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". . . I am reminded of Colonel Sanders who is now sitting at your right hand shoveling popcorn chicken into thy mouth. Lord, could you come up with a delicious new taste treat like he did? *clap clap* I command you!"
( Move over eggs, bacon just got a new best friend. . . FUDGE! )
( Move over eggs, bacon just got a new best friend. . . FUDGE! )
The weekend
Mar. 31st, 2008 01:39 pmOh my god! It's such a gorgeous day outside and I should really get out and run, so I'll make this as short as possible.
We had a great weekend. Saturday, Chris smoked another pork shoulder (or rather the other half of the last one). While it wasn't quite as good as the last one, it was far better than most anything we could buy around here! I made a sauce that I'll attempt to quantify here, for my own reference, next time I want to recreate it.
( Barbecue sauce recipe, of sorts )
That night, I also made a cheesecake that's been long overdue. I got the ingredients to make it for my mother-in-law's birthday at the beginning of March. We never officially got together for her birthday, so another container of cream cheese and another box of graham crackers later, I made it for my brother-in-law's birthday which we celebrated yesterday. Chris' family all came over and we had a wonderful lunch of pulled pork sandwiches (the pork Chris smoked Saturday), baked beans (just out of a can, I know, total cop-out), and my mother-in-law's potato salad. She also brought up some really great cranberry salsa and spicy dill pickles as well as some deviled eggs which are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. For dessert, my pride and joy:
( Mmm, cheesecake )
I think the crust came out the best it ever has. It's of course the Alton Brown recipe, but the one from the cookbook, not the episode. There are some subtle differences in the construction that make a big difference in the final product, especially how the crust comes together.
Aside from that, I finally got to go on another walk with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sailingwest, witchcat07 and arymetore on Saturday. We took the paved trail through Edwin Warner Park since it had been raining and was likely to be muddy. It's a good thing too, since I had lent our child carrying pack to a neighbor for the weekend. I must say though, I think Jonah is easier to carry in the pack than he is to push in the stroller. So, I made it to the park twice last week. David, our neighbor, came over Thursday trying to get his daughter Maya to take a nap and to see if I wanted to join them at the park to try to get her to unwind a bit.
In a bit of bittersweet news, our washer officially stopped spinning last week, so yes, I'm afraid the funny sounds I started hearing from it about a month ago were it's last gasps at life. The agitator still works and the motor still runs and sounds like it's spinning, but it's definitely not, the water just drains out. Clothes came out soaking wet and therefore, I'm sure I put the dryer through some undue stress to make up for it. I tried to wring everything out as best I could. But, looks like we're shopping for a new washer. On the one hand, I'm happy to get a new washer. It means we can get a front loader and finally install some counter tops in the laundry room. It does however mean the end of my days dyeing fabric in the washer (unless of course I don't care much about the outcome). But we did want to go ahead and get hardwood floors for downstairs and I'm not sure if this postpones that (yet again) or not. Here's hoping not. This will mean that we've purchased every major appliance at least once in our lives together thus far.
And finally, all plane tickets have been purchased for our trip in May. I'm quite excited!
We had a great weekend. Saturday, Chris smoked another pork shoulder (or rather the other half of the last one). While it wasn't quite as good as the last one, it was far better than most anything we could buy around here! I made a sauce that I'll attempt to quantify here, for my own reference, next time I want to recreate it.
( Barbecue sauce recipe, of sorts )
That night, I also made a cheesecake that's been long overdue. I got the ingredients to make it for my mother-in-law's birthday at the beginning of March. We never officially got together for her birthday, so another container of cream cheese and another box of graham crackers later, I made it for my brother-in-law's birthday which we celebrated yesterday. Chris' family all came over and we had a wonderful lunch of pulled pork sandwiches (the pork Chris smoked Saturday), baked beans (just out of a can, I know, total cop-out), and my mother-in-law's potato salad. She also brought up some really great cranberry salsa and spicy dill pickles as well as some deviled eggs which are kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. For dessert, my pride and joy:
( Mmm, cheesecake )
I think the crust came out the best it ever has. It's of course the Alton Brown recipe, but the one from the cookbook, not the episode. There are some subtle differences in the construction that make a big difference in the final product, especially how the crust comes together.
