And Theresa…

And Tom…

In almost all baking, we combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. There are three conventional ways for combining the wet and dry ingredients.  And it is here that we see the difference in oil and butter since it is these methods of combining the ingredients that determine the consistency of the end product.

Creaming - This method  mixes fat with sugar, and results in a cake-like texture.  Fat and sugar are mixed together and then the dry ingredients are added.  This method will usually generate a dough rather than a batter.  Creaming requires that a solid is added to the sugar, so this method will use softened butter or shortening, not oil.

Cutting In - This method  results in a flaky, biscuit-like texture. Shortbread and pie crusts also fall into this category since they are flaky.  Here, the fat and sugar are “cut in” using a pastry blender or two knives.  This method will usually generate a dough rather than a batter.  Like creaming, this method also requires that a solid is added to the sugar, so this method also uses softened butter or shortening, not oil.

Two-Bowl – This method results in a texture with larger and irregular air holes.  This is used primarily in muffins and many breads.  All of the dry ingredients are mixed together in one bowl, and all of the wet ingredients are mixed in a second bowl.  The two bowls are then mixed together, often leaving the batter slightly lumpy.  This will always generate a batter and not a dough.  The method requires a liquid, so oil must be used.

What is the most important lesson?  Butter and vegetable oil are not substitute ingredients.  Butter is a solid, oil is a liquid.  They have very different chemical compositions and therefore generate very different results.

It can be tricky to get these to set right, the last thing you want is for this to be runny.  But if it is fully set when it comes out of the oven, it is overcooked and will taste gritty.  The center should still jiggle, while the edges should be set.  Kind of like a cheesecake, but more so.  Pecan pies can be left out at room temperature, but if you are concerned that the pie has not set up, refrigerate it, then remove it before serving and bring to room temperature.  The pie will cold set in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 2 Pie Crusts (9 in”)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 3 sticks of butter, softened
• 9 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups pecans
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325.
2. Combine sugar, syrup, and butter and mix well
3. Add eggs and pecans – thoroughly mix
4. Pour into two pie shells and bake for 50-55 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 oz bag cranberries, rinsed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and stir over medium heat until the cranberries “pop”
2. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 4 cups thinly sliced onion
• 2 1/2 lb. butternut squash, skinned and cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 cups sharp white cheddar, grated
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rosemary
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 13×9 baking dish
3. Melt butter in large pan and saute onions until golden
4. Add squash to pan and saute 5 minutes
5. Add sugar, salt, and pepper, saute 5 minutes
6. Spread mixture into dish – pour stock over mixture
7. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes
8. Mix all of the remaining ingredients – breadcrumbs through thyme, and sprinkle over squash
9. Bake in a 400 oven for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. package ground pork sausage
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 large celery stalks, diced
• 16 oz. package cornbread dressing
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon each – salt, pepper, thyme, nutmeg

Directions

1. Cook sausage in large pan until completely cooked and crumbly
2. Remove sausage, leaving 1 Tablespoon fat in pan
3. Drain sausage in sieve or on paper towels
4. Saute onion and celery in hot fat until onions are translucent
5. Combine all ingredient in a large bowl and combine until moistened.
6. Stuff bird, or spoon into lightly buttered 13×9 baking pan
7. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Turkey
• Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Sage, Thyme)
• 2-3 onions
• 4-5 carrots
• 4-5 celery stalks
• 1 Head of garlic cut in half and broken into cloves
• 2 Cups chicken stock

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Remove all organs, save the neck
3. Rinse and pat dry
4. Arrange vegetables, neck, and fresh herbs on bottom of roasting pan (do not use a rack)
5. Add stock to bottom of pan
6. Put bird, breast side down on vegetables
7. Roast for 20 minutes
8. Reduce oven temp to 300
9. When temp in bird (between drumstick and thigh) hits 140, flip bird and roast for 30 more minutes
10. When temp is 175, remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving

For Gravy

1. Remove bird from pan and strain, discarding all solids
2. Allow fat to seperate
3. Skim fat off top and combine fat with equal amounts of flour in a pan over medium heat
4. Cook until roux is a light brown
5. Add pan juices gradually, stirring constantly, until the gravy is the desired consistency – (you may need to add chicken stock to thin the gravy out if there are not enough pan juices)

Cheesecake Tips

• I recommend cooking all cheesecakes in a water bath.
• To avoid overbeating, ensure that all ingredients are at room temp.
• For the cleanest cuts, dip the blade of the knife in hot water and wipe between cuts.

