Braisin' Hussy

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Man, it's cold in the office today. I think someone turned up the AC just to spite me.

Props to Sara for linking to me yesterday. She quintupled my hits.

So, do you want to hear how I screwed something up? Of course you do! Well, I decided to make the Maneschewitz mix matzoh ball soup last night. I added some carrots, celery, onion, and parsely to make it a little more substantial. (The celery was kind of a mistake. I didn't like the final texture.) So I'm supposed to add two and a half quarts of water. I know my parents add more than that since it's WAY salty. I also have a box of broth open in my refrigerator. So I figure I'll use the three cups of broth I have (pretty salty on its own) and to that add three quarts of water. Somewhere along the way, I got pints and quarts mixed up.

Cutting the story short, I made salt soup. Mmmm.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Argh, I'm going to have to throw out food again. I just realized that my chicken is almost two weeks old. Note to self: in the future, only make half a chicken. Or just buy dark meat. You're not going to be able to finish it before it goes bad.

I heard on the radio that the price of milk is going to go up soon by something like fifty cents a gallon. Wahoo, I get to pay even more for dairy. I can hardly wait!

In other news, half and half sucks in tea. I need to buy a little container of milk and bring it to work, because this is not working for me. And speaking of tea, hot water that comes from coffee machines makes terrible tea. It's horribly bland. Boil your water in the microwave if you have to, but coffee machine water SUCKS. That's how I burnt myself the second time. I was boiling water in a coffee cup in the microwave. The ceramic got really, really hot. So I asked Ryan if I could borrow one of her big ol' plastic mugs. Problem solved.

I finished the strata this morning. Damn, that's good. I want to hold a brunch or something so I can make it again. I need to make more tomato-sausage-mushroom sauce (aka Jonsauce) this weekend; I'm almost out. I also want to try out Jon's chili recipe (the best!) using pork shoulder instead of beef. I think it'd be good.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

It occurs to me that although I added mushrooms to the ingredient list of (Erika) Strata, I didn't actually say what to do with them. I'm going to go edit that recipe now.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, April 26, 2004

Oh yeah- I bought a toaster on Saturday. No more burnination!

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sunday, April 25, 2004

Well, people seemed to love the potatoes. Give me a few months, and I might forget what a pain they are and make them again.

The strata was EXCELLENT. The mushrooms were an excellent addition.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

(Erika) Strata

8–10 (1/2-inch thick) slices supermarket French or Italian bread (6–7 ounces)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 medium shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
6 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 cup medium-dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 11/2 cups)
6 large eggs
1 3/4 cups half-and-half

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning slices over halfway through drying time. (Alternatively, leave slices out overnight to dry.) When cooled, butter slices on one side with 2 tablespoons butter; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add mushrooms and brown. Remove from pan. Heat (another) 1 tablespoon of butter and add shallots. Sauté shallots until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes; add mushrooms, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until combined, about 2 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add wine to skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes; set aside.

Butter 8-inch square baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; arrange half of buttered bread slices, buttered-side up, in single layer in dish. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture, then 1/2 cup grated cheese evenly over bread slices. Arrange remaining bread slices in single layer over cheese; sprinkle remaining spinach mixture and another 1/2 cup cheese evenly over bread. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until combined; whisk in reduced wine, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread layers; cover surface flush with plastic wrap, weigh down (use two 1-pound boxes of brown or powdered sugar, laid side by side over the plastic-covered surface), and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Uncover strata and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over surface; bake until both edges and center are puffed and edges have pulled away slightly from sides of dish, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes; serve.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Okay, so I am never making those mini twice-baked potatoes EVER AGAIN. I'll make a couple of regular sized ones and cut them up, sure, but these mini ones take so long to hollow out. I had thirty-two halves to hollow. Man alive. They had better be good, that's all I'm saying.

And I made strata! Exciting. I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Saturday, April 24, 2004

Dear lord, I'm tired. Last night's D&D campaign went until 2:30am. I'm supposed to be cooking up a storm, but after going out and shopping for everything, I'm kind of exhausted. I might take a nap and stay up late tonight, working in the kitchen. On my list of things to make: mini twice-baked potatoes, strata, and matzoh ball soup.

