Braisin' Hussy

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

I've been freaking out a little bit over the last few days. I got a letter from my new landlord (our building was sold earlier this month) that said, "We will be entering your apartment on January 30 to exhibit the rental unit to prospective mortgagees." So I spent the entire weekend cleaning and making my place look nice. I hope they are not going to pull an Ellis Act on the building and evict everyone. I'm really worried about that. I've only lived here for a half year, and I really like my place. I don't want to have to find another one.

I am guessing I'll find out tomorrow what's happening.

Good times.

In lighter news, I've been trying out a new tea. Stash Fusion Green and White Tea. It was two dollars at Trader Joe's. I have been pleased with my (small) investment. I like having teas at work that don't need milk and sugar.

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Saturday, January 28, 2006

Oh, how annoying. At our party on Thursday, I took home a bunch of jerk chicken with the intent of shredding it up for soup. I thought I took home five breasts, but it turned out to be one breast and four thighs. Argh! I don't like using dark meat in soup. It's too fatty. I prefer dark meat for straight eating, but I use the white meat for soup. It's a pretty good balance, means I can use the entire chicken when I roast it.

I was so sad at the results of the white elephant gift exchange. I was really trying to get the gift that I unwrapped, a copy of The Food and Wines of Spain. But it was stolen away from me in the last round. Blast! (I'll get you for that, Angie.) I ended up with a foam six-pack cooler filled with ginger ale.

I tried a new recipe this week, but I wasn't really happy with it. I got it from my friend Eddie; it's one of Mario Batali's recipes. I'm still going to post it anyway, because I think it might just be a problem with me and my taste buds. I am not terribly keen on the combination of sweet and savory. Some people do enjoy it. For example, my mom and dad love putting raisins in their curries. To that, I say nay! (Jon agrees.)

But hey, you might like it. Zucca en agrodolce.

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Zucca en Agrodolce
Molto Italiano by Mario Batali

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sugar pumpkin or acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon red hot pepper flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint

In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the pumpkin and garlic and cook until the pumpkin is light golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to a syrupy glaze and the pumpkin is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the mint, and serve.

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

Congrats to Lydia and Zack on their engagement!

Our holiday party is this afternoon. There was a thing with a strike and caterers, which is why it was postponed to January. I'll let you know how the food is.

We almost lost Balthazar, Jeremy's character, last night during D&D. We kind of got a little full of ourselves and decided to take on 40 enemies in one encounter. And then we decided to take on one really tough guy before we levelled. If we had waited until we were level six, it would have been a bit easier, since three of us would have gotten our second attack. But we survived, thanks to a simple distraction spell cast by our magister. Hurray! Scott, our DM, says that if that hadn't worked, we probably would have lost two party members. (Brindel would have survived, because she runs FAST.)

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Tuesday, January 24, 2006

I made about a half gallon of stock last night. No, it's not a lot, but I only had two carcasses. It'll suit my purposes (sauce and soup) just fine. Also, it's probably a little on the concentrated side, so I may need to thin it out with water. I fell asleep on the couch while it was simmering. The comforting aroma made me tired.

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Monday, January 23, 2006

I'm mostly better. Hurray!

Okay, so we're not getting that table, but Rob and Jer are constructing a new gaming surface. When finished it will be awesome. I spent way too much time at Home Depot yesterday with them (and Rosy).

One good thing about getting sick: I eat the stuff I've frozen.

I need to make stock. I have chicken bits. I will need to stop by a grocery store on the way home to get an onion.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006

NPR does a report on Katamari Damacy.

I'm still coughing. Now, as a bonus, my nose is leaking all over the place. Huzzah! (Don't worry, Mom, I'm being careful not to get nosebleeds.)

I had to cancel our D&D session tonight. That makes me sad.

I went to Trader Joe's this morning to pick up another bottle of Dynamo. It's got a lot of vitamins in it or something. Its main feature (to me) is that it doesn't really taste like orange juice. It unfortunately tastes a little too pineapple-y, but it's reasonable enough in taste for me to make it through 64 ounces.

