Braisin' Hussy

Saturday, June 25, 2005

May I scream a little? EEEEEE! Lydia just called to tell me we've been boingboinged! (Boingboing is one of the sites that helped make the Thorax Cake famous.) Look! We're a tiny little slice of internet famous. My ego loves this, by the way. Watch out for me being completely insufferable. Happy happy happy!

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

I'm sorry I haven't been posting enough, readers. I'm sorry I haven't been cooking much, kitchen. I've been quite busy getting things ready for my vacation next weekend- woo, party time, excellent. Anyway, I can't imagine actually finding enough time to make something and post about it. So, I'm taking a break until July 5th. I may post random little snippits about, like, D&D and stuff, but I wouldn't expect all that much out of this blog until after the holiday.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Guh... yeah, I'm a wee bit hungover. Oh, too much of a life this weekend! On Friday, Cameron (one of my D&D boys) had a party celebrating his successful defense of his thesis. Huzzah! Lad's going to have a Ph.D in economics. Because I know it is of utmost importance to everyone, I wore my very cute katamari t-shirt. Lydia made it for me. It's pink and says "Someday my prince will come for me (rolling)" in the Namco font. It's really cute. I'd offer a link to a picture, but apparently Cafe Press doesn't carry that style of shirt anymore. Boo on them. There were very good molasses spice cookies, deviled eggs, and cantaloupe and figs with a creamy basil dipping sauce. Cameron wasn't happy with the sauce.

On Saturday, I went over to the East Bay and hung out with Lydia, Zack, and Kim. Kim is one half of the musical group Ramen and Rice, a violin-cello duo that perform at anime conventions. They are adorable and incredibly nice. Much fun was had, much shopping was done, and I learned that Lydia puts more cream cheese on her bagel than ANY OTHER HUMAN ALIVE. Seriously. I thought my brother used a lot. She put him to shame.

I rushed back over to the peninsula to get ready for Bud and Eddie's party. I wore shiny pants. Oh, Bud and Eddie's parties. I am so glad you only happen a few times a year. Oh, the overindulgence. There were big pots full of bright green and yellow mixed drinks. The yellow was very alchoholic. The green was a little too sweet, in my opinion. The food was appropriately Budandeddie. Baked figs with cheese and walnuts. Bruschetta with a variety of toppings. A potato and shrimp thing on crackers. Mini empanada-like things. Rye bread and blue cheese towers. Spinach dip. Cherry tomatoes stuffed with ricotta (which I think should have been goat cheese or feta cheese thinned out with cream- I just thought the tomatoes needed a bit more salt). Homemade chocolate ice cream with macaroons. Chocolate covered ginger, strawberries, and... something else. I'm sure I'm missing a lot of stuff. Anyway, much fun was had. Whee!

I am very excited for the corn season. We're just entering it now. I can't wait to attempt blowing up my house again!

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Eggs Benedict / Eggs Silverman

1 English muffin, split and toasted
Ham or Canadian bacon, sauteed in a bit of butter (Benedict)
Smoked salmon (Silverman)
2 poached eggs
Hollandaise sauce
Chopped parsley (garnish)
Truffle slices, warmed in a bit of butter (garnish)

Put it together. English muffin halves on the bottom, then the ham/bacon or salmon, then 1 egg on each half, then the sauce, and garnished with the parsley and truffle.

Check it out. Sorry, I had already eaten half before it occurred to me to take a picture.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Hollandaise
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

1 stick of butter, melted and set aside
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Big pinch of salt
2 Tbsp cold butter, separated
Salt and freshly ground pepper (white, if you have it)
Few extra drops of lemon juice, if needed
Dash of Tabasco (optional)

Fill the bottom of a double boiler with a few inches of water. Bring to a bare simmer, then back the heat down.

While the water is heating, whisk the egg yolks in the upper part of the double boiler until thickened, about 1 minutes. Add the water, lemon juice, and salt, and beat for another 30 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon of the cold butter and place the pan over the water. Start whisking and don't stop. Keep a pan of cold water nearby in case things start cooking too quickly. If the eggs begin thickening too quickly or suggest lumpiness, plunge the bottom of the pan into the cold water, continually whisking. Once the danger has passed, place the pan back over the simmering water.

Once the eggs have thickened to the point where you can begin to see the bottom of the pan between strokes, and the mixture forms a light cream on the wires of the whisk.

Immediately remove from the heat and beat in the other 1 tablespoon of cold butter.

Secure the pan on a dampened dishtowel. With the whisk in one hand and the vessel of melted butter in the other, start whisking the egg mixture and sloooowly drizzle in the melted butter by droplets. Once the sauce has thickened into a heavy cream consistency, you may pour the butter a little more rapidly. Do not pour in the milk solids in the dregs of the butter.

