Food Fight

I Over Selpt

2006-03-10T06:56:00.001-08:00

I sleep until the unbelievable time of noon, which is good for me, but limits our sight seeing options. DoPa wants to get in the car and take off in an unknown direction, bless his heart. I reconcile my tendency of always needing to know the destination and exactly how to get there.

Driving on a back road out of town, we take in the steep hills and budding grapevines. Since we are in wine country, we talk about stopping in a winery, and I remember enough about my trip research that we’re relatively close to Domaine Carneros. Since I’m such a fan of their product, making the decision to stop is without hesitation. The next tour is in half an hour, so we have a glass of wine and share a cheese plate in their tasting salon. Our server John inquires where we are from, and our reply elicits that fact the he grew up on Williamson Street. John spends time with us reminiscing about his hometown, and we catch him up on all the changes we’ve seen in the city since we both moved here more that 20 years ago.

The winery building is modeled after a French château, and actually houses all the wine making and storage. Don’t you wish all factories were so well designed? Our tour begins with a history of Champagne and how the Taittinger family came to settle on making sparkling wine in California. We learn that the winery only uses the grapes they grow and doesn’t buy from other growers. We are then walked through an elevated and enclosed observation area over the storage, riddling, and bottling areas.

After the tour, the weather changed, and a cool drizzle is falling. We head back to the room to get ready for dinner at another Sonoma eatery, La Salatte. We are greeted and helped by an extreamly knowelgable waitress when we order. The blustery weather puts us in the mood for some comfort food. I go for the special of braised leg of lamb in a port reduction sauce, and am not disappointed. I could cut the meat with my fork. DoPa tries the house specialty of Feijoada Completa, the Brazilian national dish of stewed beef, pork, smoked sausage and black beans. We both have room for desert and order up chocolate mousse and crème brule while we finish our wine.

Rock Stars

2006-03-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

We had planned some winery tours today, but since today was the only sunny day forecasted for the next few days, we decide to day trip over to Bodega Bay. DoPa takes the wheel of the Charger, and we meander on scenic state highways to our first destination, Sebastopol. It is near noon, and we haven’t had food since dinner last night. Walking the main drag, we scope out the eating possibilities and shops. DoPa comments that allot of the merchandise in the shops are the same stuff, different state. That being true, and not really being in procurement mode, we wander into very few establishments. However, we do amble into a gallery that touts “functional” art. Now I’m a sucker for this stuff, because allot of it tends to be household items and jewelry. Oh, and shiny things do await. Honoring my tradition of buying funky earrings as a travel souvenir, I scoop up a well priced pair of sliver hoop and cubed amber bead dangling earrings. The sales person opines that I made a good choice because amber repels negative energy. I am most definitely in California.

We track back to the K&L Bistro, a cozy little place with a busy weekday lunch crowd. Since I’m on vacation, I can indulge in a glass or two of wine with lunch. Ya-hey they have Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee brut by the glass!!! I love the bubbles. I order a glass, plus one, to go with Dungeness crab cakes. Now crab cakes can be either be ruined by too much binding material, i.e. mayonnaise, or be spectacular. These crab cakes rocked my world. They were pure crab, with no binder, and not overly seasoned - just pure crabby goodness.

Lunch being over, we head towards Bodega Bay, the back drop of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”. More stunning scenery and we recall our knowledge of the natural sciences as we get closer to the ocean. We get to the inner side of the bay and follow our intuition to get to a land point we see on the other side, and drive past marinas and cottages reminiscent of Lake Pepin.

We then reached the end of the North American continent. Being on the edge of the land, and coupled with the blustery March winds off the Pacific takes our breath away.

The road map I bought before we left Sonoma turns out to be useless when we honor another travel tradition of not going back the way you came. We get disoriented some what going back to Sonoma. I figured out enough to get us to Petaluma but didn’t see any signs for the connecting highway to Sonoma when we got there.After driving through Petaluma and confused DoPa pulls off the road into this little place. I poke around to find a soul who can direct me, and that soul is Angelo. I stopped to ask for help, and end up getting in a discussion of making gourmet jerky and sausages, and the sausage makers in Wisconsin that I admire. Angelo is a member of the meat guild and has of book of all the U.S. independent meat processors, he finds my favorites in the book, and circles them with a Sharpie. We talk about the livestock we saw between Bodega Bay and his shop, and I comment on all the tasty spring lamb in the pastures that are just waiting for the dinner table. We agree that the proper size to serve a spring lamb is when it is knee high. Angelo sends me off with driving directions and two samples of the tenderest jerky I have ever had, it’s like a good cured ham or bresolla.

