tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66654657981587629712023-11-16T06:02:43.678-05:00The CookTease<b>food porn for the highly literate</b>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-86728204868259452962012-06-24T15:59:00.000-04:002012-06-24T15:59:31.603-04:00Shark Kebabs w/ Orange Avocado SalsaFor his birthday dinner this year, my seven-year-old requested two things: shark and broccoli. Happy to oblige, I came up with this simple and fresh meal. Grown-ups and kid were equally pleased (and there was very little clean up).<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I cut the shark steaks into 1" cubes and marinated them in orange juice, guajillo chile powder, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil for about an hour. Then I threaded the cubes onto skewers and broiled them for about 12 minutes, turning once.</li>
<li>While the shark broiled, I toasted some Israeli couscous in olive oil, then finished cooking it in a mixture of chicken broth and water. I would have added saffron if I'd had any lying about.</li>
<li>While the couscous cooked, I steamed a head of broccoli, cut into large florets, and stirred together a salsa of chopped orange, avocado, cilantro, and onion with a bit of salt and pepper. I set some aside for Max, then added some finely chopped serrano pepper for the adults. I may have added a squeeze of lime; I don't recall.</li>
</ol>
<div>
That's it. The shark was more tender and juicy than I've ever had it; broiling small cubes was the key! This salsa would also be good on any seafood or grilled chicken. So simple; so healthy; so delicious.</div>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-18605887576937937702012-06-22T22:09:00.002-04:002012-06-22T22:09:15.243-04:00Black-Eyed Peas with Citrus Chile VinaigretteI stole this recipe from Tyler Florence, but I first heard about it on my favorite food blog, <a href="http://www.thursdaynightsmackdown.com/" target="_blank">Thursday Night Smackdown</a>. It's amazing. The dry rub for the shrimp is great on anything, but the shrimp themselves don't add much to this salad. I make it in big batches, then eat it all week. I pretty much stick to the recipe as posted on the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/grilled-shrimp-salad-with-black-eyed-peas-and-citrus-chile-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html">Food Network</a> site, but I do add more veggies: diced cucumber, bell pepper, more tomato, etc. I think you could put anything in there and it would rule. I also don't bother cooking the black-eyed peas with ham hocks, because the ones available where I live have no meat or flavor on them. But, do what you will: the dressing is outstanding, and will make any combination of veggies delicious. I suspect it would also be nice drizzled on fish, grilled chicken, or any kind of taco.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-18854630550840288082012-06-22T21:59:00.001-04:002012-06-22T22:05:45.260-04:00Fake-and-Cheese SubsA month or so before I made this, my sister called to gush over a Rick Bayless recipe for a warm salad involving chorizo roasted with mushrooms and onions. She had also made one of his soups that week, with more mushrooms and some zucchini, and it occurred to me as she talked that those things could pair really well together. So this is what I did.<br />
<ol>
<li>I made fresh chorizo (it's so simple, you'll wonder why you've never done it before) from <a href="http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2009/01/making-my-own-mexican-chorizo.html" target="_blank">The Homesick Texan's</a> recipe. It wasn't my absolute favorite recipe--I usually follow Rene Valenzuela's recipe from the Tampa Taco Bus--but I did like the added heat and the subtle cinnamon.<br /></li>
<li>I scattered the chorizo in lumps over a baking sheet, then sprinkled about a pound of various sliced mushrooms and a few shards of sliced onion on top. Salt and a very light sprinkle of olive oil over all, then roast the whole pan at 375 for about 15 minutes. Rick Bayless says to stop there, but I like my veggies <i>really </i>roasted, so I stirred it up and roasted for another 15 minutes.<br /></li>
<li>I halved and hollowed out some mammoth zucchini that I'd picked up at our new amazing farm stand, sprinkled with olive oil and salt, filled the cavities with the chorizo mixture, sprinkled the top with a vinaigrette of olive oil, lime juice, and oregano, and then added a bit of grated Parmesan. Baked the whole thing for maybe 30 minutes, covered, then another 5 to brown the cheese.</li>
</ol>
These were so, so freaking delicious. And fairly virtuous, compared to an actual steak and cheese sub. I can think of about a trillion things to do with that roasted chorizo/mushroom mixture, and I encourage you to try it as soon as possible. Rick Bayless, you pretty much win Food.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-29363142593622451482012-03-11T18:29:00.000-04:002012-03-11T18:29:56.072-04:00Strawberry CupcakesThese are the ever-popular Sprinkles cupcakes, and you can find the recipe anywhere on the interwebs, so I have no qualms about reposting it here. The cake is perfect: dense, not fluffy, and not very sweet. The frosting is too sweet on its own, but on the cupcakes, it's ideal. Pro tip: you really have to beat the crap out of the butter and make sure it's super-fluffy before adding the wet ingredients; then, when you add the berry puree, beat again, on high, for several minutes. If it looks like it's all congealed and nasty, be patient. It /will/ come together.<br />
<br />
For cupcakes:<br />
<ol><li>I pureed a cup of washed strawberries, then set it aside. I put out the milk, eggs, and butter to get to room temperature.</li>
<li>I turned the oven to 350 and put liners in my muffin pan.</li>
<li>I whisked together 1 1/2 C flour, 1 t baking powder, and 1/4 t salt. In a liquid measuring cup, I put 1/4 C whole milk, 1 t vanilla, and 1/3 C of the berry puree (or maybe a bit more).</li>
<li>With a stand mixer, I creamed 1 stick of unsalted butter for a LONG time until very fluffy. Then I added 1 C sugar and beat again until very fluffy. I turned the speed to medium and slowly added 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, one at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl a few times.</li>
<li>With the mixer on low, I added 1/2 the flour mixture. When it was incorporated, I added the milk. Same drill with the rest of the flour. </li>
<li>I divided the batter into my muffin cups, and baked for 25 minutes on the dot.</li>
</ol>For frosting:<br />
<ol><li> I creamed 2 sticks of cold butter with a pinch of salt until very light and fluffy. Then I slowly added 1 1/2 C of confectioner's sugar.</li>
<li>Then I /very slowly/ added in 1 t of vanilla and about 1/4 C of the berry puree. Then I added a bit more berries, and a bit more, until it tasted super strawberry-ish. I kept the mixer running until it was all incorporated and airy, but it isn't light like a buttercream frosting.</li>
<li>Then I frosted the cooled cupcakes and ate about 5 of them.</li>
</ol>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-37752358510013482982012-03-11T18:19:00.000-04:002012-03-11T18:19:29.966-04:00Grilled Pork Chop with Butternut HominyHa! I tricked you! No recipe here. I brined and grilled some boneless, center cut pork chops. I also grilled some asparagus, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. The real beauty of this dish is the perfectly balanced hominy with butternut squash and goat cheese, but I stole that recipe from my all-time favorite food blog, <a href="http://thursdaynightsmackdown.com/2011/11/24/hominy-with-squash-and-goat-cheese-recipe/" target="_blank">Thursday Night Smackdown</a> and I refuse to steal her thunder. Go. Read her. Worship her. And make her food.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-21289599314349581942012-03-07T09:49:00.000-05:002012-03-07T09:49:56.080-05:00Lemon-Rosemary Cobb SaladI totally lifted this recipe from Bobby Flay, and it is one of the two ways I will eat steak. I monkeyed around with it a bit, and I never really measure stuff, and it's become a family favorite.<br />
<br />
<ol><li>I use that really thin steak for this, but if you actually like red meat, you can use any steak you like. Marinate it overnight in tons of garlic, salt, fresh rosemary, and olive oil. Grill it to your liking, but use a hot flame to get a nice char on the outside. Let it rest a few minutes, then slice or chop. Before you turn off the grill, halve two lemons and grill them for about 5 minutes, or until the sugars on the cut ends begin to caramelize. Save for dressing.</li>
<li>Roughly chop the other salad ingredients: romaine lettuce, avocado, green onions, crisp bacon, and tomatoes. Crumble some good bleu cheese. If you like hard-boiled eggs, add them. I think they're disgusting, so I don't. Bobby Flay grills the scallions, and uses prosciutto instead of bacon, in case you wondered. I don't bother.</li>
<li>Assemble the salad: a traditional Cobb places the ingredients in rows over the lettuce, as in my picture. I like it that way, too, so that every bite combines different flavors.</li>
<li>Make the dressing: blend the juice of one grilled lemon, about 1/2 C olive oil, salt, pepper, and a T of minced garlic (Bobby Flay uses a few cloves of roasted garlic, which is delicious, but I usually forget to prepare in advance), plus some more fresh rosemary. Taste and adjust with more grilled lemon or olive oil. There is so much creamy stuff on this salad (cheese, avocado, bacon) that I err on the side of tartness--I usually use at least a lemon and a half in the dressing. Drizzle over salad.</li>
</ol>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-10331266105288072922012-03-06T14:26:00.000-05:002012-03-06T14:26:57.457-05:00Simple RatatouilleI <i>love</i> Thomas Keller's recipe for Confit Biyaldi, which was the basis for the ratatouille Remy makes in the Pixar movie of the same name. It takes forever to make, though, and requires veggies that are all the same width, which never seems possible in South Florida. Luckily, I found that if I cook the veggies in the same pot, it comes out with pretty much the same flavors--as long as I add the secret ingredient.<br />
<br />
<i>Serves about 8</i>.<br />
<br />
<ol><li>I cut the following veggies into rough 3/4" chunks: eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers (red, orange, and yellow), sweet onion. In a Dutch oven, I sauteed the onion in a hefty amount of olive oil (about 1/4 C) until soft, then added the rest of the veggies, a pinch of red pepper flake, and some salt. I cooked the veggies, stirring occasionally, until they were softened, about 10 minutes.<br />
</li>
<li>I added 2/3 of a large can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes (the sweetness of these tomatoes is key to this dish, and worth the extra money) and a handful each of chopped fresh parsley and torn fresh basil.<br />
</li>
<li>I cooked the ratatouille for another 15 minutes, tasted, re-seasoned, and added a swirl of good balsamic vinegar. That last addition makes all the difference in the world.<br />
</li>
<li>This time, I served the ratatouille over egg noodles, but it's amazing as is, and makes for fantastic cold or room-temperature leftovers.</li>
</ol>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-86491649848351789642012-03-06T14:17:00.000-05:002012-03-06T14:17:23.635-05:00Orecchiette w/ Garlic ShrimpThis was quick and easy and delicious--and potentially lethal. Make sure everyone around you is eating the same thing.<br />
<br />
<i>Serves 4, with leftovers.</i><br />
<br />
<ol><li>I put on a big pot of salted water to boil, and while it was heating up shelled and sliced 2 lbs of jumbo shrimp (I cut each shrimp into about 3 pieces). I tossed the shrimp with salt, pepper, and a heaping spoonful of minced garlic. When the water boiled, I threw in about 2/3 lb of orecchiette and let them cook for about 8 minutes before I started my sauce.<br />
</li>
<li>I heated about 3 T of olive oil in a saute pan with a pinch of red pepper flake. I added the shrimp and stirred occasionally until they were pink and cooked through. Then I threw in one of those tiny bottles of Sauvignon Blanc and let some of it evaporate. I stirred in a few handfuls of baby spinach, a handful of chopped parsley, and tasted for seasoning.<br />
</li>
<li>I reserved 1/4 C of the pasta water, drained the pasta, and tossed it in the sauce. I added a little of the pasta water to moisten it, but didn't use the whole 1/4 C. I may also have topped it with some grated Parmesan, but I honestly don't remember.</li>
</ol>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-61739403632776676892012-03-06T14:04:00.000-05:002012-03-06T14:04:09.793-05:00Ricotta Gnocchi Pillows w/ Spring VeggiesThese are very simple gnocchi to make, but they make for a substantial meal. Toss with any simple, fresh sauce to let their delicate flavor shine through.<br />
