How to make a pot of rice

You kids are driving me crazy.

I’ve been knocking myself out to write up recipes and take pictures and make it pretty, and so far um, the response has been extraordinarily LUKEWARM.

There will be consequences. I’m just saying….

Okay how to make a pot of rice, and no, you don’t need pictures.

• 3 cups water
• 2 cups jasmine rice (or any other, but that’s my preference)

Bring the water to a boil. Add the rice, lower the heat to the lowest setting gas or electric and cover it.

DO NOT MESS WITH IS AT THIS POINT. Leave it alone for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, it’s done.

I’m also pleased to report I didn’t yell at the Chargers once, and that they actually did good. Go team.

And if I get some frickin’ feedback, I might post the won ton recipe and the Magical Dipping Sauce.

How Tos: Pizza

Let’s face it. Pizza ain’t hard. I started yesterday with making the pizza dough. I used Jay’s Signature Pizza Crust from Allrecipes.com. Because I’m running out of flour (surprise), I used a cup of whole wheat flour.

Yowsa. This is an excellent dough. It rose well, and if I had chosen a bigger pan it probably would have been even better.

I pulled it out today, and brought it back to room temperature in the cast iron skillet. When it finally came up to room temperature, I drizzled the whole thing with olive oil, then pre-baked it 450 for 7 minutes.

I slathered on sauce, toppings but no cheese. Here’s a picture of the crust with the toppings.

Baked for 12 minutes, then I topped it with the cheesy goodness. Ten more minutes, and life is good.

Kind of Blue - a birthday wish

This week’s dishes are Vegetarian Pizza and Sweet Rice Krispy Sushi. A little background on why I chose these dishes.

Because it’s Brian’s birthday this week.

I met Brian in eighth grade, because we were both involved in a talent show. I don’t even remember what talent I supposedly had, but Brian played the piano. A Scott Joplin rag, I think. Maybe it was his stand offish air. Maybe it was his musical ability. Maybe it was the puffy blue jacket. I haven’t a clue. I just knew that even with all the other Eighth Grade Drama being played out, I really liked this guy.

I am not a subtle woman. I wasn’t a subtle child. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I know that about myself. I don’t know that I gave him a choice: he was my friend. I was desperate to know more about him, so I gave him an application to sit at “our” lunch table. Yeah, yeah. I know that was slick, wasn’t it? He was gracious enough to play along. As I recall, he listed his address as “I know a cave in NE Tanzania”.

And, no, I never made anyone else submit an application to have lunch with me. Maybe I’d have been better off if I had!

We grew up; he went to Colorado, I had Tony. We both ended up in Vista in 1980. We started hanging out again. He’s Tony’s godfather, as a matter of fact. When I left California, I met your father, and Brian and I drifted apart.

Last summer - poof! He was suddenly back in my life. I found him on Facebook of all places. As you kids know, I haven’t kept in touch with friends from my childhood, and Brian was a huge part of my past. He was our Josh, when I was growing up, the kid who was always around, along with Jamie, Elisabeth’s friend.

I ended up in the Midwest, and eventually the Southeast. He ended up in Chicago. After all these years he is still dry, erudite Brian. Turns out we share a love of jazz, and Miles Davis in particular. My sepia tinted childhood memories are now supplemented with bright shiny new ones. And that makes me glad.

So, why vegetarian pizza? Well what else did Catholic teenagers eat on Friday nights? I mean, really, it was a very big deal when the Pope repealed the whole Fish-On-Friday thing. I have a memory, just a picture really, of myself, Brian and Teresa Lopez at NY Pizza out on East Vista way, getting pizza. It was a cold clear night with a black velvet sky and diamond stars. How good it was, how happy – how content I was in that moment. I can’t figure out why the hell the three of us were together, and certainly the location on East Vista Way was in no way a place we would normally be. I just remember a cool starlit night, a hot pizza with stretchy cheese and great company.

