Here is a link on how to make vanilla extract.
ENJOY!
YUM.
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Fettucine Alfredo for 2.5 people
Who doesn't love fettucine alfredo? Weirdos, that's who. I love it a hell of a lot more than red sauce because I have a soft spot in my heart (and a hard part in my arteries) for creamy things. However, storebought alfredo sauce is in my experience expensive, full of strange things and WAY too salty.
Interwebs to the rescue! I make fettucine for my family based on this recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis, who I always call Giada Boobylicious for one reason alone. I make a few changes though because my family is small and there is apparently a huge amount of lemon juice in this, as in, way too much.
Here goes!
You will need:
Ingredients:
4 T of butter
1 C of heavy cream
the juice of one lemon
grated zest of one lemon
1 C grated parmesan cheese (DO NOT USE THE PRE-GRATED STUFF. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE)
grated nutmeg (a pinch; please use fresh)
2/3 of a box of fettucini pasta (I like Barilla. It just has a better mouth feel to me)
salt
Equipment:
Heavy Saucepan that will fit all this stuff
Pot to boil water
Something to grate the lemon zest and the cheese and the nutmeg (I use a really sharp veggie peeler for the lemon and mince the **** out of it with a good knife and use the small holes on my box grater for the nutmeg and cheese
a cutting board
a knife or two
a spoon and potentially a whisk if you're feeling fancy
tongs
Procedure
Get water boiling in the huge pot, making sure you don't put in so much water it will boil over. Put a lid on it.
Pour heavy cream in pan; add butter and place over medium-low heat, until butter is melted, stirring or whisking occasionally.
Add the juice of one lemon. Stir to combine. Turn off or let hang out over low heat, but keep an eye on it if you keep the heat on.
When water is boiling in pot, add a handful of salt and add the pasta, stirring for the first 30 seconds to keep the pasta from sticking together. Cook according to directions/ till al dente. Slighty on the hard side is better. Drain.
Add cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and nutmeg to the heavy cream-butter-lemon pan. Use tongs to mix the pasta in the sauce, then cover and let hang out for a few minutes; turn the heat to low if you feel like you need it to be hotter.
ENJOY!
If you feel like this needs protein in addition to all the fat and carbs, roasted chicken goes great with this. Grilled/scampied shrimp would probably make it killer, gastronomically and literally. Add chicken to the sauce while the pasta is cooking so that it gets a change to heat through. Shrimp, I would cook alongsidethe dish, seasoning them with lemon juice, garlic powder and olive oil since reheated shrimp are nasty. Add them at the very end.
Asparagus is a nice addition, as are sun dried tomatoes. Roasted garlic would be delicious and be healthier.
Feel free to make a salad to accompany this! It would round the meal out nicely. I am just generally too lazy to ever make a salad. I know.
Use different kinds of pasta to make it more colorful. Spinach pasta is my favorite.
This recipe is great. While it takes a bit of forethought in terms of ingredients (I usually don't have heavy cream in my house), it's as easy as making a box of macaroni, quick and delicious. The lemon gives a great flavor and cuts through the richness of the cream and gives it a real freshness. Because the ingredients list is so short, get the best ingredients you can. And next time you consider reaching for the jar of carageenan laden white glop that most markets carry, please, make this.
You'll be glad you did. And if you do any variations, tell me!
Interwebs to the rescue! I make fettucine for my family based on this recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis, who I always call Giada Boobylicious for one reason alone. I make a few changes though because my family is small and there is apparently a huge amount of lemon juice in this, as in, way too much.
Here goes!
You will need:
Ingredients:
4 T of butter
1 C of heavy cream
the juice of one lemon
grated zest of one lemon
1 C grated parmesan cheese (DO NOT USE THE PRE-GRATED STUFF. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE)
grated nutmeg (a pinch; please use fresh)
2/3 of a box of fettucini pasta (I like Barilla. It just has a better mouth feel to me)
salt
Equipment:
Heavy Saucepan that will fit all this stuff
Pot to boil water
Something to grate the lemon zest and the cheese and the nutmeg (I use a really sharp veggie peeler for the lemon and mince the **** out of it with a good knife and use the small holes on my box grater for the nutmeg and cheese
a cutting board
a knife or two
a spoon and potentially a whisk if you're feeling fancy
tongs
Procedure
Get water boiling in the huge pot, making sure you don't put in so much water it will boil over. Put a lid on it.
Pour heavy cream in pan; add butter and place over medium-low heat, until butter is melted, stirring or whisking occasionally.
Add the juice of one lemon. Stir to combine. Turn off or let hang out over low heat, but keep an eye on it if you keep the heat on.
When water is boiling in pot, add a handful of salt and add the pasta, stirring for the first 30 seconds to keep the pasta from sticking together. Cook according to directions/ till al dente. Slighty on the hard side is better. Drain.
Add cooked pasta, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and nutmeg to the heavy cream-butter-lemon pan. Use tongs to mix the pasta in the sauce, then cover and let hang out for a few minutes; turn the heat to low if you feel like you need it to be hotter.
