Braisin' Hussy

Monday, October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween, everyone. My Kuro costume is in the car, waiting to freak out everyone at work (if I get up the nerve [which I probably won't]). I'm definitely going to be wearing it for our Halloween Potluck tonight.

Feel better, Rosy! She woke up with strep this morning. How much does that suck?

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Saturday, October 29, 2005

I made two loaves of sandwich bread last night. I doubled the recipe on the back of the King Arthur's flour bag. The only thing I didn't double was the amount of water, because I put in two-thirds of a cup (the amount specified for one loaf), and then I had to add another few tablespoons of flour because the dough got too wet. I hope it turned out okay. We'll find out later!

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Classic Sandwich Bread
King Arthur Flour

3 cups AP flour (preferably King Arthur)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 2/3 cup hot water (add just enough to make a soft, smooth dough)
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 tsp table salt
2 tsp instant yeast

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Gordon Ramsay says that women can't cook.

Well, so much for this site. I guess since all women are capable of is mixing drinks, I should start a bartending blog. Look for LushHussy.com, coming soon.

And on a personal note to Gordon, I'd just like to ask, "Bitch, are you for real?"

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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Ren, I answered your question in the comments below. Lydia and/or Zack, please check it out and add anything helpful, if you can.

These two most recent recipes I made because I had the ingredients. "Hey, this cookie recipe calls for buttermilk? Kick ass." I added allspice and cardamom because I thought it would be tasty, plus Lydia will be eating these, and she has a serious jones for the cardamom. I made the molasses spice cookies as well as Alton Brown's The Thin chocolate chip cookies on Sunday over at my parents' apartment. They have a lovely, lovely oven. It's huge. I am a bad daughter. I left a bit of a mess over at their place. I totally forgot that I wasn't at my house. Just goes to show how much it's like home, eh?

...nah, I'm not getting out of that one. My mom says I do that again, she's taking my keys.

I went over there for dinner tonight. Chicken parmesan, pasta, bread, salad, yum. Oh, and my cookies for dessert.

Apparently, after learning that I had been over to cook on Sunday, my dad went around and looked in the cupboards and refrigerator to see if I had left them any goodies. I hadn't. I'm a jerk.

D&D tomorrow. Two of our new guys just left for a dancing group. Whatever, I say. They can go waltz. We'll just be saving the world, thank you very much.

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Molasses Spice Cookies
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 cup chopped raisins (optional, I didn't use them but my mom said they would have been a good idea, and The Joy agrees)

Heat oven to 350. Beat the butter until soft, then add the sugar and blend until light and creamy. Beat in the egg and molasses.

Sift the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Alternate adding in thirds the sifted ingredients and the buttermilk to the mixture in the bowl, beating smooth after each addition. (Er, that wasn't terribly clear. Sift those things together. Add a third of the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/egg/molasses mixture. Beat smooth. Add a third of the sifted flour/soda/spices/salt to the bowl. Beat smooth. Add another third of the buttermilk, etc.)

Drop the batter in teaspoons onto a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.

(Note: these baked up as soft little puffy cookies. I have a feeling if I made them in warmer weather, they might have coalesced into an large amorphous cookie. This happened with the Pfeffernüsse. So just be careful, and if you feel like the dough is way too loose [this may be hard to tell, as it's a pretty loose dough anyway], put it in the fridge for 10 minutes or so before baking.)

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Saturday, October 22, 2005

Light and Fluffy Dinner Rolls
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

1/4 cup warm water
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup hot water
1 egg
3 cups AP flour
Nonstick cooking spray

Combine the warm water and yeast. Whisk together and let sit.

Combine the butter, salt, sugar, and hot water. Stir together until the butter melts. Place in the fridge for five minutes or so to cool down to under 120 degrees. Add the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Beat in the egg, then mix in the flour. The dough will be very, very soft.

Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 2 to 12 hours. (I rose it on the counter, but the dough was very sticky and hard to handle. I think it's better to refrigerate it.) Punch it down. Prepare a muffin pan or baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray (you may have to use both, as this recipe yielded 15 rolls for me), and fill the cups about halfway full with dough. Oiling your hands may be necessary if the dough is really sticky. If using a baking sheet, place the rounds about two inches apart. Let rise for about 30 minutes (turn the oven on to 425 about 15 minutes in), or until doubled in bulk. Back at 425 for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from pan or sheet and cool on a rack.

