I have to come up with appetizers for an early 1950s cocktail party. Something that says elegant yet retro. Swank yet edible. My old cookbooks are filled with things like rumaki and tomato aspic. Stuff I really, really don't want to make. Last time I had to cook for this type of cocktail party I included "Angels on Horseback" which is a take on rumaki: smoked oysters wrapped in bacon & broiled.
Any suggestions?
Have I mentioned that I'm 5 and a half months pregnant and haven't gained any weight yet? I'm thinking if I keep up the healthy living I'll actually be able to get in shape and be in BETTER shape after the squirt is born!
Don't worry folks, I'm not dieting. Just making better choices.
Last night I made a happy mistake. I was going for hot and sour soup, but ended up with something that tasted like Miso Sour Soup. I added the egg after the broth had cooled some what, so it all broke up and wasn't stringy. The soup looked murky, but when ladeled into bowls it settled down instantly, like Miso Soup does. And the addition of a smoky ham really added that curious flavor that miso has. So...my new mock miso soup:
Miso Sour Soup
3 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 to 2 T minced ginger
3 T cider vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1/4 Cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced (julliened if you can)
5 oz firm tofu, cubed
4 oz thinly sliced black forest ham, or other smoked ham, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
3 scallions, cut into one inch lengths
Heat chicken broth in medium to large pot. Add ginger. Bring to a boil and add vinegar and soy sauce, lower heat to medium-low. Add bamboo shoots and tofu, simmer for 10 minutes, or lower to low and let cook while you're making the rest of your meal. When you're ready to eat, add the ham, stirring to separate. Increase heat to medium, add beaten eggs and whisk vigorously. Add the scallions and serve.
Far be it from me to turn up my nose at a free meal. But the more I think about this one, the more my nose goes up.
I dined at Il Fornaio in Sacramento recently, a business dinner. There were 10 of us there and we were offered a fixed price dinner menu. I don't like mushrooms, so I didn't pick the lasagna. And in the past I've been known for my pasta/chicken/sun-dried tomato dishes, so I wasn't picking that. I really wanted fresh pasta with a flavorful ragu, or something with wonderful fat prawns. But there was none of that, so I went with Ravioli alla Lucana
Juiceboy got all his favorite veggies this week...and forgot all about them. Last night I made a big pasta salad in celebration of spring. Cheese and salami can be omitted, but it's really tasty with them in!
Pasta Primavera Salad
One package penne or rotelli pasta, cooked, drained and cooled
3 ribs celery, diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 large English or regular cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 to 1 cup shredded or julliened carrots
Asparagus, blanched and sliced to size of pasta
1/2 cup frozen petite peas, cooked and cooled
1 cup brocolli florets, cut into little pieces
(any other favorite veggies work here too, like red or green pepper)
1/2 cup shredded romano/parmesan cheese
Genoa salami, sliced (amount to your preference, but I used about 1/8 pound)
Dressing
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar to taste (I add it in little bits until it's at the tartness I like)
Fresh or dried basil
salt and pepper
Mix the dressing in a small jar or liquid measure, testing for flavor. I like mine garlicky and pretty strong on the vinegar. Put pasta in a large bowl and toss with dressing. When fully coated, add all other ingrediants, and toss. Let flavors mingle for about 30 minutes. Can be made ahead of time and refridgerated, but note that the vinegar will make pasta brownish and peas and asparagus will lose their lovely bright green hue.
Who in the world can mess up quiche when you use a ready-made crust? Oh look, there's Fleagirl, jumping up and down with her hand raised, shouting "Me! Me!"
Yes, another pregnancy-related kitchen fiasco. I decided to use up two slices of bacon and half an onion that was getting a little old. I had a Pillsbury crust and a couple of eggs. Very nice Sunday brunch. Until I decided I wanted to pre-bake that crust.
I made pre-baking mistakes in my past, with homemade crust, by not weighing it down. I don't have pie weights, so I decided to use rice. Simple enough.
Except I couldn't get the rice out of the baked crust when it was done. Yes folks, I was a dodo head and didn't line the crust with foil first. Just poured that rice in and it baked nicely into the bottom. And the corners. And the folded parts where the crust slid down the STRAIGHT-SIDED pan I decided to use.
At this point I was having crust in my quiche one way or another. So I broke it all apart, dug out the rice, and reformed a rough approximation of a crust. Of course, as soon as I poured the egg into the crust it flowed around, behind and under all that lovely riced crust.
In the end, it looked AWFUL. But it tasted no worse than a lot of quiches I've had in cafes and salad shops.