Yeah, I think I'm going to take a nap.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, April 23, 2004

Apparently burning myself is the new black. OW.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Thursday, April 22, 2004

So I did make cookies. Go me. The cookies were the gialetti (my first blogged recipe). They turned out all right, but I forgot that I was using unslated butter and then forgot to add a pinch of salt. So, they're a wee bland. Still pretty damn tasty, though.

And stock! Woohoo! But almost better than the stock is the fat... mm. Jon will probably make French onion soup with some of it, and I'm thinking I might make matzoh ball soup with the rest. It doesn't matter that Passover's done with, matzoh ball soup tastes wonderful all the time. And chicken fat makes wonderful matzoh balls. I've never made the real thing, just the Manischewitz mix (which I actually have a box of on my counter). My dad, who likes his matzoh balls made out of... let's say tungsten, says that the secret is to refrigerate the dough twice, once before and once after shaping into small balls.

I have to offer an apology to Alton Brown. After some pondering, I have found that there are three of his recipes that work for me, and three that don't. So he comes out sort of neutral. Recipes which work: pizza dough, croutons, chicken stock. Recipes that don't work: tomato sauce, clam chowder, broiled chicken. Here is his chicken stock recipe.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Chicken Stock
Good Eats - Alton Brown

4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs
1 large onion, quartered
4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
10 sprigs fresh thyme
10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
2 bay leaves
8 to 10 peppercorns
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
2 gallons cold water

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Argh, I burnt myself last night. On a fork. While making toast. This prompts the question, "How?" Well, I don't have a toaster. Usually I make my toast in a pan on the stove. But I was feeling impatient last night, so I just stuck the bread on a fork and put it over the open gas flame. Then the bread got stuck on the fork, and while I was trying to pull it off, I accidentally touched the tines. Ow, ow, OW. I kept my thumb on an ice pack while falling asleep last night.

Why don't I have a toaster? Well, I had one, but it decided to stop working during the year I had it in storage. Now I've been going back and forth on whether to buy a toaster or a toaster oven. I'm leaning more towards the toaster oven, just because I can do more with it. Unfortunately, it would take up more counter space. I think they're selling a Black & Decker down at Target on clearance, though. Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow.

I haven't really been eating anything interesting, sad to say. Yesterday and today I've been consuming a great deal (maybe somewhere close to the daily recommended amount!) of fruits and vegetables. I realized that the only green thing I'd had over the weekend was a piece of lettuce on a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Well, and basil in the pesto. So I ate a bunch of tangelos and steamed some snow peas. I've been snacking on edamame.

Tomorrow is stock day. Stock and cookies. And laundry.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, April 19, 2004

Well, I didn't make anything this weekend. Saturday I slept in, then went over to Jon's house and ate his macaroni and cheese (and played ping-pong and watched the Lakers-Rockets game). On Sunday Rob and I went out for pizza (mmm... Amici's... pesto and mushrooms) and then spent twelve hours creating a D&D character. I'm a dwarven barbarian! Fear me!

I got a library card! So I've been reading a couple of food-related books lately. (I'm taking a little hiatus from Quicksilver.) The first is How to Read a French Fry and Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science by Russ Parsons, the food editor for the Los Angeles Times. This was a really quick read- it helped that about a third of it was recipes. Basically, if you've seen every episode of Good Eats, you've read this book. That said, I still really enjoyed it, and some of the recipes I might try. I'm a bit leery of Alton's recipes, since I've had two of his recipes turn out quite badly. (Don't make the tomato sauce from Seeing Red II: Pantry Raid. Seriously.) That being said, I still make his pizza dough all the time.

I'm about three-quarters of the way through Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk. It's really interesting. I love how Ms. Volk talks about each of her family members in relation to their food. It's made me teary a couple of times. Highly recommended.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Saturday, April 17, 2004

No, it wasn't the chicken. I guess I was just randomly sick. I ate a piece last night and was okay.

I think I've gotten to the point where I have enough bits and pieces of chickens (backs, necks, wings) to make stock. Yay.