Ingredients

For Crust

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and well chopped, (but not gorund, or chopped too fine)
• 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons unslated butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon (if you don’t grind your own cinnamon, you are not allowed to make this recipe – sorry)

For the Filling

• (3) 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temp.
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 4 large eggs
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (spend the extra time hunting down the whole milk yogurt, it makes a difference)
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• pinch of salt

For the Sauce

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Butter a 9″ springform pan, sides included.
3. Mix all crust ingredients until the mixture sticks together.
4. Press mixture onto the bottom of the pan evenly.
5. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. 
6. Cool completely.
7. While the crust is ccoking/cooling, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl until smooth.
8. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next egg.
9. Mix in the pumpkin, yogurt, flour, vanilla, spices, and salt. 
10. Pour into pan.
11. Bake until outer 3 inches puff slightly and the center is softly set.  (It should still jiggle a little) – About 75 minutes.
12. Cool in a fresh cold water bath for 30 minutes.  Refrigerate in pan until cold, 4 hours or overnight.

For the Sauce

1. Bring sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to a boil, whicking until the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce heat to medium; boil 1 minute without stirring.  Remove from heat, and stir in bourbon.
3. Cool, stirring occasionally.

I also use prepared pie crusts.  In my experience, they turn out just as nice, but if you feel strongly about making your own crust, knock yourself out.

Ingredients

• 2 Pie Crusts (9 in”)
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1/3 Cup all-purpose flour
• 4 Cups Fresh Blackberries
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into fourths

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425.
2. If you aren’t using prepared crust, make your own crust.
3. Mix sugar and flour.
4. Stir in Berries and mix well.
5. Turn out into a pie crust-line pie plate.
6. Dot with butter.
7. Cover with second pie crust, seal and flute.
8. Bake until crust is brown and juice starts to bubble through flutes – About 35 – 45 minutes.

Turkey (Brined, then Roasted)

Dressing (In-Bird and Pan)

Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Gratin

Green Beans

Fresh Cranberry Relish

Pecan Pie

Roast Placenta

• 1-3lb fresh placenta (must be no more than 3 days old)
• 1 onion
• 1 green or red pepper (green will add colour)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 sleeve saltine crackers
• 1 tspn bay leaves
• 1 tspn black pepper
• 1 tspn white pepper
• 1 clove garlic (roasted and minced)

Method

(Preheat oven to 350 degrees)

1. Chop the onion and the pepper & crush the saltines into crumbs.
2. Combine the placenta, onion, pepper, saltines, bay leaves, white and black pepper, garlic and tomato sauce.
3. Place in a loaf pan, cover then bake for one and a half hours, occasionally pouring off excess liquid.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Placenta Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh, raw placenta
• 8oz V-8 juice
• 2 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup carrot

Method: blend at high speed for 10 seconds. Serve. A tasty thirst quencher!

I even have a plan of sorts.  Or rather a goal.  Which is that I am not trying to lose weight, I am simply trying to get to the point where I can say I have an excersise habit, 3-4 times per week, at least 30 minutes a day.  And mowing the lawn counts, dammit.  I know that weight loss will be a by product of this, but by not attaching a goal right now, I won’t be discouraged.  I can honestly say that if, in three months, I am excersising regularily and I haven’t lost weight, I won’t be upset.  Theresa hasn’t lost a lot of weight in six months, but she has definately gotten more toned and fit.  I guess Tom can take a little credit too, since he is now a skinny, sexy beast.

So we’ll see.  This may be short lived, but then again maybe not.

