Heh, so you may have noticed that I haven't updated in a long while. Back at school life is really busy. And by really busy I mean super busy. I doubt I'll have time to write in here till Christmas, or maybe fall break. I am trying to keep my LJ in the loop though. BUT good news- pumpkins are in season! Adele and I both have our own personal pumpkins to smile at us from our desks. =) Mine will only last until I have time to eat/juice it. Yum!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Fall food
Heh, so you may have noticed that I haven't updated in a long while. Back at school life is really busy. And by really busy I mean super busy. I doubt I'll have time to write in here till Christmas, or maybe fall break. I am trying to keep my LJ in the loop though. BUT good news- pumpkins are in season! Adele and I both have our own personal pumpkins to smile at us from our desks. =) Mine will only last until I have time to eat/juice it. Yum!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Harry Potter eats update
I bought lots and lots of jelly beans from Kroger, the candy store, you name it, and finally snagged a little baggie of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (along with a chocolate frog and a wonderball, whee!) which I mixed in the bowl that's been sitting on our table for the past week or two. I think my parents are a little wary of what they might pull out of there, but really, the chance of a vomit or earwax is very slim compared to, say, a root beer or cream soda. There are tons of those, and I personally think the root beer gets kinda icky after too many of them.
I did finally make pumpkin pasties, which were basically mini-turnovers. Really simple (except the folding and sticking dough together) and really yummy! Great snack for anytime.
As far as butterbeer goes...I've tried a few different things, most recently making hard butterscotch (with homemade butter and all) and dissolving the entire batch into a 2-liter of cream soda so that it's all ready-made. That's probably the best method I've found yet, and it's in the fridge already so it's nice and cold when you want it. Actually, the other night I had a terrible time sleeping, and about 3 am I got up to drown my sorrows in comfort food. I heated up a foamy mug of butterbeer and sipped that alongside a plate of cornbread & honey. It was very comforting. I can definitely see myself living off of that next winter the way I lived off of apple cider my freshman year. =)
Oh yes, and I ordered $20 worth of screamin' sour pop rocks from poprockscandy.com...48 little paper tubes of 'em. They're stored in my room along with a few bags of regular fruity ones from Food Lion, two boxes of sour nerds, and crayola gummi frogs to make chocolate frogs with. That ought to tide me over for a while.
I did finally make pumpkin pasties, which were basically mini-turnovers. Really simple (except the folding and sticking dough together) and really yummy! Great snack for anytime.
As far as butterbeer goes...I've tried a few different things, most recently making hard butterscotch (with homemade butter and all) and dissolving the entire batch into a 2-liter of cream soda so that it's all ready-made. That's probably the best method I've found yet, and it's in the fridge already so it's nice and cold when you want it. Actually, the other night I had a terrible time sleeping, and about 3 am I got up to drown my sorrows in comfort food. I heated up a foamy mug of butterbeer and sipped that alongside a plate of cornbread & honey. It was very comforting. I can definitely see myself living off of that next winter the way I lived off of apple cider my freshman year. =)
Oh yes, and I ordered $20 worth of screamin' sour pop rocks from poprockscandy.com...48 little paper tubes of 'em. They're stored in my room along with a few bags of regular fruity ones from Food Lion, two boxes of sour nerds, and crayola gummi frogs to make chocolate frogs with. That ought to tide me over for a while.
Crudo
aka Italian sashimi
I heard on NPR's cooking podcast a few weeks back about crudo, which is raw fish served with (generally) olive oil, lemon or lime juice (or sometimes vinegar), sea salt, and pepper. Their story about it is here, with more details in the audio file. I did some online searching and also found an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about it. It sounded really interesting, so I went to Sake House tonight to get some fish.
I decided to get salmon, tuna, red snapper, and sweet shrimp, and Jenny gave me some spicy tuna as well. I took these home and drizzled them with different flavors, basically following the combinations I found in those articles and a few other places:
tuna + lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, & black pepper
red snapper + lime juice, olive oil, & salt
sweet shrimp (amaebi) + lemon juice, olive oil, salt, & pepper
salmon + herbed bread-dipping oil, salt, & a few drops of lime juice
spicy tuna + sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha hot sauce, scallions & I think a little lime juice. The spicy tuna itself already had the hot sauce and scallions, along with fish roe and Japanese mayonnaise.
It was all basic, but really good. I think the main attraction with this dish is the blending of really subtle flavors, for which I have no sensitivity. To me it all tasted delicious, but it was nothing more than my love, raw fish, in a different arena with olive oil and citrus juice. I couldn't really taste the salt and pepper until I really piled it on a piece of tuna, which was good and crunchy. I have a feeling that all those italian chefs fighting for a garlic-less culture of subtle shifts in flavor were rolling over in their graves when I did that. What can I say, I like bold flavor.
We (my parents, Michael, and I) ate this with rolled grape leaves and rather large crostini with different cheese and mediterranean spreads. It was quite a different culture at our table tonight. Thoroughly enjoyable.
I heard on NPR's cooking podcast a few weeks back about crudo, which is raw fish served with (generally) olive oil, lemon or lime juice (or sometimes vinegar), sea salt, and pepper. Their story about it is here, with more details in the audio file. I did some online searching and also found an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about it. It sounded really interesting, so I went to Sake House tonight to get some fish.I decided to get salmon, tuna, red snapper, and sweet shrimp, and Jenny gave me some spicy tuna as well. I took these home and drizzled them with different flavors, basically following the combinations I found in those articles and a few other places:
tuna + lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt, & black pepper
red snapper + lime juice, olive oil, & salt
sweet shrimp (amaebi) + lemon juice, olive oil, salt, & pepper
salmon + herbed bread-dipping oil, salt, & a few drops of lime juice
spicy tuna + sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha hot sauce, scallions & I think a little lime juice. The spicy tuna itself already had the hot sauce and scallions, along with fish roe and Japanese mayonnaise.
It was all basic, but really good. I think the main attraction with this dish is the blending of really subtle flavors, for which I have no sensitivity. To me it all tasted delicious, but it was nothing more than my love, raw fish, in a different arena with olive oil and citrus juice. I couldn't really taste the salt and pepper until I really piled it on a piece of tuna, which was good and crunchy. I have a feeling that all those italian chefs fighting for a garlic-less culture of subtle shifts in flavor were rolling over in their graves when I did that. What can I say, I like bold flavor.
We (my parents, Michael, and I) ate this with rolled grape leaves and rather large crostini with different cheese and mediterranean spreads. It was quite a different culture at our table tonight. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Avocado: fruit or vegetable?
Notes to remember:
My mom keeps making this great lime chicken, which mostly involves sauteeing chicken breasts in butter, lime juice, and garlic powder. I added avocado to mine, yum!
Also made a really quick avocado smoothie with avocado, milk, and chocolate syrup, all mashed up and dumped in a cup drizzled with more chocolate. If I felt like getting the blender dirty I'd blend it all up with ice, but I'm just too lazy tonight.
I think I'll fix something for John and Betsie on Sunday and leave it in their fridge for them to find when they get hungry (after they fly back from Texas). I'm leaning toward lime chicken with avocado and my favorite fruit salad. I wonder if those two would go together at all...guess I'll try it and find out. Oh, and I'll add some grape tomatoes to the chicken, because there are a thousand of them coming off Betsie's plants. Yeah. We'll see what happens.
My mom keeps making this great lime chicken, which mostly involves sauteeing chicken breasts in butter, lime juice, and garlic powder. I added avocado to mine, yum!
Also made a really quick avocado smoothie with avocado, milk, and chocolate syrup, all mashed up and dumped in a cup drizzled with more chocolate. If I felt like getting the blender dirty I'd blend it all up with ice, but I'm just too lazy tonight.