And the rice krispies are because Brian cruelly told me that the very last batch I made when I was 16 would have made EXCELLENT paperweights had they been any heavier. Hmph. Okay, I admit they did suck, but he did not even TRY to be nice about it.

But now, I am, ahem, more mature, so I started thinking: I will show him!

I will make Rice Krispy Treats, and he will have to acknowledge I rock! But I still think they suck (what! They taste like “sweet”!). So I found a way around that. I am making Sweet Rice Krispy Sushi.

Oh, and Brian has told me he is now a Vegetarian (nothing with a face, baby), so the menu makes even more sense, doesn’t it?

Happy Birthday, Brian. You can make fun of my cooking any day, especially if you can duck really fast.

Still crazy, after all these years…..

gil

How Tos: Sweet Sushi part I

The sweet sushi was a no-brainer, so of course it nearly defeated me. I made a half batch of the rice crispy treats, and they were simple enough. Mr. Gillian #2 tasted the rice crispy doo-dads before I started messing with them, and pronounced them “yummy”.

HA!

But then I then started (struggling with) melting the stupid white chocolate and regular chocolate and trashed the kitchen and burnt my fingers trying to neatly dip the bases and got tired of waiting for the fuckers to set up and I swear to God, it was that stupid astronaut uniform for Tony’s Cabbage Patch Kid all. Over. Again. *

Overall, I am relatively satisfied with the final results. However, I got so stressed out I ate too much Hagan Daz Rocky Road Ice Cream and wasted spent time yelling at the Chargers for winning. That’s right, winning. If you are a Chargers fan, you understand. If not, well, sucks to be me. Stupid football. Why must you taunt me so?

As you can see from the picture, though, they look good. The ones pictured and the ones I ignored in my frustration are headed off to FP tomorrow. That’s right, I’m foisting them off on my unsuspecting co-workers. Suckers.

I feel like I should try this again, though, because if I were brave, I’d give you the link to the ones that inspired mine. Oh, what the hell, here you go. Go look. My ego can take it. Back? Had a good giggle? Be that way. See if I care! (okay, I do, but whatever)

*In 1986 Tony wanted an Astronaut Cabbage Patch Kid and I couldn’t find one. In my naiveté, I decided to make the uniform for him. And it was the hardest damn thing I’ve ever made! My old sewing machine - hell, all sewing machines - hate lame. I even quilted the helmet. He loved it, but oh, my Lord, it was a nightmare.

On My Radar January 11, 2008

Okay, I have a bunch of recipes I’m thinking about trying.

• I am mastering the intricacies of No Knead Bread. In fact, I’m snacking on the Cook’s Illustrated version* right now, and I have Mark Bittman’s in the oven. I added some finely ground herbes de provence to the dough, and dusted it with semolina flour.
• Now I think I will try to make me some cultured butter.
• Tuna meatballs - now that’s an interesting idea. Plus I rarely go wrong with a Jamie Oliver recipe. I have the Iron Chef America episode on my Tivo where The Incomparable Mario Batali battles Jamie Oliver. Blissful Sigh. This sauce - Onion Scented Tomato Sauce by Marcella Hazan looks amazing.
• Mocha Cake with Espresso Drizzle. What else do you need to know? Even though I’m trying hard not to bake, this cake may dissolve my resolve!
• I’m also contemplating a Coq au Vin and a Posole, but haven’t decided on a particular recipe yet. Alton Brown has a version of Coq au Vin that takes several days and multiple bottles of wine.
• Last but not least, I have fallen madly in love with Granola. I made this version first, because I am essentially lazy, and it could be done on top of the stove. Demetrius and I couldn’t quit snacking on it. It’s amazing.

Being Miss Smartypants, I then decided to wing it, and it wasn’t half as good. But I’ve mixed it with boring bran flakes and toss it with some boring diabetic fake fruit yogurt and it’s pretty fucking awesome. At least I’m eating breakfast which should thrill a medical professional, there being so many in my life.