<br />
<em>Fed 2 adults and a child, with leftovers.</em><br />
<br />
<ol><li>I roasted a peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash (tossed in oil, salt, pepper, and sage) in a 425' oven while I did everything else.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>In a frying pan, I crisped 6 slices of bacon, which were cut into 1" squares. I removed the bacon and added a diced sweet onion, and let them caramelize while I stirred together the gnocchi batter. Then I added a cup of frozen peas and warmed them, and spooned all the veggies into a serving bowl before wiping the pan clean.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>For the gnocchi, I combined a couple of eggs, salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, about a cup of grated Parmesan, and 1 lb ricotta. I gently stirred in 1 1/2 C flour, then covered my counter and hands in more flour (the dough is very wet and sticky). I scooped out half the mixture onto the counter and rolled gently into a 1" thick snake, then cut 1" pillows with a floured knife. I put the gnocchi on a floured sheet pan, and did the same with the rest of the batter. I put the tray in the freezer while I waited for a large pot of salted water to boil.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>My water was boiling, so I dropped half the gnocchi in, a few at a time. When they rose to the surface, I cooked them about 5 minutes more (these are big, wet gnocchi and need extra cooking time). At this point, I also put 1/2 a stick of butter in the veggie pan for about 6 minutes, until brown.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li type="_moz">When the gnocchi were done, I tossed them in the browned butter and then scooped them in a serving dish. I repeated the process with the rest of the gnocchi, then topped it all with the veggies. I drizzled over the remaining butter and topped it all with some more freshly grated Parmesan.</li>
</ol>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-59746944504401268112011-07-11T12:45:00.000-04:002011-07-11T12:45:27.073-04:00Review: Cassis American BrasserieFriday featured two new restaurant adventures, chosen to kick us out of our food rut. At lunch, we braved a torrential Florida downpour on a doomed food mission in Gulfport. A favorite beach dive closed several years ago, and I keep waiting for it to be replaced with something equally fantastic. No such luck. Its current incarnation as a faux-British pub is ripe for a visit from Gordon Ramsey.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, dinner was an epic win. We ventured to <a href="http://www.cassisab.com/">Cassis American Brasserie</a>, a newcomer to the upscale restaurant scene in downtown St. Pete. I've never been to Paris, but this place certainly felt like I imagine a bistro to feel--quite a bit larger perhaps, but pleasantly noisy and open. High ceilings, shiny white tiles, softly colored globes of light, and comfortable banquettes--and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, sitting just behind me, facing a massive tray from the raw bar. It all made for a thoroughly cosmopolitan, yet eminently comfortable, ambience. Dorian summed it up succinctly: "This place makes me want to move back to New York. NOW."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoSz-Q6qpx8bPrDKIvvgykNk0S_QqpZWFWKLCZSdXlqxH0cpuHbJaRA0gjtzero68t-c_tg5uBhRwO4RGxqMJfD_jjljbUdracKVGrPb6S4UlV_DHtLC3wSKgx_pEfsI-OoRB-eUbJxw/s1600/cassis_outside.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyoSz-Q6qpx8bPrDKIvvgykNk0S_QqpZWFWKLCZSdXlqxH0cpuHbJaRA0gjtzero68t-c_tg5uBhRwO4RGxqMJfD_jjljbUdracKVGrPb6S4UlV_DHtLC3wSKgx_pEfsI-OoRB-eUbJxw/s320/cassis_outside.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The food was more deftly prepared and presented than anything I've eaten before in the Tampa Bay area, save only for our first visit to Cafe Ponte in 2004. Dorian went for traditional bistro fare, selecting the onion soup gratinee and steak frites. Both were very good, if not outstanding. He said the steak was perfectly cooked, tender and very rare inside, and bathed in a rich demi glace. The frites were tasty but slightly limp, probably from being piled into a paper bag and left to sit for too long.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPiMCoAf2IbJFsmNngc1wyQVWV_fuzMaVYzAdLbeaxihtKjc7I8ZJsET4ht_hmn09XyUSeAByrsaj-bi9nDr37GmWRh9asH2ff8bs7j40ABAiRIbyx3JEoJiggAK0ZsPccshjrSr4ylw/s1600/cassis_frites.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPiMCoAf2IbJFsmNngc1wyQVWV_fuzMaVYzAdLbeaxihtKjc7I8ZJsET4ht_hmn09XyUSeAByrsaj-bi9nDr37GmWRh9asH2ff8bs7j40ABAiRIbyx3JEoJiggAK0ZsPccshjrSr4ylw/s320/cassis_frites.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
I was sorely tempted by the fried chicken with lobster mac and cheese, but I start training for a half marathon this week and couldn't justify the fat and calories. I went for much lighter choices--and was not sorry. A cool, refreshing cucumber-mint gazpacho arrived at my table, heaped with massive lumps of sweet, minimally seasoned blue crab meat. If Emeril hadn't been sitting so close, I might have licked the bowl. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Jho_FzJ9ez5lICFRJkbJQsa_3CqcOrLUwwwZNoxjuiTbxMC9VN2mbTmlROUuCHbLY6HG9aFvcBymgPP7-SACBteN9bKtmyxYi9wQDCiE3yK52rOivPTGFTFEw7S_SGDomsXHj1pzL04/s1600/cassis_gazpacho.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Jho_FzJ9ez5lICFRJkbJQsa_3CqcOrLUwwwZNoxjuiTbxMC9VN2mbTmlROUuCHbLY6HG9aFvcBymgPP7-SACBteN9bKtmyxYi9wQDCiE3yK52rOivPTGFTFEw7S_SGDomsXHj1pzL04/s320/cassis_gazpacho.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
My entree was beautiful and tasty--rainbow trout in brown butter, on a bed of roasted potatoes and crunchy haricot verts. There were a few plump shrimp on top, but they were completely extraneous. The sharp bite of capers in the butter surprised me, infusing every morsel of trout with briny joy. I've had a very similar dish recently, that took a richer route and added bacon, and that was perhaps more comforting; but those capers totally won me over.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhAQejS-2ZeZaA1Fbyjuy0qyNVEvEm2Ep1U03rifeuY2cTsfAQAcEcc82l3R8S_eC_AmIlYiHsG0YREOe_VuURIaCr4pGXrQ-GaRrC1No8yc-cSHb7aGTFN5VST0HWeDLGtnPiSoUtMg/s1600/cassis_fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUhAQejS-2ZeZaA1Fbyjuy0qyNVEvEm2Ep1U03rifeuY2cTsfAQAcEcc82l3R8S_eC_AmIlYiHsG0YREOe_VuURIaCr4pGXrQ-GaRrC1No8yc-cSHb7aGTFN5VST0HWeDLGtnPiSoUtMg/s320/cassis_fish.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I shouldn't have had dessert, but, you know...FRENCH food. A flaky (if slightly dry) pastry round, topped with tender, warm apple slices and swathed in caramel, is about as good as it gets. But the addition of homemade coriander ice cream, delicately spiced and melting, nearly put me into a happy food coma. I found it almost painful to choose a dessert, but I am so pleased with my choice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz41VD2YSIyz8LstNnxgoR2QjMSz3m8aHUzrG70YQjqEwYqLIJI-dKBT4-mWtKpGmmCyjivWMcEE-1aNj5r8wXq0__kqIaVT9qwLsGyc4r19PV-do-InNqChOPSt_R_6pUIWfu6-HY14/s1600/cassis_apples.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz41VD2YSIyz8LstNnxgoR2QjMSz3m8aHUzrG70YQjqEwYqLIJI-dKBT4-mWtKpGmmCyjivWMcEE-1aNj5r8wXq0__kqIaVT9qwLsGyc4r19PV-do-InNqChOPSt_R_6pUIWfu6-HY14/s320/cassis_apples.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We will definitely be back to Cassis for more. I want that fried chicken (though perhaps not until after my race in October), and I long to try the poached peaches with cassis sorbet and chantilly cream. I wouldn't mind making my way through the cocktail menu (my violet margarita was tart and very subtly perfumed). And they have brunch, too--I noticed an asparagus and goat cheese omelet. It wants to be inside my belly, and soon.<br />
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This is a great addition to the St. Pete food scene--and if it keeps attracting the chefs taping over at Home Shopping, it could soon become a foodie's paradise. My friend Jenn over at <a href="http://jennlikesit.com/">Jenn Likes It</a> knows that Wolfgang Puck eats there frequently, and I'll bet word spreads around HSN quickly. Good luck to this fab eatery. We'll see you again.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-42976258904142600952011-07-09T12:02:00.001-04:002011-07-09T19:52:17.883-04:00Video games CAN be good for you!Children are perverse.<br />
<br />
Sometimes you can fool them--reverse psychology works like a charm. Other times...well, not so much. I've learned that you cannot give them a choice between something you want them to pick and something you don't; invariably, they'll choose the latter. "Do you want to go to the BEACH (voice goes up and out to indicate This Is The Best Option) or to the park (barely enunciated in hopes it won't register)?" always ends in "The park!!!"<br />
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Likewise, I once bought a <em>Ratatouille</em>-themed game for my 4-year-old, hoping that he'd merrily fry his brain while the game implanted subliminal "I love cooking!" messages. Instead, he ditched it for <em>two years</em> in favor of the <em>Cars</em> game, narrated by some redneck-y sounding NASCAR dude. #momfail<br />
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However, at some point during this school year, Max began playing <em>Ratatouille</em> on our daily commute to Tampa. I imagine this happened because the commute is long and boring and he had exhausted his less educational games. Desperation leads us down many unlikely paths. <br />
<br />
So but anyway, a few weeks ago, Max says to me (apropos of nothing), "I know how to make eclairs. Chef Gusteau says I do it perfect. Let's make them for reals."<br />
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Let's hear it for delayed gratification.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5VvN1bY-lsFOSvQu5n9sIqQRM6n6EW1SwQ-5UnOFYN1Q6bO_yXjia0AVA6_l9eye9mDoiUbsZUYCqz5hFtkhldsTNs16knq8tXFVHpeHQ3ZtYQ2q1tWtKxwW5yhSwjghQ5CWPUNLO8I/s1600/eclairs" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim5VvN1bY-lsFOSvQu5n9sIqQRM6n6EW1SwQ-5UnOFYN1Q6bO_yXjia0AVA6_l9eye9mDoiUbsZUYCqz5hFtkhldsTNs16knq8tXFVHpeHQ3ZtYQ2q1tWtKxwW5yhSwjghQ5CWPUNLO8I/s320/eclairs" width="261" /></a></div><br />
Afraid he'd lose interest in French cookery faster than I lost interest in the first <em>LOTR</em> movie, I grabbed Amanda Hesser's beautiful <u><em><a href="http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Reviews-Essays/The-Essential-New-York-Times-Cookbook/ba-p/3533">New York Times Cookbook</a></em></u>, found to my delight that we already had every ingredient in the list (including ONE BILLION EGGS), and pulled out the aprons.<br />
<br />
I'm happy to report that Max read the recipe, fetched the ingredients, measured them out (after an impromptu lesson on fractions), and pretty much did everything except beat the living shit out of the pastry dough, which turned out to be my job. (It also turned out to be really, really hard, because I did not have a wooden spoon, but Max did--"in my baking kit," as he triumphantly announced--which was about five inches long, being obviously optimized for use by a toddler.) Oh, okay, I piped the dough onto the baking sheet and filled a few of the more deflated and difficult-to-fill eclairs. But he did the rest.<br />
<br />
Normally, I'll copy recipes from books up here because I usually alter the hell out of them anyway and that's how I roll, but in this case not, because I don't fuck with baking recipes and because everyone should buy Ms. Hesser's book RIGHT NOW and use it every day.<br />
<br />