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Wednesday, October 19, 2005

I am lacking drive this week. I'm feeling a lull. I have a bunch of recipes that I like, that I'm basically happy with. I don't know what else there is I really want to make.

Sorry, pity party, table of one. I'll get inspired soon. I'm sure of it.

Katamari cosplay stuff.
The website was updated with little comments by the King of All Cosmos:

"Hmm…big. The Prince and Kuro too. A bit too big? Getting a bit carried away? We know you want to grow up but stay tiny for a bit longer!"

"Romantic lighting and a cool pose. Nice mood…but big. Since when did you get so big?"

Oh, I found the best bowls today at a dollar store in Mountain View. Not only did they have excellent bowls for the normal Prince/cousin head, they actually had PERFECT bowls for Honey. If only I had found them first! Oh, well. If I ever need to make another Honey (yeah, right), I'll know where to go. Still haven't found the right yellow shoes. Gr.

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Saturday, October 15, 2005

So, the following recipe is one I made a while ago for Ryan's birthday. She liked it and said it would be good with naan. I meant to make one more dish, an eggplant one, but the recipe doesn't interest me anymore. I need to read through my books again.

I just finished making potato-leek soup. That is an awesome soup- and an easy one, to boot. Leeks must not be in season quite yet, because the ones at Sigona's looked terrible. I supplemented my meager supply of them with some chopped onion. Tastes good.

If you're in the area, Sigona's was having some excellent sales today. Local white mushrooms for ninety-nine cents a pound. Some lovely camembert for $4.99 a pound (usually $11.99!). I bought some of each. The cheese will be good on my bread, and I'll use the mushrooms in Jonsauce either later tonight (if I get myself to Trader Joe's to pick up some basil), tomorrow morning, or Monday evening.

The family's getting together on Tuesday night for dinner. My contribution will be cornbread. Oh, I need to go to TJ's for stuff for that, too. Buttermilk and frozen corn. Ooh, buttermilk, that means I could make this again (but with chicken).

I've been reading The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook: A Consuming Passion (pardon me while I roll my eyes at that subtitle) the last couple of days. The Inn was where Aunt Peggy picked up that great soup recipe. It's not in their cookbook, but a lot of other great-looking stuff is. Man, I have never wanted an ice cream maker, but the recipes in this book look so good, I'm tempted to run out and buy one (even though I have no place to store it). Mulled cider sorbet? I'm so there. A lot of the recipes in the book are way too complicated for making at home, however.

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Bhutta aur aloo ki mazedar tarkari
Sweetcorn and potatoes with mustard seeds and mint
from Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
5 oz. potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
3 Tbsp mint, finely chopped
1 hot green chile pepper, finely chopped
Fresh or frozen/defrosted sweetcorn kernels measured to the 15 fl. oz. line in a measuring cup
3 fl. oz. coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp ground, roasted cumin seeds (put the seeds in a small pan over medium-high heat and stir until they darken and become aromatic, then grind with a mortar and pestle)

Put the oil in a large nonstick frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds and 1/4 tsp cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop (a few seconds), put in the garlic and potatoes. Stir and fry until the potatoes are lightly browned. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, mint, and chile pepper. Stir and fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the corn and stir, then add the coconut milk, salt, cayenne, and lemon juice. Stir again to mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the corn is cooked. Uncover, add some black pepper and the ground, roasted cumin seeds. Stir to mix, and taste for the balance of seasonings.

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Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Dude! Nerd heaven! I wanna go! Who's with me?

SF Chronicle's preview of the event. Hope I'm better by tomorrow, and I hope it's good.

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Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Of the things I wanted to make over the weekend, I made three, plus one or two things that weren't on the list. I roasted a chicken on Friday night, baked bread on Saturday morning, and made tortilla soup Saturday evening. Other things I made were the world's most unspicy salsa (I am never buying chiles at that Safeway again) and some very gelatinous chicken stock. I made the stock for the potato-leek soup that never happened. Why? I couldn't find leeks in the stores. I guess I need to go to Sigona's to find them. Annoying.