I think I'll fix something for John and Betsie on Sunday and leave it in their fridge for them to find when they get hungry (after they fly back from Texas). I'm leaning toward lime chicken with avocado and my favorite fruit salad. I wonder if those two would go together at all...guess I'll try it and find out. Oh, and I'll add some grape tomatoes to the chicken, because there are a thousand of them coming off Betsie's plants. Yeah. We'll see what happens.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Chilled Cucumber Soup with Smoked Salmon and Dill
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup onions, chopped
4 cucumbers, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups)
1 8-oz russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 large fresh dill sprigs
6 tbsp fresh dill, minced
1 tsp salt to taste
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
3 oz smoked salmon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add cucumbers and potato; stir 1 minute. Add broth, dill sprigs, and salt. Increase heat and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cucumbers and potato are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in food processor until smooth. Return to pot. Cool 15 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream and 4 tbsp minced dill. Cover and chill until cold, about 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in center of each bowl; sprinkle with smoked salmon and remaining minced dill.
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Another excellent recipe from epicurious.com that did not taste at all like I expected. Apparently crème fraîche is like fancier, whippable sour cream. Also take note of the pureeing the soup in BATCHES; I have a bad habit of overfilling my food processor and leaking liquid whatever all over the place. The smoked salmon goes really well with the dill and everything, although if you leave the leftovers mixed together in the refrigerator as I did, the soup sucks all the flavor out of the salmon and you get slices of tasteless, very oddly textured orange stuff instead. Not terrible, but it was surprising.
1 cup onions, chopped
4 cucumbers, peeled, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups)
1 8-oz russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 large fresh dill sprigs
6 tbsp fresh dill, minced
1 tsp salt to taste
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
3 oz smoked salmon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add cucumbers and potato; stir 1 minute. Add broth, dill sprigs, and salt. Increase heat and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cucumbers and potato are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in food processor until smooth. Return to pot. Cool 15 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream and 4 tbsp minced dill. Cover and chill until cold, about 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of sour cream in center of each bowl; sprinkle with smoked salmon and remaining minced dill.
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Another excellent recipe from epicurious.com that did not taste at all like I expected. Apparently crème fraîche is like fancier, whippable sour cream. Also take note of the pureeing the soup in BATCHES; I have a bad habit of overfilling my food processor and leaking liquid whatever all over the place. The smoked salmon goes really well with the dill and everything, although if you leave the leftovers mixed together in the refrigerator as I did, the soup sucks all the flavor out of the salmon and you get slices of tasteless, very oddly textured orange stuff instead. Not terrible, but it was surprising.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Hogwarts Sweets
Late as usual! For the Harry Potter premier, I used recipes from britta.com although I just came across this post on yumsugar.com with more cute ideas. I hope to try them all eventually, and I can't wait till pumpkins are in season to try juicing them.
Anyway, I'm not going to post all the recipes individually, but here's what I made (with Ellen's help):
Cauldron cakes - handles kept falling out so I glued them on with chocolate. They were good, but they smash easily.
Licorice wands - red and black with white and dark chocolate. I like the rainbow + sprinkles idea.
Cockroach clusters - I would crush up the chow mein noodles a little more next time or maybe use rice krispies or something. Oh, and I used peanut butter and chocolate chips. They were basically haystacks, but shhh!
Butterbeer - a big hit with Betsie and me, although no one else would try it. I drank all mine cold, but I can't wait till this winter when I can drink it hot and fizzy. Mmmm! Made with homemade butterscotch sauce too! Britta's recipe was really just inspiration since I can neither buy nor leave the house with butterscotch schnapps, and I don't know where to find butterscotch flavoring. Lots of other recipes mix cream soda or root beer (hmm) with butterscotch sauce, so I just did that. Some actually just mixed butterscotch and milk like hotchocolate butterscotch. That sounds good and warm, but I think I would die of sweetness.
Edit: Yesterday I mixed 12 oz of cream soda and about 1.5 oz of butterscotch sauce in a saucepan and heated it (although I couldn't find my hand mixer or egg beater to make it frothy), which was delicious. I can imagine that would be heavenly during the cold winter. Also, drinking it hot kept the butter in the butterscotch from separating like it did when it was cold. That wasn't so bad though; it would make this delicate foam on the top that just melted in your mouth. I also saw a recipe that involved mixing the butter, cream, sugar, and cream soda all together before cooking it. I wonder how that would change the taste/consistency. Whenever I use up all the butterscotch I already have, I'll give that a try.
Acid whizbees - the most interesting creation by far, which I decided must be a mix of acid pops and fizzing whizbees. I couldn't find pop rocks or sour lollipops/hard candy, so I bought shock tarts and sour nerds. I stuck 'em in a double boiler on the stove and experimented with melting- always an adventure! The nerds didn't really melt, so I just crushed them up and mixed them with the shock tarts, which mushed up beautifully. I made them into little balls (which stuck to the waxed paper, but I'll use a candy mold or something next time) and covered them in white chocolate. I thought they would end up like jawbreakers, but they were delightfully soft when I bit into one, and very sour! I mixed the remaining nerds with white and dark swirled chocolate and made little blobs with those, and then coated the rest of the shock tarts in chocolate as well. What can I say, I was getting lazy.
Edit: Betsie informed me that the swirly chocolate with nerds mixed in was the best- and that it was quite a surprise! That, of course, was the point. =) I'm thinking that chocolate with pop rocks and sour nerds, maybe molded into cuter shapes than squashed swirly things will be my best bet for fizzing whizbees. I need to just order a crate of pop rocks. I hope they never stop making them...that would be a very sad day.
I liked the way these last turned out a lot, especially the surprise of the sour center when your mouth thinks it's eating chocolate. Even the nerds aren't sour until you bite down. If I had pop rocks, I'd probably just mix them with chocolate like always and make little blobs. Actually, I would love to do the shock tart center with pop rocks around that or mixed in with the chocolate coating. That would be a surprise!
Sorry, no pictures. Britta's are all better anyway. I was hoping to get some pictures with my friends when they were eating their little goody bags that I packed for them, but no one else seemed quite as excited about them as I was. I should expect that. =p I am going to try pumpkin pasties as soon I feel up to making pie crust (Would you believe that I could not find a single can of pumpkin anywhere I looked?? Insane...) and experiment with cream soda and butterscotch. And maybe some treacle. I was so excited to find out that that's just molasses, although I'm not really sure how I feel about molasses tarts. Or fudge o.O
Thoughts on the movie here. I'm pretty sure there's no spoilers. Also soon I hope I can start on my Marauder's Map. I just need to decide on a few things...such as what I'm making a map of and what random Latin words to scribble all over it. But this isn't food! Must not...corrupt...blog... ^^
Anyway, I'm not going to post all the recipes individually, but here's what I made (with Ellen's help):
Cauldron cakes - handles kept falling out so I glued them on with chocolate. They were good, but they smash easily.
Licorice wands - red and black with white and dark chocolate. I like the rainbow + sprinkles idea.
Cockroach clusters - I would crush up the chow mein noodles a little more next time or maybe use rice krispies or something. Oh, and I used peanut butter and chocolate chips. They were basically haystacks, but shhh!
Butterbeer - a big hit with Betsie and me, although no one else would try it. I drank all mine cold, but I can't wait till this winter when I can drink it hot and fizzy. Mmmm! Made with homemade butterscotch sauce too! Britta's recipe was really just inspiration since I can neither buy nor leave the house with butterscotch schnapps, and I don't know where to find butterscotch flavoring. Lots of other recipes mix cream soda or root beer (hmm) with butterscotch sauce, so I just did that. Some actually just mixed butterscotch and milk like hot
Edit: Yesterday I mixed 12 oz of cream soda and about 1.5 oz of butterscotch sauce in a saucepan and heated it (although I couldn't find my hand mixer or egg beater to make it frothy), which was delicious. I can imagine that would be heavenly during the cold winter. Also, drinking it hot kept the butter in the butterscotch from separating like it did when it was cold. That wasn't so bad though; it would make this delicate foam on the top that just melted in your mouth. I also saw a recipe that involved mixing the butter, cream, sugar, and cream soda all together before cooking it. I wonder how that would change the taste/consistency. Whenever I use up all the butterscotch I already have, I'll give that a try.