They were delicious, if slightly unglamorous (they were made by a 6-year-old and an adult with the baking prowess of a 6-year-old), and fun to make. Except they took about 15 minutes longer to bake than the recipe suggested, and beating that dough SUCKED. Eating them, however, did not suck.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-59187640587863901942011-04-24T10:59:00.001-04:002011-04-24T10:59:32.038-04:00Perfect MealsI turned...well, /older/ this week, and I celebrated with dinner at Bella's. This South Tampa eatery is a perennial favorite, and while toasting over a glass of Prosecco and a bowl of homemade noodles with peas and basil, I had occasion to think about perfect meals.<br /><br />To me, a perfect meal denotes great food in the perfect context. The timing, ambience, service, and spirit of the meal must at least equal and at best surpass the quality of the food itself. It may surprise anyone who knows me that I'd rank /anything/ as important as the food, but I've had stellar food under miserable circumstances. In such instances, context taints the meal. By contrast, a perfect scenario can elevate the humblest cuisine to the status of "perfect meal."<br /><br />Here are, in no particular order, a few of my Perfect Meals:<br /><br />On our honeymoon in Florence, Dori and I stumbled into a tiny eatery down the street from our pensione. We were staying far away from the more ritzy or touristy parts of the city, and this joint was suitably "local" in feel. Our young waitress was so earnestly adorable that we still think of her and wonder what she's up to. She delivered to us mammoth plates of spaghetti alla scoglio, rich with chile-spiked olive oil, pungent with garlic, and piled high with briny clams and mussels. We were poor, young (well, one of us was!), and giddy with love, and nothing before or since has captured that essence as faithfully as the Florentine spaghetti.<br /><br />Having successfully escaped Delaware after five miserable years, we never imagined that we'd miss anything from the First State. But we do miss something: Ali Baba's, a casual Lebanese place on South College right by the University. In grad school, this place was a divine gift--inexpensive, healthy, unusual, delicious, and suitable for a casual lunch or a take-your-parents-out-when-they're-in-town dinner. We ate there more than once a week. Last year, we drove to Maryland to visit my folks, with a side trip to Philly to see my sister. Full of great city food and exhausted from driving and walking, we nonetheless stopped at Ali Baba's on the way home (2 hour detour not really being "on the way") and grabbed late-night take out: eggplant salad, fattoush, Lebanese gyros, hummus, and ice-cold pear nectar. We couldn't even begin to eat it all, but it was a beautiful, joyful meal. And the waiter remembered me!<br /><br />I recently attended a conference at Georgetown University, which put me in my old DC stomping grounds. As will surprise exactly zero members of my family (and Caron), my first thought was not about my paper or my outfits, but about when and how I might fit in a meal at Jaleo. I used to eat there with my mentor professor as a tender undergrad before performances at the Shakespeare Theater next door. I had no idea it was run by a celebrity chef, just that it served the most sophisticated and exquisite food I'd ever encountered. I /pine/ for this food, these beautiful tapas, nearly every day. So after I delivered my paper, we broke for lunch and headed off on a brisk walk to Jaleo. The food was, as always, transcendent (grilled octopus with pine nut praline, patatas bravas, wild mushroom risotto, smoky mussels), but it was the smart, witty, company and the day of melding my past and present lives that made this lunch stand out against all my other trips. I'll never forget a moment of it, and I'll never have another tapa or watch an episode of Made in Spain without being transported directly back to that bliss.<br /><br />What are your Perfect Meals?<br /><br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad<br />lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-23929474729615644722011-01-23T22:27:00.000-05:002011-01-30T10:00:57.287-05:00Insta-dinnerI <i>hate</i> cooking dinner after a prolonged grocery store visit. I rarely do it. Usually I claim wifely privilege, saying, "I just did all the shopping. I'll be doing all the cooking, all week. But not tonight." And so we get a pizza or something. This time, however, I noticed that we had all the makings of a fondue in the grocery bags, and I thought even exhausted I could handle some rough chopping and a little grating.<br />
<br />
I steamed some baby potatoes (I didn't cut them or peel them, cuz, hey, this was supposed to be easy) in the same pot as a head of broccoli, ripped into florets. I tore up a chunk of sourdough baguette, chunked up a few apples, wiped off some button mushrooms, and I was ready.<br />
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The fondue came together so quickly! I boiled a bottle's worth of Guiness, threw in some whole-grain mustard, minced garlic, and English mustard powder, then added handfuls of grated sharp Cheddar (tossed with a tablespoon of cornstarch to prevent clumping). I whisked after each addition until smooth and kept going until my pound of cheese was all smooth and bubbly and delicious.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyndmJN4Bjxm1tkmuwlO3VEVFsN7KDycYEqPvnWegCBA0BFFa7ekOwkpk_IA2A4Da0OHJtnZre306tr1Xe79to_LfrPwK_CmN9y8TzV76JHZUyXxYGMKYbK_yw0U6W0JafevOXV3BOLg/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhyndmJN4Bjxm1tkmuwlO3VEVFsN7KDycYEqPvnWegCBA0BFFa7ekOwkpk_IA2A4Da0OHJtnZre306tr1Xe79to_LfrPwK_CmN9y8TzV76JHZUyXxYGMKYbK_yw0U6W0JafevOXV3BOLg/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Poured into my fancy-pants All-Clad fondue pot, this did a great job of pretending to be a classy, time-consuming meal. We ate like pigs, and not for the first time (well beyond, in fact, the four thousandth time), I thanked the universe for not making me lactose intolerant.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-29154230840592495742011-01-08T21:17:00.003-05:002011-01-23T22:08:00.741-05:00Why I Am Not A Baker<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I am not a baker, I am a cook.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Why? I think I would rather be</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">a baker, but I'm not. Well,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">for instance, Max wanted</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">to make a blueberry pie. I said yes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This is what happened:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqlt-RD0p-TzW6Oqk4V4HDyGouMV9rNefPmTSPGl6boTOIiwRaX-cI9gGsUeDeIcdm3wWCXm5UxnT3lPEDY0R6hhkLwI-A_6SlISvHzKrZoFJkmmq3i2uVFZzaaiK1bF2rRUsjabdbzY/s1600/mail-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: black;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjuiJt35-uPn8iHsm4FHiIPZl-jyqy8VMTbe7vl6QkFyWAoyq-qN16vz9RLtfgZSXmGMzkrTbi6AD7GOZ3Uab7t4GeFIno2aRjmpu0OhJVjkV7WNEcHY8YDfFz1pXWrd822tcMA2X53U/s1600/mail.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjuiJt35-uPn8iHsm4FHiIPZl-jyqy8VMTbe7vl6QkFyWAoyq-qN16vz9RLtfgZSXmGMzkrTbi6AD7GOZ3Uab7t4GeFIno2aRjmpu0OhJVjkV7WNEcHY8YDfFz1pXWrd822tcMA2X53U/s1600/mail.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I thought it would be adorable to make little pocket pies, and I just happen to have a heart-shaped sandwich cutter. Sounded easy and foolproof. But for me, no baking is fool-proof--because baking is Not. For. Fools. You have to be able to <i>measure</i>, for godssake. And that requires <i>numbers. </i>So right away I'm doomed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I didn't know I was doomed until Max had cut out all those cute little hearts and painstakingly piled tablespoon-fulls of blueberries on top of each one. (NB: Do you know how many fresh blueberries fit in a tablespoon? Three. So, as I say: doomed.) (NB2: Do you know how hard it is to get a 5-year-old to painstakingly do anything? Much less pile three blueberries into the center of irregularly-shaped pie crusts? DOOMED.) The full force of the doom hit me when I went to place the top crust on each pie and realized--a tad belatedly--that the top crust couldn't possibly be the same size as the bottom crust, or it wouldn't fit over the berries. But I had just the one cutter. So I stretched and cajoled the unwilling dough, eventually just saying "fuck it" and patching up the edges with dough scraps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I pulled them out of the oven, they were so browned and crunchy with sugar crystals and beautiful and fragrant...and completely empty. Every single drop of filling had leaked out of every single pie and coated my expensive cookie sheet and my baking stone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqlt-RD0p-TzW6Oqk4V4HDyGouMV9rNefPmTSPGl6boTOIiwRaX-cI9gGsUeDeIcdm3wWCXm5UxnT3lPEDY0R6hhkLwI-A_6SlISvHzKrZoFJkmmq3i2uVFZzaaiK1bF2rRUsjabdbzY/s1600/mail-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqlt-RD0p-TzW6Oqk4V4HDyGouMV9rNefPmTSPGl6boTOIiwRaX-cI9gGsUeDeIcdm3wWCXm5UxnT3lPEDY0R6hhkLwI-A_6SlISvHzKrZoFJkmmq3i2uVFZzaaiK1bF2rRUsjabdbzY/s1600/mail-1.jpeg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Good thing I thought to pour the leftover berries into some ramekins and stretch a little extra dough over the top. One even made a smiley face. See?</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MLziL1POlIJanlzvwYGycBSt31SLuLqgG5rdzODR2oSDHePmw7v1PsgBCNcFGlY5xzKs3aZwDo6bhp72NtEhiAVNt2EXDS-eYySvj_pAEaFnl6MJTudBmuqnlKTH56-VHsDR8mRWy3U/s1600/mail-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-MLziL1POlIJanlzvwYGycBSt31SLuLqgG5rdzODR2oSDHePmw7v1PsgBCNcFGlY5xzKs3aZwDo6bhp72NtEhiAVNt2EXDS-eYySvj_pAEaFnl6MJTudBmuqnlKTH56-VHsDR8mRWy3U/s1600/mail-2.jpeg" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He seems to be saying, "Clearly, I was the better idea, dumbass." Yeah? Thanks a lot, pie.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>** My sincerest apologies to you for both the blurry photographs and my egregious (and awful) appropriation of one of the loveliest poems I know: Frank O'Hara's "Why I Am Not a Painter."</i></div>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-14337991142780964992010-12-12T18:10:00.003-05:002010-12-13T01:04:53.620-05:00#CookTeaseThanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Normally, I am crap at cooking big fancy dinners. In theory, I love to do it, but really what I like is the impressing-the-hell-out-of-people part and not so much the actual execution of it. This year, however, I made the same Thanksgiving meal for the third year in a row and, I must admit, it went swimmingly. I actually planned ahead, cooked things in advance, and stuck to a schedule. Yes, I forgot to make the cornbread until the last possible second, but otherwise I count this year's Thanksgiving a tremendous success.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tweeted the steps as I completed them, which was fun for me, if not necessarily for everyone who had to read my incessant, smug tweets. It kept me focused and entertained. I had every intention of writing a for-reals blog post about the meal, but the tweets were pretty sufficient, I thought. Hence, I'm going to plead lazy and overworked, and I'm just going to post them below with pictorial accompaniment. Naysayers, this is all I can muster up right now, so tell yourself it's better than nothing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, and by the way, my entire menu comes from the greatest Gourmet menu of all time. You can get all the recipes (and see the shit I was too lazy to make) at </span><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/menu/views/cometogether"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Epicurious.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/50: Groceries purchased, sorted, and minimally prepped.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6OK0FeCawMDiq0Fydjno4Wq3E-fIzQxK0b4KbBRiUl967TU5uScnP1e8HpdnXP_IKRe_fM6qscgAPBvLuW5e6dcaOn2SeESGxnwvvdCAqGZupumf94EqaiLdl7u1ROMGWDRb-FNEgLY/s1600/T2010_before+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6OK0FeCawMDiq0Fydjno4Wq3E-fIzQxK0b4KbBRiUl967TU5uScnP1e8HpdnXP_IKRe_fM6qscgAPBvLuW5e6dcaOn2SeESGxnwvvdCAqGZupumf94EqaiLdl7u1ROMGWDRb-FNEgLY/s320/T2010_before+food.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">2/50: 10 poblanos have been roasted, peeled, seeded, and made into rajas.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">3/50: rum and nutmeg custard base for ice cream.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">4/50: <country-region w:st="on">Chiles</country-region> guajillo, ancho, <state w:st="on"><place w:st="on">New Mexico</place></state>, chipotle, and de arbol toasted and soaking in boiling water.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">5/50: Adobo red chile rub for turkey pureed and in the fridge.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrulC3RnV7N_Th7l78TWBbSRlnYpiz1JLTbz7T47QBQskRnkCWUncgpwcoHDjDxIdYWoMTWb0-1MyXVuj_4Lm7OdEeCRr9h1afh7pmbA2m8Bv1EY0C9iHc77U8hhZxms3I2tbD78iTy58/s1600/T2010_adobo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrulC3RnV7N_Th7l78TWBbSRlnYpiz1JLTbz7T47QBQskRnkCWUncgpwcoHDjDxIdYWoMTWb0-1MyXVuj_4Lm7OdEeCRr9h1afh7pmbA2m8Bv1EY0C9iHc77U8hhZxms3I2tbD78iTy58/s320/T2010_adobo.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">6/50: Onions caramelized and joining yesterday's poblano strips in the rajas bin.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ8Rf6_SMb3c3xtK3ZTin_xINLdS-atRVoLId_tohEGRRzKu7juVMtZFcKLv-A8etTQvyp-vAp74TEddn9btWqQL-usfIMc97pSfhhJjMXyq0W8yAKJIXQIEEqvg55hMLRo-s28tMBrM/s1600/T2010_potatoes+in+pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPQ8Rf6_SMb3c3xtK3ZTin_xINLdS-atRVoLId_tohEGRRzKu7juVMtZFcKLv-A8etTQvyp-vAp74TEddn9btWqQL-usfIMc97pSfhhJjMXyq0W8yAKJIXQIEEqvg55hMLRo-s28tMBrM/s320/T2010_potatoes+in+pot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></span></span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span class="entry-content"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7-10/50: Dishes washed, dried, put away; plastic containers for leftovers washed, dried, and stacked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11-12/50: roasted pineapple and onion for cranberry salsa; made salsa. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pctTtxryLOpksynLCSh2OGsDUD0jYjHP1IDw8qm4GO_JFDRkvH0KFMOz0c4A3LwtUXlV2wcMTKQjfJd4d0cRdH2v7Z4gULQffSADHFPGC79zLiRHIFn53Uwn85fYwZSjzHFy_jsxvfw/s320/T2010_salsa+cruda.jpg" width="240" /></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13-14/50: Roasted squash; mixed with coconut milk and brown sugar; pureed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15-16/50: Rum ice cream frozen; cornbread for stuffing baked. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">17/50: <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Turkey</country-region></place> rubbed with red chile adobo; marinates for 24 hrs. </span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3B_8uKWKlcrH3yKhhqeDGxxHrkTnZJm7I-cDr3afv5fwzXuTpbovD2pPPsE4zDit89WP3oidc-gki3JBnA42s8cgHrCjVevLKJkjtRcqhMCYIOCW81IkUy2O8LYVRVNgCY3i6QPd15to/s320/T2010_turkey+marinated.jpg" width="240" /></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18-21/50: Potatoes peeled, sliced, and fashioned into gratin strewn w/ poblano and onion rajas; gratin baked. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRiaycV9Y0bn0JkQqfy3VjQtDi9xxUfJI0XmjXlSwXVPaaxHrgzT4XtUQuU7aNLOrGi6V61L3QfU_bdGsWeqpF8utxDTahtKLlGwWYZRJWrgarcoFP83MHKjWprg6Sojd50hY0v4862E/s1600/T2010_gratin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiRiaycV9Y0bn0JkQqfy3VjQtDi9xxUfJI0XmjXlSwXVPaaxHrgzT4XtUQuU7aNLOrGi6V61L3QfU_bdGsWeqpF8utxDTahtKLlGwWYZRJWrgarcoFP83MHKjWprg6Sojd50hY0v4862E/s320/T2010_gratin.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">22-24/50: Cooked veggies, chorizo for stuffing; browned giblets, neck; simmering w/ veg and broth for turkey stock. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">25-29/50: Toasted cornbread; baked stuffing; made piloncillo syrup; prepared apples/syrup, poured into pie shell. </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFR4I48-uKQ1ZAThUl5c9QZI339INOj7XJ5CG5jQvs88DssmF7fJDDpZW0cnqrngjLx4fv-3AlAR0poTHopZHJsqGlrp06_IJ8zEW68chIqIpFDyrifhQTL41A89iYkK6KVduC2Xs6Dlw/s1600/T2010_stuffing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFR4I48-uKQ1ZAThUl5c9QZI339INOj7XJ5CG5jQvs88DssmF7fJDDpZW0cnqrngjLx4fv-3AlAR0poTHopZHJsqGlrp06_IJ8zEW68chIqIpFDyrifhQTL41A89iYkK6KVduC2Xs6Dlw/s320/T2010_stuffing.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span class="entry-content"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczMvBy5s8Ugb6LaGmDcvL4NAD5VxY3PaDJGOMDacvUQ6KU9kLfa-guxGFnQqok2jRcX5GKOsU6iBoJqUO-0ovO3uDm3ABPQGNgZDsHalHzbPZrHzV7ZcMJnlECzMjZ7w_k8XoLMDiy6w/s320/T2010_pie+inside.jpg" width="320" /></span><span class="entry-content"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">30/50: Took break to make pumpkin-butter filled pancakes for my family. Haven't fed them properly in three days. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">31-33/50: Apple-pilocillo pie baked; pomegranate, mango ready for guac; scraped caramel from pie off bottom of oven. </span><br />
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<img border="0" height="223" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-oF7vw1melw6l3E1chb6kokyef-Dq8373_X5wpE9ostgxoowMaA9Kv4Xu0uP9-DoFUyOOhOeDHDyy8_WeF_RAOEUdzFjhyphenhyphenTgRc7fPuw6rp26i5uNB2c1wemUpcKS8bHJqKXtAQo2s04/s320/T2010_pie.jpg" width="320" /></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-oF7vw1melw6l3E1chb6kokyef-Dq8373_X5wpE9ostgxoowMaA9Kv4Xu0uP9-DoFUyOOhOeDHDyy8_WeF_RAOEUdzFjhyphenhyphenTgRc7fPuw6rp26i5uNB2c1wemUpcKS8bHJqKXtAQo2s04/s1600/T2010_pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ozqqWmPf_ParABaiZKWSzNXNpdJweR65GGlHK3JfZYdxNelozoBPErBwKFD4VehK029_7GlSdDOsWiCCHbqH-gbR_a9z3JZff0sAaqBIxIbvdTPsu1BxeK7VATRLVBAsO0Q9whfTNzo/s320/T2010_salsa.jpg" width="320" /></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">34/50: Made emergency pumpkin pie. Well, actually, my 5-year-old made it. Read the recipe and everything. LOVE him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">35/50: Pomegranate-mango guacamole done. </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgv6KW97xAfmXDYZmMJwR3hncIAGirS0pDpU7WQGqZCz8i5lB7O_TGoUMuv0pXt5EC_ItfN84Kwesh9nPLxJKlYc0kzLCA9FYmjxoIdcJZsCaeMkBwrS7tDg_uwM_zzm4FF3dTDoYZj6g/s1600/T2010_guac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgv6KW97xAfmXDYZmMJwR3hncIAGirS0pDpU7WQGqZCz8i5lB7O_TGoUMuv0pXt5EC_ItfN84Kwesh9nPLxJKlYc0kzLCA9FYmjxoIdcJZsCaeMkBwrS7tDg_uwM_zzm4FF3dTDoYZj6g/s320/T2010_guac.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">36-40/50: Dishes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">41/50: Round of Pomegranate Kir Royales made, toasted, and working its way into our bellies. Ahhhh. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">42/50: Green beans blanched and sauteed w/ lemon, garlic, thyme. </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjT8I4btPgtzTjEgj4yYNfAR_BH1N7vzCusic9sKH5TeP9acbr25OrbLJLXoMpgqfqkJ9LK3Zlb94-KdzpMu1pxhX76UCtwLoC2cPyx4qrxtmMsLx8YIQuhJer2T1iV_ErjaWzDHG6iTI/s1600/T2010_sides.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjT8I4btPgtzTjEgj4yYNfAR_BH1N7vzCusic9sKH5TeP9acbr25OrbLJLXoMpgqfqkJ9LK3Zlb94-KdzpMu1pxhX76UCtwLoC2cPyx4qrxtmMsLx8YIQuhJer2T1iV_ErjaWzDHG6iTI/s320/T2010_sides.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">43-47/50: Red-chile roux made; gravy simmering; sides reheated; turkey resting. </span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMHLttgx1lkwPc4Bcfgm0vtNIGF_Lsaeg2kQAN4oJtKMZEaDtsh6_Qj4OyoOIcRIRBpX1MROOFypR49hSV4gWFm_GbrAr0fEnLc1ZvA5Hkg5hJqN_DZJMdso1XmT0EUnHQN-SBxnvij8E/s320/T2010_gravy.jpg" width="213" /></span><span class="entry-content"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_vOI1J89cXQWUqLubNxg4yfFk5IxHiLOHffkKj3cDE-WsV6hz7JDXa0V19EmyStC8z7yr68p8mRJbKY6qt-phJPpYiybnSUHg2m2izqticaT82CnoYW1HBSfT_cPbBLEqxvbVnrr-Ms/s1600/T2010_turkey+in+oven.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_vOI1J89cXQWUqLubNxg4yfFk5IxHiLOHffkKj3cDE-WsV6hz7JDXa0V19EmyStC8z7yr68p8mRJbKY6qt-phJPpYiybnSUHg2m2izqticaT82CnoYW1HBSfT_cPbBLEqxvbVnrr-Ms/s320/T2010_turkey+in+oven.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">48/50: Emergency #2--gratin is still cold, but everything else is ready. Fail. Jack up oven temp to 450.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span class="entry-content" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">50/50: And...done. Everything superb. Standouts: poblano gratin, cran-pineapple salsa, mango-pom guac, caramel apple pie. </span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: left;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jTN5PejxKTswJAIM8FCmSET2bk3sHd4pp_iT6ZSfJHqCc4Jl9jtenAwYYX8a0kpWCfX5qUPgT7APSVFyz09ikC2JSifi_XHdotzlZGUqACVK6ia0npzJOQytpF4xYKnsH-D2puwsLB0/s320/T2010_pies+in+situ.jpg" width="320" /></span></div><br />
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</div>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-82144737645952599492010-11-21T10:45:00.004-05:002010-12-13T01:05:24.894-05:00Choose Your Own (squash) Adventure!In the past week, I made butternut mac and cheese TWICE. This is unprecedented, as I repeat meals less frequently than Victoria Beckham repeats outfits. I don't even eat leftovers. This fact alone should help convince you that both of these recipes were very, very good. [Food blogger fail: I have pictures of neither dish. Sorry.]<br />
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They are also extremely different. Both are easy and delicious. Only one has any nutritional value to speak of, and one is decidedly grown-up food. So, I'll let you choose. <br />
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<strong>M-N-C #1</strong><br />
Last weekend, my family joined forces with another awesome family and rented a cabin near Unicoi State Park in north Georgia. On the first full day of the trip, we took the kiddoes to Burt's Pumpkin Farm for hayrides and...well...pumpkins. There were about 30 different varies of squash and pumpkin, laid out in the sun and bunched together in wooden trays under a rustic lean-to, and every one of them called out to my root-vegetable-loving heart and demanded that I Cook Them That Very Night.<br />
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Enter the first squash success: butternut mac-n-cheese. Quick, kid-friendly, delicious, and surprisingly good for you. Since we're all friends here, I'll admit that, if I had read the recipe carefully and realized how healthful it was, I probably wouldn't have made it. Because anything calling itself mac-n-cheese that has so little cheese it in would just piss me off on principle. But hear me out, because it really was delicious. Just, maybe, don't think of it as mac-n-cheese--more like a butternut pasta casserole or something.<br />
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<strong>Saint's Butternut Mac-n-Cheese</strong><br />
--Cut 1 large butternut squash into 1 1/2" cubes.<br />
--Boil squash in mixture of mostly water w/ some stock and a little 2% milk (enough liquid to just cover squash), 15-20 min.<br />
--Puree or mash squash w/ liquid; add pinch dry mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper.<br />
--Mix squash with 1/2 C part-skim ricotta and 4T grated Parmesan.<br />
--Taste and adjust seasoning.<br />
--Combine squash with 1 lb cooked penne pasta. Mix well.<br />
--Coat lasagna pan w/ cooking spray; add pasta.<br />
--Sprinkle with panko crumbs (mixed with 2T Parmesan and 1t of butter or oil).<br />
--Bake at 375 for 10-15 min, or until brown.<br />
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<strong>M-N-C #2</strong><br />
In the middle of the week, I needed an emergency dinner idea. I was really hungry, and I actually had some time to prepare a decent meal (as opposed to the twenty minutes in which I normally have to cram prep, cooking, and eating). I had a butternut squash in my fridge (don't you? at all times? just in case?) and a large block of Cheddar, so I thought, what the hell?, and I went for my second m-n-c of the week.<br />
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Browsing around Tasteologie always gets my creative juices flowing, and it has pretty enough photos to convince Dorian to try almost anything, so I relied on those fine contributors for my recipe. This one is adapted from <a href="http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com/2010/10/butternut-jalapeno-mac-and-cheese.html">A Good Appetite</a>. They have buckets of yummy recipes, so go check them out! At any rate, it was far easier than I'd anticipated, what with the whole roast-the-squash-then-make-a-cream-sauce thing. By the time the pasta was cooked, the squash was roasted and the sauce simmered patiently on the stove.<br />
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<strong>Sinner's Jalapeno Butternut Mac-n-Cheese</strong><br />
--Roast cubed butternut squash w/ olive oil, salt, and pepper until browned.<br />
--Cook 1 lb penne pasta (I used whole wheat to great effect here).<br />
--Melt a little butter in a saucepan, and saute 1/2 minced onion and 2 chopped jalapenos.<br />
--Add 2 T flour and cook, stirring, for 1 min.<br />
--Whisk in 1/2 C heavy cream and about 1 C milk; stir for 2 min. until thick.<br />
--Stir in 10 oz grated sharp Cheddar and 1 T dry mustard.<br />
--Season with salt and pepper.<br />
--Combine pasta and squash in saucepan.<br />
--Pour mixture into buttered/sprayed lasagna pan.<br />
--Sprinkle with panko (tossed with Parmesan and olive oil); bake at 425 for 10 min.<br />
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If I had planned this meal instead of throwing it together at the last minute, I would have also made a fresh pico de gallo with tomatillos. Nothing makes cheese more delicious than tomatillos and onions and chiles. Seriously. Try it.<br />
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I also put some broccoli on the plate for this, as an alibi.<br />
