For experimental purposes...
Nov. 10th, 2010 01:01 pm
...I need to find some ground duck. Does anyone in the SF Bay Area know where I can find some?
The Secret Strife of Food
Sep. 27th, 2010 01:13 pm
Some mornings, when one comes stumbling out of the bedroom half asleep, mind half still in the dreams of the night, and the house is very very quiet in the predawn stillness...there's nothing to do but watch. And listen.
And take photographs, of course.
Imperiled!
"And so, Mam'zelle, I eem afraid there ees no the escaping for you theese time. We have you surroundaid, an thee only eescape ees...down."
Rescued!
"Come with us if you want to live."
And take photographs, of course.
Imperiled!
"And so, Mam'zelle, I eem afraid there ees no the escaping for you theese time. We have you surroundaid, an thee only eescape ees...down."
Rescued!
"Come with us if you want to live."
Living and Cooking Dangerously!
Jun. 9th, 2010 05:42 pm
We have a bag and a half of Mission Tortilla chips that need to be disposed of properly.
The larger, sane portion of my Cooking Brain is counseling me that waiting until tomorrow to make chicken lime tortilla soup would be the best course of action. But the small insane portion of my cooking brain (injured at a young age by experiments in deep frying with corn syrup) is chirping up with a Mark Hamell as the Joker voice: "Hey! Crunchy hamburgers! Just mix crumbled corn chips in right before grilling! It'll work, trust me this time!
That small voice uis getting louder and louder. What to do, what to do.
The larger, sane portion of my Cooking Brain is counseling me that waiting until tomorrow to make chicken lime tortilla soup would be the best course of action. But the small insane portion of my cooking brain (injured at a young age by experiments in deep frying with corn syrup) is chirping up with a Mark Hamell as the Joker voice: "Hey! Crunchy hamburgers! Just mix crumbled corn chips in right before grilling! It'll work, trust me this time!
That small voice uis getting louder and louder. What to do, what to do.
A drink puzzler
May. 18th, 2010 06:10 pm
For some reason, the cocktail sites I checked did NOT say that the proper recipe for a Peanut Butter Cup Cocktail involves blending actual peanut butter cups.
Go fig- it still seems like the most straightforward method to me.
Go fig- it still seems like the most straightforward method to me.
Pork Chop Rhapsody
Jan. 14th, 2010 10:10 pmSo the other day we bought a bottle of inexpensive Chilean wine that turned out to be utterly wretched. So I decided to save it and use it in a recipe sometime. Tonight I bought a couple pounds of pork shoulder, and decided to make my mom's old recipe for wine braised pork chops. The recipe works as so:
2 pounds of pork: chops, pork shoulder cut into steaks, etc.
Ginger
granulated garlic or garlic powder
Pepper
Teriyaki sauce
Salt
about 1 cup red wine (cheap)
one medium onion
Dust both sides of the pork steaks with ginger and garlic. Sprinkle with pepper and rub in seasonings. Drench with teriyaki sauce.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in pan over medium high heat. Just when oil begins to smoke, place pork steaks in pan. Sear pork steaks on both sides for about a minute on each side until brown.
Turn heat down to medium. Pour wine in pan and cover.
Slice onion into rings, and stir into wine sauce. Cover pan again.
Cook for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.
Serve with huge salad, and potatoes. The wine sauce is fantastic on either the pork or potatoes.
Enter food coma.
2 pounds of pork: chops, pork shoulder cut into steaks, etc.
Ginger
granulated garlic or garlic powder
Pepper
Teriyaki sauce
Salt
about 1 cup red wine (cheap)
one medium onion
Dust both sides of the pork steaks with ginger and garlic. Sprinkle with pepper and rub in seasonings. Drench with teriyaki sauce.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in pan over medium high heat. Just when oil begins to smoke, place pork steaks in pan. Sear pork steaks on both sides for about a minute on each side until brown.
Turn heat down to medium. Pour wine in pan and cover.
Slice onion into rings, and stir into wine sauce. Cover pan again.
Cook for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through, turning once.
