tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3746544385219993262024-03-13T20:34:07.300-04:00Porkalicious!Dedicated to the idea that making the stuff you like to eat is easier than you think.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-80632598591575570602011-12-22T12:06:00.002-05:002011-12-22T12:06:47.694-05:00Going Off The RailsWe come to times in our life when it seems appropriate to ask what responsibility we have to others. Certainly I follow the example of those around me, am I also leading by my example? Is it a good idea to recommend actions that may not, strictly speaking, be beneficial?<br />
<br />
<b>Let Your Mouth Be Your Guide</b><br />
<br />
Had a guest recently who has one of those hot-burning metabolisms that leaves her hungry after midnight pretty much every night. This night was no exception, but I was entirely unprepared for her appetite. I had a nice slab of house cured bacon and a bag of blueberry waffle mix, it was going to have to do.<br />
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She was perfectly happy with the idea of bacon and waffles, she even helped out by running the waffle iron while I sliced the bacon.<br />
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So all of this is fairly normal behavior in my house at 2am. I cooked up the bacon in my best cast iron skillet.<br />
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One of the great things about home curing bacon is the consistency and tenderness of the meat when it's done. The meat is always soft and a little salty, the fat is never chewy. It also renders out more liquid fat than packaged bacon, leaving you with a nice layer of salty-sweet oil in the bottom of the skillet.<br />
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Now this is where things started getting weird. I was starting to plate everything, making room so I could throw a couple eggs in the pan to top off our very late dinner. But there was too much of that delicious grease in the bottom of the pan to fry eggs in, they'd end up a sloppy mess. I like bacon oil, but not greasy eggs. As I was reaching for a paper towel to soak up some of the extra, I had what may turn out to be my best idea of 2011: why not drop the waffles in there?<br />
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What you see here is the perfect waffle, sweet bread, cooked through in the waffle iron and then crisped in a cast iron skillet. They were soft in the middle, with crunchy edges all around that snapped back when you bit down, even under a layer of organic maple syrup.<br />
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This is the final plate, which she wouldn't let me take the time to photograph well before digging in. This is a cell phone picture with no lights.<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> She also wouldn't let me photograph the eyes rolling back in her head or the way her nose turned up so she could snort while she killed this plate of food like it was her last meal. </span></div>
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Is it weird to say I thought it was hot? Maybe it was just the fried waffles talking.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-45955275762082974142011-12-08T02:02:00.001-05:002011-12-08T03:53:38.226-05:00Restaurant Review #1 : CoppeliaI've been wanting to write restaurant reviews for a long time, I certainly read enough of them. There's an art to a truly great review, I'm not sure I'm up to snuff in this department, which may be why I haven't jumped off the pier yet. The scared man dies bored, right?<br />
<br />
<b>Fourth Meal Indeed</b><br />
<br />
I live after midnight. I get up in the morning because that's when the phone starts ringing, but all of my best ideas happen when the world has finally quieted down enough that I can hear them. After those 2 am bursts of creativity, after your brain has sopped up every bit of blood sugar in the bowl, it's nice to have the world's best nacho plate right around the corner.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cRLOJ_0Pf6Gnl-emeoQoEFBlyZOVUxSv0TS9-2nAtmxy0M2ZOGe4GOpq2IAos6zHwe29JfID9XOsBCe8gXvkbSeyrmCqMxtH-v-97bckd7BIarE8XMN28d3hAl6DkPj7O725c3aX8xs/s1600/Coppelia+-+by+Dave+Sanders+for+NYT+-+sept+28+2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cRLOJ_0Pf6Gnl-emeoQoEFBlyZOVUxSv0TS9-2nAtmxy0M2ZOGe4GOpq2IAos6zHwe29JfID9XOsBCe8gXvkbSeyrmCqMxtH-v-97bckd7BIarE8XMN28d3hAl6DkPj7O725c3aX8xs/s400/Coppelia+-+by+Dave+Sanders+for+NYT+-+sept+28+2011.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coppelia, by Dave Sanders for The New York Times, Sept. 28, 2011</td></tr>
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<a href="http://coppelianyc.com/coppelia.html">Coppelia</a> is a 24 hour nuevo Cuban restaurant that is literally around the corner from my apartment. That fact is key in this conversation, because there was a day when I was sure <a href="http://www.employeesonlynyc.com/">Employees Only</a> would rule my after hours pig outs until either they closed or Al Gore drowned New York in melted icebergs.<br />
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Then one night it's raining, and there's no cabs, and the lady folk have sore feet and wet hair, and <i>they</i> <i>really</i> <i>don't care</i> where we eat. We're standing under the awning anyway, and there are mussels with garlic and bacon on the menu, if you need any more signs.<br />
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It started slow, my defection up Hudson St, away from the mind altering bone marrow poppers at EO. There are restaurant reviewers who've never been to New York that will bemoan the graveyard that 14th St is for dinner, how they almost tripped over the tombstones of hey-ya-tried slop houses blocking the sidewalk. These people have clearly never been to <a href="http://www.dirtybirdtogo.com/">Dirty Bird</a>.<br />
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For dinner it seems lazy to eat in your own neighborhood, the kind of thing you reserve for sick days and brunch, two occasions when laziness is the point. But the middle of the night is a dangerous hour, not a time for pretense. I've been here long enough to know what happens in cabs after the bar, better to walk, meet sketchy on your own two feet.<br />
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<b>Things I Love About Coppelia (In Order)</b><br />
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1. Mejillones<br />
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Negra Modelo steamed mussels with peppers, garlic, bacon, and cilantro<br />
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I order this dish every time I go there. They come out in a bowl with thumbnail sized bits of bacon and thin slices of garlic all over the place. I dip the spicy fries that come on the side in the broth until they're gone, then inevitably end up tipping the bowl to my lips like I'm having a Roman conqueror wet dream.<br />
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2. Nachos<br />
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House fried flour tortilla chips with Chihuaha cheese, black beans, peppers, and chopped beef short ribs<br />
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I also order this dish every time I go. I usually share it, but people have been stabbed with a fork for getting greedy. The chips are hot, the meat is soft, there's not too much cheese, nothing is neon colored or gooey. Aces.<br />
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3. Fish Tacos<br />
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Crispy fried flounder with chipotle cole slaw and guacamole<br />
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Fresh where it needs to be, fried where it doesn't, the one thing wrong with this dish is that you only get two in an order.<br />
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4. Mac & Chicharron<br />
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Traditional mac & cheese with nice thick bites of bacon<br />
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The mac & cheese is nothing to be ashamed of, but the addition of a the bacon adds grease to keep the noodles soft and meat to give the dish a little texture. How come my granny never thought of that?<br />
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5. Cachao<br />
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There is usually loud Cuban music in every nook and cranny, which is just the stimulation you need at that hour to get you through your second entree.<br />
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You also wouldn't do yourself wrong by ordering the Cuban sandwich, the oxtail empanada, the arepas, the mazorca, or, believe it or not, the fettucini.<br />
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The deserts aren't sending anybody's kid to college, and I've never seen a properly cooked steak on anyone's table, least of all my own. The Korean tacos should be struck from this Earth with no mercy, I nearly white them out on the menu every time I look at them.<br />
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Anything involving cheese or slow cooking is good for the squeamish, and none of the dishes are too spicy.<br />
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<b>Epilogue</b><br />
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This is my first restaurant review, it's a little nerve wracking. I think I'm supposed to use words like <i>mise en place</i> and <i>terrior</i>, I know I'm supposed to talk about the wine list. But that's not what Coppelia is to me, it's a place to wind down with the people you hang out with in the middle of the night.<br />
<br />
Your real friends. The ones who know you best.<br />
<br />
The ones you can drink the mussel broth in front of.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-29049336058145971992011-12-04T15:55:00.001-05:002011-12-04T16:01:19.575-05:00My EpitaphIf all goes as planned, this is how I die -<br />
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<a href="http://eater.com/archives/2011/12/02/tokyo-restaurant-in-trouble-over-fugu-poisoning.php">Fugu Is Delicious</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A health official said, "The chef served a liver, knowing that it is toxic, even if it was a request from the customer. It should warrant punitive actions."<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Did you hear that? "Even if it was a request from the customer" - might as well carve that into my tombstone now.</span></span></div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-37167217905297551112011-10-10T17:03:00.001-04:002011-10-10T17:03:49.228-04:00Sour Patch Kids SorbetHoly Hopping Hank.<br />
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Can a person live on sorbet? I may guinea pig myself for the experiment, if I can come up with a justification poetic enough.<br />
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My pal Shiloh is about to enter year 35 of his ice cream addiction, and he's been on a serious run with sour patch kids lately. I bought the ice cream maker attachment for my stand-up mixer mostly so I could make original mixes for him. Shiloh loves custom anything, even ice cream.<br />
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You put the container in the freezer for 24 hours, which chills the walls of the bowl. Then you pour the ingredients in and turn the mixer on. As it hits the chilled walls of the bowl, the ingredients freeze. You can see the stirring mechanism in this photo, it has thin plastic edges that scrape the chilled cream back into the mix and spread the liquid ingredients against the walls of the bowl to freeze until it all reaches a thick, icy consistency. It works reasonably well, as long as it's not hotter than balls in the kitchen when you start.<br />
<br />
I've had some success making ice cream, the fresh peach/caramel drizzle/bacon bit ice cream I made with very ripe end-of-summer peaches was a revelation unto itself. I haven't written up any ice cream recipes because there's something missing from my process. It's been good, but not quite right. Once I figure out what it is, I'll put up some pictures and such, in the meantime I'm just going to have to keep eating the experiments. Shucks.<br />
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What did work out great on the first try was the sorbet. I was trying to think of a way to incorporate the tart, gummy Sour Patch Kids candy into an ice cream until I realized a fruit based sorbet would be a lot easier match than a cream base. To keep up with the sour/sweet flavor of the kids, I went with a raspberry/mango sorbet. Holy Hopping Hank.<br />
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This is it, with a few of the candies on top and a butter cookie stabbed in the side, sitting in the immortal basil plant on my fire escape.<br />
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<u><b>Ingredients</b></u><br />
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3 cups raspberries<br />
2 cups mango, chopped<br />
1/2 cup water<br />
1 1/2 cups Simple Syrup<br />
1 cup of Sour Patch Kids, chopped <br />
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You can buy Simple Syrup at most grocery stores, but it's easy to make. Put 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water in a pan and boil them for a few minutes until they're combined, stirring occasionally. Pour the finished product into a bowl and place that bowl into a larger bowl full of ice to help cool and set the syrup. It makes about three cups. You want to refrigerate it before making the sorbet, it needs to be completely chilled the sorbet will never stand up.<br />
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Okay, to the recipe. Put the fruit and water into a food processor or blender and let it dance with the chopping blade until it's a sauce. The original recipe calls for running the result through a sieve to remove the seeds and any leftover pulp, but the bits are tiny, I just left them all in. <br />
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Put the fruit sauce and simple syrup in the fridge overnight so they chill thoroughly.<br />
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Next day, put the fruit sauce and the 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup into the freezer bowl and turn it on low for 5-10 minutes, checking occasionally for consistency until it arrives where you like it. Throw in the candy in the last minute or so and let it get tossed around a bit. Nice and ease. Throw the finished sorbet in the freezer for a couple hours so it can finish setting up and then try to find it in your heart to share it with somebody and not eat the whole batch in the first ten minutes you have it.<br />
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The sorbet turned out perfect, it's equal parts sweet and tart, the fruit tastes very fresh. The mangoes could have been riper, in this case they cut the raspberries but didn't really stand out as a flavor note of their own. I think better mangoes could improve it a bit, but they served their purpose still, sweetening the pot without killing the bite altogether.<br />