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I will warn you, in advance, that the first m-n-c gets a little dry when you reheat it, so add a little stock or water or cream. The second m-n-c gets a little oily when you reheat it, as the cream and cheese begin to separate into their components. Still tastes awesome, though. And maybe it's a good thing--you can pour some of the grease out and then you don't ingest it.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-72917789148630558132010-11-03T20:57:00.001-04:002010-11-03T21:09:53.285-04:00Victory for the Forces of Democratic Freedom!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, okay. There’s nothing intrinsically democratic about vegetarian cuisine. Egalitarian, maybe. Ethical, certainly. But democratic is a stretch. I was just going to go with “Victory!” but then the little David Foster Wallace in my head forced me to submit to his perverse will.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back to the victory: two delicious meatless meals last week, both wild successes, neither eliciting any form of “this would be good with meat” commentary from Dorian. Unfortunately for you, gentle reader, we once again put this food in our bellies before the camera could climb out of its case. But no matter—curry isn’t the most attractive foodstuff in the world. Damn tasty though.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before the curry, I made a zucchini taco filling from Rick Bayless’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mexico: One Plate at a Time</i>, which has been my kitchen bible for over a decade. Bayless’ tome is my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Joy of Cooking</i>, my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i>; it’s how I taught myself to cook. If I’d had the foresight, I could have blogged my way through it and scored a lucrative book deal. Except I had no particular desire to change my name. (To Ricki. For the blog. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ricki and Rick</i>.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Like Julie and Julia. Get it?)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And but so, I’ve made nearly everything in the Bayless book except these tacos, which I have oft eyed up but never had the courage to serve to my family. Zucchini? In a taco?? Blech. That’s what their faces said, anyway. But I finally did it, and I’ll have you know, it was freaking amazing. Dorian LOVED it, and begged me to make it for dinner again as soon as possible. Say it with me, people: VICTORY FOR THE FORCES OF DEMOCRATIC FREEDOM!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">Zucchini Taco Filling</span></b><br />
--Broil 2 poblanos 10 min or until black all over. Put them in a bowl covered with a kitchen towel for 10 min. Rub the blackened skins off and pull out the seeds and stem. Slice into ¼” strips.<br />
--Saute 1 chopped onion in a little veggie oil until browned, 8 min.<br />
--Add 2 cloves minced garlic; sauté 1 min.<br />
--Add 1 small can crushed tomatoes (or 4 small tomatoes, pureed); reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 5 min. <br />
--Turn up heat to medium-high; add 3 zucchini, diced into ½” pieces, 1 C corn kernels, and poblano strips; add 3 T chopped cilantro, 2/3 C whipping cream, and 1 t salt. Sauté 8 min.<br />
--Serve on warm corn tortillas with crumbled feta or queso fresco.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second win of the week was this sweet, spicy, rich-but-healthy veggie curry from a deviation on a recipe found Cook’s Illustrated. I don’t want to impinge on their copyright (they guard those recipes very closely!), so I can’t give exact measurements here. But if you are a moderately adept cook, you’ll find great success in just throwing stuff in a Dutch oven and letting it simmer. Note that you can also change the veggies to suit your tastes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">Curry with Eggplant, Sweet Potato, and Green Beans</span></b><br />
--Saute 2 chopped onions in a couple T veggie oil. Use a Dutch oven or large sauté pan.<br />
--Add a large sweet potato, cut into ½” dice; sauté until potato and onion are browned.<br />
--Add aromatics: a dollop of minced garlic, a couple dollops of curry powder, a sliced jalapeno, a dollop of garam masala, and some grated fresh ginger. Don’t fret; you really can’t screw this part up as far as amounts/ratios go. Saute 1 min, until fragrant.<br />
--Add other veggies. I used a diced eggplant, a couple of handfuls of fresh green beans (cut into 1” lengths), and a can of chickpeas. Cauliflower would also be good. Stir around until veggies are coated with the spices.<br />
--Throw in a small can of diced tomatoes (make sure you avoid the basil-flavored ones; I almost had a disgusting kitchen misstep because of these insidious bastards), a dollop of tomato paste, and about ½ C water, and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 min, or until the veggies are tender.<br />
--Swirl in just a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream or coconut milk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was delicious by itself, but its yummy factor was amped up tremendously by the addition of some mango chutney and a Greek yogurt-cilantro-mint—grated cucumber-garlic mixture. And a generous squeeze of fresh lime.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This curry reheats exceptionally well, and so is ideal for a weekend meal with weekday leftovers. AND it takes about a tenth of the time that most curries require. AND it’s meatless (vegan, even, I think, if you use the coconut milk). AND it has no butter, unlike much Indian food. The only potential drawback is that my son couldn’t eat it; it was just too spicy for a kindergartner. Next time I might leave out the jalapeno, and grate it into the raita instead.</span></div>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-42564214360316726102010-10-25T21:58:00.002-04:002010-11-21T22:57:43.964-05:00Stir MondayWish it were the end of the week...then I could've called it "Stir Fry-day." *sigh*<br />
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Tonight was just a simple weeknight dinner, but it was really delicious. I was supposed to be making a cold soba noodle salad, but all of my local grocery stores chose this week to not have any soba noodles, thus making preparation of said salad pretty difficult. So I defaulted to my favorite stir-fry sauce and just tossed all the veggies together. I don't care how inept you are in the kitchen, you can totally throw this meal together. Plus, you can toss the protein right into the stir-fry, thus making a one-pot meal. Bonus.<br />
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I took cues from two stir-fry recipes for this: one from the dreaded South Beach Cookbook, and one from a truly spectacular Epicurious.com dish (pork with tangerines and bok choy--look it up and make it!). Here's how it goes down:<br />
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--Veggies, variously sliced and prepared for stir-frying<br />
--Chinese 5-spice powder<br />
--Sugar-free apricot jam<br />
--Soy sauce<br />
--Minced fresh ginger and garlic<br />
--Scallions<br />
--Chili oil (optional; also could use red pepper flake)<br />
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Ages and ages ago, when "cooking show" meant public television programming hosted by Julia Child, Pierre Franey, Justin Wilson, or Lydia Bastianich, I learned from Martin Yan (who, it turns out, <strong><u>can</u></strong> actually cook) that the secret to stir-frying is "hot pan, cold oil." This advice has never led me astray, so I pass it onto you now. Get your wok (or non-stick pan) really, really hot, pour in some cold or room temp vegetable oil (grapeseed oil works great for this b/c of its high smoke point), then add the aromatics: ginger, garlic, scallions. STIR.<br />
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After about 30 seconds, you should smell the aromatics. Immediately add the longest-cooking veggies; I started with green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1" lengths. Keep stirring--this is why you need to have all ingredients prepped in advance! After a few minutes, toss in some other veggies and maybe a little more oil to keep it all from burning. I used mushrooms, quartered; I let those go for few minutes, then added 1/2" squares of red and yellow peppers. Push 'em around a bit, then let them hang out. The peppers will give off so much liquid that your veg won't burn if you walk away for a minute or two.<br />
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While they are doing their thing, mix together in a small bowl some 5-spice powder (about 1 T) and the apricot jam (1/3 C, maybe??). Loosen it up with 1-2 T of soy sauce. Please do not use low-sodium soy sauce, as you need the saltiness to even out the sweet from the jam. When the veggies are about done, add the sauce and stir. Let it heat through so the jam melts a bit, toss with a small stream of sesame oil and a teaspoon or so of sesame seeds, if you want to be fancy, and serve.<br />
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On this particular occasion, I served the veggies with brown rice and very simply broiled fish. But, as I say, you can stir-fry up some thinly sliced meat or other protein, or toss in some shrimp, and it'll all work together merrily.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-74294376835494802182010-10-16T08:51:00.002-04:002010-10-25T20:43:35.140-04:00Epcot Food and Wine 2010 (redux)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am veering from the usual format today, both to save time and to keep your attention focused on these delectable images.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We did the Food and Wine Festival again last Saturday. We had some truly outstanding dishes, and some Disney-esque culinary disappointments. Thankfully, the former outweighed the latter. I feel obligated to say, too, before you scroll down and see the repugnant amount of food that we consumed, that we both shared every plate (except the cake...we got our own cake) and ate our way through this stuff over a 6-hour period. So it's not as heinously over-indulgent as it might look. Oh, also...no booze. AND an hour-long break while we watched the stylings of one Mr. Howard Jones--bonus throw-back free concert! I've never seen anyone but like John Secada and Taylor Dayne at the Festival, and so I usually avoid that pavillion like the damned plague, so Howard Jones was a fun treat. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, onto the food!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW6LImmnOyt0gehLTBU2bqWxg2DhCzrpJ3W1O4ojSrMmGAtNgmH4Pcj5Uy43UdfwcdODU_NuZ0U8wg13mWED388wZvWDmldJ8BLogA6ogKhRgo7tnRODXF4RsdiI2vkrIcgORs6D8gaA/s1600/Chile_empanadas.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHW6LImmnOyt0gehLTBU2bqWxg2DhCzrpJ3W1O4ojSrMmGAtNgmH4Pcj5Uy43UdfwcdODU_NuZ0U8wg13mWED388wZvWDmldJ8BLogA6ogKhRgo7tnRODXF4RsdiI2vkrIcgORs6D8gaA/s320/Chile_empanadas.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Chile: Roasted Corn and Farmer's Cheese Empanada</strong> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Creamy, sweet, salty, delicious. Not improved by the last-minute addition of chimichurri, which I only asked for because I like to dip shit in sauce, and the empanadas did not feature any such accompaniment. Note: do not follow in my footsteps.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmEkMefXUwm_28t48eA7RfcLVSvdRJc3F2utyd86oVJpFP1tOYIbbaVxuIOdcF3BfOLC_3ikq6cvpyUm7pdXFZX_ANkW8AYpehyphenhyphen-2AQpSWMgrMR0bwkiPm34BtITwDfXNmTlcFOXGG2o/s1600/Chile_chimichurri+bonito.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmEkMefXUwm_28t48eA7RfcLVSvdRJc3F2utyd86oVJpFP1tOYIbbaVxuIOdcF3BfOLC_3ikq6cvpyUm7pdXFZX_ANkW8AYpehyphenhyphen-2AQpSWMgrMR0bwkiPm34BtITwDfXNmTlcFOXGG2o/s320/Chile_chimichurri+bonito.jpeg" width="299" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Chile: Grilled Beef Skewer, Bonito Puree, Chimichurri</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Delicious on all counts--smoky, good grill flavor, tons of spice/garlic/sass from the ubiquitous Andean herb oil...a win, even for this girl who doesn't favor beef.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoyaFtS91Giw31hsYJQh-4SftVMavVGADxhM0gd51PozsZ3RY1CHYvDN4Af1ndrzoz6tkIn9uAeP54HR-Js2pH9pISqe_CVGOKcRZ59XR-wD9JSMPsVU8zkyf9iIIXxbEesNhGTOhElk/s1600/Poland_pierogies.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoyaFtS91Giw31hsYJQh-4SftVMavVGADxhM0gd51PozsZ3RY1CHYvDN4Af1ndrzoz6tkIn9uAeP54HR-Js2pH9pISqe_CVGOKcRZ59XR-wD9JSMPsVU8zkyf9iIIXxbEesNhGTOhElk/s320/Poland_pierogies.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Poland (obv): Pierogi, Kielbasa, Caramelized Onion</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Unimaginative, perhaps, but still yummy. Onions nicely caramelized, kielbasa smoky and garlicky. Pierogi pretty much in line with the frozen ones, but fine. A good snack for $2.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnwn365s2OSl7Zj3O0lHq4WQW4Lybi_11Hr57el9ZmsR2C3m287uM_ddMl0SZArfVTvGacqbasp4ylXf18rR3Z1oHdYicEU2D7gM6luuLzKU1reXBGt4874Vt_jAXm80mbc6MF5bOIYc/s1600/Korea_pork.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnwn365s2OSl7Zj3O0lHq4WQW4Lybi_11Hr57el9ZmsR2C3m287uM_ddMl0SZArfVTvGacqbasp4ylXf18rR3Z1oHdYicEU2D7gM6luuLzKU1reXBGt4874Vt_jAXm80mbc6MF5bOIYc/s320/Korea_pork.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>South Korea: Pulled Pork Lettuce Wrap with Kimchee Slaw</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm pretty sure this is about as authentic for Korean food as Chicken Chow Mein is for Chinese food, but it was tasty. The pork was bland, but a decent pillow for the flavorful quasi-kimchee and spicy mayo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRuWaq9NHKnLLThyphenhyphenF65pmDFzrOtDhpQQjdbaw_1Qqz2mYJYv6yZXU-zW8Oj_6rJYSxMAN16UkGUBK6hNWypKXNLjqRWP_tm0E_AQ4Wv_HHb-yqdyJigESwRMRjlUaUipuSHv3-4wg88M/s1600/Korea_Short+rib.