Archive for the 'Recipes' Category

dead headphonist

eastowners full-assed chocolate fondue

Published
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dead headphonist
on January 4, 2009
in Food and Recipes
. 1 Comment

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I’m not one to do anything half-assed.  I don’t like fondue where the maker uses a not insignificant amount of cream or half and half with mostly milk chocolate and whips it up into something that only hopes to resemble melted chocolate.  No… that’s just NOT how I roll. And you shouldn’t either.

So first, get yourself about a pound of 70%+ dark chocolate, the higher quality, the better.  You’ll need about 12oz, but it’s easier to work if you’re not chopping the whole thing straight away.  Get about 3oz of good quality white chocolate (not that confectioners stuff, but real cocoa butter white). You’ll need 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter; no margarine, no mix crap… REAL butter.  This stuff is not health food, so don’t even try.

Get some amaretto; you’ll need a good solid shot (2-3oz) so don’t drink the whole damned bottle before we get to that a little later on, ok?

Chop that chocolate with a good heavy ass knife and for god’s sake, be careful! Use a freaking cutting board, fool. Don’t you know that chopping chocolate is the second most dangerous activity in the kitchen next to the preparation of ice water?!?!

You’ll need a fondue pot, or a good heavy medium sized saucepan and everyone will have to do their thing around the stove.  That doesn’t sound too “dinner party”-like, so might I suggest the Cuisinart fondue pot?  It’s what we have and I absolutely love it.  I don’t think there is a better fondue pot on the market.  Serious berries, or however the kids say “cool” these days.

On whatever medium low is on your pot, melt the butter into the milk (you’re using a non-stick whisk right?). Bring the temp up (if you have to) to start the milk/butter mixture just to the bubbling point.  Don’t let it foam up.  Dump your chocolate in.  You can either do it in a couple of batches or just dump the whole thing in and stir like hell until it’s melted real-good-like.

Yes… put that white chocolate stuff in too. You want it mixed in, though if you’re talented, you can try to marble it for that “I’m better than the rest of you” look.  If you’re gonna try to “be that guy”, then add the amaretto (you didn’t drink it all, did you?) before the white junk.  If you’re fully integrating, then it doesn’t matter, just dump the liquor in whenever, so long as it’s toward the end of this process.

Lower the temp to just below the temperature at which the human tongue melts to the roof of the mouth, present the pot along with a plethora of good things to dip.  We suggest pretzels, cheesecake bites, marshmallows, graham crackers, sugar wafer cookies, pound cake and fruits like strawberry and banana.

Dip away until everyone around the pot is fully engulfed in choco-coma.  Enjoy the smell of your place for the next couple of hours.  There’s no better air freshener.

Shopping list recap :

  • 12oz of chocolate (though cutting 12oz from a 1lb block is easier) chopped
  • 3-4oz of white chocolate (NOT confectioners)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter (and ONLY butter)
  • 2-3oz (fluid) amaretto
  • Various junk food that you like to dip in chocolate
dead headphonist

Peanut Butter Granola

Published
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dead headphonist
on December 28, 2008
in Health and Recipes
. 2 Comments

Current Mood:Mischievous emoticon Mischievous

102_3437

This is the PB Granola in it's glory

I managed to get the peanut butter granola just about perfect this time. Here’s the recipe, since folks have been asking. This stuff makes your kitchen smell wonderful for several hours.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (do not use instant. get the large flake rolled oats from the health food store)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed meal (not whole flax seed)
1/8 cup unsweetened flake coconut
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Note : spices/salt are to taste.  Feel free to experiment

Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees F.  Prepare cookie sheet by covering in parchment or tin foil.  Use a cookie sheet with raised edges (no “air bake”) as you need to turn the granola over while it cooks.

First, in a large pot melt together the honey, butter, and peanut butter over low heat.  Mix well and add vanilla, spices, and salt.  Mix well.  Mix grains and coconut together lightly in a separate bowl. Add grains to the wet mixture and quickly mix well to coat.

