11 posts tagged “food”

I love coconut.  I love shrimp.  I love coconut shrimp.  The only problem with coconut shrimp - or most any shrimp you get in a restaurant - is that they invariably have their tails on, presumably for presentation effect (or maybe the cook is just lazy).  I always end up getting messy and looking like i'm playing with my food because I start the meal with both hands, pulling tails off to leave only edible shrimpy goodness that I can then eat like civilized people, with a fork.  I could use a knife and fork, and cut the tails off, but then I lose a few grams of shrimpy goodness!  Unacceptable losses!

Then today, what should show up in my email but a recipe for coconut shrimp!  I could make my own, without tails!  Though oddly, the recipe instructs you to leave the tails on after peeling and deveining the shrimp - perpetuating the presentation agenda?  Does it really make a difference to the finished product if it is cooked with the tail or without?

I'll never know.  They are just too much effort, and I'm not going to buy and find a place to store a deep fryer just for this one culinary addiction.  Which is good news for the restaurants I go to for coconut shrimp.

if you have just one stalk, is it called an asparagi?

eh, who cares.  They're soooooo tasty sauted with a little butter, ground pepper and sea salt.  I only get asparagus when the market has nice thin stalks - if its as thick as your pinky finger, its no good!  This morning while wandering through the produce section to see what looked good, the asparagus selection was so outstanding we built a meal around it.  I'm impressed that even my four year old daughter likes asparagus.  Maybe that isn't all that big of a deal, but I never had asparagus growing up (my first time was probably in the last 3-5 years) so it still seems exotic to me.

 

Last weekend was the second in a series of Test Kitchen events which began in March.  Given that it was the day after BlueHat, there were a couple folks from out of town who got to attend this time which was fantastic. 

For the May Test Kitchen we tested the following breakfast items (copied from the invitation):

1. blueberry waffles.  in Test Kitchen 1 we tested how to make perfect waffles.  Now what happens when you throw the fruit variable in?  Should the blueberries be in the waffles or on top of them?  if they are in the waffles, do you gently fold them into the batter or get out the kitchen equivalent of power tools, the KitchenAid MixMaster and blend them in, crushing their little blue souls?

2. broken yolk eggs.  both scrambled and omelet style.  some people mix in milk, some use water, some add no fluid at all.  But what results in the fluffiest and tastiest eggs?

3. Bloody Marys in the Chem Lab makeup test.  Last Test Kitchen we didn't fulfill our Chem requirements and have to do it over.  I'm bringing in a specially trained Lab Assistant to run this experiment for us so maybe we can take Chem201 next session.       

Plus we had bacon, bangers, smoothies, and fresh fruit.

 

PARTICIPANTS: Bryan, Amy, Vinnie, Shyama, Divide, Jacqueline, Dan, Christopher

 

TEST RESULTS:

Test One: Waffles

 

Methodology: All waffles were cooked on maximum heat unless otherwise noted. 

The first batch was made with frozen blueberries. Waffles were made at 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 minutes, the 4.5 minute batch was preferred as shorter cook times resulted in soggier internals. 

The second batch was made with fresh blueberries.  , Waffles were made at 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 minutes, the 4.0 minute batch was preferred for presentation and external texture.

 

EPIC FAIL:

we tried a fresh blueberry batch at a lower heat for 5 minutes, then high heat for 1 minute in an attempt to get a more thoroughly cooked inner texture without losing the crispy exterior.  This test was an unmitigated disaster.  The interior of the waffle essentially steamed (hypothesis: added moisture from fresh fruit caused complications), so when the waffle iron was opened the waffle lost all cohesiveness and structural integrity and de-laminated. 

 

 

Conclusion: frozen blueberries are sweeter than fresh blueberries, but fresh blueberries have better texture.  To increase blueberry flavor with fresh blueberries you need more blueberries.  But too many whole blueberries diminishes structural integrity of the batter, so the blueberries need to be aggressively mixed so they break up in the batter, then throw in a handful or two of whole blueberries and gently fold them in so they remain in berry form before cooking at high heat for 4.0-4.5 minutes. 

If we hadn't all been too full to eat more, we would have tested a part frozen/part fresh combination of blueberries to see if that solved the sweet/texture tradeoff. 

 

 

 

As in the prior Test Kitchen, three pure maple syrups were tested: Stonewall Kitchens, Spring Tree, and Shady Maple.  There was a clear preference for syrup #1 (Stonewall Kitchens), though you can see from the photo that our Master Documentation Expert, Vinnie, disagreed with the popular vote and thought #2 (Spring Tree) was best.