Sheep, Cattle, Quail, and Hogs

2006-03-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

Yeah, vacation is here – happy – happy – joy – joy!!! Six days of not being at work or home. Six days of my biggest worry being on time for our dinner reservation. Oh, and what splendid meals I plan to eat.

DoPa and I arrive at the airport in plenty of time to get thru security and any other stuff. We check in with our airline, and they already know an hour before flight time that they are running late. Additionally, our original connecting flight is only 30 minutes after we land at O’Hare. This is dicey without the delay, since it entails a terminal change. The ticket agent tried her best to get us on a reasonably later Chicago to Bay Area flight, but just couldn’t swing it. We end up getting re-ticketed on another airline and routed through Minneapolis, and end up leaving only a half an hour later. One good thing about flying from the Madison airport is that there is a ton of flexibility with re-ticketing to other airlines and their major hubs.

Now, I don’t know why, but the NTSB must have a crush me, because they always have to cop a feel. For some reason today, it seems I’m a “selectee” for additional security screening. Now I only fly about once or twice a year, but come on, every time in the last two years???? There must be a high threat of middle-aged white women going crazy after too many herbal teas.

An issue arises with the re-ticketing at the gate in Minneapolis, but I smile and apologize, and we end up getting our seats reassigned to the front of economy class with an extra seat between us to stretch out in for the four hour flight. I brought plenty of reading material with me, but I can’t resist looking at the “Sky Mall” catalog to see what the latest innovations in useless crap are. Here’s something I definitely can live without: the Booze Belt. I kid you not, the product copy reads: “Coasters!? We don’t need any stinking coasters!” This tacky fashion accessory includes two holsters for bottles, and six “ammo” slots for shotgun shell shot glasses for the low price of $90???? Ummm, I’d rather spend that for three or four nice bottles of wine.

We land, collect our luggage, pick up the rental car, and end up with a bitchin’ Dodge Charger. Then, the whole vacation space time continuum gets warped when the DoPa says, “Honey, do you want to drive?” I agree without hesitation. We take US 101 from the airport, through surface streets in San Francisco, and over the Golden Gate bridge on our way to Sonoma. Driving through the Marin headlands we see grazing Holsteins and remark that it reminds us of the landscape approaching La Cross, Wisconsin on US Highway 14.. The drive goes off with out a hitch. We arrive at the hotel with enough time to unwind after a long day of travel before we go to dinner.

And what a dinner… we eat at Café Le Haye, a small restaurant with a tiny open kitchen that’s tucked into a corner of the dining room. We start with a bottle of syrah, that turns out to be almost perfect. The menu wasn’t really big, so we don’t go the three appetizers and one main course route, and each order a main course. I’m not real adept at using superlatives to describe food, but I can say the food way exceeded my expectations. I had a free range quail stuffed with pine nuts, prosciutto, and chanterelle mushrooms: the flavors were out of this world. The DoPa went with the pan roasted pork tenderloin in a mustard sauce with pears that was another winner. With full tummies, we walked back to our hotel room to retire and drift off to sleep.

Party Time

2006-03-05T06:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry for a late post, since this happened over a week ago. I don’t know, last week I was so relaxed after a busy two months of work, I just didn’t have the gumption to do any blogging. Plus, I was finalizing travel plans. I hope I can blog during the trip, because I am going to the Mecca of food and wine, Sonoma county California, and San Francisco.

The morning went really well. If my sister hadn’t been there to help me out, I would have been a basket case. We put the lasagna together and only got four pans, because I almost ran out of Sunday gravy.

Check out my full fridge.

I started with these modest crudites and dip. Then, people started arriving.... I asked people not to bring anything, but my family is just not built that way. It’s in our DNA that you have to share food when you go to somebody’s home. But yeah the more the better.

