Thursday, December 3, 2009
Ramona the brave
http://shopramonawest.com/catalog/index.php?osCsid=870dea7959f6fe3273ab6df45f7f4569
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
THANKSGIVING: The Prequel--Part II
Theresa's Turkey
Mimi's stuffed mushrooms and cheese and honey crostatini
Yane's Brazilian Chicken Bake
Jeff's salad and juice
Lexi's fruit salad
John's cranberries
Jean's mashed potatoes and stuffing
Jake's bread rolls
Hess's apple pie
Jenny's palmiers, stollen, and spinach filo tart
Sunday, November 22, 2009
THANKSGIVING: The Prequel--Part I
Saturday
1:00am--Arrive home after a night of watching Warren Miller ski film. It was excellent!
1:30am--Adrenaline from Warren Miller film has me dreaming of slopes, and not sleeping.
7:30am--Alarm goes off.
7:31am--I hit snooze button.
7:40am--Alarm goes off. I consider buying Stovetop and instant mashed potato flakes.
7:41am--I hit snooze button.
7:50am--Alarm goes off. I consider repercussions of Stovetop and potato flakes.
7:51am--I'm up. But just barely.
9:30am--I'm showered, dressed decently enough for public viewing, and caffeinated. Review recipes that I will be using and draw up a quick list.
10:00am--Leave home to buy supplies. Two stop shopping: Target and QFC.
12:00pm--Get home and start making ranch dressing:
12:30pm--Taste ranch, and it has such a bite to it. Yikes! Stick the sauce in the fridge and hope for the best. If worse comes to worst, I will rely on my good ol' friend, Paul Newman.
12:40pm--Pull together ingredients for stuffing and start prepping:
1:00pm--Discover that rustic bread is very hard to cube. Either that, or my arms are not as strong as I thought. I am going to guess the latter. So much for getting better at rock climbing. Finish cubing. Combined olive oil and pressed garlic and tossed these on bread. Baked bread to make it even crunchier. Throw on some pan-friend pine nuts.
1:40pm--Finally done with bread. Move on to sauteing onions. Threw in mustard greens, garlic, and fresh thyme after this shot.
2:00pm--Reduced 2 cups of mushroom stock to 1 cup. Threw everything I made so far into a big bowl:
2:05pm--Add salt and pepper to taste. Then put this entire mixture into a glass pan. I'm going to bake it for 30mins before bringing it to Theresa's.
2:30pm--Discover that I do not have a potato masher. Clean up the kitchen and run to Safeway on a potato masher mission.
2:45pm--Checking out at Safeway with potato masher in hand, when one of my professors smacks me in the back with his basket as a form of a greeting. I freak out. Not because it's unusual for professors to eat, but I had been cooking for the past 2 1/2 hours. And I look like it.
3:00pm--Arrive home and start peeling 6lbs of russet potatoes. It will all be worth it. Really.
3:30pm--Throw the now peeled potatoes in a pot with some salted water:
4:00pm--Drain potatoes and begin mashing away. Note that the potatoes are rather clumpy. Not smooth and creamy like I would like. I throw in the ringers (aka, the figure-ruiners):
4:20pm--Yes! Potatoes are just the right texture! Take ranch sauce out of fridge, and the flavor has mellowed perfectly. Refrigeration does wonders. Add some sauce to the potatoes as well.
5:00pm--Clean up kitchen a bit, and begin to heat up stuffing.
6:00pm--Head to Theresa's!
...and now, the "blooper reel," or, what the cooking shows never show:
Recipes used from Bon Appetit:
Mashed Potatoes with Ranch Dressing
Rustic Bread Stuffing with Red Mustard Greens, Currants, and Pine Nuts
Changes with Mashed Potatoes: I did not use a potato ricer, because I made the potatoes right before we ate them. A potato ricer probably would have helped in the fluffiness though. I also substituted green onions for chives.
Changes with Stuffing: I used mushroom broth, instead of chicken or turkey.
More to come...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
KNITS: Quick Projects for the Holiday
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
EATS: How to Flip Food in a Pan
Last night I made fried rice from chicken leftovers of a community event and I'm bringing to feed the staff of one of my fave local orgs. The secret to my fried rice is making an egg omelet, then cutting it into squares, instead of scrambling it into the rice. It keeps the egg pieces whole and in bite size delicious morsels once it's incorporated into the rest of the ingredients.
The secret to an omelet? How to flip the pan. One of my best friends rooted me on as I attempted to flip the omelet pre-maturely, to no avail. Patience is a virtue when it comes to cooking as well, and we might as well learn from the pros. See tips below on how to perfect your food flip. Have fun!
HOW TO FLIP FOOD IN A PAN FROM E-HOW
- Step 1
Choose the right pan. You'll want to use a pan that has curved, sloping sides to it. This will give the food a slope to slide up on as you flip it. Try to use a non-stick pan if possible.
- Step 2
Make sure the items in the pan are moving freely when you shake the pan back and forth. Use a gentle swirling motion with your arm to slide the food around. There should be very little or no oil moving around with the food. Sauteed vegetables or grilled bread works well for this.
- Step 3
Tilt the pan away from you, and let the food slide down to that side. Give the food a little help by gently shaking the pan if you need to.
- Step 4
Push the pan and food away so that the food pushes into the curved side and into the air. Catch the food by pulling the pan back in one fluid motion. The movement is a circular motion, first forward and then back as you lift your arm slightly.
- Step 5
Shake the pan gently forward and backward to settle the food into the middle of the pan again.
Monday, November 16, 2009
CUTE: minifrenchie
Saturday, November 14, 2009
JOY: A plateful of cookies
And, in the middle of my principle component analysis despair, I got these Cashew-Caramel Cookies:
Though Martha has the official rights to name these cookies, to me these will be Choi's Cashew Crunch Time Cookies. Okay, maybe that it is a bit verbose. Thank goodness I didn't have to give a seminar on how best to name food! But I was completely touched by his thoughtfulness. I gave the seminar last Thursday. I don't remember anything about it. I couldn't tell you if I sounded nervous, idiotic, or just plain scared. But those cookies? Unforgettable.
Cashew-Caramel Cookies (aka Choi's Cashew Crunch Time Cookies)
Makes about 3 dozen
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups roasted salted cashews
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 24 cubes soft caramel candy (7 ounces)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour and salt together. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews; set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour in oil. Process until mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture. Mix in reserved chopped cashews.
- Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; space 2 inches apart on 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten with a spatula. Bake until bottoms are just golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
- Melt caramels with cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. Store airtight in single layers.
Images and recipe from {marthastewart.com}
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
EATS: Boulangerie et Patisserie
Such a yummy resting spot in between endless trips to Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco to prepare my brother for his college life. And, to quote the barista, the split pea soup is, "off the hook." Also, the apple kuchen was very delicious too.
This place was where I experienced my first French macaroon, and now I'm obsessed with finding them here in Seattle. Chewy, airy, light, with a tasty filling. And so many different flavors! I tried a pistachio one, and the caramel one in the first photo was gobbled up by my uncle. I'm still a little bitter.
Yummy, yummy sourdough makes for yummy yummy sandwiches. My favorite part of being in this bakery is that it is located in Fisherman's Wharf, which is a fun place to be in general, and the conveyor baskets of bread. Nothing like seeing fresh basketfuls of bread make their way around the store.
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
COLOR ESSAY: roygbiv
Friday, October 2, 2009
COLOR ESSAY: Pink
This photo essay is dedicated especially to those who have been affected by the disease. Stay strong, love stronger, and never forget to hope. I hope you enjoy the photos.