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I'm thinking lemon sorbet next, the recipe might as well say "make lemonade, pour it in the mixer", how could that possibly go wrong?Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7143528 -74.005973140.5217853 -74.3218301 40.9069203 -73.690116100000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-67198920788994527492011-10-10T17:03:00.000-04:002011-10-10T17:03:14.038-04:00Where My Vegans At?!Finally, a cruelty free meat source! It can't taste worse than a Boca Burger, can it?<br />
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<a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/japanese-scientists-creates-meat-out-of-feces/">http://www.digitaltrends.com/international/japanese-scientists-creates-meat-out-of-feces/</a>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-78035852665208473702011-09-23T22:27:00.000-04:002011-09-23T22:27:59.032-04:00Stuff I Apparently AteI was looking for something on my phone today and realized that I take a lot more pictures than I post.<br />
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Apparently I ate all this stuff, but I remember some of it better than others. If I had to guess, I'd blame it on the infamous 'itis, AKA Food Coma Defcon 5. Some people never make it off the couch.<br />
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This was apple tart on phyllo dough, a noble concept that didn't really work. We ate it anyway, let's not get crazy.<br />
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Last time Kirsten was in town she told me she'd never had a lobster. This was untenable.<br />
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Cupcakes by Melissa, from the store around the corner from my apartment. They're really good and really small, so make sure other people are around, because you <i>will eat the whole box</i>. Trust me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegVaMnX4krqeuRdRdDABLVrwtFcN8nZ2v3bDP0sLFprApeCiA7w9gZgm10Q2lekrlmmE7FBa-AhvB56nfUORzMjpcXiVNbZgf0t6zp2C6X2xW9BMNpNZpNW_vHikWGnqGteEL0VqiODg/s1600/IMG-20110429-00102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgegVaMnX4krqeuRdRdDABLVrwtFcN8nZ2v3bDP0sLFprApeCiA7w9gZgm10Q2lekrlmmE7FBa-AhvB56nfUORzMjpcXiVNbZgf0t6zp2C6X2xW9BMNpNZpNW_vHikWGnqGteEL0VqiODg/s320/IMG-20110429-00102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Dinner? I see capers, olives, cashews, smoked salt cod and raw onion rings. Not that strange as a pile of ingredients, but this is on the desk in my office, which likely means I was eating it and not cooking with it. Suspect, highly suspect.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1B9gR1RABC2Ig-Eh2oWO9U9V7e4WU398EDJpMRhrQouZm_f3rTaSeoonl6kH_8qOJmmRZqF514G7Io8tgohDJtKwtUsUML-tT0bVUGCr7iFTi2fRUbkGFuwYBl-nt6MEYV4On2qDfQw/s1600/IMG-20110524-00104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1B9gR1RABC2Ig-Eh2oWO9U9V7e4WU398EDJpMRhrQouZm_f3rTaSeoonl6kH_8qOJmmRZqF514G7Io8tgohDJtKwtUsUML-tT0bVUGCr7iFTi2fRUbkGFuwYBl-nt6MEYV4On2qDfQw/s320/IMG-20110524-00104.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Looks like a bowl of smoked shrimp and the once great Eva, RIP. I can't imagine how much she wanted to rip into that bowl. Well, I kind of can.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeLAs4ZtuO87DYzmIys2kEFzOEqWYhZ5SHLmQS7S6qvwvW3643zP19pDo8I99riokld-44FIxEGvvVS1qYOr5hQbqQ-xp5fFb_ooaTdLdB7rrP9W-m6VIVvFaDa8CmyMTu5I2Yupki_s/s1600/IMG-20110723-00005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeLAs4ZtuO87DYzmIys2kEFzOEqWYhZ5SHLmQS7S6qvwvW3643zP19pDo8I99riokld-44FIxEGvvVS1qYOr5hQbqQ-xp5fFb_ooaTdLdB7rrP9W-m6VIVvFaDa8CmyMTu5I2Yupki_s/s320/IMG-20110723-00005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'd never tried these Sanditas until I saw them at the farmer's market this summer. They were odd, like little sour cucumbers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPLjPL5BPKrqmZzdUi8ulISkyx4I_WtJXBQOr7Rugue6cxWT4pKLQyKkdkpkT_WwIBNeTu7XY7ddrIZKLB1sE6LMC2roKehdtzNNsHEQPv6SAiUv2bIy2LyfdG3TvOS4EUq2OvowDRxA/s1600/IMG-20110723-00006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPLjPL5BPKrqmZzdUi8ulISkyx4I_WtJXBQOr7Rugue6cxWT4pKLQyKkdkpkT_WwIBNeTu7XY7ddrIZKLB1sE6LMC2roKehdtzNNsHEQPv6SAiUv2bIy2LyfdG3TvOS4EUq2OvowDRxA/s320/IMG-20110723-00006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The same stand was selling these lemon cucumbers, also good. Not as sweet or obvious in flavor as the big green ones we're used to, but they were a nice diversion. I wouldn't expect them to get wildly popular anytime soon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyTgQ5mY5-7YmLLq1kjQ010q2Ew-MisaANpLsJqIxUIVPSzVym6TacTeD47OcJOI3-rwXt_EnZkmUokg8wedmhjnm4O_L0uoOCK3qaWOe7-3RHZNzs1I2IHoj3yw9QNOqPGGCDkdm8UE/s1600/Manhattan-20110115-00001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsyTgQ5mY5-7YmLLq1kjQ010q2Ew-MisaANpLsJqIxUIVPSzVym6TacTeD47OcJOI3-rwXt_EnZkmUokg8wedmhjnm4O_L0uoOCK3qaWOe7-3RHZNzs1I2IHoj3yw9QNOqPGGCDkdm8UE/s320/Manhattan-20110115-00001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Sausage pizza, looks like a whole bit of garlic on there. Predictable.<br />
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French toasted something. I'll French toast anything.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVAjOc7VJKlqt4JyRg_cIdPX3JZ0PUhXvzgn1JYxKamsJqavuFRr6CPwJRCB66vuPaPnI85QHB8MdQpVEF28fctQ-FXDBtujCWVWSe0K5SHZMEpzzsfMdf6J0mb9d2Dd-n-_4kbalcLE/s1600/Manhattan-20110126-00019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVAjOc7VJKlqt4JyRg_cIdPX3JZ0PUhXvzgn1JYxKamsJqavuFRr6CPwJRCB66vuPaPnI85QHB8MdQpVEF28fctQ-FXDBtujCWVWSe0K5SHZMEpzzsfMdf6J0mb9d2Dd-n-_4kbalcLE/s320/Manhattan-20110126-00019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
This looks like a roast chicken with herbs and chiles. I wish I had one now.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI0WX_P89EAB-OCOfwHyWksFbaTDgFtbBjICu5VZ70-Zz9xIsvhJ4ddjymyoDLSoJMcmDgr3bT7u2sYPV4RLAIaBUiWDn_n87cEku9FwzwyG3vSnZOEc1DrqYv6OVODsLWv8rfbLeIME/s1600/Manhattan-20110213-00051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI0WX_P89EAB-OCOfwHyWksFbaTDgFtbBjICu5VZ70-Zz9xIsvhJ4ddjymyoDLSoJMcmDgr3bT7u2sYPV4RLAIaBUiWDn_n87cEku9FwzwyG3vSnZOEc1DrqYv6OVODsLWv8rfbLeIME/s320/Manhattan-20110213-00051.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Spinach pies are delicious.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtgq0zKpwyMZK4XZVCEbKbOVChtD15f1kNzfhUfXAZJLnmSniAE2HSXdLVX4ikcXkDvapq7_ApPD5mLBEe14kaYA0GXb_DzzYT_pbJfBCnHEaJHwpSRM2OLoT9gLBeFbnsRfSvOv4O80/s1600/Manhattan-20110216-00053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidtgq0zKpwyMZK4XZVCEbKbOVChtD15f1kNzfhUfXAZJLnmSniAE2HSXdLVX4ikcXkDvapq7_ApPD5mLBEe14kaYA0GXb_DzzYT_pbJfBCnHEaJHwpSRM2OLoT9gLBeFbnsRfSvOv4O80/s320/Manhattan-20110216-00053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Meatloaf?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTcpShjcnAeO_WilDrv_jTzJcUoYXHbUjDoTp9UvNbPZpsFPUrUSRdcE8LQULvtyalKsLwsT8bm7B1G8CPlH0HoBoe7d4GbdjMajMbZ58EnVjA1h8rujEnh_6hAoQ3-XIDlREIyulMT4/s1600/Manhattan-20110308-00068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTcpShjcnAeO_WilDrv_jTzJcUoYXHbUjDoTp9UvNbPZpsFPUrUSRdcE8LQULvtyalKsLwsT8bm7B1G8CPlH0HoBoe7d4GbdjMajMbZ58EnVjA1h8rujEnh_6hAoQ3-XIDlREIyulMT4/s320/Manhattan-20110308-00068.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
No Soup For You!<br />
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It's good stuff, but dramatically overpriced.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx5bu5u0OqAoHACtZ6_1iFlP_SKrF1KGDBdiMj0ZYgJ4YLG0zjqPLjYEE5FhFXu_Jm-AVCOtAljXhRnmEtasUJJE3TnOM2lkFoVCO8lgjsUPLRiBhoJ3o2jnT8Ac80ourKWWW1U0Hdwk/s1600/Manhattan-20110311-00070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBx5bu5u0OqAoHACtZ6_1iFlP_SKrF1KGDBdiMj0ZYgJ4YLG0zjqPLjYEE5FhFXu_Jm-AVCOtAljXhRnmEtasUJJE3TnOM2lkFoVCO8lgjsUPLRiBhoJ3o2jnT8Ac80ourKWWW1U0Hdwk/s320/Manhattan-20110311-00070.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Who's idea was it to put a 24-hour donut shop next door to my neighborhood bar?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqGlKBfT7VhihlXd9iudVOt5pWW0SLuHj1ZZV7bPoHKSvMY4N6uJ78dXLAmxSGFV99XA1GqLacJPNHqgFppnhhSQiJQVr6nIR7-e3PQMYJFEg7TcCdU9hIOkaZkmtGHjMUyHCqD5WzzI/s1600/Manhattan-20110703-00133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqGlKBfT7VhihlXd9iudVOt5pWW0SLuHj1ZZV7bPoHKSvMY4N6uJ78dXLAmxSGFV99XA1GqLacJPNHqgFppnhhSQiJQVr6nIR7-e3PQMYJFEg7TcCdU9hIOkaZkmtGHjMUyHCqD5WzzI/s320/Manhattan-20110703-00133.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I can't count how many times I've been to Katz's in the last couple years, it's always a good idea.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsusLMu3lcC3_aR7-hskXr2IzZxFnlE84bXTOCMY9heDM2aW_QpU0t0WMFcyi0ipGuVOC7e76wutCnZitwPgTEQO9uB7TipredKru9mVFVLF2PAvyltcQsbCbAeVzfXL8ngI7N-LjTcOU/s1600/Manhattan-20110705-00134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsusLMu3lcC3_aR7-hskXr2IzZxFnlE84bXTOCMY9heDM2aW_QpU0t0WMFcyi0ipGuVOC7e76wutCnZitwPgTEQO9uB7TipredKru9mVFVLF2PAvyltcQsbCbAeVzfXL8ngI7N-LjTcOU/s320/Manhattan-20110705-00134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Fresh herbs, mmm.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfpikwi-k5GQVUwtqTI5Dc1aA6QjYAB_kCz4GvZyK-NkavLx9PCfr2scPRC13m9exWlMtQPmjQBN1wPFBIZ_gjjX-8VL5HLL1XQ_yfRwl2sFNKZCd6edv8_2DO3PnPJsnjCRN1Yt50u0/s1600/Manhattan-20110920-00064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfpikwi-k5GQVUwtqTI5Dc1aA6QjYAB_kCz4GvZyK-NkavLx9PCfr2scPRC13m9exWlMtQPmjQBN1wPFBIZ_gjjX-8VL5HLL1XQ_yfRwl2sFNKZCd6edv8_2DO3PnPJsnjCRN1Yt50u0/s320/Manhattan-20110920-00064.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Last but not least, because I actually remember this one -<br />
<br />
Italian sausage with mustard and peppers in a warm potato roll, and Shiloh's 5-Star Slap Ya Momma greens. I need to have a roommate or I start to go crazy in the house. I do not need to have a roommate with a chile fetish and a deft hand in the kitchen, but it sure doesn't hurt.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-90332341218009500312011-09-12T18:24:00.000-04:002011-09-12T18:24:40.984-04:00Captain One-Pot, Leader Of The Lazy BrigadeIt all started so simply, as most things do.<br />
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I had a lovely bag of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumato">kumatoes</a>, which is harder to get than you might suspect. They're quite good, basically a tomato but with a little more chlorophyll flavor, it tastes a little more like the dirt it grew in than your standard store bought. They say there's more glucose in kumatoes than tomatoes, but they don't taste sweeter to me.<br />
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They're also rare, which is by design - the developer of the fruit wants to keep a grip on supply.<br />
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But, of course, I got a guy. Or rather, I got a hot blond with a substantial plot in Jersey and a handful of leftover seeds. The latest delivery came with a dozen kumatoes, three long red Anaheim chili peppers, a clutch of fresh basil and a small pouch of fresh mozzarella, for good measure.<br />
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The plan was to cook everything down into a simple sauce and have it over a little plain spaghetti, nice and easy.<br />
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<b>The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Cooks...</b><br />
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What I ended up with was a bit more complicated, but not much.<br />
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Ingredients<br />
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8-10 medium kumatoes (or tomatoes)<br />
2 small red onions or 4 shallots<br />
3 sprigs scallion<br />
1-3 fresh red chili peppers <br />
4-6 cloves garlic<br />
4 lamb chops<br />
2 small beef filets<br />
1 cup orzo (dry measure)<br />
1/4 cup olive oil <br />
Water, as needed<br />
Herbs, chili power, and salt & pepper to taste<br />
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<br />
Heat the oil over a medium fire in a decent size pot. Dice the onion, scallions, and chilies, and throw them in the hot oil.<br />
<br />
While the onions soften up, mince the garlic and dice the kumatoes. Try to cut up the kumatoes on a plate or cutting board with a ditch to catch the juice, it's best to toss all of the liquid and seeds into the sauce if you can. When the onions are sweating and starting to brown, put the garlic and kumatoes into the oil. Stir everything up and add a little salt.<br />
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Give the kumatoes a good charring in the oil and then turn the heat down to low. Add a little water, maybe 1/3 of a cup and let it all mingle. I also threw in about a tablespoon of dried marjoram, so it had a chance to open up a little.<br />
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It was at this point that things started to get interesting. One thing I like about living with Shiloh is that he loves the ol' "kick it up a notch" theory of dining. He started smelling the simple sauce I was making and came in grabbing the wooden spoon. Within a couple minutes he decided that<br />
<br />
A) he would be getting in on this meal, and<br />
B) it was going to need some meat<br />
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This had suddenly become a big deal, so despite his irrational fear of grocery stores and laundry-mats, Shiloh headed for our local Westside Market, where he bought four lamb chops and two small beef fillets. I refuse to question the motivation of a man who's handing me free lamb chops.<br />
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So the new plan...<br />
<br />
Add another 1/2 cup or so of water and put the meat in the pot. Cover and cook on low for an hour or so.<br />
<br />
I checked in on the meat every 15 minutes, adding water as necessary. When it was clearly starting to crumble, I removed the meat to a cutting board, added another 1/2 cup of water and turned the heat back up to high. When it was going strong, I added the orzo and gave the whole thing a stir.<br />
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The pasta takes a few minutes to cook, so I spent that time shredding the meat and sucking the fat off of every last bit of the lamb bones. Mmmmm, that is good every time. <br />
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Give the orzo a stir every few minutes until it takes on the consistency you prefer, stir it a few times with the lid off so it can dry out a little, and put a big pile of it on a plate.<br />
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The shredded meat goes on top of the orzo pile, then a bit of shaved Romano and the shredded fresh basil. I served it with a healthy shot of pepper, the fresh mozzarella sliced on the side and bare spinach leaves. I used quite a bit of a powdered chili mix that I made and use in almost everything, between that and the fat that had soaked into the orzo, the spinach was a nice fresh bite to balance out the plate a little.<br />
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Thankfully, the food was better than the photograph. A tasty, improvised one-pot wonder.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-8926773787855793442011-09-03T12:59:00.000-04:002011-09-03T12:59:07.242-04:00Late Work SnackI got called into work at 9:45am yesterday, which did not get me out of completing my 4pm-12am shift that was already scheduled. Nor did it finish the work I was supposed to do <i>before</i> going to work, which had to get done when I got home.<br />