I know it is cheaper to eat at home, and I guess that these are the things I normally do, so the last week has been a vacation of sorts for me.  But I am a little dissapointed that I didn’t make some nice meals.  Since I like to cook so much, why didn’t I do more of that when I had the freedom to basically make whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  Have the kids ruined me?

• Fruit and Cheese Platter
• Salmon Dip
• Lobster Dip
• Assorted Olives 
• Tomato Relish
• Babaganoush
• Braised Chorizo
• Green Salad
• Roasted Shrimp with Poblanos
• Grilled Whole Pompano
• Strawberry, Pear and Star Anise Soup

Fruit and Cheese Platter

• Red Grapes
• Sliced Pears
• Whole Strawberries
• Manchego
• Irish Cheddar
• Smoked Rambol
• Goat Gouda
• Parma Proscuitto

Salmon Dip - Brought by guest
Lobster Dip - Brought by guest
Assorted Olives – Store bought

Tomato Relish

Ingredients

• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 lb. tomatoes
• 1/2 cup finely diced Sweet Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon mint
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Cut the bell pepper into fourths and remove seeds and membranes.  Halve the tomatoes and seed.
2. Char the peppers and tomatoes on a grill or under a broiler.  Cool, and finely chop.
3. Combine peppers and tomatoes with remaining ingredients and serve with bread or crackers.

Babaganoush – Store bought

Braised Chorizo

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb. Chorizo
• 2 cups red wine

Preparation

1. Bias cut the chorizo into 1/4 inch slices, (cut diagonally).  
2. Heat the oil to just below smoking and add the garlic and chorizo.  
3. Saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then drain.
4. Add the wine and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes.
5. Remove with a slotted spoon, adding however much reserved liquid to the serving platter as you desire.

Green Salad  - brought by guest

Roasted Shrimp with Poblanos - brought by guest

Grilled Whole Pompano

Ingredients

• 1 Whole Pompano
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

1. Make sure that all viscera have been removed from the fish and that the cavity is clean.
2. Take kitchen shears and cut off tail and all fins, (otherwise they will burn on the grill.)
3. Score fish on both sides, (several diagonal slices 1/4″ inch or less deep.)
4. Oil grill, then preheat grill to medium high.
5. Coat fish, inside and out, with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and peppar.
6. Place whole fish on grill, for about 7 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side.
7. Serve fish whole on a platter.  Let guests pull of fish as they see fit.  In comparison to most fish, pompano has very few, large bones, so this method of cookin and serving works very well for a party, or any sort of “family dining” scenario. 

Strawberry, Pear, and Star Anise Soup

Ingredients

• 3 pints strawberries
• 1 lb. pears
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8-10 star anise pods, or 1 Tablespoon anise seeds
• 2 cups water
• Vanilla ice cream

Preparation

1. Bring anise and water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Strain anise pods or seeds from the resulting broth.
3. Wash, hull, and roughly chop all strawberrries.
4. Peel, core, and roughly chop all pears.
5. Puree strawberries with sugar, then strain through a sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.
6. Puree pears and add to strawberries.  Mixing thoroughly.
7. Add the strained anise broth slowly to the puree, stirring and combining as you go.  Add only enoguh broth to get it your desired consistency, no more than 1/2 cup.
8. Using a medium sized ice cream scoop, put a single scoop of ice cream into a serving bowl, martini glasses work great for this.  Spoon soup over ice cream.  

Makes 12 servings.

Obviously this is a stir fry so get all ingredients prepped ahead of time. The total cooking time is about 5 minutes, so start your rice beforehand.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pork, cut into thin strips
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• soy sauce
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2T cornstarch
• 1T sherry
• 2T vinegar, plain white will work, but this is an area for options
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2t red pepper flakes
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Mix pork, half of the minced garlic, 2T of soy sauce, egg, cornstarch, and sherry in a bowl and set aside.
2. Mix 2T soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Heat oil to hot, but not smoking.
4. Add pork mixture, stir-fry until the pork loses pinkness, about 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Remove pork mixture from pan using a strainer.
6. Leave 1 T oil behind, if there is not enough, add some to the pan.
7. Add green peppers, red pepper flakes, remaining garlic, and onions. Stir fry 1 minute.
8. Return pork to the pan, and add the vinegar mixture. Stir-fry 1 minute.
9. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS – “Paella”

