It was overkill, I admit, sort of like driving to the end of the driveway to get the mail: The frosting could've easily been made by hand or with our old hand mixer... but I really wanted to play with the new toy. Can you blame me?
Friday, January 7, 2011
We Have Liftoff!
Just a quick post to note that I actually fired up the new mixer and made something this evening: chocolate buttercream frosting for the wheatless cake the Lovely Bride© made for guests who are on their way over.
It was overkill, I admit, sort of like driving to the end of the driveway to get the mail: The frosting could've easily been made by hand or with our old hand mixer... but I really wanted to play with the new toy. Can you blame me?
It was overkill, I admit, sort of like driving to the end of the driveway to get the mail: The frosting could've easily been made by hand or with our old hand mixer... but I really wanted to play with the new toy. Can you blame me?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gear Hunter
Yesterday I posted about the goodies I received as Christmas gifts, including the New England Soup Factory cookbook I bought. Well, it occurred to me almost immediately that cooking soups (esp. in large batches) would mean yet another piece of kit I'd need: an immersion (aka stick) blender.
In addition, the project that drove me to put Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food on my wishlist — DIY sous vide — requires a hackable slow cooker.
Feeling a bit tapped out, it occurred to me that these are precisely the sort of gadgets that show up in thrift shops, so I trundled off to my favorite local Goodwill store, just beyond the town line in Manchester, CT.
I didn't find a slow cooker, but I did find a stick blender (for $4.00!), and I also came across a truly serendipitous find: A Seal-a-Meal VS120 vacuum food sealing system... for only $8.00 !!. Not only will this be useful for the sous vide project, once I scrounge up a slow cooker, but it will also come in handy for the soups: As I mentioned yesterday, the NESF soup recipes are for larger quantities of soup than the Lovely Bride® and I can possibly eat at one — or even two — sittings... but the vac sealer will allow me to portion out the leftovers into single- or double-serving portions and seal and freeze them. Before long, we'll have a freezer full of homemade soup!
Tonight I tested the Seal-a-Meal on some frozen strawberries, just to make sure it worked (Goodwill has a 10-day return policy on electrics), and... reeee-sult!¹
¹ Note extra-classy thrift-shop pricetags!
In addition, the project that drove me to put Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food on my wishlist — DIY sous vide — requires a hackable slow cooker.
Feeling a bit tapped out, it occurred to me that these are precisely the sort of gadgets that show up in thrift shops, so I trundled off to my favorite local Goodwill store, just beyond the town line in Manchester, CT.
I didn't find a slow cooker, but I did find a stick blender (for $4.00!), and I also came across a truly serendipitous find: A Seal-a-Meal VS120 vacuum food sealing system... for only $8.00 !!. Not only will this be useful for the sous vide project, once I scrounge up a slow cooker, but it will also come in handy for the soups: As I mentioned yesterday, the NESF soup recipes are for larger quantities of soup than the Lovely Bride® and I can possibly eat at one — or even two — sittings... but the vac sealer will allow me to portion out the leftovers into single- or double-serving portions and seal and freeze them. Before long, we'll have a freezer full of homemade soup!
Tonight I tested the Seal-a-Meal on some frozen strawberries, just to make sure it worked (Goodwill has a 10-day return policy on electrics), and... reeee-sult!¹
¹ Note extra-classy thrift-shop pricetags!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Foodie Xmas Goodies: Cooking Subdivision
So yesterday I posted about the booze-related goodies I got for Christmas; today it's time for the cooking-related swag!
Most excitingly, my Lovely Bride© got me a KitchenAid Classic Plus stand mixer. This was No. 1 on my wish list with a bullet, and she managed to buy it right under my nose without me knowing, making up some cock-and-bull story about how they didn't have the right model in stock, and the rebate coupon she had wasn't valid, to convince me she hadn't been able to get it, when in fact it was nestled in the back of my car! Way cool! Plus which, even though an entry-level model, it represents a significant enough investment to serve as a "$100 tennis racket": a de facto commitment to actually cook. Now my big decision is whether I should paint hot-rod flames on it, like Alton Brown did his. Prolly not, I think.
But speaking of Alton, my next bit of foodie goodness under the tree was his Good Eats 2: The Middle Years.
Last under the tree — but definitely not least — was Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food, which I blogged about after following an article about DIY sous vide cooking to the author's blog. I'm only halfway through reading it (look for a detailed review in an upcoming post), but already I can tell it's so much more than a hacker's guide to homemade gear (not that that wouldn't be great). Instead, it posits a whole science-geek approach to cooking: While it's full of recipes, hints, tips, and hacks, it's really about a kind of kitchen philosophy. Great stuff.
But wait! There's more!!