My sister-in-law’s taco dip is de rigure at all our family functions. You may scoff at the paring with lasagna, but this is the best taco dip in Midwest. Trust me this dip goes with every thing.

By the end of the night we're down to coffee and cigarettes.

What a Day

2006-02-24T18:20:00.000-08:00

This was my first day off work since December 9th. It was busy, but still relaxing because I wasn’t worrying about work stuff, and doing what I love best.

Tomorrow I’m hosting a lasagna feed for about 30 people. Yes, 30. This is just my siblings, their spouses, and my nieces and nephews. I spent Super Sunday making the sauce and froze it. So tomorrow is just assembly of five pans of the most heavenly lasagna in Madison (sorry Josie’s). Other ingredients on board are ricotta, provolone, and RP’s Pasta fresh lasagna noodles.

Well we are eating more than lasagna. Salad is a given. I cheat and buy the organic pre-washed greens. But…..I made two different salad dressings today. Your standard vinaigrette, and this tasty “Cherve and Green Peppercorn” dressing. WARNING – Uses a food processor.

1 ½ ounces of peeled and trimmed shallots
1 tablespoon of green peppercorns rinsed well and dried.

1 ½ tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoon of white wine vinegar
1/ ½ tablespoon of water
1/3 cup of sour cream or plain yourgut
6 ounces of Cherve

1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

Insert the regular chopping blade in the food processor. Drop in the shallots and process about 10 seconds. Add the peppercorns, and process another 10 seconds. Remove the shallot and peppercorn mixture, and set aside.

Put the lemon juice, vinegar, water, sour cream/yourgut, and Cherve in the work bowl and process for about 30 seconds. Turn off the processor, and scrape the bowl. Add the shallot and peppercorns. Measure out the olive oil, turn on the food processor, and drizzle in the oil until the dressing is emulsified.

Oh and some other stuff I did- I made two of these for desert, got my car washed, did my final shopping, and five loads of laundry.

Oh yeah other stuff on the menu are my Mom’s homemade herb breads, olives, and crudités.

An Idea Who’s Time has Come

2006-02-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

This is one of the reasons I so love the DoPa. He thinks the time has come for single pasture milk. There are single pasture cheeses, so why not milk? A little southern Grant county 2% for madam with her tuna salad? Should I write the folks at Organic Valley?

I got a feeling this would go over better than his idea of bacon wrapped deep fried grapes. .

I ‘yam what I ‘yam…..

2006-02-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

It was a very cold day today. Ten below zero when I woke up. I don’t know where you’re from, but you can’t know cold like this.

Time for Saturday night dinner. It’s been a long week, so I splurged on some beef tenderloin and good wine. I have an indoor grill, so throwing down some love on the grill is pretty easy. Another easy with the steaks is spinach in the Roman style. Heat some good olive oil in a large sauté pan, throw a few cloves of crushed garlic in the oil when it gets hot. Brown up the garlic and remove. Toss in about a quarter cup of raisins, and cook until the raisins plump up. Add a ten ounce bag of pre-washed baby spinach, salt and pepper to season, two tablespoons of pine nuts, and enough water to steam the spinach. Cover to let the spinach cook down. Check and stir occasionally to get even cooking. This should take no longer than 15 minutes.

Oh yeah, I roasted up some Yukon Gold taters with rosemary too.

Rhymes with Listeria

2006-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

Today Madison got about six inches of snow. For a Wisconsin native, that’s really no big deal, but one should use caution when driving in the stuff, like da. We’ve had an extremely mild winter with little snow before today, so most folks had to re-acquaint themselves driving in it.

Well, either I’m a moron or martyr, but I schlepped a 25 mile drive into work today and back. Watching the weather forecast on the news last night, I knew we were going to get some wicked snow. But, having done the commute for the last six years, I know that the plow crews are awesome keeping the main roads clear. And today, as usual, they did. I drove to work and home in a few minutes more than my usual drive time.

But how weird, when I answered my phone at work today, people were surprised to find me there. Whatever!! I did dodge out at 3:30, and found my car with a one foot snow drift on it. I scooped the snow off with my arm and scraped the ice off the glass. Oh an early day home from work… yeah. What did I do????? Well, I made Sunday gravy with perciatelli.

