freeform goodness

My current obsession is rooibos tea, served with a teaspoon of heavy cream and lightly sugared. Really hits the spot towards the end of the workday.

:: 18:08
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We’ve got a ton of them, and more every day. Better make some homemade spaghetti sauce or something.

:: 15:59
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Will quick-boil these and toss them with a touch of salt, coriander, and olive oil to go with tonight’s grilled pork chops.

:: 16:28
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Tonight’s dinner.

Source: http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/10/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala/

Prep Time: 40 mins | Cook Time: 5 hrs | Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHICKEN:

• 9 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Coriander
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Yogurt
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Jalapeno Pepper, Stem Removed, Pepper Pierced Several Times With A Sharp Knife

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Large Onion, Peeled And Diced
• 6 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Minced
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 piece Fresh Ginger, About 2-3 Inches, Peeled And Grated
• 4 cups Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Sugar (can Substitute White Granulated If Necessary)
• 2 teaspoons Cornstarch Or Cleargel
• 1-½ cup Heavy Cream

TO SERVE:

• Hot Buttered Rice And Peas
• Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Directions:

Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the coriander, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let sit for 10 minutes before proceeding.

Melt 1 tablespoon the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Raise the heat to medium high and quickly brown about 1/4 of the chicken. Transfer browned chicken to the slow cooker as it is finished, using 1 tablespoon of butter per batch, and repeat until the chicken is all in the slow-cooker. Throw the pierced jalapeno in on top of the chicken.

Prepare the sauce. Return the pan to the heat and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and kosher salt, then stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to lightly brown around the edges.

Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) before raising the heat to high and adding the crushed tomatoes and raw sugar. Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow-cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.

Use a fork or whisk to stir the cornstarch or cleargel into the heavy cream until smooth. Pour into the slow-cooker and stir gently until the colour is even. Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.

Serve over hot rice and peas, topped with a generous amount of chopped cilantro.

:: 16:55
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Friday’s lunch, courtesy of Insalata in Troy, a simple round of Frogger away from the office.

:: 12:36
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Some of these things I may have seen in cookbooks, some are things I heard over the years, and a lot of them are just kind of “common sensical” things I’ve figured out over the years.

• Best scrambled eggs
  • Beat the hell out of them. Really. Crack them in a bowl and go at them with a wire whisk for minutes.
  • Don’t add milk to them before cooking.
  • If you’re scrambling them with cheese, grate it to death. Use really, really small pieces and don’t overdo it.
  • Use a clean(ish) pan and clean(ish) oil/grease. If you’re using bacon or sausage grease, strain all of the crud out of it.
  • As soon as they’re done, turn off the heat then splash a little (don’t overdo it) milk over them, swirl them around with the spatula until the milk is absorbed, serve them immediately, the hotter the better.
• Omelettes
  • Use a good pan (duh), and clean oil
  • Pour the egg into a hot (but not too hot) pan. Swirl the pan around until the egg evenly coats the skillet.
  • You’ll be tempted to mess with it at this point. Don’t. Just let it sizzle until you start to worry that you’ve overdone it. Then add your fillings to one half of the omelette.
  • Use a decent spatula to flip the unoccupied half over the first.
  • Wait about 30 seconds.
  • Serve to plate
• Coffee
  • Use a french press. Trust me on this — drip coffee doesn’t come close. Don’t drink the last half centimeter or so. It’s full of grounds. Rinse your cup and get some more.
  • Use less sweetener.
• Link sausage
  • Add a half-centimeter of water to the skillet along w/ the links
  • A half-thimble of oil added to the water will keep the sausage skins from sticking to the skillet
  • Sprinkle light salt and black pepper over the links while cooking

:: 13:23
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I was always under the impression that ports and madeiras were best served at room temperature, but we picked up a port that claimed to be “superb when served deeply chilled”, so now I’m confused. For the record, and maybe it’s just because it’s what I’m used to, when served chilled the port in question seemed way too sweet to me, whereas, at room temperature, it made me long for a smoking jacket and a fireplace, which is generally the state of mind I’m trying to reach when drinking dessert wines.

:: 17:58
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Ate much. Enjoyed it. Turkey, rolls from scratch, stuffing, collard greens, baked beans, macaroni pie.

Best “Black Friday” post ever (from TheRealStyro here):

Is this just in the USA or do they have them for us in Europe too?

No. This is just for us US citizens whose forefathers had the great foresight to leave Europe.

Now we get to celebrate by buying Chinese goods and Indian services for closer to actual worth prices for part of one day.

:: 21:47
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The missus and I had breakfast at Bob Evans today (the Homestead Breakfast, if you follow that link.) The waitress (probably about 20 years old) asked me how I wanted my eggs, and I said “hard-boiled.” She looked at me as if I’d asked for my eggs “cross-bleezled, with a sprinkle of Halon” or something.

“Um, do you mean ‘over hard?’”

“No, hard-boiled will be fine.”

“Hold on, I have to check if we have ‘hard-boiled’ eggs…” (she’s still looking at me as though my head might, at any moment, rotate 360 degrees.)