Aside from that, I finally got to go on another walk with
sailingwest, witchcat07 and arymetore on Saturday. We took the paved trail through Edwin Warner Park since it had been raining and was likely to be muddy. It's a good thing too, since I had lent our child carrying pack to a neighbor for the weekend. I must say though, I think Jonah is easier to carry in the pack than he is to push in the stroller. So, I made it to the park twice last week. David, our neighbor, came over Thursday trying to get his daughter Maya to take a nap and to see if I wanted to join them at the park to try to get her to unwind a bit.In a bit of bittersweet news, our washer officially stopped spinning last week, so yes, I'm afraid the funny sounds I started hearing from it about a month ago were it's last gasps at life. The agitator still works and the motor still runs and sounds like it's spinning, but it's definitely not, the water just drains out. Clothes came out soaking wet and therefore, I'm sure I put the dryer through some undue stress to make up for it. I tried to wring everything out as best I could. But, looks like we're shopping for a new washer. On the one hand, I'm happy to get a new washer. It means we can get a front loader and finally install some counter tops in the laundry room. It does however mean the end of my days dyeing fabric in the washer (unless of course I don't care much about the outcome). But we did want to go ahead and get hardwood floors for downstairs and I'm not sure if this postpones that (yet again) or not. Here's hoping not. This will mean that we've purchased every major appliance at least once in our lives together thus far.
And finally, all plane tickets have been purchased for our trip in May. I'm quite excited!
I'm just here for the food
Mar. 13th, 2008 07:34 amLast night I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Of course, I can't just make it traditionally. Instead of the traditional ketchup based glaze, I made a chipotle porter glaze. Chris grabbed a bottle of his brown porter and I added to that about 3/4 of a cup of brown sugar (maybe a little less). Then chopped up 2-3 chipotles and added their adobo sauce along with black pepper, salt and garlic powder and maybe a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. I let that simmer down on medium heat into a nice syrupy goo during the hour the meatloaf was cooking. Pulled it out and glazed it and stuck it back in for another 15 minutes to finish.
Instead of plain old mashed potatoes, I made garlic and herb mashed potatoes. I sweat the minced contents of an entire bulb of garlic in olive oil and added that and the cooked potatoes (cubed reds with skins on) to the stand mixer along with some chives and parsley (freshly picked from my AeroGarden), black pepper, a tiny bit of salt (since there was salt in the potato water and in the garlic sweat), a little less than a cup of sour cream and a couple of tablespoons of butter, then stirred with the paddle attachment until smooth-ish. Added a salad to the side to round out the meal with some veggies.
( This isn't mom's meatloaf, but it's quite tasty, if I say so myself. )
Eariler in the week, or maybe it was late last week, I made some of our stacked goat cheese enchiladas. I think a lot of you who've either eaten at our house or went to that Thanksgiving dinner (in the form of a Southwestern potluck) atjamos_fire's place a few years ago have had this dish. It came from our Border Cookbook that we got in New Mexico while we were out there. It's kind of a favorite cheap, easy but very tasty meal. The sauce is just onions, about 3/4 cup of mild dried ground chiles (I used 1 oz. California chiles and 4 oz. of New Mexico chiles, and yes, I know that's not quite 3/4 of a cup), and enough beef bullion for 4 cups of water (or you could use any kind of stock or broth). Simmer, then puree. I'm lazy, so I tend to skip the step where you fry the corn tortillas in oil. I just slice up some onion really thinly, grate some pepper jack cheese and cut off a hunk of goat cheese to crumble on to certain layers. I usually do 3 layers (4 tortillas), with a sprinkling of onions, drizzle of the sauce and any combination of the cheeses, leaving enough of the jack to sprinkle on the top. Bake until bubbly and serve with some sour cream (or even better, Mexican crema).
From the same cookbook, I made a creamy rice casserole that has roasted poblanos, corn, pepper jack cheese and sour cream and I think that's about it (though I tend to add cilantro when I have it and chile powder). It bakes for about 20-30 minutes.
