Month: November 2015

Gorgonzola-Buttermilk Dressing

Once again, a recipe using up buttermilk from a recipe I never posted. It’s just that the more I eat the cornbread I originally bought the buttermilk for, the less I am enchanted with it. So I think I might not post it. It was an adaptation of this cornbread on Smitten Kitchen. It sounded awesome, but I think the whole was less than the sum of its parts.

One of my favorite meal salads is this kit:

[image: stock image of eat smart's sweet kale salad]
[image: stock image of eat smart’s sweet kale salad]

The poppyseed dressing that comes with that kit needs doctoring, though. It is way too sweet and gloppy. I thin it out and tone it down with some fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, and lemon juice. And then I dice up a bit of chicken breast to add some extra protein.

When I can’t make it out to Costco to pick up a giant pack of the Eat Smart salad, I go to Trader Joe’s for a runner-up: the Cruciferous Crunch.

[image: stock image of trader joe's cruciferous crunch salad]
[image: stock image of trader joe’s cruciferous crunch salad]

This is just a bag of salad, no dressing or other crunchy accouterments like the Eat Smart. So I pulled together some ideas on how to make a good blue cheese dressing.

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1/4 cup buttermilk*
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar*
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire
heavy dash Tabasco sauce or sriracha
Salt and pepper to taste

* If you don’t have buttermilk, make clabbered milk by whisking together the vinegar with 1/4 cup regular milk. Let sit for 15 minutes before making the dressing.

Whisk everything together in a bowl (or combine in a jar and shake the dickens out of it). Season to taste with salt and pepper. It’s best if you can refrigerate it overnight before using so the flavors can meld together, but I’ve only been able to manage that feat once. (I can’t wait for my salad cravings.)

Jan Dismas Zelenka

Gosh I love Zelenka.

Tonight I went over to Pikacello and Hoshikaji’s house for dinner. During the course of the evening the conversation turned to music. I am an occasional oboe player, while Pikacello is a professional cellist and Hoshikaji is a violinist. I happened to mention one Jan Dismas Zelenka, my favorite baroque composer, and before I knew it, I was fetching my oboe so that we could sight-read his third trio sonata. AND GOSH IT WAS FUN.

Back in college, I played the first trio sonata (two oboes, bassoon, and continuo). Man, that was an amazing experience. There’s this stretch in the second movement in the first oboe part where you can’t breathe for like a minute. It’s so good. I seriously loved playing for stuff like that. (Someday I will regale you all with my tale of Pasculli cadenzas, but that day is not today.)

They’re all amazing pieces. This is a superb recording, headed by the great Heinz Holliger, or you can listen to them here on YouTube.

Braisin’ Semi-Failure: Apple-Apple Pie

Basically: I saw this recipe floating around Tumblr, I had an apple languishing in the crisper, and I still had some leftover pie dough. So I thought I might as well take a stab at it. Unfortunately it turned out kind of a mess. Apparently Golden Delicious apples, while a fine variety to use in pie interiors, are not the sort whose outer walls will hold up particularly well for this application. You want to use a firmer apple, like a Granny Smith or Braeburn or Winesap.

It is also possible that my problem came from scooping the walls too thin. I used a grapefruit spoon to carve out the inside, which on the whole was kind of a pain in the ass. I put the apple in the oven and kept an eye on it as it baked. Good thing, too, because at the 25-minute mark the entire thing slumped down and fell over. I attempted to rescue and prop it back up with an aluminum foil snake for the rest of the baking time, but the damage was done. The pie crust got mangled (I tried to hide the worst of it at the back of the photos).

This wasn’t a total failure. I will try it again with a different apple variety. It definitely tasted good. I’m sure I can make it turn out prettier.

1 firm-fleshed apple (ie. NOT A GOLDEN DELICIOUS, LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE)
lemon juice
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp AP flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
enough pie dough to make a 3-inch round at 1/4-inch thick
powdered sugar (optional)

Heat oven to 370. Cut off the top of the apple. With a grapefruit spoon or melon baller or really, really carefully with a knife and spoon, scoop out the interior of the apple. Try not to pierce the skin. Discard the core and dice the rest. Peel the top bit you cut off and dice that flesh as well. Mix diced apple with a few drops of lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt.

