Braisin' Hussy

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Sat, 17 May 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Penne Pasta Salad
from Carolyn Anzia

1 lb. penne pasta
1 garlic clove, quartered
1 tsp salt
1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar (honey might be nice as a substitute)
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2/3 cup dried currant
2/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again well. (Note: while the pasta is cooking, make the dressing.)

In a food processor, blend garlic and salt to a paste. Add the parsley and mince. Blend in lemon juice, vinegar, curr powder, sugar, cumin, and pepper.

Gradually add oil through the feed tube in a steady stream.

Pour the dressing over the pasta. Add onions, currants, and pine nuts, and toss until mixed. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:39:00 +0000

Basil Ice Cream

1 cup cream
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Pinch of salt

Heat the cream, milk, basil, and 1/4 cup sugar to boiling in the microwave. Strain out the basil and place it in a blender or food processor along with 1/4 cup of the liquid. Puree until smooth, then stir back into the dairy mixture.

Whisk the egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together until smooth and lighter in color. Whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk/cream/sugar/basil mixture into the egg/sugar. Once combined, transfer the mixture to a pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir or whisk constantly until it reaches 170F or has thickened to the nappe stage (coats the back of a spoon), then remove promptly from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any curdled egg bits.

(The method I use to avoid all chances of curdling is to mix the eggs and sugar in a large metal bowl, and then after mixing in the milk/cream, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisking. This longer, but you won't have to strain it afterwards. Also, you can be somewhat less paranoid about the constant whisking of the mixture- this cooking method is gentler than direct heat.)

Stir in the salt. Cool for at least four hours (or overnight).

Freeze in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer to let harden.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:45:00 +0000

Roast Chicken with Fatty Rice
disgusting but wonderful

1 4-lb. chicken, neck and innards removed
4 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.25 to 1.5 cups rice (see note at the bottom)
1 10.5-oz. can french onion soup + 1 can water (or an equivalent amount of homemade onion soup)
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

In a large container or pot, combine 1 1/2 quarts of cold tap water and 1/2 cup kosher salt (1/4 cup table salt). Stir to dissolve. Submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove chicken from brine and dry well with paper towels. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450. Prepare the roasting rack by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.

In a food processor or mortar and pestle, (or just in a bowl with a fork) combine butter, herbs, and minced garlic into a paste. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh on each side of the chicken. Spread three-quarters of the paste under the skin. Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Oil the skin lightly and season with pepper. Set chicken breast-side down on prepared rack in roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes.

Mix together the soup and water with the remaining tablespoon of herb butter. After the first fifteen minutes of roasting, scatter the rice and liquid in the bottom of the roasting pan. Continue roasting for another 15 minutes.

Remove roasting pan from oven and decrease temperature to 375. Rotate chicken breast-side up on the rack, stir the rice, and return to the oven for approimately another 30 mintues, or until the breast meat is 160 and the thigh meat is 175 on an instant-read thermometer.

Let chicken rest for about ten minutes before carving. Transfer the rice to a serving bowl.

(Note: I think these proportions are about right. The last time I made it, I only used a cup of rice, and had way too much liquid/fat left over at the end. I think in the range of 1.25-1.5 cups will work correctly.)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:23:00 +0000

New recipes! The reason behind this ice cream extravaganza is that I bought a half gallon of cream last week. (Also, it's summer.) It is SO MUCH CREAM. I've made three batches of ice cream, and I still have four cups left.

The first batch I made was the bourbon and brown sugar ice cream. I had been planning on making a relatively simple, non-cooked ice cream involving chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces, but when I started getting my ingredients together, I found that we had no white sugar. The local minimart had already closed, and I forgot that I had a neighbor who would totally have given me a cup had I asked, so I went on the internets to see if I could use brown sugar. Answer: yes, but it'd have to be a cooked custard-style ice cream. Glad I did, because the texture in this batch was so wonderful. The bourbon was kind of a last minute add, but I think it tastes great.

The cardamom-honey ice cream I had made once before, and since I was seeing Lydia on Friday, I decided to make it again. I changed the recipe a bit from the first time (different cooking method, different dairy ratios, fewer yolks, etc.), and it turned out better. The ice cream hung together better. My problem with it before was that it turned out too soft. I made another change for the recipe (but not in my batch), which was to cut the cardamom down by half. I just don't think you really need two tablespoons. That's a TON of cardamom. I'd like to see if I can made this better by maybe using the seeds inside whole cardamom pods instead of ground cardamom. The texture currently is a little too grainy (the sieve can't catch all the particles), and I'd like it to be smoother.

