Katie and I have a white board in our office which we litter with words of the day (yes I know... we're nerds). We were visited by a nearby coworker who decided to add a lovely word of her own... mirepoix. It's a culinary term that means the combo of onion, celery, and carrots (aromatics, 2:1:1 ratio). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirepoix_(cuisine) for further info.
Katie proceeded to expose my little blog to said visitor (grumble grumble, blush blush) and so I explained the premise to her. She then recommended the following websites...
www.allrecipes.com
www.epicurious.com
I am quite interested to peruse these sites, but it will have to wait until later..
TTFN
30 August 2007
26 August 2007
Black Bean Salsa with Exotic Fruit Chips
Will be attempting this for my brother's b-day party... Mom asked me to just bring chips and dip... nonsense ;-)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26763,00.html?rsrc=search
UPDATE: Black Bean Salsa was a moderate hit... not spicy enough of course! Not a huge fan of the exotic fruit chips and they are NOT easy to find. But the salsa was easy to make and pretty flavorful. I would do it again :-)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26763,00.html?rsrc=search
UPDATE: Black Bean Salsa was a moderate hit... not spicy enough of course! Not a huge fan of the exotic fruit chips and they are NOT easy to find. But the salsa was easy to make and pretty flavorful. I would do it again :-)
23 August 2007
Disney Pricess Cake
I can't believe I almost forgot this story!!!
Let's just say that when going to Albertsons to get a cake for her 3rd birthday party, Sonnet fell in love with a cake they said was discontinued (hint hint Bakery People... take it out of your catalog). She took it so well, but I was determined to make her one very happy little princess. I found the kit on-line (ebay) and had it overnighted to me by the absolute nicest bakery supply lady you could ever imagine... Sweet Grace's is her shop (Northern California). She sent recipes for the cake and icing and cake glaze and how-to's for cake decorating and so on! It was awesome. Then I visited a cake supply shop locally to get the tools... this cake turned out to be VERY expensive so if you need a princess castle birthday cake, let me know... would love to make use of various things I purchased in order to make it!
I baked and glazed the cakes the night before and we took the cakes to Grammy & Papa's house the next day, set them up and iced them while Sonnet napped and then Grammy, Sonnet, & I iced it together... I think that might have been the best part! It was a big hit and plenty cake for our big ole' family. Yay!
Let's just say that when going to Albertsons to get a cake for her 3rd birthday party, Sonnet fell in love with a cake they said was discontinued (hint hint Bakery People... take it out of your catalog). She took it so well, but I was determined to make her one very happy little princess. I found the kit on-line (ebay) and had it overnighted to me by the absolute nicest bakery supply lady you could ever imagine... Sweet Grace's is her shop (Northern California). She sent recipes for the cake and icing and cake glaze and how-to's for cake decorating and so on! It was awesome. Then I visited a cake supply shop locally to get the tools... this cake turned out to be VERY expensive so if you need a princess castle birthday cake, let me know... would love to make use of various things I purchased in order to make it!
I baked and glazed the cakes the night before and we took the cakes to Grammy & Papa's house the next day, set them up and iced them while Sonnet napped and then Grammy, Sonnet, & I iced it together... I think that might have been the best part! It was a big hit and plenty cake for our big ole' family. Yay!
 |   |
The Creme Brulee Saga
Several months ago, I got a dinner gift certificate and thought I'd share it with two of my favorite people ;-)
We went to Black Angus and for dessert we got creme brulee and some other dessert. It turns out that my dinner company (both of them) love creme brulee. So I thought maybe I would give it a try...
Little did I know that creme brulee is difficult to make (???) but I found a recipe called "Easy Creme Brulee recipe"... notice the emphasis on "easy"? I thought it would be a snap. I figured that night I would get the ingredients and make it, let it set overnight, pick up a torch on the way home the next day and voila... creme brulee a la me... for two super special people :-)
Everything was perfect except for one little thing... I waited and waited and waited for the creme to set up in the oven, to no avail and then it just got chunky.
