Macho Man

These past couple weeks for me have been insane. Between having longer hours at work, and having too many unavoidable plans lately, I haven't had much time for anything else like my blog or housework. (If you think I have been neglecting my blog, you should see my apartment). I'm starting to panic a little, I have family that will be spending the weekend at my place and it needs to be cleaned, scrubbed, and bedding needs to be washed. Not too mention I still have to finish Christmas shopping and wrap all my presents... The list goes on. Sorry for the lack of regular posts!
Back to blogging, I did have a request the other day for nachos. Not from someone who wanted me to make them nachos, but a request for me to blog about them.
(I'm reminded right now of one of my sisters who tells this terrible joke every time nachos are mentioned. "What do you call cheese that is not yours?" "Nacho cheese!" I supposed this is cute the first time you hear it, but after the hundredth time it gets old).
Nachos are great, they are so versatile, nearly anything can go on nachos. I personally like ground beef, bell peppers, green onion, tomatoes, jalapenos and cheddar cheese on mine. The great thing about nachos is it's all about personal preference. If you don't like spicy foods, omit the jalapenos. If you don't like cheddar you can use Monterrey jack, pepper jack, or whatever cheese you do like. Any vegetable or topping can work. Add olives if you like. This is uncommon in restaurant nachos but even black beans or kidney beans work.

I made nachos the other day. I browned ground beef, and once cooked I added taco seasoning. I placed a layer of multi grain taco chips on a baking sheet and topped it with the taco beef. I topped that with cheddar cheese. I sprinkled on chopped white onions, tomatoes and Thai red bird chilies. I had intended on adding chopped yellow bell pepper, but forgot it in my fridge. I would have preferred to add sliced green or pickled jalapenos, but I had the Thai chilies on hand.

The nachos were very delicious nonetheless, after I had baked them, until the cheese melted, at 350 F.
I served them with salsa and guacamole. The guacamole was made by my friend, but I use the same recipe, which is below (in my own words)


Guacamole
Ingredients: avocados, red onion, tomato, chile, garlic clove, limes, cilantro
The recipe instructions are for making guacamole using 2 large-ish avocados
1) I start by chopping about a half cup (maybe a bit more) of red onion, and tossing it into a bowl
2) I cut a tomato in half, and scoop out the innards. I dispose of the innards. I use Roma tomatoes for guacamole, but a small hothouse, or a tomato from the vine would work too. I chop the tomato halves and add them to the chopped onion.
3) I mince the garlic clove and add it to the bowl.
4) I halve the chile and remove the ribs and seeds. I then dispose of the ribs and seeds. I use Thai red bird chilies (just one) in my guacamole, but a green jalapeno or even a habanero works. I chop the chile into fine pieces and add it to the bowl.
5) I halve the avocados and dispose of the pit. I use a spoon to scoop out the avocado meat onto my cutting board, and then I mash it with a fork. I add the mash to the bowl and stir it up.
6) I add the juice of two limes to the mix and stir that in, followed by a bit of salt.
7) anyone who likes cilantro can add some of it (chopped) at this point. I do not.

My friend tops hers with some reserved tomatoes and onion for a garnish.

To make more, you would use more of everything. I find a good rule to follow is one lime per avocado in the guacamole. If you do not like chunky bits of onion and tomato in it, you can puree the whole mix in a food processor. If you are curious about what avocados are ripe, they will have black skin and should be soft to the touch. If the avocado is hard, it's not ripe yet. If it's really soft, it's also no good.
I warn you, the guacamole is crave inducing. A lot of times in the summer when I don't feel like cooking, I just make a bowl of guacamole for supper.

Someone's in the Kitchen

Initially I sat down at my computer to write a post about the pizza I had made earlier this week. Then I realized the cord to transfer my pictures from my camera to my computer was sitting on my desk at work.