I hope I can go to work tomorrow.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I've been sick all weekend. No food has been made, and my apartment's a right mess. Ryan, that Mexican vanilla you got me for Christmas is fabulous. I am tired of being sick.

Here's a link. I think we should totally get one.

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Saturday, January 14, 2006

Dang it, I think I might be getting sick. I've started coughing rather frequently. Good thing I've already got the soup made.

ETA: Ooh, Martha, if you've given me what you had last week at work when you damn well should have been at home getting better, I am sooooo sitting on your next reimbursment request for two weeks.

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Middle Eastern Lamb Meatballs
because you'll probably end up with extra filling

Extra filling
Whatever's left of the egg glaze, or 1 egg if there's none left
1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs
Some kind of vegetable oil, for pan frying

Mix the leftover filling with the egg and bread crumbs. Form into small balls and place on a plate. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Heat some oil in a large skillet. Add the meatballs in one layer. Brown on one side for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until nicely browned.

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Middle Eastern Lamb Boats
Finger Food by Elsa Petersen-Schepelern

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 oz. pine nuts
8 oz. ground lamb
1 onion, grated
1 garlic cloved, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 lb. ready-made shortcrust pastry dough (or make your own)
1 egg, beaten with water, to glaze
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra chopped parsley and sea salt, to serve (optional)

Heat oven to 350

Heat the oil in a skillet, add the pine nuts, and stir-fry them quickly until golden, about 30 seconds.

Put the meat, onion, garlic, parsley, and pine nuts in a bowl and mix well. Add some salt and pepper. Set aside.

Roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a long ruler and a sharp knife, trim the edges straight, then cut the dough into long strips about 1 1/2-inch wide, then across to make squares.

Brush egg glaze down two opposite sides of the square, then put about 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the middle of the square. Fold in half, with the glazed edges upwards, and place on a work surface with the open side upward. Widen the opening to show the filling and make a boat shape, then tap the boat on the work surface to flatten the bottom. Pinch up the prow and stern to force up the filling.

Put the boats close together in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and still moist.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with extra parsley and sea salt, if using.

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Savory Pastry Dough
adapted from The Best Recipe

2 1/2 cups AP flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp table salt
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
6 Tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled
6-8 Tbsp ice water

Pulse flour and salt together in food processor. Add the butter and pulse to combine, about five 1-second pulses. Add the shortening and pulse about five more times or until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas. Empty mixture into a medium bowl.

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over the mixture. With a spatula, fold to combine. Press down on dough with the spatula to make it stick together. Add up to 2 tablespoons more water if this isn't happening. Divide the dough in half, flatten each into about a 4-inch wide disk, and wrap them separately in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days before rolling them out.

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Played D&D last night. Making soup tonight.

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Sure, it's a bit "too long; didn't read," but this blog post is fascinating (well, for small, Sarah-like amounts of fascinating). Last week in the East Coast food blogging community (not going to use the word blogosphere), there was apparently quite a to-do about a chef serving a blogger with a cease and desist because he took pictures of her food. This is his wife's account of what happened. There's also a thread on eGullet about the whole thing here.

I think the only time I've taken pictures in a restaurant was in a restaurant in Florence called Gustavino. The food was too damn pretty not to do so!

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Monday, January 09, 2006

Well, that was utterly vile. That ginger drink thing did not work AT ALL. Ew.

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I made baguettes... not really. I made my normal bread recipe, then shaped it into two long skinny loaves because I wanted to use my new pan. They turned out very tasty, but totally not baguette-ish. So I went to the library and picked up Baking Illustrated and Crumb & Crust to check out their techniques, information, and recipes. Sadly, they didn't have Artisan Baking. Jon and Ryan have that book. It's really good.

Friday night- went out to dinner at Bangkok Bay with Jon, Ryan, and Leigh. Kind of disappointed by their duck special, but the tilapia special was mind-blowing. The eggplant, panang beef, and lemon mushroom soup were fantastic as always.