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I used the word <i>work</i> too many times in those two sentences.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICMBcIz3XtvXow6hnLKvy4_YO7qg0BqZnHAJPm50fU3tM_1n8ENKGuqZzhnB58OItqNvK64eJ2SkZTFTCjn56WOEvefpl4Mjhqv8XuOZUBKtWadFWrm8rNiUtcr2f1jlRDNn0hkbdZfg/s1600/2011-09-03_01-59-10_125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICMBcIz3XtvXow6hnLKvy4_YO7qg0BqZnHAJPm50fU3tM_1n8ENKGuqZzhnB58OItqNvK64eJ2SkZTFTCjn56WOEvefpl4Mjhqv8XuOZUBKtWadFWrm8rNiUtcr2f1jlRDNn0hkbdZfg/s320/2011-09-03_01-59-10_125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So of course I needed a little 1am boost. After 10 days in the UK, some fruit was just the thing.<br />
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Granny Smith apple, Thomcord grapes, nectarine, peach, 2 kiwis, roasted red pepper, smoked gouda, this crazy blueberry/vanilla chevre, toasted 7 grain, and a proper French press.<br />
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Put tangy cheese on crusty bread, pile a couple of pieces of the sweet fruit on top of that, gogogo.<br />
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Welcome home.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-32352813004573107842011-04-04T12:34:00.000-04:002011-04-04T12:34:18.708-04:00French Beans are good, and how about that sauce!?!<div>Had an impromptu 1 am visitor the other night, and she showed up <strong>hungry</strong>. This appears to be her default status. I didn't have much around, but it was too late and cold to go outside, so I pulled a rabbit out of a hat and made a fine stew. Or something like that.<br />
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<strong>Chef's Special Green Beans</strong><br />
<br />
I had some house cured sausage in the freezer, so I pulled that out to thaw, and some fresh French beans that a friend at work brought for me. Everything else was odds and ends, a couple garlic cloves, an orange, a handful of raw almonds, and bam. Pork and Beans, Hull Hostel style.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJlNDNtmYE-gZ0lOFHtxpjYGlb8nEyd6XQPeZx5fBT9CmhhH4QR_igdEoWPyhZxcEzp2NhwiQjOv1rR4IOqOav35MZDHxYrvQhTrcOjwzl-B6k4Uhfzxl_B8aKcpSF69TxUKZmR6i9uk/s1600/IMG-20110329-00095.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590022587245216754" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJlNDNtmYE-gZ0lOFHtxpjYGlb8nEyd6XQPeZx5fBT9CmhhH4QR_igdEoWPyhZxcEzp2NhwiQjOv1rR4IOqOav35MZDHxYrvQhTrcOjwzl-B6k4Uhfzxl_B8aKcpSF69TxUKZmR6i9uk/s400/IMG-20110329-00095.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a> <br />
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Saucy!<br />
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Ingredients<br />
<br />
1 lb fresh French, green, or other string bean<br />
1/2 lb sausage, bacon, pancetta or other salty, delicious pork product<br />
1/2 cup raw almonds<br />
4 whole cloves of garlic, peeled<br />
<br />
For the sauce<br />
<br />
4 tablespoons olive oil<br />
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar<br />
2 tablespoons maple syrup<br />
1 teaspoon hot sauce, a sriracha or habañero sauce works perfect<br />
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed<br />
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed<br />
salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Wash the beans and pick the stems off. Add a pinch of salt to the water and toss in the beans to blanch.<br />
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Start browning the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally to keep from charring.<br />
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The beans should be in the water for 8-10 minutes total. About 5 minutes in, toss the almonds into the boiling water and let them soften up a bit too. The meat should be browning just about the time the beans are ready to come out of the water. If the meat isn't ready yet, pour the beans and almonds into a colander and let them sit and dry out a bit.<br />
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When the meat is browned, take it out of the pan, but make sure to leave any pan juices in the skillet. Add the olive oil to the pan and let it warm up over medium heat.<br />
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While the olive oil heats up, add the garlic cloves, mustard seed, coriander seed, and salt and pepper to the pan. The garlic should start to brown on the sides and the spices will open up nicely in the heat.<br />
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When the olive oil is hot and the garlic is singing to you, add the beans and almonds to the skillet. They'll still be wet and not completely cooked, so they'll make a terrible racket when they go in. Give them a toss or a stir so everything gets a little oil on it.<br />
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Let the beans sauté over medium heat for 2-4 minutes. You want to freshen up the outside of the beans, but you don't want to fry or overcook them. Pluck a couple off the top and try them out, it's pretty obvious when they're just right.<br />
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Turn the heat down to low and put the meat back in. Give everything a stir, and add the vinegar, maple syrup and hot sauce. Toss it all a little and let it sit over low heat for a couple more minutes, until the sauce has had a chance to heat up.<br />
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I put an orange on the plate with the beans, it was a great little side dish. My uncle Tom makes a salad of onion, orange, and olive with a dressing based in balsamic. It seems like an odd combination the first time you look at it, but it's a pretty standard Mediterranean method, and it's good every time.<br />
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Salty/Spicy/Sweet/Beaney/Nutty/Orangey goodness in the wee hours of the dawning day. The Hull Hostel kitchen never closes.<br />
<div></div></div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-41189329376026804292011-03-08T14:02:00.005-05:002011-03-26T21:56:43.746-04:00Korean Fried Chicken<div>I had a Sunday off recently, it was cold and raining outside, and there was a fresh bottle of single malt. This is the kind of situation that leads to good things in the kitchen.</div><br /><div>It was time to dig into the Recipe folder in my computer, where all the torn out pieces of paper and ingredient lists get scanned to live on after the paper copies have died. I used to have them all in a shoe box, just a big mess of newspaper clips and notes on napkins from different restaurants. This method is more reliable, cleaner, and plays Ike & Tina Turner songs when I ask it to, and that's why Bill Gates is a billionaire.</div><br /><div>In the end I chose five recipes, including a little <em>bon chon</em> for the entree. As often happens at Cafe Hull, my roommate Shiloh made a suggestion (fried chicken) and I took it from there. The chicken recipe is in this post, recipes for Fatty 'Cue Brussels sprouts, squash and roasted apple soup, and an apple/pear phyllo crisp follow. Those were the side dishes, I also made a honey cornbread that was good but could be improved on, it's not quite ready for prime time.</div><br /><div><strong>Rainy Day Super Dinner, Part 1</strong></div><br /><div>Fried chicken is one of those perfect foods that is possible to get right in a bunch of different ways. My grandmother usually cut up a whole chicken and dredged the pieces in lightly spiced flour before frying in vegetable oil. It was good stuff, and you can alter the basic recipe hundreds of ways. I usually add something spicy like ground chilies or cayenne powder, more salt and pepper than I remember being in hers, and whatever leftover herbs I have going dry on the table.</div><p>There is also the buttermilk/egg/melted butter theory of a liquid pre-dredging. Then there's the double or triple dredge, where you dip the piece of chicken in your chosen liquid, then in the flour, then back in the liquid and so on until a thick crust builds up around the meat. The concept is solid, but it can be overdone, especially if you don't spice and mix the dredging flour properly.</p><p>I buy the chicken whole and cut it into pieces myself, and usually carve out the breast meat and cut it into strips. The strips serve a few purposes. For one, people are used to them and people like eating things they recognize. For another, the whole breast is the thickest single cut of meat, so you're more likely to burn the crust and under cook the meat.</p><p>Some cooks say the breast doesn't have any flavor, so the strips give you lots of spicy fried breading to taste if you have to eat the cut. I disagree. It's not as <em>chicken flavored</em> as dark meat, but it's got it's own thing happening, a very clean flavor based in tasty meat juice, like broth made tangible. I'm not buying boneless-skinless breast meat alone unless I'm replacing tofu in a dish that looks great except for the tofu. But I don't shy away from the two biggest parts of the carcass.</p><p>The other technique that I have been known to do is to bake the chicken before frying it. This isn't a common method, but it's good for people who don't own a restaurant grade deep fryer with the basket attachment and a 5 lb block of vegetable lard. To get the reeaallll crispy outside on the chicken, you need to have the oil heated to above the 400 degree range, but that will get you the burned outside and raw inside I mentioned earlier, especially if the chicken starts out cold. When you cook the meat first, you're frying for the crust rather than to cook the meat, so you can cook it to your crispiness standard and assume the whole kit and kiboodle is ready.</p><p>I don't pre-cook the chicken every time, but it's nice on occasion. Not only does it allow you to get a firmer crisp, but it changes the texture of the meat as well, makes it a little softer and more pliant. I've also had good luck frying the small bits of shredded chicken and vegetables left after you boil them down for a stock. </p><p>I usually put those bits in a pot pie, but one night I was short of flour for the crusts, so I mixed about two parts flour with one part cornmeal, spiced it up and dumped it over the pile of bite size chicken and vegetables. I tossed everything in the flour and started frying it in small batches in seasoned frying oil that lives in a jar on my pantry shelf. </p><p>This I will do forever. I call it 'chicken fried pot pie' and it will be an appetizer on the menu of the restaurant Kansas that I will open someday, faraway from the actual Kansas, where it will seem like a fairytale land. The meat has a brilliant soft consistency from boiling, and the fact that everything is bite sized makes the proportion of fried crust to actual food very, very high. Oh, sweet clogged arteries, how delicious thou art.</p><p>All that is relevant, but it's really preamble to this recipe for Yangnyeom Dak, or Korean Fried Chicken, from the New York Times Dining Section, October 6, 2009.</p><p>(If you click the photo, it will bring up a large version that is easy to read)</p><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPStunHN9YvFg1ZMmP9tnF_cAxC1DyIztiM2LVG8i7yAlf6kucxXXK8LQBXswr0TgkM16aN9hZLfk-YTGBgmJ5-DQztr44WrlqfWVOdedBDNQ7MhGGmvl4NgI6KVsklzL_enUqWH4-aT8/s1600/Korean+Fried+Chicken+Recipe.jpeg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581786555609819650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 107px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPStunHN9YvFg1ZMmP9tnF_cAxC1DyIztiM2LVG8i7yAlf6kucxXXK8LQBXswr0TgkM16aN9hZLfk-YTGBgmJ5-DQztr44WrlqfWVOdedBDNQ7MhGGmvl4NgI6KVsklzL_enUqWH4-aT8/s400/Korean+Fried+Chicken+Recipe.jpeg" border="0" /></a> </div><p>Asian fried chicken recipes tend to use corn starch either put directly on the chicken or as part of the dredging mix, this one is no different. Another common technique is to create a spicy/sweet sauce that you can slather on when it's done. General Tso's and Orange chicken are the most common applications of the concept in throwaway American Chinese joints, but they don't do it justice at all. </p><p>Properly made, the chicken is extra crispy from the cornstarch, and the sauce is a compliment to the dish, a light top note, if you will, rather than a syrupy, congealing mess that ruins the fried goodness of the meat. It remains crunchy, like good fried chicken, instead of soggy like crappy fast food.</p><p>This recipe is a good example of the basic technique. It turned out great, so great I didn't get a picture.</p>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-60884078662995751412011-03-08T13:58:00.004-05:002011-03-13T21:42:22.891-04:00Fatty 'Cue Brussels SproutsAll Hail the Fatty Empire!<br /><p>Not exactly a family, at least not biologically, just this side of a circus troupe, the fine people at <a href="http://www.fattycrab.com/about/">Fatty Crab</a> and <a href="http://www.fattycue.com/who-we-are">Fatty 'Cue</a> have been cranking out some serious meals the last couple years.</p><p>Everything is "Asian Inspired", which isn't always a good sign. But the Fatty folks, they use the Asian umbrella as a good excuse to employ pretty much every flavor available on the planet in one way or another. The places are small and a pain in the ass to eat at because everybody in New York wants to eat there, but the Crew, as they call themselves, are a lot of fun and the food is equally crazy and delicious.</p><p>The Fattys have gotten in on the newest NY restaurant craze, the Pop-Up. Pop-up restaurants are usually opened by already successful folks in off-track locations that only have short term leases available. This gives the owners no real impetus to build a restaurant that can have long term success, so they let the chefs go nuts. </p><p><a href="http://www.fattyjohnsons.com/">Fatty Johnson's</a> is not only a pop-up by reliable people, it's <em>in my neighborhood</em>. I can't recommend anything, because they change the food and drink menu everyday. What I can say is that it's my favorite place to eat in NY right now, everything I've had there has been fantastic, and it's remarkably friendly. The best part is that they bring in different bartenders everyday and let them create a new drink menu, so the liquor flows in that joint. It's got a real 'what are you going to do, fire me?' vibe that I get along with very well.</p><p>Also, Fatty Johnson's isn't yet the media darling that Crab and 'Cue are, so you can usually wander in and at least get a drink. If you find yourself anywhere near Carmine street, get on it.</p><p><strong>Rainy Sunday Super Meal, Pt 2</strong></p><p>One thing I haven't had at any of the Fatty establishments is the Brussels sprouts, but when their recipe showed up in the Times last November, I figured it was worth a try.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNrHyd-5_hxt0BbvatcKnGDukGirB-DuIDe5H4XSR9hCJG6T0BTza7YS9C7Z50RVRYBpd7-1XkHY7HfKYWmidqizjR_DnKUHV00weNTG8x55wzQoJon1xmrLN93F8-2rHrAol51wNUyQ/s1600/Fatty+%2527Cue+Brussels+sprouts.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 143px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581786343176764066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNrHyd-5_hxt0BbvatcKnGDukGirB-DuIDe5H4XSR9hCJG6T0BTza7YS9C7Z50RVRYBpd7-1XkHY7HfKYWmidqizjR_DnKUHV00weNTG8x55wzQoJon1xmrLN93F8-2rHrAol51wNUyQ/s400/Fatty+%2527Cue+Brussels+sprouts.jpg" /></a> It says 'adapted from Fatty 'Cue', I'm not sure what that means. This dish is also a little low on the Asian ingredients, but you can tell by looking at it that it has a proper pedigree. Bacon, maple syrup, and Thai bird chilies are a lovely marriage, using them to liven up some sprouts can't possibly go wrong.