I consulted my handy-dandy-auntie again. She asked if I put boiling water in the pan holding the rammekins... no... in fact I did not. I didn't even notice that it said "hot" water in the recipe.
rammekins by the way, care of one fabulous Lori, who picked them up for me when she realized I had no idea what a rammekin was... I called her from the store when I was trying to pick up ingredients some other day for something else and saw a different recipe for creme brulee and asked her. So please know that the creme brulee, had been a long time coming even to this point...
So no set up creme brulee that night, and so I didn't go to get the torch the next night. Decided I would try it again later and keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on a torch. Finally got a torch the week of 4th of July, while camping (yes, camping) in Carlsbad. Lucky for a future creme brulee, Sonnet outgrew her sneakers and we hit the outlet to snag her a new pair. Along the way was a kitchen goodies outlet. (Also got a yummy spice blend you add to EVOO and dip bread in... it was a hit at the 4th of July BBQ... yum!)
Guess what... the torch didn't come with butane. I believe it was about a month ago that I finally got butane for the thing and filled it up.
Little brothers like fire... I hesitate to admit that one such younger brother thought it rather entertaining to play with the torch whilst my child slept in his care... grrr... The torch is empty, but I will fill it again... one day...
Let me just say... this had better be one darn good creme brulee when it finally comes around!!!
...to be continued...
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/262/Easy_Creme_Brulee6793.shtml
We went to Black Angus and for dessert we got creme brulee and some other dessert. It turns out that my dinner company (both of them) love creme brulee. So I thought maybe I would give it a try...
Little did I know that creme brulee is difficult to make (???) but I found a recipe called "Easy Creme Brulee recipe"... notice the emphasis on "easy"? I thought it would be a snap. I figured that night I would get the ingredients and make it, let it set overnight, pick up a torch on the way home the next day and voila... creme brulee a la me... for two super special people :-)
Everything was perfect except for one little thing... I waited and waited and waited for the creme to set up in the oven, to no avail and then it just got chunky.
I consulted my handy-dandy-auntie again. She asked if I put boiling water in the pan holding the rammekins... no... in fact I did not. I didn't even notice that it said "hot" water in the recipe.
rammekins by the way, care of one fabulous Lori, who picked them up for me when she realized I had no idea what a rammekin was... I called her from the store when I was trying to pick up ingredients some other day for something else and saw a different recipe for creme brulee and asked her. So please know that the creme brulee, had been a long time coming even to this point...
So no set up creme brulee that night, and so I didn't go to get the torch the next night. Decided I would try it again later and keep my eyes peeled for a good deal on a torch. Finally got a torch the week of 4th of July, while camping (yes, camping) in Carlsbad. Lucky for a future creme brulee, Sonnet outgrew her sneakers and we hit the outlet to snag her a new pair. Along the way was a kitchen goodies outlet. (Also got a yummy spice blend you add to EVOO and dip bread in... it was a hit at the 4th of July BBQ... yum!)
Guess what... the torch didn't come with butane. I believe it was about a month ago that I finally got butane for the thing and filled it up.
Little brothers like fire... I hesitate to admit that one such younger brother thought it rather entertaining to play with the torch whilst my child slept in his care... grrr... The torch is empty, but I will fill it again... one day...
Let me just say... this had better be one darn good creme brulee when it finally comes around!!!
...to be continued...
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/262/Easy_Creme_Brulee6793.shtml
22 August 2007
Cooking Classes at Qualcomm...
Saw this in the QLife bulletin today and was SO excited...
"Sponsored by QLife and The Cancer Project, this 8 week series will offer information on: Low-fat foods, fiber, dairy alternatives, replacing meat, planning healthy meals, antioxidants, immune-boosting foods and maintaining a healthy weight. Since the Cancer Project is paying for the food, please only register if you will be committing to attend all eight classes - no shows will be a huge inconvenience and cost to the instructor! Each class will feature cooking demonstrations and tastings. Each participant will receive a cookbook..."
Is that not the coolest thing ever? I wanted in so bad I could taste it (pun intended).