So yeah, I'm sick. Have been since Sunday night. I hope I feel better tomorrow. I've already told Scott that I probably won't be making it to D&D. I may put in an appearance at work for a couple of hours to get some stuff done (and to show everyone I'm not faking it).

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Sunday, October 09, 2005

Dear Immune System,

I was sick last week (nausea/headache). Please don't let me get sick this week, too. I've got a bit of a stuffed/runny nose thing starting to happen. Head that off at the pass, would you?

Love and kisses,
Sarah

P.S. (an hour later) Oh, I KNOW you didn't just set my body to hurting! You did NOT just do that!

P.P.S. (the next morning) You suck. Now I have to stay home from work.

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Friday, October 07, 2005

Things I want to make this weekend:

Roast chicken
Tortilla soup
Potato-leek soup
Jonsauce
Bread

Next week, Jer and I are going to stop wasting money and start bringing our lunches to work instead of perpetually going out (well, except for Indian food on Fridays). This is a good thing. Unfortunately, none of those recipes are new. Sucks to be my blog. (Well, I did get a new recipe for baguettes, but I'm tired of getting frustrated with the sticky dough of French breads. Maybe in a month or so I'll try again.)

I need to buy more extra-virgin olive oil. There's some kind at Trader Joe's that Jon really likes. It's good- I made a tasty spaghetti aglio e olio on Tuesday with it. I also splashed it all over one of my favorite old t-shirts. That was annoying.

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Thursday, October 06, 2005

I have a new recipe to post. I just need to hear back from Ryan that it's decently tasty.

Also, I made brownies on Monday, but they sucked. I ended up pawning them off on Rob and Jer after D&D last night.

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Monday, October 03, 2005

I've been editing my latest Katamari cosplay pictures; I've got five done so far. I'll try and create a little narrative to tie them together a bit. (I figured one picture on the main page is enough, so these are linked to my Photobucket account.)

Kuro contemplates the swings... should he roll them up?

No, Kuro decides to swing. But there's no one to push him. He's all alone.

Kuro thinks, "Being a lone wolf kind of sucks sometimes. I wish The Prince were here instead of in Lancaster." (This is the picture I posted below, so you don't really have to click.)

Adorable Earth moppet wonders what's up with the strange lonely alien. Adorable Cousin of All Cosmos wonders what's up with the weird Earth child.

Kuro playing on the slide.

Ha! I'm pretty sure Lydia and I are the only ones who have done the faces this way, so it's fairly certain this post is about us. Also, given that the poster is from California, it's more certain. Anyway, she thought we were boys. Even though the post seems to state that she saw our faces. Haha. We don't really look that ungirly, do we?

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Rob and I went out on Saturday to a park in Mountain View and took some pictures of Kuro, my Katamari Damacy cosplay. I had wanted some pictures of Kuro looking lonely. He's described in the game as being a "lone wolf," and I wanted to show that sometimes it's not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when your friends are down in Southern California attending a convention without you. Heehee!

This picture may distort my layout a little bit. It's also been shrunk and compressed in order to fit it into Photobucket, so it's not as clean and lovely as it was originally. I'm sorry about that, but it was still one of my favorites, so I wanted to post it. I look so pathetic, and the shadow looks very crisp. I edited the original picture a little bit to take out the face handle.

Me and My Shadow

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

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Sunday, October 02, 2005

Vegetable Pullao
from Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

15 fl. oz. long-grain rice
2 pints and 1 pint water
4 oz. potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 oz. fresh green beans, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 fresh hot green chile pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 clove garlic, minced or put through a press

Put the rice in a bowl and wash in several changes of water. Drain. Add 2 pints of water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain and leave in a sieve for 20 minutes.

Choose a large, heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid. Put 2-4 tablespoons of oil in the pan. When hot, add the cumin seeds, and let them sizzle for 5-10 seconds. Then, add the potato, carrot, and green beans. Stir and saute for a minute. Turn the heat to medium-low anmd add the drained rice, salt, turmeric, ground cumin, coriander, cayenne, green chile pepper, cilantro, ginger, and garlic. Stir and saute the rice for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 pint of water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat to very, very low, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heart and let the pan sit, covered and undisturbed, for another 10 minutes.

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