Braisin' Hussy

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

I wasn't sure if I should post this recipe... it's so full of "semi-homade"-ness.

But since I haven't written anything in almost two weeks, here goes.

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Extremely Ghetto Coffee Cakeoid Thing

2 cans of 8-count crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
3 oz. sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick butter, melted
More sugar & cinammon for the top
Nonstick cooking spray

Heat oven to 350.

Apply nonstick cooking spray to a 9x13 pan. Take one can of crescent rolls and press them out to form the bottom crust.

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until smooth and creamy. Spread the mixture evenly over the crust.

Lay out second can of crescent rolls (pressed out flat as before) on top. Drizzle the butter evenly over the top. Sprinkle liberally with more cinammon and sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the top is brown. Cool and eat.

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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Last night, I had what can best be described as a religious experience.

Popcorn popped in bacon fat.

It was AMAZING. Thank you, Aleta Watson of the San Jose Mercury News and Joanna Pruess, author of Seduced by Bacon!

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Electric Wok Popcorn

3 Tbsp oil (or try bacon fat, it's incredible!)
1/3 cup popcorn kernals

Place oil in an electric wok (if using bacon fat, warm over low heat in the wok until liquid). Add 1/3 cup of kernels. Raise heat to 400F and cover wok, shaking gently. When first few kernels begin to pop, continue shaking until the corn stops popping.

Turn off the wok, pour popcorn into a large bowl, and add salt and butter to taste. (If using bacon fat, just salt it- no other seasoning is required.)

Note: You can make this with less fat... it just doesn't taste as good. I've made it with as little as 2 teaspoons.

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

I tried the Bailey's ice cream last night, and it was quite tasty. First there was a pretty strong hit of vanilla (I used my new double strength vanilla from Penzey's, a Christmas present from Jon and Ryan), and then the Bailey's came across in the aftertaste. Mild, as Rob mentioned in the comments, but very nice and smooth. It's a pretty soft ice cream because of the alcohol. I think if I were to make this again, I might try a nonalcoholic vanilla extract (I know it exists, I think I've seen it at Trader Joe's) or soak a vanilla bean in the Bailey's.

I'm always freaked out about tempering eggs. I'm so afraid I'm going to scramble them. In the past, I've probably erred on the side of not cooking them thoroughly enough. However, the custard base thickened properly, so I guess I did it right this time.

Recipe follows.

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Murphy's Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream
adapted from this recipe on Ice Cream Ireland

1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups cream
1 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur

Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until thick and pale yellow.

Bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Beat the milk into the eggs and sugar in a slow stream. Pour the mixture back into pan and place over low heat. Stir until the custard thickens (around 140 degrees Fahrenheit).

Allow the custard to cool.

Mix in the cream and the liqueur, beating for one minute. Freeze using a ice cream machine.

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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Rob and I made Bailey's Irish Cream-flavored ice cream last night (this recipe [with some extra added vanilla] from Ice Cream Ireland). It's a custard-style ice cream with eggs that needed tempering and such. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping for goodness.

This ice cream recipe intrigues me. Rob doesn't think it sounds good. We bought a quart of cream, though, we'll have to do something with it. Ooh, I should find something to do with my amazing Michigan dried cherries! Maybe something like this. Cherries, rum, and pepper... oh man, that sounds REALLY good. Oh yes, before I forget, Jon or Ryan, can one of you send me your cayenne chocolate ice cream recipe?

(Not sure why I'm so gung-ho on ice cream when it's the coldest it's ever been in northern California.)

Mark and I went to Ramen Halu on Saturday night. It has gotten some really good reviews on places like Yelp and Chowhound and is touted as having the best ramen in the south bay. I was not impressed. The broth was highly uninteresting. We both agreed that we prefer Maru Ichi in Mountain View. I should give Ryowa another try. I liked the ramen at their Berkeley location, but the MV one was meh.

I bought a very cute party dress on Sunday. It is entirely too cute.

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Cardamom Butter Cookies

2 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
1-2 tsp ground cardamom
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp cream cheese

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with flat beater, mix flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom on low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With mixer running on low, add butter 1 piece at a time; continue to mix until mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, about 1 minute longer. Add vanilla and cream cheese and mix on low until dough just begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds.

Remove bowl from mixer; knead dough by hand in bowl for 2 to 3 turns to form large cohesive mass. Turn out dough onto countertop; divide in half, pat into two 4-inch disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until they begin to firm up, 20 to 30 minutes. (Can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 weeks; defrost in refrigerator before using.)

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out 1 dough disk to even 1/8-inch thickness between 2 large sheets parchment paper; slide rolled dough on parchment onto baking sheet and chill until firm, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, repeat with second disk.

Working with first portion of rolled dough, cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters (or pizza cutters or knives, if you're not going for anything fancy) and place shapes on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until light golden brown, about 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking time. Repeat with second portion of rolled dough. (Dough scraps can be patted together, chilled, and re-rolled once.) Cool cookies on wire rack.

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Thursday, January 04, 2007

I learned something new over the holidays.

Electric woks make the world's best popcorn.

My dad made a batch and it was indescribable. So as soon as I got home I hopped over to the craigslist and found someone near me selling one for cheap. I'm going to try it out tonight. Hopefully I can make it as well as he did.

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Tuesday, January 02, 2007

These infused vodkas were Christmas presents for Lydia and Debbie. Debbie made Cape Cods with the spiced orange vodka. Those were really very good.

The recipes are from this article in the San Francisco Chronicle. There's also a pomengranate lime one.

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Cardamom-Ginger Vodka
San Francisco Chronicle

10 green cardamom pods
1 1/2 cups good-quality vodka
10 slices of fresh ginger, 1/4-inch thick

Spread cardamom seeds on a cutting board and crush lightly with the broad side of a chef's knife. Pour vodka into a 2-quart jar, and then add cardamom pods and ginger. Cover tightly with lid and shake gently. Place in a dark, cool area and shake gently every few days. After two weeks, strain infused vodka into a clean bottle. Use immediately, or allow to age further if desired.

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Spiced Orange Vodka
San Francisco Chronicle

4 medium-size oranges
2 cups good-quality vodka
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves

Heat oven to 200. Using a sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler, cut zest from oranges in strips. (Avoid cutting into the white pith, which is bitter.) Spread zest strips in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until dry and fragrant.

Pour vodka into a 1.5-quart jar, and then add orange zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Cover tightly with lid and shake gently. Place in a dark, cool area and shake gently every few days. After seven days, strain infused vodka into a clean bottle. Use immediately, or allow to age further if desired.

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