*If you need a log on to see the recipe, let me know.

Random Thoughts

So, I hope that you guys are actually reading this, and have noticed the changes. I spoke to FP yesterday, and I go back to work on Monday. I’m told that I will be wiped out by Tuesday. Works for me: I need structure!

With a return to work, my time to cook will obviously be curtailed. I’ve been stockpiling recipes and pictures, and have realized that I probably won’t be doing a “cookbook” like my mom did. That what I am doing is recording a year in my kitchen, hence the change in the tag line.

I realize that I spend a lot of time thinking about food. Part of that is a no-brainer. Duh, I’m diabetic. Talking to a friend, I realize that my approach to food is different. Food = Love in our family, and I’ve done my level best to love y’all to death! That’s right, come into my gingerbread house, Wendy. I am trying to fatten you up, dear. But I am also trying to edumacate you, as Homer would say.

Diabetes is a reality each of you needs to look at. Two grandparents and a mom means that the odds are greater you will find yourself with some sort of medical complication. Add in the Cholesterol Curse and Heart Disease and frankly you guys aren’t much better off than me or your father. But you can certainly be smarter and head off the worst of it.

I don’t go out to eat as much as I did because food is a series of land mines. What’s in this? What will it do to my sugars? Yeah, I drive through McDonald’s way too much, but at least I know what’s in it (more or less). I know how my body will react (badly). But I also try to do more things at home. I got real macho one year and even got a tortilla press and made my own tortillas - which, by the way, are just as bad as white bread, carbwise.

I have picked up skills and techniques and learned, learned, learned. At Christmas Cook’s Illustrated sent me an offer I couldn’t refuse: half off a membership to their incredibly awesome website. I discovered the Awesome Power of RSS last year, and have so many cooking and food blogs syndicated that I am actually breaking them out by category, because I am just Super Geeky that way.

BTW, you should be syndicating this site, so that when I update you will be automatically notified. I’ve been using Google Reader and Bloglines, plus I’ve been watching my site in Thunderbird. Yesterday I switched to FeedDemon on Lifehacker’s recommendation. I’m still getting used to it, but it looks pretty good. If interested, lemme know and I will hook you up, cuz I’m just awesome that way.

I have a lot of plans for this site. It’s tough being so far away from each of you. I was almost apologizing to a friend for my, er, obsession with food and all yummy food related topics with a “well, food meant love in my family”.

He said “There are worse ways to show love than food.”

Made me feel better, because it’s true.

xoxox

mom

Chicken Stroganoff aka Cream of…

I started out calling this Cream of Crap, because I usually just start throwing things together. But I realized that what I am mostly making these days is a Chicken Stroganoff. I really like Stroganoff, and yes, I am aware of what Sean and Josh called it. You can take these instructions and substitute the chicken with a nice cut of beef, what you would see as a simmering steak or a marinating steak. This is a braise, which is slow-ish wet method of cooking. Substitute a tomato based sauce and you have Swiss Steak.

And I just started referring to it as Cream of Crap, because I have a love of alliteration, plus I just use whatever the hell I have in the pantry, or, again, whatever is on sale. It makes Tony wince when I refer to it that way. That’s okay, for Sean’s birthday I will post Really Fucking Hot Chicken! That’s right! I have a recipe with “fucking” in the name.

I would hang my head in shame, but let’s face it, I’m shameless. Now, on to the recipe.

Chicken Stroganoff aka Cream of Crap

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can cream of mushroom, low sodium low fat if you can find it
½ cup sour cream
Aromatics – onions, mushrooms, shallots, carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc.
½ cup wine or broth or juice

First, season the chicken with salt & pepper on both sides. Heat your pan with a 2 tablespoons of olive oil/canola or 1 tbs oil and 1 tbs butter. Brown the meat in batches, making sure that you get a good caramelized crust.

