Welcome Back, Blogger

Hello food fans! It has been a long, cold, dreary time without you... A time filled with ramen noodles (15 cents a package!), dried-out steaks (au vin), and hamburgers, hamburgers, hamburgers (no shake shack attack). As Dave pointed out, I posted all but once in October and my previous posts were uncomfortably close to that xkcd comic. But, I am back, with a vengeance (and an appetite!).

As I reheated my second bowl of ramen noodles last night, I pondered the meaning of food blogging. Was it to record my recipes? Share them with my devoted reader(s)? Gain a small but rabid group of followers a la Joss Whedon (BTVS 4eva)? No! It was for my own selfish gain, to explore and try out new recipes so that my poor, wasted body might wring out a few new nutrients from the exotic foods I'd sample (like lettuce!). In the past few weeks, as I returned again and again to grilled cheese sandwiches and sweet potato fries (my conquered foe), I realized that my semi-quasi-maybe healthy diet was nose-diving into a pile of cheese and sugar (mmm...). With that in mind, I'll be focusing on more health-conscious fare ("more" meaning "any"). But we can't all rely on tomatoes and sprouts to get us through the day, so more cakes, I say! Truffles, cookies, cuppacakes! I can dream...

I've also taken my first shaky but exciting steps into the world of bridal registry, by which I mean, the world of working kitchen appliances. I have some bold ideas (all white china! no lemon zesters!) and I also found THE BEST THING EVER!!! during my last trip to BBB (that's Bed, Bath, and Beyond to you) that is deserving of a blog post all on its own. So, an exciting November, yes? Yes. Read more!

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Happy Moanday: Banner Back, Blogger Back!

Hello reader(s)! I have returned and brought my sneaky banner with me. Sadly, I'm still on a "blog light" menu, as my adjustment to new hours is causing me to mostly fall back on hamburgers and sweet potato fries (still delicious!). Last weekend I did make some Toniatti sauce, though, and tried out my brand-new pasta press (a gift from Dave's mom). The ensuing lasagna was delicious, although perhaps not fatteningly cheesy enough. Mostly I'm subsisting on Fresca (it's caffeine/sugar/carb free!) and candy corn (none of the above), wondering idly when December will roll around and with it my mini-vacation (staycation with the fiance woohoo!).

How is this little blog doing? I have ideas for posts rolling around in my yet-unfrazzled brain, and, energy-willing, will post those ideas into reality some time soonish. Frankly I should be happy I'm eating something other than Spaghetti-Os (oh I just remembered I have some in my cabinet! I know what I'm having for dinner tonight!!!). I did come up with a lovely addition to a typical pan-fried burger: a dash of balsamic vinegar (I like Trader Joe's) into the ground beef gives the burger a delightfully tangy and fragrant taste. I loved it, and now I wish I had more to eat.

Ok, Res-o-puh-leesers, fingers crossed that the next time two weeks goes by sans posts, it is because I am lounging around in some exotic locale getting engaged (oh! did that already!).


*seriously? When I first made all the little months pictures for my blog, I apparently neglected to make October (wtf?). I guess I thought I wouldn't last that long... Read more!

Happy Moanday: Tired Bloggers, Tired Blogs

Wondering what blog you have arrived at? Yes, it is still Res-o-puh-leese, but my banner has disappeared like it was the leaning tower of Pisa in an episode of Carmen Sandiego (I have have a lot of PBS nostalgia lately...). Unfortunately, the website that hosted the banner and several other images is still offline, meaning the problem will not just fix itself, as I'd been hoping, but must be fixed by me. Le sigh.

I will get around to fixing it, hypothetically, as soon as I will my tired little fingers to tap-tap-tap out the correct code and find another website to host the gargantuan files (still possible: clicking the area where the banner was to get to the main page. hooray for shoddy coding!). Add it to the list of To Dos, which has grown to include rearranging my bedroom, getting a new TV(?), and replacing my sweet little sort-of dying plants, which my landlords unceremoniously threw away without my knowledge over the weekend (wtf?). Also on the list: eating, sleeping(?), basic personal hygiene (impressed coworker: "Wow! Make up! You look so different!" unimpressed me: "Thank...you..?").

