Category Archives: Recipes – Observations

Chocolate Mousse – An Adventure in Folding

Posted on March 14, 2009 | Leave a comment

pudding-end-product

Wow, I made this a looooooooooooong time ago. Though not in a galaxy far, far away.

It was just my parents’ kitchen, which is both cleaner and larger than mine. That kind of space and lack of clutter really comes in handy when running to and fro with multiple bowls and folding implements.

Anyway, the recipe is just one my mom had lying around and since I can find no fault with anything involving chocolate and whipped cream, I had to try it.

Keep reading for the ingredients and step-by-step directions.

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My First Scallops

Posted on February 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

scallops-done

No, they’re not the first scallops I’ve ever eaten… just the first ones I’ve ever prepared.

They turned out decently, all things considered. And by “things,” I mean:

  1. I had no idea what leeks looked like. I forgot to check the web before going to the supermarket, so I had to depend on some visual aids in the produce department. Thankfully, I picked the right weird-looking vegetable.
  2. I used frozen scallops, which seem to have their own rules for defrosting. According to the Trader Joe’s bag, defrosting at room temperature is a no-no. Thanks, Trader Joe’s bag!
  3. I seared the scallops in a nonstick pan. I don’t think you’re supposed to do that.

scallops-two-pansThe recipe can be found here, and I must agree, it is pretty easy to make.

I subbed in vermouth for brandy (because I never have brandy lying around), so I guess the leeks and mushrooms were vermouthed [trademark: me], rather than brandied.

I was pleased that I didn’t overcook the scallops – they weren’t chewy and yielded easily to a butter knife. On the other hand, the mushroom/leek mixture had kind of a funky taste. I’m not sure whether that was due to the missing brandy or the fact that I’m not used to eating leeks. I’ll chalk it up to both.

Since I was not as traumatized as I thought I’d be from my first scallop cooking experience, I guess I’ll give them another shot.

But you can be sure I won’t overdue it, like Jamie on Top Chef. After all, as Fabio would say, “This is Man Eat Food, not Man Eat Scallop!”

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Internet-Inspired Seared Swordfish

Posted on January 11, 2009 | Leave a comment

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Mmmm, this turned out really nicely. And for that, I give thanks to the Internet.

This time, though, I didn’t just find a recipe. In fact, I didn’t even find a written-out recipe, which was a little bit of a problem. But I digress.

What I found, while searching for easy ways to prepare the swordfish that was sitting in my freezer, was this video.

I had never heard of Expert Village before, but this guy Brandon Sarkis was very clear in his instructions and demonstration. I sought out the rest of the videos in the series (not such an easy task, incidentally) and watched them, writing down some bare-bones directions.

As you can see from the above photo, the dish turned out great. But I have some very specific suggestions for Expert Village, and even Brandon, to make this experience a little more pleasant:

  1. Make ingredients and procedures available in writing. Yes, there’s a transcript of everything the presenter says, but it would be a lot easier to follow this in the kitchen if a standard checklist of ingredients and steps was provided.
  2. Label series videos more intuitively. I had to start and stop a number of other videos before grasping the order. If certain videos are part of a step-by-step series, label them with numbers. Duh.
  3. Tell me how the oven should be heated. This one’s specifically for Brandon. At one point, after searing both sides of the fish, you tell us to put it in the oven. Does that mean an unheated oven? Low heat, high heat? I ended up keeping the fish in the oven about 10-15 minutes at about 250 degrees. I think it worked because it was cooked all the way through, but wasn’t chewy.

For a good example of entertaining, clear how-to videos, try Howcast. They’ve got the system down pat.

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Glazed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on January 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

pumpkin-cookie-circle

Let’s celebrate the new year by taking a look back at the best cookies I made in 2008.

These humongous, cake-like monstrosities are based on this Google-discovered recipe and are a breeze to make. The dribbly glaze is from this recipe, although I added some cinnamon for color and flavor.

Here’s the process:

Start by mixing the wet ingredients…

pumpkin-wet

And the dry ingredients…

cookie-dry

Then combine both to produce a nice, fluffy batter.

pumpkin-batter

Add the chips (and nuts if you believe in that sort of thing), drop by spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet and throw it into a 350 degree oven.

pumpkin-cookies

After only 10 minutes, you’ve got yourself a great batch of fall classics.

To make them even more special, whip up some glaze (or “icing” if you prefer) and drizzle it over the cookies. If I remember correctly, this process yielded almost two dozen cookies.

pumpkin-cookies-4

Remember: while the glaze adds a nice bit of sweetness to this robust cookie, be careful not to overuse it. Dousing your cookies in “sweet” is a sure way to get booed out of a bake sale.

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Sweets Week Part I: Bittersweet Chocolate Truffles

Posted on October 13, 2008 | Leave a comment

I’m tempted to just let the pictures speak for themselves, but like Joe Biden, I have a verbosity reputation to maintain.

I also have a sweet tooth reputation to maintain, which is why I finally summoned the courage to whip up a batch of these decadent desserts. Between the truffles, the lemon squares I made last week and the apple pastries that are waiting in the wings (thanks to some overzealous apple picking), sugar is my new best friend.

These truffles – made from yet another Bon Appetit recipe – are simple but extremely rich. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have made them nearly as big as I did (half the size of a golf ball), and probably should have brought them to work instead of eating them all myself. Don’t worry, they lasted at least a week… I think.