( Looks as pretty as it tastes. )
Instead of plain old mashed potatoes, I made garlic and herb mashed potatoes. I sweat the minced contents of an entire bulb of garlic in olive oil and added that and the cooked potatoes (cubed reds with skins on) to the stand mixer along with some chives and parsley (freshly picked from my AeroGarden), black pepper, a tiny bit of salt (since there was salt in the potato water and in the garlic sweat), a little less than a cup of sour cream and a couple of tablespoons of butter, then stirred with the paddle attachment until smooth-ish. Added a salad to the side to round out the meal with some veggies.
( This isn't mom's meatloaf, but it's quite tasty, if I say so myself. )
Eariler in the week, or maybe it was late last week, I made some of our stacked goat cheese enchiladas. I think a lot of you who've either eaten at our house or went to that Thanksgiving dinner (in the form of a Southwestern potluck) at
jamos_fire's place a few years ago have had this dish. It came from our Border Cookbook that we got in New Mexico while we were out there. It's kind of a favorite cheap, easy but very tasty meal. The sauce is just onions, about 3/4 cup of mild dried ground chiles (I used 1 oz. California chiles and 4 oz. of New Mexico chiles, and yes, I know that's not quite 3/4 of a cup), and enough beef bullion for 4 cups of water (or you could use any kind of stock or broth). Simmer, then puree. I'm lazy, so I tend to skip the step where you fry the corn tortillas in oil. I just slice up some onion really thinly, grate some pepper jack cheese and cut off a hunk of goat cheese to crumble on to certain layers. I usually do 3 layers (4 tortillas), with a sprinkling of onions, drizzle of the sauce and any combination of the cheeses, leaving enough of the jack to sprinkle on the top. Bake until bubbly and serve with some sour cream (or even better, Mexican crema).From the same cookbook, I made a creamy rice casserole that has roasted poblanos, corn, pepper jack cheese and sour cream and I think that's about it (though I tend to add cilantro when I have it and chile powder). It bakes for about 20-30 minutes.
( Looks as pretty as it tastes. )
Life and death.
Mar. 6th, 2008 07:04 amThose of you who know me personally know I've experienced a fair share of deaths close to me in my life, both murders and unexpected natural deaths. A friend here has just experienced a tragedy and it's brought some thoughts to mind about grief and consolation. I feel as though I've learned a little more about how to grieve and get on with life with every loss I experience. But, at the same time, I'm completely unable to offer that knowledge, wisdom, whatever it is to others in the throes of grief. I'm not sure what it is but when someone near to me experiences a loss, all I can think to say are cliche condolences, even if they are heartfelt. I remember being on the other end of those cliche condolences and feeling like telling the people giving them to me that they didn't really need to say those things. Kind of a "thanks, but you shouldn't have." But I still can't think of anything better to say. I feel like by now, I should be an expert at consoling people, but really I'm only able to cope with my own grief. It's not even that I feel like people necessarily need to hear some gem of wisdom on how to cope with their loss. I just have feelings of inadequacy when I'm unable to find words that are honestly comforting, like whatever I say won't be good enough. Then again, I guess it's not the words that matter at the time, it's just being there for someone, even if just to walk the dog or bring a hot meal. But when you're unable to physically be there for someone, you feel obligated to come up with something comforting, anything. I go back and forth in my mind between, "well, it doesn't matter, they know you care" and "what the hell, you've been through this, you should know how to help them." I guess I have to remember that everyone grieves in their own way and every loss is different. It may be that my words and thoughts are paralyzed because my insight is in how to deal with my own losses and may not possibly be of help to anyone else.
Anyway, know that I care and you're in my thoughts.
( Now on to my own mundane existence and whatever that entails )
Anyway, know that I care and you're in my thoughts.
( Now on to my own mundane existence and whatever that entails )
I made one of my top three favorite breakfasts this morning, French toast. (What are my other two? Eggs Benedict, or some variation there of and biscuits and sausage gravy). Of course, I use Alton Brown's recipe. I really think his method of pan frying then baking is the way to go and resting it after soaking it in the custard and before it goes in the pan makes a big difference as well. The only thing I do differently is add a pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to the custard. I didn't really care for French toast much until I adopted this method.
To top it off, I dumped a bag of frozen mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) and a bag of frozen pitted dark sweet cherries into a sauce pan with enough sugar to just sort of "frost" the berries. Turned that on medium high or so and let it simmer with the lid on until the berries softened a bit and started to get saucy. Then pulled the lid off to let it thicken a bit, stirring occasionally to break up some of the berries.