</p><p>Mine didn't turn out this goddamn beautiful, but here's a picture from the Times website -<br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgP44u5Tyi1Lkz8hvhHSHQZhJga7kY5B3Cbw9V-mkNOwbYqnjfOoVWGC_H1dWtHVItGhYiGtofAgsHM13QHZVcZ1NN9aFzmjlrdiFjI3jjXRB8yyBaM66uSd0FbtW68LREOTIoABHXh8/s1600/Fatty+Cue+Brussels.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 131px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583737073326965218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgP44u5Tyi1Lkz8hvhHSHQZhJga7kY5B3Cbw9V-mkNOwbYqnjfOoVWGC_H1dWtHVItGhYiGtofAgsHM13QHZVcZ1NN9aFzmjlrdiFjI3jjXRB8yyBaM66uSd0FbtW68LREOTIoABHXh8/s400/Fatty+Cue+Brussels.jpg" /></a><br />You're telling me you wouldn't eat that?! I would! <p>I only knew Brussels sprouts from <em>You Can't Do That On Television</em> as a kid, so I assumed they tasted like armpit, because that's what the TV told me. I'm fond of them as an adult, they taste like cabbage, but less aggressive. Additionally, because they're somewhat bland, all the recipes drown them in something else, usually something flavorful like bacon, maple syrup and Thai bird chilies. Win-win!</p><p>This is a brilliant way to treat Brussels sprouts. The dish is sweet, earthy, meaty, and spicy all at the same time, and somehow the coriander doesn't get entirely buried. Because the additions get cut up, the sprouts themselves don't get overwhelmed, which is the problem with most recipes for these ugly little buggers.</p><p>Highly recommend the recipe, or the restaurants. All Hail the Fatty Empire!</p>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-16206331949032511072011-03-08T13:37:00.006-05:002011-03-13T18:58:34.881-04:00Apple Pear Phyllo Crisp (To The Rescue)I've been playing with frozen phyllo a lot lately. Not sure why. I think it coincided with the whole 'making my own butter' movement. I need phyllo for a specific dish in January and was able to use homemade butter on it, for some reason that left a fuzzy place in my belly. I've had a roll of frozen phyllo in the fridge since.<br /><br /><strong>Rainy Sunday Dinner, Pt 3</strong><br /><br />Of course my big rainy day mish-mosh super dinner had to have a soup. I was squash and sweet potato crazy last Fall, but I've been giving the gourds and roots a break since the <a href="http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/2010/11/ghost-roast-shilohs-downfall.html">soup at the Ghost Roast</a> made me realize there are parts of Squash Soup Town that I've never been to. Put me off altogether, it was like realizing you'll never make the NBA and giving up on 21 forever. Seriously, that was some good soup.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7fUsDiZ5No_UN2iQZCfrm-mwdXFVOmTjo3aTuEpc333QiuNfFOez6rLRCJhvIZkwqinzZxRTJkvIypja7KDA6RqoaaDa0VhZRtPq-Ech_7XlSlkM5wBTTR5RvcyCNWvCalP55go4lpY/s1600/Butternut+Squash-Roasted+Apple+Soup+Recipe.jpeg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 281px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581785410187721922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7fUsDiZ5No_UN2iQZCfrm-mwdXFVOmTjo3aTuEpc333QiuNfFOez6rLRCJhvIZkwqinzZxRTJkvIypja7KDA6RqoaaDa0VhZRtPq-Ech_7XlSlkM5wBTTR5RvcyCNWvCalP55go4lpY/s400/Butternut+Squash-Roasted+Apple+Soup+Recipe.jpeg" /></a><br /><br />This recipe was published on November 3, 2009, in the New York Times, dining section, presumably. I followed the directions closely, it's pretty basic. I wanted to try this one because I've never used roasted apples in squash soup and I wanted to see if it made a noticable difference.<br /><br />The short answer is that it did. The squash is already pretty sweet, and I usually add yams to the soup, so it has another layer. The apples do the same thing, add another note to the soup, but it's a fruity, bright note instead of the earthy, root flavor of the sweet potatoes. They both work well with the standard Fall spices.<br /><br />I wouldn't say I prefer one to the other, but the squash/yam soup can be easily re-mixed using sauteed onions and curry instead of cinammon & nutmeg, I'm not sure the apple would adapt as well to the change.<br /><br /><strong>TART!</strong><br /><br />This recipe was published in <em>Martha Stewart Living</em> last October. I don't recall what chain of events led to me reading <em>Martha Stewart Living</em>, but clearly something caught my eye. Now that I think about it, I probably ripped this recipe out of a magazine in a waiting room somewhere. Ah, so. Hope none of their future visitors saw it in the Table of Contents and felt deprived.<br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumIGAvuhq-Owo6H8BTzHymfDSGxy_RKoWqdzxkTyNJgACmUNDWK-m9_POGTuTMZ2NHVsO7F0MWlzn9ZeSOdeG0aLgG13rh7HDZnMr1VAyY1dZDIrFJ2ERa_vFj71qSsb6MTpS6baJ12g/s1600/Apple_Pear+Phyllo+Crisp.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 348px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581781987146893506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumIGAvuhq-Owo6H8BTzHymfDSGxy_RKoWqdzxkTyNJgACmUNDWK-m9_POGTuTMZ2NHVsO7F0MWlzn9ZeSOdeG0aLgG13rh7HDZnMr1VAyY1dZDIrFJ2ERa_vFj71qSsb6MTpS6baJ12g/s400/Apple_Pear+Phyllo+Crisp.jpg" /></a></p><p>Again, I did it pretty much how they wrote it, this time, other than using sliced almonds instead of pecans, because I like them better and already had some.</p><p>I had a little more dough than they called for, so mine was a bit heftier, and I added apple/pear slices to the middle of the crisp itself, not just the top. The main issue most people seem to have with phyllo is that it tears, but phyllo works in layers, so you have an automatic means of covering your mistake.</p><p>I've had good luck with phyllo so far, it hasn't given me too much trouble. It's a pain in the ass to brush butter onto every layer, but put on some Funkadelic or your boy Rick James and shake your ass a little while you do it...you'll be done in no time! All in all we're talking 10, maybe 20 minutes, well worth the massive crisp you have when all is said and done.</p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583677055649628322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLzTc33hnhck0kb8FZRFcsbGocPFvE4eATC8Ro56Y9WfTgaLB0AHvJHb1ntsBs50dU2iGWTiWc2wPr8TQOLGNNZdTuPZYXe-FnK3F757QGTXEjDmWFM9LJRaerHRR9fcXSyigUM2VH3c/s400/Apple+Phyllo+-+Turned.JPG" /></p><p>That's my crisp on the left, with the honey/corn bread on the right. The dark spots on top are where I piled torn bits of the dough in haphazard piles on top as a visual experiment that failed. It looked great when I did it, but where individual layers of the dough were separated from the whole, they cooked fast. Which would have been obvious, if I'd spent any time thinking about it. I was singing out loud and tossing cinammon everywhere by that point, considering the relative char point of phyllo wasn't at the top of the list.</p><p>Turned out great, crispy on top and around the edges, buttery and giving in the middle. I had it for breakfast for the next two days, it was brilliant with coffee. I would definitely make this recipe again. Thanks, whoever writes Martha Stewart's recipes!</p>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-91568415719845412632011-02-06T12:53:00.010-05:002011-02-10T19:47:54.577-05:00Homemade Pizza by the 2 Michaels<div>A friend of mine back home, Michael Carmody, is a sage, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtA9s3adbVM">musician</a>, owner of <a href="http://www.thedonutwhole.com/">Wichita's finest donut spot</a>, and all around good guy. He was really inspiring in my wayward youth, a genuine supporter of peace and love, and the first person to open an arty coffee shop in Wichita in a generation at least. I was 15, it was called The Juggernaut, they had a little stage, I thought Carmody invented the concept.<br /><br /><div>So on and so forth, now his central role in my life is as one of the actually interesting people to know on Facebook. Oh that more people had his taste in music videos.</div><div><br /></div><div>A couple weeks back he posted a video of himself, making pizza at home. Here it is -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hdh6K6yA42A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a great recipe video, friendly and simple with a nice groovy track in the background.</div><div><br /></div><div>I watched his video, thought what I always think when I see people cooking - "I eat that" - and didn't give it much thought. When I woke up the next day, the only thing I could think about was homemade pizza. I had the day off, more or less, so there was time. Still, I shook it off for about a half-hour, but in the end, my morning coffee was over pizza dough recipes instead of a crossword.</div><div><br /></div><div>My pizza process is a bit more involved than Carmody's, but not much. Grinding a little meat, browning some onions, easy stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>First Things First</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The pizza dough is the thing that has to sit the longest, so I started with that. I used the Basic Pizza Dough recipe from page 258 of <i>How To Cook Everything</i> by Mark Bittman.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Basic Pizza Dough</div><div><i>Makes 1 large or 2 or more small pizzas</i></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Time: At least 1 hour, largely unattended</b></div><div><br /></div><div>You can knead this dough with a mixer (use the dough hook), or by hand, but I like the food processor best. The pizzas can be grilled or baked in an oven - the hotter the better (commercial pizza ovens are usually about 700ºF). This is the simplest, most basic pizza (and bread) dough you can make. Olive oil makes a smoother, more flavorful dough and a slightly cracklier crust - but you can omit it if you like - just add a little more water to the dough if you do.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast</div><div>3 cups (about 14 ounces) all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed</div><div>2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling</div><div>1 to 1 1/4 cups water</div><div>2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Combine the yeast, flour, and 2 teaspoons salt in the container of a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the 2 tablespoons of oil through the feed tube.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. If it is dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds. (In the unlikely even that the mixture is too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.)</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Grease a bowl with the remaining olive oil, and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free area until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. You can cut this rising time short if you are in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>There are further instructions for adding herbs, garlic, or even meat to your dough, but these are the vitals. I did use olive oil in mine, a nice olive oil that came with two chunks of goat cheese in it. The cheese is great, but it comes packed in good olive oil with rosemary sprigs and pink peppercorns, it's really flavorful. I used to make pizza on rosemary focaccia, so I like a little herb in my bread. The cheesy, herby, peppered oil made for fantastic pizza dough.</div><div><br /></div><div>While the dough was rising, I started with toppings.</div><div><br /></div><div>I knew I wanted a sausage pizza, and I had a little smoked pork neck, as well as a small smoked pork shoulder in the fridge.</div><div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wsDrjsA9cE1gQQlAMQAH4-QNAxnhoN-TGnlvYUUpiAf5Bqwvu1HrOxYWGCGVEB6xbX21y4ihPr-tWEu51DzyDCZmJYMN3Sj44rjDv-JTbJ5JmF_eRNjqewfjzAhrW-nK_CrojcYDoag/s1600/Smoked+Pork+for+Pizza.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637427858809250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-wsDrjsA9cE1gQQlAMQAH4-QNAxnhoN-TGnlvYUUpiAf5Bqwvu1HrOxYWGCGVEB6xbX21y4ihPr-tWEu51DzyDCZmJYMN3Sj44rjDv-JTbJ5JmF_eRNjqewfjzAhrW-nK_CrojcYDoag/s400/Smoked+Pork+for+Pizza.JPG" /></a><br /></div><div>I bought a little fresh pork tenderloin and a couple of fresh veal chops at the store.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYypEkYJ_379eW_k5WwCSqmgMAQMXZWrrAJyulbf8ZiKKGY4yrgr-HFzVDplXUPKm__Blau2S9u4gSWA8j7TgHZlNuYPIVIsppkOxY0Cij-bRE_i1v58pc8q3gwxKFeQWT07LzCvQBUg/s1600/Fresh+Pork+for+Sausage.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637408949960354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYypEkYJ_379eW_k5WwCSqmgMAQMXZWrrAJyulbf8ZiKKGY4yrgr-HFzVDplXUPKm__Blau2S9u4gSWA8j7TgHZlNuYPIVIsppkOxY0Cij-bRE_i1v58pc8q3gwxKFeQWT07LzCvQBUg/s400/Fresh+Pork+for+Sausage.JPG" /></a>They didn't have much in the way of normal sausage bits at Westside Market that day, so I went with what was there. </div><div><br /></div><div>I did a full <a href="http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/2008/06/charcuterie-spoiled-but-never-rotten.html">post on sausage making</a> a couple years back, but I can recount the short version here. I have an old hand grinder that belonged to my Grandma Hull, it's great for small batches, like anything a person would do at home. Unfortunately I was missing both a small piece and the patience to look for it, so I did everything with the grating blade of my food processor. Worked just fine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically, cut the meats up into small bits and grind them. I used the fresh pork and veal, plus about 1/2 as much ground smoked neck and shoulder. Grind it all into a bowl, mix well with about 1 tsp salt per pound of meat and spices to taste, ta-da. I used P<a href="http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysbreakfast.html">enzey's sausage spice mix</a>, a packaged mix that my lovely Mother got me. Penzey is a very reliable spice source, and the sausage mix didn't disappoint.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next was making a little pizza sauce. Like the sausage, I did a post with a <a href="http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-do-what-recipes-in-my-head-tell-me-to.html">complete marinara recipe</a> a couple years ago. Basically, dice a medium onion and 5 or 6 garlic cloves. Brown the onions in a couple tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic. When everything starts to smell sweet, add a pinch of salt and whatever spices you like. I usually do a couple green herbs like oregano or marjoram, and a little ground dried chile. Let the herbs rehydrate in the oil for about a minute and add two large cans of stewed tomatoes, pureed, crushed, or diced. I like one can of crushed, one of diced, that way the tomato gets a chance to assert itself down the road. Heat the tomatoes through and you're good.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had a few other ingredients in mind, but the building blocks were complete. I have a very well-seasoned pizza stone that I stole from a girlfriend years ago by hiding it in a laundry basket when she was moving out. Thanks babe!</div><div><br /></div><div>Heat your oven to at least 400ºF, hotter if it's able. My turn-of-the-last-century stove has no reliable heat monitor, but I mostly cook by sight and smell anyway, so. I turn it to HOT and call it good.