I'm thinking of putting an ad up on craigslist in the free stuff section for half of the Orange Tea Cake, an unopened jar of expired baking powder, and four bottles of the worst beer I've ever had. (Mission Street Pale Ale, if you're wondering. I got it at Trader Joe's. It is ever so god-awful.) But I probably won't.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, April 16, 2004

Oh, I am SO glad no one took me up on my offer to come over for dinner last night. Because I did something wrong. Something wrong enough to wake me up at 2:30 and stick my head in the toilet. Good times.

I'm guessing cross-contamination took place at some point, because I overcooked the chicken this time. I don't get it- undercooked chicken and I'm okay, overcooked and I'm sick. I just want to point out that it is MY FAULT, not the recipe's, because the recipe is damn good (Cook's Illustrated, if you were keen to know).

I got to use my lovely new Le Creuset skillet last night! And it was wonderful. Surprisingly, it was a lot easier to clean than I was expecting.

Along with the chicken, I made some jasmine rice. I put the sauce on the rice instead of the chicken, when really, I should have put it on both. The chicken was a wee bland without it. It's so good that I just want to eat it with a spoon, but I'm going to have to throw it out along with the chicken, and that is killing me (see earlier statement about hating to throw away food). I wish I knew how to make the sauce without having to make the chicken, but it's kind of hard to just buy chicken drippings. I've got some fat, though (skimmed off the top of the stock I used in the soup a few days ago). Maybe I could try it with that.

Please, try this recipe out. I had a bad experience with it. I've made it two other times before, and it's turned out fine. I will probably make it again. Although next time, I'll buy a package of already cut-up chicken, because dismantling a whole bird is hard (although cost-effective).

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Sherry-Rosemary Sauce

For the bird:
1 1/2 cups kosher salt (3/4 cup table salt)
1 chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, and 2 legs)
Ground black pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil

For the sauce:
1 large shallot, minced (about 4 tbsp)
1 clove garlic
3/4 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup sherry
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, bruised
3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into three pieces
Salt and ground black pepper

Dissolve salt in 2 1/2 quarts cold tap water in large container or bowl; submerge chicken pieces in brine and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 30 minutes. Rinse chicken pieces under running water and pat dry with paper towels. Season chicken with pepper.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450.

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke, about 3 minutes; swirl skillet to coat evenly with oil. (Turn on your vent and open a window.) Brown chicken pieces skin-side down until deep golden, 5-6 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and brown until golden on second side, 4-5 minutes longer. Turn chicken skin-side down and place skillet in oven. Roast about 10 minutes longer. Chicken is done when juices run clear or an instant-read thermometer registers 160 for the white meat and 175 for the dark. Using potholder or oven mitt (because it's incredibly hot), remove skillet from oven. Transfer chicken skin-side up to platter, and let rest while making sauce.

Pour off most of fat from skillet, and add shallots and garlic. Set skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring almost constantly, until softened, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add broth, sherry, and rosemary. Increase heat to high, and simmer rapidly, scraping skilled bottom with wooden spatula to loosen fond. Simmer until slightly thickened and reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 6 minutes. Pour accumulated chicken juices from platter into skillet, discard rosemary, and whisk in butter one piece at a time. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken pieces skin-side up to skillet; simmer to heat through, about 1 minute. Serve immediately.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

I didn't make anything today. Well, that's a lie. I made a twice-baked potato. But I didn't make anything new and exciting. I am, however, defrosting a chicken. I guess that'll be what I talk about tomorrow night.

I've still got a LOT of cake.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

First, a comment on last night's soup. It tasted MUCH better today. I still don't think I'll make it again, but the time spent in the fridge did wonders.

Today, a cake! "Some kinda cake" as I called it in my now-deleted post from this afternoon. Orange Tea Cake is the actual name, and why did I choose it? Well, it was on the other side of the Creamy Scallion-Mushroom Soup magazine page. I flipped over the recipe and thought to myself, "That's sort of interesting, and it doesn't look very hard." I still ended up going to the grocery store, because I needed blood oranges, sugar (I was almost out), and baking powder (I have an unopened jar of Clabber Girl which expired at the end of last year).

So, I was supposed to use a 9-inch springform pan. I don't have a springform pan. What I do have is a Pyrex 8 1/2 inch round dish that, until now, I've been using for making large quantities of bean dip (it holds 1 1/2 quarts). Now, doing some research on bakeware capacities, I find that the 9-inch would have held 2 1/2 quarts (capacity table here). So, we should all be VERY surprised to find out that the batter filled my dish all the way up to the top. I put a baking sheet underneath the dish because I was afraid it might spill over when it rose (it didn't, thankfully, but there is an amusing sort of muffin-top to it).

