30 October 2009

Busy Day Cake


This is before I dropped it and found out it was raw in the middle. But don't worry, I just put it back in the oven in smashed pieces and let it cook a little more. Then I served it with plain whole milk yogurt and it was just delightful. From failure to dessert! No problem.

Busy Day Cake
adapted from Edna Lewis, via Orangette, tinkered with by me.

1 stick of butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or almond extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of cardamom
1/2 cup cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, and then add the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Alternately add flour mix and cream to the sugar and butter mix. Don't over mix. Spoon batter into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 35 minutes or so.
I served it, broken, with Nancy's whole milk honey yogurt and that was my favorite part. This cake is easy and you probably have the ingredients at your house to make it right now. Go do it!

Put That Away Jacky

Oh Hey, Oregon


You are fucking beautiful.

28 October 2009

Marlow&Sons&Daughters









A little more Brooklyn delight for you all. I have been meaning to write about this ever since it actually happened- we had a most delicious, and sort of confusing, meal at Marlow and Sons.

We ate rabbit sausage with cabbage and mustard, chicken liver pate, greens with meat, swordfish, brick chicken and spetzle with rabbit. We also had a prefect bottle of wine. Our waitress tried to undermine my wine choice because she didn't realize that I have been schooled by the best about wines of the Jura! But, somehow we were able to convince her that it was not our first time in a restaurant and she served us what we wanted (it took pleading. She assumed I wanted a bottle of easy Chardonnay, not Jura Chardonnay which is amber colored and tastes like sherry DUH MY FAVOIRTE). Anyway. As I suspected, it was perfect with every single dish we had including a simple apple tart with honey ice cream and a chocolate caramel tart sprinkled with sea salt.
We sort of had the waitstaff's attention throughout the night for a couple of reasons. When my brother and I first arrived we had a drink at the bar. It was then that I made a huge ass out of myself, thanks to misinformation that my worst enemy Shane gave me. You see, a long time ago Shane said at one of our staff meetings that Morgan Freeman owned Tito's vodka. I took it as a fact because he is our bar manager, we were at an official meeting, and what kind of lie would that be anyway? Well, little did Shane know, it would be a good one that would come in to play a year and a half later. So Ryland and I sat down at the bar and I asked the bartender which vodka's they had. They did not have my preferred vodka, Ciroc, but they did have Tito's.
"Who is it that owns Tito's?" I asked him.
"Dunno. Tito I guess. Someone in Texas."
"No no. It's a celebrity." I said, matter of factly. "I will ask my bartender. Oh! I think it's Morgan Freeman!"
The bartender looked suspicious, but then sort of agreed that maybe it was true...maybe. So I texted Shane right away and said "Does Morgan Freeman own Titos?"
He responded:"LOL THAT WAS A LIE I MADE UP LIKE 2 YEARS AGO!!"
At this point the bartender just walked away. He came back later, never to speak of my embarrassing moment again, and we talked about Portland and the restaurant I work at and all that. Then our friends arrived and we sat at our table. This is when the waitress talked down to me about my wine choice, probably because she thought I was a complete idiot after the whole Tito's episode. Then she was embarrassed because she realized that she was being condescending (a feeling I know well as a waitress), and then we got some free shit (rabbit sausage and caramel tart- so rad)!!!!
Anyway- when I said we had the waitstaff's attention, I meant to say that they were confused by us, and then horrified as they watched us eat our desserts. We had just consumed an enormous, meatnormous meal, and when desserts hit the table it was like we hadn't seen food in a week. Forks were blurred, hands were smacked away, there was total silence at the table aside from the sound of furious gobbling.
What a night. I miss that night.

23 October 2009

High Line Park






This place was pretty cool until we got kicked out so the Obama family could stroll through! Its ok though, we forgive them.

19 October 2009

Best I Ever Had






Breakfast with Ryland and Tessie today was perfect despite my case of the shakes (ps I was drunk when I posted last night). I have now seen versions of this item on two menus in the old NYC, so today I ordered it at Five Leaves: Fresh Ricotta with thyme, olive oil, cracked pepper, figs and honey comb served with raisin walnut bread. Are you kidding me? Honey comb? It really was perfect and also I got the best orderer award which is something I cherish.

The rest of the day I continued the uphill battle with my hangover and we walked all over town and over some bridge to look at Ryland's favorite building. It was spooky and certainly haunted by handless mill girls. For dinner: Marlo and Sons. I don't have the strength to describe the meal right now- but you can count on it tomorrow.

18 October 2009

2pznappod Dnr










I had dinner at the 2pznappod evil mindz center last night. I cooked. It was horrible and full of mujadara, roasted cauliflower and scotch. Naturally I feel broken, prematurely hungover and hungry for more. xoxo ps would have slept over 4 ever- brother made me leave.

Prune






We ate at Prune. Then we went to the Momofuku Milk Bar. And now I feel sick.

17 October 2009

12 October 2009

I'm Salt, I'm Pepper

Butter











If it seems like my life is becoming a "Fun With Dairy" series, that's because it is. I love finding out how these wonderful foods are made, and they seem to be much better when made at home (despite all my failures). Butter really is easy to make, and all you need is cream. Of course, salt is a great thing to throw in there too, and we tried adding honey, cocoa powder, pimenton, and herbs as well. My favorite was the butter that we added black, smokey salt to. This made it sort of grey in color and a little bit creepy looking, but absolutely delicious. You can see it there spread on toast.

Topher made Ghee, a sacred food to feed his spirit through the winter. He gave some to me perhaps to enhance my spiritual life, but I'm probably just going to spread it on waffles and call it a day.

10 October 2009

Simple and Impossible


Boiling the milk


Cutting the curds and taking their temperature


The whey


The curds


The cheese


Impossible is the wrong word- people have been successfully making mozzarella for hundreds of years. But for this hillbilly, it did not come easy. I followed the directions, I actually took temperatures, and I still ended up with rubbery cheese.
It was somewhere around the time when I was supposed to reach into the 135 degree water and start pulling the curds when I realized I should have bought the rubber gloves they recommended. I kept thinking, Come on! Do Italian Nonna's really put on plastic gloves to pull their mozzarella? Either yes, they do, or they are even cooler and tougher than I thought before. That water is fucking hot. My hands became pink and tender immediately, and I couldn't handle pulling the curds while my hands melted into skin glue. So I threw the curds back into the water hysterically and ran my fingers under cold water. I think this is when I failed.
Next time, I will have gloves ready so I can get in there like a tough guy and get that cheese done!
Does anyone have any tips for making creamy and tender mozzarella?