Braisin' Hussy

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Indian Pudding
Magic Chef Cooking

2 cups milk
3 Tbsp cornmeal
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten

Heat the oven to 400. Butter or use nonstick cooking spray on a 9x9 square baking dish.

Heat the milk in the top of a double boiler. Add the cornmeal and cook over simmering water for 15 minutes. Off heat, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the prepared dish. Bake in a water bath. Start checking to see if it has set at 30 minutes, although it will probably take closer to 50 to be done.

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Monday, November 28, 2005

I'm surprised I haven't run across this site before. Jason and Terry's Bay Area Review (aka JATBAR) is a site with a bunch of reviews for Bay Area restaurants. And, OMG, they don't just focus on San Francisco and Berkeley/Oakland! There are a bunch of places reviewed that are in my neck of the woods (ie. Burlingame to Cupertino). That makes me happy.

If I ever get around to making a links page... yeah, right.

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Thursday, November 24, 2005

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I'm sure you're all SO EXCITED to hear what we ate.

Turkey thighs with sausage stuffing
Garlic mashed potatoes
Creamed onions
Mashed rutabagas
Chipotle-maple-cream sweet potato thing
Apple-rutabaga soup
Death by Broccoli
Green bean casserole (Jon made this from scratch)
Crescent rolls (I made these... from a can)
Cranberry sauce
Indian pudding and vanilla ice cream

Mind you, this was for only four people. We kind of like to overdo it. My family gets together, and it's sort of like this:

"Have you tried this? I'm so the best cook in the family."
"Wow, that's pretty bad-ass. But clearly, you're wrong, I'm the better cook- eat this!"
"Well, that's pretty awesome. I'm still better. Try THIS!"
"Holy crap, that's good. No, meeeeeee! EATEATEAT."

And then we all end up eating ridiculously well. Because seriously, we're all pretty good.

I ate cheese for dinner last night. That was pretty awesome. I got some lovely goudas from Sigona's. It makes me make inappropriate sounds, it's so good.

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Pumpkin Cookies
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cardamom

Heat oven to 375. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, and mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the contents of the bowl to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

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Wednesday, November 23, 2005

I was skimming over the San Francisco Chronicle's headlines and misread "Vatican moves to bar gays" as "Vatican moves to gay bars."

Tee hee.

I wish I'd had a blog in November 2003. I made some cranberry sauce that involved ginger and oranges, and I can't remember it at all. Hm.

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Lemon Sugar Cookies
Adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces), for rolling dough
3 tsp grated lemon zest, divided
2 cups AP flour (10 ounces)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, wrappers reserved
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In food processor, process 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon zest until zest is evenly distributed, about 10 seconds; set aside.

Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with hand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add egg, remaining 2 teaspoons zest, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

Place lemon sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Fill medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and shake off excess (this will prevent dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that sugar sticks to dough). Roll heaping tablespoon dough into 1 1/2-inch ball between moistened palms; roll ball in lemon sugar, then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening hands after forming each ball and spacing balls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Using butter wrapper, butter bottom of drinking glass; dip bottom of glass in remaining lemon sugar and flatten dough balls with bottom of glass until dough is about 3/4 inch thick.

Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges and just set and very lightly colored in center, 15 to 18 minutes, reversing position of cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 3 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Chai-Buttermilk Spice Cake
Refatted from Cooking Light

1/2 cup boiling water
6 chai tea bags
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
cooking spray

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour boiling water over tea bags in a bowl; steep 5 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags; cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk. Place cream cheese and butter in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in brewed tea and vegetable oil. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-third of egg white mixture into batter; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture.

Spoon batter into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (it took me closer to 50 minutes). Cool in pan on a wire rack.

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Monday, November 21, 2005

Checkerboard Cookies
Canadian Living

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, then let cool to room temperature.

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 of the eggs, 1 at a time, then beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt; stir into butter mixture in 3 additions, using hands if too stiff to stir.

Remove half of the dough for vanilla dough. Stir chocolate into remaining dough in bowl, using hands to blend thoroughly.

Divide vanilla dough in half, and shape into flat squares. Place dough, one square at a time, between 2 sheets of waxed paper; roll into two 7-inch squares. Chill for about 30 minutes or until firm. Using ruler and sharp knife, cut each square into nine 3/4-inch wide strips. Repeat with chocolate dough.

