There is a big signifier of fall for me, that I feel suffers from far too much persecution. It’s butchered, burned, smashed and left to rot. A poor fate for one of my favorite seasonal fruits. Occasionally it is given the respect it deserves, mainly from chain coffee shops flavoring their lattes with it, but I am a perennial fan. We share a first initial, so of course I have to support.

Since we’re smack in the middle of fall I decided to kick off my pumpkin fix with cupcakes (of course).

Pumpkin is so great because you can put it in dessert or dinner. Pumpkin risotto is just as fantastic as pumpkin pie.
Or you can, you know, just leave it on your porch with candles burning in it… I love that smell.

Pumpkin cupcakes:
Mix
1 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3 large eggs
1 stick of butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

and 1 cup sugar together with an electric mixer until blended.

In a separate bowl mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Add this mix into the previous pumpkin mixer using an electric mixer.

Bake the cupcakes at 325 degrees for just about 22 minutes.

And some cream cheese frosting for good measure.
I buy a light cream cheese… something with less fat and whipped, to give the frosting a fluffier texture.
Mix 1 8 oz. tub of cream cheese with one stick of butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Use an electric mixer to slowly mix in 3 cups of powdered sugar (a little bit at a time) until you have fluffy frosting.
For this batch I also added 1 tablespoon of whole milk and two dashes of cinnamon for fun.

(recipe from Cupcakes)

Slather the frosting on the cupcakes after the cool and eat with apple cider. Saving pumpkins from becoming jack-o-lanterns one batch at a time.

Best eaten while wearing a warm fuzzy sweater.

Filed under: Recipes, Ingredients
2 Comments

This is gonna have to be a quick one- all I’m going to say is, go to your local well-stocked liquorium, and pick up a bottle of Falernum. I picked up a bottle of the easiest to find stuff, Velvet Falernum, on a lark due to acres of mixology blog being dedicated to its ilk. I had no idea what it’d taste like, apart from knowing it had something to do with cloves and rum.

I mixed a quarter-shot of it into a shot of Buffalo Trace bourbon, plus a quarter shot of dry Noilly Prat vermouth. Stirred briskly with ice and decanted into the nearest glass, it was the perfect drink for ringing in the end of summer. Sweet, complex and refreshing, but not so detached from the base liquors to become a trifle, it was eminently enjoyable.

It’s probably been done before, but if not, I’d like to stake my claim to this combo. I’ll call it the “Aurora Borealis”.

All I’m saying is, grab a bottle of this stuff, and get experimenting. It’s wonderful. Even better, make your own damn falernum.

Filed under: Ingredients, Cocktail Hour
No Comments

You should know that I am a huge fan of bourbon. In fact, you should be a huge fan of bourbon, too. The carmelly sweet liquor is warming and delectable. It simultaneously makes you feel classy from some by-gone era and tough, like you could take on everyone in the bar if say, some crazy movie-scene type brawl broke out.

But bourbon is a great entertaining liquor because of the endless classy cocktails you can put it in. (As well as the low class cocktails).

I offer for you here two whiskey cocktails for summer, one high class, one white trash.

First off, by way of Portland, a fabulous trailer park classic:
The Whiskeytini

The whiskeytini is served in a martini glass (for effect)
Chill the glass with ice, then pour in one shot of whiskey.
Top with PBR (to desired height) and add a thin, round slice of lemon (the same way you would add a round slice of apple to a washington apple)

That’s it! Cold, refreshing and tounge-in-cheek. Best served at theme parties or on the porch on a sunny afternoon.

The second cocktail has a name, but I can’t steal it as this isn’t my recipe. I’ve modified it slightly from the original, but it is still tasty. I must give credit to Bourbon and Branch for the original. I don’t get to that bar often, but I missed the drink enough to try it out myself.

In a collin’s glass grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger
Add two shots whiskey and muddle the ginger into the whiskey
Fill glass halfway with fresh pressed apple juice (no sugary juice here… try to go as pure as you can… juicing yourself is the best way to go)
add a handful of ice cubes and top off with 7-up or tonic (for a less sugary version)
To finish add two dashes of cinnamon, stir and serve.

