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Sunday, November 14, 2010
Stay Tuned
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Practically Famous!
Check it out! I got an email from one of the kind folks over at Foodista (which will, I can tell, become a complete and utter timesink in the near future...) encouraging me to add the empanada widget to my last post...so I did and look!
Over on the right, that's me! w00t! Movin' on up, baby!
One of these days, I'll start coming up with my own recipes...or at least writing out what I did instead of following the recipes I'm claiming to follow. :-)
Also, FWIW, I did some updating of the cookbook today, so you can find all the recipes I've made (and a few I haven't made but posted) in there. I'm sort of thinking about making something more pretty out of that, maybe adding some stories to each recipe or something, so at the end of this year I can print it and save it for posterity.
Anyway, that's the news from the kitchen! Tonight was a pretty sad dinner night...Nick is off doing his thing, so I was left to fend for myself. It turns out, without a man's stomach to fill, I just don't bother...I had popcorn and a couple spoons of Nutella. Sorry, Mom.
One of these days, I'll start coming up with my own recipes...or at least writing out what I did instead of following the recipes I'm claiming to follow. :-)
Also, FWIW, I did some updating of the cookbook today, so you can find all the recipes I've made (and a few I haven't made but posted) in there. I'm sort of thinking about making something more pretty out of that, maybe adding some stories to each recipe or something, so at the end of this year I can print it and save it for posterity.
Anyway, that's the news from the kitchen! Tonight was a pretty sad dinner night...Nick is off doing his thing, so I was left to fend for myself. It turns out, without a man's stomach to fill, I just don't bother...I had popcorn and a couple spoons of Nutella. Sorry, Mom.
Empanadole!
Last night, I attempted empanadas. I followed the recipe...ish. I used turkey instead of beef, forgot the onions entirely, used canned pie dough (sorry Megan...next time I'll try harder), and used olive oil instead of butter. I'm not sure what the "soul" of an empanada is, but I'm pretty sure I crushed it unintentionally last night. My bad. They were still pretty yummy though.
Pie crust and turkey filling.
I also did the Margaritas version (which I called caprese all night). They were quite delicious, and cooked up a lot lighter than the meat ones.
All the meat empanadas ready to bake.
The whole lineup.
This is the last known sighting of the empanadas. They were utterly devoured shortly after this, and I didn't want to risk my fingers to take a picture. They really were yummy. I think I'm going to make these (with homemade crust, I promise) for our upcoming Christmas shindig. They're the perfect size for finger food, and there are so many variations I can try - I'm excited. I think I'll try making them the night before and freezing them before baking them, so I can bake them while making other stuff.
Speaking of which, I'm pretty excited about cooking for a group again. It's been a while since we've thrown a party (minus the wedding, which didn't really count) and I've got a whole slew of new recipes and gadgets to put to good use.
And finally, I've decided to participate in a sponsored giveaway with a TBA online store. I'm waiting for them to announce their Black Friday sales before doing the giveaway, but it'll be for a $55 giftcard...stay tuned!
I also did the Margaritas version (which I called caprese all night). They were quite delicious, and cooked up a lot lighter than the meat ones.
Speaking of which, I'm pretty excited about cooking for a group again. It's been a while since we've thrown a party (minus the wedding, which didn't really count) and I've got a whole slew of new recipes and gadgets to put to good use.
And finally, I've decided to participate in a sponsored giveaway with a TBA online store. I'm waiting for them to announce their Black Friday sales before doing the giveaway, but it'll be for a $55 giftcard...stay tuned!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
No Fear, Julia
Quick confession time again: I've never actually handled a real, full chicken. Never pulled out the giblets. Never plucked stray feathers from the skin. Never. This picture was a tribute to me conquering another teensy little anxiety...facing the fact that my food was, at one point, running around with its head cut off. Blech.
No fear, Julia.
Last night's dinner, in case you couldn't tell, was Pollo con Papas a la Florencia. Honestly folks, I may never make potatoes any other way again. Even without chicken, this will always be how I make potatoes - with wine, lemon, olive oil, and garlic. Nick wasn't convinced that the chicken should be on the favorites list, but he also doesn't like chicken skin. The skin was the best part, in my opinion...crispy and flavorful and just glorious.
Wait, you want me to stick WHAT, WHERE???
I felt more than a little obscene doing this, but the end results were worth it. Sorry, chicken.
Lookin' yummy!
Browned to perfection.
