were perfect Peanut Butter Cookies. I always slightly overbake my bottom oven rack, but the top rack came out perfectly. This is an unbelieveably easy reciped also as it is only 4 ingredients. There is no excuse with this receipe for anyone to say they don't have time or can't bake. This is a recipe that busy mom's should keep on hand to use as lunchbox or afterschool snacks. Both these desserts stay fresh for a few days and traveled well in Tupperware containers.
Our tailgate party was a huge success, but sadly our game got rained on and only the die hard fans went to the game. I personally only go to the game for the party, so I stayed dry.
Our tailgate party was a huge success, but sadly our game got rained on and only the die hard fans went to the game. I personally only go to the game for the party, so I stayed dry.
Monday, September 21, 2009
This Meal is Keeper
This was a very simple easy meal, and it was so good. Escarole, Sausage and White Bean Stew, Page 270. I don't have much more to say about this other than yum. Spud screamed he wouldn't eat it and then he loved it. Coco complained that i didn't make dessert. The only thing that was missing that I didn't drink a glass of white wine with it. Now to decide what to make tomorrow.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Comfort Meal under Control
After a stressful and scary week, I was thrilled to bring my immediate family back together at the dinner table tonight. The three of us had a nice quiet dinner together. I felt a good old fashioned comfort food meal was the way to go, and I made Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, page 448 and served it over spaghetti. the meatballs were excellent, and I loved that that they did not contain eggs. Coco has always made the family's best meatballs ( after my step-father of course, lest he read this). As Coco says, why wouldn't he make good meatballs? Matzo Ball, Meatball - it's all the same! ( Too bad he didn't make the Matzo balls yeaterday!) My family had to admit these meatballs were good. The Spud commented he loved the kick that the red pepper flakes added, and implored Coco to add them to his in the future.
The routine to cook allows me to control something in a world of things I cannot control, and the family dinner brings those I love most close to me and makes us all feel safe.
All I can say is make sure you hug those you love and keep them close. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through these next few days.
The routine to cook allows me to control something in a world of things I cannot control, and the family dinner brings those I love most close to me and makes us all feel safe.
All I can say is make sure you hug those you love and keep them close. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through these next few days.
Life in Crisis/ Rosh Hashanah
Sorry for the time-delay on the blog! As much as I would like to hide in my kitchen and only cook when life is in crisis, unfortunately that just isn't possible, time and emotions just didn't allow this week as our family went though some tough stuff. I was supposed to cook a whole extended Rosh Hashanah dinner, and it didn't happen. I managed to get out 3 Gourmet recipes for the holiday. I had 2 of 3 successes.
As I mentioned last Sunday made the Chicken and Rice Soup, page 122 ahead of time and just made it without rice becasue I wanted the home made soup, to use with Chicken Soup with Almond Matzo Balls, page 123. The home made soup turned out great. I made it in my crock pot and it was so easy. Fresh Carrots, and the white meat from the chicken chopped and put back in. The chicken soup with the matzo balls in the recipe calls for canned chicken broth, which is why I combined the two recipes! I think Ruth let me down for the first time though. The Almond Matzo Balls were awful!!! It was a unique flavor to begin with, matzo, almonds, dill and cinnamon made for an intersting but not bad flavor. These balls ended up more appropriate to be used on the PGA tour and have Titleist stamped on them ( to quote my father-in law). The Spud hated them and Coco is too sweet to say anything. Ruth Reichl thanked Muriel Resisman of Fair Lawn, NJ for this recipe and said this recipe made refined cousins, of the delicatessan matzo ball. Well I am sorry they included it! I did rush the recipe a little, and didn't let the batter sit for as long as it said, but still.... Thank goodness for cell phones and my mother-in-law keeps the good old box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball mix in the house and bailed me out of the Matzo ball disaster.
The upside of this quest to cook tradtional Jewish this week was that I finally found a new fish market, and not just any fish market - an amazing one. I have been in the one in Chelsea Market in NYC, and they have nice fish, but it is pretty pricy and the selection is limited. Gone are the days of the old fashioned Italian fish market, Apicella's in Hoboken as well. ( they wouldn't have had what I needed anyway.) I found the Sea Breeze Seafood Market at 541 9th Ave @ 40th Street, New York City. I cannot say enough about this market, they had almost every fish or shellfish you could ever ask for, they are reasonably priced, and the service was excellent. I bought about 10 pounds of Carp, Pike and Whitefish for $27 and they filleted and ground all the fish for me and gave me all the bones, heads and tails.
As you might guess from those ingredients, I made Gefilte Fish, page 73. I must say it was a fairly easy recipe when you get the fish market to do the hard work. It was an excellent recipe, that actually called for Whitefish only, but I made it with the traditional mix of fish. If you don't know what gefilte fish is, the best decription I can provide, is if you took Fish Tartare, and then poached it. Like a fish dumpling. I happen to like my Gefilte fish salty and not sweet, so I left out the carrots and added some salt. It was very good, and different from it's jarred version, and well worth it.
It was a lovely Rosh Hashanah dinner with our loved ones which was the important part. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
As I mentioned last Sunday made the Chicken and Rice Soup, page 122 ahead of time and just made it without rice becasue I wanted the home made soup, to use with Chicken Soup with Almond Matzo Balls, page 123. The home made soup turned out great. I made it in my crock pot and it was so easy. Fresh Carrots, and the white meat from the chicken chopped and put back in. The chicken soup with the matzo balls in the recipe calls for canned chicken broth, which is why I combined the two recipes! I think Ruth let me down for the first time though. The Almond Matzo Balls were awful!!! It was a unique flavor to begin with, matzo, almonds, dill and cinnamon made for an intersting but not bad flavor. These balls ended up more appropriate to be used on the PGA tour and have Titleist stamped on them ( to quote my father-in law). The Spud hated them and Coco is too sweet to say anything. Ruth Reichl thanked Muriel Resisman of Fair Lawn, NJ for this recipe and said this recipe made refined cousins, of the delicatessan matzo ball. Well I am sorry they included it! I did rush the recipe a little, and didn't let the batter sit for as long as it said, but still.... Thank goodness for cell phones and my mother-in-law keeps the good old box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball mix in the house and bailed me out of the Matzo ball disaster.
The upside of this quest to cook tradtional Jewish this week was that I finally found a new fish market, and not just any fish market - an amazing one. I have been in the one in Chelsea Market in NYC, and they have nice fish, but it is pretty pricy and the selection is limited. Gone are the days of the old fashioned Italian fish market, Apicella's in Hoboken as well. ( they wouldn't have had what I needed anyway.) I found the Sea Breeze Seafood Market at 541 9th Ave @ 40th Street, New York City. I cannot say enough about this market, they had almost every fish or shellfish you could ever ask for, they are reasonably priced, and the service was excellent. I bought about 10 pounds of Carp, Pike and Whitefish for $27 and they filleted and ground all the fish for me and gave me all the bones, heads and tails.
As you might guess from those ingredients, I made Gefilte Fish, page 73. I must say it was a fairly easy recipe when you get the fish market to do the hard work. It was an excellent recipe, that actually called for Whitefish only, but I made it with the traditional mix of fish. If you don't know what gefilte fish is, the best decription I can provide, is if you took Fish Tartare, and then poached it. Like a fish dumpling. I happen to like my Gefilte fish salty and not sweet, so I left out the carrots and added some salt. It was very good, and different from it's jarred version, and well worth it.
It was a lovely Rosh Hashanah dinner with our loved ones which was the important part. Have a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rushing Monday
In the quest to crank out as many recipes as possible, I forced one upon the Spud for lunch today. I made him the Chicken Club Sandwich, pg 188 for his lunchbox today. He is the perfect person to experiment this on since he is the only member of this household that would eat the lemon- mayo spread on this. We are not Mayo eaters, so I am going to have trouble with these recipes that call for Mayo or Aioli. I think it was a hit, but he complained that the bacon was too fatty... Is there anything such as un-fatty bacon?