Serve with huge salad, and potatoes. The wine sauce is fantastic on either the pork or potatoes.
Enter food coma.
Still Trying: Job vs. food, food wins
Dec. 29th, 2009 07:29 pmOn the one hand, my job prospects and schemes for making money may be said to have a slightly feverish tinge. For instance, I've reluctantly concluded that my idea to make a Captain Pike from "The Menagerie" costume, and sit on a downtown corner with a sign saying "CAN ONLY BLINK 'YES' OR 'NO'" will not have a proper return on the money invested.
On the other hand, I'm doing some experimenting with dinner
Instead of boneless chicken breasts I accidentally bought chicken fillets today, which really bbegged to have something done with them immediately. So rather than making a mixed chicken and veggie skillet, I soaked the fillets in lime juice, and floured them with a mix of flour, cumin, pepper salt and granulated garlic. And then I sauteed them using BUTTER instead of my usual oil. I don't do the whole "flour and fry" thing very often, so it'll be interesting if this turns out OK
I also sauteed some carrots and onions in BUTTER with garlic and Rosemary, and I'm going to fold them iinto the mashed potatoes I'm making. Why all the butter? Well, Racerxmachina may regret voting for "Julie and Julia" on movie night, but I'm thinking that the French all cook with butter, and they all live to be ancient (insert world demographics chart here), so it can't be that bad. Also, Ms. Julia Childs cooked with about a pound of butter EVERY DAY, so if it's good for her, the least I can do is try it in a saute.
Racerxmachina is looking at the green-tinged mashed potatoes with an expression remniscent of a dubious five year-old. We shall see how she likes them.
Edit: she says the potatoes are fantastic!
On the other hand, I'm doing some experimenting with dinner
Instead of boneless chicken breasts I accidentally bought chicken fillets today, which really bbegged to have something done with them immediately. So rather than making a mixed chicken and veggie skillet, I soaked the fillets in lime juice, and floured them with a mix of flour, cumin, pepper salt and granulated garlic. And then I sauteed them using BUTTER instead of my usual oil. I don't do the whole "flour and fry" thing very often, so it'll be interesting if this turns out OK
I also sauteed some carrots and onions in BUTTER with garlic and Rosemary, and I'm going to fold them iinto the mashed potatoes I'm making. Why all the butter? Well, Racerxmachina may regret voting for "Julie and Julia" on movie night, but I'm thinking that the French all cook with butter, and they all live to be ancient (insert world demographics chart here), so it can't be that bad. Also, Ms. Julia Childs cooked with about a pound of butter EVERY DAY, so if it's good for her, the least I can do is try it in a saute.
Racerxmachina is looking at the green-tinged mashed potatoes with an expression remniscent of a dubious five year-old. We shall see how she likes them.
Edit: she says the potatoes are fantastic!
Travel Pies!
Nov. 10th, 2009 06:38 pmI found an interesting little monograph on how pies were used in medieval times to preserve meats for extensive periods of times, especially for traveling. the pies in Pyes de Pares aren't all that much like modern pies: the crust is designed to protect the food inside, and so is thick and rough, and salty to the point of being inedible.
The interesting thing is this method of preservation seems to work quite well for periods of several weeks, and the paper actually has tests by a microbiology lab to demonstrate this. So this might be something to think about the next time people want to save on food costs at a convention.
The interesting thing is this method of preservation seems to work quite well for periods of several weeks, and the paper actually has tests by a microbiology lab to demonstrate this. So this might be something to think about the next time people want to save on food costs at a convention.
English cooks, thank you SO much.
Nov. 13th, 2008 09:46 am
I'd blame Metafilter, but really, England is at fault if my diet goes out the window this weekend.
First they started off with the Royal society of Chemist's recipe for a perfect Yorkshire Pudding.
Then they upped the stakes with the recipe for the best Toad in the Hole.
Then the British Food trust chimed in with a recipe for Apple Batter Pudding,
And lastly, to wash it all down they had the British Standard Institution's Standard for Preparation of Tea.