Spread mixture evenly on a cookie sheet and press together into a solid sheet.  Keep the mixture away from the edges of the pan or it will burn easily. Bake for 20 minutes, turn over and press back into a solid sheet.  Bake another 20 minutes or until the oats start to slightly brown. Remove from the oven, press the sheet together again and allow to completely cool before transferring to the storage vessel of your choice.

dead headphonist

Quick & Easy Double-grape tini

Published
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dead headphonist
on July 19, 2008
in Alcohol and Recipes
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This is the recipe for what we were drinking last night.  The neat thing is that unlike some of the other things that I make, this was quite quick and easy (three ingredients).  We both liked them a lot.

3 parts Smirnoff White Grape
2 parts Shakka Grape liqueur
2 maraschino cherries

Measure the booze into your nearest shaker, top it, and shake away. Use your favorite straining method to transfer to a martini vessel. Load the cherries and if you like, use a fork to drizzle some of the juice from the cherry jar into the drink. It makes for an occasionally different taste that is wonderful.

So that’s it. Easy cheezy. Impress you friends. Wow your neighbors. Get really really drunk on something that tastes like it has almost no alcohol in it and have the most wonderful of regrets the next day. It’s fun and entertaining for all.

dead headphonist

Scrambled eggs w/Asparagus and French-ish Potatoes

Published
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dead headphonist
on July 6, 2008
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Over the holiday weekend, we did our usual “big breakfast” as Clare likes to call it.  Since I cook a lot of Southwest-style food (I love spicy food full of tomatoes and peppers), and since Char sometimes complains that I cook that style too much, I decided to throw a loop and do something in a more continental style.

Char recently gifted me with the Pampered Chef flat whisk, which in my opinion is the absolute best tool south of the blender for making scrambled eggs.  I made a ton of food.  Adjust as needed for your army.

Scrambled Eggs With Asparagus

8 whole eggs
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp ground pepper
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Monterrey Jack cheese
1/4 cup Feta or crumbly goat cheese
8-10 Asparagus spears, chopped into bite-size pieces

Scramble everything but the Aparagus and reserve half the Feta or goat cheese. Melt 1-2 Tbsp butter over medium-hot heat. Add mixture, then add Asparagus. Cook 5-8 minutes, turning over gently. Once eggs lose most of their “wet” sheen, remove from heat or reduce heat to lowest setting and allow internal heat to finish cooking.

Add additional feta/goat cheese over the top when serving.

French-ish Potatoes

5-8 potatoes, cleaned and cubed evenly (do not peel)
1/2 of a large sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic (or ~4 garlic cloves)
2 tsp Rosemary
1 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Salt (or to taste)
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Over medium-high heat, sweat the onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes in the olive oil. Add the potatoes and stir to coat. Add herbs and salt and stir again. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat and time for crispier potatoes.

We also served this feast with country-style veggie sausage links and whole wheat toast.

dead headphonist

The summer fiz fix

Published
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dead headphonist
on June 20, 2008
in Alcohol and Recipes
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Our friend Beeko has been growing a mint garden at home. He’s managed to cultivate several varieties and as such, last night became a “create an interesting drink with mint” night. As a result of last evening’s festivities, I’ve developed a trio of new summer recipes for cocktails involving mint and soda.

Orange Mint Fiz

3-4 fresh Kentucky Mint leaves
5-6 fresh Pineapple Mint leaves
3 parts Orangcello
2 parts Vanilla Vodka
2 parts soda or sparkling water

Muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass along with part of the vodka. Let sit for 4-5 minutes. Add liquor, ice, and soda. Stir. Enjoy.

Choco-mint Fiz

4-5 fresh Kentucky Mint leaves
3 parts clear Creme de Cacao
2 parts Vanilla vodka
2 parts soda or sparkling water

Muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass along with part of the vodka. Let sit for 4-5 minutes. Add liquor, ice, and soda. Stir. Enjoy.