But this being the biggest snow fall we’ve had in a few years, those with short memories panicked. OH…MY..GOD..THEY..CLOSED..THE…MALLS!!!!!

I Always Knew this Sh...

2006-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

OK here's big shock, I don't use artificial sweeteners. When mid-life calorie counting hit me in the butt, I chose to reduce sugars. Come on, I only used honey and real maple syrup for sweeteners in beverages, would I now use Sweet and Low? I'm not a soda drinker, so it wasn't too hard to start drinking my coffee with no sugar, and I actually like it better now that way.

Today's New York Times profiles an Italian scientist, Dr. Morando Soffritti, who has studied aspartame. Now it wouldn't be fair for me to rip on this stuff without going through all points in the article, and giving subjective counterpointints. Dr. Soffritti's study concluded that aspartame may cause the dreaded "c" word.

I can't say I've never eaten at McDonalds: but I can say that artificial sweeteners have never passed my lips. I also know allot of people that consume three to four 20 ounce diet sodas a day. I just don't get that. Your whole pallet is washed with this weird flavor. Eewww, yuck and blah.

I'll try to hyperlink to the article here: The Lowdown on Sweet? - New York Times

Spit and Vinegar

2006-02-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

For some reason today, it was exceptionally greasy. First is was bacon frying, that coated my stainless steel frying pan with a layer cooked on bacony stuff. Then, it was a pork roast that left some carmalized fat in the roasting pan. I could use a Brillo pad and scrub the crap off, but I am so lazy... pour a quarter of an inch of regular vinegar in the pan and let it set for an hour. Viola, no crud on the cookware, and no soapy taste in your food.

Craptastic

2006-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

There is an abundance of crappy packaged foods on the market. Some of these are guilty pleasures, others make you cringe and wonder who the hell eats it, and actually likes it. And some, like this, are just for that person that says to themselves, "Too tired......can't hold knife......can't open cracker box.......must have beef sausage bites....Party to Go is only hope."

Happy Saint Valentine's Day

2006-02-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Forget jewelry and chocolates, visit the butcher for your Valentine.

Hey You, Get out of the Gene Pool

2006-02-07T17:41:00.000-08:00

Hey I believe in eating good: that is good quality, not goody-goody. Reading the New York Times today, the results are in from what was dubbed the “Rolls-Royce” of studies. The studies resulted found, and I quote: “failed to confirm a popular hypothesis that a low-fat diet can prevent three major diseases in women.”

The article recaps that lowering fat and increasing fiber does nothing to prevent or aid heart disease, breast and colon cancer. Choice bits from the article are:

For decades, many scientists have been saying, and many members of the public have been believing, that what you eat — the composition of the diet — determines how likely you are to get a chronic disease. But it has been hard to prove. Studies of dietary fiber and colon cancer failed to find that fiber was protective. Studies of vitamins thought to protect against cancer failed to show an effect.

The results, the study investigators agreed, do not justify recommending low-fat diets to the public to reduce their heart disease and cancer risk.

Now, I’m not advocating a constant diet of burgers and fries, but hey let’s just admit that our genetic make up has something with the way we metabolize food. I’m just guessing that eating in moderation, and eating good food, isn’t a bad place to start from.

Bubba of the Luvva

2006-02-07T16:41:00.001-08:00

Say hello to Bubba, Oskar, Mr. Silky, so Sexy, so Soft. (Hey every cat has more than one name.) He is the bravest cat in Madison. Yesterday, he was forced to suffer thru feline oral surgery, and had quite a few teeth removed. He’ll be groovin’ on a fyntenol patch for the next four days. Get well soon Bubba.

OK, OK, gratuitous pet picture used as filler. But just like us, a cat’s health depends on well it can eat. By that I mean the choices that are made because of oral health, not the food presented. If they refuse foods that keep them healthy because their mouth hurts when they eat, the rest of the organs functions slowly spiral down. With a cat it’s faster, because they are smaller and have shorter longevity than humans.

What did I just say? Am I being preachy about eating, or am I admitting to not taking better care of my cat’s dental health?

Super Sunday

2006-02-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

What a day sports fans. In Detroit we have Super Bowl XL, and in Madison we have Lola doing a kitchen marathon.