I was inspired by the strawberry-sage ice cream recipe over at Ice Cream Ireland, but after talking with my friend Eddie, he put the idea in my head of the classic strawberry-black pepper-balsamic vinegar combination. Well, I didn't end up putting the balsamic directly into the ice cream (although I am thinking that either a balsamic reduction or some straight good balsamic vinegar drizzled over the top would be PURE WIN), but the resulting ice cream was very tasty. It was my first time doing a fruit ice cream, and I'm not entirely sure I froze it correctly. (Are the strawberries supposed to freeze solid? I guess so. I mean, the water content in them would really dictate that happening.) I also think that just a black pepper, or maybe a black pepper and vanilla ice cream would be lovely. Since the peppercorns were just broken and not ground, they were easily strained out, and the resulting texture on the ice cream base was much better than in the cardamom-honey.

YAY ICE CREAM.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:13:00 +0000

Strawberry and Black Pepper Ice Cream

1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup 1% milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
tiny pinch of salt
2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns, roughly crushed with a mortar and pestle (not ground)

Place the strawberries, lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp sugar in a food processor. Pulse five to ten times (1-second pulses) until they're fairly uniform in size but NOT a puree. (You want chunks.) Set aside.

Mix the sugar and yolks together until light in texture and smooth. Combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer (either on the stove or in the microwave). Whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk/cream into the egg/sugar to temper it. Once combined, transfer the mixture to a pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir or whisk constantly until it reaches 170F or has thickened to the nappe stage (coats the back of a spoon), then remove promptly from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any curdled egg bits.

(The method I use to avoid all chances of curdling is to mix the eggs and sugar in a large metal bowl, and then after mixing in the milk/cream, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisking. This longer, but you won't have to strain it afterwards. Also, you can be somewhat less paranoid about the constant whisking of the mixture- this cooking method is gentler than direct heat.)

Stir in the pepper and salt. Cool for at least four hours (or overnight).

Strain to remove the pepper. Freeze in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. During the last five minutes, add the strawberries. Transfer to freezer to let harden.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 20:12:00 +0000

Cardamom and Honey Ice Cream
Adapted from Ice Cream Ireland's recipe

1.5 cups 1% milk
1.5 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 Tbsp ground cardamom
3 Tbsp honey (I use a wildflower honey from Utah, it's got an assertive flavor)
tiny pinch of salt

Mix the sugar and yolks together until light in texture and smooth. Combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer (either on the stove or in the microwave). Whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk/cream into the egg/sugar to temper it. Once combined, transfer the mixture to a pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir or whisk constantly until it reaches 170F or has thickened to the nappe stage (coats the back of a spoon), then remove promptly from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any curdled egg bits.

(The method I use to avoid all chances of curdling is to mix the eggs and sugar in a large metal bowl, and then after mixing in the milk/cream, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisking. This longer, but you won't have to strain it afterwards. Also, you can be somewhat less paranoid about the constant whisking of the mixture- this cooking method is gentler than direct heat.)

Stir in the cardamom, honey, and salt. Cool for at least four hours (or overnight).

Strain to remove some of the cardamom (you won't be able to get all of it out). Freeze in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer to let harden.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:35:00 +0000

Bourbon and Brown Sugar Ice Cream

1.5 cup 1% milk
1.5 cup heavy cream
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 egg yolks
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Tiny pinch of salt
2 Tbsp bourbon

Mix the sugar and yolks together until light in texture and smooth. Combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer (either on the stove or in the microwave). Whisking constantly, drizzle the hot milk/cream into the egg/sugar to temper it. Once combined, transfer the mixture to a pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir or whisk constantly until it reaches 170F or has thickened to the nappe stage (coats the back of a spoon), then remove promptly from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any curdled egg bits.

(The method I use to avoid all chances of curdling is to mix the eggs and sugar in a large metal bowl, and then after mixing in the milk/cream, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisking. This longer, but you won't have to strain it afterwards. Also, you can be somewhat less paranoid about the constant whisking of the mixture- this cooking method is gentler than direct heat.)

Stir in the vanilla and salt. Cool for at least four hours (I just stick in in the fridge overnight).

Stir in the bourbon. Freeze in an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to freezer to let harden.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:44:00 +0000

The convention season is over! I have moved domiciles yet again! I should get back to blogging.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 05:43:00 +0000

Man, today was hot. Biking home from work was all manner of sticky and sweaty. And I don't know what it was, but I'm thinking there must've been, like, an 18-wheeler FULL of durian that tipped over somewhere. If you've ever smelled it, you know what I mean. Whoo boy!

Even with the stench, a lot of people were out walking. There was a pretty good breeze going, so I could understand that. (Certainly didn't help that the same wind was blowing the stomach-turning smell of durian around.) People sure weren't moving very quickly, though. Just kind of lumbering up and down the streets.