ENJOY!
If you feel like this needs protein in addition to all the fat and carbs, roasted chicken goes great with this. Grilled/scampied shrimp would probably make it killer, gastronomically and literally. Add chicken to the sauce while the pasta is cooking so that it gets a change to heat through. Shrimp, I would cook alongsidethe dish, seasoning them with lemon juice, garlic powder and olive oil since reheated shrimp are nasty. Add them at the very end.
Asparagus is a nice addition, as are sun dried tomatoes. Roasted garlic would be delicious and be healthier.
Feel free to make a salad to accompany this! It would round the meal out nicely. I am just generally too lazy to ever make a salad. I know.
Use different kinds of pasta to make it more colorful. Spinach pasta is my favorite.
This recipe is great. While it takes a bit of forethought in terms of ingredients (I usually don't have heavy cream in my house), it's as easy as making a box of macaroni, quick and delicious. The lemon gives a great flavor and cuts through the richness of the cream and gives it a real freshness. Because the ingredients list is so short, get the best ingredients you can. And next time you consider reaching for the jar of carageenan laden white glop that most markets carry, please, make this.
You'll be glad you did. And if you do any variations, tell me!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Recipe: Crappy fried Rice
I miss Chinese food from NY and while you can find really good Chinese food here in PdX, I never want to pay for it. This is a good way to use leftover rice and even if you **** if up, it is still tasty. You will need:
Ingredients:
Leftover rice. We always use medium grain sticky rice which actually sucks for this. Use Jasmine of long grain and your results will probably be better than mine.
Oil (Some kind of veggie and a touch of sesame oil)
Ginger, grated
Garlic, minced
(Scallions perhaps? Slice and set the white part aside from the green)
Meat (if you want; slice it super thin and small; if you are using shrimp, be prepared to take them out of the pan and set them aside so they dont overcook and get nasty)
(Cornstarch: add this to meat you stirfry to keep it tender and thicken sauces. optional)
Soy sauce (duh)
Something sticky/sweet. I use this molassas based teriyaki sauce but have used pineapple juice or maple syrup (a bit) in a pinch
frozen "asian" veggies
Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger and garlic and stir till fragrant over mediumish heat. Add white parts of scallions and fry for a little bit of time.
Add meat and cook till done. Remove to other plate if you feed like dirtying another plate.
Add a bit more oil. Add rice, breaking it up with your hands best you can. Pour on soy sauce and mix around so that the sauce distributes evenly. Add the sticky stuff and stir as well.
Add frozen veggies, stir till incorporated and cover till veggies ae heated through. Eat.
Obviously if you wanted to, you could add fresh veggies right after the meat is cooked through, then do the rice...but buying veggies in small amounts for stiry fry is annoying. Though it is probably a good way to utilize veggie scraps.
Use a metal spoon to make it so you can scrape the bottom of the pan without killing stuff.
is it aunthentic? No. is it tasty? Yeah. Sticky chinese inspired rice. YUM.
Ingredients:
Leftover rice. We always use medium grain sticky rice which actually sucks for this. Use Jasmine of long grain and your results will probably be better than mine.
Oil (Some kind of veggie and a touch of sesame oil)
Ginger, grated
Garlic, minced
(Scallions perhaps? Slice and set the white part aside from the green)
Meat (if you want; slice it super thin and small; if you are using shrimp, be prepared to take them out of the pan and set them aside so they dont overcook and get nasty)
(Cornstarch: add this to meat you stirfry to keep it tender and thicken sauces. optional)
Soy sauce (duh)
Something sticky/sweet. I use this molassas based teriyaki sauce but have used pineapple juice or maple syrup (a bit) in a pinch
frozen "asian" veggies
Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger and garlic and stir till fragrant over mediumish heat. Add white parts of scallions and fry for a little bit of time.
Add meat and cook till done. Remove to other plate if you feed like dirtying another plate.
Add a bit more oil. Add rice, breaking it up with your hands best you can. Pour on soy sauce and mix around so that the sauce distributes evenly. Add the sticky stuff and stir as well.
Add frozen veggies, stir till incorporated and cover till veggies ae heated through. Eat.
Obviously if you wanted to, you could add fresh veggies right after the meat is cooked through, then do the rice...but buying veggies in small amounts for stiry fry is annoying. Though it is probably a good way to utilize veggie scraps.
Use a metal spoon to make it so you can scrape the bottom of the pan without killing stuff.
is it aunthentic? No. is it tasty? Yeah. Sticky chinese inspired rice. YUM.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
How to Cook for Hungry Nerds. Or Your Fam: Pork Roast
I figured today was as good a day as any to post a quick, non-sensical recipe.
Food is very important. It is the fuel that feeds our bodies, it is the thing we (usually) sit down to enjoy. It is a simple pleasure, a reason to get together.
I love to cook. One of my favorite parts of gaming is making food for my friends and hanging out before we break out character sheets or dice. I also love cooking for my family, small that it is, planning meals for dinner and making leftovers for next days lunch.
