6 posts tagged “cooking”
After singing "Revolution" and "Don't Stop Believin'", I could tell I wasn't going to get another chance to sing. So Reg and I started asking people if they wanted to come over. Quent, H, and Casey agreed, and so we entertained them till about 4am. I so haven't stayed up that late in months. (I grow old, I grow old.)
And so much for that. The next day we had lunch at Boom with Ashley, then headed over to Jeremy's to talk him into seeing Gonzo. Which he did, and no one else did, because all of you are assholes. It was a good time, and I think I'm feeling exorcised with respect to being so damn obsessed with HST.
Jeremy's balcony is almost perfect in its locale, and it wasn't difficult to see both the Seattle Center and Gasworks fireworks (Elliot Bay and Lake Union respectively.) The really creepy thing was that we could even see the edge of Gasworks Park, which was completely packed tightly with crowds of assholes and douchebags. So we watched the 'works and said "oooh" and "ahhh" completely without irony, and that was pretty much it. Reg and I didn't stay much longer, but it took us forever to get home. Our route home was one of the roads the aforementioned douchebags used to get onto the freeway from the park, so getting from I-5 past Greenlake took probably an hour.
The next day I made pasta! From scratch! And also gorgonzola cream sauce to go with it. Not too shabby. I tried again today and did far better. And with broccoli and chicken to go with it, it was a real meal. Good thing too, since I hadn't really had a proper one today. Before that we went to Second Ascent, where Reg got a new tarp and line, and I got new pants and a Green Trails map for this weekend. I already ordered the tent and am rather looking forward to trying it out.
I've decided I need to save more money by not dining out. Here's what I've been trying:
- French bread. Making dough in the mixer is so awesome, and a three hour rising time makes it pretty quick, relatively speaking.
- "Vegan" chili. Besides grating cheese over it, I fry the onions in bacon grease.
- Braised beef ribs and stew. Basic and simple. Braise the ribs in either homemade or storebought beef stock, then add more stock and cheap beef, coarsely chopped potatoes, onions, carrots and mushrooms. Cook in dutch oven or slowcooker for at least 4 hours at 250.
- Cookies. Various kinds off the back of the wrappers. Probably going to stop though, they're too damn good.
- Roasted veggies, potatoes, chicken. Chop coarsely, season, coat with oil, cook for an hour at 350.
- French toast. Found a Denny's French toast recipe online that works well. Cut the above mentioned bread into really thick slices.
- Sausage with rice. This was just what Reg wanted the other night. I made breakfast sausage and short-grained Japanese sticky rice.
I also had to reseason my cast iron skillet, which made the kitchen smell amazingly. Bad, that is. Smoke everywhere. Dayamn.
I started baking bread in college. I didn't really know what I was doing, and ten years later, I know a lot more. I know that the bread I made back then was bricklike because I didn't let it rise enough, and I probably over-kneaded it. You can make really great bread in under three hours. If you're REALLY lazy, you can also make dough, let it sit overnight, reshape then cook. I have an incredibly basic French baguette recipe that involves very little kneading, and I have ciabatta recipes that are a bit more complex. I've even tried to make boiled bagels.
This weekend, I think I'm going to create sourdough. This is complex because it requires, more or less, rotten starter. Well, not exactly. But it takes at least 2 days to get it blooming right, apparently. But once you got that, the loaf making is fairly standard.
Reg got me a cast iron skillet and I started using it last week. I made hash browns (oddly, my own fault) and then eggs. OMG, this thing makes scrambled eggs like nobody's business. You just take it off the heat after putting the eggs in and voila.
Also, I bought this ginger-infused dark chocolate. Woah. So tasty.
I've also been thinking about wine and cheese. Ballard Market has lovely suggestions for pairings in their cheese display, so I picked a couple from that. My fave is called Chartreux, a raw cow milk cheese, but I think I bought the last wedge. Ahwell.
Last night this guy at the bbq in Wallingford was slow-roasting pork. It was just about done at 11, and it was so good I want to try it camping the next time. Aw yeah.
I started cooking in 1997 or so, when I got an apartment in college on-campus housing. I learned to make very few things, but I got really into baking. I'm still most comfortable with baking, but I've started to break out of that a bit.
A few months ago I ordered an old-timey Dutch Oven off eBay. It's a Wagner Ware Magnalite 4qt, and I've mostly used it to make the most wonderful mouth-watering stews that simmer all day at low temperature. Beef falls apart without even turning brown.
This weekend I made my first ever omelette. I tend to suck at making scrambled eggs, which is all Reg ever eats, so while he slept I experimented. It wasn't so hard except that I couldn't really flip it properly, and by the time I realized this it got a little brown. Although I preferred that in my youth, I've become accustomed to wetter eggs. (My mother believed in well-done EVERYTHING.) Reg and I don't even like eggs that much but scrambled eggs fried in butter or bacon fat kind of do it for me.
stolen from Real Simple
No-Cost Sandwich Press
Make a sandwich of French or Italian bread and your favorite slices of meat and cheese. Spread butter on the outside of the bread, place the sandwich in a warm skillet over medium heat, and lay a standard dinner plate and a 28-ounce can of tomatoes on top of the sandwich for 3 minutes. Flip over and repeat.
Revive Stale Bread with Ice Cubes
Rub an ice cube (or drizzle water) across unsliced bread until the crust is damp, then bake at 370° F for 12 minutes.
Mix Iced Coffee with Cocktail Shaker
Recipe for 2 servings: Pour 2 cups strong black coffee or 2 shots espresso into a shaker filled with ice. Add a splash of milk and sugar to taste. Shake vigorously, then pour.
Use Sandwich Bag as a Baking Aid
Slip your hand into a bag when you're spreading pastry dough in a pie plate. It will prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers, and heat from your hand won't oversoften the mixture.
Kitchen Towel for Preparing Rice
Once the rice is tender, remove the pan from the heat, place a folded towel over the saucepan, replace the lid, and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes. The towel will absorb the excess moisture.
Dinner Fork as Garlic Press
To “puree” garlic: Hold the tines flat against a work surface, and vigorously rub a peeled clove across them.
see also ways to fix kitchen mistakes