The roads were surprisingly empty. I was expecting more people to commute home via their air-conditioned cars, to tell the truth. I still managed to hit almost every single light on my way home. I guess people were jealous that I had wheels or something, because they kept getting too close when I was stopped. Unfriendly lot down here in the South Bay. No, "Hi! Nice day. Pretty warm. Huh, what's that rotting flesh smell?" Just a lot of "Urghhhhhhh blerghhhhhhhhh." And "Glrghhhhh brawn." Well, I am looking pretty ripped. Been almost three months since I started the bike commute, after all.

Got home, took a shower, nuked a burrito, and waited for the guys to come over for D&D. Oh, there's the doorbell now.

...

Wait, what?!

...

NO!

(This horribly written bit of fiction is brought to you by Blog Like It's the End of the World.)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 16:09:00 +0000

My apologies for being absent from the blog. Between sewing and moving (yes, again), I haven't had time to really do anything of interest. I'll be free in August.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Wed, 16 May 2007 18:02:00 +0000

Mother's Day was on Sunday, and as has come to be expected, Jon and I made brunch for the moms. Jon made French toast and a strawberry/balsamic salad, and I made quiche. Nathan didn't seem to like it, but everybody else did. I used a prepackaged crust- the horror! It was an organic, whole-wheat crust I got from Whole Foods. And it came in a pan. I'm so lazy. But honestly, my crust skills would not pay any bills (no matter how tiny). Quiche is really easy apart from the crust!

I also made a failure this weekend. While looking at quiche recipes in an old edition of The Joy of Cooking, there was on the same page a recipe for "Nut, Bread, and Cheese Loaf." (I think that was the name.) I had all the ingredients, and it looked pretty simple. It looked like it'd be meatloaf sans meat. (Wheatloaf?) Anyway, it tasted all right, but the texture and the overall look of the whole thing was disgusting. I attempted to cut it into slices, but it fell apart, and I was left with an unappetizing tan/grey pile. It kind of looked like I had thrown up on the plate and was attempting to eat it again. Lovely thought, isn't it? I threw it out yesterday, after trying to eat it for lunch.

Good times. D&D tonight.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 11 May 2007 16:48:00 +0000

It's pathetic when all I have to offer is drinks, isn't it? Well, I'll have a new recipe after this weekend. Mother's Day brunch and all that, you know. The Gin Daisy I tried last Sunday. I was flipping through Jer's copy of the Williams-Sonoma Bar Guide, looking for something we had all the ingredients for. This seemed simple. It's quite nice. Stronger than I thought it would be.

Rob and I were at Target, and we saw some wine cooler-type things made with chai tea. We thought that was kind of a good idea, but that we could make it better (and chepaer). We made the Irish Chai last night. It's perhaps not quite as thick as it should be- Rob suggested that maybe the milk should be frothed. That would probably work, but it adds extra complications for those of us who don't have one of those little frothy wand things.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 11 May 2007 16:46:00 +0000

Irish Chai

1 cup whole milk
2 bags chai tea
4 Tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream

Heat the milk to boiling. Add the tea bags and steep for five minutes. Discard the tea bags, and divide the chai into 2 mugs (1/2 cup each). Add 2 tablespoons of Bailey's to each mug. Stir. Reheat gently in the microwave if necessary. Serves 2.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 11 May 2007 16:35:00 +0000

Gin Daisy
William Sonoma Bar Guide

2 1/2 oz. gin
2 Tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 Tbsp grenadine

Pour the gin, lemon juice and grenadine into a shaker half full of ice cubes. Shake well. Strain the contents into an ice-filled glass. Serves 1.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Tue, 08 May 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Ouch.

I guess it had to happen sometime. I fell off my bike yesterday coming home from work. Moving from road to sidewalk, my wheel went into a groove and I pitched onto the sidewalk. I scraped up my wrists and bruised the crap out of myself. I have a nifty little polka-dot pattern on my right shoulder from the lining of my windbreaker. It's funny, because it was pretty hot here yesterday (93F) and I was boiling in my jeans and jacket. While I was falling, I thought, "Ohthankgodlongpants. But why aren't I wearing my gloves?!" There would have been a lot more blood if I had been wearing shorts. Bruising is preferable!

I'm very sore today.

(And yeah, I know- "Boohoo, you fell off your bike. Suck it up!")

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:08:00 +0000

I'd like to take a moment to recognize one of my favorite lunch places.

Polish Deli

It's not a very glamorous name. And it hasn't gotten a lot of buzz on the Intertubes, unfortunately. (Here it is on Yelp as well as a couple mentions on Chowhound.)

It's a very small deli/market run by a very friendly Polish guy from Chicago. He grills the sausages on a Weber grill on the patio out back, then puts them on a roll with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. It's good! The market section sells a bunch of Polish foods- jams, mustards, etc.

