lunch break...

I will be at The Tattered Cover buying this book....

Strawberry Ice Cream

Photo from The Savvy Source

So I decided to make strawberry ice cream for the Project Runway Finale.    This should be labeled as easiest. dessert. ever.

Strawberry Ice Cream
from the Joy of Cooking

1 quart of Strawberries, clean and cut into quarters
4 cups of Whipping Cream
(original recipie used 2 cups of Heavy Cream and 2 cups of Whipping Cream - although I couldn't find Heavy cream and am not sure how it is different than whipping cream)
7/8 cups of sugar (Mac thought it needed more sugar, I did not)

Blend strawberries and cream in blender in batches until combined.   Chill.   Follow your ice cream freezer instructions on how to freeze your ice cream.   serve.


Difference between heavy cream and whipping cream.

The girl crush...

Don't know why I always develop crushes on english cooks... especially the girls.   Oh... I am always wishing I had access to the BBC.




Sophie Dahl... I love her, don't know why. Maybe it is because I love her kitchen wallpaper; maybe because her grandfather wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and the Fantastic Mr. Fox); maybe it is because I just read one of her books and loved it (thank you Shelly... ).   Seems some people are up in arms because she has dropped some serious lbs. and because she is copying Nigella.  pshaw... let the woman be!



...maybe it is because Sia is playing during her cooking show or because she is cooking in a halter dress (like I garden in a Yard Dress).



Oh Nigella... you were the first English-Cooking girl I loved.   Now we all know why we love Nigella... because she eats bread pudding in bed and cooks bacon-tomato hash, in a cocktail dress, after coming home from a late night on the town.



Please note I have conquered the youtube issue....

Anyone love Mid-Century Modern...

I am selling my Federal Glass Amoeba/Boomerang Glass Collection on Ebay.   If you know anyone who collects this glass or who might want to start send them here... It is a 28 piece collection.

Description:

The drinking glass pattern, popularly called, amoeba or boomerang, was actually called Contemporary by the Federal Glass Company. It also had the identification number of 4695. This was so the pattern was not confused with another Federal Glass pattern called Contemporary. The drinking glasses in the Contemporary pattern were marketed as - Federal's Heavy Bottomed Tumblers. These mid century modern amoeba boomerang drinking glasses or had 22 Kt gold integrated into their amoeba, which over the years has the gold accents wash off fairly easily.

There were a number of different styles of drinking glasses offered in this pattern and each pattern had a matching pitcher that could be purchased. The names of the different kind of tumblers included: Pilsner, Heavy Bottomed Tumbler, Heavy Bottomed Double Old Fashion, Heavy Bottomed Old Fashion, Heavy Bottomed Sky Ball, and Heavy Bottomed Jigger.

Here is a review of the collection and condition of each glass:

5 – Pilsner Glasses; these are the glasses in the worst condition in my collection. There is noticeable gold missing from the boomerangs; no chips or cracks.

9 – Heavy Bottom Tumblers. 4 of these glasses still have the original Federal Glass Sticker on them and have never been used. The rest of the glasses are in almost perfect condition with very little gold missing; no chips or cracks.

4 - Heavy Bottomed Double Old Fashion. These glasses are in almost perfect condition with very little gold missing; no chips or cracks.

5 - Heavy Bottomed Old Fashion. Three of these glasses are in almost perfect condition with very little gold missing, two have some gold missing; no chips or cracks.

5 - Heavy Bottomed Jigger. The shot… these are the hardest to come by of these glasses. All of my jiggers are in almost perfect condition with very little gold missing; no chips or cracks.

My collection does not include any Heavy Bottomed Sky Ball glasses.

Chicken and Mushrooms

Photo from myrecpies.com

Well I had every intention this weekend to make chicken marsala... but I didn't have any marsala.   I then remembered a post I saw last week of a chicken and mushroom dish... but then I couldn't remember who posted it.   At this point I should have just ordered pizza... but I can do this who can screw up chicken and mushrooms sauteed together over pasta, seriously.   So instead I winged it using white wine...

I remembered this week the post that inspired this dish.