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, dough is done, sauce is done, oven is heating. Cut whatever other toppings you're going to use into bite sized pieces and start spreading. </div><div><br /></div><div>Pull off a chunk of dough, and roll it into a ball. Throw some flour on a flat surface and spread the ball out a little. Bittman recommends letting the dough rounds sit for a few minutes, saying it relaxes the dough and makes it easier to spread. I found that to be a good suggestion.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, spread the relaxed dough from the middle out to the edges of your pizza pan. </div><div><br /></div><div>Second, spread sauce to taste on the dough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Third, spread ingredients.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fourth, spread cheese on top of the ingredients. I used a pre-shredded "Italian" mix, a spiced provolone, and a very heady Romano.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiROZC_AUQ01Og63CtoE1ciHj1ldTc4Qaj0HhnQhEyLL_RYGW_SMQq5zz9WhbRmaOM_OxVdyGqcKW99aLdcs9nJPbajWiPQ40v2M7J73qWfYvJ_ufiUf7gZadLAMkNVE2W7Q5OcdlUDo/s1600/Cheese+for+Pizza.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637403549621218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtiROZC_AUQ01Og63CtoE1ciHj1ldTc4Qaj0HhnQhEyLL_RYGW_SMQq5zz9WhbRmaOM_OxVdyGqcKW99aLdcs9nJPbajWiPQ40v2M7J73qWfYvJ_ufiUf7gZadLAMkNVE2W7Q5OcdlUDo/s400/Cheese+for+Pizza.JPG" /></a>My first pie had the homemade sausage, onion, cremini mushrooms, and capers. Oh, yessss.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6P1jfA5xQvYi0iU5EIwuG3M_UFURSyan07qEl1EIh7WPjJDjF4G2VEVvvTiWnUNW-_f1v5d0Q4K9XHCDIZPAsYrz2uTPf4xqP7lm0GdnZ5yrjVUTAKHdW7h2HqkmC6od1njQQO2JrLk/s1600/Sausage+Pizza.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637414092026402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6P1jfA5xQvYi0iU5EIwuG3M_UFURSyan07qEl1EIh7WPjJDjF4G2VEVvvTiWnUNW-_f1v5d0Q4K9XHCDIZPAsYrz2uTPf4xqP7lm0GdnZ5yrjVUTAKHdW7h2HqkmC6od1njQQO2JrLk/s400/Sausage+Pizza.JPG" /></a>For the second pie, I did thin slices of the smoked pork shoulder and neck, fresh basil, scallions, fresh garlic slivers, and marinated olives. You can see my pan o' sauce in this pic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5w0YsGFPI-eULlSf22kdD2mWseY3l_Hht1ZTt0SkWhpgE6HWcAXG5oaE9hJ90JNc_qkVfD8M1Qbw0sKKxDMa5OANztFWZeTf7P3S0cnJKWIg34vdrG3tpBs7OxzDaCmOPGMwCUolHVQ/s1600/Smoked+Pork+Pizza.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637841824606658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5w0YsGFPI-eULlSf22kdD2mWseY3l_Hht1ZTt0SkWhpgE6HWcAXG5oaE9hJ90JNc_qkVfD8M1Qbw0sKKxDMa5OANztFWZeTf7P3S0cnJKWIg34vdrG3tpBs7OxzDaCmOPGMwCUolHVQ/s400/Smoked+Pork+Pizza.JPG" /></a>These pics are before the cheese went on or the pie was cooked.</div><div><br /></div><div>The third pizza was veggie, with creminis, fresh basil, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, sliced poblano peppers, and onion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGaoTOxARo7h8_sM2BEXAGyO6JKHBOy2s382jPGFPLV_ZuNCQSMSLCzDdezQMLUsEJZLj-RACX1og8YGQdfvjP3BFvp8Os-Th3zz08DTj8mnnpbsz1J5WH2XgDcyiZ4MFb5YsCOwnaI/s1600/Veggie+Pizza.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570637850614722178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGaoTOxARo7h8_sM2BEXAGyO6JKHBOy2s382jPGFPLV_ZuNCQSMSLCzDdezQMLUsEJZLj-RACX1og8YGQdfvjP3BFvp8Os-Th3zz08DTj8mnnpbsz1J5WH2XgDcyiZ4MFb5YsCOwnaI/s400/Veggie+Pizza.JPG" /></a>The Bittman pizza recipe calls for 8-12 minutes at 500ºF, I did 12-15 minutes at around 425ºF. It's pretty obvious when they're done, they look all crispy, like a pizza should. You've seen it, you'll be able to recognize it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Beer was served. A good time was had by all. I won't even get into the superlatives that spouted from my otherwise reasonable dinner guests, but suffice it to say no one was disappointed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Knead some flour and water, heat up some tomatoes, pile on some cheese. No wonder it's become a universal meal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you, brother Carmody, for another great idea.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-15966614458685773242011-02-06T12:50:00.002-05:002011-02-07T05:24:41.933-05:00Herbed Olive OilI use olive oil all the time, and I like a fresh herb. How hard can it be?<br /><br /><br />I was actually inspired to do this little trick by a nice oil-packed goat cheese that I've been into lately. You get two small logs, just bigger than the diameter of a quarter, a little more than an inch tall, in a plastic container filled with olive oil, rosemary, and pink peppercorns. The cheese is great, but the herbed, slightly cheese-flavored oil that you're left with is way over the top.<br /><br /><p>I've been dipping bread in it and eating the oil straight with exceptional results, but last week I used the cheesy herbed olive oil in homemade pizza crust (more on that in a future post, soon I promise). This was a revelation. It was immediately clear that no tasteful person in a civilized society should go without herbed olive oil. Seriously, it was that good. I bought two bottles of good oil and a few clutches of fresh herbs the next day.</p><p>And now I have this.<br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXvooNkRxHQF88kQLHIv6XmI-CKPUzaBMGhyphenhyphen3Z3C7X-aw8pg9Xv_1AszkcyqXB3fQPOoGrElntPhfQVcIsZEZhszit4lwSDfzYFXzEwfAIQvs20-4E1quDEBa_DEug6UoyCeD6UVieIc/s1600/Herbed+Olive+Oil.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570636237854186578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXvooNkRxHQF88kQLHIv6XmI-CKPUzaBMGhyphenhyphen3Z3C7X-aw8pg9Xv_1AszkcyqXB3fQPOoGrElntPhfQVcIsZEZhszit4lwSDfzYFXzEwfAIQvs20-4E1quDEBa_DEug6UoyCeD6UVieIc/s400/Herbed+Olive+Oil.JPG" /></a> </p><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2hq4KoHSsU0mqi4KLdtChB-QirkOWEcJdIFkZm_2bGzAmfMWlPcyQBu2RqsumDvwwEtrVJHuTM4vOsRFf8GbCjzS5t13TWAczJ9WaDwwS3vxfCu74ZIHnYD4cgtdPOycpbTFcpKBwyE/s1600/Herbed+Olive+Oil+CU.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570636238701183554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2hq4KoHSsU0mqi4KLdtChB-QirkOWEcJdIFkZm_2bGzAmfMWlPcyQBu2RqsumDvwwEtrVJHuTM4vOsRFf8GbCjzS5t13TWAczJ9WaDwwS3vxfCu74ZIHnYD4cgtdPOycpbTFcpKBwyE/s400/Herbed+Olive+Oil+CU.JPG" /></a>One bottle is rosemary and thyme, one is sage and tarragon, the short jar is all four herbs with four peeled garlic cloves and two dried chiles. </p><p>These bottles were left in my apartment by previous tennants, I would guess, oh, ten years ago at least? I never could throw them away, now I finally have a justification.</p><p>Instructions, you ask?</p><p>Get a fancy ass bottle. Get some olive oil. Get some herbs.</p><p>Put the herbs in the bottle. Fill it up with oil. Find a shelf in your kitchen that gets direct morning sunlight and take a picture of how retro/modern awesome you are.</p><p>I used these herb combinations because they're the ones I like, you can mix and match any combination that works for you. The little jar is a pure experiment in over-the-top giddiness, like throwing a tool shed on top of the Empire State Building, <em>just because there's room</em>. </p><p>What I do know is that I frequently use olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, and dried chiles in varying amounts and all kinds of dishes, they can't be that bad together.</p><p>I haven't used any of them yet, but after only one day marinating, the oils already smell delicious. Now where did I put that pizza stone?</p><p><strong>Something Else I Cooked That Night</strong></p><p>And, just because there's no recipe and I did it at the same time, here's a picture of dinner -<br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEZ7OHq1_brY-EcwtU70YUh8nlMc3_QknebzHaoNOZnvb8XtvoGPl0TFnM_J651ORNOgJaaSKmA0khtYW8P1tuxkvzzXRkb5umQOv0rN247jHlKOiPPPtAe4Owru0_5PhEx_Ru5zRgrY/s1600/Mikoe%2527s+Chicken+%2526+Waffles.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570636245657473122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEZ7OHq1_brY-EcwtU70YUh8nlMc3_QknebzHaoNOZnvb8XtvoGPl0TFnM_J651ORNOgJaaSKmA0khtYW8P1tuxkvzzXRkb5umQOv0rN247jHlKOiPPPtAe4Owru0_5PhEx_Ru5zRgrY/s400/Mikoe%2527s+Chicken+%2526+Waffles.jpg" /></a> Mike-oe's Chicken and Waffles</p><p>Made fried chicken breast strips, a nice cremini and onion gravy, then piled them both on a crispy golden waffle. We also had a maple syrup option, but the gravy was my favorite. I'm not even a fan of the phrase "mushroom gravy", it brings to mind the phrase "cream of mushroom", which is the culinary equal of "dirt soup" or "old sneaker pie", in my opinion. But the reliable ol' Westside Market has had a real nice run of creminis lately, a gravy out of homemade butter and creamline milk was slightly less than heart healthy, but well worth every blessed drop of cholesterol.</p>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-36794636016744721982011-02-04T13:56:00.004-05:002011-02-05T15:13:24.175-05:00Roast Chicken and Other StoriesI have a friend who's a snob. <div><br /></div><div>Says things like "if the coffee was ground 2 days ago, it's flavor is waning". I'm a closet snob, straining against my working class apron strings, so embarrassed of the price of the cheese I buy that I throw away the receipt on the way home from the store. I take the price tag off of dinner party wine bottles, not because of how cheap they are, but because people routinely set mine aside for a 'special occasion', when I brought it because I wanted to drink it. <div><div><br /></div><div>I admire the open air, soap box snob, tossing their longish hair in the wind and crying "artisanal or death".<br /><br /><div>My friend deserves to be a snob though, he's earned it. This is a guy who gets off-the-menu desserts in the kitchen of 11 Madison Park, and hangs out with Woody Allen. He's tasted the finer things, he knows from champagne and caviar.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when he suggested a cookbook in December, it was intriguing. Available for $5 at the Borders bookstore in the high-end mall at Columbus Circle, natch. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BYa72oeQq39I9Sf0rUa_8Z4jmF_X-ndI_8xGSKEJ-Iggw8hqH6XgJdwxunH4IrR41iIjFow394x7BbaVbkSxiaHKB7w3gz5aCJaelrYU_eJYHGuDZymeqR0oaJvRAkeyZBvebedSACo/s1600/Roast+Chicken+Cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BYa72oeQq39I9Sf0rUa_8Z4jmF_X-ndI_8xGSKEJ-Iggw8hqH6XgJdwxunH4IrR41iIjFow394x7BbaVbkSxiaHKB7w3gz5aCJaelrYU_eJYHGuDZymeqR0oaJvRAkeyZBvebedSACo/s400/Roast+Chicken+Cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569910500059352082" /></a>THE MOST USEFUL COOKBOOK OF ALL TIME - <i>now that's a blurb!</i></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a weird book, organized by ingredient rather than the typical "appetizer-soup-salad-entree-bread-dessert". Even the ingredient list is odd, it goes from simple items like spinach, tomatoes, olive oil, chocolate and eggs, to brains, endive, grouse, rabbit, sweetbreads, and tripe.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are 40 headings, each one gets a handful of recipes. There's no uniformity here either, relatively easy-to-find crab gets two recipes, while the nearly extinct cod has 5. Cream and custard get 7 recipes each. Who needs 7 custard recipes?</div><div><br /></div><div>But in the best traditions of snobs, early scientists, and dictators with drafting pens, Hopkinson's personality rules the day. His unique organization gets lost in the warmly personal writing, where every instruction could end with an "or so". Once you get into his head, the book makes perfect sense.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the introduction -</div><div><blockquote>The title of this book, <i>Roast Chicken and Other Stories</i>, was chosen simply because it had a friendly ring to it, and I hope that it sounds inviting and uncomplicated...I would like to think that this collection of recipes will appeal to all who like to cook; those who gain immense pleasure from being in their kitchens with good produce around them purchased from favorite sources - markets, butchers and fishmongers, grocers and greengrocers, delicatessens and wine shops. I would also like to imagine that <i>everybody</i> could become a good cook and have a healthy interest in the bountiful ingredients that are available in such quantity on our doorsteps.</blockquote></div><div>See, you can be a snob too. And be friendly about it!</div><div><br /></div><div>I decided it only made sense to try the roast chicken recipe first. From page 28 -</div><blockquote><div>ROAST CHICKEN</div><div><br /></div><div>1/2 cup good butter, at room temperature</div><div>4 lb free-range chicken</div><div>salt and pepper</div><div>1 lemon</div><div>several sprigs of thyme or tarragon, or a mixture of the two</div><div>1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed</div><div><br /></div><div>Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Smear the butter with your hands all over the bird. Put the chicken in a roasting pan that will accommodate it with room to spare. Season liberally with salt and pepper and squeeze over the juice of the lemon. Put the herbs and garlic inside the cavity, together with the squeezed-out lemon halves - this will add a fragrant lemony flavor to the finished dish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Roast the chicken in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Baste, then turn the oven temperature down to 375ºF and roast for a further 30-45 minutes with occasional basting. The bird should be golden brown all over with a crisp skin and have buttery, lemony juices of a nut-brown color in the bottom of the pan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turn off the oven, leaving the door ajar, and leave the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. This enables the flesh to relax gently, retaining the juices in the meat and ensuring easy, trouble free carving and a moist bird.</div><div><br /></div><div>Carve the bird to suit yourself. I like to do it <i>in</i> the roasting pan. I see no point in making a gravy in that old-fashioned way with the roasting fat, flour, and vegetable cooking water. With this roasting method, what you end up with in the pan is an amalgamation of butter, lemon juice, and chicken juices. That's all. It is a perfect homogenization of fats and liquids. All it needs is a light whisk or a stir, and you have the most wonderful "gravy" imaginable. If you wish to add extra flavor, you can scoop the garlic and herbs out of the chicken cavity, stir them into the gravy, and heat through; strain before serving.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another idea, popular with the Italians, is sometimes known as "wet-roasting." Pour some white wine or a little chicken stock, or both, or even just water around the bottom of the pan at the beginning of cooking. This will produce more of a sauce and can be enriched further to produce altogether different results. For example, you can add chopped tomatoes, diced bacon, cream, endless different herbs, mushrooms, spring vegetables, spice - particularly saffron and ginger - or anything else that you fancy.</div><div><br /></div><div>For me, the simple roast bird is the best, but it is useful to know how much further you can go when roasting a chicken.