For dinner I ran really late today. I marinated the pork this morning for the Char Siu, pg 478 but I got home so late we had to rush this along and buy our sides. Char Siu is Chinese Roast Pork, and this proved to be as good as you can get in any chinese restaurant. The Pork Shoulder Joe sold me was perfect for this dish. I sped it along by cooking it the whole time at 400 degrees instead of 375 and then raising it to 400, but I really think it worked out just as well. The trick to this recipe is basting often. Either way it was quite good, and we had leftovers for lunches for tomorrow. We cheated with the sides and stopped at the local chinese restaurant for Fried Rice and asian pancakes.. I would have liked to have made it with some bok choy and home made fried rice. I think this recipe could have worked really well on a grill too!
For dinner I ran really late today. I marinated the pork this morning for the Char Siu, pg 478 but I got home so late we had to rush this along and buy our sides. Char Siu is Chinese Roast Pork, and this proved to be as good as you can get in any chinese restaurant. The Pork Shoulder Joe sold me was perfect for this dish. I sped it along by cooking it the whole time at 400 degrees instead of 375 and then raising it to 400, but I really think it worked out just as well. The trick to this recipe is basting often. Either way it was quite good, and we had leftovers for lunches for tomorrow. We cheated with the sides and stopped at the local chinese restaurant for Fried Rice and asian pancakes.. I would have liked to have made it with some bok choy and home made fried rice. I think this recipe could have worked really well on a grill too!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Steakhouse Night
Yesterday I made my trip to the butcher to stock up on some meat for the next few weeks. All I can say is that if you don't live near a small local butcher, then move where there is one or figure out how to speacial order through a good grocery store, becuase meat from the butcher is the best! I go to Joe's Prime Meats in Hoboken, and I wish he had a website to post for him, because Joe is the best. I love the butcher so much that Coco and Spud think I have a crush on Joe. He's a realy nice guy, and I love his chocolate lab, Hershey, but I really do go for the meat, (and sometimes he even gets me fish).
Among the many other things I bought which I will cook and write about in coming weeks, I bought 3 pieces of Filet Mignon. Now I know many say what they want about if this is the best cut of meat or not, for flavor etc, but these were about the 3 most perfect pieces of meat I have ever cooked. I made Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Merlot Sauce, page 428. It was just wonderful. The Merlot sauce is supposed to be made with Veal stock which I am sure would have been amazing, but I admit I didn't have the time, or the veal bones to make the stock ( although I am sure Joe would have hooked me up). I just used beef stock instead, and I think it still turned out pretty yummy. I followed Ruth's instructions for cooking the meat, and after years of trying, I have finally accomplished the perfect piece of meat. I have always had so much trouble with beef that it keeps me fromm even cooking it so much.
I accompanied my steaks with classic steak house dishes, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots, page 559 and Creamed Spinach, page 578. Both of these are very simple recipes, but the perfect sides for this meal. The cleaned plates of my family were certainly all that needed to demonstrate they loved it.
Lastly I finished it off with a classic cheesecake, which this recipe I almost overlooked because of the name. It is the Three Cities of Spain Classic Cheesecake, page 751. It is named so for a now defunct coffehouse in Santa Fe ( I can only assume New Mexico). To quote Ruth: " Although the filling only contains 5 ingredients, and is very simple to make, it delivers all the decandently, rich, creamy smoothness that has made cheesecake so popular." It has that rich layer of sour cream on top, and I make the crust with Nabisco Ginger Snaps instead of graham crakers. It is inside in my refrigerator right now and it is taking every last ounce of will power I have to not go have a slice.
Also to get a jump on my cooking for Rosh Hashanah on Friday, I made Chicken and Rice Soup, page 122, but sans rice. I plan to use this homemade soup as the base instead of store bought broth in Chicken Soup with Almond Matzo Balls. More to follow on the Matzo Balls, and Gefilte fish too!
Among the many other things I bought which I will cook and write about in coming weeks, I bought 3 pieces of Filet Mignon. Now I know many say what they want about if this is the best cut of meat or not, for flavor etc, but these were about the 3 most perfect pieces of meat I have ever cooked. I made Pan-Seared Filet Mignon with Merlot Sauce, page 428. It was just wonderful. The Merlot sauce is supposed to be made with Veal stock which I am sure would have been amazing, but I admit I didn't have the time, or the veal bones to make the stock ( although I am sure Joe would have hooked me up). I just used beef stock instead, and I think it still turned out pretty yummy. I followed Ruth's instructions for cooking the meat, and after years of trying, I have finally accomplished the perfect piece of meat. I have always had so much trouble with beef that it keeps me fromm even cooking it so much.
I accompanied my steaks with classic steak house dishes, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots, page 559 and Creamed Spinach, page 578. Both of these are very simple recipes, but the perfect sides for this meal. The cleaned plates of my family were certainly all that needed to demonstrate they loved it.
Lastly I finished it off with a classic cheesecake, which this recipe I almost overlooked because of the name. It is the Three Cities of Spain Classic Cheesecake, page 751. It is named so for a now defunct coffehouse in Santa Fe ( I can only assume New Mexico). To quote Ruth: " Although the filling only contains 5 ingredients, and is very simple to make, it delivers all the decandently, rich, creamy smoothness that has made cheesecake so popular." It has that rich layer of sour cream on top, and I make the crust with Nabisco Ginger Snaps instead of graham crakers. It is inside in my refrigerator right now and it is taking every last ounce of will power I have to not go have a slice.
Also to get a jump on my cooking for Rosh Hashanah on Friday, I made Chicken and Rice Soup, page 122, but sans rice. I plan to use this homemade soup as the base instead of store bought broth in Chicken Soup with Almond Matzo Balls. More to follow on the Matzo Balls, and Gefilte fish too!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Back to the Routine
Well today it was back to school for the Spud and a full normal busy work day for me after a long weekend. As a treat, I reprised for breakfast the Cheese Omelet again but made it as a 2 egg omelet this time, and I managed to get it out of the pan perfectly this time. Spud was thrilled and declared I had finally master better eggs than dad! I took that as high praises, since I have never mastered eggs.
Keeping in the easy comfort food theme as we settle back to routine, I tried Ruth's version of Macaroni and Cheese, page 223. This also was handy as I haven't made it to the butcher yet so we needed to be meatless! Personally I am usually a fan of the recipe on the Mueller's Macaroni box, with Velveeta substituted for cheddar. Luckily I pretty much have that memorized from years of practice, because I am having a very hard time finding my favorite elbow macaroni standby. Since the old Jersey City Mueller's manufacturer sold the company to the American Italian Pasta Company, the pasta is just getting harder to find. The recipe is still available at http://www.makesameal.com/home.asp?p=recipes.asp&r=172 and of course works just fine with any elbow brand, but it just isn't the same for me. The Gourmet version is pretty similar actually, but it uses heavy cream and cheddar to make it very rich. The cheddar makes the mac and cheese a little oily as it bakes, I still prefer Velveeta. The twist I did like form this recipe though was the added Red Pepper Flakes. It gave a little kick. What ever recipe you choose, it's mac and cheese, and its good no matter what.
We we needed to add something green to this dinner, so I made the salad, Bibb Lettuce with Butter Dressing, page 130. This salad isn't exactly quite what I would call healthy, because of the butter dressing, but it was easy and quite tasty. Its very simple and just the slight lemony garlic flavor was wonderful. And still we got in our greens.
Well I am going to plan out some food and hopefully call in an order to Joe's tomorrow, so I can make some new and exciting things next week.