Place apple shells on a lipped baking pan lined with parchment. (If you are making a lot of these—like 12—I read a suggestion to nestle them in a muffin tin, which would totally counteract the slumping problem I had. Don’t cram them in there, just use the wells to sort of cradle their bottoms.) Fill the apple shell with the chopped apple mixture.

Roll out your pie dough to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out a circle (or use some kind of fun cookie cutter) and poke some holes in it with a straw (steam holes!). Place the dough lid on top of the apple. Don’t mold it down, just place it on top.

Bake for 40 minutes. The dough should be nicely golden on top. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar (optional).

Chocolate & Strawberry Puer

[image: lupicia's chocolate & strawberry puer tea bag]
[image: lupicia’s chocolate & strawberry puer tea bag]

Last weekend, TeapotGirl and I headed into San Francisco for a day of food, makeup, and (of course) tea. Lupicia is my jam, and I’m lucky enough to live near two of their physical stores. I love going in and spending a quarter hour sticking my nose into all the tea tins. This time, after picking up my obligatory pouch of La Belle Epoque, I was given a bag of Chocolate & Strawberry Puer to sample. I made it today.

I’d never tried puer tea before, but from the reviews of this particular tea on Steepster, it seems like a flavored one was a good way to start. Apparently they can sometimes taste kind of fishy? I don’t know if I’d like that.

But this is a pretty nice tea. Really complimented a slice of sweet potato spice bread well. It’s sweet without needing sugar and creamy without needing milk. The chocolate and strawberry are definitely noticeable. I made two mugfuls with the same teabag since I’m a barbarian. While I don’t know if I would purchase a full pack of this, it was a pleasant enough diversion for an afternoon.

Sweet Potato Spice Bread

[image: loaf of sweet potato spice bread]
[image: loaf of sweet potato spice bread]

It’s funny, I haven’t even posted the recipe I bought the buttermilk for originally, just the ones I made trying to use it up. This bread is good for people who like sweet things. It’s dense, very moist, and heavy on autumn spice flavors. I think it could probably use a bit more salt. And although I used buttermilk, sour cream might be better. Or a bit of orange zest? I just think it needs some more ‘zazz. It’s nice with a cup of tea for breakfast or in the afternoon.

cooking spray or baker’s joy
1–2 sweet potatoes/garnet yams, between 1–1.25 lbs. (you want 1 1/2 cups of mashed sweet potato once they’re steamed)
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup buttermilk (or sour cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon (all spices ground)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp kosher salt (full tsp might be better)

Heat oven to 350. Prep a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray or baker’s joy.

Cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch chunks and place in a steamer insert. Put an inch of water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place insert in pan and steam sweet potatoes for approximately 15 minutes or until quite soft. Remove to a bowl and mash to a pulp. (This can be done by hand, with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer.)

Mix in the sugars. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla and beat until combined. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in stages and mix until the flour mixture has been incorporated thoroughly (however, try not to overbeat—fold in if you’re doing it by hand).

Empty batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake at 350 for 60–75 minutes, checking for doneness with toothpicks. Cool in pan for 15–30 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

Planning Ahead for Comic-Con 2016

[image: a selection of comic-con badges and a masquerade medal]
[image: a selection of comic-con badges and a masquerade medal]

Yesterday morning was preregistration for San Diego Comic-Con 2016, and I am happy to report that I was able to secure the necessary badges for myself and Barbara Jo. I started attending Comic-Con back in 2007, and I haven’t missed a year since. Please enjoy this photo of the badges that I could find on short notice, as well as a few masquerade backstage passes and the medal I won as part of the “Most Humorous” winning team in 2012.

This gives me plenty of time to figure out if I’ll be cosplaying, who I’ll be cosplaying, and how to construct whatever costumes I choose. And then I’ll leave it all until the week before.