What Super Bowl is complete without chili? I had to make up a batch for the game. Now chili recipes are a closely guarded secret, but I’ll tell you the foundation of mine. I never use store bought chili powder. Don’t care who says theirs' is the most authentic. I grind up what I need each time I make chili. I start with three or four small smoked dried chilies and grind them in a coffee grinder I use just for grinding spices. Grind separately two teaspoons of whole coriander and four teaspoons of whole cumin.

Depending on the amount of chili your making, and your taste, add the ground chilies and spices separately. Add about a tablespoon of crushed oregano for each pound of meat. Do not add all the spices at once, because once it’s in there, you can’t take it out. Also don’t adjust for salt until after you add your beans and have if simmering for half an hour. What, your not a beans person? Then adjust for salt about half an hour before taking off the heat.

Now, I’ve had this strange urge lately to eat granola with yogurt. I tried a few granola brands, and they were just missing something. So being an all around do-it-yourselfer, I thought to try making granola. It was too easy. I was never a big granola or cereal eater, but I may have to get in the habit. I used your basic Hodgson Mills oatmeal, with slivered almonds, walnuts and cashews. Then some melted butter with real maple syrup, and just a few drops of sesame oil.

After baking, I added some raisins, but dried apricots or cherries would also be pretty yummy. Oh well, there’s always the next batch.

Now, I’m planning a lunch for about 25 in late February. Lasagna is definitely on the menu, and I thought I’d squeeze in making the sauce today. I got the San Marzano tomato sauce on right now, and can let it simmer down during the game.

Oh yeah, I did seven loads of laundry too.

WWAD

2006-02-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

I live with a man that takes great pride in his culinary in-ability. He appreciates good food, but thinks that pouring milk over cereal is cooking, because it involves putting two ingredients together.

Last evening this man, or as I refer to him, the DoPa, accompanied me to the grocery store. We were in the baking section, and I was silently contemplating buying shredded coconut to make granola. I'm looking at the different types, and out of the blue DoPa opines "Alton says that stuff's no good." I reply, I don't remember Alton doing a show on coconut. An embarrassed look came over his face, and I got the "never mind" stichk. I look at the shelves again, and above the coconut was Hersey's coca powder. The DoPa had flashes of the coca powder episode that was on last week. Then I thought I heard a choir of angels singing.

Next I wondered what would Alton do about shredded, sweetened, and bagged coconut? I skipped it, because I'm not a fan of coconut. I'll still be making the granola, most likely using Alton's recipe as a guide.

And the Winner is.......

2006-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

The Oscar nominations were announced today. Seriously lacking from the Oscar’s categories has always been best use of food. Some of my favorite movie foods scenes come from the “Godfather”, and “Goodfellas”. What can I say; the Mafia folks always seemed more concerned about putting on a good spread.

Think about how much some film drama’s play around the dinner table or eating. Be it “Godsford Park”'S wonderful depiction of the workings of an early 20th century English house, or “American Psycho” competitive dining of the 80’s.

Come on, they give out best wardrobe, and special effects. But where is the best use of food in a plot line or character development category?

Back to the Grind

2006-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah, the new laptop arrived Friday and I spent the weekend getting everything all set up. Took awhile because I got the “blue screen of death” twice after I installed my ISP’s software from the CD I got a year ago. After the second time, I figured out it was a software conflict. Since I had a clean hard drive, I was able to restore to the delivery configuration and download the software from the internet. Here’s a picture of my new shiny toy with its wonderful 17.5 inch screen.

Besides getting my laptop up and running this weekend, I restocked my pesto stash. Is there anything more fun than grinding up plant material and cheese?

Still Waiting

2006-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

I feel a little lost. I'm in limbo waiting for my new laptop to arrive. Hopefully, it will be here by the end of the week. But realistically it will be next week. I just wanted to post, so I stayed in the habit; rather than letting things fall by the wayside because of a temporary hardware issue.

This time of the year is crazy busy for me at work, so the weeknight creative juices are low.

But for a future post, I'm hosting a lunch for 25 at my house in late February. I know for sure that I will be making lasagna, so the prep work for the sauce could be a great blog topic.

Super Bowl Serving Suggestion

2006-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

I really had to reign in the impulse purchase urge here.

Why We Have Insurance

2006-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Hola, sorry I haven't rapped at ya for a while.

