Well, Hello There

Still check this blog, eh?

Cool. My plate has been a bit full lately, but here are some of the things that have been on it. Thanks for checking in :)

Holiday Sea Creatures

In case your endeavors with holiday cookie cutters go awkwardly wrong, I present an alternate suggestion:

Draw faces on them.

Magic! Lopsided Santas become Christmas Whales. Mis-shapen reindeer are transformed into Holiday Octopuses. Mangled gifts take on new life as Yuletide Jellyfish.

Oh, come on. They’re cute.

Is It That Time Of Year Already?

I’m going to call that a “yes.”

Oh Snap.

Gingersnap, of course!

My mother has thrown down the gauntlet, and challenged me to a gingerbread house contest. The deadline is New Year’s Eve, and I’m in the process of testing out gingerbread recipes, because mine has to win. Not every recipe is cut out for a career in architecture, so I’m finding other uses for the copious amounts of gingerbread dough in my fridge.

This particular recipe, the gingerbread from Bittman’s How To Cook Everything (which, side note, is becoming my new favorite resource, even though I totally used to say I wasn’t into cookbooks), makes perfect ginger snaps. I’ve been dipping them in my morning coffee.

The Recipe: Gingersnaps, adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe featured in How To Cook Everything

Yield: 4-5 dozen
Time: 40 minutes

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tsp for sprinkling
1 cup mild molasses (or blackstrap for more savory gingersnaps)
1 tsp baking soda
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Do This
Cream together the butter, sugar, and molasses. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and ginger — which, by the way, smells really awesome.

Mix the baking soda with a couple of tablespoons of warm water, and add to the butter/sugar/molasses mixture. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, and blend well. Shape the dough into a big lump, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Preheat the oven to 350, and remove your dough from the fridge. While the oven is preheating, let the dough hang out and soften for a few minutes, then roll out to your desired cookie thickness. Gingersnaps are supposed to be fairly crisp, so I like to aim for about 1/4″ or thinner. Cut out desired shapes (I was boring this time and went with round, but you can use cookie cutters if you like) and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with sugar, just for fun. Bake for 8-10 minutes (until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown) and cool before tasting. The cooling step? Not optional. If you try to sneak a cookie before they’ve cooled off, you’ll discover that they’re so soft that they’ll break into little mushy, delicious bits.

Of note: I chose to do round cookies with this recipe because the dough didn’t want to play nice with the more intricately-shaped cookie cutters. It was alternately too hard (right out of the fridge) or too sticky (after 10 minutes) and I couldn’t get the dough to the consistency I was looking for. But, that’s the way the cookie crumbles! I’ve got plenty of gingerbread recipes to try out, so expect to see an abundance of festive treats.

On Top Of Spaghetti

Meatballs!

Spaghetti + meatballs = one of my favorite quick dinners. And homemade meatballs are a lot easier to make than you might expect — hint hint to a certain little sister of mine :)

The Recipe: Easy Meatballs

Yield: approximately one dozen meatballs
Time: 35 minutes

1 lb. ground sirloin
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Do This
Preheat the oven to 350, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Combine all ingredients, and roll into meatballs. I usually get about a dozen with this recipe, but your yield may vary depending on the size of your meatballs.

Bake the meatballs for 30 minutes (or until the centers are no longer pink — this may take longer if your meatballs are on the larger side).

And…that’s it! Homemade meatballs! They’re friends with spaghetti. And garlic bread. And parmesan cheese, sometimes.

Wanna spice things up? Crushed red pepper makes a hot addition to this recipe.

Indoor S’Mores

Love s’mores but don’t have a fire handy? Want something a little more…portable?

Behold, the indoor s’more:

These are super easy — albeit a bit messy — to make. It helps to have another pair of hands; setting up an assembly line cuts down on the melty marshmallow you’ll have to clean up later.