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>A remarkable recipe for a number of reasons. First, the actual cooking is done by the second paragraph. He gives a quick lesson on the importance of letting meat rest, revolutionizes your gravy technique, and then gives a dozen variations on the theme, in one short page. Simple, friendly, and you know it's delicious.</div><div><br /></div><div>I went with the basic recipe, using <a href="http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/really-mike-doesnt-make-his-own-ketchup.html">homemade butter</a>, and house cured Moroccan lemons because I didn't have any fresh.</div><div><br /></div><div>The one thing I did different was add carrots, potatoes, scallions, red bell and poblano peppers to the pan after the chicken. I didn't use any extra liquid, there was plenty from the lemons, the butter and the chicken itself to cook the vegetables, and enough to baste by tipping it to the corner.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eNhAW_rubbagsnq1hjT9qUQ2AJ3ahLvXqy7KrRjCZ2rIp2KyrreRmn_Tr1dmqj83M8UcX8CPUjX_fdTK12n0kXpamE1kg164LyLBbrnLyYRg9-as_o3OGV5dW6kyAwYE3sGWjR8sX8s/s1600/Manhattan-20110126-00025.jpg"></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eNhAW_rubbagsnq1hjT9qUQ2AJ3ahLvXqy7KrRjCZ2rIp2KyrreRmn_Tr1dmqj83M8UcX8CPUjX_fdTK12n0kXpamE1kg164LyLBbrnLyYRg9-as_o3OGV5dW6kyAwYE3sGWjR8sX8s/s1600/Manhattan-20110126-00025.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eNhAW_rubbagsnq1hjT9qUQ2AJ3ahLvXqy7KrRjCZ2rIp2KyrreRmn_Tr1dmqj83M8UcX8CPUjX_fdTK12n0kXpamE1kg164LyLBbrnLyYRg9-as_o3OGV5dW6kyAwYE3sGWjR8sX8s/s400/Manhattan-20110126-00025.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569910511024745218" /></a></div></div></div></div><div>This is a flawless roast chicken recipe. </div><div><br /></div><div>I pulled out a fork and dug into a hind-quarter, just planning to taste one bite and save the rest for later. I ate the whole quarter, standing in the kitchen, <i>talking</i> <i>on the phone</i>. I hate listening to people chew into a phone and am usually very conscientious about doing it myself, but I went into a chicken fog and dropped out of the conversation altogether.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopkinson was a rockstar chef in the late 80's to mid-90's, until he had a breakdown while head chef at a swanky London joint called Bibendum. <i>Roast Chicken and Other Stories</i> had just come out, but was still 10 years from winning the Waitrose Food Illustrated designation of Most Useful Cookbook Ever. Hopkinson says he walked out of the kitchen half-way through a New Years Eve service, sat down to eat for the rest of the night, and quit the restaurant business.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, two books and one major award later, he's a professional snob-at-large. But, like my friend, he's the good kind of snob, the kind that will have a beer with you. </div><div><br /></div><div>Provided it's a really good beer.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-8553298782540697332011-02-03T23:55:00.002-05:002011-02-04T00:09:36.671-05:00Super Awesome Food Blog (That Isn't Mine)This guy Daniel Klein started a blog called <a href="http://theperennialplate.com/">The Perennial Plate</a>, and it's pretty great.<div><br /></div><div>Klein has some serious cooking credentials, even though he's still in his 20's. The upside of youth is being willing and able to do something like this blog.</div><div><br /></div><div>Klein's idea is to live in Minnesota for a year and do multiple video posts. From the ABOUT page on the website -</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); line-height: 21px; "><blockquote>Taking place over a calendar year in Minneapolis, Minnesota as well as the surrounding food source destinations, Daniel takes the viewer on a journey to appreciate and understand where good food comes from and how to enjoy it. Recipes, politics, long winters, urban gardens, ice fishing, blood, hunting and guts... all line the path to the perennial plate.</blockquote></span></div><div>The videos are straight forward, no frills things, but the recipes are not. The most challenging thing about what he does involves either massive amounts of snow or butchering wild animals, but in proper culinary fashion he's serious about presentation. The dishes look so good it's easy to forget you're looking at medallions of road kill deer.</div><div><br /></div><div>I like Klein, he's earnest but soft-spoken, serious but not judgmental. On the other hand, he doesn't treat the Minnesotans like Wise Medicine Man Sages of the North, they're people who don't mind killing dinner, but aren't defined by it the way Klein is. </div><div><br /></div><div>He just got linked up with the folks over at Huffington Post somehow. Their food section is usually forgettable, maybe this will be a new direction for them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Moment that sold me? When he went ice fishing, with spears, caught a pike, and found a whole guppy in it's belly during cleaning. I really thought he was going to cook up the little fish too, but apparently digestive juice fish sauce isn't even on Klein's menu.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-50304933488638450682011-02-02T13:43:00.003-05:002011-02-02T13:49:09.763-05:00Best Recipe & Photo of 2010I wrote up <a href="http://porkalicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-recipe-of-2010.html">Boozy Fruit</a> a few days ago, but hadn't gotten this picture developed yet. Turns out the best recipe of 2010 also got to be the focus of my best picture last year.<div><br /></div><div>Convenient, and delicious!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMT92Jg4sKJSroHWOYW1yBgJRv0Iri22Ygf7j_CaoYIBiyeFd5nkKbspXtzyrAAY3TWtnVn4CgB7_EZVD0wW_ESLc9aGGvC9PA-BQ39BW5S_DxrFMZl_6v9Ln6EuvqvDy0GfNNmmwOk8/s1600/VodkaTopf.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMT92Jg4sKJSroHWOYW1yBgJRv0Iri22Ygf7j_CaoYIBiyeFd5nkKbspXtzyrAAY3TWtnVn4CgB7_EZVD0wW_ESLc9aGGvC9PA-BQ39BW5S_DxrFMZl_6v9Ln6EuvqvDy0GfNNmmwOk8/s400/VodkaTopf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569165280828811634" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Shot on a <a href="http://usa.shop.lomography.com/cameras/supersampler-rubberized-blue">Lomography Super Sampler</a> camera and Fuji 35mm 400 speed film.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-59598747250280729802011-01-27T23:50:00.003-05:002011-01-28T00:10:57.795-05:00Seriously, Get Yourself A DairyNot as in buy a dairy farm, but look around, find somebody near you who's doing the work, and frequent them. I consider myself lucky, I've got <a href="http://www.ronnybrook.com/farm.html">Ronnybrook</a>.<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfmWSsXBav4r2thcnIFePPDnj1_HTdiQoFkv65TIpo1mjYB3d1C2S-pDPV14f-0pXaWXpt19b7G6uZDO4aVQwxMudBcIueQk3OwL1z5rmEhk6GWPo5N19iB2-079eA1xbyAcrsMSnDMg/s1600/Chocolate+Milk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfmWSsXBav4r2thcnIFePPDnj1_HTdiQoFkv65TIpo1mjYB3d1C2S-pDPV14f-0pXaWXpt19b7G6uZDO4aVQwxMudBcIueQk3OwL1z5rmEhk6GWPo5N19iB2-079eA1xbyAcrsMSnDMg/s400/Chocolate+Milk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567095835760202754" /></a></div><div><b>Ronnybrook Chocolate Creamline On 4 Ft of NYC Fuck You Snow</b></div><div><br /></div><div>At this point, all my dairy dollars go to Ronnybrook. It helps that the fancy grocery store near my house offers their fine products, but I was buying it from the <a href="http://www.coolhunting.com/food-drink/ronnybrook-milk.php">Ronnybrook Milk Bar</a> at Chelsea Market before they picked it up at the Westside Market.</div><div><br /></div><div>The chocolate creamline in the picture might as well be a milkshake for as thick and sweet as it is. It's so goddamn good, I can't properly describe it, but what stands out is the really good chocolate flavor. Their ice cream is great too, and comes with a texture that is closer to homemade than most of the others around.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mostly use their milk in coffee, and I keep a couple of their yogurts in the fridge for quick snacks. It's just a little more robust of a flavor than other milk stuffs, a little more layered and complete. It may sound stupid, but I'm telling you, find yourself a dairy and pour a couple of shots of milk. If you can get proper milk from grass fed cows, served fresh in glass, you'll notice the difference. </div><div><br /></div><div>All told I spend about $10/week on milk/yogurt/ice cream, and probably another $10 on cheese.</div><div><br /></div><div>Might as well do it right.</div><div><br /></div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-21176903538426288362011-01-24T11:21:00.004-05:002011-01-24T11:46:02.690-05:00Flava's Fried ChickenI don't know how many pasty white 12 year-olds were into Public Enemy, but I was one of them. It took me a while to grasp the full ramifications of what Chuck D was talking about, but I got Flava Flav immediately.<br /><br />I still have a soft spot for Flav, and now he's opening a fried chicken chain!<br /><br /><a href="http://clintonherald.com/local/x530798204/Reality-TV-star-takes-chance-on-Clinton">Flava's Fried Chicken</a><br /><br />Apparently he's got a book coming out too. Wait for it, he'll be running for office any day now.<br /><br />911 is a joke!Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-8686528801090939892011-01-21T01:36:00.005-05:002011-01-27T12:39:49.697-05:00Really? Mike Doesn't Make His Own Ketchup?<div>My friend Talkeye was amazed to find a bottle of Heinz in the refrigerator door recently, which seemed ridiculous at first. In light of this recipe, I'm starting to think I've earned the reputation.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Making Butter With My Magic Electric Churn</b></div><div><br /></div><div>My brilliant Mother got me a Kitchen Aid mixer for xmas!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTw75x-bN8bkEgFHTLz_vCGpFrxxnLWgPLLownRTZFQNLtt_ql4ElGdgtipFi6Q6oMRGxg5-pUMsYbQWT1nbCcAxAWYW1-41Zn_hEjr6uy6U6uU88nG_gRUgLoDB6IWdHFwBqZEkAHJE/s1600/Manhattan-20110120-00012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTw75x-bN8bkEgFHTLz_vCGpFrxxnLWgPLLownRTZFQNLtt_ql4ElGdgtipFi6Q6oMRGxg5-pUMsYbQWT1nbCcAxAWYW1-41Zn_hEjr6uy6U6uU88nG_gRUgLoDB6IWdHFwBqZEkAHJE/s400/Manhattan-20110120-00012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566900284530046402" /></a>And my brilliant Sister got me <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Skills-Cooking-Time-Honored-Recipes/dp/1906868069">this book</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The book is cool, but I have to make more of the recipes before reviewing it in any detail. The one thing I have made is butter, and it is gooooooood. It's easy, and kind of amazing to watch too, you just pour cream into the mixer and let it go.</div><div><br /></div><div>She starts with 2 1/2 quarts of unpasteurized heavy cream at room temperature. She suggests leaving the cream at 46 degrees to ripen for up to 48 hours, I haven't figured out how to achieve that exact temp, so I haven't tried it. </div><div><br /></div><div>She also says that using pasteurized cream is okay, but I tried both, and the unpasteurized definitely makes a more flavorful butter.</div><div><br /></div><div>This recipe leaves you with about 2 1/4 pounds of butter and 1 quart of buttermilk, which she suggests should last you about a week. I've had my last batch in the fridge for two weeks now and haven't used half of it, so apparently we have different butter needs.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Unsalted Butter</div><div><i>Forgotten Skills of Cooking</i>, by Darina Allen - pp 214-215</div><div><br /></div><div>2 1/2 quarts unpasteurized or pasteurized heavy cream at room temperature</div><div>2 tsp pickling salt (optional)</div><div><br /></div><div>Pair of butter bats or hands</div><div><br /></div><div>Soak the wooden butter bats or hands in iced water for about 30 minutes so they do not stick to the butter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pour the heavy cream into a cold, sterilized mixing bowl. If it's homogenized, it will still whip, but not as well. If you're using raw cream and want a more traditional taste, leave it to ripen in a cool place, where the temperature is about 46 degrees, for up to 48 hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>Beat the cream at medium speed in a food mixer until it is thick. First it will be softly whipped, then stiffly whipped.</div></blockquote><div><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjy_oaugzkB1MdfemfDA21xSfHJlWtdcAffYN5o9S8QIlutONpJyLsUyABg1N_JcI6574163Ufnzi_lMme3SO2quqwJ01TLANAHzmqtr47OCxq_Pqa9omaTp9S2NkE7omdoClJ374ln0/s1600/Butter+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjy_oaugzkB1MdfemfDA21xSfHJlWtdcAffYN5o9S8QIlutONpJyLsUyABg1N_JcI6574163Ufnzi_lMme3SO2quqwJ01TLANAHzmqtr47OCxq_Pqa9omaTp9S2NkE7omdoClJ374ln0/s400/Butter+2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564524657665413314" /></a></div><blockquote><div>Continue until the whipped cream collapses and separates into butterfat globules. The buttermilk will separate from the butter and slosh around the bowl.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tip the mixture into a cold, spotlessly clean sieve and drain well. The butter remains in the sieve while the buttermilk drains into a bowl. The buttermilk can be used to make soda bread or as a thirst-quenching drink (it will not taste sour). Put the butter back into a clean bowl and beat for another 30 seconds to 1 minute to expel more buttermilk. Remove and drain as before.</div></blockquote><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgUL3ha9YDm-S34OYaZ2NmnaJDNzdJZ7jY58Y4A1hmBxweRyRJFMifWa8Dgap2t_otPCaRDqcn3vIxsFZtEfTkwboIswfC8J5_FkGt805p3mjt7FBY3iHSSWEiVmgQxUX248w1tYDKN4/s1600/Butter+1+%2526+Book.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKgUL3ha9YDm-S34OYaZ2NmnaJDNzdJZ7jY58Y4A1hmBxweRyRJFMifWa8Dgap2t_otPCaRDqcn3vIxsFZtEfTkwboIswfC8J5_FkGt805p3mjt7FBY3iHSSWEiVmgQxUX248w1tYDKN4/s400/Butter+1+%2526+Book.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564524663156977586" /></a></div><blockquote><div>Fill the bowl containing the butter with very cold water. Use the butter bats or your clean hands to knead the butter to force out as much buttermilk as possible. This is important, as any buttermilk left in the butter will sour and the butter will spoil quickly. If you handle the butter too much with warm hands, it will liquefy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Drain the water, and wash twice more, until the water is completely clear.</div><div><br /></div><div>Weigh the butter into 4oz, 8oz, or 1lb slabs. Pat into shape with the wet butter hands or bats. Make sure the butter hands or bats have been soaked in ice-cold water for at least 30 minutes before using to stop the butter sticking to the ridges. Wrap in parchment or waxed paper and keep chilled in a fridge. The butter also freezes well.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Variations</b></div><div><br /></div><div>SALTED BUTTER</div><div><br /></div><div>If you wish to add salt, you will need 1/4 teaspoon of pickling salt for every 4oz of butter. Before shaping the butter, spread it out in a thin layer and sprinkle evenly with dairy salt. Mix thoroughly using the butter pats, then weight into slabs as before.