Buttermilk Curry

[image: curry over rice]
[image: curry over rice]

I had half a carton of buttermilk left after making another recipe (which I haven’t posted here yet). I was looking through my old recipes, trying to find something that wasn’t sweet. I saw Murgh Dehin and was like aha! Curry. I wanted to make something new—as well as something with fewer ingredients—so I did some internetting and combined a few recipes to come up with this. It’s a thin curry, so serving with rice is important.

EDIT: this recipe has been updated as of October 24, 2016

1 Tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 scallions, chopped into 1-inch pieces (EDIT: 4 scallions)
2 cloves garlic, minced (EDIT: 3 cloves)
2 small green chilis, minced (I used my SUPER CHILIS, serranos would also work)
(EDIT: 1 additional pepper, either chili peppers of the mild Anaheim/Pasilla variety or a bell pepper, chopped)
1 lb small pieces of meat (see note below)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (EDIT: 3/4 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup sour cream)
salt, to taste
2-3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Note: One of the recipes I found called for ground lamb, which was stupidly expensive at the store. I ended up buying a pound of “stir-fry/fajita” pork. I think chicken would also work in similarly-sized small bits. (EDIT: I buy two boneless pork chops and slice them into bite-sized pieces, it’s cheaper for me that way.)

Heat oil over medium high. When it is hot, add mustard seeds. Cover (they’ll fly everywhere otherwise) and shake pan as they pop.

Add cumin and turmeric and stir for a minute. Lower heat to medium and add green onions, garlic, and chili. Cook until softened.

Add meat. Stir until cooked through, about 10 minutes (at least it was for the pork).

Reduce heat to low and stir in buttermilk. Bring up to temperature, but do not let boil (maybe about 5 minutes over low/medium-low). Add salt to taste. Finish by stirring in cilantro and serve over rice.

Pickled Peppers

[image: pint jar of pickled green bell peppers]
[image: pint jar of pickled green bell peppers]

The weather here has started to turn! We’ve gotten a few nights of rain! It’s thrilling! But as the nights have gotten colder, I’ve started to worry about my veggies. We’ve dipped as far as 36F. No frost yet, but I decided to harvest my green bell peppers just in case.

[image: bowl of green bell peppers]
[image: bowl of green bell peppers]

Nine in all! (There’s a runt you can’t see hiding at the bottom of the bowl). I had enough to make a quart of pickles. I sliced most of them into rings, the others into strips. After a day in the fridge, I had very crisp and pickley-tasting pickles! I used a 32 oz. plastic yogurt container. I transferred about half into the pint-sized Ball Jar you see up top so I could get a nice photo.

These are refrigerator pickles because I’m scared of canning.

1 cup white distilled vinegar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp dill seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic, peeled
however many sliced peppers can be packed into a quart jar

Put the dill seeds, peppercorns, bay leaf, and garlic in the bottom of your jar or whatever you’re doing the pickling in. Pack in the sliced vegetables.

Bring the vinegar, water, and salt to a boil. Carefully pour into your jar (a funnel may be useful here). Make sure everything’s covered with the brine (you may want to employ a weight to squash them down). Refrigerate overnight. Will keep in the fridge for several months.

Albariño

This is my favorite wine! So of course BevMo stopped carrying it last year. A few months ago, I was chatting with an internet friend who worked in the wine business. He said he also enjoyed Albariños, so I asked him if he could recommend a replacement. He suggested one from the Burgáns winery. I wasn’t able to find it anywhere until today!

[image: two bottles of white wine—burgans albariño and raimat albariño]
[image: two bottles of white wine—burgáns albariño and raimat albariño]

The Burgáns was in a special display, so then I went to check their regular wine section. I was able to find another bottle I hadn’t tried. At $12.99 and $10.99, it seemed like a reasonable investment to try and find a new favorite. I have tried a bunch of other Albariños since the Paco & Lola drought, but none of them have really caught my fancy. I’m hoping one of these will fit the bill.

(Bonus: screw-tops. I’m super-classy that way.)