Keeping in the easy comfort food theme as we settle back to routine, I tried Ruth's version of Macaroni and Cheese, page 223. This also was handy as I haven't made it to the butcher yet so we needed to be meatless! Personally I am usually a fan of the recipe on the Mueller's Macaroni box, with Velveeta substituted for cheddar. Luckily I pretty much have that memorized from years of practice, because I am having a very hard time finding my favorite elbow macaroni standby. Since the old Jersey City Mueller's manufacturer sold the company to the American Italian Pasta Company, the pasta is just getting harder to find. The recipe is still available at http://www.makesameal.com/home.asp?p=recipes.asp&r=172 and of course works just fine with any elbow brand, but it just isn't the same for me. The Gourmet version is pretty similar actually, but it uses heavy cream and cheddar to make it very rich. The cheddar makes the mac and cheese a little oily as it bakes, I still prefer Velveeta. The twist I did like form this recipe though was the added Red Pepper Flakes. It gave a little kick. What ever recipe you choose, it's mac and cheese, and its good no matter what.
We we needed to add something green to this dinner, so I made the salad, Bibb Lettuce with Butter Dressing, page 130. This salad isn't exactly quite what I would call healthy, because of the butter dressing, but it was easy and quite tasty. Its very simple and just the slight lemony garlic flavor was wonderful. And still we got in our greens.
Well I am going to plan out some food and hopefully call in an order to Joe's tomorrow, so I can make some new and exciting things next week.
Catching Up
Well I am back to my life as a mom, so I was off playing this week and not really cooking or blogging. The Spud hated the Spinach Cheese Strata as his first breakfast home. His feeling is that spinach has no business being with eggs, even though he likes both separately. I personally am finiding I can't eat eggs anymore. Coco and I really liked it though, and it served as breakfast for a few days as it reheated nicely.
Last weekend I also made Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies, page 689 which were delicious and fudgy, a perfect brownie consistency. I don't like chips in my brownies so much though, and even though I used mini chips, they were still evident and it changes the texture. Without them though, they would just be Double Chocolate Fudge brownies!
We didn't really eat out anywhere too interesting to blog about, so we'll just fast forward to today.....
Last weekend I also made Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies, page 689 which were delicious and fudgy, a perfect brownie consistency. I don't like chips in my brownies so much though, and even though I used mini chips, they were still evident and it changes the texture. Without them though, they would just be Double Chocolate Fudge brownies!
We didn't really eat out anywhere too interesting to blog about, so we'll just fast forward to today.....
Friday, September 4, 2009
Last Child Free Night
Coco and I decided to eat out for our last night home together child-free. We tried a new neighborhood restaurant called the Clinton Social, 700 Clinton Street, Hoboken, NJ. The first thing in its favor is that it is 2 blocks from our house. When we went inside as soon as I sat down I said that it reminded me a little of my favorite restaurant, The Madison. Both restaurants have nice size casual bars in the front with a few tables and tv screens, making it a really welcoming spot to have a drink before dinner. They both also have alot of exposed brick and warm lighting. After I examined the menu I noticed they also had in common a very nice mix of food from formal to casual. These things put together, both these restaurants are the perfect spot for a cozy date night, out with a group of friends, or even a family dinner. It turns out the things are all in common because they share the same proprietor. We started our meal by sharing Goat Cheese Potato Pierogies with caramelized onions. Three perfect potato pockets arrived, just the right size and pretty much perfect in every way. Coco continued his summer of beef with a Rib Eye Steak served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe. It was a perfect basic meal, but my rule when eating out is don't order things that can be easily prepared at home. That said, I ordered the Braised Oxtail. It was very similar to an Osso Buco with the tender meat falling off the bone in a delicious tomato based sauce. It was served with Braised Carrots, cooked perfectly, and Potato Gnocchi. There was a little too much parsley on the gnocchi for my taste, but otherwise a really nice dinner. This restaurant will probably prove to be a regular hang out for us. I definitely plan to go back and try the Cassoulet of chorizo, garlic sausauge and duck confit!
Conveniently, we were right across the street from the A&P grocery store where we stopped to stock up on some of the basics since the Spud is due in tonight and we have to prepare to get back on schedule by Thursday. We didn't pick up anything too exciting, but I did buy the ingredients to make breakfast for tomorrow. I just got finished preparing a Spinach and Cheese Strata, pg 655. It is a perfect make ahead dish that can now stay in the fridge overnight and just be baked in the morning. A Strata is basically a savory bread pudding. This one is french bread layered with sauted onion and spinach, gruyere & parmesan cheese, seasoned with salt and pepper and then an egg and milk custard poured over the top. It will sit all night so the bread can absorb the custard and be baked in the AM.
I hope everyone cooks something special for the long weekend!
Conveniently, we were right across the street from the A&P grocery store where we stopped to stock up on some of the basics since the Spud is due in tonight and we have to prepare to get back on schedule by Thursday. We didn't pick up anything too exciting, but I did buy the ingredients to make breakfast for tomorrow. I just got finished preparing a Spinach and Cheese Strata, pg 655. It is a perfect make ahead dish that can now stay in the fridge overnight and just be baked in the morning. A Strata is basically a savory bread pudding. This one is french bread layered with sauted onion and spinach, gruyere & parmesan cheese, seasoned with salt and pepper and then an egg and milk custard poured over the top. It will sit all night so the bread can absorb the custard and be baked in the AM.
I hope everyone cooks something special for the long weekend!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Beer and Crab
I had every intention of cooking tonight and then the call of the social won, as it usually will. It's the last night before I get to be "mom" again, so I stopped for drinks. The Happy Hour special was Saranac Pale Ale at The Houndstooth Pub, 520 8th Avenue @ 37th St. NYC. A great deal at $5 a pint, so I had 2.
A friend and colleague lives on the water on Long Island and became my new best friend when he brought me a dozen Long Island Blue Crab that he pulled out of his back yard. After I carried them in my back pack on the bus and they leaked out all over my clothes and bag, when I got home I steamed them up with a good douse of Old Bay. One inch of water in the bottom of the pot brought to a boil. Metal rack on the bottom and then just drop the crab in and cover with a good layer of Old Bay seasoning, put the lid on tight until they are turned an nice bright red. They were mostly male but they were a little on the small side. The meat in the claws was wonderful, I think the bodies were a little small still to be true peak. Either way it took care of my summer long craving and got the Old Bay flavor in. I opened up a bottle of Bavarian Barbarian Hammerin Ale that I brought back from Williamsport PA, where we did the beer tour and tasting last month. It is a great beer and was a nice accompaniment to the crab. Check out their website at http://www.bavarianbarbarian.com/.
With any luck I can get in one more crab fix before the season ends, but if not there is always next year......
As to the Chocolate Shortbread I made last night, it was devoured today almost instantly at home and work, so I'll take that as being a hit. The piece I had was wonderful!
A friend and colleague lives on the water on Long Island and became my new best friend when he brought me a dozen Long Island Blue Crab that he pulled out of his back yard. After I carried them in my back pack on the bus and they leaked out all over my clothes and bag, when I got home I steamed them up with a good douse of Old Bay. One inch of water in the bottom of the pot brought to a boil. Metal rack on the bottom and then just drop the crab in and cover with a good layer of Old Bay seasoning, put the lid on tight until they are turned an nice bright red. They were mostly male but they were a little on the small side. The meat in the claws was wonderful, I think the bodies were a little small still to be true peak. Either way it took care of my summer long craving and got the Old Bay flavor in. I opened up a bottle of Bavarian Barbarian Hammerin Ale that I brought back from Williamsport PA, where we did the beer tour and tasting last month. It is a great beer and was a nice accompaniment to the crab. Check out their website at http://www.bavarianbarbarian.com/.
With any luck I can get in one more crab fix before the season ends, but if not there is always next year......
As to the Chocolate Shortbread I made last night, it was devoured today almost instantly at home and work, so I'll take that as being a hit. The piece I had was wonderful!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Old Standby Night
Tonight, I stuck to a few old standbys ( for me at least). First, I would like to announce that my freezer is cleaned out. Other than some bacon and Hebrew Nats,( the only hot dog allowed in this house) there is nothing left in the meat family. Currently occupying my freezer is chicken soup, stored ravioli fillings, pie crusts, wonton wrappers, hamburger rolls and Lean Cuisines , and of course the highly coveted Dark Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter cups that I just recently found again in the Hershey Store, Times Square. These are stashed with the vow to eat only 1 cup a week, and so far so good. Please also note the irony that I have hot dogs, and no buns, and hamburger rolls and no ground beef.