As I posted earlier, my laptop took a dive last week. It seems that it made an unfortunate acquaintance with a glass of orange juice while I was sleeping one night. Damn that Florida Orange Growers Cooperative. This acquaintance resulted in total destruction of my laptop.

However, I do have to say getting a replacement laptop was not too bad. First I called Dell since the real reason for the malfunction wasn't known (it's a long story involving the DoPa). Since I bought the extended warranty, they sent somebody out to look at it within two business days (very impressive). This was almost exactly two months after the standard one year warranty. The diagnosis was bad, as I didn't think the liquid seeped into the body of the laptop. Of course I wasn't a witness to it, as the FOGC snuck up on me. The next call was to my homeowners' insurance company. For some reason, 15 years ago I got a policy rider on home computers when I was still using an original Apple. At that time, home computers were very rare, and very expensive, so I thought it wise to cover my computer in case of loss. Over time home computers became common and cheaper, but I still continuned to pay the small premium on the policy rider.

Lo and behold, my insurance company paid 85% of the original cost of my old computer. But wait, there's more! The insurance check let me buy a better laptop than I ordered a year ago! YEAH !!!!

Insurance good!!! Technology good!!! Orange juice bad.

Birkenstocks of the Breakfast Table

2006-01-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

Allot of foods on the market are packaged for convenience; nutrition and taste is a secondary concern. Sure the package announces less sodium, less fat, or more fiber, but, does it taste good? We want these products to fulfill the primary reason we eat, to savor flavors and give our bodies the necessary nutrition we need to function. But there could be hope for more than that, a crop of cereals that tries the less is better approach and then some. The then some ingredient is social consciousness. The New York Times this week reviewed the nutritional qualities, taste, and social do-goody-ness of a number of these cereals. The NYT dubbed them “the Birkenstocks of the breakfast table”. If these cereals are the Birkenstocks of the breakfast table what are Fruit Loops? Maybe the Candies of the breakfast table? I wonder what cereal would be the Manolo Blahnik of the breakfast table?

We now have the opportunity to eat our way to better living by consuming cereals that support a cause. One says it supports its own foundation for peace, and another sends a whopping 1 percent of its sales to protecting wildlife. The cereal for peace company is owned by Golden Temple, a for-profit company owned by a nonprofit group founded by the late Yogi Bhajan, who made his fortune from Yogi Tea, and if I remember runs a cult in Oregon. However, as sited in the NYT article:

Many of the alternative cereal brands are owned by larger companies, including Kellogg and General Mills. "Cereals, like milk, are one of the primary entrance points for use of organics," said Ms. Christenson of Spins, "which is pretty closely tied to children - health concerns, keeping pesticides, especially antibiotics, out of the diets of children. These large firms wanted to get a foothold in the natural and organic marketplace. Because of the mindset of consumers, branding of these products has to be very different than traditional cereals."

Soooooo… chalk one up to you conspiracy theorist out there.

All in all, the NYT reviewer panned the flavor and nutrition content of these cereals, using the words cardboard, sawdust, soggy and stale. Dried cane sugar juice does not offer fewer calories or more nutritional value than regular sugar.

I relish food that is sustainability grown. However, must all of the decisions about eating revolve around a political agenda, regardless of the quality of said food?

Busted

2006-01-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

The blogging will be light the next few days. My laptop is out of order, and I'm using the DoPa's desktop until mine gets fixed. He gets a little onrey when I have to use his computer. But I will leave you with this to contemplate.

A New Mac in Town

2006-01-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I posted here about trying one of the macaroni and cheese recipes in January 4, 2006, New York Times. I have to say, this recipe I tried today is way righteous. It is full of cheaddery goodnees. I added a cup of diced ham to the recipe as an homage to my old standard. And, oh yes, the full pound of cheese and uncooked macaroni are not typos.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not lowfat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ pound elbow pasta, uncooked.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

2. In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Donkey? Really?

2006-01-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

Don't know if I have ever seen a recipe calling for donkey. Here's a fellow who has one.

I Should Try This

2006-01-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite cookbooks for sheer entertainment value is the "Farm Journal's Country Cookbook", published in 1959. It is full of old fashioned recipes like watermelon rind pickles and molded beef ring. Each of the recipes has a short folksy introduction like this one for "Filet Mingyam": Bacon does something to yams - something good. Here's the recipe.