Strawberry Lemon-mint Fiz

4-5 fresh Kentucky Mint leaves
5-6 fresh Pineapple Mint leaves.
4-5 fresh strawberries
3 parts Lemoncello
2 parts vodka
2 parts soda or sparkling water

Muddle the mint and strawberries in the bottom of the glass with part of the vodka. Let sit for 4-5 minutes. Add liquor, ice, and soda. Stir well. Enjoy. In this drink, fresh basil can be substituted for the mint.

dead headphonist

Sangrias excelentes

Published
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dead headphonist
on June 17, 2008
in Alcohol and Recipes
. 1 Comment

We’ve cooked up a couple of high octane Sangria recipes in the last few days in celebration of summer. Here are the recipes.

Red Sangria:

2 bottles of red wine (preferably dry)
1/4 cup passion fruit vodka
1/2 cup brandy/cognac
3-4 cups of fruit (we used raspberries, cherries, peaches, bananas, strawberries, grapes)
1/2 bottle of POM Pomegranate/Blueberry juice
1/2 cup sugar

Put fruit, vodka, and brandy in a pitcher and soak for a couple of hours, add wine, sugar, and juice. Refrigerate overnight. Add soda to taste if you want to tame it down a bit.

White Sangria:

2 bottles of demi-sec white wine
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup brandy/cognac
3-4 cups of fruit (we used apples, peaches, pineapple, grapes)

Same directions as above, except no sugar in this one (the wine is sweet enough).

Obviously, there are millions of Sangria recipes out there. These are just two that I’ve made in the past couple of days. I’m probably going to play with it some more this summer as building various recipes of this versatile summer drink seems like a lot of fun. Stay tuned.

dead headphonist

Penne con Asparagi with Faux Chik’n

Published
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dead headphonist
on April 26, 2008
in Recipes
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asparagus.jpgWe’re headed out of town this weekend and had a fresh bunch of asparagus in the fridge that would have gone bad had we not done anything with it. As a result, rather than do family peanut butter and jelly for lunch, I decided something had to be done with the asparagus.

Thing was, I didn’t want to go to the store for anything. I’ve been enjoying my reprieve from people today and certainly didn’t want to spend my Saturday morning playing around in the aisles of D&W fighting the weekend mob.

So I dug around and found everything I needed for some Penne con Asparigi. Here’s a basic run-down of my recipe (mind you… this was completely improvised, but came out wonderfully).

Penne:

Prepare per package directions. Strain well.

Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce :

In a pan, melt 5 tablespoons of butter in 1/8 cup milk. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic. Add 1/4 cup (or slightly more) fresh grated parmesan (or parmesan-romano). Add 1/3 teaspoon lemon juice. Salt to taste and reduce heat to lowest setting. Stir occasionally.

Chik’n :

In a frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add frozen Morningstar Chik’n Strips. Once thawed, add basil and oregano; 1/4 tsp each, or to taste. Fry until browned on both sides.

Asparagus :

Wash well. Remove woody lower part with knife. On a cookie sheet, coat in olive oil, salt and garlic powder (we use Garlic & Wine seasoning from The Melting Pot). Broil for 4-5 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK. They will continue to cook once added to the other hot ingredients. Once removed from the oven cut into bite size pieces very carefully.

The final bit :

Combine Penne, Chik’n, Aparagus, and sauce in a pot or large bowl and serve with extra cheese and fresh cracked pepper.

This dish turned out really well, and it’s great to get asparagus that isn’t all thin and stringy (or frozen).

dead headphonist

Great Things To Do With Vodka

Published
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dead headphonist
on April 25, 2008
in Alcohol and Recipes
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threeolivesberry.pngEpisode 2

Three Olives Berry

While last week’s vodka is really tasty and only has a limited number of drinks that it will sit well in, this vodka is also tasty, but can find its way into numerous drinks and is certainly comfortable mixing with a wide variety of mixers.

