Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Korean Smokeless BBQ
Do yourself a favor and go. You don't have to eat the kimchi but go. You won't be disappointed.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Madeira Cake
I saw this recipe over on Craft and it sounded delicious. The writer also said it's hard to mess up so I thought I'd give it a shot. In the picture, its a beautiful, tall, fluffy cake that I couldn't wait to taste.
The ingredients are basic and the recipe is fairly straight forward. The only issue for me was that the measurements are in ounces. I know chefs (Alton Brown) who prefer this method, but for the regular at-home "chef" it's annoying. I don't own a scale that measures in ounces, sorry. So I roughed it and estimated. I'm sure this contributed to my final product.
It was also the first baked good I made with my homemade butter, but let's just assume that wasn't the problem. Mine looked gorgeous when it came out of the oven but it wasn't the cake of my dreams when I cut into it.
Mine wasn't moist and amazing. It had a texture like corn bread. That's great for corn bread, but not what I'm looking for in a cake. I cut a slice and ate part of it. When it was baking and I could smell it I thought I might have trouble not eating the whole thing. I didn't finish one piece and won't have another. BUT let me say, I think it's my fault, not the recipe's. The pictures from the recipe make it look amazing the author raves about it and says its his favorite birthday cake. I'm sure when its measured correctly that it's wonderful. On the up side, I think I'm going to make cake truffles with it, so stay tuned.
The ingredients are basic and the recipe is fairly straight forward. The only issue for me was that the measurements are in ounces. I know chefs (Alton Brown) who prefer this method, but for the regular at-home "chef" it's annoying. I don't own a scale that measures in ounces, sorry. So I roughed it and estimated. I'm sure this contributed to my final product.
It was also the first baked good I made with my homemade butter, but let's just assume that wasn't the problem. Mine looked gorgeous when it came out of the oven but it wasn't the cake of my dreams when I cut into it.
Mine wasn't moist and amazing. It had a texture like corn bread. That's great for corn bread, but not what I'm looking for in a cake. I cut a slice and ate part of it. When it was baking and I could smell it I thought I might have trouble not eating the whole thing. I didn't finish one piece and won't have another. BUT let me say, I think it's my fault, not the recipe's. The pictures from the recipe make it look amazing the author raves about it and says its his favorite birthday cake. I'm sure when its measured correctly that it's wonderful. On the up side, I think I'm going to make cake truffles with it, so stay tuned.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Corn puddin'
Last year I had the best birthday celebration EVER! A group of friends went with me to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA. When I stood at the end of the buffet I literally couldn't see the other end. It was glorious. 5 different kinds of Icee. Something like 15 different kinds of pie. Anything you could think of. I highly recommend going.
I had some traditional Amish foods for the first time while I was there. The two I liked best were pickled eggs and corn pudding. If you know me, you know my love of corn. I can confidently say it's my favorite vegetable. I was looking forward to trying corn pudding and loved it. I was browsing an issue of AARP Magazine at work one day (ya, you heard me) and found a recipe and knew I had to make it for you.
Sweet Bourbon Corn Pudding (AARP Magazine Nov/Dec 2010)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 cups creamed corn
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons bourbon mixed in
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Whisk together the eggs and milk. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
I made a few changes, mostly based on what I had on hand. I had Jameson, which is whiskey, but not bourbon, and used that instead of true bourbon. I used light brown instead of dark brown sugar. I also added a small can of green chiles because I thought it would be delicious.
Overall, I liked it. It was more like a custard than what Shady Maple served me and I like the breadier version there better. It's kind of a trick because it looks like corn bread when you take it out of the oven. But you definitely have to scoop it out rather than cut it.
This was good, but it is definitely sweet. Next time I would omit the nutmeg and may use cayenne pepper instead. I like a little spice in things. Give it a try and see what you think.
I had some traditional Amish foods for the first time while I was there. The two I liked best were pickled eggs and corn pudding. If you know me, you know my love of corn. I can confidently say it's my favorite vegetable. I was looking forward to trying corn pudding and loved it. I was browsing an issue of AARP Magazine at work one day (ya, you heard me) and found a recipe and knew I had to make it for you.
Sweet Bourbon Corn Pudding (AARP Magazine Nov/Dec 2010)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup evaporated milk
2 cups creamed corn
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons bourbon mixed in
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Whisk together the eggs and milk. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Bake 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm.
I made a few changes, mostly based on what I had on hand. I had Jameson, which is whiskey, but not bourbon, and used that instead of true bourbon. I used light brown instead of dark brown sugar. I also added a small can of green chiles because I thought it would be delicious.