• 2T oil
• ½ lb. chorizo – cut in ¼” dice
• ½ cup finely chopped shallot
• 1 Lg. clove garlic, minced
• 1 ½ cup chicken stock
• ½ cup wine
• 1 lb. Shrimp
• ½ lb. Scallops
• 1T lemon juice
• 1 10oz box couscous (1 ½ cups)
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 cup peas
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/3 cup flat leaf parsley

INGREDIENTS – Dressing

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• ¾ t salt
• ½ t pepper
• 1/8 t cayenne

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil to hot, but not smoking.
2. Sauté chorizo and shallots 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, sauté 1 min. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Bring broth and wine to boil, add shrimp and scallops for 2 minutes, then remove, leaving behind the liquid and put the shellfish in a small bowl.
4. Add lemon juice, salt, and peer to shellfish and toss.
5. Reserve 1 ¾ cups cooking liquid, discard the rest.
6. Add saffron and bring to a boil.
7. Add couscous, stir, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff.
8. Combine all ingredients, except parsley and toss.
9. Add the parsley before serving.

For the dressing

1. Simply blend all ingredients and pour over the salad.
2. Toss well and let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.
3. Serve at room temp.

I don’t keep a journal and I don’t ‘blog’ but I have recently realized that there is a healing power in writing and I am taking the space here for a little healing.  This weekend, first thing Saturday morning, I received news that two of my two co-workers were killed in a one-car accident.  Keith was 22 and had a 3 year old son.  Louis was 26, had recently started to really get himself straightened out, and for the first time in his life, felt like he was on the right track, doing the right thing.  His last words to one of our Senior Managers were, “Don’t worry, you can count on me.”

OK – Take a breath.

I have two problems right now.  Problem number one.  I am pissed.  I am completely and totally pissed at Keith.  He liked to drive fast, and he was doing so; weaving in and out of traffic when he lost control of the car.  There is no way around this.  It. Is. His. Fault.  And if I could, I would beat his ass.  Maybe it is totally selfish.  Maybe I am just pissed because on Saturday when I tried to write a firm-wide e-mail, it took me an hour to write one paragraph because I could not stop crying long enough to simply type “He loved his kid.”  And damn him again, because it fucking took me 10 minutes to type it out this time.  He loved his job and he loved to talk about technology.  But when he was alone with me, the only thing, and I mean the only thing we talked about were our kids.  And he always started that conversation.  He wasn’t perfect, he didn’t live with his son, and frankly, because of that, he would have always had challenges raising his boy.  But he was well on his way to being a good father.  Instead, he was stupid.  He was careless.  He was selfish.  He was young.  And now he is dead and the world, and more importantly, one little boy is without a good father, who could have been a great father.  That’s what I am really pissed about. 

Poor Louis.  He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The fact that Louis was there, the fact that his family has to deal with Keith’s carelessness, well, I can deal with that.  Don’t get me wrong, I feel for his family and all of his other friends.  I grieve for Louis without a doubt.  But I have reconciled his death with the fact that sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes bad things happen to good people.  And while I hate the fact that he is gone, and I hate the fact that his death is affecting some very dear friends so much, I am finding solace knowing that he was innocent.  Life is not always sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.

So problem one is that I one minute I am pissed at Keith, the next I just want to be sad and grieve, and I am having a hard time figuring it out.

Some of you may have picked up on some of my earlier posts that I work for a tech company.  We have about 45 employees and in general, most of the employees are young.  This leads to quite a bit of partying and except for Christmas parties where apparently I make a fool of myself, I generally don’t partake.  (The last Christmas party was at the CEO’s house who lives on the water about two blocks from my house.  I’ve been told that I said, “I have wasabi at my house, you catch a fish, and I’ll eat it right here.”)  It’s not that I don’t want to socialize, it’s just that a) I’ve done all that, and b) I have a wonderful family that I like to spend time with.  But I do feel a strong connection to these people and I am finding it difficult to reconcile the fact that I want to say I am close to them, I feel close to them, but I really don’t spend any time with them outside of work.  Here’s problem number two. 