</div><div><br /></div><div>SPREADABLE BUTTER</div><div><br /></div><div>I much prefer unadulterated butter, rather than butters with additives that change the texture. So if you want to be able to spread butter easily, simply leave it out of the fridge for a few hours in a covered container.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>Well, then!</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't do the whole water wash step, I just lumped it all together in the bowl and squeezed until buttermilk stopped coming out, then put it in a Tupperware dish and called it good. I also didn't use butter bats, or soak my hands in ice water for a half-hour before I started.</div><div><br /></div><div>As you can see in process picture two above, I put a funnel in an old milk bottle, laced it with cheesecloth and poured the "butterfat globules" into the funnel. The cheesecloth made a great draining tool too, twisting it to squeeze out the buttermilk worked perfectly.</div><div><br /></div><div>And there you have it, pour, mix, squeeze, done. I don't use much butter, when I do it's almost always in a recipe. So I've never thought buying low-fat, mostly vegetable oil <i>spread</i> was necessary for my health, heart or otherwise. Never say never, but butter has just reached the bottom of my grocery list, somewhere between canned beets and, um, frozen fake crab meat. Heavy cream, on the other hand, may have found a new market.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing I did with my new butter was French toast an *adultified* apple/pear/winter spice bread that had gone stale, using buttermilk and eggs, then cook the slices in my fresh butter and serve with maple syrup and hot coffee. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ooo-wee.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBiChW_JfXAYgCafFVjQSDmLnchXRpCcJQvrqILkAcOu89NBBn81-n06HzkEPcCfmsWDYE6lFOq9H8s08SeCeYRicoxHwPhJ_lZ5wCnViESsiHFpghynylXBIPQgsbjEZyDT6ohO5Nek/s1600/Apple+French+Toast.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBiChW_JfXAYgCafFVjQSDmLnchXRpCcJQvrqILkAcOu89NBBn81-n06HzkEPcCfmsWDYE6lFOq9H8s08SeCeYRicoxHwPhJ_lZ5wCnViESsiHFpghynylXBIPQgsbjEZyDT6ohO5Nek/s400/Apple+French+Toast.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564524653871869842" /></a><br /></div></div></div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-73214895066802626662011-01-21T01:34:00.004-05:002011-01-21T13:21:05.757-05:00The Best Recipe of 2010<div>I made a lot of great stuff in 2010, but I think I have to give the gold medal to Melissa Clark from the New York Times for recipe of the year.</div><div><br /><div>Clark wrote <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/dining/22appe.html?_r=1&ref=dining">this article in September</a> about boozy fruit. She's a regular writer for the Dining section of the Times, and has very reliable taste. Her recipes have more flair than Bittman's, and her writing implies more of the fun in cooking than the rest of the section, so I'm a fan.</div><div><br /></div><div>She hit a grand slam with this boozy fruit thing. The article starts off by mentioning her preoccupation with preserving some of the mountains of fresh fruit at the farmer's market in late summer. But of course, canning jams and jellies is a huge pain in the ass. Boozy fruit is not. According to Clark, <span class="Apple-style-span" >"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 22px; ">Apart from freezing, it is about the simplest preserving method there is".</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 22px; " ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 22px; " >The only problem with boozy fruit is that it takes a while for the ingredients to truly mix, so you make this beautiful, inviting jar of fruity liquor and then just stare at it for three months. I had to hide it all on the back of a shelf and forget about it. </span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8m85JETIU4pRhWT9erOP4qXUVFNnBX531ApXaLUA0XWhydo2ts3h1C5iUQmhneZQAEdpTYONjxKxWIGYXykZLkN-f98UMaMEZhxl9dJKvXdp8yVlL7MBWelgwQODPDIjgNTceEAmuy4/s1600/Boozy+Fruit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8m85JETIU4pRhWT9erOP4qXUVFNnBX531ApXaLUA0XWhydo2ts3h1C5iUQmhneZQAEdpTYONjxKxWIGYXykZLkN-f98UMaMEZhxl9dJKvXdp8yVlL7MBWelgwQODPDIjgNTceEAmuy4/s400/Boozy+Fruit.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564524156976118002" /></a>Woah!</div><div><br /></div><div>I made the traditional rumtopf, with summer berries, peaches, and plums, the same thing with vodka, Clark's pomegranate preserve using vodka instead of gin, and the brandied plums with cinnamon and vanilla.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are the recipes, as they appear in the original article.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Rumtopf</div><div>Time: 20 minutes, plus 2 hours to sit and at least 3 weeks to macerate.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 pint mixed berries (like raspberries, blackberries or strawberries)</div><div>2 1/2 cups sugar</div><div>1 bottle dark rum (1 liter), more as needed</div><div>1 pound peaches and nectaries, washed, pitted (pits preserved) and sliced 1/2-inch thick</div><div>1 pound mixed plums, washed, pitted and sliced 1/2-inch thick</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Place berries in a large jar. Gently toss with 1 cup sugar. Let sit for 2 hours, then top with 1/3 of the rum. Do not stir.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Cover berries with peaches and nectarines. Top with 3/4 cup sugar and another 1/3 of the rum. Do not stir.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Add plums. Top with remaining sugar and cover with rest of rum, leaving room for 1 inch of liquid on top. Do not stir.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Loosely wrap preserved peach and nectarine pits in a thick towel. Use a hammer or kitchen mallet to crack the pits and extract the kernels. Crush the kernels gently and add to the vessel.</div><div><br /></div><div>5. Cover and let sit in a dark, cool place (but not the refrigerator) for at least 3 weeks and preferably 12. If the fruit floats to the top, turn the jar upside down so all the fruit falls to the bottom (you may have to do this several times over the weeks).</div><div><br /></div><div>Yield: About 2 quarts.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>I did not crush the peach pits, but I don't remember why. Seems like the kind of thing I'd do.</div><div><br /></div><div>I did end up with more fruit and vodka than the recipes called for, so I made the same concoction with vodka instead of rum, with great success. I think the next time I make these recipes I'll cut the sugar by up to half, the end result can be a little syrupy for my taste. But the flavors are really bright, and this shit is so much fun to break out in a crowd. I haven't served boozy fruit to a single person who's heard of it, and they all seem a little pissed, like I've been personally keeping a secret from them.</div><div></div><blockquote><div>Brandied Plums With Cinnamon and Vanilla</div><div>Time: 10 minutes, plus at least 6 weeks to macerate.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 pound small plums</div><div>1/2 cup sugar</div><div>1 1/2 cups brandy</div><div>2-inch cinnamon stick</div><div>1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Wash plums and prick them all over with a needle. Place them in a 1-quart jar with a tight lid and stir in the sugar. Pour in brandy, covering plums by at least an inch. Add cinnamon and vanilla, cover and shake a few times.</div><div><br /></div><div>2. Let jar sit in a dark, cool place (but not the refrigerator) for at least 6 weeks and preferably 3 months. If the fruit floats to the top, turn the jar over.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yield: 1 quart.</div></blockquote><div></div><div>This is my favorite of the four varieties I made. I like brandy anyway, and plums, and cinnamon, not to mention vanilla. The difference in the final product between the liquor and the fruit is really pronounced in this brandy, with the liquid ending up sweet and fruity, because the fruit absorbed all of the spirits.</div><div><br /></div><div>The liquor remains alcoholic, of course, but whatever it is that makes you take a deep breath after a shot, that stuff all soaks into the plums. They have a hint of gasoline when you first bust the jar open, and they widen the eyes of anyone who eats one. That said, they're addictive, like sour candies or those dried wasabi peas, and they're smoothed out by a shot of the brandy so well it seems planned.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPY-qMVmocmxxKh8fmkIKR53OiH9sQZHh-ck4G86M7vxYDI8s0POhCaaSnMh8ceLy60XQCGzzb58dwNc9sSwyqRQ5VWv3UmKeBjx_oRtLxxcO7Aeu2z9yEfI16Nx9EjAlREPXhax9-mI/s1600/Pomegranate+Vodka+Preserve+Scan.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPY-qMVmocmxxKh8fmkIKR53OiH9sQZHh-ck4G86M7vxYDI8s0POhCaaSnMh8ceLy60XQCGzzb58dwNc9sSwyqRQ5VWv3UmKeBjx_oRtLxxcO7Aeu2z9yEfI16Nx9EjAlREPXhax9-mI/s400/Pomegranate+Vodka+Preserve+Scan.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564698358073792066" /></a>This is my print out from the Times website of the gin recipe. I don't like gin, so I made it with vodka, but by this point in the evening there had been way too much sampling to deal with pomegranates. The mess preserved on this 8 1/2 x 11 in sheet of paper suggests that I shouldn't have been trying to seed those things half in the bag, but fuck it. I didn't cut myself, c'est la vie.</div><div><br /></div><div>My plan was to wait until christmas and break out the jars, not really as gifts, just to serve to guests. But by Thanksgiving, I had taken to "testing" them out, in the name of chef/science duties, of course. It was clear that they were too good to keep from people any longer.</div><div><br /></div><div>After a proper American super-feast, I had an apartment full of people who weren't quite sure what hit them. But we hadn't had dessert yet, and I hadn't even hinted at the boozy fruit. </div><div><br /></div><div>We had options - pumpkin pie, pecan pie or espresso fudge reefer brownies, all homemade, with either vanilla or mint-chocolate chip ice cream from Ronnybrook dairy upstate.</div><div><br /></div><div>What wasn't optional was boozy fruit on top, and a shot on the side. A little powdered sugar sprinkle over the bowl and minds were officially blown. By the time we had all sampled and re-sampled each variation, everyone was very pleasantly bombed.</div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't try her concord grape/brandy version, in retrospect I wish I would have. I bought most of my fruit from the farm stand at Union Square, and let it sit on the table for a few days to get nice and ripe. Otherwise, it was just as Clark said, easy.</div><div><br /></div><div>For style, creativity, flavor, and the all-around good time nature of the thing, I think boozy fruit is my 2010 All-Star. Thank you, Melissa Clark, for countering Bittman's <i>eat your spinach</i> ethos with a little <i>drink your brandy</i>. I know it's the paper of record and everything, but not everything has to come with a goddamn salad.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-63618398231977785292011-01-03T05:15:00.003-05:002011-01-03T05:31:18.327-05:00Hull Family Chefs Soldier OnI got an email from my brilliant sister Kirsten tonight, detailing a soup she made of her own volition and ingenuity. It sounds a bit dishevelled to me, but people tend to look at me like I'm speaking Latin when I describe most of my dishes, so who knows. What sounds complicated on paper is often simply delicious when it's on a spoon.<br /><br />This is the complete, unedited text of her email. I'm taking her word for it, not only is she smart and well-bred, she works in the prepared foods section of Whole Foods. You could do a hell of a lot worse for lunch.<br /><blockquote><p>The Most Amazing Thing I Have Ever Made Or Will Probably Ever Make Again</p><p>I just made the most wonderful butternut squash soup. This is what I did.</p><p><br />I peeled, deseeded and cubed a 3lb butternut squash.<br />I tossed this squash in cinnamon, ground pepper, and ground ginger with a bit of cayenne pepper, curry powder and rosemary and a hint of seasoning salt.<br />I put this squash in a pan rubbed with olive oil. I added half a large<br />sweet onion and a few whole cloves of garlic.<br />I baked at 400 for 15 minutes.<br />I added one cup strong brewed English breakfast tea.<br />I baked another 30 minutes.<br />I transferred vegetables to a stock pot with 2 cans (15 oz each)<br />veggie stock.<br />I added a handful dried cranberries.<br />I let boil till mushy.<br />I pureed, reserving some stock and chunks of onion.<br />I put it all back in the pan and added some frozen corn.<br />I brought it back up to temp.<br /><br />It was the most amazing soup ever.</p></blockquote><br />I don't know, after reading it again, I think she's on solid ground. I was thrown off by the mixing of cayenne, curry and rosemary the first time I read it, but that's not really too crazy. A little heat and a little green softener added to the curry could develop it really nicely.<br /><br />My sister the genius, act surprised if you can.Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-9390408717223930342010-12-06T23:53:00.005-05:002010-12-23T14:54:32.136-05:00I'm Thankful For Friends, Family & Bourbon!Ahh, Thanksgiving. Foodie New Year. The opening of the hearty Winter cooking season, when you can stop making salads and say you're being seasonal. Love it.<div><br /></div><div>I like to invite a bunch of people over so I can make them fat and drunk. 2010 was true to form.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I Am Also Thankful For Pork</span><br /><br />As it happened, the Kansistanis had two Thanksgiving celebrations this year, one of them anchored at the Bailey's, one of them at my place. Jason had to work in the afternoon and evening, so they had people over for a lunch time, turkey based event.<br /><br />I had to work from 8 - 4, so I missed the early meal. Mac asked me to make him a ham, since the lovely Weezy doesn't traffic in ham. They had a free one sitting in the freezer for months, who am I to deny a request?<br /><br />The lovely and talented Amy Hughey took picture of a lot of the dishes that night, so what pictures I have came from her. What I don't have is any recipes. I'm going to try to explain it all anyway. I made this shit up once, I can make it up again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEQOi-QzsF6psC904b9UqEUxJnXxo7OwGP_Jo4bx6ksH9JwVQw_50UnmQntZ-Wolhyphenhyphen0JM4thf14UrkZ2IyjcCKgLrIoOWV2L_QL1ZExlM7-TQEITb_XcUQAFQMP0flAeo_RRtPQ-UeAM/s1600/IMG_0469.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEQOi-QzsF6psC904b9UqEUxJnXxo7OwGP_Jo4bx6ksH9JwVQw_50UnmQntZ-Wolhyphenhyphen0JM4thf14UrkZ2IyjcCKgLrIoOWV2L_QL1ZExlM7-TQEITb_XcUQAFQMP0flAeo_RRtPQ-UeAM/s400/IMG_0469.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547800853821766210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ham</span><br /><br />Marinated, basted & broiled. Mmmm....<br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />One fresh pig shoulder or butt<br /><br />Marinade<br /><br />1 cup red wine<br />1/2 cup olive oil<br />1/2 cup balsamic vinegar<br />1/3 cup brown sugar<br />8 allspice<br />12 cloves<br />1 cinnamon stick<br />1 tsp ground nutmeg<br />2 tbl salt<br />2 tbl ground black pepper<br /><br />I had a 6 lb butt, you can adjust the marinade recipe according to the piece of meat you're working with.