4 to 5 medium yams
12 slices bacon

Bake, boil, or steam yams tender in their skins; peel.

Cut yams in rounds 1 1/2" thick. Wrap each is a slice of bacon, securing ends with a toothpick.

Bake in a shallow pan in a very hot oven (450 degrees) 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is well done.

Serve with sauteed mushrooms or fried apple rings.

Stir Fry on My Mind

2006-01-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Friday night is all about getting ready to slow down for the weekend. For an office drone and home cook like me it signifies the beginning of a weekend in the kitchen. My routine is to use up what I have left in the larder before I shop on Saturday. Tonight I had the ingredients for a tasty stir fry of broccoli, sweet bell peppers and chicken. I cheated and used a good bottled peanut sauce, but I always use Basamati rice.

One question, do you eat your stir fry in a bowl or on a plate?

Delushish

2006-01-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

Yeah, had a box waiting at home for me tonight. Made with only the finest oils and spices, I got a load of this. I got two of these, three of these, and two of these. Aaahh, the lush life.

Retro Mac

2006-01-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

The New York Times Food section had an article and recipes on macaroni and cheese today. Because the NYT doesn’t allow permalinks, I won’t link to the article. However, I’ll definitely save the two macaroni and cheese recipes and compare them to this one published about 20 years ago in the NYT in Pierre Franey’s old “60 Minute Gourmet” column. I clipped this one way back in the day, and it is my go to when the weather turns chilly here in Wisconsin, and I need some serious comfort food.

Macaroni With Ham and Cheese

½ pound uncooked macaroni
Salt to taste, if desired
¾ pound cooked ham, sliced
¼ pound mushrooms
½ pound sharp Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of flour
2 cups of milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup finely chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup of heavy cream
1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil for cooking the macaroni. Add salt to taste. Add the macaroni and cook 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, cut the ham into ½ inch cubes and set aside. There should be about 2 cups.

Slice the mushrooms. There should be about 2 cups.

Grate the Cheddar cheese, or cut into ¼ inch cubes. There should be about 2 cups.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring with a wire whisk. Cook for about a minute; then add the milk, stirring rapidly with a whisk. Let simmer for about a minute. And add the nutmeg, and salt and black pepper to taste. Gradually stir in the Cheddar cheese, only adding more as it melts.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet, or 5 quart Dutch oven, and add the mushrooms and onions. Cook, stirring until the mushrooms and onions are wilted. Add the ham and cook, stirring about one minute. Add the cheese sauce, the cayenne and cream. Cook, stirring about 1 minute.

Pour and scrape the mixture into the macaroni, or if your skillet is big enough, or using a Dutch oven, add the macaroni to the sauce mixture.

Transfer to a buttered 10 cup shallow baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan cheese and place in the oven. Bake 20 minutes. Turn the broiler to high.

Brown the macaroni and cheese under the broiler until the top is nicely browned, two to three minutes.

Bursting With Flavor

2006-01-03T17:09:00.000-08:00

I bet the guy at the pretzel factory that thought of doing this, with what would otherwise be thrown away, or sold for animal feed, got a big bonus. He's right on track for that junior vice-president of product development job.

It's Not Take Out

2006-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Didn’t have to work today, and me and the domestic partner (DoPa) are not in sync with meal times. Just a day of picking up the house after two weekends of entertaining. But I was hungry this afternoon, and craving pizza. As mentioned before, I have a trick to freeze pizza crust. Below is a little demonstration.

I couldn’t do it without two and half gallon zip lock bags. They fit nicely around a 12 inch pizza pan.

Then, I had to forage for toppings. Some left over proscuitto from the NYE appetizer plate, basil that went in the compound butter, and your standard Kalamatta olives.

Ready, set, go.

Hot and tasty.

Sometimes I Suck

2006-01-02T06:55:00.000-08:00

This is not gonna turn out good.

Oh, well there's always plan B.

But, Does it Taste Good?