Note to my dad: the next time we go out for lunch, I'm taking you here!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:50:00 +0000

No cooking for Sarah. Bad Sarah.

Jer, Mark, and I tried Potsticker King on Friday. Apart from some weirdness with our waiter, who would not let me order the Sweet Rice Sausage and instead made me get the Sticky Rice Cone, it was pretty decent.

I was going to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival up in San Francisco yesterday to meet up with Lydia and check out the cosplay events. But I couldn't find anyone to carpool with, and last year I drove up, spent about an hour failing to find parking, and drove back home, annoyed beyond belief. So I skipped it. Instead, I biked up to Mountain View and had a giant burrito at Los Charros, more than negating any good effect the biking may have done for me. Tasty!

Then I went with Rob and Mark to Chili's for dinner. My salad was lamer than usual (not much lettuce but a ton of croutons), but our waiter kept up with my Diet Coke consumption like a pro. So thank you, Peter from the Cupertino Chili's.

I started a new costume on Saturday. I need to make a dress and a shrug, plus some accessories. It's been pretty tough so far, but hopefully I'll have something done by the end of the week.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:52:00 +0000

My brother is appearing on an episode of Mythbusters tonight. 9PM on the Discovery Channel! WATCH IT.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:59:00 +0000

Nothing new on the cooking front, I'm sad to say. I have a box of matzoh that needs using, so I was thinking about making the matzoh kugel my mom made for the seder. It was really, really tasty. Also excellent were the lamb chops my dad made. He used a mixture of matzoh crumbs, mustard, rosemary, oregano, and garlic on them. So good!

I started biking to work last week. It takes roughly forever (where forever equals an hour each way), but it's good for me to do some sort of physical activity besides walking to McDonald's. Before last week, I hadn't ridden a bike in eight or nine years. Last week (and probably this week, too), I was so damn sore. Sitting on a bike hurts a lot more than I remember.

I signed up for a YouTube account the weekend before last. I'm very slowly capturing and uploading The Marvelous Land of Oz, a (surprisingly faithful) musical version of L. Frank Baum's second Oz book. The sound and picture quality is pretty terrible, since this is a homemade VHS copy from a 1981 production.

After I finish this, I'm planning on uploading an Oz/Baum documentary and then a fairly rare Douglas Adams special.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:45:00 +0000

Nathan's birthday party was yesterday, and it was great fun. Ryan and her family had made a ridiculous cake, as usual. :) It was a tall cake, with four faces, and it rotated so that you could pair up different heads, bodies, and legs in the manner of a children's book.

I brought along my bean dip and liptauer, as well as some syrup for drinks that didn't get used because I couldn't find club soda at Target. I didn't really have high hopes for it, anyway.

Last weekend, my roommates went to Dave and Buster's, an arcade/bar/restaurant thing. They got a lot of tickets on the machines and exchanged them for a large plush Batman figure, which they then gave to me. I noticed that Batman was just about the same height as my American Girl dolls (even though his head is tiny in comparison). And that discovery led to Batman attending a tea party. Hurray!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:10:00 +0000

Today's my birthday! I'm all cube-y.

And check out the new pasta recipe I made last night. Mark and I both enjoyed it. I should've used my brain, though, and remembered that Rob doesn't eat beef (pepperoni is a mixture of pork and beef). So he was unable to eat it. Sorry!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:49:00 +0000

Cavatappi with Pepperoni
adapted from Quick from Scratch Pasta

4 oz. thin-sliced pepperoni, slices cut in half
1 large onion, chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
14.5 oz. can of chopped tomatoes (with liquid)
Splash of red wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
3/4 lb. cavatappi
3 Tbsp chopped parsley

In a large frying pan, cook the pepperoni over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Turn the heat to medium-low. Using the fat from the pepperoni still in the pan, cook the onion and pepper until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice. Add the salt, pepper, and wine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the cavatappi until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce, the pepperoni, and the parsley.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:50:00 +0000

Happy birthday, blog! You're three years old today. I should make a new recipe in celebration.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:36:00 +0000

I made this dip/spread on Tuesday, but didn't try it until Wednesday night. (We had D&D and I just forgot about it.) It is clearly not traditional Liptauer. But it's still pretty good. I did a recipe search on the ol' intertubes and just kind of synthesized a bunch of different things.

Hate anchovies? Use chopped gherkins instead. Don't like heat? Leave out the chili powder. Want to make your breath smell even worse afterwards? Add some chopped onion.

I've been eating it with wheat thins. Yummy.

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah the Hussy) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:29:00 +0000

Liptauer
(sort of)

8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
2 Tbsp capers, drained, rinsed, and minced
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, and minced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl. Chill for a few hours. Enjoy with a strongly flavored bread.