Not a siingle green vegatable anywhere to be seen, but I'm still feeling peckish. And damn it, it's still three hours till lunch.
Thank you England, thank you so very, bloody much.
I finally found an advantage to living in a neighborhood where a large prooportion of residents start up their deisel trucks to go to work at 5 in the AM. At 8:00 in the morning, the lines at the local polling place have all cleared up. I have to say I was gratified to see a mix of retirees and high-school students working the polls; I can't think of a better civics lesson.
That said, here's important information for anyone who has done their patriotic duty this fine day:
Starbucks near San Jose
Ben and Jerry's near San Jose
Krispy Kremes in the South Bay
I think I may be able to hit three of the Ben and Jerry's, and about 15 of the Starbucks. That should keep me wired enough to stay up through the election.
Now, if you haven't voted, GO AND VOTE!
That said, here's important information for anyone who has done their patriotic duty this fine day:
Starbucks near San Jose
Ben and Jerry's near San Jose
Krispy Kremes in the South Bay
I think I may be able to hit three of the Ben and Jerry's, and about 15 of the Starbucks. That should keep me wired enough to stay up through the election.
Now, if you haven't voted, GO AND VOTE!
"Can't Eat That" Omnivore's meme
Aug. 13th, 2008 01:06 pmCourtesy of
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
britgeekgrrl and Good Eats, we have an omnivore test of the food that omnivores are all supposed to have eaten. Hmm. Well, I have some time, i'll try it.1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25.
26.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36.
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68.
70.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
This is a weird list, ranging from the gourmet to the utterly mundane. Why for instance are Big Mac meals must-eats? Also, some things I left unmarked because I honestly can't remember if I've ever eaten them, such as curried goat and rose harissa.
I'm really not sure what good this test is, other to indicate that I have indeed, over my lifetime, eaten a lot of stuff.
If cookbooks were like rpg game books...
Jun. 18th, 2008 10:08 amCourtesy of Wired, this article both points out the similarities between cookbooks and rpgs, and then explains as well as anything why tabletop gaming isn't more popular.
"Oh it's just SALT fer crissakes!"
Jun. 2nd, 2008 05:36 pmThis video recipe for fast Rigatoni Carbonara is pure east-coast Italian American AWESOMNESS all the way through. Sure just watching the video will raise your cholesterol level, but hey! Ain't it worth it!
Better drinking through engineering!
May. 29th, 2008 04:06 pm Or ingenious fruit plumbing, anyway. This website shows how to put a tap in a watermelon to serve spiked watermelon juice,
This makes me wish I had more time to do some construction before the party on Saturday.
This makes me wish I had more time to do some construction before the party on Saturday.
[Drinks] On the Plus side...
May. 14th, 2008 12:05 amI think I've perfected my recipe for chocolate martinis. I didn't think the recipe would work, but it turned out to be surprisingly mild and tasty. While packing a massive punch.
They are the only thing that let me get through "Malibu Express". I heartily recommend them.
Recipe: Chocolate martini
2 jiggers Vodka
1 jigger white creme de cacao.
Chocolate sauce
Enjoy with lover and bad movie.
They are the only thing that let me get through "Malibu Express". I heartily recommend them.
Recipe: Chocolate martini
2 jiggers Vodka
1 jigger white creme de cacao.
Chocolate sauce
- Use the chocolate sauce to make a spiral up the sides of the vodka glass.(preferably pre-chilled)
- Combine and shake the vodka and creme de cacao together with ice in a shaker
- Pour (Carefully!) into martini glass,
Enjoy with lover and bad movie.
Bikes and Feet
Feb. 26th, 2008 01:40 pmInteresting lunch hour.
BIKES!
While walking to the bank, I noticed that the "American Vehicles Only" rule for government employees doesn't seem to apply to motorcycle cops in this town. The officer lecturing the careless driver had a very sleek, powerful looking Honda. I consider motorcycles beautiful, especially the ones designed for speed, and not to try to prove that fat middle-aged businessmen actually have penises.