In addition to all those things, I got a Barnes & Noble gift card, which I used to purchase the New England Soup Factory cookbook. I'd looked at this in the store even before Christmas, but when I went back, I found it was sold out. During after Christmas shopping at another location, I found a copy and snapped it up. All the soups sound great; the only problem is that most of the recipes are for 8-10 12 oz. servings... which is quite a lot for the two (and occasionally three) of us. Not to worry, though; I think I've got a solution... about which, more tomorrow.
Most excitingly, my Lovely Bride© got me a KitchenAid Classic Plus stand mixer. This was No. 1 on my wish list with a bullet, and she managed to buy it right under my nose without me knowing, making up some cock-and-bull story about how they didn't have the right model in stock, and the rebate coupon she had wasn't valid, to convince me she hadn't been able to get it, when in fact it was nestled in the back of my car! Way cool! Plus which, even though an entry-level model, it represents a significant enough investment to serve as a "$100 tennis racket": a de facto commitment to actually cook. Now my big decision is whether I should paint hot-rod flames on it, like Alton Brown did his. Prolly not, I think.
But speaking of Alton, my next bit of foodie goodness under the tree was his Good Eats 2: The Middle Years.
Last under the tree — but definitely not least — was Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food, which I blogged about after following an article about DIY sous vide cooking to the author's blog. I'm only halfway through reading it (look for a detailed review in an upcoming post), but already I can tell it's so much more than a hacker's guide to homemade gear (not that that wouldn't be great). Instead, it posits a whole science-geek approach to cooking: While it's full of recipes, hints, tips, and hacks, it's really about a kind of kitchen philosophy. Great stuff.
But wait! There's more!!
In addition to all those things, I got a Barnes & Noble gift card, which I used to purchase the New England Soup Factory cookbook. I'd looked at this in the store even before Christmas, but when I went back, I found it was sold out. During after Christmas shopping at another location, I found a copy and snapped it up. All the soups sound great; the only problem is that most of the recipes are for 8-10 12 oz. servings... which is quite a lot for the two (and occasionally three) of us. Not to worry, though; I think I've got a solution... about which, more tomorrow.
Goal Setting
OK, here's an example of the Emerging Foodie™ quest: A few days ago a Facebook friend posted about a curried butternut squash soup she made, and several of us (predictably) made nom-nom-nom noises and asked for the recipe. In response, she posted a simple list of ingredients.
Now, as it happens, this person is a real-world friend, too, so I know I can get a true, detailed recipe from her... but it occurred to me that this is part of what my hoped-for "emergence" is all about: I want to get to the point where I can take just a list of ingredients and understand the proportions and processes I need to turn them into the desired dish.
Or better yet, to work from the two or three key ingredients and understand not only the proportions and processes but also the needed secondary ingredients, herbs, spices, etc.
In other words, I want to be a cook, and not just an executor of recipes. That's where this is heading (however haltingly).
Now, as it happens, this person is a real-world friend, too, so I know I can get a true, detailed recipe from her... but it occurred to me that this is part of what my hoped-for "emergence" is all about: I want to get to the point where I can take just a list of ingredients and understand the proportions and processes I need to turn them into the desired dish.
Or better yet, to work from the two or three key ingredients and understand not only the proportions and processes but also the needed secondary ingredients, herbs, spices, etc.
In other words, I want to be a cook, and not just an executor of recipes. That's where this is heading (however haltingly).
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Foodie Xmas Goodies: Booze Subdivision
So, Christmas has come and gone, and Santa was good to the emerging foodie. I'll run down the food/cooking-related items in another post, but first, a couple little dollops of booze-related awesomeness (over and above the Maker's Mark mini Santa left in my stocking):
First, my wonderful sister gave me a Downunder Longneck, a very cool pint beer glass from Australia. Actually, it's literally cool: Because it's a sealed double-wall design, it's effectively a thermos mug, keeping the beer cold far longer than a typical single-walled pint glass. Ever since I unwrapped it Christmas morning, I've been using it to enjoy Anchor Steam's 2010 Christmas Ale and Innis & Gunn's Rum Cask Oak-Aged Ale. My old-style pint glasses are getting lonely, I'm afraid!
Second, my daughter got me a Gin and Titonic ice-cube tray, to make ice cubes in the shape of... wait for it... the Titanic and floating icebergs! It's too much fun, and cries out for some modification of the standard gin and tonic recipe to do justice to its macabre beauty.
All in all, a truly excellent haul... and tomorrow, the non-booze cooking stuff, which is even better!
First, my wonderful sister gave me a Downunder Longneck, a very cool pint beer glass from Australia. Actually, it's literally cool: Because it's a sealed double-wall design, it's effectively a thermos mug, keeping the beer cold far longer than a typical single-walled pint glass. Ever since I unwrapped it Christmas morning, I've been using it to enjoy Anchor Steam's 2010 Christmas Ale and Innis & Gunn's Rum Cask Oak-Aged Ale. My old-style pint glasses are getting lonely, I'm afraid!Second, my daughter got me a Gin and Titonic ice-cube tray, to make ice cubes in the shape of... wait for it... the Titanic and floating icebergs! It's too much fun, and cries out for some modification of the standard gin and tonic recipe to do justice to its macabre beauty.
