Yesterday was full of winning edibles.
Heather and I went to the store in search of milk for our coffee, and a cheese-bearing temptress persuaded us to buy some aged sheep's milk cheese ($12!) which Heather, Sarah, and I consumed with much gusto, accompanied by a sliced honeycrisp apple and a baguette.
Later in the evening, Heather and I went to a zydeco dance party where we found a large crock pot full of jambalaya. I think that parties should more often include crock pots full of jambalaya, because this one was a hit. I had a lengthy conversation about the various similarities between jambalaya and paella. I am still wondering if there is any real correlation between the two dishes.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
La Dolce Vegan
Last night I cracked open one of my favorite cookbooks, "La Dolce Vegan", and decided to make cauliflower red lentil soup, described by the cookbook as "a gorgeous and hearty soup that is great on its own, or served over rice". Not particularly feeling like rice, I decided to just try it out as a stand-alone soup, and I was not disappointed. Recipe is as follows, though I stuck to the amounts rather loosely because I wanted more soup.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds (I only had ground, but the taste is great)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I realized too late that I had no fresh tomatoes, used canned diced tomatoes and it worked fine)
1 cup red lentils
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced (skipped this ingredient)
1/2 tsp salt
In a medium soup pot on medium heat, cook onions in oil until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and turmeric and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Add stock, cauliflower, tomatoes, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until veggies and lentils are cooked. Stir in the cilantro and salt, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes before serving. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.
The resulting soup was hearty and flavorful, and the red pepper flakes gave it just the right amount of spiciness without it being too hot for me (I am notoriously bad at eating spicy things). My roommate and I ate it, smacking our lips and dipping crusty bread into the soup. He, a total omnivore, is pretty convinced now of the deliciousness of vegan cooking. This is a recipe that I can't wait to make again.
Monday, March 2, 2009
oh, Anthony Bourdain....
Last night was an epic night for my kitchen. I didn't take any pictures--I couldn't tear myself away from the intense cooking experiment that was taking place.
Calder and I roasted a duck. We made duck a l'orange, actually. We used Calder's Anthony Bourdain cookbook and it turned out marvelously, though it was pretty time-intensive. I just want to say that Anthony Bourdain's style of cookbook writing is full of amazing and I really want this cookbook for myself, if only so I can read through it and chuckle at his instructions, notably on one page "fuck the health department! leave the steak out of the refridgertor until it is room temperature". This, and other colorful descriptions are peppered liberally throughout the cookbook, which provided plenty of amusement between chopping, pouring, stirring, etc.
Anyway, not only did we roast a duck, but we made duck stock which turned out quite well, and which I happily have leftovers of to cook something else with. It was suggested that I made risotto with this duck stock, which sounds like an excellent idea to me.
The orange sauce for the duck was perfect and delightful--not too sweet, but a pleasing, slightly tangy, rich without being overpowering, and again, delightful compliment to the roasted duck. As a side dish we had mashed turnips and yukon gold potatoes which were mashed with butter and a few tablespoons of duck fat, and served with roasted pear puree. It was very tasty, and I learned (from the internet!) that in France, turnips are traditionally paired with duck. I'm so authentic! Who knew?
Heather brought a tasty baguette and a bottle of pinot noir, which was excellent. My relationship with pinot noir is bordering on being a religious experience, and I take it kind of seriously. Heather knows this, and never fails to get tasty bottles of wine at our favorite wine shop at Pike Place Market--Pike & Western.
And then I spent the rest of the night in a food coma.
Calder and I roasted a duck. We made duck a l'orange, actually. We used Calder's Anthony Bourdain cookbook and it turned out marvelously, though it was pretty time-intensive. I just want to say that Anthony Bourdain's style of cookbook writing is full of amazing and I really want this cookbook for myself, if only so I can read through it and chuckle at his instructions, notably on one page "fuck the health department! leave the steak out of the refridgertor until it is room temperature". This, and other colorful descriptions are peppered liberally throughout the cookbook, which provided plenty of amusement between chopping, pouring, stirring, etc.
Anyway, not only did we roast a duck, but we made duck stock which turned out quite well, and which I happily have leftovers of to cook something else with. It was suggested that I made risotto with this duck stock, which sounds like an excellent idea to me.
The orange sauce for the duck was perfect and delightful--not too sweet, but a pleasing, slightly tangy, rich without being overpowering, and again, delightful compliment to the roasted duck. As a side dish we had mashed turnips and yukon gold potatoes which were mashed with butter and a few tablespoons of duck fat, and served with roasted pear puree. It was very tasty, and I learned (from the internet!) that in France, turnips are traditionally paired with duck. I'm so authentic! Who knew?
Heather brought a tasty baguette and a bottle of pinot noir, which was excellent. My relationship with pinot noir is bordering on being a religious experience, and I take it kind of seriously. Heather knows this, and never fails to get tasty bottles of wine at our favorite wine shop at Pike Place Market--Pike & Western.
And then I spent the rest of the night in a food coma.
hot buttered pretzels
Last Sunday, my roommate and I decided to have a tiny soiree influenced by our study abroad trip last spring in Vienna. We made weiß Wein gespritzt (white wine spritzers) and I baked pretzels!
The pretzels were pretty quick and easy to make, and came out of the oven piping hot, soft, and beautifully brown. A quick brushing of butter on top of them, and they were ready to be gobbled up (and were, quickly). Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening. I want to bake more breads, and experiment with different yeast doughs. It's always much easier than I imagine it will be, and turns out so well.
The pretzels were pretty quick and easy to make, and came out of the oven piping hot, soft, and beautifully brown. A quick brushing of butter on top of them, and they were ready to be gobbled up (and were, quickly). Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening. I want to bake more breads, and experiment with different yeast doughs. It's always much easier than I imagine it will be, and turns out so well.
A far superior chocolate cake recipe
So, because of a stronger than ususal chocolate craving, I decided to make more chocolate cupcakes, this time using a new recipe--just for kicks. I got it on epicurious.com, and it is the most amazing homemade chocolate cake I have had yet.
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I again made caramel to drizzle over the top of the cupcakes, and learned that using buttermilk in the first batch of caramel made all the difference. It was much better with buttermilk! But good either way. These cupcakes were so good that an unnamed person ate three of them. No lie.
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I again made caramel to drizzle over the top of the cupcakes, and learned that using buttermilk in the first batch of caramel made all the difference. It was much better with buttermilk! But good either way. These cupcakes were so good that an unnamed person ate three of them. No lie.
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