Month: October 2004

I think maybe I’ll make something with lentils today.

Well, the adrenaline did not wear off before my alarm went off. I was kind of not happy on Thursday. I’m thinking about baking the firemen cookies. And my neighbor who helped out (assuming I can remember which apartment he came out of). That night, however, after a fabulous meal at Jon and Ryan’s, I came home and made cheese. Sort of a cottage cheese/ricotta hybrid. I’ve been interested in homemade cheese making since I bought an Indian cookbook- it calls for its use in a lot of dishes, both savory and sweet. However, the method they describe uses nonpasteurized milk, which I don’t think I can get unless I know a cow. So, after some googling, I ended up here. This is a fun site. Making the beginner recipe wasreally interesting- the vinegar really works quickly separating the milk into curds! Assuming I can find rennet tablets and mesophilic starters somewhere, I’m going to continue on this cheese path. We’ll see.

Pumpkinfest was last night. I really like the pumpkin I made. I used this design from Extreme Pumpkins, and then I painted black around it so it would be easily visible during the day, too. It’s all part of my endeavors to be the worst Halloween person ever. I’m planning on baking cookies for this, too. Very disturbing for parents. Hee!

I’ve got a little list… bank, Sigona’s, Jon’s, laundry, cookies, video games, possibly lentils, and a costume party. I’m even more lazy than I was last year, when I threw on a bathrobe, grabbed a towel, and went as Arthur Dent. I’ve got a toque and an apron- I’ll just go as a cook. The only question is whether the CCA apron or the Braisin’ Hussy apron.

Oh, my God. I am the world’s biggest moron. Seriously, you guys.

I woke up to the sounds of my fire alarm at 5am this morning. Panicked, I jumped out of bed to see what was going on. I saw blurry orange flames coming out of my wall heater. I ran outside and up to my landlord to ask him for help, but no one answered the door. I then ran back into my apartment to grab my glasses, my cell phone, and my bathrobe (it was quite cold, you see). I called 911 and got the fire department to come. After I hung up the phone, my brain started to clear a little bit from PANIC mode. I had an idea. A neighbor, alerted by my running around and PANIC came out of his apartment. I asked him if his heater had turned on yet this season. He said he turned it on once so far. I asked him if flames shot out of it. No. Okay, maybe I had a legitimate concern. Then, however, it dawned on me that I could just turn the damned thing off. So I did. And then the firemen came. A lot of them. There were two trucks. Even after I told them that this was all because I’m so incredibly dim, they, you know, had to do their job and check it out, so I had six firemen in my apartment, looking at my now turned off heater. I’m such a moron. Who needs to vacuum the dust from her heater.

I think this qualifies as a good story, Sarah. It’s now 6am and I want to go back to bed. Let’s see if the adrenaline has worn off yet.

Argh. I hate it when the Television Without Pity forums are offline. Seriously, the cheesy bean soup that Sandra made yesterday had me completely nauseous. I need to discuss it!

I didn’t get around to making the soup yesterday. I’ll make it today. Probably. The Boston Baked Beans turned out well, but I’m not entirely convinced I couldn’t get the same thing doctoring up a can of B&M. I’ll still post the recipe, though.

Boston Baked Beans

Cook’s Illustrated

4 oz salt pork, trimmed of rind and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 oz bacon (about 2 slices), cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp mild molasses

1 1/2 Tbsp brown mustard

1 lb dried small white beans, rinsed and picked over

Salt

9 cups water

1 tsp cider vinegar

Ground black pepper

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, and heat oven to 300. Add salt pork and bacon to an 8-quart Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and most of the fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Add onion and continue to cook until onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add 1/2 cup molasses, mustard, beans, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and 9 cups of water. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cover pot and place in oven. Cook for 2 hours, then stir, and cook for another 2 hours. Remove the lid and continue to bake until the liquid had thickened to syrupy consistency, about another 90 minutes. Remove from oven, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of molasses, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Cheese Bread with Bacon, Onion, and Gruyère

Cook’s Illustrated

3 oz Parmesan cheese, shredded

3 cups AP flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 oz Gruyère cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/4 cup whole milk

1 large egg, beaten slightly

3/4 cup sour cream

5 oz bacon (about 5 slices), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 onion, minced

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350. Spray a 5×9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Make a 2-part sling out of parchment, and put it in the pan, using the spray to help it stick. Spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of Parmesan evenly in the bottom of the pan.

Fry the bacon in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towl-lined plate. Pour off all but three tablspoons of the fat from the skillet. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Mix in the Gruyère cubes, bacon, and onion, coating the pieces completely with flour.

In a separate bowl, combine milk, egg, and sour cream. Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry, and fold together with a rubber spatula to combine. The batter will be heavy and thick.

Scrape the batter into the loaf pan, smoothing the surface with the spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan evenly over the top.

Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10-20 minutes, then de-pan and cool for another 30-45 minutes. Cut into slices and serve warm.

“Sarah, what the hell is going on with your blog?” Well, I find myself bereft of both time and enthusiasm lately. I get home from work and I just want to sit on my couch. It’s kind of sad. I miss sleeping in, going to several stores to gather ingredients, and cooking things that take ridiculous amounts of time.

I’m making one of those things today. It’s not done yet, so I can’t say whether it’s good or not, but recipes that start out with “Render the fat from four ounces of salt pork and two ounces of bacon” are A-OK to me. I’m in hour three of some Boston Baked Beans. And as soon as Ryan finishes making her soup, I’m going to make pasta e fagioli. Good times. I’m surpisingly not excited about it all. I think my spark is temporarily gone. Er, I hope only temporarily.

Apparently my last cheese bread had some raw bits in the middle. EW. That makes me very sad.

Soon, my top page isn’t going to have any recipes on it. I should recifty that situation.

I forgot something from last weekend. I made the cheese bread again! And wow, what a difference a parchment sling makes. Getting it out of the pan was so very easy, compared to the first time. I don’t know why Cook’s Illustrated didn’t recommend that procedure. I mean, they make everything else needlessly complicated, why not add a step that’s actually useful?

I ended up making the variation with bacon, onion, and gruyere. And it was quite tasty. They’re right, the flavor does improve as it sits, so be patient. I also used twice as much salt and cayenne. I bought some premium bacon- Nieman Ranch- and it, while very tasty, was not as salty as we have come to think of bacon. So that’s why I added more. And the cayenne? The CI folks sometimes can be wusses when it comes to heat.

I bought ingredients for Jonsauce. Woo. I’m so not keen on anything right now.

I didn’t eat dinner last night.

Amazing, I know. I got home from work, loaded up a hypodermic needle with Farscape, and plunged it in. Ah, sweet Farscape. I watched the Tivoquivalent of six hours- I got up through the first half of the Peacekeeper Wars; if we don’t have D&D tonight (Jer’s still not feeling great), I’ll watch the other half. I was thinking about trying to make myself an omelet (eggs are pretty much the only thing I have in my fridge), but the couch was too darn comfy.

I’ve got a bunch of episodes from the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine to which I need to do the same thing. No distractions!

I need to go to the store. But it’s kind of nasty out.