Only problem... the class is full and I am on the waitlist... ssssiiiiigggghhhh...
By the way, I just want to say that this was my gazillion dollar idea a few months back... "someone should start a company that offers lunch-time cooking courses to corporations." I didn't jump on it... and now... someone else gets all the dough (yep. another pun). In fact, even further, Katie and I mentioned it to an HR partner who is on this climate enhancing project. The project team didn't take the bait for the idea...and looky there... the cancer project seems to have the idea and people are FLOCKING to it! uh-huh... I'm looking for my favorite three words here...
"Sponsored by QLife and The Cancer Project, this 8 week series will offer information on: Low-fat foods, fiber, dairy alternatives, replacing meat, planning healthy meals, antioxidants, immune-boosting foods and maintaining a healthy weight. Since the Cancer Project is paying for the food, please only register if you will be committing to attend all eight classes - no shows will be a huge inconvenience and cost to the instructor! Each class will feature cooking demonstrations and tastings. Each participant will receive a cookbook..."
Is that not the coolest thing ever? I wanted in so bad I could taste it (pun intended).
Only problem... the class is full and I am on the waitlist... ssssiiiiigggghhhh...
By the way, I just want to say that this was my gazillion dollar idea a few months back... "someone should start a company that offers lunch-time cooking courses to corporations." I didn't jump on it... and now... someone else gets all the dough (yep. another pun). In fact, even further, Katie and I mentioned it to an HR partner who is on this climate enhancing project. The project team didn't take the bait for the idea...and looky there... the cancer project seems to have the idea and people are FLOCKING to it! uh-huh... I'm looking for my favorite three words here...
Apricot-Ginger Glazed Cornish Games Hens
Cornish Game Hen always sounded so fancy so I never thought of making it myself until I saw Alton doing some cool hen grilling (using a brick wrapped in foil for pete's sake) and I thought... hmmm... now I could probably do that!
quick props to Lins for telling me about Alton on the show "Good Eats" on food network... he's a wacky, nerdy type science guy, but he gets into WHY we do what, the tools, the safety, etc. If you get a chance to watch the episode, it was called "working with fowl" or "preparing game" or something. He showed lots of nifty meat thermometers... by the way, I need to get one so I am going to start myself a wish list... and come to think of it, a list of spices I now have and ingredients I have tried... well it's a good thought... we'll see what comes of it.
Anyway...
I really wanted to try the game hen the way Alton showed it, but I think maybe I'm not ready. He did something with bacon to make whatever flavoring the game hen needed. He showed a couple ways to cook the birds... one was in a pan, one was on the grill... both requiring a brick wrapped in foil and pre-heated. There were too many steps, I was fresh out of bricks and bacon, and I needed to cook the birds pronto. Maybe next time Alton... now that I do not fear the small fowl, I just might brave out and spread my flightless wings... later.
After consulting my office mate, Katie, I decided to go with the apricot-ginger glazed version... why? it boasted shorter cook time and shorter prep time... right up my alley. Oh and there was no stuffing and nothing really all that crazy in the way of ingredients and prep.
Some caveats...
I was quite pleased that the birds came organ-less... though let me say that in this recipe you have to slice it in half and cutting through bone is not all that cool... particularly since my good knife was still MIA.
Learned a little something about ginger - not all that easy to mince it. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to try to do this with a garlic press... yeah not so much. Didn't know those holes aren't really for making really tiny pieces of garlic... bummer. So I have since purchased a grater, but until I find one that works better, I am going to say working with ginger root is not really my best friend...
Not only am I missing my knife and an appropriate too with which to grate ginger, but the recipe says to use a "roasting pan and rack" and while I've got the rack, my roasting pan is missing... so irritating. Thought I'd share how improvisation skills came into play... I used the grill rack from my little portable barbecue over a flat square pan. The hens took up more space on the grill rack than was covered underneath by the pan, so I put a cookie sheet beneath the whole thing... pretty funny... but it worked out ok.