All in all, a truly excellent haul... and tomorrow, the non-booze cooking stuff, which is even better!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Spooling Up for the New Year
Hmmm... my New Year's post ended up timestamped as if it were an Old Year's post. Apparently somewhere in its guts, this here blog is on PST rather than EST. I'll fix it as soon as I can figure out how¹, but in the meantime, please believe that the last post was published minutes after the ball dropped, and not hours before.
Now to complete the dashed-off drink recipe that I posted there, I've decided I will call it the Ashford Tonic. Here's the backstory: Dale DeGroff would no doubt pillory me for specifying a prepared limeade rather than fresh lime juice, but I've loved Newman's Own limeade (and lemonade) ever since a loved one was a camper at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children dealing with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This no-fee summer camp — founded by Paul Newman and the prototype for a growing family of similar facilities — is located in Ashford, CT.
Paul Newman provided much of the seed money (not to mention a vast amount of his personal energy) for the camp, and it is one of the many, many charitable causes that share 100 percent of the profits from Newman's Own products. But aside from its charitable value, Newman's Own Virgin Limeade is a great tasting drink in its own right. I'd been looking for a way to incorporate it into a drink for some time, and the lovely fresh sweet cherries my wife brought home for our New Year's celebration presented the perfect opportunity. To refresh your memory...
Ashford Tonic
In a mixing glass, place
5-6 fresh sweet cherries, pitted and sliced
2 oz. Newman's Own Virgin Limeade
Muddle cherries in limeade and set aside to macerate for ~30 minutes. Add...
2 oz. ice cold Hendricks gin
ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass over ice. Top with...
tonic²
2-3 whole cherries for garnish.
¹ Fixed it... and apparently the fix is retroactive, so... <EmilyLitella>never mind!</EmilyLitella>
² I like locally made Hosmer Mountain sodas, and their Diet Tonic is my choice for this drink.
Now to complete the dashed-off drink recipe that I posted there, I've decided I will call it the Ashford Tonic. Here's the backstory: Dale DeGroff would no doubt pillory me for specifying a prepared limeade rather than fresh lime juice, but I've loved Newman's Own limeade (and lemonade) ever since a loved one was a camper at the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for children dealing with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This no-fee summer camp — founded by Paul Newman and the prototype for a growing family of similar facilities — is located in Ashford, CT.
Paul Newman provided much of the seed money (not to mention a vast amount of his personal energy) for the camp, and it is one of the many, many charitable causes that share 100 percent of the profits from Newman's Own products. But aside from its charitable value, Newman's Own Virgin Limeade is a great tasting drink in its own right. I'd been looking for a way to incorporate it into a drink for some time, and the lovely fresh sweet cherries my wife brought home for our New Year's celebration presented the perfect opportunity. To refresh your memory...
Ashford Tonic
In a mixing glass, place
5-6 fresh sweet cherries, pitted and sliced
2 oz. Newman's Own Virgin Limeade
Muddle cherries in limeade and set aside to macerate for ~30 minutes. Add...
2 oz. ice cold Hendricks gin
ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass over ice. Top with...
tonic²
2-3 whole cherries for garnish.
¹ Fixed it... and apparently the fix is retroactive, so... <EmilyLitella>never mind!</EmilyLitella>
² I like locally made Hosmer Mountain sodas, and their Diet Tonic is my choice for this drink.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
RE-Emerging Foodie!
Well, it's now 2011 (in EST USA, at least) and my very first New Year's resolition is to reinvigorate this blog (not to mention my general-interest blog). It won't be hard, because Santa brought me plenty of foodie goodness for Christmas, but for tonight, it's late, and I've got kissin' and drinkin' yet to do... so I'll start with a recipe for a new drink I just concocted tonight. I don't even have a name for it yet, but I'm leaning toward Ashford Tonic (for reasons I'll explain in another post soon):
<Unnamed Cocktail>
In a mixing glass, place
5-6 fresh sweet cherries, pitted and sliced
2 oz. Newman's Own Virgin Limeade
Muddle cherries in limeade and set aside to macerate for ~30 minutes. Add
2 oz. ice cold Hendricks gin
ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass over ice. Top with...
tonic
2-3 whole cherries for garnish.
Enjoy!... and you'll be seeing a lot more of me here in the coming year!
<Unnamed Cocktail>
In a mixing glass, place
5-6 fresh sweet cherries, pitted and sliced
2 oz. Newman's Own Virgin Limeade
Muddle cherries in limeade and set aside to macerate for ~30 minutes. Add
2 oz. ice cold Hendricks gin
ice
Shake vigorously and strain into highball glass over ice. Top with...
tonic
2-3 whole cherries for garnish.
Enjoy!... and you'll be seeing a lot more of me here in the coming year!
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