Another warning: make sure the chocolate you use is room temperature. I used some Ghirardelli chocolate chunks right out of the freezer and had a hell of a time trying to get the chocolate melted and combined with the cream. In fact, the first time I tried, I was left with a chunky mess because some of the chocolate pieces didn’t in fact melt.

Here’s what it looked like after I re-melted that mess in the microwave, and then re-chilled it:

As you can see from the crater, the truffle base (simple chocolate ganache) is nice and smooth. But if I had to do it all over again, I might have used this guy’s melting process.

For the next step, it would be beneficial to have a melon scooper. I, of course, didn’t, so I went with the sloppy alternative of forming the little chocolate balls by hand. This process yielded some slightly amorphous truffles:

After chilling for an hour, the truffles were ready for their coating. This could be as easy as rolling them in cocoa powder or as sloppy and difficult as rolling them in melted chocolate in the palm of your hands. Guess which one I chose?

After suppressing the impulse to coat whatever I could get my hands on (including myself) in melted chocolate, I covered the truffles but still had some chocolate left over. Being the consummate artist, I decided to use the melted leftovers as an homage to Jackson Pollack, dripping and splattering the chocolate on and around the finished truffles.

Question: Is there anything chocolate can’t do?

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An everyday soup… literally

Posted on February 8, 2008 | 3 Comments

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When I say “literally,” I mean I’ve eaten this soup at least once a day since making it last weekend. Why?

  1. There’s a lot of it.
  2. My wife, who doesn’t like soup, is out of town.
  3. It’s the perfect winter meal.
  4. I’m lazy.

Also, the recipe is pretty simple. The only difficult part is figuring out when the chicken is cooked through. I usually have to fish a piece out and cut into it to make sure the meat has cooked to the bone. By the way, I strongly recommend that you do not use skinless chicken as it gets rubbery almost as soon as the water gets hot.

As you can tell from the picture, I overdid it with the pastina (little pasta). This is not an uncommon occurrence. I always find that when I look at the amount of soup I’ve made, and then look at the little box (or bag) of pastina, it seems reasonable to use practically the whole thing.

Wrong. The pastina (in this case, orzo) will continue to soak up moisture from the soup, sometimes to the point of total absorption. It’ll still taste good, it just won’t be soup. In other words…

No soup for you!

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The art of ‘chokes

Posted on January 26, 2008 | Leave a comment

artichoke.jpg

For my first, and thus far only attempt at this recipe, the one decision I had to make was which cooking alcohol to use. I chose the Vermouth, but I think Marsala would be just as good… although, perhaps, a bit sweeter.

I don’t have much more to say about this dish except that it’s easy and awesome! It is probably the safest, simplest and tastiest way to use artichokes, the forgotten vegetable.

By the way: if the frozen artichokes don’t cook properly in the allotted time, feel free to cover the pot. I won’t tell if you don’t.

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Not just for spaghetti…

Posted on December 31, 2007 | Leave a comment

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Mmmm… now that’s some delicious photography.

I’m not sure how the tasty, but humble, meatball made the leap from “the sauce” into this greener dish. But I don’t care; it just really works. And, unlike some of my recipes, this one has veggies built in. As that Red Stripe spokesman would say: “Hooray veggies!”

Like a cooking version of The Da Vinci Code, this meatball recipe was cleverly hidden inside my Stuffed Peppers recipe from way back. However, instead of stuffing peppers with the meat mixture, you just need to form it into balls and fry ‘em up. Instant gratification.

Well, not exactly “instant.” No matter how hard I try, browning the meatballs in oil still leaves the inside raw. That’s why most people throw them into the tomato sauce while it’s still percolating. It finishes off the cooking process of the meatballs, as well as thickens the sauce.

The same thing goes in this recipe. In fact, instead of removing the meatballs in order to saute the onions, it doesn’t hurt to just push the balls to the side. Then, covering up the whole thing with peas will trap the heat, and cook the meat some more.

A note of caution: always make sure the meatballs are actually done. I usually select the thickest meatball to cut into when I’m ready to serve, just to make sure it’s cooked through.

There’s nothing that can flip your stomach faster than an undercooked meatball. Trust me.

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One skillet, no problems

Posted on December 16, 2007 | Leave a comment

couscous.jpg

This is another easy, one-skillet meal. Again, probably not as many veggies as one would like, but it’s packed with protein and will satisfyingly fill your belly on a cold winter’s night.

The process is pretty straightforward, though you may need to pay extra attention to the liquid and couscous to make sure they’re in the correct ratio.

Depending on supermarket sales, I sometimes pick up the 10 oz. box of Near East couscous and use the whole thing in this dish. Realize that if you want to make this extra fluffy version, you will need to compensate for the extra couscous with more liquid and more bouillon.

It ain’t easy being extra fluffy.

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Coo Coo for Cacciatore

Posted on December 6, 2007 | 5 Comments

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Chicken Cacciatore – it’s always on the menu but I never order it.

Maybe that’s because I’ve been waiting for the right recipe to come along so I could try doing it myself. As it happens, my esteemed mother-in-law not only has a recipe for this famous Italian treat, but the special recipe that makes my wife go ga-ga.

Despite worries of retroactively ruining her childhood by messing up her favorite food, everything turned out fine. My wife even said it tasted almost exactly like her mom’s, which I took as high praise. “But,” she added, “the sauce was a little too thick.” Oops.

As you can see from the ingredient list, it’s really an improvisational process. Want more garlic? Throw in more garlic. Want less mushrooms? Leave them on the side. It’s like Burger King always says: have it your way. Except, unlike Burger King, your way is delicious.

GET THE RECIPE

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