I was cooking 2 birds, each weighing about 1.5 lbs, but the recipe called for birds that were about a pound... thanks to Lori, I was able to confidently adjust the temperature and timing reasonably... if only you knew how big of a step that sadly is! haha!
I think yummy sounding glazes might be a little bit of a waste for me as I am not a fan of the skin... but I am sure it did contribute to the flavor of the meat at least some. Next time, maybe I'll get a little under the skin just for kicks.
Had corn on the cob and canned peas with this... pretty tasty!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22347,00.html?rsrc=search
PS Must tell Katie's story of trying to cook a whole chicken with a can of beer on the grill, which seriously deterred my idea of roasting these birds on the grill until I'm a little more savvy... apparently the recipe she followed didn't mention that it would be good to put the chicken on one side and the heat on the other so the chicken would cook by indirect heat and drippings wouldn't fall directly into the fire. Oh and apparently it's a good idea to put a pan under said chicken as well... the result of doing neither? crazy flames engulfed the chicken and nearly blew the place up. Good thing this fire-fighter's daughter had her trusty fire extinguisher handy, right? so busted! which reminds me... I don't think I'll be grilling any chickens til I have an extinguisher of my own...added to the list. :-)
quick props to Lins for telling me about Alton on the show "Good Eats" on food network... he's a wacky, nerdy type science guy, but he gets into WHY we do what, the tools, the safety, etc. If you get a chance to watch the episode, it was called "working with fowl" or "preparing game" or something. He showed lots of nifty meat thermometers... by the way, I need to get one so I am going to start myself a wish list... and come to think of it, a list of spices I now have and ingredients I have tried... well it's a good thought... we'll see what comes of it.
Anyway...
I really wanted to try the game hen the way Alton showed it, but I think maybe I'm not ready. He did something with bacon to make whatever flavoring the game hen needed. He showed a couple ways to cook the birds... one was in a pan, one was on the grill... both requiring a brick wrapped in foil and pre-heated. There were too many steps, I was fresh out of bricks and bacon, and I needed to cook the birds pronto. Maybe next time Alton... now that I do not fear the small fowl, I just might brave out and spread my flightless wings... later.
After consulting my office mate, Katie, I decided to go with the apricot-ginger glazed version... why? it boasted shorter cook time and shorter prep time... right up my alley. Oh and there was no stuffing and nothing really all that crazy in the way of ingredients and prep.
Some caveats...
I was quite pleased that the birds came organ-less... though let me say that in this recipe you have to slice it in half and cutting through bone is not all that cool... particularly since my good knife was still MIA.
Learned a little something about ginger - not all that easy to mince it. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to try to do this with a garlic press... yeah not so much. Didn't know those holes aren't really for making really tiny pieces of garlic... bummer. So I have since purchased a grater, but until I find one that works better, I am going to say working with ginger root is not really my best friend...
Not only am I missing my knife and an appropriate too with which to grate ginger, but the recipe says to use a "roasting pan and rack" and while I've got the rack, my roasting pan is missing... so irritating. Thought I'd share how improvisation skills came into play... I used the grill rack from my little portable barbecue over a flat square pan. The hens took up more space on the grill rack than was covered underneath by the pan, so I put a cookie sheet beneath the whole thing... pretty funny... but it worked out ok.
I was cooking 2 birds, each weighing about 1.5 lbs, but the recipe called for birds that were about a pound... thanks to Lori, I was able to confidently adjust the temperature and timing reasonably... if only you knew how big of a step that sadly is! haha!
I think yummy sounding glazes might be a little bit of a waste for me as I am not a fan of the skin... but I am sure it did contribute to the flavor of the meat at least some. Next time, maybe I'll get a little under the skin just for kicks.