Voila… two conversation piece cocktails for any summer gathering.

Filed under: Recipes, Ingredients, Cocktail Hour
No Comments

A totally underrated yet magical fruit that you should use more of is something I have only recently come to cherish. It is the Meyer Lemon and I am in love. I moved into a house with a tree brimming with such sweet/tart fruits right when it was in the peak of it’s season. Some weeks I had to pick close to 20 lemons, just to keep them from falling off and rotting on the ground. I would have offered them to my neighbors, but it seems that they are a common addition to every yard on the block. Saddled with an abundance of fruity goodness I set out to explore the numerous ways I could use the lemons. The results were interesting, varied, always tasty and eventually so plentiful that my husband asked if we could take a break from the lemons for a while.

The meyer lemon is an interesting lemon, because it is thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. This gives is a slightly rounder and sometimes more orange outside than a normal lemon would have. They are also sweeter and slightly less acidic, traits I accidentally discovered on my first adventure with them: Lemonade.
Now, with normal lemons you have to dilute the juice with a larger ratio of water and sugar. With the meyer lemons, I tried to use my normal lemonade ratios, and resulted in a watered down sugary sweet mess. I think the meyer lemons are best left to cooking and baking, and lemonade is best left to the original with it’s super tartness and pucker.

My favorite use of meyer lemons is in a modified lemon curd, which can be used for everything from filling cupcakes to baking tarts. Lemon tarts are particularly delicious when made with meyer lemons, although any dessert with them is great. Meyer Lemon sorbet, meyer lemon bars… the list is long (and I got through most of it). I even experimented with making gluten-free crusts on the tarts. They weren’t as flaky and buttery as a normal tart crust, but they were passable. It seems with so many lemons to spare, any dish was a possible canvas for lemon.

In cooking, and citrus marinade is fantastic. I’m a fan of citrus marinated tilapia over quinoa with green beens.

For salad dressings squeeze a little together with some olive oil and a champagne vinegar black pepper and other seasonings to taste.

I won’t go into too much detail on the specific recipes, but just know that these are a great addition to your grocery list to experiment with. A little zest or scraping in a cocktail, a little squeeze over some pasta… it can be your secret weapon (or as in my case, your little love affair).

The season has dwindled for now, but I’m looking forward to fall when I can start my day with a meyer citron presse (hot water with a squeeze of lemon) and end it with a slice of meyer lemon tart. Life does give you lemons sometimes and it is the best thing that could have happend to me.

Filed under: Random, Ingredients
2 Comments

There comes a point in every fashionistas busy schedule when s(he) decides to host a most personal affair.

Enter the dinner party.

And at said dinner party you need a dish that wows. Something that will impress and astound your guests. A twist on an old dish is often fine, but wouldn’t you like to add something extra to your arsenal? An entrée that will win you five stars and have your dinner companions impressed at your culinary expertise?

Might I suggest forgoing chicken for another feathered friend? Duck, perhaps?

Seriously? I cannot get enough duck. Some of you may have never tried it. Some of you might be afraid to try it… but I’m here to calm your fears. Duck is not only easy to cook, but it tastes great. Crossing that line from average poultry to extraordinary poultry, it should be tender and slightly sweet. Duck is notoriously a fatty bird, but if that concerns you, you can try my personal favorite: Muscovy duck. It’s a less fatty duck that you can find at most Whole Foods and other upscale grocery stores. Two duck breasts is enough for four people. You can pick any sort of sauce, depending on the meal you’re going for. Balsamic cherry reduction is great, but I’ve also experimented with a thai chili duck over a bed of chili onions. Select your cuisine, pick wines accordingly and go to town.

Purchase your duck breasts and bring them home. To cook them you need nothing more than a frying pan and a glass dish for the oven. a little salt and pepper for seasoning is fine… lightly rub it in on each side.

You’ll want to leave the fat on the duck breast for cooking. Score the fat with a knife, just cutting through it. Don’t pierce the flesh. It should be one long cut with three cross hatch cuts per breast, exposing the meat below.