Acid whizbees - the most interesting creation by far, which I decided must be a mix of acid pops and fizzing whizbees. I couldn't find pop rocks or sour lollipops/hard candy, so I bought shock tarts and sour nerds. I stuck 'em in a double boiler on the stove and experimented with melting- always an adventure! The nerds didn't really melt, so I just crushed them up and mixed them with the shock tarts, which mushed up beautifully. I made them into little balls (which stuck to the waxed paper, but I'll use a candy mold or something next time) and covered them in white chocolate. I thought they would end up like jawbreakers, but they were delightfully soft when I bit into one, and very sour! I mixed the remaining nerds with white and dark swirled chocolate and made little blobs with those, and then coated the rest of the shock tarts in chocolate as well. What can I say, I was getting lazy.
Edit: Betsie informed me that the swirly chocolate with nerds mixed in was the best- and that it was quite a surprise! That, of course, was the point. =) I'm thinking that chocolate with pop rocks and sour nerds, maybe molded into cuter shapes than squashed swirly things will be my best bet for fizzing whizbees. I need to just order a crate of pop rocks. I hope they never stop making them...that would be a very sad day.
I liked the way these last turned out a lot, especially the surprise of the sour center when your mouth thinks it's eating chocolate. Even the nerds aren't sour until you bite down. If I had pop rocks, I'd probably just mix them with chocolate like always and make little blobs. Actually, I would love to do the shock tart center with pop rocks around that or mixed in with the chocolate coating. That would be a surprise!
Sorry, no pictures. Britta's are all better anyway. I was hoping to get some pictures with my friends when they were eating their little goody bags that I packed for them, but no one else seemed quite as excited about them as I was. I should expect that. =p I am going to try pumpkin pasties as soon I feel up to making pie crust (Would you believe that I could not find a single can of pumpkin anywhere I looked?? Insane...) and experiment with cream soda and butterscotch. And maybe some treacle. I was so excited to find out that that's just molasses, although I'm not really sure how I feel about molasses tarts. Or fudge o.O
Thoughts on the movie here. I'm pretty sure there's no spoilers. Also soon I hope I can start on my Marauder's Map. I just need to decide on a few things...such as what I'm making a map of and what random Latin words to scribble all over it. But this isn't food! Must not...corrupt...blog... ^^
Monday, July 9, 2007
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarty Hogwarts, teach us something please!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is coming out tomorrow night! I'm going to see it with some of my friends, and since I keep running into different Hogwarty recipes online, I decided to try some of them. So this morning I made butterscotch sauce for butterbeer and tonight Ellen and I made cauldron cakes, licorice wands, acid sour candy things (sort of a desperate combination of fizzing whizbees and acid pops, and cockroach clusters. I can't wait to sneak them into the theater and give them to everyone. =D I'll post recipes and pictures tomorrow, but I've been neglecting my LJ for way too long. I'm going to give that some love tonight.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
another week
My dad made some kind of creamy turkey noodles for dinner tonight. I don't know what all's in it; I was asleep when he made it. But it was really good and I ate most of it, so I just added to what was left for lunch tomorrow. Over angel hair pasta, there's a little turkey etc. left, now mixed with soy sauce omelette and mushrooms and onions sauteed in butter and cream. The bits I had were yummy!
One of my favorite ways to cook eggs (besides soft-boiled) is with a little soy sauce and sesame oil mixed in. It gives it such a nice salty flavor, and it's easy and fits in with lots of other stuff. I also like the tamago omelette that you find with sushi, although I've only made it once. It's sweet and light (when you don't burn it) and seems like it would be a good accompaniment to cold noodles or something.
Fourth of July's this Wednesday. I think we're going to the park with a picnic to watch fireworks. Grandmom's making her father's potato salad (a recipe which has heretofore never been successfully copied by anyone else, although I am going to attempt it), mom's making blueberry muffins, and I'm making paprika fried chicken. I think we'll leave the guys in charge of desserts. ^^ In case you didn't get it, that was red white and blue food. Mmmm, that chicken was so good, I can't wait to have it again!
One of my favorite ways to cook eggs (besides soft-boiled) is with a little soy sauce and sesame oil mixed in. It gives it such a nice salty flavor, and it's easy and fits in with lots of other stuff. I also like the tamago omelette that you find with sushi, although I've only made it once. It's sweet and light (when you don't burn it) and seems like it would be a good accompaniment to cold noodles or something.
Fourth of July's this Wednesday. I think we're going to the park with a picnic to watch fireworks. Grandmom's making her father's potato salad (a recipe which has heretofore never been successfully copied by anyone else, although I am going to attempt it), mom's making blueberry muffins, and I'm making paprika fried chicken. I think we'll leave the guys in charge of desserts. ^^ In case you didn't get it, that was red white and blue food. Mmmm, that chicken was so good, I can't wait to have it again!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Chicken with Goat Cheese and Artichoke Hearts
Yay, I get to post my own recipe now! I guess technically I stole it from Bonefish Grill, but I don't remember them putting capers or chives in their dish... =) Let's see if I can remember what I did this time, and hopefully I can go back and figure out some specific measurements at some point.
Cut chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Melt butter in skillet or pan along with chopped chives and parsley and cook chicken. Deglaze pan with milk or cream, add capers and artichoke hearts and reduce. Top with goat cheese medallions or crumbles.
I confess...I haven't tested the last bit yet, with the cheese. I'll have a verdict after lunch tomorrow. I can see where with the sauce it'd be too much creamy stuff, but I'm hoping if I use it sparingly it'll fly. When I added milk and cream, I also put in some flour because it looked like it was going to be really thin. It was probably quite unnecessary, because I just had to add like another cup of milk to make it liquidy again. I have a hunch that heating and reducing would have worked just fine. I'll make this again at some point and refine. Ooh exciting, I'm a real chef!
I plan to serve this tomorrow with broccoli and fruit salad (made with pineapple, red grapes, blueberries, and strawberries and maybe some wheat thins on the side. I'm meeting John for lunch with this, so I put some extra time into it. As in, I actually planned what I was going to make (colors and everything) before even going to the store. Amazing! I think I'll take the rest of that cucumber soup along as well, it needs to get eaten, and I want to spread the word about it. That recipe will be along very soon, promise.
Cut chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Melt butter in skillet or pan along with chopped chives and parsley and cook chicken. Deglaze pan with milk or cream, add capers and artichoke hearts and reduce. Top with goat cheese medallions or crumbles.
I confess...I haven't tested the last bit yet, with the cheese. I'll have a verdict after lunch tomorrow. I can see where with the sauce it'd be too much creamy stuff, but I'm hoping if I use it sparingly it'll fly. When I added milk and cream, I also put in some flour because it looked like it was going to be really thin. It was probably quite unnecessary, because I just had to add like another cup of milk to make it liquidy again. I have a hunch that heating and reducing would have worked just fine. I'll make this again at some point and refine. Ooh exciting, I'm a real chef!
I plan to serve this tomorrow with broccoli and fruit salad (made with pineapple, red grapes, blueberries, and strawberries and maybe some wheat thins on the side. I'm meeting John for lunch with this, so I put some extra time into it. As in, I actually planned what I was going to make (colors and everything) before even going to the store. Amazing! I think I'll take the rest of that cucumber soup along as well, it needs to get eaten, and I want to spread the word about it. That recipe will be along very soon, promise.
Engine-Revving Baked Chicken Wings
1 cup hot sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
24 chicken drummettes
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
3/4 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Blue cheese dressing
Stir together hot sauce and garlic salt until blended. Pour over drummettes; cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Melt butter in 15-1/2" x 10-1/2" x 1" pan in oven. Stir together Bisquick mix, onion salt and peppers. Remove chicken from sauce; discard sauce. Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture. Place in single layer in pan.
Bake 25 minutes; turn and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juice is no longer pink when centers of pieces are cut. Serve with chunky blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
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I also cooked some potatoes to go along, using cumin and cayenne with a sweet potato, a red potato, and a russet potato. I burn-fried half in a skillet and cooked the rest in our little toaster oven. I never quite managed to make them crispy; I guess you have to deep fry them for that. I cut them into all sorts of fun shapes that mostly fell apart when I cooked them, but there were some hearts and stars and flowers that looked more like H's and even some little potato smilies!