I have a tendency to forget a lot of things. For instance, I have every intention of bringing home my dishes from lunch everyday, but usually I forget until I have about a week and a half's worth of dishes sitting in the office fridge. This has been a problem since I was a kid and was always in trouble because I would never remember to get any permission slips signed until the last possible moment. I have no peppermint tea in my apartment because the last eight times I have been to the grocery store I have forgotten I was out of my favorite tea. And since I have forgotten to bring home my camera cord, this is no longer a post about pizza.

Instead, I am going to show you all where it is that I do my cooking. Most of my readers have probably seen my kitchen, since my readers mainly consist of close friends and family, but those of you who haven't seen it...here goes:

I love the red color of my kitchen. Red is my all time favorite color, and I wanted to make my kitchen some place I wanted to be. (Maybe kitchen is a generous term considering how small it is, but small hallway with all the kitchen appliances and sink takes too long to say). I hate large spaces of white, so the fridge is littered with all sorts of things. The sign on the left side says "Parking for Dutch Only", an homage to my heritage. The knife set is something I had begged for for years. Whenever it was Christmas or my birthday, if someone mentioned they got me a gift, I would ask "Is it knives?". Finally, someone took the hint and got me a set of KitchenAid knives.

The piece of counter to the right of the sink is where I do all my prep work. I have set the television to angle towards the kitchen so I can watch it while I make dinner. Perhaps that's why I manage to cut my fingers as much as I do. The spice rack holds about less than half of the spices that I have, the rest are in my pantry/storage closet/laundry room. The spray bottle is not for food, rather it's for spraying my dog when she starts to bark.

My two favorite things in my kitchen are my KitchenAid stand mixer, and blender. For a while my stand mixer didn't get a lot of use. Recently I have been using it more and more, it's so handy for some of the most menial kitchen tasks. Tasks like making meringue.

So there you have it. My kitchen is small, but it's big enough to get the job done.

Walking on Sunshine

I had a friend come to town to visit me for the weekend. She was supposed to leave on Sunday, but her car wouldn't start. We had to get it towed to a shop, which left her stranded in Edmonton until it was fixed. I was thrilled, to be honest, I hardly ever get to see her, so to have her here for a whole week was really awesome.

At some point this past week, I had one of my sisters, her friend, and my friend over for dinner. This was crazy for me. I am used to cooking for one, not cooking for four! This particular sister of mine loves a chicken dish that I got from Everyday Food.

Indian Spiced Braised Chicken

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

1 medium onion,thinly sliced

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes drained

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 Tbsp. ginger, grated from 1″ piece

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup yogurt, plain

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 teaspoons garam masala, optional

Cooked white rice, for serving

In a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, onion, tomatoes, tomato paste, ginger, garlic, coriander, and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours (or 8 hours on low) until fork tender. Stir in yogurt, cilantro and, if using, garam masala. Serve with rice.
Generally I make this in the oven. I start by browning the chicken in oil, then I remove the chicken from the Dutch oven. Then I saute the onion for a minute or two, add the garlic, ginger and spices, and saute it for a minute longer. Then I add the tomato paste and melt it in, then I add the canned tomatoes, and the chicken. Also add 2 cups of water or chicken stock. Bake @ 350 F for 2 hours. Remove from the oven, stir in the yogurt and garam masala. I omit cilantro because I am not a fan of it.

Note, I have made this in the slow cooker and I do brown the chicken, and saute the onions, garlic, ginger and spices.

I also serve this with na'an bread or pitas.

My stranded friend and I also went for dinner last night. We were trying to pick somewhere in West Edmonton Mall to eat at and we settled on The Cactus Club Cafe. Both of us ordered the Butternut Squash Ravioli. The ravioli filled with a puree of butternut squash, and it's served with seared scallops, crispy sage and pine nuts. The sauce is a truffle beurre blanc.

This was soooo good. We stared at it for five minutes before eating it because it was so beautiful. (Actually it was because they had taken our forks away when clearing the calamari).

Seriously though, who wouldn't want to eat this??

Keep Me Warm

On December 7, 2008, I was on a cruise ship in Miami, heading towards the Western Caribbean. The weather was very warm. I was lying out on a lounger, and when it got too hot I would either jump into the on board pool or have a frozen drink to cool down.