Place about 1-foot long piece of plastic wrap on work surface. Alternating vanilla and chocolate strips, place 3 strips of dough directly on plastic wrap, close but not touching. Whisk remaining egg; brush over sides and tops of strips. Gently press strips together to adhere. Repeat, forming second and third layers and alternating placement of strips, to create checkerboard effect. Gather plastic wrap up to cover log; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days. Repeat for second log, reversing colour pattern.

Heat oven to 350.

With sharp knife, trim ends and cut each log into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange 1-inch apart on parchment paper-lined rimless baking sheet. Bake in centre of oven, rotating trays halfway through, for about 12 minutes or until set and very light golden. Let cool on pan on rack for 3 minutes. Transfer to racks to let cool completely.

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Thursday, November 17, 2005

Ow, ow, ow.

I've recently decided to give Crest Whitestrips another go. I tried them back in... 2002, I think. I stopped after two days because they hurt my teeth too damn much. I bought them last week, hoping that maybe the recipe had changed or something to make it less painful for people with sensitive teeth. No. I took some ibuprofen earlier, but it's not working. I'm not going to use them again until after Thanksgiving, I think, because I want to be able to eat this weekend and next Thursday. Right now I don't even want to talk because the cold air on my teeth hurts.

More baking tonight, I think. Oh, and we got up to fifth level in D&D! It's very exciting.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

I made something last night, but it's another one of those things that's for the parties this weekend, so I'm not sharing the recipe until next week.

In other news, D&D's tonight. I've been eating my curry and mac 'n cheese all week. They're GOOD.

I've been using my parents' apartment for baking, since they have more work space and a lovely, huge oven. Don't worry, M&D! I've been cleaning it after each use. My Kitchenaid (lovely beast) is sitting on your counter, there's an egg in your fridge, and I need to put away a lot of clean dishes and such, but it's all tidy. It'll be spotless for when you return, never fear.

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Monday, November 14, 2005

My larder is full.

This weekend, I made macaroni and cheese, murgh dehin, The Thin, and a new cookie for Lydia's birthday party this weekend. I'm actually making several new cookies this week, but I'm not sure whether to post the recipes now, or if I should wait so they'll be a little bit of a surprise. (Not much of a surprise, given that I had Lydia email me her favorite cookies, but whatever.)

Oh, and if my parents haven't been checking Zack's blog, I suggest they read this post about the food they ate overseas.

ETA: Dude, freaky. Science nerds, along with my dad and Ysabel, should check this out. Or if you just like things that are quite interesting.

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Murgh Dehin
Revised recipe (original here)

2 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 Tbsp spiced onion
2 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
2 1/2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp table salt (omit if you're using a kosher chicken)
1 fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces (3 to 3.5 lbs)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (plus more, if needed)
1 onion, sliced
2 Tbsp water (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more or less to your taste)
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 1/2 tsp AP flour
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

Combine the buttermilk, spiced onion, ketchip, cilantro, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces, rubbing the mixture into the skin. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight or for at least 5 hours.

Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade. Use your fingers to get some of the extra liquid off. Reserve the marinade. Heat the oil over medium-high in a large pan or pot (the pan I used was 14" in diameter and about 3" deep). When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken pieces skin-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Lower the temperature to medium, and add more oil to the pan if it looks too dry. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the fond and stirring contantly. If you're worried things are going to burn, add the water (probably won't need it if you're using a nonstick pan) to deglaze. Next, add the garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

Switch to a whisk. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala, and flour to the pan. Whisk constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add the reserved marinade to the pan, continuing to whisk so there won't be any lumps. Add the tomatoes (you can switch back to a wooden spoon or spatula at this point). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Add the chicken pieces and any accumulated juices to the pan. Cover the chicken pieces with the sauce, then cover the pan and slowly simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken in tender. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over rice.

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Saturday, November 12, 2005

When I first started this blog, I put up a recipe that I hadn't tried myself. I put it up because Jon made it and it was good. Well, I've finally made it. Cook's Illustrated revised macaroni and cheese casserole recipe. I only made a half batch of it because I got home from shopping and saw that it called for five cups of milk. I only bought a quart, and I needed some leftover for cookies. Also, there are a lot of mistakes in that recipe. Not only spelling errors, but the fact that originally, I wrote that you were supposed to use eight cups each of jack and cheddar cheeses. Whoops! Eight ounces does NOT equal eight cups. My bad. Hope no one did that.