Had corn on the cob and canned peas with this... pretty tasty!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22347,00.html?rsrc=search
PS Must tell Katie's story of trying to cook a whole chicken with a can of beer on the grill, which seriously deterred my idea of roasting these birds on the grill until I'm a little more savvy... apparently the recipe she followed didn't mention that it would be good to put the chicken on one side and the heat on the other so the chicken would cook by indirect heat and drippings wouldn't fall directly into the fire. Oh and apparently it's a good idea to put a pan under said chicken as well... the result of doing neither? crazy flames engulfed the chicken and nearly blew the place up. Good thing this fire-fighter's daughter had her trusty fire extinguisher handy, right? so busted! which reminds me... I don't think I'll be grilling any chickens til I have an extinguisher of my own...added to the list. :-)
21 August 2007
Flank Steak Pinwheels
Another recipe I aspired to reenact per Rachel Ray's 30-minute meals. I'm not one to throw many barbecues, and I didn't care much for the carrot hazelnut salad thing she had to go with it, but these things looked pretty cool and it made me want to have folks over for dinner. so I did!
I invited a few people over and prepped for the thing. let me say it was a wee bit of a walk on the wild side as I have never butterflied a flank steak, or touched one for that matter, I'm not a fan of spinach, and I'm not the world's greatest griller. But I gave it a shot...
Can I mention really quick that I couldn't find "flank steak" on my own... had to get help from the butcher. yeah good stuff.
Thankfully, Rach added in her commentary that you need a really super sharp knife to butterfly the meat, so I picked one up (sadly lost it the night I had the friends over). glad I did so or I would have NEVER gotten that thing butterflied!!! My next hurdle to jump was the fact that when butterflied and flattened out, the flank steak was way bigger than my plastic cutting board/mat... luckily I have two. RR had mentioned that you have to cut something here or there to even it up, but the flank steak she used was apparently perfect so she didn't have to cut anything... so I have no idea what it meant to "even it up"... having had to roll the thing up and skewer it, I'll say that maybe it would be a good idea to make the edge on the outside of the roll straight across for ease of skewer placement.
Filling - I used asiago, chopped fresh spinach, and gorgonzola crumbles, per RR's recipe, although I like how she gave ideas for other cheeses to use... I love options! I totally forgot to add the onions, which was a bummer cuz they went bad in my fridge, but that's life in my fridge...
Rolled up the flank steak nice and tight and stabbed the water soaked skewers down into the roll, Sonnet helped me slide them through as we turned it on its side. Then I gingerly cut them into their own cute little pinwheels and bathed them in olive oil as they awaited the grill.
Grill men to the rescue... One of these days I will probably have to learn how to man a grill myself instead of finding a man to man the grill... hooray for me, there were two grill savvy men at our little shin-dig who handled the flank steak pinwheel grilling just b-e-a-you-tifully!
Paired with these delish little treats we had BBQ'd corn on the cob (Sonnet's fave) , a fab salad brought by the guests, and I couldn't help but open a bottle of my ever-fab Dolcetto... mmmm... what a great way to enjoy a summer evening with friends!
We topped the night off with a splash fight in the jacuzzi and vanilla ice cream over grilled peaches (pssst... I hear the secret to grilled peaches is starting with peaches that aren't very ripe yet)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37202,00.html?rsrc=search
I invited a few people over and prepped for the thing. let me say it was a wee bit of a walk on the wild side as I have never butterflied a flank steak, or touched one for that matter, I'm not a fan of spinach, and I'm not the world's greatest griller. But I gave it a shot...
Can I mention really quick that I couldn't find "flank steak" on my own... had to get help from the butcher. yeah good stuff.
Thankfully, Rach added in her commentary that you need a really super sharp knife to butterfly the meat, so I picked one up (sadly lost it the night I had the friends over). glad I did so or I would have NEVER gotten that thing butterflied!!! My next hurdle to jump was the fact that when butterflied and flattened out, the flank steak was way bigger than my plastic cutting board/mat... luckily I have two. RR had mentioned that you have to cut something here or there to even it up, but the flank steak she used was apparently perfect so she didn't have to cut anything... so I have no idea what it meant to "even it up"... having had to roll the thing up and skewer it, I'll say that maybe it would be a good idea to make the edge on the outside of the roll straight across for ease of skewer placement.