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRuWaq9NHKnLLThyphenhyphenF65pmDFzrOtDhpQQjdbaw_1Qqz2mYJYv6yZXU-zW8Oj_6rJYSxMAN16UkGUBK6hNWypKXNLjqRWP_tm0E_AQ4Wv_HHb-yqdyJigESwRMRjlUaUipuSHv3-4wg88M/s320/Korea_Short+rib.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>South Korea: Braised Short Rib with Cucumber Kimchee</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm thinking that Disney realized they just have to put some pickled veggies on a plate and call it "kimchee" and everyone will think it's really Korean. This was a hit, though--the rib was tender and sweet, the spice rub and sauce redolent with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, and all manner of other things my American palate failed to identify. Dori and I both really liked this, and we vowed to try more Korean food. Maybe even <em>real</em> Korean food!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQBUhQoF6Roe76axgXGXOqAKUw0IpAo1UcaGaBsuev03csYd_PtOhgrgW62v1f91DKgB9AZNU21XGJ6WMGeuiETos5j_ld_FFTsdXVmmic_1XKBmcwJ4595lO2XQot0P7ZBakv8AlDpQ/s1600/Spain_cheese.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQBUhQoF6Roe76axgXGXOqAKUw0IpAo1UcaGaBsuev03csYd_PtOhgrgW62v1f91DKgB9AZNU21XGJ6WMGeuiETos5j_ld_FFTsdXVmmic_1XKBmcwJ4595lO2XQot0P7ZBakv8AlDpQ/s320/Spain_cheese.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Spain: A Taste of Spain</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yeah, right. Spain, your pavillion is worse than Italy's!! And that's a horror to me, because I like your food so much better. How can a country that is positively brimming with spectacular cured meats, unique cheeses, and outstanding olive oils possibly be represented by this lame deli tray? Even at $2, this was a FAIL. Canned olives, tasteless chorizo (how do you even make that happen???), dry bread (not, as promised, a <em>pan con tomate</em>), a "manchego" that tasted like dried glue, and some cheap proscuitto masqueradiing as Serrano ham. Blech. If you're going to go simple on a dish, everything must be of the absolute highest quality. This, dear Epcot-Spain people, will not make <em>anyone</em> want to travel to Iberia. And that's a damned shame.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6HE8HVnVbQIMO0R7uX2E8XKVFL6FcJoRKZM391s35t3LQxUfXxD7Q9Wt_KpNjzfRIF_PzcaPCW0O5ye2CXLQvKdPBY8imKeuOi5_PGnjzKtjVNM1nEfi44v0cJg-wXOQVp8U3CAdYec/s1600/Spain_tuna+romesco.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6HE8HVnVbQIMO0R7uX2E8XKVFL6FcJoRKZM391s35t3LQxUfXxD7Q9Wt_KpNjzfRIF_PzcaPCW0O5ye2CXLQvKdPBY8imKeuOi5_PGnjzKtjVNM1nEfi44v0cJg-wXOQVp8U3CAdYec/s320/Spain_tuna+romesco.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Spain: Seared Tuna with Romesco</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seared, my ass. This was more insulting than the cheese plate. This tiny spit of tuna was grilled to within an inch of its life; it had the color and texture of canned tuna--only drier. Covered in some sort of salty red stuff at I can only assume was intended to recall <em>pimenton</em>, the tuna was not improved by the addition of a decent, if mundane, romesco. True, I am a romesco snob-and-a-half (it is one of the Top 5 Sauces of World Cuisine, in my estimation), but this was pedestrian by any standards. Little of the bit or nutty smoothness of a good romesco, this one just served to moisten that god-awful fish. The microgreens were tasty, though.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRti8_Wv-VWJkN3saa4T9jz0F8PNfIKtaszCD4SMkI3Pw1BL3O4QM2VlHOhW9ObA3tduIJpqLI7T5CYBf53UbSLC3bcEGtrI0pu8l0WGBtFMOPa0XM1OQDLPGVRB1GalkTYh3DcHjSjsM/s1600/Ireland_lobster.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRti8_Wv-VWJkN3saa4T9jz0F8PNfIKtaszCD4SMkI3Pw1BL3O4QM2VlHOhW9ObA3tduIJpqLI7T5CYBf53UbSLC3bcEGtrI0pu8l0WGBtFMOPa0XM1OQDLPGVRB1GalkTYh3DcHjSjsM/s320/Ireland_lobster.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Ireland: Lobster and Scallop Fisherman's Pie</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is always so, so delicious. I wrote about it last time, so I won't re-bore you with details. Just, if you go, get this. If there are two of you, consider getting your own. Best part? The surprise of fresh tarragon. It really sets off the lobser beautifully. Other best part: The recipe is in this year's Food and Wine Cookbook. Hell yes, I bought one. Did you really need to ask?? I think this might replace my traditional Lobster Pot Pie recipe on New Year's this time around.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK_nF1g_011OYmcHELtliOtlhLBetVd0Rd1XTm7cxhYQkWnk162h3Gb-3hPCccrNS87q0D6eUG19x1-o6oAr8hEPVEhxYHKwJXWOQ8PN5EkaSzwCuoVow7uK1Y8EkJOPw5Bzth4vPudY/s1600/Ireland_cake+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicK_nF1g_011OYmcHELtliOtlhLBetVd0Rd1XTm7cxhYQkWnk162h3Gb-3hPCccrNS87q0D6eUG19x1-o6oAr8hEPVEhxYHKwJXWOQ8PN5EkaSzwCuoVow7uK1Y8EkJOPw5Bzth4vPudY/s320/Ireland_cake+me.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Ireland: Chocolate Lava Cake with Bailey's Sauce</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not so much a lava cake (it doesn't ooze from the center), this is more like an outsandingly fudgy brownie, slathered in a boozy, rich, Bailey's-spiked chocolate sauce. Amazing in every single way. Notice how happy I was while eating it. This is by far the least pornographic photo Dorian took of me mid-cake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpA-nOMaP51uO5P3CtPEuGvg2cT29T1MpWfd2rohShR5rxxxhz0yxjT37vVZq4PsDPmE0aFtgH3qzDEy8tS9ym3cP1WYxGJmB6zcxNCdvqr70dvcRd5Wpcpcwz0nhso1kNhItC8-aedw/s1600/Canada_salmon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpA-nOMaP51uO5P3CtPEuGvg2cT29T1MpWfd2rohShR5rxxxhz0yxjT37vVZq4PsDPmE0aFtgH3qzDEy8tS9ym3cP1WYxGJmB6zcxNCdvqr70dvcRd5Wpcpcwz0nhso1kNhItC8-aedw/s320/Canada_salmon.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Canada: Maple-Glazed Salmon with Lentils</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I guess because Canada also runs the best restaurant at Epcot, it follows that they'd also run the best booth at the Food and Wine Festival. They do the same thing every year, and I'm glad for it, because every item is fantastic. I do miss the little arugula salad that used to top this sweet, perfectly grilled salmon, but it's still top-notch. The maple flavor pairs surprisingly well with the nutty lentils and sweet corn. Simply put, YUM.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhJM4U38ZVNi7S4vKecZOuLCYIUWtmmxGXiPwXrwO3-RCtD1rLlZK0grheXv-ZIHh9E4aCtTRZZNjMctnv5NObDZSUs2_zuDqnc4iDg4UZQdMiJ73D950t48pcpCGeheOouYGo_AHR0w/s1600/Canada_sausage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhJM4U38ZVNi7S4vKecZOuLCYIUWtmmxGXiPwXrwO3-RCtD1rLlZK0grheXv-ZIHh9E4aCtTRZZNjMctnv5NObDZSUs2_zuDqnc4iDg4UZQdMiJ73D950t48pcpCGeheOouYGo_AHR0w/s320/Canada_sausage.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Canada: Chipotle Chicken Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know this looks obscene, but it was completely delicious. The sausage was smoky and spicy and delicious, and it was paired with three sweet sides: caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and the titular polenta. I never in a billion years would have teamed up chipotles with so much sweetness, but it was spot-on. We'd never ordered this before, but we'll totally be ordering it again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtlaWYJyQas359DHDAWvltJIol42e1mGj_3L_bNhUBtGKYM06lLuC3UvtyClNHWujhaItw8kyW7v5kY6zDdK89H1qWo_I07vScL57efWIHHJDdXgBFSYhAAqSWEoupIhWjNH0YE-u4oU/s1600/Canada_soup.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtlaWYJyQas359DHDAWvltJIol42e1mGj_3L_bNhUBtGKYM06lLuC3UvtyClNHWujhaItw8kyW7v5kY6zDdK89H1qWo_I07vScL57efWIHHJDdXgBFSYhAAqSWEoupIhWjNH0YE-u4oU/s320/Canada_soup.jpeg" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Canada: Cheddar-Beer Soup</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This has got to be the single tastiest morsel in all of Epcot. I've tried to duplicate it at home with miserable results. How do they get such sharp Cheddar to melt so smoothly? What kind of fan-fucking-tastic beer is that, with its bitter bite? What is lending the back-of-the-throat spice? And, dear lord, are those chunks of BACON in there? Why, of course, they are. Because nothing compliments a healthy bowl of cheese and beer like bacon. Oh, pork fat...I love you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4CNmggGVdYPR7fwD-l0HfgzUEIi1oSjrLSdTKxMkNiNt8pF1cJslaMHTc-o9uOhK_sTOEYsIx8-zFdhsXKni6cTQMN3XjfWNgzlgNaF679ZtxDq9gOwvm4-40VE7umtnBZgUwpSJOuY/s1600/Dessert+trio.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4CNmggGVdYPR7fwD-l0HfgzUEIi1oSjrLSdTKxMkNiNt8pF1cJslaMHTc-o9uOhK_sTOEYsIx8-zFdhsXKni6cTQMN3XjfWNgzlgNaF679ZtxDq9gOwvm4-40VE7umtnBZgUwpSJOuY/s320/Dessert+trio.jpeg" width="316" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Dessert Tent: Trio of Flavors</strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'd be embarrassed to admit this, but pretty much everyone that reads this is related to me and y'all already know what a glutton I am. We each got our own trio. They are too delicious to share and I was heady from all the food I'd already ingested. I was weak, and the whole plate was only $3. Mostly, though, I just wanted my own pear tart. I've already described these desserts on the last Epcot post, but I will take a moment to remind you that shortbread + pear + custard + crumble = utopia.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Final thoughts:</strong> Avoid Spain and Italy at all costs. Try just about everything else. Bring a friend or five so you can taste as many things as possible.</div>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-90307374880555385172010-10-13T11:03:00.001-04:002010-10-13T11:04:05.727-04:00Epcot Food and Wine Festival 2010Yes, we have a small child. Yes, we both have the entire summer off of work. But the real reason that we keep our Disney annual passes is so we can go to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival every year. In fact, we renew our passes in October each year, so that if we ever decided not to renew, we'll still be able to go to the next year's festival. This just by way of background.<br />
<br />
Friday last was the opening night of the 2010 festival, and we braved the crowds to get an early taste of the food. There were lots of returning favorites and some new booths to celebrate the festival's 15th anniversary. There is also a cookbook, which I am totally buying next time we go.<br />
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It's always tough to choose whether to start to the left or the right; this year, we chose right, and It Was Good. Before hitting up a country's booth, we stopped at a random beer tent for some Prosecco and cheese fondue. The fondue was superb: tons of bite from the Swiss, a little extra acid (lemon?) compared to most fondue, and accompanied by chunks of sourdough baguette and fingerling potatoes (also doused in lemon). The Prosecco was really nice for cutting through the richness of the fondue. Now if they'd just dispense with those ridiculous tiny plastic cups!<br />
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We look forward to Canada every year, even though their offerings are actually regular menu items from the Le Cellier steakhouse. Technically, we could get that spicy beer-cheese soup and maple-glazed salmon with lentils any time of year, but we never manage to dress up enough to eat there. The line was insane this time around, though, so we'll wait until we can escape to the festival on a weeknight.<br />
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Speaking of old favorites, we (rightly) stood in line for about half an hour at the Ireland tent for lobster and scallop fisherman's pie (creamy, rich, and brimming with chunks of sweet shellfish), molten chocolate cake smothered in Bailey's (past its prime as a trendy recipe, but still freaking delicious), and Meade's honey wine (which smelled like honey and tasted like ass).<br />
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Primarily, we started to the right this year to ensure we got to France as quickly as possible. In recent years, they have abandoned the goat cheese and caramelized onion tartlets of which I was so inordinately fond, but they still serve garlicky escargot inside three tiny, buttery, crunchy bread bowls. Couple them with a pomegranate Kir royale (or, in our case, several pomegranate Kir royales) and you've got yourself a lovely evening on the water, watching the sunset with the Eiffel Tower at your back.<br />