The wings I used were rather large, so it came out more like spicy southern-baked chicken, which was very tasty. My parents were doing the 'kids crowding the kitchen' thing and they couldn't keep their fingers out of the pan once I pulled it out of the oven. =) Guess smell is the best advertising, and they'd been smelling the hot sauce since at least 6.30 this morning. Boy, that'll wake you up.
This isn't the only recipe I'll try for buffalo chicken, but it was a decent one I found at about.com last night that didn't involve deep-frying. Definitely good; I'll get some smaller drummettes next time and try another recipe.
I've been wrapping up their little tupperware bentos (have I done my lock&lock pitch yet?) using colorful bandanas as furoshiki and doing the basic wrap with the extra corner folded in. I used to do the four-tie wrap, but it never comes out looking quite as neat or seems to cover the entire top. Plus, with the basic wrap you can tie the ends again (like in the watermelon wrap) to make a little handle. Kawaii! So I'm going to dig around downstairs or go to Walmart and buy some pretty fabrics to do the same with. I'd like to make some insulated bags so I can keep things hot inside them, but I need to do a little research first.
1 tsp garlic salt
24 chicken drummettes
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
3/4 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Blue cheese dressing
Stir together hot sauce and garlic salt until blended. Pour over drummettes; cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Melt butter in 15-1/2" x 10-1/2" x 1" pan in oven. Stir together Bisquick mix, onion salt and peppers. Remove chicken from sauce; discard sauce. Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture. Place in single layer in pan.
Bake 25 minutes; turn and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and juice is no longer pink when centers of pieces are cut. Serve with chunky blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
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I also cooked some potatoes to go along, using cumin and cayenne with a sweet potato, a red potato, and a russet potato. I burn-fried half in a skillet and cooked the rest in our little toaster oven. I never quite managed to make them crispy; I guess you have to deep fry them for that. I cut them into all sorts of fun shapes that mostly fell apart when I cooked them, but there were some hearts and stars and flowers that looked more like H's and even some little potato smilies!
The wings I used were rather large, so it came out more like spicy southern-baked chicken, which was very tasty. My parents were doing the 'kids crowding the kitchen' thing and they couldn't keep their fingers out of the pan once I pulled it out of the oven. =) Guess smell is the best advertising, and they'd been smelling the hot sauce since at least 6.30 this morning. Boy, that'll wake you up.
This isn't the only recipe I'll try for buffalo chicken, but it was a decent one I found at about.com last night that didn't involve deep-frying. Definitely good; I'll get some smaller drummettes next time and try another recipe.
I've been wrapping up their little tupperware bentos (have I done my lock&lock pitch yet?) using colorful bandanas as furoshiki and doing the basic wrap with the extra corner folded in. I used to do the four-tie wrap, but it never comes out looking quite as neat or seems to cover the entire top. Plus, with the basic wrap you can tie the ends again (like in the watermelon wrap) to make a little handle. Kawaii! So I'm going to dig around downstairs or go to Walmart and buy some pretty fabrics to do the same with. I'd like to make some insulated bags so I can keep things hot inside them, but I need to do a little research first.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Chicken With Red Grapes and Mushrooms
in a thyme cream sauce
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup red wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup seedless red grapes, rinsed and dried
Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add chicken breasts. Brown 3 to 5 minutes on both sides until golden. Add mushrooms, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Deglaze pan with wine, making sure to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover. Reduce cream for 3 minutes, until thickened. Add red grapes, and heat through.
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This is a fantastic dish! I made this for dinner last week and my parents and I nearly died of deliciousness. Even the cold leftovers tasted great. I ended up having to add more grapes becausewe had way too many they were gone with dinner. This was also a good vocab recipe; I learned what 'deglaze' and 'reduce' meant. =)
I was hoping to find some angel hair pasta to serve this over, but all we had was whole wheat spaghetti. It wasn't bad. At allrecipes.com they suggest bowtie pasta or wide egg noodles. Personally, I think everything worth eating can be eaten with rice, but I try to cater to the Italian in everyone as well. ^^ They also suggest using white wine rather than red and adding garlic, which both also sound wonderful.
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup red wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup seedless red grapes, rinsed and dried
Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add chicken breasts. Brown 3 to 5 minutes on both sides until golden. Add mushrooms, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Deglaze pan with wine, making sure to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cream. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover. Reduce cream for 3 minutes, until thickened. Add red grapes, and heat through.
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This is a fantastic dish! I made this for dinner last week and my parents and I nearly died of deliciousness. Even the cold leftovers tasted great. I ended up having to add more grapes because
I was hoping to find some angel hair pasta to serve this over, but all we had was whole wheat spaghetti. It wasn't bad. At allrecipes.com they suggest bowtie pasta or wide egg noodles. Personally, I think everything worth eating can be eaten with rice, but I try to cater to the Italian in everyone as well. ^^ They also suggest using white wine rather than red and adding garlic, which both also sound wonderful.
Honey Orange Glaze
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Mix and baste preferred meat while baking.
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The recipe uses ham, and that's what I used, but I just grabbed some already sliced from our freezer and oh dear, now it's been so long that I don't remember what I put with it. Must have been carrots...and maybe broccoli too? This is why I should take pictures before I let myself get lazy and wait a week before updating. But whatever I made, it got thumbs up from both parents. =)
1 cup honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Mix and baste preferred meat while baking.
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The recipe uses ham, and that's what I used, but I just grabbed some already sliced from our freezer and oh dear, now it's been so long that I don't remember what I put with it. Must have been carrots...and maybe broccoli too? This is why I should take pictures before I let myself get lazy and wait a week before updating. But whatever I made, it got thumbs up from both parents. =)
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Avocado, Tomato, and Corn Salad
makes four servings
1/2 avocado, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup fresh, frozen, or low-sodium corn
1 lime, juiced
Combine and toss. Wow, that was easy.
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The original recipe (from who knows where, my mom sent it to me) didn't say to halve the tomatoes, but I went ahead and did it. After poking around a bit, there's a recipe on foodnetwork.com that does say to do that, and has a fancy dressing with cilantro and olive oil and stuff. Really, the lime juice was just fine. They also added red onion. Meh. I put this in our lunchboxes with some leftover lime chicken my mom made and the vegetable remains from the cow bento. Might've been some flatbread too. Yum!
1/2 avocado, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup fresh, frozen, or low-sodium corn
1 lime, juiced
Combine and toss. Wow, that was easy.
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The original recipe (from who knows where, my mom sent it to me) didn't say to halve the tomatoes, but I went ahead and did it. After poking around a bit, there's a recipe on foodnetwork.com that does say to do that, and has a fancy dressing with cilantro and olive oil and stuff. Really, the lime juice was just fine. They also added red onion. Meh. I put this in our lunchboxes with some leftover lime chicken my mom made and the vegetable remains from the cow bento. Might've been some flatbread too. Yum!
Mom's Best Butter Cookies
(courtesy of Angela's mother, one of my adopted moms)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 cups flour
Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp milk (whole or half'n'half)
2 tsp light corn syrup
Preheat oven to 400°. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat well. Gradually add flour, mixing to make dough smooth. Roll on flour-sprinkled board, cut into fun shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 14 minutes. Do not chill this dough. For icing, mix milk and sugar first and then add corn syrup. Add corn syrup to thin as needed. Color with paste-type food coloring if possible. Send by multiple dozens to college kids.
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These cookies came to me in a blissful dream during the Easter season (i.e., after Lent) from a rather large suitcase sent by the angel that is Angela's mother. I begged her to consider me part of the family and thus share her recipe with me. She did gladly, and I think most of Salem is better for it. =)
One tip I learned from Brookes (and forgot about until I tried to make a double batch of this stuff and nearly killed my mixer) is that when you're mixing butter, even if it's softened, it really helps to cut it and feed it to the mixer in little pats rather than throwing the whole thing in. Also, don't ever make a double batch of this unless you don't plan on icing them.
It just gets to be so much work. After hours of mixing, rolling, baking, and icing, my shoulder was so sore. Plus the whole corn syrup thickening thing gets to be a real annoyance if you're already tired of the cookies.