 

 

Test Two: Broken Yolk Eggs

 

Methodology: I put Lab Assistants Bryan and Amy in charge of the eggs, their notes are below.  There were two batches, the first had no liquid added and feedback was that the eggs were a bit heavy, but very yummy.  The second batch had some milk added, and their fluffiness was better.  At the same time the sharp cheddar cheese variable changed between batches, the higher cheese concentration in batch one was preferred.  Other variables: ham, garlic, mushrooms, scallions.  You can see in the photo that the eggs were browned, feedback on that was all positive, that it added really good texture and flavor.

 

Conlcusion: Bryan makes really good eggs.  Garlic is good, as is sharp cheddar cheese and ham.  A little bit of milk whisked into the eggs will make them fluffier.  Browning the eggs results in good texture.

 

 

 

Test Three: Bloody Marys

Formulae: I printed three different bloody mary recipes found on the internet and set them out with all the necessary materials prior to the start of the Test Kitchen.

Conclusion: you have to really want a bloody mary to go to the trouble to make them - six ingredients minimum, with specific tools and measurements...  however, this Test Kitchen, we assigned a mixmaster to the ChemLab early and very quickly determined that Formula 3 was vastly superior to Formula 1 or 2 which were deemed too 'ketchupy'.

By popular request, the superior Bloody Mary recipe:

 

For rimming the glass:

1 Tbsp kosher salt (we used table salt)

2 tsp celery salt

wedge of lemon 

 

The Bloody Mary:

3 oz (2 jiggers) vodka

generous squeeze of lemon juice

several shakes of worcestershire sauce

3-4 drops of tabasco sauce

8 oz tomato juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp pepper

 

Directions:

rim glass with salt and fill with ice

add vodka, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce and tabasco sauce

stir in tomato juice with long spoon

add salt, celery salt, and pepper

stir again and serve with a wedge of lemon

 

 

TEST KITCHEN SUMMARY:

WAY less chaotic than the March edition, we must be getting the hang of this.

Very fun, everyone left with full bellies, we are definitely doing this again in June (or maybe July, depending on my schedule).

Call Dan at 9am to wake him up so he doesn't arrive so late that he gets cold leftovers.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks:

Lab Assistants Amy and Bryan for running test 2, baking the bacon, and cooking the bangers.  Once again, the morning would not have been a success without their help, I couldn't have pulled it off without them.  I think I'm going to have to promote them above Lab Assistant...  Research Assistants perhaps

Our Mad Scientist for managing the bar and ensuring the ChemLab was successfully completed. .

Vinnie and Shyama are the most amazing Lab Assistants when it comes to documentation (the fourth page is particularly hysterical).  And their smoothies were teh awesomz too.

 

I had a great time and can't thank everyone enough for coming over and participating in the Test Kitchen Experiment.  I hope you all come back for the next one!

 

On the first night of Black Hat Federal (Sombrero Negro Federal) I went with some friends to a little low-key steakhouse called Ray's The Steaks.  Ignore the painfully bad play on words that is the name of the restaurant; what Ray's lacks in name sophistication is more than made up for with meat.  Best.  Steak.  Ever.

 

that's right.  sashimi grade ahi tuna steaks on sale for $6.99 a pound. we bought six and froze four.  mmmmm.

 

 

 

 

 

this is my husband's cooking, I don't get to cook very often (a combination of his liking to cook and someone having to watch the kids, I wouldn't want anyone thinking I'm incompetent in the kitchen)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you could eat only 3 foods for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Submitted by formance.

Given my preference for not being sick, if I could only eat three foods I'd have to go with halibut (protein), papaya (gotta have citrus to prevent scurvy, and papayas are also a decent source of fiber and potassium), and broccoli (calcium & potassium).

 

But if we could pretend for a minute that nutrition doesn't matter and I'd never gain another pound, it would be cheese, english muffins or rye toast (for the cheese to be eaten with) and brownies.  I like fresh blueberries a lot too, but you said 3 not 4.

My s-i-l's husband (does that make him my b-i-l?  my husband's, sister's, husband.  hmmm.) is an awesome cook.  So is my husband, but that's a different blogpost.  Anyway, while we were in Arlington he kept us happily well fed with: banana/peach pancakes and bacon, grilled mahi mahi with asparagus and rice, fresh baked cherry scones, smoked beef ribs with roast potatos and corn on the cob...  and margaritas.  No margarita mix, he used fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice, sugar, Don Julio tequila...  Soooooooo good.  I made sure to get the recipe for our next BBQ shindig  which is inevitably coming soon, since Father's Day this year meant we finally decided to invest in a new kick ass suburban backyard warrior BBQ.  (Our current BBQ is in pretty poor shape - not surprising since it is 8 years old and only cost $100 or $150 to begin with).  And did I mention that my s-i-l's hubby cooks all this great stuff with a 2 year old and 6 week old twins in the house?  We were more than happy to help out with baby duty and toddler shepherding, but sometimes there are parenting things that only a mommy or daddy can do.  Anyway, a great weekend.  Kids outnumbered the adults, but everyone remained sane and had a really good time.  Good times.  A few photos of the kidlets will be uploaded after we get back home, but none of the amazing meals.  I wish I'd taken pictures of the food.  I really do.  But I didn't.  Too many kids to juggle feedings with to pop the camera out for a shot of scones.