<br /><br />Slice the meat into serving size pieces. Grind the whole spices and mix the marinade in a large plastic bag or casserole dish. Add the meat and make sure it's well covered. I let it sit overnight in the fridge, 6-8 hours is enough time.<br /><br />I put them in the oven at 250° for three hours in the marinade, then broiled them for a few minutes until the edges got crispy. Because it was already cut and marinaded, it didn't take long to cook, I was slow basting for tenderness. If you don't have all day, put it in at 350° for 60-90 minutes.<br /><br />Boom. Ham.<br /><br /><br />Since I was already doing ham instead of turkey, I decided to pork out the whole meal. To no one's surprise.<br /><br />I don't watch much food on television, but my roommate Anton loves it. I was having a refrigerated-pizza-at-4AM moment a few weeks ago, and ended up watching one of the contestant chef shows. I tried to find the guy's name online, but no luck. I did recreate his best recipe though.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEOFbCN7m4vNaOPPCJozp_Heun09e5i5OMs2jDlY0eOeNyf5GkjP9JmibdQBblrCpPHkN3xoc0ABIn5zV-6OrMYhhsYjufHiF7V02SbEZhFSfMUNYTS7p6AwMD3F1SOY3SgJg6AQA8gs/s1600/IMG_0470.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEOFbCN7m4vNaOPPCJozp_Heun09e5i5OMs2jDlY0eOeNyf5GkjP9JmibdQBblrCpPHkN3xoc0ABIn5zV-6OrMYhhsYjufHiF7V02SbEZhFSfMUNYTS7p6AwMD3F1SOY3SgJg6AQA8gs/s400/IMG_0470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547800857060297490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherries, Skewered W/ Bacon</span><br /><br />We're way past cherry season, but I don't care. Grow them in Guatemala if you have to, I love cherries.<br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />Creamy herbed goat cheese<br />Fresh cherries<br />Bacon<br /><br />Bamboo Skewers<br /><br />Chop the bacon into small pieces and put it in a skillet over medium heat. Cook it to preferred crispness.<br /><br />While that's happening, you can pit the cherries. This is kind of a pain in the ass, so try to have helpers around when you do it (thank you MJ!). Cut the top off the cherry and pit it. If you have a pit pusher thing it's easy. I do not.<br /><br />When the cherry is pitted, stuff it with goat cheese. Put the top back on if you want, and stick it through with a bamboo skewer, topping the whole thing off with a piece of bacon. Like I said, kind of a pain in the ass to make, but consuming them is pure joy. It's creamy, salty, sweet in equal measure, all at once, and it comes on a stick. Total success.<br /><br />Also in that photo are the marinated olives that Weezy brought. They were spicy and delicious.<br /><br /><br />Hams #3 & 4<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WVtWm0-btowpJEKoSbfMvGsWn3kqHSduV8F3u68Y_Cd3nzGy7ySEG6u6RQD9HLQMcxCiNGVBKssc0BH4ddXhMee5vVhOTYXyek25LdTEZHjy54e5VBcp-MSWT31kab6oXBanEDhdrnQ/s1600/IMG_0474.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WVtWm0-btowpJEKoSbfMvGsWn3kqHSduV8F3u68Y_Cd3nzGy7ySEG6u6RQD9HLQMcxCiNGVBKssc0BH4ddXhMee5vVhOTYXyek25LdTEZHjy54e5VBcp-MSWT31kab6oXBanEDhdrnQ/s400/IMG_0474.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547800870943842098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Asparagus W/ Vidalia Onions & Serrano Ham</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dates, Figs & Oranges W/ Blue Cheese & Prosciutto</span><br /><br />Look Out.<br /><br />Let's start with the asparagus.<br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />One bunch of asparagus<br />1/4 lb sliced Serrano ham<br />1 medium Vidalia onion<br /><br />1/2 cup of the marinade recipe used for the ham<br /><br />Bring water to boil in a pot big enough to fit your asparagus. Wash the asparagus and cut about an inch off the bottoms of the stalks. Par-boil the vegetables in the water for 3-5 minutes.<br /><br />Slice the onion into thin ribbons. Take the asparagus out of the boiling water and rinse it with cold water so you can handle it. Now, if you want, you can take each asparagus stalk, pair it with a bit of onion and wrap them in a little ham. Or, you can randomly mix everything in a baking dish, depending on how you want to serve it. I wrapped everything because I had time to kill, but it's by no mean necessary.<br /><br />When the vegetables and meat are in a baking dish, pour the marinade over it, cover the dish and put it in the oven. I had it in at 300° for about an hour, just long enough to let the marinade start to caramelize. That temperature and time were also convenient to everything else I was cooking, the time would need to be adjusted if the oven weren't full of other things and being opened every few minutes.<br /><br />Also in this photo is the run-away hit of the night, blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. The meat constricts when you cook it and completely covers the date, so nobody seemed to understand what they were getting into. But they're bite sized and kind of funny looking, so everybody took one. Finally, it was like a wave of 'what is <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span>', as each person got seated and looked for something simple to start with.<br /><br />Ingredients<br /><br />1/2 cup blue cheese<br />2 dozen pitted dates<br />2 dozen dried figs<br />4 small oranges<br />1/4 lb thin sliced prosciutto<br /><br />This is real easy, just slice the fruit, stuff with the cheese and wrap with the meat. I cut the tops off of the oranges to stuff them, and added a leftover slice of Vidalia onion for good measure. I threw everything into the 300° oven uncovered for about 20 minutes, just long enough to let the meat tighten up. Because you don't actually have to cook anything, this dish is easy to work around whatever else is going on. But don't miss the oven time, the crispiness of the ham and the heat in the fruit makes a big difference.<br /><br /><br />I made mashed potatoes, because Mac said he wouldn't show up if there weren't mashed potatoes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv3h8YFMroB3YuTbKUnX7lrOjYQ24e1Y9tSA1OXh6MUm0PTySRepqzpU4tgnT9x-40SZM0Uvy_toA6QkC-pfqCBrWyaAzK8zGmN4ZOC7eBk4AdlN1vP5-GnkH9OEaQaoLTA3KMmi9Sp0/s1600/IMG_0479.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv3h8YFMroB3YuTbKUnX7lrOjYQ24e1Y9tSA1OXh6MUm0PTySRepqzpU4tgnT9x-40SZM0Uvy_toA6QkC-pfqCBrWyaAzK8zGmN4ZOC7eBk4AdlN1vP5-GnkH9OEaQaoLTA3KMmi9Sp0/s400/IMG_0479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547801530543599282" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mashed Potatoes W/ Leftover Bits</span><br /><br />Mine had shallots, scallions and garlic sauteed in butter, with the leftover bacon bits from the cherries. Make yours with whatever leftover crap is sitting on the cutting board, works every time.<br /><br /><br /><br />And last but not least...what's an American gathering without Macaroni & Cheese?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgzdYFCRMYjEGCfgXUQpNV1SYMya-Xy25H9SAXWSktJc6PFX_kVKqxhr7BP9Wy5lMcGEvmRPDuc_mC_6F8c8AMo1J2CQWKFDP08U73iTquuxuZ5L0SrxvGIADMsyqsHup8fRNanTGgN0/s1600/IMG_0471.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgzdYFCRMYjEGCfgXUQpNV1SYMya-Xy25H9SAXWSktJc6PFX_kVKqxhr7BP9Wy5lMcGEvmRPDuc_mC_6F8c8AMo1J2CQWKFDP08U73iTquuxuZ5L0SrxvGIADMsyqsHup8fRNanTGgN0/s400/IMG_0471.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547800861465660338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Ugliest Mac & Cheese EVER</span><br /><br />It tasted better than it looked.<br /><br />I don't know if a recipe is appropriate for this mac & cheese. It was the last thing on my mind all day, and it looks the part. I boiled two bags of fat noodles, added two whipped eggs, a pound of shredded NY cheddar, 1/2 cup of whole milk, salt, pepper, celery seed & bread crumbs. I think that was it. Baked it until it looked done.<br /><br />I don't know, the cheese was good and ultimately it tasted like the cheese, but if I was making a proper recipe for Mac & Cheese, I would have done a number of things differently. Either way, it did the job.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Things I Didn't Make But Did Eat</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY16KdUQTUKi7Lgbbnl-tBLnTRiGbVIw67-tdUUZL3FOQ5CLWls449Uyb0XdZiK6bPCXG6rJ_6-X1F3HvT6zzaPsf35TA9wMaQEiVOC-3sSQ3T60t17o78Uphyphenhyphen_EaxIAyPFagAMP_yFw/s1600/IMG_0477.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 387px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtY16KdUQTUKi7Lgbbnl-tBLnTRiGbVIw67-tdUUZL3FOQ5CLWls449Uyb0XdZiK6bPCXG6rJ_6-X1F3HvT6zzaPsf35TA9wMaQEiVOC-3sSQ3T60t17o78Uphyphenhyphen_EaxIAyPFagAMP_yFw/s400/IMG_0477.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547801531592978194" border="0" /></a>Weezy make a spinach salad with bacon bits and cranberries<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVb2fP8BCVDKSDO2S_yxdVbeuvQvQNS4n5BLMnwAXSWiAIF2SaO-QNSQYQojBWMiEWufGhnE5zIaIy_X0j7t1UMY3Cfc13bcrKDbGiRhXi9hLVeJU8_KHFCAfUMjJlpZE6CSIK94Qrc0/s1600/IMG_0472.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVb2fP8BCVDKSDO2S_yxdVbeuvQvQNS4n5BLMnwAXSWiAIF2SaO-QNSQYQojBWMiEWufGhnE5zIaIy_X0j7t1UMY3Cfc13bcrKDbGiRhXi9hLVeJU8_KHFCAfUMjJlpZE6CSIK94Qrc0/s400/IMG_0472.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547800867154559714" border="0" /></a>Weezy also made a lovely sweet stuffing with cornbread and cranberries. It was designed to compliment the sweetness of the ham, a stroke of pure genius.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWYkNAmENE5_Ezs6WLdfc5CEU-MwEerPkxH0eWhOSO6E6AMRjlsW1sIn9lGysQ6Nt900qlkOw9ucgZqI7BN9Tccwp45sGZleXCxRhD9w-M73XfgVBnHZICKEAHOV4VE-MtQz0ZgbuvBc/s1600/IMG_0475.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWYkNAmENE5_Ezs6WLdfc5CEU-MwEerPkxH0eWhOSO6E6AMRjlsW1sIn9lGysQ6Nt900qlkOw9ucgZqI7BN9Tccwp45sGZleXCxRhD9w-M73XfgVBnHZICKEAHOV4VE-MtQz0ZgbuvBc/s400/IMG_0475.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547801519133478370" border="0" /></a>Weezy also made these little spicy chickpea phyllo popper things. I don't know how to describe them really, but they were crunch on the outside and spicy in the middle and gonegonegone shortly after dinner started.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilakiEKG70PU6TNbmN4mJUPFGYW10CyoSxjfmyHGvaO8u4k48utbQglebSNPWAu4t2MUAoTfnlY9-LE2_00Q-vJo7PohoXoDVD8LBTloF96Z_gA-cDg84Bq_7VJRNBc6d-8Kj9i6IPhyQ/s1600/IMG_0476.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilakiEKG70PU6TNbmN4mJUPFGYW10CyoSxjfmyHGvaO8u4k48utbQglebSNPWAu4t2MUAoTfnlY9-LE2_00Q-vJo7PohoXoDVD8LBTloF96Z_gA-cDg84Bq_7VJRNBc6d-8Kj9i6IPhyQ/s400/IMG_0476.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547801519024916274" border="0" /></a>Amy Hughey made these marinated onions that got randomly distributed, and eaten with leftovers for the next few days.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2lPeliqwvqQrSVkgULritvJ9qs30xEfB_Q7jG6bu4o_xFFVUJKE11FghPTsmEtvvo6gJ_ydHQCj4MLnuIiGcc5ao1uj6SQmfHYacfngRtpm-AP47i9h7QuefxQuR7FHfikDf0lqOrpg/s1600/IMG_0473.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2lPeliqwvqQrSVkgULritvJ9qs30xEfB_Q7jG6bu4o_xFFVUJKE11FghPTsmEtvvo6gJ_ydHQCj4MLnuIiGcc5ao1uj6SQmfHYacfngRtpm-AP47i9h7QuefxQuR7FHfikDf0lqOrpg/s400/IMG_0473.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547801515430625250" border="0" /></a>And somebody made mashed yams with walnuts. They were very good, I wish I could give credit where it's due, but I was a little scattered by the time the sweet potatoes came out.<br /><br />So that was dinner, more or less. There are a couple of other side dishes that didn't get photographed, but this is the bulk of it. Yum.<br /><br />Coming up, dessert. Wherein we discuss a recipe that has been three months in the making, the public unveiling of Boozy Fruit. It will change you.<br /><br /></div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-30409451535088106342010-11-23T16:54:00.004-05:002010-11-23T17:11:35.313-05:00Fresh Crab Surprise LunchI was on my third of four (or five?) trips to the grocery store to prep for Thanksgiving, laundry in the dryer, musing on what to have for lunch in the midst of my busy day, when all of a sudden I was looking down on a bushel basket of live crabs!<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4U8yP9JIVJYNAxGxKp2gnONjqPkBo8n3BVVZnQU34ajWg8pclr5tYYXTdawAwjqisTkfJ4pBK0vPHhNGbwM0XvjDxGNvyvbovm1Bu_irQxPJvUekPXwZWDeRjDbE0G5W0weFakJiXIs/s1600/Fresh+Crabs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542867511016650770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA4U8yP9JIVJYNAxGxKp2gnONjqPkBo8n3BVVZnQU34ajWg8pclr5tYYXTdawAwjqisTkfJ4pBK0vPHhNGbwM0XvjDxGNvyvbovm1Bu_irQxPJvUekPXwZWDeRjDbE0G5W0weFakJiXIs/s400/Fresh+Crabs.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p><strong>Can't Get That Shit At Wal-Mart</strong></p><p>The grocery store at the end of my block is pretty great. They don't have a lot in the way of canned or boxed goods, but I don't buy a lot of that stuff anyway. What they do have is a much bigger produce section than most NYC groceries, an average meat counter, great deli options, a freaking huge cheese selection, and a very choosy, top shelf dairy section.</p><p>AND, today, they had a basket of LIVE CRABS!</p><p>I kicked it a little to watch them jump, but it was obviously a basket of argumentative crabs waiting for somebody to put a knife in their dumb little heads. I asked the guy behind the seafood counter if they had some kind of bag to put them in and he offered to steam my whole lot for an extra dollar. </p><p>Yes sir, yes you may.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuo5wb3MlpxW6_txpPXzgLKwAbjLzbAgn_j5xMp7HfBgDkrawGz61oa0y20AC4jV7qrsENsZVPRX-LYm4HG4dgfyBioDRERHXya3CbrpJ057Qw2ba1fTcBxn865LpQah0KlQ-Tn7QEFNM/s1600/Steamed+Crabs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542867529893551810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuo5wb3MlpxW6_txpPXzgLKwAbjLzbAgn_j5xMp7HfBgDkrawGz61oa0y20AC4jV7qrsENsZVPRX-LYm4HG4dgfyBioDRERHXya3CbrpJ057Qw2ba1fTcBxn865LpQah0KlQ-Tn7QEFNM/s400/Steamed+Crabs.jpg" border="0" /></a> I got 1 Dozen Steamed Crabs that were kicking it 20 minutes before, unwrapped on my table for $9.99. Went home and had a bunch of them with a lovely cream soda, chopped straight down the middle and pulled apart with my fingers. It was a bone suckin' fest that would make Thorne proud.</p>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374654438521999326.post-66434999093427570292010-11-22T13:44:00.004-05:002010-11-22T13:51:31.984-05:00NYC Mice (Not A Recipe!)The people who lived in my apartment before me didn't clean for, oh, I'd guess, five years? I've spent three years and dozens of bottles of cleaners putting a suit and tie on the place, but every now and then a reminder of the old tenants pokes it's head out.<div><br /></div><div><b>In New York, Even The Mice Like Mustard</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTTePAE7XlHlDapKVF1-Ref8oPxyzfEywDikJQ-8r7nnDsfYDrAltJHn3-iKRSTNtvv4_HtFTox0DWoYYekrTU3_OYnaTuY37pf5TJBbgn3LsQDjZF3Wx2YsdR660MvkGefpOKR-4FkE/s1600/Manhattan-20101122-00004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTTePAE7XlHlDapKVF1-Ref8oPxyzfEywDikJQ-8r7nnDsfYDrAltJHn3-iKRSTNtvv4_HtFTox0DWoYYekrTU3_OYnaTuY37pf5TJBbgn3LsQDjZF3Wx2YsdR660MvkGefpOKR-4FkE/s400/Manhattan-20101122-00004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542447531397241442" /></a></div><div>Found this in the back of a rarely used drawer today. I don't know how it's escaped detection for so long, sexy as it is.</div>Soup's On!http://www.blogger.com/profile/01438695932287861306noreply@blogger.com0