Filling - I used asiago, chopped fresh spinach, and gorgonzola crumbles, per RR's recipe, although I like how she gave ideas for other cheeses to use... I love options! I totally forgot to add the onions, which was a bummer cuz they went bad in my fridge, but that's life in my fridge...
Rolled up the flank steak nice and tight and stabbed the water soaked skewers down into the roll, Sonnet helped me slide them through as we turned it on its side. Then I gingerly cut them into their own cute little pinwheels and bathed them in olive oil as they awaited the grill.
Grill men to the rescue... One of these days I will probably have to learn how to man a grill myself instead of finding a man to man the grill... hooray for me, there were two grill savvy men at our little shin-dig who handled the flank steak pinwheel grilling just b-e-a-you-tifully!
Paired with these delish little treats we had BBQ'd corn on the cob (Sonnet's fave) , a fab salad brought by the guests, and I couldn't help but open a bottle of my ever-fab Dolcetto... mmmm... what a great way to enjoy a summer evening with friends!
We topped the night off with a splash fight in the jacuzzi and vanilla ice cream over grilled peaches (pssst... I hear the secret to grilled peaches is starting with peaches that aren't very ripe yet)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_37202,00.html?rsrc=search
Fish in a Sack
I'm always looking for simple ways to do fish. I saw this recipe on 30-minute meals and Rachel made it look like a snap. Now let me say that I didnt' really go by the recipe... the take home message I got from good ole' Rach was that you could cook fish in parchment paper and it supposedly comes out delish. Fresh green beans sounded pretty good to me too. I saw another recipe that was similar in a book I got where they used lemons as a "rack" for cod. I thought thought sounded pretty good... but this was a deviation... scary... so I called my aunt to find out if I could do it. she reassured me, so here's what i ended up doing...
I used cod and placed the cod filets on the "rack"of lemon slices and then put the fresh green beans alongside the fish. added seasoning, did the "sack" thing with the parchment paper and threw em in the oven. Couldn' t tell you the temp or the time, but I did pull them out twice to check on them...
The consistency wasn't what I thought "done" cod should look like... i guess I expected it to flake up the way salmon does when it's overcooked-just the way I like it. it didn't, hence more time in the oven. So they ended up being in there too long and were a little tough. meanwhile, my dumb green beans weren't done, which kinda sucked. the cod that wasn't overdone (in the middle) carried a fairly delightful flavor.
Maybe I don't like cod... maybe I should give it a second chance. I'm not in any particular hurry and I've recently found other uses for parchment paper (yay!)
I'll repost if I decide to give it another shot... maybe next time I'll stick to Rachel's recipe
Oh and by the way, wrapping the little suckers up in parchment paper is not nearly as easy the first couple times you try it as she makes it look... not fair! :-)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31257,00.html?rsrc=search
I used cod and placed the cod filets on the "rack"of lemon slices and then put the fresh green beans alongside the fish. added seasoning, did the "sack" thing with the parchment paper and threw em in the oven. Couldn' t tell you the temp or the time, but I did pull them out twice to check on them...
The consistency wasn't what I thought "done" cod should look like... i guess I expected it to flake up the way salmon does when it's overcooked-just the way I like it. it didn't, hence more time in the oven. So they ended up being in there too long and were a little tough. meanwhile, my dumb green beans weren't done, which kinda sucked. the cod that wasn't overdone (in the middle) carried a fairly delightful flavor.
Maybe I don't like cod... maybe I should give it a second chance. I'm not in any particular hurry and I've recently found other uses for parchment paper (yay!)