( Mmmmmm, I wish I was eating it right now! )
After breakfast, I got to relax a little more than I was expecting. I thought Katherine's baby shower was at noon, but no, I read the invitation wrong, it was at 2pm. Jonah grabbed a nap before we went, which was a very good thing. We had fun, though I'm not used to being around that much estrogen (there were at least three pregnant women there, probably about five moms with kids all under the age of 2, myself included and then of course other women as well). Jonah loved the cantaloupe (err, musk melon) and wasn't really interested in eating much more than that, except maybe some cherry tomatoes. The hostesses home was freakin' massive and quite lovely. She lives up in Hendersonville, actually nearly White House. They had a couple of large rooms where we were without any furniture in them, and looking around, I kind of thought to myself, "I wouldn't know what to do with these rooms either!" But it was beautiful and nicely decorated. They had a life sized plastic statue of Jack Daniels. It really did look like concrete.
I did manage to fit in another hour of yoga yesterday. Jonah slept really late, so I fit it in before he woke up yesterday morning. It was much easier this time, relatively speaking (I still shook through poses and sweat a lot, but I didn't feel like my ass was kicked). I felt a lot better afterwards and I'm not very sore today at all. I did get a tire repair kit for the stroller as well, so next week I should be able to pick up the running. Tomorrow we plan to go on a day hike, though we haven't settled on where. I was thinking try out a 4.6 mile loop in Percy Warner Park, right down the street (I think it's called Mossy Ridge Trail). Chris was thinking drive to Savage Gulf. We'll have to figure it out this evening, I guess. So far, the exercise is the only focal point I've managed to stick to and even then not in its entirety. But I'm just starting this new plan and it will take a few weeks, I think, to integrate everything together.
To top it off, I dumped a bag of frozen mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) and a bag of frozen pitted dark sweet cherries into a sauce pan with enough sugar to just sort of "frost" the berries. Turned that on medium high or so and let it simmer with the lid on until the berries softened a bit and started to get saucy. Then pulled the lid off to let it thicken a bit, stirring occasionally to break up some of the berries.
( Mmmmmm, I wish I was eating it right now! )
After breakfast, I got to relax a little more than I was expecting. I thought Katherine's baby shower was at noon, but no, I read the invitation wrong, it was at 2pm. Jonah grabbed a nap before we went, which was a very good thing. We had fun, though I'm not used to being around that much estrogen (there were at least three pregnant women there, probably about five moms with kids all under the age of 2, myself included and then of course other women as well). Jonah loved the cantaloupe (err, musk melon) and wasn't really interested in eating much more than that, except maybe some cherry tomatoes. The hostesses home was freakin' massive and quite lovely. She lives up in Hendersonville, actually nearly White House. They had a couple of large rooms where we were without any furniture in them, and looking around, I kind of thought to myself, "I wouldn't know what to do with these rooms either!" But it was beautiful and nicely decorated. They had a life sized plastic statue of Jack Daniels. It really did look like concrete.
I did manage to fit in another hour of yoga yesterday. Jonah slept really late, so I fit it in before he woke up yesterday morning. It was much easier this time, relatively speaking (I still shook through poses and sweat a lot, but I didn't feel like my ass was kicked). I felt a lot better afterwards and I'm not very sore today at all. I did get a tire repair kit for the stroller as well, so next week I should be able to pick up the running. Tomorrow we plan to go on a day hike, though we haven't settled on where. I was thinking try out a 4.6 mile loop in Percy Warner Park, right down the street (I think it's called Mossy Ridge Trail). Chris was thinking drive to Savage Gulf. We'll have to figure it out this evening, I guess. So far, the exercise is the only focal point I've managed to stick to and even then not in its entirety. But I'm just starting this new plan and it will take a few weeks, I think, to integrate everything together.
Chris' birthday.
Feb. 8th, 2008 10:09 amSo, yesterday was Chris' birthday. Every year I try to cook an elaborate dinner for him and finish it off with a cheesecake. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get the cheesecake baked. I did get it put together and will bake it today. Instead, I required the oven for the main course.
( The main course being this guy. )
( The main course being this guy. )
