Jul 28th, 2010 by Ace
I’ve been hearing about this recipe for years now, so it was a delight to finally get to try it from the source. I can attest that it’s every bit as tasty as it looks. The fact that it’s a low-carb recipe, for those of you maintaining such a regimen, is purely a bonus.
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Jul 27th, 2010 by Ace
Dragonia lifted the original recipe for this from Cooks.com, although she says the site sucks, because there are often omissions in the recipe ingredient lists and instructions that do not become evident until you do a thorough read-through. But there were no such problems here. We had everything that was necessary already in the house, anyway:
Throw all the ingredients except the blue cheese into your bowl of choice and beat ‘em until they’re smooth (we used a power hand blender). Add the blue cheese afterward; blend some in for flavor and leave some in large chunks for texture. You’ll have three cups of dressing when you’re done. Good to go!
We gave it a goodly grinding of fresh black pepper, and poured it over a spinach salad with ham, cucumber, green onions, mushrooms and sunflower seeds. Then we paired it with Pomelo 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. And Mosel 2007 Zeller Schwarze Katz. And Caymus 2008 Conundrum. And dunked Snyder’s sourdough pretzels in the leftover dressing and ate them, too.
Jun 13th, 2010 by Yoko
[Yoko's note: I took pictures for this post, but my computer no longer seems to recognize the camera. I can't figure out why. Until I figure out how to get the photos off the camera, here's the text.]
It took me a while to actually follow through on the comment from this post, but I finally made my own English muffins.
The dough for English muffins is softer and stickier than your usual bread dough. During the second rise, you form the muffins and let it rest on a baking sheet covered in corn meal, which prevents them from sticking to the sheet. The corn meal doesn’t readily come off when cooking them, but that’s okay by me. You can brush most of it off, as Ace suggests.
I adapted the recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, 13th edition.
Ingredients:
Proof the yeast with the warm water and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in a large bowl. It should bubble in about 5 minutes– if it doesn’t, throw it out and start over.
Add salt, sugar, milk, 2 cups of the flour, and oil. Stir to mix well. Add the remaining flour and blend– the dough will be soft and a little sticky.
Cover the bowl, rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size– about an hour.
Flour a flat surface and your hands. Knead the dough a few times, then pat the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.
Use a 3-inch cutter to cut the dough into rounds.
Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal, and place the rounds onto the sheet, about an inch apart. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Heat a griddle or a skillet at medium heat and grease lightly.
Grease the cutter and set on the griddle, put the muffin inside the cutter. [I skipped using cutters on the skillet and just did them free-form.]
Cook over medium-low heat until bottom is browned, about 3-5 minutes, then flip over and repeat.
Let cool on racks.
Split the muffin with a fork. Serve warm right off the skillet with butter and jam, or toast them first if you prefer.
Mar 28th, 2010 by Yoko
The recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil and flour a 9-inch cake pan.
Sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. In a blender or food processor, process the almonds and sugar until the almonds are finely ground. Add mixture to the flour mixture.
Zest the orange peel and juice the orange into the blender. Add oil, eggs, and 1/3 cup of water and blend. Stop the blender, then add the dry ingredients until well blended. Pour into cake pan and bake for 35 minutes (the recipe calls for 45 minutes, but the bottom was slightly burned when I pulled it out, so I think it could bake for less time), or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan, on a rack for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
When completely cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar.
Serve with fruit if desired.
Mar 14th, 2010 by Yoko
I don’t know much about cooking Korean food, so Lipby kindly bought me a cookbook for my birthday, in which I’ve tried some of the recipes so far. I’ve also been reading Maangchi’s food blog and watching her entertaining videos.
I used her recipe for Dak Juk (jook, also known as congee or okayu, with chicken) here. I had thought I bought a package of cut-up whole chicken, but had mistakenly bought a package of whole chicken legs. It turned out just fine. I also used slightly less garlic than called for in her recipe, also because I didn’t buy enough. The garlic is what makes the dish– the cloves will melt into the jook and flavor it. I also added a couple knobs, unpeeled, of ginger, just for some contrasting flavor.
And do make the dipping sauce for the chicken– it’s addictive.
This was just like making homemade chicken soup, with an Asian twist. Americans have chicken soup when they’re feeling under the weather, and Asians have congee, so this is the best of both worlds.
Jan 24th, 2010 by Ace
Is there a name for that phenomenon wherein one adds a finely-grained food like oatmeal or pastina to boiling water, and then that addition makes the boiling reaction go nuclear and surge over the sides of the pot unless the heat is backed off? Is there a scientific explanation for why it happens? I’m thinking it’s related to Liedenfrost somehow, or that whole grain silo explosion thing…
I’m sure the info is out there; I just have no idea how I would even begin to search for it.
Jan 23rd, 2010 by Ace
Jan 23rd, 2010 by Yoko
Dec 21st, 2009 by Yoko
The bread was gone within a matter of minutes. But unfortunately for me, there weren’t a lot of cookies to be had at the party!
Makes 2 small free-form loaves
Ingredients
Directions
Proof yeast by adding it to the warm water and sugar, letting it sit for 5-10 minutes until it foams.
In a large bowl, add flour, salt, and yeast mixture. Mix until a ball of dough forms that is moist, slightly sticky. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes.
Oil another bowl with the olive oil. Put the dough in this bowl, turn to coat with oil. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough and divide into two balls.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
With a rolling pin, roll out dough to about an 11-inch square. Sprinkle a thin layer of cheese, 1/4 teaspoon each of the oregano and thyme, and then place pepperoni to cover. Roll up the dough carefully and tuck in the ends to seal. If desired, brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg. Repeat with the second ball of dough.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Let sit for about 10 minutes. Slice while still warm and serve. Also good at room temperature.
Nov 22nd, 2009 by Yoko
This is a yummy combination of garlic-parmesan croutons, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts, from Michael Chiarello. The recipe is here. Some changes: It took me twice as long to cook the vegetables than was called for in the recipe. I thought the dressing overwhelmed the sweetness of the vegetables and the salty, garlicky croutons, so I completely omitted it, but added finely chopped scallions for the oniony flavor. Although I followed the recipe concerning the brussels sprouts, I would roast them next time, as mlb does here. Maybe roast the onions, too?
Anyway, this is delicious, and maybe good for a side at a holiday dinner.
Yoko’s Ruminations