Lesson learned: Line the stupid crusts with foil before pouring rice into them.
I love bagels. I'm a Long Island girl, so I have to love bagels. I love to have bagels plain with a little schmear of butter or cream cheese. But those pictured above are pure heaven.
Sunday Bagels
Everything bagel, or variety of your choice
Neufchatel cheese (half the fat of cream cheese)
Good smoked ham, sliced medium
Juicy, red, ripe tomato, sliced thick
Pepper and garlic salt
I prefer these bagels untoasted. Smear a little cheese (not too much) on each side of your cut bagel. Fold on a slice or two of ham on each half, then a whole juicy slice of tomato. Sprinkle judiciously with fresh cracked pepper and garlic salt. Try not to gobble it down before you get to the table.
Pre-pregnancy I was a caffeine addict. One Venti Caramel Mocha from Starbucks every day, followed up by multiple cans of Diet Pepsi. I tried hard to get a couple of glasses of water in me daily as well, but if I had two, I was doing great.
I was also a big-time meat eater. And I ate vegetables, but fruit didn't get down my gullet too often.
Now, I'm drinking 10 to 12 glasses of water daily, no caffeine unless it's a super emergency and then it's very small and usually not finished. I was drinking a lot of V-8 and orange juice early on, but now I'm pretty much doing just water. My skin's better, and I'm sure peeing a lot.
Juiceboy also is in a vegetarian phase. I'm eating very little meat, and not missing it at all like I did in the past. We're not vegan, and meat definitely does play a part of my diet--my sandwiches at lunch for work are often delicious ham & pepperoncini hoagies.
The result? I'm 19+ weeks pregnant (that's about halfway) and I've lost five pounds. Figures it takes a pregnancy to get me eating right!
The Bug and I were recently in Washington D.C. in an area known for business travellers, Smithsonians, and politicos. Good, mid-range restaurants is not something the area is known for. We had a great, enormous burger at Fuddruckers the first night. The second night was a horrendous meal at Capital City Brewery. Our third night we gave up and had room service (our hotel shut down its dinner restaurant nine months ago). And on the fourth night we went to Fogo de Chao.
It was recommended as a fun place to take a kid. It's a one-price, no-menu travelling buffet. First, one goes to the interesting salad buffet. Prosciutto, cured meats, hard parmesan, bright green asparagus, fresh mozzarella, butter lettuce...a wonderful salad bar.
Each diner is given a coaster that tells the MEAT WAITERS when to start bringing over the main course. These are men who rush all over the restaurant with skewers of meat and sharp knives. They approach your table at a full-tilt run and sputter out what kind of meat it is. Their impatience is unnerving. "Beef Ancho?" "Picanha?" "Filet Mignon?"
On the table for each person are tongs--use these to catch the meat as it's being sliced. The waiters didn't tell us this and it wasn't until a waiter chastised me that I realized that I was supposed to take the meat.
Meat is sliced at each person's side until the coaster is turned to the red "STOP" side. When you're ready for more, flip it to the green side.
Served with the meat are wonderful little puffs of cheese bread, tasty mashed potatoes, baked bananas (this *is* supposed to be Brazilian-style food), and fried polenta. Many of the beef selections are overly salty--or were to my pregnant palate.
Sadly, I never had a chance to try the bacon-wrapped chicken or linguica, two of my favorite types of meat. The Bug was having an off night and didn't enjoy anything until desert, when he selected a giant goblet of strawberry ice cream.
All-in-all, I'd try it again, with friends who enjoy meat. It runs $50 per person before tax, tip and drinks.
Juiceboy has gone veggie on me again, a full three months earlier in the year than normal. I'm okay with it though, as I can get meat at lunchtime and it's not a bad thing for me to be cooking healthier meals.
For dinner last night I was going to use up some of the 25 cups of brown rice I'd brought home from work (leftovers from an event). Since I've been having problems cooking rice, I was quite glad to take the white and brown stuff off their hands.
On the menu was absolute peasant food: cabbage soup and hot and soup broccoli. The soup was fine, though dull. I'll noodle out the recipe some more and when I perfect it, I'll post it.
For the broccoli, I was to get oil in the pan smoking hot, then brown a slice of ginger, which I did. Then I was to add cider vinegar, soy sauce, chicken broth, cayenne, etc. I started with the vinegar.
SHPLOOOM! BANG! HIIISSSSS! BLANG!
Uh, duh.