Now that your breasts are ready (insert collective snicker here) heat the frying pan over medium high heat. You don’t need any oil, but place the breasts fat side down (ALWAYS fat side down) in the pan. You’ll want to cook it for 10-12 minutes. Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees while you are doing this. When you are finished cooking in the pan, flip the breast flesh side down in the glass dish and bake for an additional 12 minutes in the oven.

Whatever sauce you’ve prepared for duck should already be reduced and ready to go. Cherry balsamic reduction is one of my favorites, but feel free to experiment with brandy, huckleberries, etc.

Balsamic Cherry Reduction is:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
11/2 cups rich duck or chicken stock
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon cold butter
Salt and black pepper

Get as saucy as you want! My girlfriends and I love getting saucy with our food. Many stone fruits make good reductions and the sweetness really complements the duck.

Now that your guests are properly loose from the lovely wine you’ve served them and are anticipating the meal that will follow the cheese they’ve been noshing on (Roaring 40’s with a baguette or perhaps Humbolt Fog with some rosemary crackers?) you can deliver the goods.

Slice each breast into medalions and arrange them on plate over your vegetable of choice. Spoon sauce over the duck and serve.

Donald would approve.

Filed under: Technique, Recipes, Meal Reports, Ingredients
1 Comment

Throughout the last week, something sinister has haunted my dreams. An eldritch vapour from childhood, wafting with considerable malice, wraithlike around my head. I avert my eyes- I dare not stare into this vortex of culinary anachronism, ere I go mad with unutterable longings… Bisquick, BISQUICK is it’s name! I am no longer afraid to speak it aloud.

Locals from the seat of my youth (when they get up the nerve to speak of it, usually after a flagon or two of rum) say my parents were bless’d (or, perhaps, curs’d) with an unearthly ability to produce all manner of doughy foods with an unnatural fluffiness. Pancakes like pillows beckoned. Drop biscuits floated like clouds, daring children become petty thieves as they cooled. What occult force was responsible?.

All along, my parents explained that the yellow box held nothing but white flour, oil, baking soda and salt. The neighbors nonetheless continued to be haunted, much like I am now, by dreams of perfect waffles, created with a mere swirl of the hand and a preternatural gleam in my mother’s eye. What vile ur-beast’s tentacles reached from hellish chambers beneath the sea through interdimensional portals into that innocent, gleaming box’s contents, hoping to enslave (or, at least, fatten) those who dared to open it?

..anyway, I’ve been reading too much HP Lovecraft again. Seriously though folks, Bisquick and all of its enthralling abilities weighed heavily on my mind this week. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, I knew I couldn’t keep the urge down any longer. I wanted WAFFLES- and not just any old waffles.

The only conundrum, how to make waffles without a waffle iron? Crap, what have I got that employs two heated plates with some kind of striated surface.. Crikey, THE PANINI PRESS! Perrrfect, perfect.. I shall set my plan in motion, said I..

By the way, I lament the fact that there are no pictures for this recipe- I was so glassy-eyed the whole time and the food was gone so fast there wasn’t time to even look for the camera. In fact, what’s a camera? MMM WAFFLES *#*!# *fizzle*
(more…)

Filed under: Recipes, Ingredients
1 Comment

Ah, tartness.. Is there anything more refreshing? (Certainly not under this administration.) Sour flavors energize food and shock tastebuds to life like tiny defibrillators. They cool and cleanse, finesse and brighten. Like the savory additions I covered recently (and, as you’ll learn, all the other major flavor groups), sour foods are invaluable as both intentional influences and last-ditch fixes.

They are the sublime transcendance in your favorite Thai dish, the saving grace in your fish and chips, that which is locked in mortal combat with the oily onslaught in your salad. With any of the ingredients below, you can rescue a dish that’s suddenly wayyyyyy too heavy or rich, you can cause a stir-fry to pop to life, you can finish off a dish with a fresh flair just before serving.. The possibilities abound, and I’ve just had my coffee.

1. Lime - Before I started cooking and really paying attention to flavors, I thought of limes as pretty inconsequential things. Sort of like lemons, but sweeter, sort of. Good to sliver up and shove into the neck of your Pacifico Clara. My first real lime moment came a couple of years before I started cooking in earnest, when I came across a method for making what is still the best guacamole I’ve ever tasted.