This was not my plate. How can you tell? There's no garlic on this plate. Have I mentioned my love affair with all things garlic? I ate every last clove of oven roasted garlic. Nick didn't kiss me for the rest of the night. Shocker. :-D
And, just for kicks, check out my new toy! I got this with a gift card from the wedding (thanks, Steve & Suka!) and now we have cabinet space again! Yes, that's a lot of wine glasses. I have about 2 more boxes full of them floating around as well. I grew up wine tasting and plan to raise our inevitable children that way too...some of those are from my parents, some of them are ours.
Last night's dinner, in case you couldn't tell, was Pollo con Papas a la Florencia. Honestly folks, I may never make potatoes any other way again. Even without chicken, this will always be how I make potatoes - with wine, lemon, olive oil, and garlic. Nick wasn't convinced that the chicken should be on the favorites list, but he also doesn't like chicken skin. The skin was the best part, in my opinion...crispy and flavorful and just glorious.
I felt more than a little obscene doing this, but the end results were worth it. Sorry, chicken.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Madonna's Meal
After looking through the recipes I picked yesterday, last night I really just wanted something reasonably quick. It ended up taking just as long to get the groceries (I left the bag with the meat at the store...on the coldest, rainiest night of the year so far, of course) as it would have to make the chicken, but Nick opted for beef anyway so...there you have it.
Call it what you want: Schnitzel, Chicken Fried Steak, Melanesa, whatever...it's still beef breaded and fried. It's delish. Rebecca has a great description (and history less) on the dish here...worth the read, for sure.
Instead of making french fries on my own, I took the easy way and grabbed a bag of frozen sweet potato fries. Worth. It. However, I did attempt the grilled (though mine was fried) provolone recipe as well. On looking at the recipe again, I think what I did was nothing like the recipe...it was still yummy though. I fried it up in the pan I'd used for the meat, turning it over every time it melted a bit, so the bread crumb flavoring got into the cheese. The cheese itself was a big overpowering, but overall the effect was superb. I won't even look at the calories.
So, this was dinner. Simple, quick, loosely Argentinian.
Call it what you want: Schnitzel, Chicken Fried Steak, Melanesa, whatever...it's still beef breaded and fried. It's delish. Rebecca has a great description (and history less) on the dish here...worth the read, for sure.
Instead of making french fries on my own, I took the easy way and grabbed a bag of frozen sweet potato fries. Worth. It. However, I did attempt the grilled (though mine was fried) provolone recipe as well. On looking at the recipe again, I think what I did was nothing like the recipe...it was still yummy though. I fried it up in the pan I'd used for the meat, turning it over every time it melted a bit, so the bread crumb flavoring got into the cheese. The cheese itself was a big overpowering, but overall the effect was superb. I won't even look at the calories.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Book Mentions
Friday night, Nick and I went to Barnes and Nobles for the first time in forever. I wandered my way over to the cooking section and found a couple of interesting reads, one of which I picked up for future reference.
Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes
I read the first few pages of this book and decided that in order to tackle the upcoming middle east countries, I needed to read the rest of the book. I feel like I, like many of us I'm sure, have a lot of assumptions and prejudices against that whole part of the world that are either wrong or severely skewed. The first page of this book told me that cookbooks were the most common form of written language in this area of the world in the 1400s. Isn't that something? I don't know why, but that intrigues me a lot. For an area that's built mostly from nomadic cultures (or so I hear, I haven't really looked into that statement, to be honest), it's interesting to me that the legacy that they felt most compelled to write down was...their cooking. I am VERY excited to attempt justice for these dishes, and can't wait to learn more about the cultures that came up with them.
What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets
This one left me pouting. I'd never seen this book until Friday night, and I don't know why I thought I was so original in my attempt to eat my way around the world (though this guy did it literally, and didn't actually *make* anything he ate...cheater), but I have to admit, this one burst my bubble a bit. That said, it's actually a completely different take on the concept. It's ordered from lowest to highest daily caloric intake, and doesn't have anything to do with traditional culture or cuisine...it's just what this sample of a cross section of a culture eats on a daily basis. Some of it is pretty gross...and not because it's foreign meats either. The least appealing meals were the most prepackaged.
Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure
This one sounds interesting, but gets kinda crummy reviews. I wish I could get sponsored to do something like that, but less eating at restaurants, more eating at local homes and watching/attempting to record old ladies make dishes they've served for generations. I feel like, in the age of fast food, we're losing our souls by losing our abilities to cook. I love making red beans because it links me to generations upon generations of cajun ladies, in kitchens across the ages. (Ok, maybe not that long, but you know what I mean.) Maybe I need to write my own book. I think it'd definitely be more than 90 days of travel though. Hey, corporate big wigs...anyone out there want to sponsor a fantastic voyage? :-)
Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes
I read the first few pages of this book and decided that in order to tackle the upcoming middle east countries, I needed to read the rest of the book. I feel like I, like many of us I'm sure, have a lot of assumptions and prejudices against that whole part of the world that are either wrong or severely skewed. The first page of this book told me that cookbooks were the most common form of written language in this area of the world in the 1400s. Isn't that something? I don't know why, but that intrigues me a lot. For an area that's built mostly from nomadic cultures (or so I hear, I haven't really looked into that statement, to be honest), it's interesting to me that the legacy that they felt most compelled to write down was...their cooking. I am VERY excited to attempt justice for these dishes, and can't wait to learn more about the cultures that came up with them.