So to use up my last packet of chicken, I made Parmesan Chicken, Page 356. This is one of my favorite chicken dishes, and I have 3 different variations I make, but I think Ruth's choice is my favorite because it's baked. I have made this quite a few times before. The secret to the flavor in this is the dijon mustard coating before it is breaded and parmesaned. The other neat twist to it is that the bread crumbs are made from an English Muffin. I happen to even have lowfat high fiber muffins in the house today, so this recipe ends up pretty healthy, no egg, healthy coating, and it's baked. Of course there is no way around the parmesan in the coating, but I suppose you can cut back to keep the fat down. I admit tonight I cooked the chicken a little too long and it was a touch dry. Normally this recipe leaves the chicken moist and juicy. It still did not lack for flavor though.
The side I chose was the Herbed Spaetzle on Page 241. It's the easiest way I know to basically make fresh pasta, The dough takes 2 minutes to mix in a bowl and then you just press the batter through a colander into boiling water, and Voila! fresh pasta dumplings! I tossed with the herbs, salt and pepper and a touch of butter, and tonight I tossed in some frozen peas ( pre-cooked in the microwave) as my vegetable. Dinner was done in under 1/2 hour.
And finally, in the effort to keep up with my recipe count, I tried my hand at something new. We'll see how this goes, but I made the Dark Chocolate Shortbread, page 688. I was actually out of Dutch process cocoa, and I tried Hershey's Special Dark instead. This always makes a nice change in my favorite brownie recipe, so I figured, why not here? It made the shortbread very dark, looking like an oreo cookie. I am hoping I am lucky enough that it tastes like that. It is still cooling so I will have to give you the update tomorrow. I will test it on my colleagues and give you the feedback.
Since I am out of food, I am thinking a bean dish for tomorrow night. I will be making it to the grocery store this weekend and will probably place a meat order too. That said, I am open for recommendations or requests of what to cook for the next few weeks.
Also, now that my son, the Spud, as we call him, is coming home and school is starting, now we begin the quest for lunch food. I would love feedback for lunches that meet the following requirements: can be served cold, quick and easy to make,offers some variety, and fairly healthy /low fat. We hate to prepare lunch food in this house and the Spud ends up hating to eat it because it shows in what we prepare. So watch for some thoughts on this to pop up here in coming weeks as well.
So to use up my last packet of chicken, I made Parmesan Chicken, Page 356. This is one of my favorite chicken dishes, and I have 3 different variations I make, but I think Ruth's choice is my favorite because it's baked. I have made this quite a few times before. The secret to the flavor in this is the dijon mustard coating before it is breaded and parmesaned. The other neat twist to it is that the bread crumbs are made from an English Muffin. I happen to even have lowfat high fiber muffins in the house today, so this recipe ends up pretty healthy, no egg, healthy coating, and it's baked. Of course there is no way around the parmesan in the coating, but I suppose you can cut back to keep the fat down. I admit tonight I cooked the chicken a little too long and it was a touch dry. Normally this recipe leaves the chicken moist and juicy. It still did not lack for flavor though.
The side I chose was the Herbed Spaetzle on Page 241. It's the easiest way I know to basically make fresh pasta, The dough takes 2 minutes to mix in a bowl and then you just press the batter through a colander into boiling water, and Voila! fresh pasta dumplings! I tossed with the herbs, salt and pepper and a touch of butter, and tonight I tossed in some frozen peas ( pre-cooked in the microwave) as my vegetable. Dinner was done in under 1/2 hour.
And finally, in the effort to keep up with my recipe count, I tried my hand at something new. We'll see how this goes, but I made the Dark Chocolate Shortbread, page 688. I was actually out of Dutch process cocoa, and I tried Hershey's Special Dark instead. This always makes a nice change in my favorite brownie recipe, so I figured, why not here? It made the shortbread very dark, looking like an oreo cookie. I am hoping I am lucky enough that it tastes like that. It is still cooling so I will have to give you the update tomorrow. I will test it on my colleagues and give you the feedback.
Since I am out of food, I am thinking a bean dish for tomorrow night. I will be making it to the grocery store this weekend and will probably place a meat order too. That said, I am open for recommendations or requests of what to cook for the next few weeks.
Also, now that my son, the Spud, as we call him, is coming home and school is starting, now we begin the quest for lunch food. I would love feedback for lunches that meet the following requirements: can be served cold, quick and easy to make,offers some variety, and fairly healthy /low fat. We hate to prepare lunch food in this house and the Spud ends up hating to eat it because it shows in what we prepare. So watch for some thoughts on this to pop up here in coming weeks as well.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Red Sauce Recipe
I almost forgot. A Facebook friend was looking for a red sauce recipe this evening. Here is what I posted for her on the run:
Finely chop 1 onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until soft, be sure not to burn. Add 4, 28 oz cans of pureed tomatoes, one cup of red wine and 2 cans of tomato paste. Cook at a simmer for about 2 hours, uncovered but with a splash guard. Stir occasionally. Happy cooking!
Finely chop 1 onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until soft, be sure not to burn. Add 4, 28 oz cans of pureed tomatoes, one cup of red wine and 2 cans of tomato paste. Cook at a simmer for about 2 hours, uncovered but with a splash guard. Stir occasionally. Happy cooking!
Can we say Indigestion?
I was out at a golf outing dinner last night, and didn't eat anything worth blogging about. Tonight I got home late and was starving after being really good on my diet. We are almost out of food in the house and I wanted to make something for the experiment, so I tried some breakfast for dinner in Ruth's Pancakes, page 645. A pretty basic pancake recipe, tasty but a bit greasy. I broke my diet rules and ate after 8 and now I am suffering indigestion. I think I really just don't like pancakes so much anymore.
We're home tomorrow so I will be making something with chicken. Stay tuned.
We're home tomorrow so I will be making something with chicken. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Breakfast and Baseball
We started Sunday morning with a classic Cheese Omelet, page 631. It tasted and was cooked just fine, but I am still omelet challenged. I can never seem to get it out of the pan in one piece, or folded in one piece for that matter. Needless to say it wasn't pretty.
After breakfast we headed out to Yankee Stadium for the first time in the new stadium. I was quite excited to see a ball game, the new stadium and of course sample some ballpark food. The new Yankee Stadium, although really cool by stadium standards, is missing some magic of the old stadium. The history just isn't there yet. However, nothing is lacking for food. They do a great job of sampling the best of NYC and then some. Pizza, steaks, pastrami, kosher deli, Nathans, Johnny Rockets, Sausage sandwiches, cheesesteaks, Brother Jimmy's Barbecue, French Fries, Sushi, Chinese, kinishes, popcorn, Carvel, pretzels, peanuts, Moe's southwest grill, an array of Pepsi products, Gatorade and all kinds of beer . We decided to stick with the old ballpark standbys. We started with a delicious fresh lemonade and a bag of peanuts as an appetizer for our pre-game. During the game we consumed Bronx Bombers! A Bronx Bomber is a grilled 1/4 pound Hebrew National hot dog on a hero roll instead of a standard hot dog roll. We also had some tortilla chips and cheese queso from Moe's Southwest. I didn't like these too much. The chips seemed like they were cooked in old oil. Its too bad because the white cheese queso was really good. Coco had a chocolate Carvel cone as his dessert and I went on a hunt for a beer and Cracker Jacks. I tracked down the Cracker Jack vendor, but I had a problem with the beer. I never thought to bring ID to a ball game and couldn't get a beer because they CARD everyone! So I went through a ball game sans beer.
Anyway the Yankees won, Johnny Damon tied his own record for career high home runs, Mark Texieria reached 30 homeruns & 100 RBI's in a season for the 6th season in a row, and Derek Jeter is only 11 hits away from the Yankee all time hit record. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all.