During my experiments, I found I needed some tartness and a lime was sitting there on the counter, so, whatever (at the time I probably would have defaulted to red wine vinegar or something.. *shudder*), I squeezed it into the mix. BOOM! Things snapped into focus and the recipe was complete. It was so good it made me squeal. It’s a secret, though- I’ll never divulge it. Nope.

…ok, I’ll spill it.
(more…)

Filed under: Recipes, Ingredients
2 Comments

Here’s the latest installment of the ingredients series (I’ll get back to tools in a bit), this time covering savory sauces and condiments. Again, this is nothing like a definitive list- this is just what I love and use frequently. You know what soy sauce tastes like. You know what worchestershire sauce tastes like. I’ll be covering things you may never have eaten (or, at least, known you were eating).

First, I’ll cover what I currently consider to be the holy trinity of savory sauces. With these in your arsenal, well, it’s simply going to get difficult to cook things that don’t taste wonderful. For real.

1. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos - Don’t let the vitamin-store name or the hippy-dippy label scare you- this stuff should be called “Bragg’s Liquid Gold“. It has a flavor that inhabits the same neighborhood as garden-variety soy sauce, but remains distinctly different. The advantages are that it doesn’t scream ASIAN FOOD like soy sauce does, and if you overdo it a bit, you won’t get the bitter tang that too much soy curses a dish with.

Bragg’s is the very essence of savority, and also a good, controllable source of salt. More times than I can count, a dish that’s nearly there but is missing a certain something has been given a luscious, warm sheen with a couple of squirts of Bragg’s. It has an almost-perfect ratio of savory, salty, and sweet, so instead of yanking a dish’s flavor in a certain direction, it simply gives you more flavor. In fact, it was really my most treasured secret weapon before I got into Thai food and discovered:
(more…)

Filed under: Ingredients
2 Comments

Here’s the first in yet another short series of articles, this time centered on what ingredients to have around the house. A lot of people have come to eat at my place and marvelled, “How did you find out about (insert semi-obscure condiment or ingredient here)? I’ve never heard anything about it or seen it in a store..”. 98% of the goodies I count among my secret weapons have been found by simply taking risks.

If I see an herb that I can’t identify at a store, I buy a sprig (or, pick a leaf if I’m feeling naughty) and try it out. If there’s a vegetable I’m intrigued by, I grab one. Don’t bet the farm, just get one. It might be the nastiest tasting thing since pickled pig’s lips, or it might change your life- just make a note of what it is in case you love it and can’t recall its name.

In this installment I’ll be beginning my commentary about my favorite flavor group, savory, known to some asians and too-cool sophisticates as “Umami”. Nothing saves an anemic-tasting dish, nothing satisfies the soul, nothing gives substance to the weak like something savory. Here I’ll be outlining some herbs and spices that can give you savory in a hurry, in a variety of different shades. This is nothing like a definitive list! Anything that I’m sure you already know all about, I’ve omitted (garlic, for example). You probably know of most of these, but maybe you haven’t cooked with them yet, or cooked with them fresh. *smirk*

I generally buy fresh cilantro, basil, tumeric and galanga every week (I can’t stop cooking Thai food), and keep a good stock of dried oregano, and cumin seeds around. When I run out of any of these things, I go into a form of shock, at least until I can drag myself 2 doors down to the convenient but hilariously overpriced grocery shop down the street.

Most of the fresh herbs can (and really, really should) be bought organic. The taste difference between conventional and organic for things like herbs ranges from “pretty noticable” to “night and day”.

1. Cilantro - A life saver in so many ways. A small handful, washed and roughly chopped, brings a heady, aromatic complexity to just about any dish. Cilantro is savory in a round, sweet way, but can also be piquant, almost sharp. Throwing it into a dish early on will emphasize its warm, dark aspects, while adding it just after the heat is turned off allows its brighter notes to shine through. I often add some early on in the cooking and some at the end to strike a balance.
(more…)

Filed under: Ingredients
2 Comments