What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets
Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure
This one sounds interesting, but gets kinda crummy reviews. I wish I could get sponsored to do something like that, but less eating at restaurants, more eating at local homes and watching/attempting to record old ladies make dishes they've served for generations. I feel like, in the age of fast food, we're losing our souls by losing our abilities to cook. I love making red beans because it links me to generations upon generations of cajun ladies, in kitchens across the ages. (Ok, maybe not that long, but you know what I mean.) Maybe I need to write my own book. I think it'd definitely be more than 90 days of travel though. Hey, corporate big wigs...anyone out there want to sponsor a fantastic voyage? :-)
Week #5: Argentina
You knew that was coming, don't pretend you didn't.
My memories of Argentina...I stared at it once, across the river at Foz do Iguacu national park in Brazil. The trees directly behind my head are Argentinian.
Anyway, Argentina. Aside from Evita and a really big waterfall, what do we know?
Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of Indigenous and Criollo creations, which include empanadas (a stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humitas and yerba mate, all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage. Other popular items include chorizo (a spicy sausage), facturas (Viennese-style pastry) and Dulce de Leche, a sort of milk caramel jam.
An asado with sliced provolone
The Argentine barbecue, asado as well as a parrillada, includes various types of meats, among them chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and morcilla (blood sausage). Thin sandwiches, sandwiches de miga, are also popular. Argentines have the highest consumption of red meat in the world.[123]
The Argentine wine industry, long among the largest outside Europe, has benefited from growing investment since 1992; in 2007, 60% of foreign investment worldwide in viticulture was destined to Argentina.[124] The country is the fifth most important wine producer in the world,[104] with the annual per capita consumption of wine among the highest. Malbec grape, a discardable varietal in France (country of origin), has found in the Province of Mendoza an ideal environment to successfully develop and turn itself into the world's best Malbec.[124] Mendoza accounts for 70% of the country's total wine production. "Wine tourism" is important in Mendoza province, with the impressive landscape of the Cordillera de Los Andes and the highest peak in the Americas, Mount Aconcagua, 6,952 m (22,808 ft) high, providing a very desirable destination for international tourism.
An asado with sliced provolone
The Argentine barbecue, asado as well as a parrillada, includes various types of meats, among them chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and morcilla (blood sausage). Thin sandwiches, sandwiches de miga, are also popular. Argentines have the highest consumption of red meat in the world.[123]
The Argentine wine industry, long among the largest outside Europe, has benefited from growing investment since 1992; in 2007, 60% of foreign investment worldwide in viticulture was destined to Argentina.[124] The country is the fifth most important wine producer in the world,[104] with the annual per capita consumption of wine among the highest. Malbec grape, a discardable varietal in France (country of origin), has found in the Province of Mendoza an ideal environment to successfully develop and turn itself into the world's best Malbec.[124] Mendoza accounts for 70% of the country's total wine production. "Wine tourism" is important in Mendoza province, with the impressive landscape of the Cordillera de Los Andes and the highest peak in the Americas, Mount Aconcagua, 6,952 m (22,808 ft) high, providing a very desirable destination for international tourism.
I love seeing how historical events (in this case, European invasion) affect culture in the long run. I never would have guessed pasta dishes to be common in Argentina. However, it looks like it's gonna be a meaty week (Nick's rejoicing I'm sure). I'm looking forward to the wine part of the week.
Chicken and Potatoes
Empanadas
Gnocchi - REALLY cool tradition! Apparently people get together on the 29th of every month to eat gnocchi together! It won't be the 29th anytime this week (I checked), but we'll party in spirit.
Marinaded Eggplant - If you don't follow a single other link from this post, you NEED to follow this one. The story behind the discovery of this recipe (at least from the author's point of view) is fantastic!
Yerba Mate - The national drink of Argentina - the week wouldn't be complete without it, and I swear this time I'll make it to a specialty shop that has what I need!
Grilled Provolone - This might be a side or it might be a quick, light meal for later in the week. Either way, I can't wait to try it.
I have to say, after reading a few posts on "From Argentina With Love", I'm totally hooked on her blog.
Who's cooking with me this week? Check out other menus at Menu Plan Monday
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