Overall, I liked it. It was more like a custard than what Shady Maple served me and I like the breadier version there better. It's kind of a trick because it looks like corn bread when you take it out of the oven. But you definitely have to scoop it out rather than cut it.
This was good, but it is definitely sweet. Next time I would omit the nutmeg and may use cayenne pepper instead. I like a little spice in things. Give it a try and see what you think.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Orecchiette and Kale
Kale is the new "cool" vegetable that people are talking about. I wasn't sold on it until I had the kale salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette at Watkins Drinkery. It was delicious. I bought a head of kale at the grocery store but was unsure what to do with it. I ended up making a delicious pasta dish. Here's how.
Start a pot of salted water to boil on the stove. When water comes to a full rolling boil, add one lb orecchiette or your favorite pasta. Cook until al dente.
While the water comes to a boil, chop the kale into thin strips, discarding the stems. Then heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Grate or mince two cloves of garlic and add to oil. I use a citrus zester to grate mine right into the oil. Add the chopped kale and saute until wilted.
Drain the pasta and return it to your pasta pot. Add a jar of tomato sauce, or your homemade sauce. Stir in sauteed kale. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.
Kale can tend to be bitter, as can garlic, but paired with a sweet tomato sauce it was delicious. The kale, although sauteed, adds a really nice texture to the pasta. I will definitely make this dish again.
Start a pot of salted water to boil on the stove. When water comes to a full rolling boil, add one lb orecchiette or your favorite pasta. Cook until al dente.
While the water comes to a boil, chop the kale into thin strips, discarding the stems. Then heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet. Grate or mince two cloves of garlic and add to oil. I use a citrus zester to grate mine right into the oil. Add the chopped kale and saute until wilted.
Drain the pasta and return it to your pasta pot. Add a jar of tomato sauce, or your homemade sauce. Stir in sauteed kale. Serve immediately with grated parmesan cheese.
Kale can tend to be bitter, as can garlic, but paired with a sweet tomato sauce it was delicious. The kale, although sauteed, adds a really nice texture to the pasta. I will definitely make this dish again.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Got leftover ham? Make ham salad.
If you have ever come to my house for dinner, you know I cannot stop myself from making too much. I always worry we won't have enough and over-prepare. I come by it honestly and my family is worse than I am. I swear. I tried to learn the lesson from Thanksgiving when I made a 19 lb turkey and 7 lbs of mashed potatoes. WAY too much. So I tried to buy a small Easter ham. It was one of those tiny, unimpressive ones. I thought I did good until we only ate half of it. I can only eat so many ham sandwiches myself. I considered making split pea soup, since I love it, but it was way too many steps for my "taking care of me" weekend. A co-worker suggested ham salad and it sounded good to me.
My grandma used to make us ham salad sandwiches when I was little and we'd go out on the boat. She never went out on the water but she waited on the dock and had sandwiches ready when we got back. I can picture her, sitting in a lawn chair with a hardcover book from the library. She looked up from reading and wave as we got closer. She probably also had celery sticks with peanut butter. <3
But anyway, back to the ham salad. It's super easy. I chopped up the remaining ham and some pickles. Most of the recipes I looked at called for pickle relish, but that's just chopped up pickles anyway. I threw those in the food processor with some black pepper. I pulsed it 5 or 6 times, then added some mayonnaise. The proportions are up to you. It's all about consistency. I don't like a lot of mayonnaise, but maybe you do. Pulse it a few more times and you've got ham salad. It's weird, but I like it. What I had left made enough for about 3 sandwiches and that's probably all I'll be able to stand.
My grandma used to make us ham salad sandwiches when I was little and we'd go out on the boat. She never went out on the water but she waited on the dock and had sandwiches ready when we got back. I can picture her, sitting in a lawn chair with a hardcover book from the library. She looked up from reading and wave as we got closer. She probably also had celery sticks with peanut butter. <3
But anyway, back to the ham salad. It's super easy. I chopped up the remaining ham and some pickles. Most of the recipes I looked at called for pickle relish, but that's just chopped up pickles anyway. I threw those in the food processor with some black pepper. I pulsed it 5 or 6 times, then added some mayonnaise. The proportions are up to you. It's all about consistency. I don't like a lot of mayonnaise, but maybe you do. Pulse it a few more times and you've got ham salad. It's weird, but I like it. What I had left made enough for about 3 sandwiches and that's probably all I'll be able to stand.
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