Pretty much everything from Three Olives is downright grand when just mixed with soda. The berry flavor is no exception. It also mixes well with lemon/lime soda as well as creme soda.

Where this vodka really shines, however, is when it is mixed either with pomegranate juice or blueberry juice (or both!). Of all the berry flavored vodkas, this one makes the best blueberry martini’s I’ve had yet. Here’s my recipe for a little kiss of blueberry goodness.

3 shots Three Olives Berry vodka
2 shots Blueberry Pomegranate juice (100%)
Juice of a lime wedge
2-3 large blueberries (frozen are ok)

In a shaker, combine the liquids and ice, but not the blueberries. Shake well. Add blueberries to a fresh glass, strain and enjoy! Simple brilliance and it tastes wonderful! The blueberries should thaw by the time you get the bottom of the glass, but if you’re sure they won’t, then use fresh.

dead headphonist

Great Things To Do With Vodka

Published
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dead headphonist
on April 21, 2008
in Alcohol and Recipes
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Episode 1

Smirnoff White Grape

whitegrape.JPGOur good friends at Smirnoff recently released a white grape flavored vodka that has become one of my favorite flavors so far. There seems to be some infatuation with the non-sweet flavored vodkas at the eastowners’. Thankfully, our escapades are numerous, frequent and prolific, so we have lots of opportunity to sample a wide range.

The thing about subtle flavors is that you need something equally as subtle to pair with it. The white grape flavor could easily be overwhelmed by just about any strong flavor, so picking a mixer becomes somewhat of an exercise in experimentation and patience.

In our case, we had a bottle of Black Star Farms pear dessert wine, which proved to make a really excellent martini.

The recipe:

3 parts Smirnoff White Grape Vodka
2 parts Pear Dessert Wine (or sweet Ice Wine)
Couple of drops of lemon juice

In a shaker with ice, combine the vodka and wine, shake well and strain into glass.  Add lemon juice, garnish with lemon peel (if you have it).

The white grape vodka also goes very well with club soda and I imagine that it would pair well with white cranberry juice, though I haven’t tried this one yet.  Next episode : Three Olives Berry.

dead headphonist

BC’s Everything Cookies

Published
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dead headphonist
on February 1, 2008
in Food and Recipes
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100_2506.JPGSo I’ve tried my hand at truly baking. I didn’t really follow a recipe, but I did study a lot of them to get the proportions right. I decided on a flourless oatmeal and peanut-butter based cookie. I’m not exactly a seasoned veteran at using the oven (in fact I think it gets turned on maybe twice a month around here), but I think it turned out well for a first try. Here’s the recipe.

Part A Ingredients :
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 Stick) butter (use ONLY butter… no margarine)
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp black strap molasses
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut-butter
1 tsp vanilla (use real vanilla, not imitation)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
Part B Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups Quaker oats
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini M&M’s
1/3 cup raisins

In a very large bowl, beat together (with a hand mixer) the Part A ingredients, starting with the sugar and the butter and moving through the rest of the ingredients. In another bowl, mix the Part B ingredients. MANUALLY (you will kill your mixer) mix the Part B ingredients into the Part A ingredients. Mix well, form into whatever size mounds you want on a greased (spray works fine) cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes (13 for smaller cookies, 17-18 for “monster size”). Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.

FOLLOW UP: After having a couple of these, I really like what the cloves do for them. It’s a really unique taste to the traditional oatmeal cookie. However, since I’m looking for a particular taste with this cookie, next time I make them, I’m going to omit the cloves and add some shredded coconut. One thing to note is that you should use some kind of melting chocolate chips in these cookies. I used Ghirardelli 60% chips. The chocolate melts in with the rest of the cookie and makes the peanut-butter/chocolate thing a lot more pronounced. I don’t think it would be the same with good ol’ Tollhouse chips.