Since I was not using the springform pan, I had to work out how I was going to get the cake out of the pan. I created a two-part sling out of parchment paper that seemed like a good idea, but really wasn't. I think if I were to do it again, I'd make a circle for the bottom of the dish, and then a tall collar around it. Maybe. I don't know. That doesn't sound quite as good an idea as when it was just in my head.

The question is, will I make it again? Probably not. Or if I do, there will need to be some adjustments to the recipe. It's just kind of... boring. More oranges, or zest, or extract, something to give it a personality. The cake does look perfect on the inside; I was very happy with the texture. It was just missing... zing. Pizazz. Élan. A thesaurus.

Also, it was supposed to have a reddish tint from the blood oranges. It didn't.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Orange Tea Cake

3/4 lb blood oranges or other thin-skinned orange
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups AP flour
1 tbsp baking powder
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the over to 375. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Cut the top and bottom off the orange and discard. Thinly slice the orange and discard any seeds....

Wait a second. Was I not supposed to peel the oranges? But... the pith! Well, I suppose that would have given me the zest I was thinking about. Probably would have added to the color, too. God, I'm dumb. Can't I read a recipe?

...Transfer the orange slices to a food processor and puree. Add 1/2 cup of the sugar and the olive oil and pulse just until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder. In another medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the eggs with the remaining 1 cup of sugar at moderate speed until thick, about 8 minutes. Fold in half of the flour mixture, then fold in the orange puree and vanilla. Fold in the remaining flour mixture.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325 and bake the cake for 30 minutes longer, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tranfer the cake to a rack to cool, then unmold the cake and serve.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, April 12, 2004

When the hell did everything start getting so damn expensive?! I paid $3.39 for a pound of butter today. That is $0.89 more than I would pay, and $1.39 more than I think I should have to pay. Same with chicken broth. For my soup this evening, I ended up using homemade chicken stock because I could not bear the prices at the stores (and I was in three this afternoon). "But Sarah, isn't using homemade stock, better than using canned broth?" Well, yes. But I was saving that last two-and-a-half cups of my stock for something that would showcase the stock itself more. Something like stracciatella. Not a recipe that ended up being disappointing.

I'm the same way with Diet Coke. Even though I am clearly addicted to it (once I quit for a month or so, and I cannot tell you the headaches I had), I refuse to pay more than a dollar for two liters. Sometimes the stores will hit a "We love Pepsi!" patch, and I won't be able to get any at a reasonable price for two or three weeks. I will suffer through it, though. Last week Walgreens had them for $0.79. I was thrilled and bought four. Jon likes cans. I would be off Coke products entirely if I started buying cans. When I used to live in Los Angeles, the Ralph's down the street would have a sale, round about once a month, when 12-packs were $2.00. Now, I will pay $2.50, but I still feel ripped off. And it's hard to find even $2.50.

$1.59 for a half-pint of heavy cream. That's one cup. I wait to buy spices and yeast until I'm at Cost Plus World Market, because they charge reasonable prices. I needed fennel, and the cheapest I could find it was $4.00 or something. Cost Plus? $1.50. Yes, it's probably not the freshest ever, but if you toast and grind the seeds yourself, it'll be fine. Still better than buying ground, I'd wager.

I am going to be an excellent cantankerous old woman someday.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sometimes, nostalgic dishes just don't turn out as good as you remember....

Tonight, I made a recipe that I reserved for special occasions when I was in college oh-so-many years ago. I made it for my mom once when she visited, and I was very proud of it. I'm guessing I had crappy tastes back then, because this was just not good. I adapted this from Food & Wine. The original recipe makes double the amount, and uses flour to thicken instead of a potato.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Creamy Scallion-Mushroom Soup

3 tbsp butter
1 lb scallions, chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 baking potato (~8oz), peeled and chopped
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the scallions and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10-15 minutes.

Add the stock and potato and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, or until the potato is soft. Stir in the parsley.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Stir in the cream, and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with whatever (I remember being very fond of crumbled pretzels in this).