I'd almost get a bike, except I remember the thread from yesterday where a motorcyclist was using a 30 year-old study to try to show that helmets do no good in preventing head injuries. And then I remembered I'm not crazy enough to ride again.
FEET!
The Asian market behind my workplace is very large and nice, and has a huge deli full of well prepared items that look and smell wonderful. But...why does it have a serving bin full of steamed-white chicken feet!? CHICKEN FEET! Lying in a pile, all white and pimply and claw-ish...I think I'll stick with the pork buns for lunch; at least I don't know what's in those.
BIKES!
While walking to the bank, I noticed that the "American Vehicles Only" rule for government employees doesn't seem to apply to motorcycle cops in this town. The officer lecturing the careless driver had a very sleek, powerful looking Honda. I consider motorcycles beautiful, especially the ones designed for speed, and not to try to prove that fat middle-aged businessmen actually have penises.
I'd almost get a bike, except I remember the thread from yesterday where a motorcyclist was using a 30 year-old study to try to show that helmets do no good in preventing head injuries. And then I remembered I'm not crazy enough to ride again.
FEET!
The Asian market behind my workplace is very large and nice, and has a huge deli full of well prepared items that look and smell wonderful. But...why does it have a serving bin full of steamed-white chicken feet!? CHICKEN FEET! Lying in a pile, all white and pimply and claw-ish...I think I'll stick with the pork buns for lunch; at least I don't know what's in those.
Misadventures in snacking...
Feb. 3rd, 2008 11:19 pm
God help me, I'm feeling the urge for something sweet, and there's nothing in the house for it. It's a bad enough state that I'm eying the Pepsi and the peanut butter, and wondering what I would get if I ran them through the blender...
Stop me before I experiment again!
Dorothy and Alice strike again.
Oct. 10th, 2007 10:36 amWith Dorothy having been placed on a special diet (for crystals in her urine), we ran into a discovery about our kittens, and an unexpected snag in the feeding plan.
You see, Dorothy and Alice have separate food dishes, across the kitchen from each other. We didn't realize that at breakfast and dinnertime, the following dialog takes place halfway through each meal:
"Hi Dorothy, what'cha eating?"
"Food."
"Wanna switch?"
"OK."
Some shuffling around lead to Alice ending up going on a hunger strike in solidarity with Dorothy. And given what a glutton that cat is, that MEANS something. This...is going to take some work.
You see, Dorothy and Alice have separate food dishes, across the kitchen from each other. We didn't realize that at breakfast and dinnertime, the following dialog takes place halfway through each meal:
"Hi Dorothy, what'cha eating?"
"Food."
"Wanna switch?"
"OK."
Some shuffling around lead to Alice ending up going on a hunger strike in solidarity with Dorothy. And given what a glutton that cat is, that MEANS something. This...is going to take some work.
Evil Thought for the Week...
Jul. 23rd, 2007 06:51 pm...or The Day, anyway.
I have on my desk a blue, brick-shaped, mylar wrapped package of Datrex Emergency Rations, whose replace by date was back in 2004. According to Everything2.com, they are probably still good for another five years, and quote, " taste and look suspiciously like a compressed brick of crumbs from an assortment of non-frosted 'Mother's' brand cookies". I am responsible for replacing these out-of date emergency rations. Seven packages. 126 ration bars.
On my desk I ALSO have a memo regarding my participation in the upcoming staff potluck. My team is responsible for desserts.
Would it be so wrong for me to unwrap the emergency rations and make them my contribution to the potluck?
I have on my desk a blue, brick-shaped, mylar wrapped package of Datrex Emergency Rations, whose replace by date was back in 2004. According to Everything2.com, they are probably still good for another five years, and quote, " taste and look suspiciously like a compressed brick of crumbs from an assortment of non-frosted 'Mother's' brand cookies". I am responsible for replacing these out-of date emergency rations. Seven packages. 126 ration bars.
On my desk I ALSO have a memo regarding my participation in the upcoming staff potluck. My team is responsible for desserts.
Would it be so wrong for me to unwrap the emergency rations and make them my contribution to the potluck?
