Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Adventures in Culinary Art
A snippet:
"Artists were also invited weekly to serve as guest chefs, and the whole dinner was considered a performance art piece. One of the most fabled, costing $4, was Matta-Clark’s 'bone dinner,' which featured oxtail soup, roasted marrow bones and frogs’ legs, among other bony entrees. After the plates were cleared, the bones were scrubbed and strung together so that diners could wear their leftovers home."
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Warm weather eatin'
Slice two stalks of celery extra thin.
Seed and dice two yellow bell peppers (I used three mini ones that were on sale!)
Dice one purple onion
Dice one shallot
Quarter eight tomatoes. Remove the seed beds, and reserve for the blender action.
Peel, seed and dice one large cucumber.
Throw about a fifth of these ingredients into the blender with 1 cup spicy tomato juice.
Slice and dice the remaining tomato parts into 1/8 inch pieces. (See?! Time-consuming!)
Chop two green onions into 1/4 inch chunks.
Mince four cloves of garlic.
Take a handful of cilantro, wash thoroughly, pat dry and mince fine.
Add all ingredients to pulpy stuff in a non-metal bowl, stir VERY well.
Grind salt and pepper over top, squeeze the juice of one lime over it, and drizzle a bit of olive oil over all, and stir again.
Refrigerate overnight to let the flavors absorb.
Serve with slices of lemon as garnish, and make Tapatio available for the more adventurous!
The first time I made gazpacho, I was doing it mostly from memory, having had an excellent serving of it the night before at a now-closed restaurant downtown. (It's always the good ones...) I also did not know about the overnight-absorbing thing, so I kept tasting it and adding garlic! I could not figure out why it tasted so mild!!! When I took it out to serve the next night at dinner, though, boy howdy. I had quickly chopped up several more tomatoes and added regular tomato juice to try and cut the GARLIC MONSTER rearing out of the bowl!! Thankfully, all of our guests were garlic-fiends, so it wasn't so bad...
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Amuse bouche? Not hardly. Update.
Except.
We were kind of a big group (about ten), so the restaurant had set up a table in the middle of the room, rather than along the wall, which was fine. The only problem was the table I was facing, a four-cover table with two young men sitting at it, obviously at the tail end of their meal. Obviously at the tail end of their bottle of wine, as well. They were talking rather loudly, which normally isn't a problem for anyone, especially in a crowded restaurant, but their volume made it impossible to ignore their language. If I closed my eyes I could almost convince myself I was in a truck stop, it was *that* bad. Literally (and I don't use that word lightly!) every. other. word. started with F. It was incredbile.
Can you believe I actually lost my appetite?
Reconnoitering in the ladies' room, we (the girls, not Hangover and Matt and I) just hoped that they would pay their check and go. They ended up not leaving until just before we did, and we took our sweet time, too.
What do you all think? Should we have said something to the manager? (There were only two other tables in that room, so it might have been obvious who had complained, and that kind of drama is not the kind we like, so...)
Updated to ask: What do they do about this in China?
Friday, February 16, 2007
Bummer
Saaaaavooooooor the potstickers!!!
(Also a green salad.)
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Today is a baking day
Applesauce Cookies, from California Herb Cookery.
Cream together 1/2 lb room temperature butter and 2 c. sugar.
Add, and beat in well, 1 egg.
Mix together, then beat in,
3 c. flour,
1 tsp. cinnamon,
1/2 tsp powdered/ground cloves,
1/8 tsp. salt,
1 tsp. baking soda.
Add and stir in well
1 c. unsweetened applesauce and
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional).
Drop onto greased cookie sheet, flatten slightly (I've found this goes faster if you keep your fingers wet) and bake at 425 until brown. (My gas oven does it best between 350-375 for 10-12 minutes).
Makes about 36 biggish cookies.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Housekeeping meme
Aprons – Y/N?
Always. I am also always looking for “frilly” ones. The only ones we can find in the “big box” stores are those standard (aka BORING) bar-b-q style aprons.
Baking – Favorite thing to bake:
Muffins, cupcakes, cookies. I once made an angelfood cake from scratch that turned out very well.
Clothesline – Y/N?
Yes. It needs to be re-strung, though.
Donuts – Have you ever made them?
No.
Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day:
Wash Dishes.
Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze?
Not yet.
Garbage Disposal – Y/N?
No. We're working on a compost pile.
Handbook?
California Herb Cookery
Ironing – Love it or hate it?
Love it. Taking a page from my MIL's book, I let it pile up, and then watch a movie while I iron. The only downside: no foreign films while ironing!!
Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it?
Sort of. It's more a “batteries/scissors/allergy medicine for our allergic-to-cats-friends” drawer.
Kitchen: Design & Decorating?
This Is A Baking Kitchen. Lots of cabinets and drawers, nasty old linoleum, butcher block island. All white, except for the nasty linoleum, which will never be white again!
Love: What is your favorite part of homemaking?
Making it look like a magazine, whether it's the food ro the room.
Mop - Y/N?
Oh yes. Every week, sometimes more.
Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?
Washing machine. That is, if they make it through one wearing without snagging or running! (I don't wear nylons very often...)
Oven - Do you use the window, or open the door to check?
Ours doesn't have a window. :( I try to wait until the minimum suggested baking time before opening the door, though.
Pizza - What do you put on yours?
Cheese, bacon, pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, GARLIC, vodka sauce.
Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
Read a book. Surprise!
Recipe card box- Y/N?
No, I have a filing system.
Style of house-
1930's "ranch", aka "slapped together with no foundation, can't believe it's still standing, are you sure we're supposed to be living here" style.
Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N?
Placemats and napkins.
Under the kitchen sink- Organized or toxic wasteland?
Compost bin, cleaning rags and white vinager
Vacuum- How many times a week?
2, sometimes more, right kitty?
Wash- How many loads do you do a week?
On average, about four or five. Depends on how many home-improvement projects we've done.
X's - Do you keep a daily list of things to do and cross them off?
No, unfortunately. With FlyLady's help, though, I am hoping to get out of my ADD cleaning style...
Yard - Who does what?
Matt mows. He also carts the heavy stuff around, and the patio is his project. I do weeding and planting, but I can't bring myself to even go out there right now...all our plants froze and died. :(
Zzz's - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?
Clean the kitchen.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
A little affirmation never hurt anyone
You Are an Excellent Cook |
You're a top cook, but you weren't born that way. It's taken a lot of practice, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of learning. It's likely that you have what it takes to be a top chef, should you have the desire... |