I take my family for granted.  Not my wife and kids so much, although I probably take them for granted to a certain extent, but my “family-family” – Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles.  I don’t call, I don’t write. 

I take my friends for granted.  I have people that I have known for over twenty years.  I used to call them friends.  I used to call some of them best friends.  Can I call someone a friend if I haven’t talked to them in years?  And now I have lost two friends who I took for granted, and that cannot be undone.  I see all of my co-workers, and I see how close they are to each other, and I hear them talk about how much time they spend together and I am jealous.  I am jealous that I am not included in that, but now I am also afraid that I am going to miss something that I will never be able to get back.  But as I write this, I realize that I have the opportunities to be with them.  I get most of the invitations.  But do I go to a bar on Friday night, or hightail it across town to be on time for the 6:00 soccer game my kids are in?  That is not a difficult decision for me.  And so maybe I just need to accept that I can’t be BFF with everybody, and frankly, if you try, it is not sustainable.  What I need to do is focus on taking time when I can.  I need to go out to lunch with them more, spend more time shooting the shit.  I have to do something more, because this is not a normal place to work.  The people here care for each other more than any other place I’ve worked at.  So how do I let them know how much I care about them when I feel like I can’t really spend any time with them?  This is really not a big problem, I’m sure it is just a matter of making a conscious effort for a small amount of time and then new, good habits will form.  But I hate that it has come to this. 

Why have I had to wait until two friends have died before I understand that friends cannot be taken for granted?  Shouldn’t I have learned this by now?

I’m also a big fan of this because it demonstrates interesting food chemistry, which I will probably talk about in more depth at some point in the future.  The result of this dish is an emulsion, which I always think are cool.  An emulsion is a uniform mixture of two unmixable liquids.  Here, the oil and the juice, another example might be a vinegarette.  But vinegarettes and other dressings are temporary emulsions, they need to be shaken before each use.  Permanent emulsions will maintain their consistency over time.  Two classic examples of emulsions are mayonaisse which is basically oil, vinegar, and eggs and hollandaise sauce (melted butter and water) you might say that water isn’t in a hollandaise, eggs are.  You’d be correct, but the reason hollandaise stays thick is because it is an emulsion between the melted butter and the water in the eggs.  There is a little more chemistry that is needed for a more detailed description, I’ll save that for the next recipe that has an emulsion.

BTW, it is this kind of stuff that makes cooking interesting to me.  I’m actually more interested in techique and the hows and whys than I am in the creative aspect of cooking.

Source – unfortunately, I don’t remember. 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup garlic, cut in a rough, large dice
1/2 cup onion, cut in a rough, large dice
2 cups, Orange Juice
1/2 cup, lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
Kosher salt 
Pepper
Cumin 
Oregano
Cilantro

DIRECTIONS
Combine the first four ingrediants.  In a sauté or sauce pan, heat the oil to smoking.  Here is where you need to be very careful.  Add the first four ingrediants to the hot oil.  I like to use a sauté pan since it allows me to tilt the pan and move the oil away from me, then I can slowly add the liquid to the pan without much spatter.  Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend in a processor.  The sauce should have some texture to it, don’t take it to a pureé, but it shouldn’t be too chunky either.  

It’s 8:30am on a Sunday and I hear my daughter start to cry/scream in my son’s room.  I go inside and he quickly admits that he has “hit her in the belly” because she was playing with a toy of his, and he didn’t like it.  Here’s the following conversation:

Me: What should you do now?

4 1/2 year old: Say I’m sorry.

Me:  That’s right.  And what should I do to you?

4 1/2 year old: I don’t want a spanking.

Me:  I didn’t ask you what you didn’t want.  What should I do?

4 1/2 year old: Make me breakfast.