After breakfast we headed out to Yankee Stadium for the first time in the new stadium. I was quite excited to see a ball game, the new stadium and of course sample some ballpark food. The new Yankee Stadium, although really cool by stadium standards, is missing some magic of the old stadium. The history just isn't there yet. However, nothing is lacking for food. They do a great job of sampling the best of NYC and then some. Pizza, steaks, pastrami, kosher deli, Nathans, Johnny Rockets, Sausage sandwiches, cheesesteaks, Brother Jimmy's Barbecue, French Fries, Sushi, Chinese, kinishes, popcorn, Carvel, pretzels, peanuts, Moe's southwest grill, an array of Pepsi products, Gatorade and all kinds of beer . We decided to stick with the old ballpark standbys. We started with a delicious fresh lemonade and a bag of peanuts as an appetizer for our pre-game. During the game we consumed Bronx Bombers! A Bronx Bomber is a grilled 1/4 pound Hebrew National hot dog on a hero roll instead of a standard hot dog roll. We also had some tortilla chips and cheese queso from Moe's Southwest. I didn't like these too much. The chips seemed like they were cooked in old oil. Its too bad because the white cheese queso was really good. Coco had a chocolate Carvel cone as his dessert and I went on a hunt for a beer and Cracker Jacks. I tracked down the Cracker Jack vendor, but I had a problem with the beer. I never thought to bring ID to a ball game and couldn't get a beer because they CARD everyone! So I went through a ball game sans beer.
Anyway the Yankees won, Johnny Damon tied his own record for career high home runs, Mark Texieria reached 30 homeruns & 100 RBI's in a season for the 6th season in a row, and Derek Jeter is only 11 hits away from the Yankee all time hit record. It was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all.
Rainy Saturday
I set out with ambitions greater than I fulfilled yesterday. I was hoping to polish off another 4 recipes and instead ended up with 2. It was a lazy rainy day, but I admit I ended up focused on the funeral and Memorial service for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. I am not sure if it was the draw of the Kennedy's, the fact that he died of a brain tumor, or that I hadn't really watched a full state funeral in my life. ( I for some reason wasn't tuned in for Nixon, Ford and Reagan) Anyway, it distracted my goals today.
Instead of the Irish impulse I had the night before, I stayed with cleaning out the freezer. I had Sweet Italian Sausage and more ground beef left. I made Perciatelli with Sausage Ragu and Meatballs, page 222 and with it the Sicilian Meatballs on the same page. Perciatelli is apparently like a ridged Penne and I do not have an electric pasta maker ( I owned one once and hated it so I gave it away) and I wanted to make fresh pasta so I made this with homemade fettucini instead. It was a very rich and delicious dish. Probably better suited for a cold February day than August, but it was still really good. The secret to this dish was in the meatballs. The meatballs contained, ground almonds, pine nuts and Cinnamon! The cinnamon is definitely what added the underlying flavor to the meatballs and thus, the sauce. Actually I did accomplish 3 recipes, becuase I did make Homemade Pasta Dough, Page 209,- sort of but I admit after making pasta for 17 years, and no disrespect to Gourmet editors, I couldn't bring myself to use this recipe again. ( I have tried it before) I opted for The Joy Pasta recipe, page 9, that I have used for years. I use 1/2 regular flour and 1/2 00 Pasta flour I buy from the Italian Specialty store in Chelsea Market. I had no Chanti around so I drank it with a cheap Red Argentinian wine that was intended for Sangria, but it worked really well with this dish.
I intended to make a salad and dessert, but just never got to it. Instead Coco ate the Apple Crisp that I ate for breakfast. (It was delicious) I abstained from dessert as I did eat mine for breakfast.
Instead of the Irish impulse I had the night before, I stayed with cleaning out the freezer. I had Sweet Italian Sausage and more ground beef left. I made Perciatelli with Sausage Ragu and Meatballs, page 222 and with it the Sicilian Meatballs on the same page. Perciatelli is apparently like a ridged Penne and I do not have an electric pasta maker ( I owned one once and hated it so I gave it away) and I wanted to make fresh pasta so I made this with homemade fettucini instead. It was a very rich and delicious dish. Probably better suited for a cold February day than August, but it was still really good. The secret to this dish was in the meatballs. The meatballs contained, ground almonds, pine nuts and Cinnamon! The cinnamon is definitely what added the underlying flavor to the meatballs and thus, the sauce. Actually I did accomplish 3 recipes, becuase I did make Homemade Pasta Dough, Page 209,- sort of but I admit after making pasta for 17 years, and no disrespect to Gourmet editors, I couldn't bring myself to use this recipe again. ( I have tried it before) I opted for The Joy Pasta recipe, page 9, that I have used for years. I use 1/2 regular flour and 1/2 00 Pasta flour I buy from the Italian Specialty store in Chelsea Market. I had no Chanti around so I drank it with a cheap Red Argentinian wine that was intended for Sangria, but it worked really well with this dish.
I intended to make a salad and dessert, but just never got to it. Instead Coco ate the Apple Crisp that I ate for breakfast. (It was delicious) I abstained from dessert as I did eat mine for breakfast.
Friday, August 28, 2009
TGIF
After not cooking for 2 days, and the start of the weekend I am motivated to catch up my recipes this weekend. I started with 4 for dinner tonight /(breakfast tomorrow)!
In the effort to clean out the freezer with Labor Day approaching and the start of school coming, I needed to use up the ground beef. I made Blue Cheese Hamburgers with Caramelized Onion, pg 447. I did not take it to the extreme however and make the Hamburger bun recipe from scratch (pg 614). Instead I added my own touch and used store bought Onion Rolls. The touch of blue cheese in the center of the burger topped with onions was a really easy way to make a simple burger something special.
This of course could have been done on a grill and been wonderful, but the one drawback I will have as I continue to cook and blog about certain recipes is that here in the city in a condo with no outdoor space, we can't grill.... I am sure it will pose a problem for the flavor of some recipes as I move through this book, but generally I find I can either skillet cook or broil as a substitute fairly sucessfully. The burger recipe did call to be skillet cooked. My vegetables however called to be grilled. I made the Grilled Summer Vegetables with Pesto, Page 591. Instead of grilling, I left them in a baking pan and roasted them at 500 and then upped them to broil to brown them. It certainly doesn't give the charcoal flavor, but still equally tasty, Its very simple cooked, coated in Olive oil, oregano, Thyme Salt & Pepper. It made me miss the days of my house with my garden and the summers of enough basil to keep the whole block stocked for the summer. I used Tubed pesto instead of making my own (page 889) this evening, even though its so easy and I have made it many times. I should make some and keep it in the freeezer for future use while Basil is still in season.
The good news about oven roasting is that it made the third recipe really easy to make. I simply started by roasting the potatoes for Golden Potato Wedges, page 568. As the potatoes got tender I just added the other vegetables right to the pan. Easy and one pan clean up! I also have plenty of vegetables left to eat for my lunch tomorrow.
And lastly I contemplated quite a few things for dessert, and came to the realization that I was slightly limited by the fact that I was out of eggs. So my dessert this evening became a chocolate pudding from the other night, and instead I made Apple Crisp, Page 812. Do you remember what old fashioned bakery crumb cake crumbs are like? Buttery and dense and golden brown on top of the golden cake. Crumbs like those are exactly why I refuse to use the food processor as the recipe calls for for the topping. I use my pastry blender and do it by hand and then just use my hands. I get big moist crumbs, and save myself the trouble of cleaning the cuisinart! The crisp looks beautiful and smells yummy. I am guessing that this will act as my breakfast tomorrow.
So I have the whole day again tomorrow to conjure a few more recipes, we'll see what it will be. Maybe something Irish to tribute Ted Kennedy as I watch the funeral? We will see what tomorow brings.
In the effort to clean out the freezer with Labor Day approaching and the start of school coming, I needed to use up the ground beef. I made Blue Cheese Hamburgers with Caramelized Onion, pg 447. I did not take it to the extreme however and make the Hamburger bun recipe from scratch (pg 614). Instead I added my own touch and used store bought Onion Rolls. The touch of blue cheese in the center of the burger topped with onions was a really easy way to make a simple burger something special.