This dough comes out really really soft, as in, I don't know how you would ever roll and cut it. My grandmother was helping me make cookies this particular Tuesday, and between the two of us we probably added another cup of flour. We also cut them rather thick, which was alright because there were still like a thousand of them. We must have baked six or seven sheets.
The icing, on the other hand, was really stiff. Be nice to yourself. Add lots of corn syrup or you will go crazy trying to spread it. It will dry out, I promise. I used regular food colors with no adverse effects. It was so thick that I don't think it would have really mattered what I used. And I have no idea why you're not supposed to chill the dough. I didn't try it.
These cookies are amazing. Make them often, paint them pretty colors, and give them to lots of people. They will get smiles for their appearance and taste- a big hit all around! (They're also fun to play with, if you've been noticing the pictures...)
1 1/2 cups butter1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
4 cups flour
Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp milk (whole or half'n'half)
2 tsp light corn syrup
Preheat oven to 400°. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat well. Gradually add flour, mixing to make dough smooth. Roll on flour-sprinkled board, cut into fun shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 14 minutes. Do not chill this dough. For icing, mix milk and sugar first and then add corn syrup. Add corn syrup to thin as needed. Color with paste-type food coloring if possible. Send by multiple dozens to college kids.
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These cookies came to me in a blissful dream during the Easter season (i.e., after Lent) from a rather large suitcase sent by the angel that is Angela's mother. I begged her to consider me part of the family and thus share her recipe with me. She did gladly, and I think most of Salem is better for it. =)One tip I learned from Brookes (and forgot about until I tried to make a double batch of this stuff and nearly killed my mixer) is that when you're mixing butter, even if it's softened, it really helps to cut it and feed it to the mixer in little pats rather than throwing the whole thing in. Also, don't ever make a double batch of this unless you don't plan on icing them.
It just gets to be so much work. After hours of mixing, rolling, baking, and icing, my shoulder was so sore. Plus the whole corn syrup thickening thing gets to be a real annoyance if you're already tired of the cookies.This dough comes out really really soft, as in, I don't know how you would ever roll and cut it. My grandmother was helping me make cookies this particular Tuesday, and between the two of us we probably added another cup of flour. We also cut them rather thick, which was alright because there were still like a thousand of them. We must have baked six or seven sheets.
The icing, on the other hand, was really stiff. Be nice to yourself. Add lots of corn syrup or you will go crazy trying to spread it. It will dry out, I promise. I used regular food colors with no adverse effects. It was so thick that I don't think it would have really mattered what I used. And I have no idea why you're not supposed to chill the dough. I didn't try it.These cookies are amazing. Make them often, paint them pretty colors, and give them to lots of people. They will get smiles for their appearance and taste- a big hit all around! (They're also fun to play with, if you've been noticing the pictures...)
Friday, June 22, 2007
so much food...
>_< I've fallen behind again...so much food to eat! You'd think that during summer I'd be able to sit down at my computer every day and post something here, but I guess Buffy really takes up more time than I realize. So here I go catching up for the week.
Lots of food and random ingredients sitting around my house. Not only am I buying whatever I need (or might need) for my recipes, my parents are bringing food home whenever they take a fancy. I gotta face it, I'll never get the fridge empty. Ever. =)
Think I'll break these entries up. Got cookies, lime salad, honey orange ham, thyme chicken, and mmmm butter. All were big hits and I have a bunch more that I'm waiting to try out.
Lots of food and random ingredients sitting around my house. Not only am I buying whatever I need (or might need) for my recipes, my parents are bringing food home whenever they take a fancy. I gotta face it, I'll never get the fridge empty. Ever. =)
Think I'll break these entries up. Got cookies, lime salad, honey orange ham, thyme chicken, and mmmm butter. All were big hits and I have a bunch more that I'm waiting to try out.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Moo bento
Ok guys. Prepare to be amazed.
Because I'm freaking proud of this one.
In case anyone was still wondering...THIS is a bento. Lots of food groups, lots of color, and hopefully cute enough that kids (or parents) will eat their vegetables. =)
Rice underneath as usual, the grass is made from cucumber and zucchini (is that what a julienne is?) with a tomato and carrot flower, orange pepper sun, leftover lime chicken clouds in a (colored) egg white sky and the rather large centerpiece, an egg cow. I mixed in some soy sauce and sesame oil before frying it, and it is delish!
My parents both like putting their bentos in obvious places till they get to lunchtime...I can't wait to hear what people have to say about this. =D
Because I'm freaking proud of this one.
In case anyone was still wondering...THIS is a bento. Lots of food groups, lots of color, and hopefully cute enough that kids (or parents) will eat their vegetables. =)
Rice underneath as usual, the grass is made from cucumber and zucchini (is that what a julienne is?) with a tomato and carrot flower, orange pepper sun, leftover lime chicken clouds in a (colored) egg white sky and the rather large centerpiece, an egg cow. I mixed in some soy sauce and sesame oil before frying it, and it is delish!My parents both like putting their bentos in obvious places till they get to lunchtime...I can't wait to hear what people have to say about this. =D
Monday, June 18, 2007
a week's worth
Oi, I haven't updated in almost a week! Somehow my 'not full' schedule still manages to keep me busy. Actually most of last week was leftovers thrown together in creative and not-so-creative ways. I'm trying to use up what's in our fridge and freezer, but that gets hard every time I go shopping and buy more fresh stuff. It's just so much nicer to use vegetables that haven't been frozen. Guess I'm picky.
Especially when I go pull a bag out of the freezer labeled 'really yummy chicken broth' and find out that it also has vegetables in it, most of which are mushy beyond recognition. =p But luckily we do have enough of it to reconstitute a whole chicken, so I threw it all in a pot and added some new vegetables...and eggs...I can't even remember what all I put in it. But hey, throw it all in a tupperware bowl, toss some goldfish on top (plastic wrap in between to prevent soggy expanding goldfish), and it's pretty yummy.
Next day's lunch was slightly more coherent. Salmon teriyaki is a delicious standby when you're out of ideas. I marinated the salmon overnight (using store-bought teriyaki sauce, but it actually wasn't that bad) and wrapped it up alongside snow peas and carrot slices over a bed of Koshihikari (=Kroger brand, more or less) sushi rice. Now, I've read that you need to let the rice cool before putting it in a container to carry around till lunch to keep it from getting soggy. I didn't think of that until after I put it in piping hot (thinking I'd wrap it up and it would stay hot till lunch) but it turned out ok. It wasn't the least bit warm when I finally ate it (not insulated enough I guess), but the rice was beautiful and sticky. Just perfect I think. I knew there was a reason I love short grain rice. This 'bento' got a thumbs up from both parents. I think I'll be doing a lot with salmon this summer.
Finally, for today I made more chicken salad. This batch is colorful! I used red, orange, yellow, and green peppers, red and green apples, celery, and purple grapes. Every color of the rainbow except blue. I toyed with the idea of using blueberries, but maybe I'll save that for a fruitier version. Strawberries, oranges, yellow & green apples, blueberries and grapes? That sounds amazing. Damn, that'd make a sweet fruit salad by itself. With bananas for yellow. But anyway, this week's chix salad is nice and crunchy, and very tasty on dark wheat bread.
I have a few recipes and combo ideas that I'm gonna try later this week. At some point I'll hit Capt. Paul's Seafood when it's actually open and see if I can convince them to sell me fish heads. =D More stories to come!
Especially when I go pull a bag out of the freezer labeled 'really yummy chicken broth' and find out that it also has vegetables in it, most of which are mushy beyond recognition. =p But luckily we do have enough of it to reconstitute a whole chicken, so I threw it all in a pot and added some new vegetables...and eggs...I can't even remember what all I put in it. But hey, throw it all in a tupperware bowl, toss some goldfish on top (plastic wrap in between to prevent soggy expanding goldfish), and it's pretty yummy.