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sunday, April 11, 2004

Okay, I STILL have not made anything. Bad Sarah! Bad!

However, Jon and Ryan invited me over for dinner, because Jon was going to try the new, revamped Cook's Illustrated macaroni and cheese recipe. I think the new recipe is definitely an improvement over the old one. Still, it's awfully soupy. We decided that Vermont people must really like their mac and cheese creamy. I might suggest more salt and more cayenne. Or a bunch of Tabasco would probably fill both of those.

I realize Cook's is trying to make their recipes accessible to everyone, but man, they're wordy. I don't think you need to start heating the broiler quite that early. It's on for a long time! If you were to make this in the summer, that'd heat your kitchen something awful, with the broiler as well as the boiling water. Well, whatever. This recipe is a little more difficult than their last recipe, but it did turn out better.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Classic Macaroni and Cheese

Bread Crumb Topping
6 slices good-quality white sandwich bread, torn into rough pieces
3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Pasta and Cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne (they say optional, I say BS, it's necessary)
5 cups milk (any fat content)
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)

Bread Crumbs: Pulse bread and butter in food processor until crumbs are no larger that 1/8 inch, ten to fifteen 1-second pulses. Set aside.

Pasta and Cheese: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta and set aside in colander.

In now-empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour, mustard, and cayenne and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking contantly (mixture must read full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about five minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes.

Transfer mixture to broiler-safe 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 mintues, rotating pan if necessary for even browning. Cool about 5 minutes, serve.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Nothing very exciting today. I clipped a bunch of recipes out of old issues of Food & Wine; I'm preparing to put them in with the ones I got out of Cooking Light in my magazine recipe binder. Beyond that... Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Nips and Diet Coke. Because I have a very sad addiction.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, April 09, 2004

Ah, matzoh. Very tasty with butter or made into grilled cheese. Matzoh's one of those weird things that would normally taste horrible, but during Passover, it almost seems like a treat. Any other time of the year, I would be thinking, "A cracker version of Tuscan bread. Now why would I want to eat that?"

(Before you all get on my case, I'd like to say that I'm only Jewishish. Our family, we love the holidays and their ritual pomp and circumstance, but we don't take it all that seriously. I describe our seders as "the story, the songs, and the snark." I've tried not eating leavened items for Passover- it's really hard! You'll never catch me doing the whole Atkins thing.)

I'm at a loss for what to make for dinner. I've got all this food purloined from my parents (well, not so much purloined as much as they were going away and needed Jon and I to take their perishables). I could make a twice-baked potato. But that'll take over an hour and I'm munchy now. Hm.

(ETA: I steamed some eggs and made egg salad. Yum.)

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

First off, a sentence to pacify my mother. Yes, I threw out the chicken.

The story:
So, tonight I was going to make something with the rest of the chicken I made on the 28th, possibly a pasta sauce with crimini mushrooms and boursin cheese. However, when I brought this up to my mother, she refused to let me go through with it, seeing as the chicken was a week and a half old and was never fully cooked. So I came around to realizing that I really didn't want to chance the food poisoning and got rid of it. Damn it. I should have more of a schedule for my leftovers. I hate throwing away food.

Onward! Last night Jon, Ryan, and I drove over to my parents house for a seder. Our seders are such fun. I sang the four questions for the first time and only screwed up a little. My mother made an excellent meal- matzoh ball soup, braised short ribs, mashed potatoes, and haricot vert. Mm. I have got to get back into braising again- love that collagen!

Tonight for dinner, I ate the rest of the macaroni and cheese. It's much less soupy as leftovers; it cooled into a solid shape. However, when I reheated it, it separated. It's not really a problem, but I thought you'd like to know. I think next time I have a craving for homemade mac & cheese, I'm going to try Alton Brown's stovetop recipe.

To conclude, I hate Food Network. Why? More Sandra Lee. Damn you.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, April 05, 2004

So I made macaroni and cheese yesterday, America's Test Kitchen-style. It turned out kind of soupy, but I think that's my fault. The recipe calls for one cup of evaporated milk. I didn't have that, but I did have buttermilk, so I put that in. I don't know whether evaporated milk is more viscous than buttermilk or not. They also called for using sharp cheddar, American, or Monterey Jack cheese, and I used a combination of very sharp cheddar, gouda, and gruyere, which meant mine was probably stronger-tasting. Lastly, I didn't have macaroni, so I used gnocchi 46 (one of the shapes in the Rummo variety pack from Costco).