This of course could have been done on a grill and been wonderful, but the one drawback I will have as I continue to cook and blog about certain recipes is that here in the city in a condo with no outdoor space, we can't grill.... I am sure it will pose a problem for the flavor of some recipes as I move through this book, but generally I find I can either skillet cook or broil as a substitute fairly sucessfully. The burger recipe did call to be skillet cooked. My vegetables however called to be grilled. I made the Grilled Summer Vegetables with Pesto, Page 591. Instead of grilling, I left them in a baking pan and roasted them at 500 and then upped them to broil to brown them. It certainly doesn't give the charcoal flavor, but still equally tasty, Its very simple cooked, coated in Olive oil, oregano, Thyme Salt & Pepper. It made me miss the days of my house with my garden and the summers of enough basil to keep the whole block stocked for the summer. I used Tubed pesto instead of making my own (page 889) this evening, even though its so easy and I have made it many times. I should make some and keep it in the freeezer for future use while Basil is still in season.
The good news about oven roasting is that it made the third recipe really easy to make. I simply started by roasting the potatoes for Golden Potato Wedges, page 568. As the potatoes got tender I just added the other vegetables right to the pan. Easy and one pan clean up! I also have plenty of vegetables left to eat for my lunch tomorrow.
And lastly I contemplated quite a few things for dessert, and came to the realization that I was slightly limited by the fact that I was out of eggs. So my dessert this evening became a chocolate pudding from the other night, and instead I made Apple Crisp, Page 812. Do you remember what old fashioned bakery crumb cake crumbs are like? Buttery and dense and golden brown on top of the golden cake. Crumbs like those are exactly why I refuse to use the food processor as the recipe calls for for the topping. I use my pastry blender and do it by hand and then just use my hands. I get big moist crumbs, and save myself the trouble of cleaning the cuisinart! The crisp looks beautiful and smells yummy. I am guessing that this will act as my breakfast tomorrow.
So I have the whole day again tomorrow to conjure a few more recipes, we'll see what it will be. Maybe something Irish to tribute Ted Kennedy as I watch the funeral? We will see what tomorow brings.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tired and Lazy
Last night I was out networking and drank my dinner, so after a late night I forgot to take out my ground beef to defrost and was way too tired to cook by this evening. While I was out, Coco enjoyed his leftovers and loved his Chocolate Pudding!
Since I didn't actually cook, today I'll do my restaurant review version of the Blog:
I had lunch with a friend at Cyril Renaud’s Restaurant Bar Breton 254 Fifth Avenue, NYC. I had a House Smoked Salmon Sandwich, Fennel, Cucumber, Cilantro Yogurt & Basil Sauce, Lemon Confit. I had them hold the Cilantro as I am not a fan. It was a lovely sandwich, but they could have used better bread, It wasn't a nice cripy baguette they way it should have been. The true treat though, was my friend forced me to share the Lemon Crepe. It was light and delicious with just a hit of a sugar filling with fresh lemon pieces on top. Might have been the best crepe I have eaten.
I was in the mood for Indian food for dinner, but Coco wasn't up for an adventure to Jersey City for vegetarian southern Indian, so we stayed in Hoboken. Instead Coco treated me to my favorite Thai restaurant, Sri Thai at 234 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken, NJ. Tonight I had the Soft Shell Crab with Basil and Chili. It was perfectly fried Soft Shell Crab, in a tasty chili basil sauce with sauteed peppers and onions. It was quite delicious. Coco had a Sweet and Sour Pork dish with pineapple and peppers. He enjoyed his too. We both thought that there were a few too many peppers for our taste. I am still on a quest to get Coco out for Indian though.
So I promise to plan better for tomorrow, and since the weekend is coming it could prove to yield quite a few recipes.
Since I didn't actually cook, today I'll do my restaurant review version of the Blog:
I had lunch with a friend at Cyril Renaud’s Restaurant Bar Breton 254 Fifth Avenue, NYC. I had a House Smoked Salmon Sandwich, Fennel, Cucumber, Cilantro Yogurt & Basil Sauce, Lemon Confit. I had them hold the Cilantro as I am not a fan. It was a lovely sandwich, but they could have used better bread, It wasn't a nice cripy baguette they way it should have been. The true treat though, was my friend forced me to share the Lemon Crepe. It was light and delicious with just a hit of a sugar filling with fresh lemon pieces on top. Might have been the best crepe I have eaten.
I was in the mood for Indian food for dinner, but Coco wasn't up for an adventure to Jersey City for vegetarian southern Indian, so we stayed in Hoboken. Instead Coco treated me to my favorite Thai restaurant, Sri Thai at 234 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken, NJ. Tonight I had the Soft Shell Crab with Basil and Chili. It was perfectly fried Soft Shell Crab, in a tasty chili basil sauce with sauteed peppers and onions. It was quite delicious. Coco had a Sweet and Sour Pork dish with pineapple and peppers. He enjoyed his too. We both thought that there were a few too many peppers for our taste. I am still on a quest to get Coco out for Indian though.
So I promise to plan better for tomorrow, and since the weekend is coming it could prove to yield quite a few recipes.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Perfect Pork
I don't impress myself easily when I cook, but tonight I think I made the best pork I have ever eaten, and Coco loved it too. And I have eaten a lot of Pork! It is my favorite. I am not a huge beef eater except for slow cooked beef dishes. I like chicken, but if its not cooked perfectly then I can be picky. I don't like lamb at all, and all other meats are not the type of things you put into your regular repertoire of cooking. (as much as I would love to eat duck, venison and braised oxtail weekly) So thus, pork is a huge staple in our household. It comes in so many forms, is very versatile, and cooks quickly. Gone is the pork of my father, who grew up eating pork from the pig farms in nearby Secaucus, NJ where the pigs lived and ate in the garbage dumps. My father cooked dinner many nights when I was growing up and he would broil pork chops until they were like eating hockey pucks to make sure he didn't poison us, but somehow it managed to stay tasty. Pork is well fed now and fairly low in fat. A 3 oz serving of boneless pork chop has 5 grams of fat. ( from the national pork board web site). So tonight the Cuban Roast Pork, page 468 was delicious. It was a pork loin roast, marinated all day in garlic, olive oil, orange and lime juices, pan seared and then roasted. The dish took about 45 minutes, and was tender and served with the reduced marinade as a sauce.
I accompanied this by Collard Greens Miniera, page 540, which is chopped collard greens cooked with bacon. Incredibly simple and yummy. Collard Greens are very high in vitamins. 1 cup of collard greens is 800% of daily vitamin K, 118% vitamin A, 57% vitamin C and many more. ( info from whfoods.com).
Finally as tomorrow will be leftover night and a day off from blogging. Since I won't be home for dinner, I made Coco some Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding, page 824 to have with his leftovers for dessert. How did cook and serve pudding ever get invented might I ask ? Fresh pudding from scratch takes about 2 minutes longer than box pudding to make. I really don't get why anyone would bother with a box. I do make it with skim milk though, because that is really all we keep in the house, and it keeps the fat way down of course. This recipe is mostly cocoa powder, and you could even leave out the chocolate pieces to keep the fat down. I licked the spoon and it was good. Hopefully Coco will enjoy the treat tomorrow.
Happy cooking everyone! As I continue clean out my freezer for end of summer, I will probably be on to something with ground beef for Thursday.
I accompanied this by Collard Greens Miniera, page 540, which is chopped collard greens cooked with bacon. Incredibly simple and yummy. Collard Greens are very high in vitamins. 1 cup of collard greens is 800% of daily vitamin K, 118% vitamin A, 57% vitamin C and many more. ( info from whfoods.com).