Never put vinegar into a pan of hot oil. First, mix all the ingrediants called for, and add them in a large quantity, and maybe, just maybe, let the oil COOL DOWN before adding it.
I'm just lucky I don't have a gas stove. I only had minor burn spatters on me, though the surrounding area of the stove sure got a good covering of grease.
After all was said and done, the broccoli was pretty bad, any way. Too much cayenne, which I don't like as a result of trying that ridiculous colon-cleansing recipe. Cayenne lemonade, indeed!
Tonight was much more successful: a variation on the Barefoot Contessa's Crunchy Noodle Salad and fried rice. I'll post these throughout the week.
Yes, it's true. I'm a little bit pregnant. I'm just finally over being nauseous 14-hours a day. I'm starving almost ALL the time, which was especially annoying when I was naseous. I'm trying to eat well--my crazy, fat, holistic, Kaiser Permanente medical professional has told me she only wants me to gain 10 pounds. (Which from everything I've read is way, WAY underweight, but hey, maybe she sees a big fat woman and knows I'm not going to stay an a lowly 10 pounds.)
She's given me some directives:
I haven't been cooking lately. Nor have I been going to fantastic restaurants. Here's some clues as to why:
1) I'm taking new vitamins
2) I'm drinking a lot more OJ and water than I normally do
3) I've been very, very tired lately
4) Certain smells just put me off.
Any ideas...?
Well, according to Alex Tangren of Chez Panisse, "Agricultural scientists say that this comes from the leaves' high concentration of oxalic acid."
Ever have a glass of milk with some rhubarb pie? Oxalic acid combined with the calcium in milk creates Calcium Oxalate.
And too much calcium oxalate causes kidney stones. So, watch your intake of oxalic acid. There's more info at Wikipedia.
Fast, cheap 
and satisfying...Pasta e Fagioli is a perfect soup/stew for those dreary days of January. This dish was a hit with the whole family--The Bug had thirds!
It's a rustic dish, so don't worry about perfect sizes on the vegetables. Also, while it seems like a lot of ingrediants, it's really a "what's in the fridge that needs to be used" dish. Add and subtract items as you wish. I like to make this when I have some leftover crusty bread to throw in. Total cooking time should take no more than an hour. This is a fresh, fast dinner. (To make it vegetarian, skip the chicken and make with your favorite veggie stock.)
Pasta e Fagioli2 Tablespoons olive oil
Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use the flash-frozen kind, so they're fairly big)
1/2 large yellow or white onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 head of celery, including center stalks, diced
1 large carrot, sliced or diced
1 head cauliflower, broken into bite-sized pieces
1 large can chicken broth
1 large can skinned, diced tomatoes
1 can white or black beans, with some liquid drained
1/2 cup small pasta, like tubetini or alphabets (if you do a mixture like me, watch cooking times)
8 oz frozen chopped spinach
1/4 cup romano cheese, shredded
crushed red pepper, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
day old sourdough bread, torn into bite-sized pieces (optional)
fresh herbs (basil, thyme, or parsley work well)
Heat olive oil in large stock pot on medium high; add whole chicken breasts. After they have browned on both sides, add onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Lower heat immediately to medium/medium low, saute until fragrant. Add chicken broth, turn to high heat and bring to a boil, then turn down to med/med-low again. Add cauliflower and tomatoes. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add pasta. Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the pot.
Halfway in the pasta cooking time, add beans; stir well. Remove chicken breasts and slice into bite-sized pieces, return to pot with any juices that have collected in the cutting process.
When pasta is cooked, add frozen spinach. After about 3 minutes, add the bread, red and black pepper, and cheese. Check for seasonings.
Ladle into bowls and top with chopped fresh herbs.
For Christmas Eve I made Nigella Lawson's Rigitoni al Forno, from her Feast cookbook. The cookbook itself is glorious, with Nigella's wonderful voice making it a great read. However, I found that many of her recipes turn out flat. I used her recipes for baked potatoes and yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner, and we were all disappointed with them. Of course, I didn't have the required two cups of goose fat for the potatoes, so my substitution might have been a large part of the problem.
As for the rigitoni: since it was a recipe for 16 and we were only 5, I reduced the recipe, which wasn't hard. It originally called for 3 pounds of rigitoni and 3 pounds, 4 oz of ground beef, so I just reduced everything to 1/3-- one pound of rigitoni and one pound 1.5 oz of beef.
I did increase the amount of bechamel sauce from 1/3 to 2/3 of the recipe, due only to bad math. And in the end, it needed it!