I have an affinity for the blue box, I have to admit. Something about that orange color not found in nature. Here's a tip- try making it with buttermilk instead of regular milk. The tanginess is really nice.

Yes, this last week has been all about trying to use up the buttermilk.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
America's Test Kitchen

2 large eggs
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk (buttermilk)
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used more like 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt (plus more for salting the water)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dry mustard, dissolved in 1 tsp water
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tbsp unsalted butter
12 oz sharp cheddar, American, or Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Bread crumbs, enough to top (optional)

Mix the eggs, evaporated milk, pepper sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard mixture in a small bowl. Set aside.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, then add the macaroni and some salt. Cook until almost tender but still a little firm to the bite (around 6 minutes). Drain and return to the pan over low heat. Add butter and toss to melt.

Pour egg mixture over buttered noodles along with three-quarters of the cheese. Stir until thoroughly combined and the cheese starts to melt. Gradually add the remaining milk mixture and cheese, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and creamy (about 5 minutes). Serve immediately, or....

Turn on your broiler. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a 9x9 ovenproof dish and top with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs turn deep brown (anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes, depending on your broiler strength and how far away the dish is from the heat).

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sunday, April 04, 2004

Well, I finished off the banana cake this morning. I have figured out the reasons for the cake's overmoistness. The extra banana was only half of the problem. I added an extra half cup of butter to the mix. At the time, I was not thinking, or rather, I was thinking, "One stick of butter's a quarter cup." Dumb, dumb Sarah. Pity her in her ineptitude.

I didn't do any cooking today, although I did help Rob out with making cookies. He recently bought a remarkably ugly (it's true, he agrees) KitchenAid stand mixer for very cheap on Amazon. The color is "pistaschio." It had mad discounts. So he broke it in making chocolate chip cookes. Nestle Tollhouse recipe, very good. We went out for Indian food, discussed Dungeons & Dragons, watched Futurama (The Farnsworth Parabox), and played video games (Dr. Mario, Frogger, Rush'n Attack, and Castlevania).

I can't believe I put in an extra stick of butter.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, April 02, 2004

Well, at least tonight they were interesting leftovers....

I had three things I wanted to use tonight: my almost-cooked chicken, buttermilk, and lettuce. I got to thinking that even if my chicken wasn't fully cooked, I could still do something to it. Something like... frying.

I cut up some of the leftover white meat as well as some bread into bite-sized pieces. Then, I prepared a dredge of flour, cayenne pepper, salt, garlic powder, and freshly ground black pepper. I set some chicken fat (leftover from stock makings a while back) and canola oil in an oven-safe pan over medium high heat. I put the chicken in the flour mixture, then the buttermilk, then the flour mixture again. Once the fats were plenty hot, I started frying. Use a splatter guard, if you ever attempt anything like this, because OW. You'll probably want to use longer tongs than I did to turn the meat, because again, OW.

After the chicken was golden brown and lovely on both sides, I removed it to some paper towels. I turned the broiler on and threw the bread cubes in the hot pan, where they soaked up the lovely fat. Then, I put the pan under the broiler and waited for the bread to become those gorgeous croutons from last Sunday.

While that was going on, I washed and dried some romaine and mixed together some ingredients for a simple salad dressing (red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, tabasco, salt, pepper, and garlic powder). I removed the pan from the oven and added the croutons to the paper towels where the chicken was residing. I took the leftover fat and mixed that in with the salad dressing, then tossed it with the lettuce. On top, I put the chicken and croutons. Lots of yum. However, my amounts were a little off, and there wasn't really enough lettuce to call it a salad. It was still damn good, though.

I know, kind of a rehash of last Sunday. I am really happy that I was able to find a use for that chicken. I thought I was eventually going to be throwing it out in all of it's kind of gross under-cooked-ness.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Argh! I ate leftovers again! Damn me! Damn my job!

Thankfully, it's nearing the weekend, and if I'm not too busy clearing space off of my Tivo, I'll have time to make something.

link | Comments []

[back to top]