Fast forward to December 7, 2009. I am in the non-exotic city of Edmonton. The temperature is -30 C. The heat in my office isn't working, and my office is a balmy 10 or 11 C. (50 F for my American readers).

I wasn't prepared for a chilly office, so I hadn't worn a lot of warm clothes. My feet had hurt for a bit in the morning, but they didn't hurt again until I got into my very warm car. After a few minutes I realized my feet had gotten so cold during the day they went numb, and were now just starting to thaw out.

So after this very chilly day I was in the mood for something very warm. I had debated soup, but then I thought that maybe something with a bit of spice would be the best thing to fully warm myself up. I started searching the Internet for different curries. I found a recipe for one, but I feel that I changed enough of the recipe that it's my own.

Madras Curry

Ingredients:

- 14 oz can of full fat coconut milk

- 4 tbs madras curry paste (I used one made by Patak's)

- 3 tbs brown sugar

- 2 tbs fish sauce

- package of chicken breasts, cut up into small pieces

- medium onion, diced

- 3 carrots, sliced

- 3 handfuls of cashews, separated

- bunch of green onions, chopped

To make:

1) pour the can of coconut milk into a wok, or large skillet. Heat until hot, but do not bring to a boil

2) Add the curry paste and mix until dissolved. Add the brown sugar and fish sauce and mix until dissolved.

3) Add the chicken and two handfuls of cashews, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked

4) Add the onion and carrot and stir long enough for the veggies to heat through.

5) Remove from heat. Top with remaining cashews and green onions. Serve alongside jasmine or basmati rice. I also served it with mini pita rounds.

This was very simple and very tasty. I brought the leftovers into work, and one of my East Indian coworkers confessed this morning that he had ate some of my leftovers because he wanted to see how a "white person would make a curry". He said it tasted good, but wasn't spicy enough. I would say that it was fairly warm, but at the same time I wouldn't have called it spicy either. Delicious, nonetheless. (He suggested adding jalepenos to make it spicier, if anyone wants to make it that way)

To make the cute rice tower take a ramekin, or cup, or some sort of holding device about the size of serving of rice you desire. Spray it with a non-stick spray and pack the rice in gently. Packing it in gently means to not just spoon the rice in, and not to pack it in as hard as you can squish, but to gently press in the rice. Place a plate on top of the ramekin and flip it over, so now the ramekin is resting upside down on the plate. Lift the ramekin off, and you have a rice tower. Serve immediately because the rice tower will start to fall down in a matter of minutes.

I am lucky enough to work in an office that allows me to bring my dog at work. This is a shot of her on her makeshift bed that is on my desk. She is so adorable, I couldn't help but post it!

(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight

I think I am going to have to make my next week a light week. Most of this past week has been laden in sugar, butter, and all things delicious. I'm a firm believer in "all things in moderation, including moderation", yet there hasn't been much moderation at all lately.

Before I start attempting a "light week", I will finish off "slowly blocking off my arteries" week.

The vegetable for my supper tonight was beets, roasted beets. I stick whole beets in a baking sheet with about an inch of water @ 375 F. The beets I was using were on the large side so it took about an hour for them to be fork tender. Count on 40 minutes for small beets, 60 minutes for medium to medium large beets, and 80 minutes for the money beets.

Those of you who watch the Office might remember Dwight talking about money beets when he said "First rule in roadside beet sales, put the most attractive beets on top. The ones that make you pull the car over and go, 'Wow. I need this beet right now.' Those are the money beets"

After the beets are fork tender, let them cool for about ten minutes so they are cool enough to handle. Then peel and quarter them. Use a paring knife to aid in peeling. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

For my meat part of dinner, I made my all time favorite pan-fried New York strip loin. The recipe is from Everyday Food. I take a skillet and on med-high I heat up enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in the pan for 3 minutes, flip and cook for another 3. This will make a medium rare steak. (And really that's the only way to eat it). Remove the steak from the skillet and place under foil for 5 minutes. In the pan pour 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, and a 1/4 cup Dijon mustard. Pour the sauce over the steak after its 5 minutes resting period. (Cut into the steak before it rests and you are really doing yourself a big disservice)

Wow. I'm not going to lie, I will eat this sauce with a spoon. It is that good. Then again, I am an addict.
The final part of my meal was ravioli with a brown butter balsamic sauce. Yes, everything had balsamic in it, I did just admit I was an addict!