But, while I mull over abandoning my messy apartment and the stresses of New York for the relative happiness of a life of a trapeze artist, the world still turns. Yes, it is still fall. I like fall. I like the clothes I wear (layers of browns and golds, bright cheerful blues and reds), the fresh air, the clear skies, the inviting, snappy chill. Last week I enjoyed Indian food and warm soups, and it seems some repeat performances are in order. I'm going to drag out How to Cook Everything, my favorite cookbook (from Mark Bittman), to see what the scribe himself has to say about soup (good. warm. liquidy.). I am thinking some kind of chicken-mushroom broth, maybe with some beans, fresh bread, happiness. Oh fall, when I wish I were a little mushroom, swimming joyfully in sweet steamy broth! (is this sleepiness, hunger, chilliness, or growing hysteria talking? who knows?! Soup!) Read more!

Blerg!

My little blog is missing all its fancy-pants images because the website hosting the images is currently down. Will it go back up? Will I lose all my handiwork? Will I have to fix it myself? Will I remember how to do it?!?! All valid questions. Instead of answering them, let's just ponder quietly to ourselves... Read more!

Chicken that Warms You to the Korma

Mmmm, Indian food (or let's be specific, folks: South Asian cuisine). I love it so although Dave likes to point out that I don't love it so much as I love chicken tikka masala, naan, paneer pakoras, and sweet lassi. I love these things so much that I order them each and every time we go out to an Indian restaurant, snarling over the bowls that, ostensibly, are meant for sharing ("But you can have some of mine if you let me have some of yours!" yeah no). It's not that I'm against other kinds of South Asian food, it's just that, once I've found something that makes me happy, why would I ever stray (I'm talking about food here, but I guess I am also 23 and happily engaged... hi kiddo).

Annnnnyway... My food boundaries are being continually expanded thanks to the ever-interesting/challenging/exciting/delicious Taste & Create. This month, I was lucky enough to be paired up with Shaista, whose cute, peppy blog, Mixcalculations, came from her forays into cooking with just the ingredients sitting in her kitchen cabinets. I am always impressed by people who can look at a random assorted pile of cans and spices and whip up magic, but I added "intimidated" to "impressed" when I saw that Shaista cooks amazing, authentic South Asian food. I let my mind boggle for about 5 seconds, and then I stumbled upon her recipe for chicken korma, a meal that Dave has often ordered but I, starry-eyed from some CTM, never ordered.

So, ok, I will start this recipe description by saying that I probably made it completely and utterly wrong. It was delicious fo' sho, but something tells me that an actual Indian/Pakistani person would probably politely ask me from what region comes this interesting soup? There were a few problems from the get go: I was sleepy and stressed out (if not making korma I think I would probably be rolling in grilled cheese) and missing many of the essential ingredients that, presumably, make it taste the way it should. Still, what I lacked in ingredients I made up in enthusiasm (that still makes food taste good, right?), and my slightly lopsidely flavored meal was still good enough that I could foresee trying again and, with a little more effort and better-stocked spice rack, serving up somethin delish.

I'm posting Shaista's original recipe, because the janky thing I came up with would probably make sweet little Pakistani granmums roll over in their graves.

CHICKEN KORMA
INGREDIENTS
1/2lb chicken
3/4 cup oil
2 medium onions (sliced)
1 cup yogurt
2 bay leaves
6 cloves
5-6 green cardamoms
8-10 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons ginger/garlic paste
3 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a pan, fry onion till golden brown.
Take out onion with a slotted spoon and grind or mix with yogurt and keep aside
In the same pan add bay leaves, cloves, black peppercorns, black cumin, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms and fry for a minute.
Add chicken pieces and ginger/garlic paste and fry till chicken turns colour.
Then add coriander powder, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala and saute for 5 minutes.
Add half cup water and cover, when chicken till done.
Now add onion+yogurt paste and stir, turn off flame after 10 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or naan.
Read more!