Saturday night - went out to dinner at Clarke's with Jeremy and Carolyn. Had a tasty burger. Then we all went to see Match Point with Liz. Scarlett Johansson's hair is fabulous in that movie and I want it. I think I maybe could pull it off. Maybe. Then I hung out with Rob and Jer and we watched the first five episodes of Gunslinger Girl. Not really my kind of show.

Sunday night - Zack and Lydia came over, and we went out to Left Bank. Fondue? Excellent. Mussels? Tasty. Bisque? Disappointing! We should know better than to try new things there. If we go there again, it's fondue-mussels-frites-STOP. Also, I think I ate a bad mussel or something, because I was prodigiously sick in their bathroom while we were waiting for our check. That was unpleasant. Then we went to Ikea and bought some stuff (and got hot dogs and frozen yogurt).

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Saturday, January 07, 2006

I hate phyllo dough. Sure, I didn't make it myself, but working with the pre-made stuff... ugh. My back was KILLING me after making the samosas. All the bending and leaning over the dough to brush it with butter was ridiculous. About halfway through I stopped using the butter. They still turned out okay, so I included an option to use much less butter in the recipe.

I love Ryan's fruitcake. That stuff is amazing.

I still have recipes to post: a plain pie crust dough and the lamb-pine nut things I made. They were supposed to be some of the mixture in small little boats of dough, but I kind of liked them better as meatballs.

I'm reducing some ginger syrup right now. I'm planning on mixing it with club soda or sparkling water to make my own ginger ale. We'll see how that works.

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Thursday, January 05, 2006

Artichoke Dip

1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts (not marinated!), drained & mashed
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Ritz crackers, to serve

Heat oven to 350. Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and cream cheese. Add the artichoke hearts, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Top with the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned on top and bubbly. Serve with Ritz crackers.

(A little bit of Tabasco might be nice in this, just a thought.)

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Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Baked Samosas
slight variations on a recipe from Finger Food by Elsa Petersen-Schepelern

2 potatoes, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
Vegetable or canola oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup corn kernals (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
4 oz. paneer or mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 red chiles, seeded and chopped
Pinch of chile powder
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
15-20 sheets ready-made phyllo pastry, thawed
melted butter (amount needed will vary depending on how much you brush on the phyllo)

To make the filling, cook the potatoes and carrots in boiling salted water until just cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Drain.

Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a wok or pan (or just use the pot you were using to boil the other ingredients) and cook the onion until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrot, corn, and peas and cook for another minute.

Off heat, stir in the cheese, cilantro, chile peppers, chile powder, lime juice, and salt. Let cool.

Heat the oven to 350.

Unwrap the phyllo dough and put 1 sheet on a work surface. Keep the rest covered with a damp cloth while you work. Cut the sheet of pastry in half and brush the sheets with melted butter. Fold each half into 3, lengthwise, buttering between, making each into a long thin strip.

Put 1 Tbsp filling at one corner of a strip. Fold the corner over to form a triangle. Continue folding up until the filling is encolsed and the whole strip of pastry has been used. Repeat until all the phyllo and filling has been used up. (I ended up with filling leftover because I ripped 2 sheets of phyllo unforgiveably and couldn't use them. It tasted pretty good on its own.)

(Optionally, you can not brush them everywhere with butter and just use a little butter to seal them up after filling and folding. I went through 2 sticks, and it just seemed a little excessive to me. They tasted fine [and were less greasy and fatty] with using only a little bit.)

Space the samosas apart on a parchment-lined or greased rimmed baking sheet (the butter will run everywhere, it's good to have the lip). Brush each with more butter (totally optional). Bake for 15 minutes. (Alternatively, you could pan-fry them. Whatever.)

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Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy New Year! Woo!

On the whole, 2005? MUCH better year than 2004. I was employed for three-quarters of it!

I have four recipes I need to post. But it's 1:23am, and I want to go to bed.

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