Taste and season the sauce with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Pour, serve, and eat immediately.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Mushroom Thing
Vaguely adapted from Alton Brown

1 Tbsp butter or oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced (crimini or button)
2 Tbsp minced green onion or shallot
Shot of sherry
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup half and half
2 Tbsp bread crumbs
2 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and some salt and cook until browned and bereft of most moisture. Add the minced green onion or shallot and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the sherry. Turn the heat off and add the thyme and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the half and half, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Once the cheese melts and some of the half and half has evaporated, place in a bowl and eat. Or toss it with some sort of pasta. Or use it in stuffed mushrooms.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Okay, I've updated the Fanime pictures post. Go check it out.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

So long since the last post! Sorry, all. Recipes for stuff will go up later. I need access to my The Art of French Cooking.

Saturday was Parents' Day. Jon and I made eggs benedict. I poached eggs! Poorly! And made hollandaise! Well! Jon made some really excellent home fries and actually bought truffles for the garnish. Swanky. We also made what we termed "eggs silverman," with smoked salmon instead of the ham. I had mentioned to Rob on Friday that we were making eggs benedict, and he said, "Try it with smoked salmon." And you know what? It was better than the ham, in my opinion.

I made hollandaise, and it didn't break. I was so happy. God, was my arm tired at the end. So much whisking. Julia, you said it would take five minutes. I think I was whisking for ten to fifteen. I will try the blender version next time- it works perfectly well for mayonnaise. And the hollandaise was very good for what it was. Which is to say, I don't think it's really my thing. I've never been big on sauces or gravies, really, although I do love a good jus. I think thick sauces are just too heavy for me. And the hollandaise mixed with the yolk from the poached egg? Oh, TOO MUCH. We were all feeling a little poorly after eating... oh, so much fat.

And mimosas. Can't be a proper brunch without mimosas (or bloody marys, I guess, but ew on the tomato juice). We got cheap champagne and good orange juice from Trader Joe's.

On Sunday, Lydia and I went out shopping and fooding in Rockridge. We ate at a place called the Crepevine. It was not good. The food was pretty meh. Lydia ordered eggs benedict and the eggs were severly overcooked and the hollandaise was grainy and didn't taste like anything. I had an omelet, it was mediocre. The home fries were a bit undercooked. But what pushed this into a bad dining experience was the fact that halfway through our meal, we found three ants scurrying around on the jam containers. So we got grossed out, and Lydia took the initiative to get our money back. I'm too much of a wimp to do that. I think I'd start crying. She was very cool about it. I wouldn't eat here again.

Later, we went to Zachary's, home of really good Chicago-style pizza. This was a much better dining experience. I generally like thin Italian/New York/New Jersey style pizzas, but this was pretty decent. The tomatoes in the sauce tasted fresh, the basil was freshly chiffonaded. The crust was kind of forgettable (I'm just not a deep dish kind of gal) and I felt that the chicken really didn't lend much to the pizza, although Lydia liked it. Personally, I would go for a simpler pizza. Margherita or something. I would eat here again.

Cheddar Munchies are the work of the devil. They are my new Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Nips... oh god, they would taste so good mixed together! Oh, brain, why did you have to think of that?

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, June 10, 2005

Ugh, bad week. No cooking apart from my fava failure. Drove to work all five days (the train, trying to make up for last week, was two minutes early on Wednesday morning, so I missed it). Ate lunch out all five days (Good Earth Cafe, Baja Fresh, Simply Sandwiches, Izzy's Bagels, McDonald's). Sometimes in the middle of the night on Wednesday, I woke up with a giant cramp in my right calf. That sucked. On the plus side, I finally put together my DDR pad on Tuesday. Played on Thursday and Friday. Looked like a huge dork. Passed the light difficult easily, failed the standard difficulty easily. Sweat a lot.

Wednesday was D&D, and my character Jessa was not at all useless. She did get herself bitten by a lot of dire rats, but thankfully made all the saves, so no more filfth fever, yay! And then later Jessa got herself stuck with a whole lot of arrows after she was all, "Oh, look at the pack of bandits carrying a torch. Let me ignite it and BLOW YOU ALL UP." Except they were only wounded, and wounded bandits carrying bows can get revenge quickly. Billi (Rob's loresong quickling unfettered) shot two of them dead, and the others ran away. So, with two hit points left, Jessa was able to sing herself back to health. Wooooooo.

Tomorrow is Parents' Day for Sarah and Jon. We're having brunch. Jon and I are planning on making some lovely food for them. I'm not letting on anything more, since they read my blog, and I want it to be a surprise.

And with this post, the only decent recipe I've made recently is dropping off the front page. Ugh.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Argh! Stupid blindness! I paid $300 for new glasses today. Yes, that's with insurance. They better look as cute to everyone else as they do to me! The frames were not the expensive part. The expensive part was the thinner lens that is not covered at all by insurance but which I need to buy or else my glasses would be too heavy and look weird. People with prescriptions less than -7.00, I envy you.