Finally as tomorrow will be leftover night and a day off from blogging. Since I won't be home for dinner, I made Coco some Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding, page 824 to have with his leftovers for dessert. How did cook and serve pudding ever get invented might I ask ? Fresh pudding from scratch takes about 2 minutes longer than box pudding to make. I really don't get why anyone would bother with a box. I do make it with skim milk though, because that is really all we keep in the house, and it keeps the fat way down of course. This recipe is mostly cocoa powder, and you could even leave out the chocolate pieces to keep the fat down. I licked the spoon and it was good. Hopefully Coco will enjoy the treat tomorrow.
Happy cooking everyone! As I continue clean out my freezer for end of summer, I will probably be on to something with ground beef for Thursday.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Derailed Dinner
Today I ws supposed to make Brazilian Style Black Bean Stew and I was going to try my hand at Molasses Sponge Candy this evening, and my plans got derailed by convenience and a whim.
Last night after completing my entry I decided to read through the stew recipe again, I planned to make it with a short cut of using canned beans instead of dry beans. Afterall, I worked today and I had no plans to eat at 11PM tonight. Upon re-reading, I realized that boiling the beans with the meat was an intergral part of the recipe, making it be about a 4 hour recipe, with too many steps needed to use the crockpot and leave unattended for the day. I had my stew meat defrosted already, so I had to come up with a quick change using what was in the house. Upon further review of the Gourmet cookbook, there were no stew meat recipes suitable for a quick meal or a crockpot. So I give you my stand by Crockpot stew, my own invention after many crockpot recipes that I didn't like on their own merits:
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Celery
Cut them all up to desired size ( not too small on the potatoes) - Any root vegetable will work well in this.
Stew Meat cut into 1"-2" pieces (generously salt and peppered)
1 bottle of beer ( preferably dark - I had some leftover Brooklyn Lager left behind by a house guest :) (RedWine works too for a different flavor about 2 cups of wine)
Enough Beef Broth to cover the rest
Throw it all in the crock pot and turn on low and let it cook 8 hours - but mine always goes 10.
It's fool proof -and instant dinner when you get home, unless you choose to raise the heat and thicken the gravy with corn starch or flour which only adds another 10 minues or so.
My Molasses Sponge got derailed by about one of the best things that exist in NYC - the corner fruit cart! I walk by at least 3 between Port Authority and my office every day. For anyone not familar with NYC, the fruit cart is a wonderful thing - all kinds of beautiful fresh seasonal fruit - cheap! Summer is not only my favorite weather season - its my favorite fruit season - FRESH FIGS! They are beautiful and only $3.99 a pint. ( I have paid over a dollar per fig here at times) I felt dessert calling when I saw them first thing this morning. Unfortunately I waited until too late in the day and I missed out on the Black Mission Figs, but I got a lovely container of Golden Figs right in front of the New York Times Building. I brought them home and turned them into Baked Figs with Grand Marnier and Whipped Cream, page 804. Absolutely amazing! The perfect summer dessert!
So I only accomplished one recipe today, but convenience will just have to win sometimes. Now I need to go take my pork out of the freezer for tomorrow.
Oh, I almost forgot - as a follow up to yesterday, The Rosemary Focaccia looked wonderful, the flavor was perfect, but I think I baked just a little too long - the texture was just off. Maybe I should have steamed the oven, ala Nancy Silverton....
Last night after completing my entry I decided to read through the stew recipe again, I planned to make it with a short cut of using canned beans instead of dry beans. Afterall, I worked today and I had no plans to eat at 11PM tonight. Upon re-reading, I realized that boiling the beans with the meat was an intergral part of the recipe, making it be about a 4 hour recipe, with too many steps needed to use the crockpot and leave unattended for the day. I had my stew meat defrosted already, so I had to come up with a quick change using what was in the house. Upon further review of the Gourmet cookbook, there were no stew meat recipes suitable for a quick meal or a crockpot. So I give you my stand by Crockpot stew, my own invention after many crockpot recipes that I didn't like on their own merits:
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Celery
Cut them all up to desired size ( not too small on the potatoes) - Any root vegetable will work well in this.
Stew Meat cut into 1"-2" pieces (generously salt and peppered)
1 bottle of beer ( preferably dark - I had some leftover Brooklyn Lager left behind by a house guest :) (RedWine works too for a different flavor about 2 cups of wine)
Enough Beef Broth to cover the rest
Throw it all in the crock pot and turn on low and let it cook 8 hours - but mine always goes 10.
It's fool proof -and instant dinner when you get home, unless you choose to raise the heat and thicken the gravy with corn starch or flour which only adds another 10 minues or so.
My Molasses Sponge got derailed by about one of the best things that exist in NYC - the corner fruit cart! I walk by at least 3 between Port Authority and my office every day. For anyone not familar with NYC, the fruit cart is a wonderful thing - all kinds of beautiful fresh seasonal fruit - cheap! Summer is not only my favorite weather season - its my favorite fruit season - FRESH FIGS! They are beautiful and only $3.99 a pint. ( I have paid over a dollar per fig here at times) I felt dessert calling when I saw them first thing this morning. Unfortunately I waited until too late in the day and I missed out on the Black Mission Figs, but I got a lovely container of Golden Figs right in front of the New York Times Building. I brought them home and turned them into Baked Figs with Grand Marnier and Whipped Cream, page 804. Absolutely amazing! The perfect summer dessert!
So I only accomplished one recipe today, but convenience will just have to win sometimes. Now I need to go take my pork out of the freezer for tomorrow.
Oh, I almost forgot - as a follow up to yesterday, The Rosemary Focaccia looked wonderful, the flavor was perfect, but I think I baked just a little too long - the texture was just off. Maybe I should have steamed the oven, ala Nancy Silverton....
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Day One
Today my husband (we'll call him Coco for this blog - It's a nick-name he's acquired for his errand and clean up services he provides to me, especially when I'm cooking, so it's appropriate.) when he heard my thoughts this morning about this blog asked me to make him Beef Stroganoff, Page 439. It became my first endeavor of this project. (really my fourth since it ended up being the last thing I made today). I have made Stroganoff before but not from this recipe. This one is not very heavy and a a nice little tang of mustard to it. I did leave out the dill in the recipe however. I am not a huge fan of dill.
That actually brings me to a very good point about my cooking and this blog. Where I am a copy cat to Julie Powell and her Julie/Julia Project, my purpose is somewhat different. I am not doing this to honor Ruth Reichl and mimick every recipe verbatim as a tribute. I think the book is an amazing guide, but I am using it as just that, a guide on my own journey. I am not afraid to make my own changes to the recipes based on my taste or experiences from cooking other recipes.
So today is Sunday and here in Hoboken it was hot an humid and seemed to threaten rain. After I went to the store to stock up for the week, I was particularly ambitious to start this project. I stayed in and cooked since I was home alone. I ended up with 4 recipes for today.
I actually started with dessert first. I decided to make the first dessert recipe in the book. Tiny Chocolate Chip Cookies, page 662. The goal is to make them tiny like petit fours. I changed up the recipe based on my favorite chocolate chip cookies from Tates Bake shop in the Hamptons. I found a recipe online sometime ago for that cookie. So I changed this one by using salted butter, using a combination of light and dark brown sugar and a tiny bit of water. This makes them, thin, crisp and salty. The recipe calls to make 12 -1/2 dozen though, and I only got about 4 dozen out if it. I wish I had used mini chips, I might have been able to have gotten the cookies smaller. They still are delicious, however. As always, to make Coco happy, I leave the bottom rack in a couple of minutes longer, as he actually likes burnt bottom cookies.
I went on to try Rosemary Foccaccia, page 606, it's been a new favorite of mine avaiable by Ace Bread in the local A&P. I also recently have been through a more advanced bread making phase from Amy Silverton's book, so this seems relatively easy compared to other endeavors. It just finally came out of the oven and my house smells a lovely aroma of Rosemary and Olive Oil. I'll have to let you know tomorrow how it turned out. It looks beautiful, hopefully it lives up.