I'll repost if I decide to give it another shot... maybe next time I'll stick to Rachel's recipe
Oh and by the way, wrapping the little suckers up in parchment paper is not nearly as easy the first couple times you try it as she makes it look... not fair! :-)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31257,00.html?rsrc=search
20 August 2007
To be blogged later: Thai Food - Grilled Coconut Wings & Sesame Chicken Satay (a double whammy)
Themed Dinner Parties are "THE BOMB"
Thai Food... Seriously... wow...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29723,00.html?rsrc=search
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31885,00.html?rsrc=search
Thai Food... Seriously... wow...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_29723,00.html?rsrc=search
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_31885,00.html?rsrc=search
Encrusting = good, salsa = not so much
I love salmon. I really really really love it. Sometimes I think I could eat it every day if my budget would allow. Aside from doing practically nothing to it but throwing it on the grill or in the oven (tasty enough), I know like one or two ways to prepare it. A while back, this was my first "branching out". Can I just say that I have tried a few fruity salsas... mint papaya, mango, something or other, etc and none of them have tickled my fancy. If you've got one that really is good, please feel free to recommend, but as of now, I won't be reporting many. For one, they take for-freaking-ever cutting and dicing and chopping 85 different ingredients and I am not a big fan... kinda sucks the fun right out of it.
Herb encrusting - This was a cool adventure, but left much room for improvement. Encrusted sounds yummy, no? It seems I love the texture of encrusted-ness, but getting there takes some skill. This particular "encrustment" involved grinding up coriander and fennel and stuff like that, and also involved heating these up to "release their flavor"... That's something I guess I gotta get used to... extra steps and such. And for my taste, I need a more salty type encrusting, not just crazy herbs. Gets a littls spicy and I'm a spice wimp, I'll admit (getting better here though too). Then again, I don't really know how much salt is too much and messes up the meat, so again, I found myself not straying too far from the recipe. I wish I could remember where it came from, but I think it was one from Shape Magazine. If I find it, I'll update this post.
Great tip by the way... good spice grinders are way expensive... my aunt recommended a litle electric coffee grinder and it worked GREAT! :-)
Herb encrusting - This was a cool adventure, but left much room for improvement. Encrusted sounds yummy, no? It seems I love the texture of encrusted-ness, but getting there takes some skill. This particular "encrustment" involved grinding up coriander and fennel and stuff like that, and also involved heating these up to "release their flavor"... That's something I guess I gotta get used to... extra steps and such. And for my taste, I need a more salty type encrusting, not just crazy herbs. Gets a littls spicy and I'm a spice wimp, I'll admit (getting better here though too). Then again, I don't really know how much salt is too much and messes up the meat, so again, I found myself not straying too far from the recipe. I wish I could remember where it came from, but I think it was one from Shape Magazine. If I find it, I'll update this post.
Great tip by the way... good spice grinders are way expensive... my aunt recommended a litle electric coffee grinder and it worked GREAT! :-)
And so it begins...
It started out I wanted to learn more healthy cooking a couple years back. It seemed that all of the healthy recipes had bizarre ingredients (to me) that I had never heard of and so I never tried them. I prepared food as a kid, but I never really paid attention to why we do what when it comes to the kitchen and I never developed a taste for anything outside of like a list of 15 ingredients. I am the kind who goes to american-ish restaraunts and orders the exact same dish or one of two dishes every time. I know, boring and plain... but it never really mattered before. Truth of the matter... I didn't know what I was missing.
The reality is that the 10-ish dishes that I learned growing up don't quite cut the mustard. There have been 3 major roadblocks to expanding...
1) Time - I didn't think you could really make anything else in 30 minutes - and lets not talk about crock pots cuz it's just not a reality for me right now! :-)
2) Ingredients - If I didn't know what all the ingredients were and if I didn't like them all, the recipe was a no-go. wouldn't even try it.
3) Fear - I have this thing where if I don't like it, there's a really low likelihood that I will eat it and that can be quite a waste, not to mention leave you hungry.
Enter FoodNetwork - I gave Rachel Ray a shot and aside from being a little bit over-peppy, I'm impressed. Most of that stuff can be made somewhat reasonably within 30 minutes. What to do with all those crazy ingredients? She indicates where you can substitute which is uber-helpful to me! And I'm a little braver these days (not much, but a little), so I'm trying to expand those horizons. Now I know not everyone loves Rachel, and believe me I can see why, but she kinda makes it look fun and un-intimidating. This is helpful for reducing the fear-factor... eventually I will get over it!