Cook the ravioli according to its package directions (I would use cheese ravioli as a meat one might overwhelm the very simple sauce). Meanwhile heat 6 tbs of butter in a saucepan, until the foam has subsided and the butter has turned a golden amber color. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute. Add 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. When the pasta is done, drain it, and toss with the sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese.

I forgot to add Parmesan though. The pasta was very delicious and I imagine if I had added the Parmesan it would have even been better.

Picture

I spent a good portion on Saturday looking at other food blogs. Mainly trying to figure out how to make my pictures better. I'm not going to complain about my camera, but I feel that it's strength might not necessarily be close up food shots. However, I think I have finally learned how to make them better.

The biscuits from the other night:

This was the picture I previously posted. Sure it looks tasty...but is it as good as this biscuit?

Hopefully what I read over the weekend will make the food in the pictures look better. Though I do think there is still room for improvement.

Heaven

If heaven had a taste, I believe it would be dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is an incredibly good caramel sauce that is popular in South America. To sound smarter than I am, I googled dulce de leche so I could blog interesting tidbits about it. The first five websites all had different terms of what dulce de leche meant in English (it's Spanish). So I gave up on that idea.

The websites basically said that dulce de leche meant candy or caramel made from milk. I guess it doesn't really matter what it means, it sounds better in Spanish anyway. Who would want "candy from milk" over dulce de leche? (dull-chay de lesh-ay).

Making dulce de leche is simple. It takes 30 seconds to prepare, but 2 hours to cook, plus cooling time, and the biggest catch is it requires checking on (you can't just set it and forget it).

You start by taking one (or more) cans of sweetened condensed milk. (Please make sure you didn't grab evaporated milk, I did this the first time and believe me, dulce de leche is not the end result).

Place the can, with the label removed, in a large pot of water and fill it with water until it's FULLY SUBMERGED.

Now you might be wondering why I didn't take the time to clear away the red pot before taking the first picture. Or why I made FULLY SUBMERGED all caps. This is very very important. The top of the can must always be covered with water. If the top becomes exposed you run the risk of the can exploding. Which at the very best would leave you with a big mess to clean up, at the very worst exploding tin could seriously hurt someone. What does this have to do with the red pot? When making the dulce de leche, the water in the can pot will evaporate, leaving the potential for the can to explode. Keep a separate pot of water simmering the entire time so that you can replenish the water in the pot holding the can.

Bring the water in the can pot to a boil, and then turn the heat down to a simmer. I have made this a few times now and I noticed when it was at an actual simmer the milk didn't caramelize enough. Keep it at a low boil. My definition of a low boil is that water still bubbles to the top, but there's no rolling boil. I kept the stove at medium.

Keep it at this low boil for two hours. Making sure to replenish the water (and then replenish the replenishing water as needed).

After two hours, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool slowly. Why? By immediately taking it out of the water you could shock the can and cause it to explode.

I can almost hear someone saying "Rebekah, with all this possible exploding going on, is dulce de leche really worth it?" I am replying with "Did you not hear me call this heaven??" I do not toss the word heaven around, as a description of food, lightly. I apply it to things like creme brulee, exceptionally good quality ice cream, mushrooms browned in butter, bacon, or a medium rare teriyaki sirloin from the Keg. Please people, give me some credit.

Once the the dulce de leche has cooled sufficiently, open the can and you will have:

You can use dulce de leche on many things. It can be spread on toast, or muffins. Pour it on top of angel food cake. Eat it out of the can with a spoon...not that I have done this...

I use it for an ice cream topper.