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Reluctantly, we moved on, only to discover that our festival experience took a downturn. I've always cautioned Dori against eating at the Italian restaurant at Epcot, both because I know that institutionalized Italian food has little chance of being decent and because said restaurant is called "Alfredo's"--and no self-respecting, authentic Italian restaurant would go for something that ridiculous. <strong><a href="fn1">(1)</a></strong> Still, Dori pressed on, and we made our way through the Italian tent for cheese ravioli with bolognese and polpettini in tomato sauce. Seriously. And it was every bit as bland and disgusting and institutional as I'd feared; it was even served in what looked suspiciously like airline-food containers. Ugh.<br />
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Stuffed to the gills, but needing something to redeem our faux-Italian experience, so we stopped at the China tent for street-vendor-style BBQ chicken and crispy black pepper shrimp over chile-garlic noodles. The former was a little too dark-meat-y for my tastes, but it was perfectly charred on the outside and tender inside, and had the complex flavors of a homemade 5-spice rub: sweet, smoky, salty. The shrimp were largely unnecessary on my plate (and notable for their complete lack of black pepper), but the noodles on which they sat were tremendously good. Intensely spicy and garlicky, with sharp flecks of scallion and--oh, THERE you are, black pepper! I love you on the noodles, but the shrimp really could have used your help!<br />
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The garlic breath was really persistent from that point on, so we made our way to the dessert and champagne booth at the end to balance things out. Unable to properly decide on a dessert, we got all three offerings, plus two more itty bitty glasses of champagne, and took them to the water's edge to watch the fireworks. On our delicious little plate was a delicate trifle of strawberry, vanilla custard, and angelfood cake (Dorian's clear favorite, which surprised the hell out of me, as I'm usually the fruit dessert person), a pear-and-custard tart on an extremely short pastry crust (my favorite, as I'll eat anything with fruit and a buttery, flour-y pastry), and a dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (a yummy counterpoint to the fruit, but nowhere near as good as the pear thing).<br />
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Full of champagne bubbles, we settled in to watch Epcot's extremely lame fireworks display (we are so spoiled by the show at Magic Kingdom, which is fucking EPIC) with its stupid floating globe-on-fire, and let our food digest a bit. We headed out before the grand finale and drove home, sated and excited about our next visit, when we will start with Canada, Belgium (moules frites and a fruit-slathered waffle), Argentina (roasted corn empanadas), Poland (kielbasa and pierogies), and the US (bison chili with wild mushrooms). Maybe Australia (last year's barramundi with arugula salad and lemon oil) and another go at France. Haven't decided on South Africa, which kept last year's Grilled Beef with Sweet Potato and Mango BBQ Sauce (Dori's favorite) but ditched, mysteriously, their amazing Mealie (a corn chowder with a lethal drizzle of chile oil). Can't wait.<br />
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<strong><a name="fn1">(1)</a></strong> Disclaimer: I did also openly mock a restaurant in Delaware called "La Casa Pasta" on the same grounds, only to find out that it was the single best and most authentic Italian restaurant I'd even found in the US. So, I can be overly judgmental at times.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-59206184945765373152010-10-02T10:52:00.001-04:002010-10-13T10:55:39.053-04:00You'll never guess what I made.BLACK BEAN BURGERS!<br />
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No shit. I really, really did. I think I used the fourth bunch of cilantro I've bought in preparation for these damned things, but it happened. We had a full-on work weekend and I didn't go to the grocery store (#CookFail), but luckily...we had all the ingredients for these burgers. Excepting maybe the cilantro, you probably do, too.<br />
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Note in advance: This recipe is super-forgiving. Amounts are really not important. And you can add anything you want or top any way you want. You could probably also bake them. And they reheat well!<br />
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--Drain 2 cans black beans; add about 2/3 of them to bowl.<br />
--Mash w/ back of fork or potato masher.<br />
--Stir in 1 egg <strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/fn1">(1)</a></strong>, minced garlic, onion powder <strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/fn2">(2)</a></strong>, salt, cayenne, cumin, oregano.<br />
--Gently stir in 1/4 C panko, ton of chopped cilantro, and remaining whole beans.<br />
--Shape into patties (smaller ones don't break up as much).<br />
--Crisp up in non-stick pan, 4-5 min. per side, until they look a little dry.<br />
--Serve w/ cheese, salsa, guacamole, radish slices, lettuce, sour cream...whatever.<br />
--Put them on a roll if you're not carb- or gluten-conscious. Or in pita.<br />
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I always serve this with those frozen spicy chipotle sweet potato fries, which are extra delicious if you mix together some ketchup and Sriracha (Thai hot sauce) for dipping <strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/fn3">(3)</a></strong>. A little mixed greens salad is nice, too.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn1">(1)</a></strong> You can use a couple of glops of mayo instead if raw egg grosses you out. It grosses me out, but it does cook while the burgers are in the pan. And literally NOTHING grosses me out more than mayonnaise.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn2">(2)</a></strong> It'd be delicious if you felt like chopping and sauteeing an actual onion, along with the garlic, but that totally ruins the appeal for me, because this meal is supposed to be fast, easy, and virtually mess-free.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn3">(3)</a></strong> And I <strong>hate</strong> ketchup, mind. So you know this is good if I'll recommend it.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-66657022210598213712010-09-14T17:42:00.001-04:002010-10-13T10:55:51.176-04:00I am totally backdating this post.Because I made these chile rellenos like two weeks ago. <strong><a href="http://thecooktease.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-am-totally-backdating-this-post.html#fn1">(1)</a></strong><br />
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It was an exhausting, emotionally harrowing couple of weeks. And I know I should blog anyway, because I have a responsibility to my readers and all that crap, but you know what? There's like ten of you. And I love you dearly. But I was just too damned tired.<br />
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So but anyway. Chile rellenos.<br />
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I should preface all this by saying that I make outlandishly good chile rellenos, normally. Dorian loves them--which means that they are a giant pain in the ass to make. I do it maybe twice a year. So I'm always on the lookout for ways to capture that deliciousness without destroying my kitchen and my sanity. Rick Bayless has never let me down before, so I didn't see this coming AT ALL. And it sounds so <u>good</u>: roasted poblanos stuffed with pulled smoked chicken, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, and fresh corn. Yum! Bonus: They are baked in a casserole dish, smothered in cinnamon-tomato sauce, with just a touch of crema drizzled over top. So they are not only easier than The Good Ones but way healthier, too.<br />
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This recipe is great because it uses up those tiny bits of chicken you salvage from the carcass between dinner and stock-making. And it can be made ahead. If you remember to do either of these things, you're golden. <strong><a href="http://thecooktease.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-am-totally-backdating-this-post.html#fn2">(2)</a></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXVXdoK5nFsNv9Y4ETSqhBtMajNJa7vgHjHlY4PyExlMkbVjTZaZvbFzPoQHtfoPVqcbnokzjTKgIUvfgU2B_zQ3QiJcnA0bvByqgSkamIjAo6WaQeHv-57rTVwRH2UxCx7Qxtne4n5E/s1600/chile+rellenos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXVXdoK5nFsNv9Y4ETSqhBtMajNJa7vgHjHlY4PyExlMkbVjTZaZvbFzPoQHtfoPVqcbnokzjTKgIUvfgU2B_zQ3QiJcnA0bvByqgSkamIjAo6WaQeHv-57rTVwRH2UxCx7Qxtne4n5E/s320/chile+rellenos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Anyway, they weren't tough to make, just time-consuming. And I got the traditional Bayless Scars on my forearms from flying speckles of nuclear tomato sauce <strong><a href="http://thecooktease.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-am-totally-backdating-this-post.html#fn3">(3)</a></strong>. But the dish was, overall, surprisingly bland. Okay for a first try, but certainly not worth to the time/effort/money that went into its preparation.<br />
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The take aways: <br />
<ol><li>Roasted poblanos make anything taste good.</li>
<li>The chicken was wholly unnecessary; Dori confirms. <strong><a href="http://thecooktease.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-am-totally-backdating-this-post.html#fn5">(5)</a></strong></li>
<li>The method is sound. Easier by far than battering and frying, and with little reduction in taste/texture. At least not in proportion to calories/mess.</li>
</ol>I'll do it again, sans chicken, plus more mushrooms and some black beans. Maybe even butternut squash. I'll probably even do it in layers, like a lasagna, so I get more of those roasted poblanos in every bit--and don't have to stuff them. Also, no worries about searching the sketchy Latin grocery universe for nine--NINE!!--unblemished, uncreased poblanos with stems still attached. In my town, that is like searching for the Holy Grail...or meaning in a Katy Perry song.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn1">(1)</a></strong> Which I guess means the leftovers in the fridge are no longer a valid backup meal plan.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn2">(2)</a></strong> Of course I did neither of those things. Because I am a masochist.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn3">(3)</a></strong> WTF, Rick? Who heats a cast iron pan until it smokes, THEN adds tomato puree?!?! <strong><a href="http://thecooktease.blogspot.com/2010/09/i-am-totally-backdating-this-post.html#fn4">(4)</a></strong><br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn4">(4)</a></strong> Answer: People with maids.<br />
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<strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn5">(5)</a></strong> This is bliss, because here is a typical conversation at our house: <br />
DORI: We should be vegetarians. <br />
ME: Awesome. Here is your vegetarian dinner. <br />
DORI: This would be great with some meat!<br />
ME: ...lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-72769633783056224472010-09-12T21:50:00.002-04:002010-09-12T21:51:54.294-04:009/12: This Week in Food<strong>Menu:</strong><br />
<ul><li><strong>Monday:</strong> chile rellenos w/ smoked chicken, shiitakes, spinach</li>
<li><strong>Tuesday: </strong>black bean burgers / sweet potato fries</li>
<li><strong>Wednesday:</strong> tacos / <em>refritos</em></li>
<li><strong>Thursday:</strong> Night of Shame</li>
<li><strong>Friday:</strong> breakfast for dinner (Max's choice)</li>
</ul><br />
<strong>Total: </strong>$42, and that's counting stuff for Max's lunches this week. In reality, dinner planning only cost me about $28, and only that much because we were out of all possible Tex-Mex ingredients: cheese, sour cream, tortillas, beans, cilantro, limes, you name it. These are pantry staples for us, so it's weird that we ran out of all of them at the same time--especially since cheese is another one of my Derrida items.<br />
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<strong>Thoughts:</strong> I KNOW. I still haven't made the damned black bean burgers. They really are delicious, and easy, and fast, and cheap. But they also require only pantry staples, so they are the first thing to be jettisoned when I'm too tired to cook. This week is going to be their week. I <u>will</u> do it, I swear. <strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=7276963378305622447#fn1">(1)</a></span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #f4cccc; font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn1">(1)</a></strong></span> Yeah, right.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-50507394564261513562010-09-11T23:29:00.035-04:002010-09-12T21:46:30.457-04:00Tomorrow, our trash will REEK.I live on a peninsula--actually, a peninsula of a peninsula (and on the very bottom of it, too). I can reach open water by driving ten minutes in nearly any direction--or by walking, if I travel south. We have beaches galore, palm trees to spare, and even our weeds look like tropical flowers. These are some of the blessings of living in Florida. <br />