Here is a quick, easy recipe for Pork Roast. Leftovers can be slathered in barbeque sauce or used for taco/burrito fodder. Heck, even a crusty baguette and some lettuce could round out a ridiculously filling lunch. Here goes.
Pork Shoulder Roast: to be prepared the night before for best results
1 pork shoulder roast, about 3-4 lbs. These are generally cheaper than pork chops and other pork roasts and have a good amount of fat.
1-2 head of garlic, a nice big one. You can add more garlic if you like.
About....10 green olives, with pimientos (the red thing in the middle?)
Coriander..a Tablespoon?
Salt: 2 teaspoons? (I never neasure, these are all rough estimates)
Dried Oregano, about 2 tsp-1 T
Paprika, 1 tsp
Olive Oil
1 Lemon, cut in half
Liquid (this can be broth, water, beer...wine?)
You will need a cutting board, a knife for chopping stuff, a knife for poking holes in meat, a dutch oven, a bowl and a spoon.
Mince the garlic, getting it as fine as you can. If you have a mortar and pestle, just use it instead, seriously. Place garlic in bowl.
Mince olives, as fine as you can. Add to garlic.
Add oregano, coriander, paprika, salt and a good glug of olive oil to the bowl. Mix it up.
Poke holes in pork roast with a knife (note: pork shoulders usually have one side that is like a little blanket of fat. This will be the top and should not have holes poked into it), making x's. Make them bigger with your finger and then stuff the garlic-olive-etc mixture into the holes, trying to get the chunks within the meat. Once all holes are filled and all mixture is used, rub your yucky, porky hands all over the thing, including the "top." Squirt the lemon juice all over it.
Wash your nasty hands.
Cover and let sit in a fridge overnight or on a counter for like, a few hours (all the herbs and salt will keep your pork roast from being a germ factory, so don't freak out Though I always make mine the night before). A few days would make it even better.
The day of eating, about 4 hours before when you want to eat it, throw roast into a cold oven, and turn it up to 325 F. In a few hours, your house will smell delicious. let cook at least 3 hours, till meat comes off easily with a fork. Serve with rice and beans, if you're a crazy latin like me, as well as a few lemon wedges.
This isn't a true traditional Puerto Rican pork roast but dude, I write about elves in my spare time. So what?
Food is very important. It is the fuel that feeds our bodies, it is the thing we (usually) sit down to enjoy. It is a simple pleasure, a reason to get together.
I love to cook. One of my favorite parts of gaming is making food for my friends and hanging out before we break out character sheets or dice. I also love cooking for my family, small that it is, planning meals for dinner and making leftovers for next days lunch.
Here is a quick, easy recipe for Pork Roast. Leftovers can be slathered in barbeque sauce or used for taco/burrito fodder. Heck, even a crusty baguette and some lettuce could round out a ridiculously filling lunch. Here goes.
Pork Shoulder Roast: to be prepared the night before for best results
1 pork shoulder roast, about 3-4 lbs. These are generally cheaper than pork chops and other pork roasts and have a good amount of fat.
1-2 head of garlic, a nice big one. You can add more garlic if you like.
About....10 green olives, with pimientos (the red thing in the middle?)
Coriander..a Tablespoon?
Salt: 2 teaspoons? (I never neasure, these are all rough estimates)
Dried Oregano, about 2 tsp-1 T
Paprika, 1 tsp
Olive Oil
1 Lemon, cut in half
Liquid (this can be broth, water, beer...wine?)
You will need a cutting board, a knife for chopping stuff, a knife for poking holes in meat, a dutch oven, a bowl and a spoon.
Mince the garlic, getting it as fine as you can. If you have a mortar and pestle, just use it instead, seriously. Place garlic in bowl.
Mince olives, as fine as you can. Add to garlic.
Add oregano, coriander, paprika, salt and a good glug of olive oil to the bowl. Mix it up.
Poke holes in pork roast with a knife (note: pork shoulders usually have one side that is like a little blanket of fat. This will be the top and should not have holes poked into it), making x's. Make them bigger with your finger and then stuff the garlic-olive-etc mixture into the holes, trying to get the chunks within the meat. Once all holes are filled and all mixture is used, rub your yucky, porky hands all over the thing, including the "top." Squirt the lemon juice all over it.
Wash your nasty hands.
Cover and let sit in a fridge overnight or on a counter for like, a few hours (all the herbs and salt will keep your pork roast from being a germ factory, so don't freak out Though I always make mine the night before). A few days would make it even better.
The day of eating, about 4 hours before when you want to eat it, throw roast into a cold oven, and turn it up to 325 F. In a few hours, your house will smell delicious. let cook at least 3 hours, till meat comes off easily with a fork. Serve with rice and beans, if you're a crazy latin like me, as well as a few lemon wedges.
This isn't a true traditional Puerto Rican pork roast but dude, I write about elves in my spare time. So what?
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