The Recipe: Indoor S’Mores

Yield: approximately two dozen
Time: 90 minutes, including cooling

1 bag mini-marshmallows
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 graham cracker halves (as close to squares as you get)

Do This
Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper. Arrange the graham cracker halves on the sheet with about half an inch between each.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat. Add in the mini-marshmallows, a handful at a time, and stir until melted. Mix in the vanilla, and remove from heat.

Carefully spoon marshmallow onto each graham cracker. If you can do this without it spilling over the sides, you’ll have a much easier time. Let the crackers set until the marshmallow has firmed up (this should take about 10-15 minutes).

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler (or the microwave).

Spoon a generous amount of chocolate over each graham cracker, and return to the baking sheet to set. If you’re short on time, slide the finished cookies into the fridge for a few minutes.

They’re not quite real s’mores, but they’re just as tasty, and perfect for bringing to a holiday party!

Just In Case You Were Wondering

Fakesgiving was a resounding success. Photos, recipes, and more will be posted soon (I have a final on Tuesday!)

Nablammo Fail

So much for posting every day! I forgot that finals week = in the middle of November.

 

Sorry, kids. School comes first. Lots of treats coming soon. Fakesgiving is this Saturday!

And monkey’s brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington, D.C.

Rebekah and I watched Clue (one of my favorite movies of all time) and drank Monkey’s Brains shots during Wadsworth’s recap of the evening’s events. Monkey’s brains are not often to be found in St. Louis, either, so we settled for curdled Bailey’s with a bit of festive grenadine.

Here’s what’s in them, if you’re inclined to try some brains:

- just shy of a shot of cranberry vodka
- a tiny splash of lime juice (don’t overdo this, or you’ll be hit in the face with lime tartness)
- Bailey’s Irish Cream
- grenadine, for color and to lift the curdled cream from the bottom of the glass

Shake together the vodka and lime, and pour into shot glasses. Use a straw to siphon little curls of Bailey’s into each glass (put your finger over the top of the straw to suction up some Baileys, then let go to drop it in). The cream will curdle and sink to the bottom. Slowly pour grenadine in, and watch the “brains” float like specimens in the shot glasses. Toss them back! (or down the drain, if they’re too creepy)

Blueberries, Pork, and Sharing

My super fabulous old roommate (Joy) and I like to share recipes, now that we don’t live together anymore. It’s like we’re eating dinner together, except not in the same room.

I opened my email this morning to find the following recipe:

You Need:
boneless pork chops
1 shallot, finely diced
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 lemon (zest and juice)
2 tablespoons butter
Fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Do This:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Salt and pepper both sides of each pork chop. Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in an oven-proof skillet big enough to hold all four pork chops.
3. Brown the pork chops, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove the pan from heat and pop it into the oven. Remove when the pork is just cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
4. While the pork chops are in the oven, prepare the sauce. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
5. Sauté the shallots until soft and golden. Add the wine and water and let boil down for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the blueberries. When the skins begin to burst, add the lemon zest and juice. Let the sauce continue to boil and thicken until the pork chops are ready.
7. Once the pork chops are ready, remove the pan from the oven and place the pork chops on a cutting board and let them rest while finishing the sauce.
8. Turn the heat off under the saucepan and stir in the butter until it is completely melted. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt.
9. Serve the pork chops either whole or sliced, topped with the blueberry sauce and fresh parsley. Since the pork chops were finished in the oven, they should still be nice and juicy.

Pork? Blueberries? Done.

My blueberry-red wine-shallot pork.

Joy’s blueberry-red wine-shallot pork. She had side dishes. And placemats. I think the words for that are Big. Time. Fancy.

Okay, so of course I had side dishes, but I was feeling super minimalist with the photos. That cherry tomato and green bean vinaigrette on her plate looks phenomenal, right?

The sauce is phenomenal. I love everything about it (except for the fact that it steams a lot while it’s reducing, so if you want a decent photo of the sauce midway through, you have to pull the pan off the stove).

Anyways, the moral of the story is that sharing is good. And that this blueberry-red wine-shallot sauce is so good that I’d eat it with a spoon.