Chicken Marsala and Mushrooms


2 chicken breasts, boned, skinless
1/4 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
1/8 tsp freshly ground, black pepper (or more, to taste)

2 T olive oil
1clove of garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup white wine
2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup of heavy cream

1/2 lb of cooked pasta
parmesan (about 1/4 of a cup)
Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.   Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet, add chicken breasts and sear on both sides, about 6 minutes each side.   Remove chicken and let rest on a cutting board.   Add onion to the pan (add a bit more oil if needed) and sautee for five minutes until they soften.   Add mushrooms and continue cooking until the mushrooms have released their juices, once this has happened turn heat to high so liquid will cook off and the mushrooms will begin to brown, add oil if needed (about 5-10 minutes).  While mushrooms are cooking cut chicken into bite sized pieces.   Continue cooking mushrooms until they brown then add garlic and sautee for 1-2 minutes.   Add wine and scrape all bits off bottom of pan, continue cooking until wine has cooked off.   Add heavy cream and cooked pasta and stir until heated, sprinkle parmesan over dish and stir.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom note: one other thing I learned this weekend from Cooks Illustrated... to speed up the cooking of mushrooms microwave them until they start releasing their juices.   I did about 8 minutes and it really cut down on the cooking time... because we all know it can sometimes take 20 minutes to brown 2 cups of mushrooms.

Taco's and the weekend

Photos from Food and Wine

So I spent my weekend catching up on yard work duties. I live on a busy street so it really pains me to work in my front yard, as it is like gardening next to the freeway. My backyard is always well cared for and pretty and my front yard is always neglected, but the past few years I have made an effort to pay more attention to the curb appeal.  That was my weekend... pulling up grass, trimming trees, cleaning the garage and raking (thanks Mac)!

But, I did cook a lot this weekend and once recipe in particular was given to me by a co-worker and we (other co-workers) have affectionately named it Bo's Mexican Meat, in reality it is Tyler Florence's Mexican Pot Roast and it is delicious!

I got a hankering for taco's after reading the Taco World article in this months Food and Wine... I love taco's more than any other food and I could eat them every single day. There are so many varieties that one could never grow tired of the tasty taco treat, but I will tell you I won't be trying the L.A. Gas Station Taco Recipe in F&W... I am sorry that sounds gross.    I am hoping to make the Crunchy Tofu Taco's very soon, I always vow that I would like to become better tofu chef... but it never happens... so I am making a resolution to cook with tofu four times in the month of May... there I said it... Mac get ready.   Please let me know if there are any recipes you think I should try.

I, of course, used the pot roast meat to make tacos... but Bo tells me that he uses it the first night for taco's and then makes enchiladas the second night reserving the juice for the enchilada sauce.   I would never use it for enchiladas - I don't like beef enchiladas - I am a cheese or chicken kind of girl.   But, I did save the cooking liquid, because it was delicious, and I have been thinking of uses for it and I will let you know what comes of that.   I think I might try a Tortilla Soup... I stuck it in the fridge so I can make sure it isn't too greasy.
 
Mexican Pot Roast (from Tyler Florence)
 
2 pounds beef shoulder (pot roast-style) (I couldn't find a shoulder so I used a rump roast)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 large onion, sliced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin

* Taco or enchilada fixings (depending on your final dish)

Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, or other heavy pot that has a tight cover, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the garlic and the beef to the pot, browning the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice sear on the outside. Add the onion and allow to lightly brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, plus 1 tomato can of water, spices, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 3 hours until the meat is fork tender. Let meat cool in the liquid. Shred meat and set aside. While you shred the meat, bring sauce back up to a light boil. Take sauce off heat.

If you make tacos with the meat, put a couple ladles of sauce onto the meat and incorporate. Use as much sauce to moisten the meat (you don't want runny taco meat). Use the meat as you would any other taco meat, with the toppings you like.

If you make enchiladas, follow the step above, but you can add more sauce, if you like. Place the meat inside corn tortillas, rolling and placing side-by-side in baking pan. Pour sauce over the pan of enchiladas, top with cheese, and bake. (Use more sauce than you think you would. The first time I made enchiladas, I thought I used enough and they came out on the dry side. But -- I kept the sauce on the stove so when I plated them, I poured more sauce over and they ended up perfect. So, if you don't use enough when baking, keep the sauce around, just in case.)

Thank you Bo!   And Tyler.

Spring Cure: update

Well... I am still plodding along on the Spring Cure.   My bathroom progress stalled last weekend when we realized the claw tub fixture had angled brackets, which we could not use on my particular tub.   I returned the shanks and am hoping to get replacement brackets this week.

The bedroom is progressing, I have cleaned out all the drawers and closets.   Now I just need to purchase all the bedding and furniture.