Next day's lunch was slightly more coherent. Salmon teriyaki is a delicious standby when you're out of ideas. I marinated the salmon overnight (using store-bought teriyaki sauce, but it actually wasn't that bad) and wrapped it up alongside snow peas and carrot slices over a bed of Koshihikari (=Kroger brand, more or less) sushi rice. Now, I've read that you need to let the rice cool before putting it in a container to carry around till lunch to keep it from getting soggy. I didn't think of that until after I put it in piping hot (thinking I'd wrap it up and it would stay hot till lunch) but it turned out ok. It wasn't the least bit warm when I finally ate it (not insulated enough I guess), but the rice was beautiful and sticky. Just perfect I think. I knew there was a reason I love short grain rice. This 'bento' got a thumbs up from both parents. I think I'll be doing a lot with salmon this summer.
Finally, for today I made more chicken salad. This batch is colorful! I used red, orange, yellow, and green peppers, red and green apples, celery, and purple grapes. Every color of the rainbow except blue. I toyed with the idea of using blueberries, but maybe I'll save that for a fruitier version. Strawberries, oranges, yellow & green apples, blueberries and grapes? That sounds amazing. Damn, that'd make a sweet fruit salad by itself. With bananas for yellow. But anyway, this week's chix salad is nice and crunchy, and very tasty on dark wheat bread.I have a few recipes and combo ideas that I'm gonna try later this week. At some point I'll hit Capt. Paul's Seafood when it's actually open and see if I can convince them to sell me fish heads. =D More stories to come!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Orange bento
I've been dying to make color-themed lunches. Because I'm a hippie (at least a wannabe). Last night I was thinking of what was in the fridge that I could fix up without too much hassle, and I remembered that I had a cantaloupe and some ginormous oranges to use. So the color of the day is orange (which of course includes yellow and red for aesthetics and my sanity).
Today's bento consists of cantaloupe and orange fruit salad alongside rice with barely-cooked carrots, Wisconsin cheese, and eggs drizzled with honey orange sauce and accented with tomato flowers. Oh, and a layer of goldfish sandwiched between the lid and some plastic wrap for a snack.
The fruit salad is really just fresh fruit; I did try mixing it with mint and vanilla, but I don't really care for the cantaloupe that way. The orange however...to die for! Anyway, so I just cut them up nice and small and nestled them into a little bowl made of half an orange rind.
The carrots are barely-cooked because I decided I wanted to glaze them at the last minute, and didn't have time to do much except boil them for five minutes. I think that was just enough though. I made a hasty omelet last night and cut some little hearts out of it and dumped honey orange sauce on everything.
I didn't look up a recipe for that because my 7.30 deadline was fast approaching, and decided that mixing honey and orange juice tasted just fine. About.com tells me I should have used much less honey and simmered it for a while rather than sticking it into the microwave for 15 seconds, and Betty Crocker suggests cooking brown sugar, butter, and a little salt and grated orange peel and then simmering the carrots in that. I'll have to give both of those a try and see what else turns up.
Don't know what to say about the little grape tomatoes except that they were hastily made and I need a better set of knives. I'm going to walk into a kitchen store one of these days and pick someone's brain about them, since I currently know next to nothing.
Maybe I should search for some little shape-cutters for carrots and stuff too. I can make shapes by hand, but they're never as good, and I tend to run out of creative ideas after stars and flowers.
Overall this was a fun bento. I'll have to do it again, maybe once for each color. Although that could get tricky for colors like blue and purple. How about black and white? Would that even be appetizing? I could make it checkered, like the bathroom set my mom crocheted when she moved out...LOL.
Today's bento consists of cantaloupe and orange fruit salad alongside rice with barely-cooked carrots, Wisconsin cheese, and eggs drizzled with honey orange sauce and accented with tomato flowers. Oh, and a layer of goldfish sandwiched between the lid and some plastic wrap for a snack.
The fruit salad is really just fresh fruit; I did try mixing it with mint and vanilla, but I don't really care for the cantaloupe that way. The orange however...to die for! Anyway, so I just cut them up nice and small and nestled them into a little bowl made of half an orange rind.
The carrots are barely-cooked because I decided I wanted to glaze them at the last minute, and didn't have time to do much except boil them for five minutes. I think that was just enough though. I made a hasty omelet last night and cut some little hearts out of it and dumped honey orange sauce on everything.
I didn't look up a recipe for that because my 7.30 deadline was fast approaching, and decided that mixing honey and orange juice tasted just fine. About.com tells me I should have used much less honey and simmered it for a while rather than sticking it into the microwave for 15 seconds, and Betty Crocker suggests cooking brown sugar, butter, and a little salt and grated orange peel and then simmering the carrots in that. I'll have to give both of those a try and see what else turns up.
Don't know what to say about the little grape tomatoes except that they were hastily made and I need a better set of knives. I'm going to walk into a kitchen store one of these days and pick someone's brain about them, since I currently know next to nothing.
Maybe I should search for some little shape-cutters for carrots and stuff too. I can make shapes by hand, but they're never as good, and I tend to run out of creative ideas after stars and flowers.Overall this was a fun bento. I'll have to do it again, maybe once for each color. Although that could get tricky for colors like blue and purple. How about black and white? Would that even be appetizing? I could make it checkered, like the bathroom set my mom crocheted when she moved out...LOL.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Herbs
All I know about herbs I learn by smell. When I'm cooking something, I go through our spice cabinet and smell everything, dumping in what seems like appropriate amounts of whatever smells good. I guess that's kind of how I cook as a whole...just keep going till it smells done.
While visiting the farmer's market today to buy veggies, honey, and herbs, I was told that marjoram is great with chicken and would be delicious in chicken salad. I have no idea what it tastes like; the dried stuff in our cabinet smells like tea. I'll try adding that next time and see what comes out.
I convinced my dad to run down to the store and get some Southern Comfort because my mom keeps talking about mint juleps and I decided I wanted to try this mystery drink. Making it was easy enough, just crush some mint in water, add crushed ice, and dump in a shot or two of SoCo. I haven't really acquired a taste for that yet, so I didn't drink much. But hey. I can say I've had one now.
P.S. I really want some egg molds. There are some on ebay, but the sellers require PayPal, which I haven't quite figured out yet. It's such a cute idea though! I tried it a little with chocolate molds, but they were a bit large. Got the idea though- it's fun! I've been reading through bento websites, including cookingcute.com for cute ideas like that. Hopefully I'll get to try some of them before too long!
While visiting the farmer's market today to buy veggies, honey, and herbs, I was told that marjoram is great with chicken and would be delicious in chicken salad. I have no idea what it tastes like; the dried stuff in our cabinet smells like tea. I'll try adding that next time and see what comes out.
I convinced my dad to run down to the store and get some Southern Comfort because my mom keeps talking about mint juleps and I decided I wanted to try this mystery drink. Making it was easy enough, just crush some mint in water, add crushed ice, and dump in a shot or two of SoCo. I haven't really acquired a taste for that yet, so I didn't drink much. But hey. I can say I've had one now.
P.S. I really want some egg molds. There are some on ebay, but the sellers require PayPal, which I haven't quite figured out yet. It's such a cute idea though! I tried it a little with chocolate molds, but they were a bit large. Got the idea though- it's fun! I've been reading through bento websites, including cookingcute.com for cute ideas like that. Hopefully I'll get to try some of them before too long!
Evelyn's Meatloaf and Sweet Potato Fries
makes 6-8 servings
From Mennonite Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley:
Meat loaf:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or 1 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. fresh bulk sausage
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. dry onion, or 1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. celery salt
3 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Topping:
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 tbsp. prepared mustard
Mix together all meat loaf ingredients. Shape into a loaf and place in a 5x9 baking dish. Mix together topping ingredients. Spread over loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
From CountryLiving.com:
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes
In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400°. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated. On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
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I found out that if you cut thinner fries, you only bake them like 20 minutes. I baked a batch and also pan-fried some, and most of them were burnt. Still tasty though. I'm also finding out that while this cooking every day thing is a lot of fun, it's really easy to just eat alllll the time. I think I've eaten like six meals today, not to mention all the snacks while making them! At least when I was at school I didn't have time to eat this much...