She disappears for about 20 seconds, presumably to ask one of her cow-orkers whether she knows anything about these ‘harte-boyled’ eggs of which I speak.

“I’m sorry, we don’t cook eggs that way. Would you like them over hard?”

(Hesitatingly) “No, I’ll have them over easy.” (I guess she’d heard of those. They came out fine.)

:: 20:14
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OK, you'd probably be dead of clogged arteries in a week and a half if you ate them every day, but Panera's Baked Egg Soufflés are... well... most things you can do clothed aren't this good. Seriously the über fastfood breakfast experience.

:: 09:41
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OK, I have a problem eating healthy food, and I’ve always had a problem (understatement) sticking to my ideal weight, but I’ve been drinking lots of water (probably more than 4 liters a day), and I feel great. Something as trivial as cutting back on soft drinks and increasing water (and fruit juice) consumption really does make a big difference.

:: 19:51
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After a few painfully corporate entries, the Google blog has finally produced a keeper. Buttermilk Fried Chicken Elvis Loved looks delicious.

:: 19:14
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Very basic, but it gets the job done. Doesn't get more Midwestern than this.

• Spiral Sliced Ham
• Baked Beans
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Corn
• Potato Salad
• Deviled Eggs
• Brown 'n' Serve Rolls
• Cranberry Sauce
• Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
• Sweet Potato Pie (first time I've made it completely from scratch)

:: 15:01
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Everyone has their blind spots -- things that seemingly everyone else in the world already knew, but that they themselves were ignorant of. Over the last week, I filled in one of mine: the Corn Chip Issue. It's a really simple one with a very obvious solution: never buy off-the-shelf corn chips. Fritos, Doritos, and Tostitos are but a pale, flavorless imitation of something you can prepare at home for a small fraction of the money. Somehow, I never realized that all that you need to make tasty, crispy chips that rival the ones you get as appetizers at Mexican restaurants is a 99 cent bag of tortillas from the supermarket and a pot of hot oil. Slice the tortillas into wedges, drop them in hot oil for a couple of minutes, drain them on paper towels and salt lightly. Serve with salsa. That's all it takes. Really, it couldn't be simpler. Somehow I made it through decades without anyone telling me. In case your friends have likewise left you in the dark, I'm blogging it.

Seeya.

:: 18:45
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Made homemade cranberry sauce the other day, which is pretty labor intensive but worthwhile. Had a bunch of fresh cranberry juice left over, which we stored in the fridge. Managed to drop the container a few minutes ago, and it looks remarkably like we've murdered someone in the kitchen.

:: 16:09
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By no stretch of the imagination am I a great cook. I have a fairly limited repetoire, but I do have a small set of really tasty, foolproof dishes that work pretty well in most any circumstance. I've decided I ought to note them here and there, for the sake of the folks out there Googlecooking.

Obviously, when possible, charcoal grilling is the optimal method for preparing steaks. There are times, due to weather or convenience, or whatever, that you might wish to prepare your meat on the rangetop. This dish is not healthy, but it is tasty.

Rub the steaks with the salt, pepper, and tenderizer approximately 30-60 minutes before cooking. Mince the garlic cloves finely with a sharp knife or food processor. Melt the butter in a non-stick or iron skillet, add the minced garlic. Lightly toast the garlic in the butter over moderate heat, evenly coating the surface of the pan. Place the steaks in the pan over low heat. Turn the steaks frequently to evenly distribute the garlic flavor over the surface of the steaks. Sauté the steaks to desired doneness. If desired, quickly sauté chopped onions and/or mushrooms in the beef/garlic drippings over high heat -- it's good to leave a little crunch in them. Serve with fresh corn on the cob or potato. Approximate prep time: 45 minutes (or less -- you can cheat on the tenderization time if your meat's good enough), serves as many people as you have steaks.

:: 17:18
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Erik Barzeski's Question of the Day yesterday was:
"What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?"

I posted a little one line answer in the comments for the entry, but I might as well elaborate here.

I'm not really much of a drinker. I don't have any philosophical or medical objections to consenting adults drinking, and as a matter of fact when I'm out socially I enjoy having a cocktail, and a cold beer goes great with pizza or an outdoor barbecue. It never really occurs to me to drink heavily, though. I'm perfectly content to order a good, well-mixed drink and nurse it for hours. In college, I would drink whatever cheap, nasty crap was available, because I was, well, young. As I've gotten older, I've developed a taste for a more minimal, "purist" approach to beverages. Because I find that beer tends to give me an unpleasantly full feeling, I prefer mixed drinks. I find I prefer those with a minimum of extra mixers and sweeteneners, so something like a Manhattan works much better for me than a Piña Colada.

My favorite drink, however, is the classic dry gin martini, as immortalized in countless 50's & 60's "swingin'" films and TV shows. The funny thing is that I really don't like olives, but in this context they rock. Like most drinks, it's at its best when served almost shockingly cold.

:: 14:39
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Donations cheerfully accepted.

:: 22:21
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