Thursday, August 18, 2005
Tapas party
I've been invited to a tapas party, for which I need to bring either tapas or wine. I predict that the wine list that will be distributed will feature wines right out of my price range, so I'm seeking tapas suggestions. I've never been to a tapas party, never eaten the things, though I understand the concept. They need not be Spanish, but they do need to be small.
Go!
(Thanks.)
Go!
(Thanks.)
Saturday, August 13, 2005
A find for frog
When I was on my hiatus, I spent some time in the wilds of Pennsylvania, not a place I necessarily expect to happen upon a fabulous culinary find, but that just goes to show you what comes of assumptions: they get busted. And how.
Midway during my week, I was whisked away to a fantastic farmhouse and served an amazing lunch: corn on the cob purchased that morning from a nearby farm, perfectly ripe melon, a platter of sliced vegetables drizzled in oil and spices, and roasted pork from a recent pig roast that we ate slathered in homemade barbecue sauce on grilled multi-grain buns.
But the find, for me, was dessert: a platter of peaches and slices of smoked gouda. The cheese quickly became, for me, nothing more than a vehicle for aged balsamic vinegar. It was like nothing else I've eaten and I haven't stopped thinking about it yet.
Midway during my week, I was whisked away to a fantastic farmhouse and served an amazing lunch: corn on the cob purchased that morning from a nearby farm, perfectly ripe melon, a platter of sliced vegetables drizzled in oil and spices, and roasted pork from a recent pig roast that we ate slathered in homemade barbecue sauce on grilled multi-grain buns.
But the find, for me, was dessert: a platter of peaches and slices of smoked gouda. The cheese quickly became, for me, nothing more than a vehicle for aged balsamic vinegar. It was like nothing else I've eaten and I haven't stopped thinking about it yet.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
I'm Bad At The Cool-Down Period
I've dealt with it twice today. Over the course of yesterday and today, Dave and I made Mushroom and Spinach Stuffed Zucchini from the Low-Fat Moosewood Cookbook. We quadrupled the recipe so that there would be enough for both of us to eat them for lunch all week. Once they came out of the oven this afternoon I had to leave the room and fool myself into thinking I was busy so I wouldn't eat our lunches right away.
Then, this evening, since I have a houseguest coming tomorrow and should be cleaning the apartment, I decided to bake. I made Tracy Jorge's Oatmeal Raisin Bars. They just came out of the oven and they're sitting on the stovetop, cooling. I'm *terrible* at this moment in baking. I hate it every single time I bake. I know that if I don't wait for them to cool properly they won't hold together when I cut them into bars. I know that I'll just burn myself if I try to eat or cut them now. I know that they'll still be yummy and warm, but not scalding, if I can just wait a little bit. But it's SO HARD! The whole apartment smells like yummy and the batter was SOO GOOOD.
These bars are basically butter and sugar with enough oats and flour to hold them together. They use brown and raw cane sugars, rather than white sugar, and I'm kind of curious how that will taste and what kind of difference it will make.
You can listen to the oatmeal rasin bar recipe here or subscribe to The Vegan Cooking School's podcast here.
EDIT/UPDATE: I just wanted to say that creating this post took care of the cooldown period for me, and now I'm eating a bar and it's delicious. (Okay, so I didn't wait quite long enough, since it fell apart as I was taking it out of the pan, but still. I didn't burn myself!)
I also wanted to let you know that the baking time Jorge gives in her podcast (30 - 40 minutes) is way too long. I took these out after 20 minutes and they're already starting to get crispy at the edges.
(Cross-posted to my blog)
Then, this evening, since I have a houseguest coming tomorrow and should be cleaning the apartment, I decided to bake. I made Tracy Jorge's Oatmeal Raisin Bars. They just came out of the oven and they're sitting on the stovetop, cooling. I'm *terrible* at this moment in baking. I hate it every single time I bake. I know that if I don't wait for them to cool properly they won't hold together when I cut them into bars. I know that I'll just burn myself if I try to eat or cut them now. I know that they'll still be yummy and warm, but not scalding, if I can just wait a little bit. But it's SO HARD! The whole apartment smells like yummy and the batter was SOO GOOOD.
These bars are basically butter and sugar with enough oats and flour to hold them together. They use brown and raw cane sugars, rather than white sugar, and I'm kind of curious how that will taste and what kind of difference it will make.
You can listen to the oatmeal rasin bar recipe here or subscribe to The Vegan Cooking School's podcast here.
EDIT/UPDATE: I just wanted to say that creating this post took care of the cooldown period for me, and now I'm eating a bar and it's delicious. (Okay, so I didn't wait quite long enough, since it fell apart as I was taking it out of the pan, but still. I didn't burn myself!)
I also wanted to let you know that the baking time Jorge gives in her podcast (30 - 40 minutes) is way too long. I took these out after 20 minutes and they're already starting to get crispy at the edges.
(Cross-posted to my blog)