From Mennonite Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley:
Meat loaf:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or 1 lb. ground beef and 1/2 lb. fresh bulk sausage
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. dry onion, or 1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. celery salt
3 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Topping:
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
3/4 tbsp. prepared mustard
Mix together all meat loaf ingredients. Shape into a loaf and place in a 5x9 baking dish. Mix together topping ingredients. Spread over loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
From CountryLiving.com:
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes
In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400°. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated. On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
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I found out that if you cut thinner fries, you only bake them like 20 minutes. I baked a batch and also pan-fried some, and most of them were burnt. Still tasty though. I'm also finding out that while this cooking every day thing is a lot of fun, it's really easy to just eat alllll the time. I think I've eaten like six meals today, not to mention all the snacks while making them! At least when I was at school I didn't have time to eat this much...
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Chicken Salad part 2
Mom says the bag of m&ms has to go. Being a good daughter, that means I must eat them. Summer diets are silly anyway.
Turns out the gazpacho was really good with chicken and flatbread. Also I realized today that the fruit salad is best eaten the day it's made, or the grapes start turning red and the strawberries get soggy. I think I can handle that.
Lunch tomorrow is chicken salad withpecans walnuts, celery, red and green apples, and fried egg yolks. It's very colorful. I'm trying to think of what else is yellow that I could add...I don't think I want corn in my chicken salad, maybe summer squash or I wonder how plantains would taste?? It should be something crunchy I think. Yellow apples, perhaps. Red grapes and green and/or yellow apples. Drew suggests baked corn tortilla strips (sprinkle with oil and bake at 300° until crispy - I got some tortillas to try this with sometime soon. And glazed nasturtiums. o.O Any other ideas welcome.
I have a rather large amount of this salad, so (also per Drew's suggestion) after sandwiches tomorrow, I'll try it out over a fruity mix, with some combination of grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, and maybe I'll go get a pineapple. I wonder if I should mix in some kind of herb with it...what would be good with chicken, mayo, and fruit? Elise.com says tarragon (along with cranberries). I'm tempted to add some mint just for kicks.
Turns out the gazpacho was really good with chicken and flatbread. Also I realized today that the fruit salad is best eaten the day it's made, or the grapes start turning red and the strawberries get soggy. I think I can handle that.
Lunch tomorrow is chicken salad with
I have a rather large amount of this salad, so (also per Drew's suggestion) after sandwiches tomorrow, I'll try it out over a fruity mix, with some combination of grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, and maybe I'll go get a pineapple. I wonder if I should mix in some kind of herb with it...what would be good with chicken, mayo, and fruit? Elise.com says tarragon (along with cranberries). I'm tempted to add some mint just for kicks.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Garden Gazpacho
Makes 4 servings
2 lbs large ripe tomatoes, seeded, and diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs mild çayenne pepper sauce
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 c vegetable juice
3/4 c fresh corn kernels
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbs thinly sliced fresh basil
Put half the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber as well as all of the vinegar, pepper sauce, oil, garlic, and salt in a blender. Purée until smooth and transfer to a large glass bowl or container. Stir in the remaining tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, vegetable juice, corn, and green onions. Cover and refrigerate until the flavors are blended, at least four hours. Continue to check flavors periodically as soup chills. Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and sprinkle with basil.
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This recipe is actually a Glad advertisement in issue 43 of Everyday Food that I picked up in the South Bend airport. It's not too hard to make, evidenced by the fact that I managed to make it without having a clue how to dice tomatoes or use the food processor or anything. I hard boiled some eggs to go with it (it's for lunch tomorrow) and managed to crack most of them. *sigh* On the daily cooking scale, today might be about a 5. But at least lunch will be tasty if nothing else.
P.S. This is the beginning of my make-my-parents-lunch-every-day phase, as it is summer. This means I'll be updating a lot more and hopefully learning something in the process. My parents are my test-tasters, so I'm hoping they can give me some feedback such as MAKE IT AGAIN PLEASE or ....maybe let's have that other thing again. =)
2 lbs large ripe tomatoes, seeded, and diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tbs mild çayenne pepper sauce
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 c vegetable juice
3/4 c fresh corn kernels
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbs thinly sliced fresh basil
Put half the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber as well as all of the vinegar, pepper sauce, oil, garlic, and salt in a blender. Purée until smooth and transfer to a large glass bowl or container. Stir in the remaining tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, vegetable juice, corn, and green onions. Cover and refrigerate until the flavors are blended, at least four hours. Continue to check flavors periodically as soup chills. Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and sprinkle with basil.
--------------------------------
This recipe is actually a Glad advertisement in issue 43 of Everyday Food that I picked up in the South Bend airport. It's not too hard to make, evidenced by the fact that I managed to make it without having a clue how to dice tomatoes or use the food processor or anything. I hard boiled some eggs to go with it (it's for lunch tomorrow) and managed to crack most of them. *sigh* On the daily cooking scale, today might be about a 5. But at least lunch will be tasty if nothing else.
P.S. This is the beginning of my make-my-parents-lunch-every-day phase, as it is summer. This means I'll be updating a lot more and hopefully learning something in the process. My parents are my test-tasters, so I'm hoping they can give me some feedback such as MAKE IT AGAIN PLEASE or ....maybe let's have that other thing again. =)
Friday, June 1, 2007
Broccoli Salad
(tasted, not tested)
broccoli florets
sunflower seeds
raisins
bacon bits
mayo sauce
I'm not sure yet what's in the mayo sauce. (I'm starting to think I should devote my summer to sauces, so I have an easier time figuring out what's in all this stuff!) It's on the sweet side, but it's definitely got some mayo in it, or a really interesting cream of some kind. I also feel like I'm missing an ingredient...I ate this like three hours ago, although admittedly my brain's been a bit fuzzy since then. Maybe ND Food Services will put it in my boxed midnight lunch for tomorrow. Instructions for this are mix and add whatever you want. Sound familiar? I'm thinking a cheesy sauce would be really good too...maybe provolone? Or a ranch/bleu cheese. I'll experiment.
broccoli florets
sunflower seeds
raisins
bacon bits
mayo sauce
I'm not sure yet what's in the mayo sauce. (I'm starting to think I should devote my summer to sauces, so I have an easier time figuring out what's in all this stuff!) It's on the sweet side, but it's definitely got some mayo in it, or a really interesting cream of some kind. I also feel like I'm missing an ingredient...I ate this like three hours ago, although admittedly my brain's been a bit fuzzy since then. Maybe ND Food Services will put it in my boxed midnight lunch for tomorrow. Instructions for this are mix and add whatever you want. Sound familiar? I'm thinking a cheesy sauce would be really good too...maybe provolone? Or a ranch/bleu cheese. I'll experiment.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Two Asian Noodle Salads
(one tasted, one tested)
lettuce, shredded (the green kind!)
carrots, shredded
noodles (lo mein or something)
tomatoes, diced
celery, chopped
peanuts
green onions, chopped
cilantro
sesame seeds
lime-peanut sauce
Mix, arrange, garnish. I have no idea what's in the lime-peanut sauce at the moment, but I'll figure something out. I ordered this at Grandma's Bar & Grill in Fargo, ND yesterday. I was particularly interested in the sauce, because it sounded so similar to what I make sometimes with peanuts and noodles. This sauce wasn't thick and creamy like I expected, but more watery, like a salad dressing. It was still good, and all the extra veggies and stuff were really nice and refreshing. You could add chicken for $2, but that might have been a bit much.
cucumbers, peeled and sliced
ham, sliced
eggs, sliced
noodles (udon I think)
sesame seeds
peanut butter
sesame oil
The first three ingredients should be sliced into strips as much as possible. Mix the peanut butter and sesame oil and heat until they're mixed nice and creamy. Pile on some noodles, arrange the cucumbers, ham, and eggs on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds, and give it a generous helping of peanut sauce.