At this point, I can't say cooking is loads of fun... it usually involves reading and re-reading recipes (after I've already watched the show on FoodNetwork) to make sure I understand it, inventory-ing the necessary ingredients (turns out I usually need basically all of it), going and purchasing said ingredients (which takes forever because I never know where they keep a lot of that stuff), then fiddling with them to get the thing rolling.
Let's add a couple things to that process...
- I have to make a point of putting my contacts in to go to the store. I know that seems crazy, cuz I should wear them all the time and for pete's sake at least when I drive, but when I go to the store, I fully need them.
- I also have learned to inventory what tools I need... do I have the necessary pots and pans, knives, etc? somtimes yes, others no.
- Don't laugh, I usually have to use wikipedia to look up a few of the ingredients and figure out what the heck I'm looking for. I've spent too long in the spice aisle looking for vegetables and vice verse. Further, I am a total lost puppy dog in the produce section. And when getting a new kind of meat, I almost always require assistance from the butcher... embarassing, as I'm 27 with a child, but I think I'm getting over it! :-)
-Ooh, must add the ad nausea calls to my Aunt Sharnie... "will the lemons with the fish make the green beans taste funny?" "how come my creme brulee didn't set?" "where the heck do I find a spice grinder???"
So that's the beginning of my journey. Following this entry will be some recipes I've tried and how they went. Pardon the length of some of them, but I get a kick out of the funny things I find out along the way and my crazy improvisations...
The reality is that the 10-ish dishes that I learned growing up don't quite cut the mustard. There have been 3 major roadblocks to expanding...
1) Time - I didn't think you could really make anything else in 30 minutes - and lets not talk about crock pots cuz it's just not a reality for me right now! :-)
2) Ingredients - If I didn't know what all the ingredients were and if I didn't like them all, the recipe was a no-go. wouldn't even try it.
3) Fear - I have this thing where if I don't like it, there's a really low likelihood that I will eat it and that can be quite a waste, not to mention leave you hungry.
Enter FoodNetwork - I gave Rachel Ray a shot and aside from being a little bit over-peppy, I'm impressed. Most of that stuff can be made somewhat reasonably within 30 minutes. What to do with all those crazy ingredients? She indicates where you can substitute which is uber-helpful to me! And I'm a little braver these days (not much, but a little), so I'm trying to expand those horizons. Now I know not everyone loves Rachel, and believe me I can see why, but she kinda makes it look fun and un-intimidating. This is helpful for reducing the fear-factor... eventually I will get over it!
At this point, I can't say cooking is loads of fun... it usually involves reading and re-reading recipes (after I've already watched the show on FoodNetwork) to make sure I understand it, inventory-ing the necessary ingredients (turns out I usually need basically all of it), going and purchasing said ingredients (which takes forever because I never know where they keep a lot of that stuff), then fiddling with them to get the thing rolling.
Let's add a couple things to that process...
- I have to make a point of putting my contacts in to go to the store. I know that seems crazy, cuz I should wear them all the time and for pete's sake at least when I drive, but when I go to the store, I fully need them.
- I also have learned to inventory what tools I need... do I have the necessary pots and pans, knives, etc? somtimes yes, others no.
- Don't laugh, I usually have to use wikipedia to look up a few of the ingredients and figure out what the heck I'm looking for. I've spent too long in the spice aisle looking for vegetables and vice verse. Further, I am a total lost puppy dog in the produce section. And when getting a new kind of meat, I almost always require assistance from the butcher... embarassing, as I'm 27 with a child, but I think I'm getting over it! :-)
-Ooh, must add the ad nausea calls to my Aunt Sharnie... "will the lemons with the fish make the green beans taste funny?" "how come my creme brulee didn't set?" "where the heck do I find a spice grinder???"
So that's the beginning of my journey. Following this entry will be some recipes I've tried and how they went. Pardon the length of some of them, but I get a kick out of the funny things I find out along the way and my crazy improvisations...
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