My Stroganoff needed and side and I felt it should be a vegetable. As I paged through the vegetable recipes, one finally caught my eye. Not only a favorite of my husband's, but something my Nana cooked all the time. Braised Red Cabbage, Page 528. I thought it was the perfect way to remember my Nana as I start this project. As we were eating Coco even commented that it always made him think of her. It was a perfect combination of tangy and sweet and was braised to just short of caramelized.
As I close for today, I finish this with a very strange piece of information I just found out. I referred to Julie Powell's original blog from 2002 to see if I am doing this right. ( I have never read it, or her book), and realized the date she began was Sunday August 25. Seems to make me fated to have started this 7 years to the day after.
That actually brings me to a very good point about my cooking and this blog. Where I am a copy cat to Julie Powell and her Julie/Julia Project, my purpose is somewhat different. I am not doing this to honor Ruth Reichl and mimick every recipe verbatim as a tribute. I think the book is an amazing guide, but I am using it as just that, a guide on my own journey. I am not afraid to make my own changes to the recipes based on my taste or experiences from cooking other recipes.
So today is Sunday and here in Hoboken it was hot an humid and seemed to threaten rain. After I went to the store to stock up for the week, I was particularly ambitious to start this project. I stayed in and cooked since I was home alone. I ended up with 4 recipes for today.
I actually started with dessert first. I decided to make the first dessert recipe in the book. Tiny Chocolate Chip Cookies, page 662. The goal is to make them tiny like petit fours. I changed up the recipe based on my favorite chocolate chip cookies from Tates Bake shop in the Hamptons. I found a recipe online sometime ago for that cookie. So I changed this one by using salted butter, using a combination of light and dark brown sugar and a tiny bit of water. This makes them, thin, crisp and salty. The recipe calls to make 12 -1/2 dozen though, and I only got about 4 dozen out if it. I wish I had used mini chips, I might have been able to have gotten the cookies smaller. They still are delicious, however. As always, to make Coco happy, I leave the bottom rack in a couple of minutes longer, as he actually likes burnt bottom cookies.
I went on to try Rosemary Foccaccia, page 606, it's been a new favorite of mine avaiable by Ace Bread in the local A&P. I also recently have been through a more advanced bread making phase from Amy Silverton's book, so this seems relatively easy compared to other endeavors. It just finally came out of the oven and my house smells a lovely aroma of Rosemary and Olive Oil. I'll have to let you know tomorrow how it turned out. It looks beautiful, hopefully it lives up.
My Stroganoff needed and side and I felt it should be a vegetable. As I paged through the vegetable recipes, one finally caught my eye. Not only a favorite of my husband's, but something my Nana cooked all the time. Braised Red Cabbage, Page 528. I thought it was the perfect way to remember my Nana as I start this project. As we were eating Coco even commented that it always made him think of her. It was a perfect combination of tangy and sweet and was braised to just short of caramelized.
As I close for today, I finish this with a very strange piece of information I just found out. I referred to Julie Powell's original blog from 2002 to see if I am doing this right. ( I have never read it, or her book), and realized the date she began was Sunday August 25. Seems to make me fated to have started this 7 years to the day after.
Why did I decided to start a Blog?
Let me be clear as I begin this blog. I have never blogged, I have never even really read a blog. I am not a writer, I am not a professional chef. I am someone who loves to cook and believe I do it well. I admit it - I am a huge copycat, having been inspired by seeing the film Julie and Julia last night. I have a friend about to embark into cooking school and this weekend we were sharing our passion for food. Another friend with professional kitchen background and I chat regularly about food. This is added inspiration as to why to embark on this experiment.
My passion for food started as a child as do many people's, watching my mother and my grandmother cook. When I was 12, my mother signed me up for a cooking for kids class to get me out of the house on Saturday's. It was given by the head chef at the Hotel-Intercontinental in NYC. Every Saturday we would take the PATH train into the city and change to the E Train to Lex and 53 and go to this class, where at 12 years old, I got to experience something that many people ever do. I got to cook amazing food in a huge gourmet professional kitchen. I was hooked. I still have most of my recipes from that class and now 27 years later, still make many of these recipes ( some which are in my memory by now) . I learned to make puff pastry from scratch, which became croissants and Beef Wellingtons. We made quiches, chicken dishes, beef dishes, chocolate and cheese souffles and chocolate mousse. Whatever we asked Chef Daniel to teach us, he did. At the end of the class we had an article written about us in American Airlines magazine where I am quoted and we appeared on Patricia McCann's radio show on WOR talk radio. Needless to say it was an amazing experience. I was sure I wanted to cook for a living.
I never did embark to culinary school. I graduated from high school young, and cooking school would have meant being completed with school and out in the working world by 18, and I wasn't quite ready to speed my life along, so I opted for traditional 4 year college. Life proceeded, and I pursued a different career that I still love, and I became a wife and a working mother. I continue to cook and throw cocktail and dinner parties for my family and friends from all kinds of recipes from cookbooks, memoirs, internet and magazines.
One of my friends years ago lent me Ruth Reichl's first Memoir, Tender to the Bone and I adored it. Some time after the same friend attended a Great Cooks dinner in Washington, DC and gave me an autographed copy of The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl. Ruth is quoted on the back of the book "Our goal was to give you a book with every recipe you would ever want", and they came damn near close. It is rare that I venture to this book and can't find something I am looking for. I have many other sources of recipes I use, and might like better than in this book, but I have yet to make anything from this book that hasn't been amazing.
So here, I begin an experiment to see how much I can cook from this book, and along the way will comment about other things I cook and eat along the way. I would like to be as determined as Julie Powell to set a deadline for myself, but given that I am not a writer or a professional chef with a particular goal, I will set no deadline or promises to enter every day. This is about my own self discovery and let's see where it takes me. Hopefully I won't make my husband and son crazy along the way.
Happy cooking and eating everyone!
My passion for food started as a child as do many people's, watching my mother and my grandmother cook. When I was 12, my mother signed me up for a cooking for kids class to get me out of the house on Saturday's. It was given by the head chef at the Hotel-Intercontinental in NYC. Every Saturday we would take the PATH train into the city and change to the E Train to Lex and 53 and go to this class, where at 12 years old, I got to experience something that many people ever do. I got to cook amazing food in a huge gourmet professional kitchen. I was hooked. I still have most of my recipes from that class and now 27 years later, still make many of these recipes ( some which are in my memory by now) . I learned to make puff pastry from scratch, which became croissants and Beef Wellingtons. We made quiches, chicken dishes, beef dishes, chocolate and cheese souffles and chocolate mousse. Whatever we asked Chef Daniel to teach us, he did. At the end of the class we had an article written about us in American Airlines magazine where I am quoted and we appeared on Patricia McCann's radio show on WOR talk radio. Needless to say it was an amazing experience. I was sure I wanted to cook for a living.
I never did embark to culinary school. I graduated from high school young, and cooking school would have meant being completed with school and out in the working world by 18, and I wasn't quite ready to speed my life along, so I opted for traditional 4 year college. Life proceeded, and I pursued a different career that I still love, and I became a wife and a working mother. I continue to cook and throw cocktail and dinner parties for my family and friends from all kinds of recipes from cookbooks, memoirs, internet and magazines.
One of my friends years ago lent me Ruth Reichl's first Memoir, Tender to the Bone and I adored it. Some time after the same friend attended a Great Cooks dinner in Washington, DC and gave me an autographed copy of The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl. Ruth is quoted on the back of the book "Our goal was to give you a book with every recipe you would ever want", and they came damn near close. It is rare that I venture to this book and can't find something I am looking for. I have many other sources of recipes I use, and might like better than in this book, but I have yet to make anything from this book that hasn't been amazing.
So here, I begin an experiment to see how much I can cook from this book, and along the way will comment about other things I cook and eat along the way. I would like to be as determined as Julie Powell to set a deadline for myself, but given that I am not a writer or a professional chef with a particular goal, I will set no deadline or promises to enter every day. This is about my own self discovery and let's see where it takes me. Hopefully I won't make my husband and son crazy along the way.
Happy cooking and eating everyone!
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