2006-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Both the "Today Show" and the "New York Times" have reported on the new food trend of 2006, functional foods. Functional foods are enhanced with "healthy" additives to help with ailments from diabetes to constipation. The food companies are jumping on this trend, because of peoples' reluctance to use medication for these aliments. I don't know about you, but I have some issues with the idea of "functional foods".

If you're sick, take the medications you need. Let me see; I'll trust some corporate marketing drone over the advice of doctor with years of specialized training to manage my heart disease. Not that diet can't help you, but eating allot of processed food isn't beneficial, even if you are in good health.

What won't the food companies do to sell more products at a higher price? The additives in these new products probably cost pennies per unit, but the food companies will sell these products at a premium. Most of the time, these tweaked products have an off taste, in addition to the by nature bland flavors.

Isn't food in and of its self functional? Why screw with it more?

Is it Vegan Friendly?

2006-01-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

I'm a coffee lover, but I don't know if I want to spend $175 for a pound of beans that were crapped out of a civet. According to Reuters, Kopi Luwak beans from Indonesia are the new coffee buzz. Here's how they get their unique taste.

Despite being carnivorous, civets eat ripe coffee cherries for treats. The coffee beans, which are found inside of the cherries, remain intact after passing through the animal.

Civet droppings are found on the forest floor near coffee plantations. Once carefully cleaned and roasted, the beans are sold to specialty buyers.

Yes they better be carefully cleaned.

I bet somebody is scheming right now to have a civet coffee farm, where the civets are force fed coffee cheries, like ducks for foie gras. Oh the humanity.

Deviation

2006-01-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

I know I said I was going to make flat bread with some tempenade, but a week or so ago I made up this dough, so I thought I better do something with it.

Just flour, butter, and Parmesan cheese.

What's on the NYE Menu?

2005-12-28T18:55:00.000-08:00

Just some things I'm pretty sure I'm going to make for New Year's Eve dinner party of six.

Roasted red pepper, artichoke, and Parmsesan cheese tempanade baked on a thin crust pizzia dough. I have a trick of freezing pizzia doughs on the pan, and the tempanade was a left over from Christmas Eve dinner that I froze. Don't know if I should add a little extra cheese during baking. This is thaw and cook.

Garlic cheese mashed potatoes. Yes, this dish is bording on the ubiquitous, but I do it so well. Here in Wisconsin, we have an abundance of good sharp cheeses to use, so it never gets trite. I will be using Jarlsburg and Parmesean, and Yukon Gold taters. Also a thaw and cook dish. These taters are sitting in the freezer now.

Chicken breast with whole garlic cloves and mushrooms, in a balsamic vinegar reduction sauce. One of my fave's from Peirre Franey Cuisein Rapide. I can do this in my sleep, and every other dish will be made ahead, so I don't think I'll feel too pressured cooking the main course with guest there.

Green beans, with a little bit of butter. One thing I like about fresh green beans is that you can par boil them before the guest come and them give them a quick heat. I would rather do this than serve an oppresssive tossed salad. Aren't tossed salads really a way to consume calories via dressing???? Ugh.

Eggroll Explosion

2005-12-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

Worked late tonight. Didn't feel like a full dinner, so heated up some frozen eggrolls. One of them exploded. It will still be tasty; complimented with peanut and hot sauce for dipping.

What's for Lunch?

2005-12-27T17:26:00.000-08:00

Of course Clementines. Left over celery and olives from the Christmas Eve dinner relish tray. Left over pineapple from Christmas day breakfast. What were your left overs from the holiday?

My Snack for the Week

2005-12-26T16:02:00.001-08:00

As eaten and discussed at breakfast yesterday: Clementine - a hybrid of the tangerine and Seville orange, produced in 1902 in Algeria by Pere Clement.

Some of My Favorite Things

2005-12-26T14:20:00.000-08:00

Greetings Blogsphere. I'm starting this blog to post about food and food related topics. I thought I'd start out with posting some pictures of my most favorite things in my kitchen. The first two of these are faithful workhorse that I use day in and out, and would literally not be able to function if either of them failed me. The other two are gifts I got for Christmas.

My trusty water kettle. Used every day to make coffee the good old fashioned drip method.

My knife set, not the top of the line, but my newest knife is 10 years old and they all still keep a sharp edge.

Isn't this the best egg separator?

All girls should have a good Dutch oven.