You get this by making sure the pan is hot, then NOT FUTZING WITH IT. Leave it alone. Set your timer for 3-4 minutes, and if it smells like it’s burning, turn it, fer chrissake. It probably is. You aren’t trying to cook the meat through at this point, just get that lovely crust.

While that’s going dump your soup and sour cream and any spices you want into a bowl, and whisk the hell out of it. Make sure everything is properly incorporated.

After you brown all the meat, transfer it to a plate. Note: I have quit trying to cook with minimal mess, and it’s improved the results dramatically. Use as many pots, pans, bowls, plates, whatever you need to get the job done properly.

At this point add your aromatics: onions, celery, mushrooms, bell peppers, whatever. I usually tailor it to the soup or a particular cuisine. You will probably have to add additional fat at this point, up to two more tablespoons.

Be sure to salt the veggies to help them wilt. It will also draw out the moisture, which is a good thing. When everything is translucent and golden, add up to ½ cup of alcohol or broth. You are deglazing the pan at this point; be sure to scrap up any browned bits.

Put the meat back in, and cover with the soup mixture. Set your timer for 20 minutes.

Voila! Serve over the starch of your choice with a nice vegetable on the side.

Recipe #1 - Spaghetti Carbonara

I wish I had a clever story about how I came to make this, but I don’t.

I can’t even recall at what point it entered my repertoire. Was it the house on Washita? In Wichita? I know that I made Alfredo for the first time for an impromptu dinner party for Nikki and Brie in January of 1994. I have a vague memory of trying to get Vicky and Chandra to try something but I am not positive it was this. Might have had tofu in it… ya just never know.

It was an instant hit, though. Sean and Natalie abhor tomato based pasta sauces (and yet, they eat pizza….) so this was a godsend. I have probably made a million plus batches of this – or maybe it just felt like it. If any of you kids remember how and or when this came to be, please refresh my memory!

In an informal survey I took a couple of years ago this was voted my “signature” dish, yes, even over The Best Won Ton in the World along with the Super Secret Dipping Sauce.

While we were living in the basement apartment on Beech Valley Way, I caught an episode of Emeril Live where he made Spaghetti Carbonara. It was fascinating to see someone else make it. Sean was triumphant – see, mom, NO ONIONS. So I stopped putting them in. That’s probably the only thing I’ve changed in all these years.

While I was in Springfield this summer, Natalie asked me to make it, and I did, but it sucked. She told me Sean’s was better (flavorful, I believe was the term. Whatever!). Not that Ben cared; he snarfed it down like he thought it would get him first. But I am going to tweak this recipe, and regain my former glory. So take THAT, Mr. Smartypants Pennington.

Here’s a picture of the ingredients* and no makin’ fun of the photos, as I am using my Super Duper Patented Awesomely Bad Asssss Phone until I can find another digital camera (hint, hint, if you are thinking about my birthday):
My Version of Emeril’s Classic Spaghetti Carbonara - Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 1999 and me, 2007

4 slices thick cut bacon
1 head of roasted garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
3 large eggs, beaten
Salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (or use what you picked up at Aldis!)
1 cup shredded Italian Cheese mix (or just use more fancy cheese)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Place head of garlic on foil pouch; drizzle with olive oil – about a tablespoon

Seal and roast for 30 minutes. After it cools, extract the roasted cloves and set aside.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons.

Add the roasted garlic, and break it up with your spoon. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds.

Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute.

Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with salt and pepper. I usually keep about a cup of the pasta water, so if it seems dry at this point, add water to loosen. This version is pretty creamy with the roasted garlic and extra cheese, but you could use regular garlic and a harder grating cheese. Suit yourself, I’m easy!

*The author of one of the cooking blogs that I read on a regular basis -The Pioneer Woman Cooks! - posts a picture of the ingredients at the start of her recipes. I have borrowed her idea. Cuz I’m just like that.