When I do this in the dining hall, I just use the microwave, but if you do it over a stove and add some other fun stuff like soy sauce in, anything could happen. I'm pretty sure there's more to this sauce the way Jenny (my boss) makes it, but I don't know what it is. Personally, I like just the peanut butter best, because the sweetness really complements the other ingredients well. I haven't yet figured out how to keep the sauce from thickening up too much when you add it to the cold salad...I don't know if it's just a matter of adding more oil or some other special ingredient...I'll experiment with this over the summer.
lettuce, shredded (the green kind!)
carrots, shredded
noodles (lo mein or something)
tomatoes, diced
celery, chopped
peanuts
green onions, chopped
cilantro
sesame seeds
lime-peanut sauce
Mix, arrange, garnish. I have no idea what's in the lime-peanut sauce at the moment, but I'll figure something out. I ordered this at Grandma's Bar & Grill in Fargo, ND yesterday. I was particularly interested in the sauce, because it sounded so similar to what I make sometimes with peanuts and noodles. This sauce wasn't thick and creamy like I expected, but more watery, like a salad dressing. It was still good, and all the extra veggies and stuff were really nice and refreshing. You could add chicken for $2, but that might have been a bit much.
cucumbers, peeled and sliced
ham, sliced
eggs, sliced
noodles (udon I think)
sesame seeds
peanut butter
sesame oil
The first three ingredients should be sliced into strips as much as possible. Mix the peanut butter and sesame oil and heat until they're mixed nice and creamy. Pile on some noodles, arrange the cucumbers, ham, and eggs on top, sprinkle some sesame seeds, and give it a generous helping of peanut sauce.
When I do this in the dining hall, I just use the microwave, but if you do it over a stove and add some other fun stuff like soy sauce in, anything could happen. I'm pretty sure there's more to this sauce the way Jenny (my boss) makes it, but I don't know what it is. Personally, I like just the peanut butter best, because the sweetness really complements the other ingredients well. I haven't yet figured out how to keep the sauce from thickening up too much when you add it to the cold salad...I don't know if it's just a matter of adding more oil or some other special ingredient...I'll experiment with this over the summer.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Dining Hall-friendly Chicken Salad
(tested and approved)
chicken breast
mayonnaise
half an apple
celery
optional:
spinach
zucchini
buffalo sauce
nuts
shredded cheese
Cut and mix. Enjoy on a very thick slice of wheat bread (personal preference).
Notes: No, it's no different from chicken salad you can get at Arby's or any grocery store...but it consists entirely of ingredients found in our dining hall. Trust me, the ready-made stuff isn't nearly as tasty as the apple & celery version. I also like mixing in whole spinach leaves and cooking (or microwaving it) just till the chicken's hot, the cheese is melted, and the spinach is spongy. It's a great dorm snack for cold winter nights. (And carb free!)
Jazzy J is my usual test-taster. Rag on him if you disagree with the evaluation of deliciousness.
chicken breast
mayonnaise
half an apple
celery
optional:
spinach
zucchini
buffalo sauce
nuts
shredded cheese
Cut and mix. Enjoy on a very thick slice of wheat bread (personal preference).
Notes: No, it's no different from chicken salad you can get at Arby's or any grocery store...but it consists entirely of ingredients found in our dining hall. Trust me, the ready-made stuff isn't nearly as tasty as the apple & celery version. I also like mixing in whole spinach leaves and cooking (or microwaving it) just till the chicken's hot, the cheese is melted, and the spinach is spongy. It's a great dorm snack for cold winter nights. (And carb free!)
Jazzy J is my usual test-taster. Rag on him if you disagree with the evaluation of deliciousness.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
some explanations...
Ah, maybe I should make a note of how my posts/recipes will go. Obviously I'm no cookbook author (yet). If I copy a recipe I like, it'll have all the culinary language and precise measurements and stuff. But I'm kind of a big fan of measuring by sight (when it's practical) and using a culinary/artistic eye to take care of proportions, colors, etc. So when I'm adapting a recipe or just copying someone else's dish, I will probably only specify the most necessary measurements. Culinary art (still looking for a better synonym, in any language) is as dependent on the style and personality of the creator as music, dance or painting. So I want there to be as much room for elaboration and adaptation as is necessary.
Basically, some of my posts (like the only recipe I have at this point) might only be a list of ingredients and some seemingly obvious instructions. This means that I either have no idea what the best way to go about it is (i.e., I haven't actually made it yet), I want to leave room for artistic freedom, or it actually doesn't matter how you do it as long as you do it and it tastes good. I mean, how many ways can you screw up a salad? (The visual side of my brain is begging to be expressed, but I'm suppressing it until a later date.) Putting ideas and experiments into an organized format just seems better to me than hiding them in five paragraphs of a story about the history, creation, and experience of the recipe. That's not to say that I won't have stories to share (such as mopping soda off my kitchen ceiling), just that they will be separated from the more business-like posts. Yay blogs! They're so addicting.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Vanilla Mint Fruit Salad
(tested and approved)
20-30 oz strawberries, hulled, quartered
2 c seedless green grapes
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
In short: combine, toss, cover, chill, serve. It looks adorable in tiny dishes (about a quarter-cup serving) and is delicious and refreshing on a warm summer night.
--------------------------------
Brookes made this for us while we were cooking for the five-meat pasta night a few weeks ago. She sent us the recipe afterward from epicurious.com (unimaginatively titled Strawberries and Grapes with Mint and Vanilla) Apparently it is an Italian recipe, and the mint is 'a favorite ingredient in native cooking.' I wasn't too crazy about the idea of vanilla and mint together, but after tasting it I recant all my former feelings. I didn't have time to make it for my parents like I'd hoped, but I did make a big bowl for Adele and me, and we ate it for like a week. I made rice with just a little sushi vinegar and vanilla mixed in and put the fruit on top and packed that for lunch every day. It was delicious!
Edit: Have made this for parents and other relative-type people and it has been universally adored. Added oranges the other day, and it was great. Can't wait to try things like watermelon, peaches, bananas, pineapples, cherries, you get the idea.
20-30 oz strawberries, hulled, quartered
2 c seedless green grapes
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
In short: combine, toss, cover, chill, serve. It looks adorable in tiny dishes (about a quarter-cup serving) and is delicious and refreshing on a warm summer night.
--------------------------------
Brookes made this for us while we were cooking for the five-meat pasta night a few weeks ago. She sent us the recipe afterward from epicurious.com (unimaginatively titled Strawberries and Grapes with Mint and Vanilla) Apparently it is an Italian recipe, and the mint is 'a favorite ingredient in native cooking.' I wasn't too crazy about the idea of vanilla and mint together, but after tasting it I recant all my former feelings. I didn't have time to make it for my parents like I'd hoped, but I did make a big bowl for Adele and me, and we ate it for like a week. I made rice with just a little sushi vinegar and vanilla mixed in and put the fruit on top and packed that for lunch every day. It was delicious!
Edit: Have made this for parents and other relative-type people and it has been universally adored. Added oranges the other day, and it was great. Can't wait to try things like watermelon, peaches, bananas, pineapples, cherries, you get the idea.
我很喜欢吃中国饭，日本饭。
Awesome. 好吃 - Good Eats is up and running. I've never used Blogger before, so I look forward to exploring the possibilities.
Basically this blog exists because I like food. I like eating food, making food, sharing food, and thinking about food. I think my life goal when I'm old and retired is to be a godmother to someone's child and make them lunch every day. So until that happens, this blog is my place to muse on recipes, wonder about combinations, and share my ideas with you, my benefiting reader. Aren't you lucky?
So my title. 好吃. Hao chi (3rd and 1st tones, if you care) means delicious in Mandarin. I am inordinately fond of Asian food (including India and all the tiny scattered Asian countries), plus I'm taking Chinese, so that's my story. Let's get started!
Basically this blog exists because I like food. I like eating food, making food, sharing food, and thinking about food. I think my life goal when I'm old and retired is to be a godmother to someone's child and make them lunch every day. So until that happens, this blog is my place to muse on recipes, wonder about combinations, and share my ideas with you, my benefiting reader. Aren't you lucky?
So my title. 好吃. Hao chi (3rd and 1st tones, if you care) means delicious in Mandarin. I am inordinately fond of Asian food (including India and all the tiny scattered Asian countries), plus I'm taking Chinese, so that's my story. Let's get started!
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