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Thursday, November 10, 2005

Last night was D&D. At one point, Scott (our DM) was explaining this feeling of dread that came over one of our party members , except he screwed up and said "rising feeling of bread." Rob chimed in with, "You punch it down, but it rises again!"

Well, I thought it was funny.

Oh, and Lydia's back from her fabulous trip to Europe. Yay!

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Monday, November 07, 2005

I went to Anime Destiny at UC Berkeley on Saturday with Debbie and Marian. The main reason I wanted to go was because Lydia had told me about this spherical sculpture near one of the entrances to the campus. She thought it could make a good Katamari prop. When I went to the Futurama lecture, I saw it and thought, "Hm, good idea."

So I schlepped Kuro over to Berkeley, and forced Debbie to take pictures of me. Enjoy!

Check out this Katamari!

Why is there a gigantic hole in it?

Yep, that hole goes all the way through.

Rolling, rolling.

This picture was an attempt to make it look like I was backing up the Katamari and looking behind me. The head was shifted around sideways on my shoulders. We didn't really get the effect I was hoping for, but I still like the photo.

Oh crap, the Katamari is rolling over me! Actually, Debbie took this picture just as my head fell off my shoulders. I quite like the resulting picture.

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Friday, November 04, 2005

This page is cute. I'm just throwing it up there so I can remember to save the pictures when I get home.

I went over to Jon and Ryan's last night and cooked the following pork chop recipe for them. I think it turned out pretty well. Enameled cast iron is the shizzle. I have one chop left, but I am lacking noodles. That needs to be remedied.

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Smothered Pork Chops
Cook's Illustrated, modified slightly by Sarah

3 ounces bacon (about 3 slices), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (1 14-ounce can)
Vegetable oil
4 bone-in, rib-end pork chops, 3/4 to 1-inch thick
Ground black pepper
2 medium yellow onions, halved pole-to-pole and sliced thin (about 3 1/2 cups)
Table salt
2 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves

Fry bacon in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate, leaving fat in saucepan (you should have 2 tablespoons bacon fat; if not, supplement with vegetable oil). Reduce heat to medium-low and gradually whisk flour into fat until smooth. Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is light brown, about the color of peanut butter, about 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth in slow, steady stream; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally; cover and set aside off heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until almost smoking, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, dry pork chops well with paper towels and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brown chops in single layer until deep golden on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip chops and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chops to large plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil, onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and water to now-empty skillet. Using wooden spoon, scrape browned bits on pan bottom and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and browned around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Return chops to skillet in single layer, covering chops with onions. Pour in warm sauce and any juices collected from pork; add bay leaves. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until pork is tender and paring knife inserted into chops meets very little resistance, about 30 to 35 minutes. Instant-read thermometer should read 210. (It's a braise, so don't worry that they're going to be overcooked. Just keep it at a simmer.)

Transfer chops to warmed serving platter and tent with foil. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer sauce rapidly, stirring frequently, until thickened to gravy-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves, stir in parsley, and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Cover chops with sauce, sprinkle with reserved bacon, and serve immediately over buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.

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Thursday, November 03, 2005

I think I have Polar Hands. I'm not quite sure what kind of food they'd be useful in making. I'd say croissants, but Azuma didn't have a problem making them with his Solar Hands in Yakitate!!

We almost lost Rob's character, Billie (unfettered faen), last night. One sorcerous blast of fire and we were all feeling the hurt- I was the only one who made the reflex save. Yay, me. Still did nine points of damage, though. OW.

I've been busy. I haven't spent an evening at home since last Friday, I think. Tonight I'll probably relax with some pasta or soup (yay for my freezer being full of food) and clean off the ol' Tivo. Or... maybe pork chops. I sent a recipe to Jer that I tried back in 2003 and loved, but he screwed it up (like, hardcore- I was impressed). I remember it being difficult, but rereading the recipe, it seems kind of simple. Pork chops, buttered noodles, and some sorta vegetable. Hey Jon/Ryan, you guys doing anything for dinner? Heh.

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Heh. I just deleted a very wanky post about people being condescending. It's better for it to be lost to the ages.

The family's going to Left Bank tonight. Yay, fondue and mussels! Or whatever I end up getting that will be also pretty damn good!

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