Birthdays and recipes
Dec. 12th, 2015 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessI wasn't going to post since I did nothing of interest other than vaguely clean and realize even a week isn't enough time for this (given that I'll be gone like 3 days of that week). But then I remembered it's Kanda's 6th birthday. Happy Birthday fuzzbutt.
I'm not 100% sure he feels well. I need to talk to my sister in law about what she gives her long haired cat as a cure for constipation. I think that's the problem. He won't touch his food and wants chicken. Fine but then he gets that and doesn't want it either.
And that blue jean toy he has was not meant for him. It was for my brother's cats but he claimed it after Bob Evans farm fest and now he doesn't want it. Tough. His toy now. I tried to get him to play for the holidays but nope.
Apparently I only remember my 100 things challenge from years ago now when it's holiday cooking time. Here are two I tried tonight
Nordic Winter Vegetable Soup
Got this from the Food & WIne Dish emails and it's by Trina Hahnemann
• TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
•SERVINGS: 8
INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 10 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
BUY INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
1.In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, leeks and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the barley. Add the vegetable broth, water, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Add the celery root and parsnips and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over moderately low heat until the barley and root vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
2.Stir in the spinach and nutmeg and simmer for 5 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve in deep bowls.
Honestly this soup hinges on a couple of things. Most importantly do you like parsnips? If not don't bother. Now I couldn't find celery root. Maybe it balances the soup. I will say when I make it again I'll NOT be using leeks. They're too expensive and seriously all you taste is parsnips so it's a strong flavor if it can out flavor leeks and onions. I'd just double down on onions. They're cheap.
Crab Imperial with Red Pepper
got it in the same place as the above recipe only this one is by chef Michael Mina
•TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
•SERVINGS: 8 FIRST-COURSE SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS
• 1 stick unsalted butter—6 tablespoons melted, plus more for greasing
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• Hot sauce, such as Crystal or Tabasco
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
• Toasted baguette slices, for serving
1.In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth and simmer, whisking, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking, until no floury taste remains, about 7 minutes. Season the béchamel with salt and pepper. Cover and remove from the heat.
2.In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until translucent. Add the bell pepper and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3.In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice. Set the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until thickened, 2 minutes; remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the 6 tablespoons of melted butter until a smooth sauce forms. Fold in the béchamel and lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.
4.Preheat the broiler. Set one rack 6 inches from the heat and another rack 10 inches from the heat. Butter a 9-by-9-inch ceramic baking dish. In a bowl, combine the crabmeat, onion and bell pepper. Gently fold in the sauce. Scrape into the prepared baking dish. Broil on the upper rack for 3 minutes, until browned. Transfer the baking dish to the lower rack and broil for 4 minutes longer, until hot throughout. Serve with baguette toasts.
If you don't want to mess with making the bechemel and hollandaise sauce I suppose you could try skipping that and using a Knorr mix. It would save a lot of steps. I did it from scratch and have to say I was a bit too conservative with the salt/pepper/hot sauce. Also if you want to make this as an appetizer on baugettes but not sure you can go full on lump crab, the fake crab tastes pretty okay in this too.
I'm not 100% sure he feels well. I need to talk to my sister in law about what she gives her long haired cat as a cure for constipation. I think that's the problem. He won't touch his food and wants chicken. Fine but then he gets that and doesn't want it either.
And that blue jean toy he has was not meant for him. It was for my brother's cats but he claimed it after Bob Evans farm fest and now he doesn't want it. Tough. His toy now. I tried to get him to play for the holidays but nope.
Apparently I only remember my 100 things challenge from years ago now when it's holiday cooking time. Here are two I tried tonight
Nordic Winter Vegetable Soup
Got this from the Food & WIne Dish emails and it's by Trina Hahnemann
• TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
•SERVINGS: 8
INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 leeks, white and tender green parts only, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 10 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
BUY INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
1.In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, leeks and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the barley. Add the vegetable broth, water, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Add the celery root and parsnips and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over moderately low heat until the barley and root vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
2.Stir in the spinach and nutmeg and simmer for 5 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper and serve in deep bowls.
Honestly this soup hinges on a couple of things. Most importantly do you like parsnips? If not don't bother. Now I couldn't find celery root. Maybe it balances the soup. I will say when I make it again I'll NOT be using leeks. They're too expensive and seriously all you taste is parsnips so it's a strong flavor if it can out flavor leeks and onions. I'd just double down on onions. They're cheap.
Crab Imperial with Red Pepper
got it in the same place as the above recipe only this one is by chef Michael Mina
•TOTAL TIME: 40 MIN
•SERVINGS: 8 FIRST-COURSE SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS
• 1 stick unsalted butter—6 tablespoons melted, plus more for greasing
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• Hot sauce, such as Crystal or Tabasco
• 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
• Toasted baguette slices, for serving
1.In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. Stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth and simmer, whisking, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking, until no floury taste remains, about 7 minutes. Season the béchamel with salt and pepper. Cover and remove from the heat.
2.In a skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until translucent. Add the bell pepper and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3.In a stainless steel bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the lemon juice. Set the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly until thickened, 2 minutes; remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the 6 tablespoons of melted butter until a smooth sauce forms. Fold in the béchamel and lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce.
4.Preheat the broiler. Set one rack 6 inches from the heat and another rack 10 inches from the heat. Butter a 9-by-9-inch ceramic baking dish. In a bowl, combine the crabmeat, onion and bell pepper. Gently fold in the sauce. Scrape into the prepared baking dish. Broil on the upper rack for 3 minutes, until browned. Transfer the baking dish to the lower rack and broil for 4 minutes longer, until hot throughout. Serve with baguette toasts.
If you don't want to mess with making the bechemel and hollandaise sauce I suppose you could try skipping that and using a Knorr mix. It would save a lot of steps. I did it from scratch and have to say I was a bit too conservative with the salt/pepper/hot sauce. Also if you want to make this as an appetizer on baugettes but not sure you can go full on lump crab, the fake crab tastes pretty okay in this too.
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no subject
Date: 2015-12-13 05:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-13 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-13 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 02:26 am (UTC)OMG, that crab stuff sounds good! I would go through the trouble of making the sauce from scratch - I love that kind of stuff. Nom. (You realize this is practically fish fingers and custard.)
no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 02:29 am (UTC)Ahahaha I didn't even think of that but you're right. It IS fish fingers and custard if you use the fake crab. It's tasty though next time I might sneak in a little garlic because I'm me.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 04:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-14 04:49 am (UTC)also love that icon
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Date: 2015-12-15 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-15 08:37 pm (UTC)