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On the other thand, we also have alligators, bugs that can swallow a small dog, the highest number of batshit crazy people per capita of any state in the US <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn1"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(1)</strong></span></a>, and zero fucking ability to grow produce with any flavor. The water, though, is teeming with delicious life-forms: mahi, snapper, hogfish <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn3"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(3)</span></strong></a>,bonefish, cobia, mullet, pompano, amberjack, sheepshead, swordfish, and, of course, grouper (which should just be polite already and swim around with a good roll and a slice of provolone wrapped around it).<br />
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I offer all this by way of noting how incredibly difficult it is to find simply cooked seafood in Florida restaurants. Everyone has a grouper or mahi sandwich and some sort of Cajun-spiced blah-fish (tilapia, mostly), but the fresh fillets described on menus are reliably salmon or tuna--neither of which thrive in warm Florida waters. Why are we flying or trucking in fish, especially frozen fish, when we could step out our front doors and rustle up some fantastic grub? Don't want to offer "sheepshead," ye timid restaurants? Call it something else: if Bonefish Grill can re-brand tilapia as "California longfin," you can christen a weird-sounding or pedestrian fish however you like. Just go local, for god's sake!<br />
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No doubt tired of my constant bitching about the lack of decent seafood at area restaurants, Dorian disappeared to the grocery store last night and came home laden with clams, mussels, lobster tails, and snow crab legs. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn8">(8)</a></strong></span> We went with the classically French technique <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn4"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(4)</span></strong></a> of cramming it all into a pot with some other stuff and boiling it. I picked everything out, piled it into a bowl, doused it in garlic butter, patiently waited for Dorian to photograph it <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn5"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(5)</span></strong></a>, and then dug in.<br />
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--Scrub some small red potatoes; pile into giant pot.<br />
--Roughly chop a sweet onion; add to pot with some fresh thyme.<br />
--Throw a coupla cloves of garlic in there, too--and some lemons.<br />
--Fill with a few quarts of water; cover; boil 10 min.<br />
--Meanwhile, clean a shitload of shellfish. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn6"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(6)</strong></span></a><br />
--Cram the shellfish into the pot; break 2 corn cobs in half; add.<br />
--Cover; boil 5-7 min.<br />
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Side project:<br />
--In small shallow saucepan, melt 1 stick butter.<br />
--Add at least 1 T minced garlic, juice of 1/2 lemon, some white wine.<br />
--Add pinch of red pepper flake, sprig of thyme, a little salt.<br />
--Melt together over low-ish heat while seafood boils. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn7"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(7)</strong></span></a><br />
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Seriously, this took like 20 minutes and about $30. We ate like kings: gluttonous, greasy, crab-splattered kings. Seafood restaurants have NO EXCUSE for not offering something this cheap, easy, and fucking fantastic. Get on the ball, Conch Republic! Do you hear me, the Hurricane? What's up Backfin Blue? Even you, Keegan's--step it up!<br />
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<a href="" name="fn1"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(1)</strong></span></a> Carl Hiaasen once said that only Floridians understand that his novels are non-fiction. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6665465798158762971&postID=5050739456426151356#fn2"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(2)</strong></span></a><br />
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<a href="" name="fn2"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(2)</strong></span></a> Still skeptical? I discovered this morning that the "balloon boy" family recently relocated here. We didn't even notice.<br />
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<a href="" name="fn3"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(3)</strong></span></a> Hogfish are an excellent exemplar of the Ugly Fish Taste Especially Delicious rule. If you've never had it, you need to hightail it down to the Keys and git yerself some. It makes grouper taste like canned tuna.<br />
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<a href="" name="fn4"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(4)</strong></span></a> Not. This was an American-style seafood boil, all the way.<br />
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<a href="" name="fn5"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(5)</strong></span></a> Yeah, right. I was HUNGRY. You know I whined and wheedled and sighed loudly the entire time.<br />
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<a href="" name="fn6"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(6)</strong></span></a> No, I'm not listing them again. Did you not read up there? I already told you what we had. You could also throw in shrimp or some firm fish chunks, like cod.<br />
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<a href="" name="fn7"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>(7)</strong></span></a> This is when I had my Genius Moment for the night. Rather than throwing the clams and mussels in the steamer pot with the other seafood, I poached them in the garlic butter, covered, for about 6 minutes. OH-EMM-GEE this was a good idea. The shellfish were buttery, tender, and garlicky, while the butter melded with their brine--which payed off hugely when I tipped the butter over the giant bowl of potatoes, onions, corn, crabs, and lobster.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="" name="fn8">(8)</a></span></strong> Yes, I realize that none of these things qualify as "local seafood," but my point here is that seafood restaurants never just serve steamed or grilled seafood--if you can even find a shrimp, it's fried. Crab? Forget it. At Hooter's, maybe.lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6665465798158762971.post-70866829751518098682010-09-08T21:33:00.003-04:002010-09-09T12:58:14.191-04:00Et tu, Bruce?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The title of this post will be funny to the following people: me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Listening to me talk about food and my family, or perusing the comments left on this blog by said family, one might suppose that, were one to turn up on one of our doorsteps feeling peckish and tilting one's head to the side in an adorably pathetic way, one might be instantly rewarded with a gourmet banquet worthy of Henry VIII. One would be surprised, then, to discover that our go-to Meal For Guests is much more humble...shrimp and Caesar salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's my dad's fault. He is a foodie and a half, and has literally never served me a meal that didn't send me back into the kitchen for more. And more. And then pie. He has even tricked me into eating rare roast beef by performing a virtuouso bit of magic, which he mysteriously called "making it taste good." But his signature dish is Caesar salad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think he got the recipe in the islands somewhere, but he learned quickly that success here calls for tools and technique more than specific quantities. I am going to share the recipe with you tonight because I aim to send you out into the world, my little minions, to put an end to the HORRORS that are being perpetrated by restaurants in the name of Caesar salad. Romaine + ranch + stinky cheese from the green can + two miserable croutons <u>does not equal Caesar salad</u>. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6665465798158762971#fn1">(1)</a></strong></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't even TRY to make this unless you are properly equipped. It does not work unless you have a solid wood bowl of vast proportions. <strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6665465798158762971#fn2">(2)</a></span></strong> Got a bowl? Be honest. Friends doubt me until they try it and fail. Okay, then. Proceed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Smash 1 garlic in bowl with fork (or use garlic press, you lazy cheater)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Keep your fork flat against the base of the bowl for the rest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Add a sizeable pinch salt and healthy dollop of anchovy paste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Mash into disgusting grey-brown goo with fork</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Add a dollop of mustard (I like the really coarse Dijon); stir <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6665465798158762971#fn3">(3)</a></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Add juice of 1/2 lemon (yes, it must be a fresh lemon!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Add dash of Worcestershire, splash of red wine vinegar; stir</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Stirring, mix in as much olive oil as you want; taste</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Tear 1 large head of Romaine into bowl</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Grate in a sizable pile of Parmesano-Reggiano</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">--Add fresh cracked black pepper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">--Toss to coat; serve <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6665465798158762971#fn4">(4)</a></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This salad is a complete, cheap, fast meal package if you add any grilled protein or toss with cubed roasted root veggies, but as I say, we go with steamed shrimp. If you buy yours steamed and seasoned from the fishmonger, I won't tell. I rarely do my own shrimp. But for true Lizz's Dad authenticity, you must peel the shrimp before serving, which adds Class and removes Annoyance (but also the fun of sucking the Old Bay off your fingers). Spicy homemade cocktail sauce, too. Obv.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn1">(1)</a></strong></span> And why must you charge extra for it when your embarrassing bowl contains zero fresh vegetables? That better be some high quality ranch dressing you've got there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn2">(2)</a></strong></span> Seriously, it must be gigantic and unable to fit comfortably anywhere in your kitchen except on top of the fridge, where it will become a receptacle for colanders and other ungainly kitchen items of dubious utility. <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=6665465798158762971#fn5">(5)</a></strong></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn3">(3)</a></span></strong> This would be a good time to add a raw egg yolk, if you were a raw egg yolk kind of person. Me, I can barely eat them cooked. It does make the dressing silky, but I like mine piquant and rather acidic. And not containing raw egg yolk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn4">(4)</a></strong></span> Dorian is a heathen and insists on tomatoes. I'm a purist, but I do comply with this one...most of the time. My dad uses these amazing pumpernickel croutons, but I've never found comparable, so I go without. Feel free to make your own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="fn5">(5)</a></strong></span> Some families have coming-of-age rituals, like a family heirloom that gets handed down through generations on an eighteenth birthday or a diamond necklace for your <em>quincea<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ñ</span>era</em>. In my family, the year Dad got you a Caesar salad bowl for Christmas was the year you knew you had grown up. It was the most anticipated Christmas gift of my life. My sister and brother pitched in with the necessary accoutrements: a rotary grater, a hunk of Reggiano, top-shelf extra virgin olive oil, matching wooden salad tongs. I probably wept with joy and gratitude. Yeah, we're food geeks like that.</span>lizzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05590544709772976431noreply@blogger.com5