And I still need to buy contacts. It looks like I can get them pretty cheap online. Pretty cheap is still $150, though. Damn, damn, damn.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Egads. This column by Mark Morford frightens me. Usually I find his work amusing, over-the-top, and rather polemical, but this is just scary.

(And yes, I had to look up "polemical" to see if that was the proper adjectival form.)

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Okay, I'm making something involving fava beans, bacon, garlic, onion, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I hope it turns out well. I want to post something that's not just me blathering on about nothing of consequence. (And there's nothing terribly interesting on eGullet at the moment.)

(Eh... it was okay. Not as good as I was hoping. I mean, fava beans! From someone's garden! But they just weren't great. No recipe to post. Sad.)

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Monday, June 06, 2005

I haven't made anything since the bread before Fanime... last month. Oh, that's pathetic. I need to get back in the game! I'm just... tired. The only thing I've thought about making recently has been chocolate chip cookies, but that's not anything new. Crap. I impressed someone yesterday with my ability to work with avocados. Again, not interesting. I just need to throw a dart at a cookbook or something. I'm going over to Jon and Ryan's after work to do laundry and iron, woo. Wonder if I'll get struck by inspiration or something. I need to cook. It's been too long.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Katamari Damacy Pictures from Fanime 2005!

Well, here's what you've all been waiting for.

In case you missed it the first time, you must look at Lionel's photoshoot of the Katamari Fantasy Night! And even if you did look at them before, you really should look again. They're fantastic.

Lydia and I put up some of Branden's photos in our galleries. Here are a few more of his pictures. One. Two. Three. Four. And he took a picture of my pesto bread, hee!

This post will be updated with more picture links. I have a lot of them. But right now, I'm going shopping with my mommy.

Okay, updating this post on the 14th. Less description. More links.

First, there are people who took one picture of us and moved on.
Felicity869
Kokuu
indie_chixor
latrodectra
5p1ic3
Dr.Noe
jenjenkc
Glitchwire
PanDo (who was a really nice guy, Lydia styled his wig- and no, that's not a euphemism)

Then, there are people who were not satisfied with only one picture!

DeepSetThinker.
Katamari in the background as the Prince... punches Kuro?
The Prince hits Kuro with the katamari!

J_Krolak.
Together (one)
Together (two)
Kuro (one)
Kuro (two)

Eurobeat King's pictures from Friday.
Without heads
Prince (one)
Prince (two)
Kuro (one)
Kuro (two)
Together (one)
Together (two)
Together (three)

Eurobeat King's pictures from Saturday.
Together (one)
The visor in action
Together (two)
The Prince hits Kuro with the katamari. Kuro says, "Oh dear me."
Together (three)

Brocas's pictures (click on the pictures for a bigger version). In these pictures, we learn that Lydia is much better at looking like she's pushing a ball. I need to learn how to bend.
Headless
Removing heads
Together (one)
Together (two)
Together (three)
Quite unflattering
Kuro (one)
Kuro (two)
Kuro (three)
Kuro (four)
Kuro (five)
Kuro (six)
Kuro (seven)
Lydia removing her head
Prince (one)
Prince (two)
Prince (three)
Prince (four)
Prince (five)
Prince (six)
Prince (seven)

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Friday, June 03, 2005

The trains were 15 minutes late on Thursday! I drove to work today.

link | Comments []

[back to top]

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Okay, here's the news. I am still working on collecting all the pictures of our costumes. I am trying to decide whether any of the other breads are worthy of recipe-posting besides the spice bread. The cheese and mustard bread is definitely out. I should have just made the Cook's Illustrated "Quick" Cheese Bread. The pesto bread was, in my opinion, on the dry side. It tasted better with cheese. The French herb bread needed toasting and was better with butter. I wasn't overwhelmed with any of the new breads I made except for the spice bread. That was quite good, although a little overcooked and strangely shaped on top (which is why I specified the smaller loaf pan in the recipe).

We had D&D tonight. New location, over at Cameron's place. Nice. Big table for gaming. A bottle of Diet Coke in the fridge just for me (which was an "Aw" moment for me). A little sparsely furnished. One neighbor with incredibly sensitive hearing. But hey, we levelled! Now we're second level feebs. Everyone except Jessa ended up getting beaten unconscious (and in some cases, very, very close to dead) by a big ol' spider. That sucked. I was just running around healing, trying to keep people on their feet. Didn't actually get hit at all.

I need to go prop ingredient shopping.

The trains were six minutes late today. That's inexcusable!

I went to the optometrist today. I have a bunch of color contact samples and a new pink lens case.

Sara, I'm working on the tag thing, it's just rather embarassing how little I've read recently. I mean, comics and cookbooks probably don't count. And anthologies of fairy tales seem to be not mature enough. And I've been inheriting a lot of books, not actually buying any. I think the last time I actually spent money on books was... well, the White Elephant Sale (cookbooks) and Christmas (books about cooking that were going to be a gift to Jon, but then I found better presents for him).

I need to call my mom tomorrow.

link | Comments []

[back to top]