Happy Ruesday: Another One!

Sigh. Dear readers, it is just too crazy (what is? life! that's what... also, me...). A new job promotion and new hours and New York craziness (see that transition? yeah.) mean I am collapsing every day after work. My stress levels, previously floating around "yo lez chill," have now shot up into ALL CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS EXTREMENESS!!!1!! So rather than coming home, lovingly opening my cookbooks, and pondering on what culinary excusion I will happily embark, I have been turning steadfastly and devoutly to that kitchen krutch, comfort food. Granted, the tomato-basil soup I made last night (paired with a grilled cheese sandwich) was delicious to the max. Still, it was a little too old man and/or young child for me to enjoy fully.

It's fall! That means chilly air, floating leaves, and, most importantly, soups, stews, and chilis. I loooove fall and winter food--hot cocoa, thick chowders, everything drenched in warm sauces. I think I must always be reeeeally cold, because even on hot, sultry nights, I'm like "Can I get a lasagna here?" I've already indulged in the aforementioned tomato-basil (made my apartment smell like heaven and/or Cosi), but later this week I'm planning on pulling out a new Indian food recipe that (I hope) will expand both my repertoire and taste buds. In the meantime, my shortish blahg update will have to suffice, as I thank my lucky stars that this is better than being unemployed (right? right?!?!?).

Read more!

Coq-of-the-Walk au Vin

As promised, I've started searching for simple, delicious, healthy (ish?) recipes that can be made in a flash but still impress. Bitten by Mark Bittman has been my foodie bible of choice, as the numerous oil splatters and flour-encrusted pages can attest. Last night I tried out his recipe for coq au vin, a traditional French recipe of chicken in a red wine sauce. I adapted it slightly to meet my picky taste buds / sparse grocery / forgetful shopping list, and the result was fantastic: a deep, fragrant, heady wine sauce paired with my favorite musty mushrooms coating an otherwise basic and delicious chicken breast. It was quick (made the whole thing in about half an hour), cheap (costing about 20 cents worth of mushrooms, $1.50 worth of chicken, and $2 worth of wine), and looked and tasted like I knew what I was doing (maybe?).

I'd decided a few days ago to try coq au vin for a few reasons. Chicken is one of my favorite meals, being usually healthier and cheaper than other meats/poultry, but my standard chicken recipes have been starting to bore me. Lately, to my surprise, I've started to love mushrooms. I just can't get enough of the deep, earthy flavor or the smooth, pleasant texture. And wine in meals? Sign me up.

I started with Bittman's recipe but pared down several of his ingredients and edited to a single serving. Coq au vin is traditionally made in a large Dutch oven with a full chicken (cut up into parts), several different herbs, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms, but I wanted something smaller and more streamlined. I just cooked a chicken breast, left out the onions (not a fan), and forgot about the tomatoes (still don't have a stocked-up can pantry). Bittman also recommended two kinds of mushroom--porcini and white button--and despite searching my neighborhood (even the high-priced yuppie mart!), I could only find button. In the end, the meal only needed a quick dash of sea salt to liven things up a little, but it was just so good on its own I completely forgot about the little pot of rice pilaf I'd made as a side.

All in all, I am very pleased with the result, and very pleased to have found another quick recipe to throw into my weekly repertoire. Plus, I still have lots of leftover mushrooms, to be pan-fried with steak or tossed into salads. Hallelujah.

COQ AU VIN
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
flour for dredging
1 chicken breast, trimmed of fat
2 tablespoons butter
4-5 white button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 tablespoon parsley, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2-3/4 cup red wine
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat
Dredge chicken in flour
When oil is hot, cook chicken until both sides are golden brown
Remove chicken from heat
Add butter
After butter has melted, add mushrooms, cooking both sides for about 5 minutes
Add parsley, garlic, bay leaf, and wine
Lower heat and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, turning chicken every five minutes
If sauce is too thick, add a little wine or water; if it's too thin, raise heat to high and cook
Remove chicken from heat, pour mushroom and wine sauce on top, and serve

Read more!