This was the MEATIEST pasta dish ever. It was supposed to be a take on lasagna--but boy, it was saucy ground beef with some pasta noodles. In the end I had lots of meat leftover because I'd had to pick out all the pasta to serve it round.
Also, the recipe calls for cooking the meat sauce for two hours. If there were other meats in this ragu that would be called for, but I think 30-40 minutes is more than enough.
Finally, she mixes the rigitoni first with the bechamel to coat it, then adds the meat sauce. If you stir it too much it gets gray and looks like something the dog threw up.
In the end, this was a good concept that needs some tweaking to be a 100% success.
I really call this Stone Soup, because you use whatever you have in your house. But it makes a great turkey soup, and if you happen to have lots of meat leftover, it's a fantastic stew.
Stone Soup (Leftover Turkey Soup)
Two tablespoons olive oil (not extra virgin)
One large yellow onion, chunked
Two large carrots, sliced (I like disks, but just keep it large however you do it)
Three ribs celery, chopped
Two to three cloves of garlic, minced
Turkey or chicken broth (I usually have more turkey broth leftover from the turkey than I can use, so I freeze it and use it for soup)
One bay leaf
Meaty turkey frame and leftover turkey
One large can of chopped tomatoes, with juice
If you have a potato or two that you want to use, dice them
One can white beans, slightly drained
A handful of frozen spinach (do you ever have a little bit left in a bag? Now's the time to use it as long as it's not freezer burnt)
A handful of pasta (any kind, though I like the bigger ones, like radiatore)
A cup of sliced cabbage
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot until shimmery. Add onions, carrots, and celery, and saute on medium about two minutes. Add the garlic and cook about one minute, or until fragrant. At this point, you can add any kind of raw veggies you like--cauliflower would be nice. I'd stay away from asparagus and bell peppers.
Add broth, bay leaf, and turkey, making sure your broth just covers the turkey frame. Don't add too much broth unless you like a thin soup, and too little--you just won't get all that leftover goodness.
Bring to a boil and then reduce to a healthy simmer. Let cook for 20 minutes, then add tomatoes, and if you're using it, potato. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
Add the beans, spinach, cabbage and pasta. Simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring frequently so your pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.
Taste for seasoning and thickness. Too thick? Add some more broth or tomato juice. Too thin? Let it simmer some more uncovered or add a tablespoon of ditalini or other small pasta. (Go easy with the pasta as it sucks up ALL the liquid it can.)
I like to add a little basil and rosemary, and lots of fresh black pepper.
I haven't posted in eons due to a crazy work schedule and readying for Christmas. Now that that's over with and the in-law invasion has passed, it's time for me to get back on track. Sadly, I haven't cooked much in the past few weeks...but more on the cause of that in the future.
My big present for Chriistmas was a Cuisinart ice cream maker, with a bowl you freeze and then pour everything into and just leave be for 25-30 minutes.
For my first venture I set out to make chocolate ice cream. I had to go to two stores to find cream, but I found it. Safeway didn't have ANY because they didn't get their load today. Their shelves were bare all around the store.
I followed all the directions and found that after 30 minutes of mixing, the ice cream was really just cool cream. It hadn't thickened or frozen at all. I put it in an airtight container and have had it in the freezer for over an hour, and will see if anything happens.
I'll try it again after freezing the bowl for 24 hours. Any other tips for getting it to work?
I realized from this weekend's experiment that I like my food cooked and warm in the winter. Heated through. Bio-chemically altered by heat. Mmmmmm. I like things that are processed, like bread and sauted onions.
I am *not* a raw foods girl.
We started our raw food flush yesterday (well, he started yesterday, but I had a bean burrito from Taco Bell in the morning). We went to Safeway and purchased $80 worth of veggies and fruit, plus some raw sunflower seeds.
For dinner last night we had a good salad, which differed from our regular main-course salads in that there was no: cheese, egg, meat, crutons, or warmed corn. I made a dressing from honey, olive oil, and lemon & orange juice, plus added seasonings. I liked it but it had too much radishes and red onion for Juiceboy's taste.
I did fold somewhat last night and added V8 juice to my list of approved items--I was so sick of water.
All last night Juiceboy talked of ice cream, and this morning he's taunting me with descriptions of buttery pancakes, thick omlettes, and then he described a steak sandwich on a crisp sourdough roll. I nearly decked him.
And my favorite thing to do on the weekend is watch cooking shows, but there's no way I can do that and keep up with my very short, three-day experiment.
God. I have the worst willpower ever. I'm ready to fold after one meal.
Off to cut up Dulcina Watermellons.