(written 7/2/07)

After 24 hours in Seattle for business, I'm returning to my previously scheduled vacation, already in progress.  I had been feeling a little sorry for myself, 5000 miles in 48 hours, but then I realized that I'd traveled over 9000 miles in 21 hours before, so this wasn't really that big a deal.

On my way outta town I ate at Anthony's in the SeaTac airport - the Anthony's on the Seattle waterfront is really good, so I expected the same.  hmmm.  The asparagus was good, the rice a little dry, the prawns good EXCEPT there were only 5 of them and they hadn't been de-veined.  Butterflied, yes.  But their little prawn poop tracts hadn't been removed.  YUCK.  I am a DIY sort of girl, so I de-veined 4 out of five of them and ate them, then showed the fifth to the waiter before also de-veining and eating that one too.  The waiter was very apologetic and said he'd mention it to the chef, that no matter how busy they were, there was no excuse for quality...  but when my bill came there was no discount of any sort for the feces fiasco.  Oh well.  I still tipped because it isn't really the waiter's fault that the kitchen staff didn't de-vein the shlimpies.  But my mean streak is being exhibited now as I blog about this ickiness and urge everyone I know to avoid the Anthony's in the airport if they're ever in Seattle.  pah.

And no, I didn't have a camera with me.  Not that you'd want to see THAT.

 

(written 6/28/07)

So here I am in a flat land of heat and humidity, where the mimosas are in bloom, people buy food from a place called Piggly Wiggly, and you can buy a 10 pound bucket of something called Pork Chitterlings in the freezer section of the meat department at WalMart.  I don't think I want to know what those are.

Days Inn and Holiday Inn Express dot the roadways, I passed 9 churches in a five mile stretch of road, gentrified country estates exist just a bit down the road from the slightly shabby paint-peeling run down houses that were respectably nice 30 years ago, and here and there between the neighborhoods are the trailer parks.

One of the local mexican restaurants doesn't serve cerveza because its owned by Christians who oppose drinking.  Chain fast food restaurants like fried food provisioners Bojangles and Popeye's compete with local establishments with names like Blackbeard's and Boss Hogg's (where I can tell you the hushpuppy has been modified to an onion-ring shaped food item, I guess there just wasn't enough fried surface area on the old lump of a hushpuppy).  A place where it is nigh impossible to eat only 1200 calories a day without making a scene at each meal and requiring a separate entree/side from everyone else at the table. 

A place where the primary industry appears to be agriculture, and the primary agriculture appears to be tobacco farming. Where there are still debutante balls.  Where all the tea is sweet tea.

That's right, I'm in Noth Careliiiiina. 

Don't get me wrong, its not a bad place.  It just a bit surreal to me.  Anyway, so far we've spent two days getting mildly sunburned at the community pool and getting Granny hooked on Wii Tennis.  Tomorrow morning we are going sailing, then maybe back to the pool in the afternoon.  busy busy.  

 

Friday night we had a babysitter and went out to dinner.  I wanted to go to the city, but wasn't sure where to go - despite my being a 'city-girl' I don't actually get to spend much time in Seattle unless its with friends who know all the hip places to go.  So I fell back on Jasmine Restaurant & Lounge, a location I've hosted two business dinners at in the past (~100-150 people each).  For these dinners we'd rented the entire restaurant out and had a pre-determined buffet dinner, so I hadn't really been there on a 'normal' night.  So here is my review. 

When: Friday night, around 8:30 pm

Parking: W Hotel Valet, $9.79

Atmosphere: contemporary hip. 

Food: Outstanding. 

We were surprised by how deserted the place was for a Friday night - in fact, it worried us a bit when we first arrived.  The front section of Jasmine is the lounge, and there were five or six tables taken there.  We chose to be seated in the restaurant where there was only one other table occupied. 

I didn't realize from my past experience at Jasmine that they have a fairly extensive sushi bar; I was very happy with the maguro nigiri I had as an appetizer.  We also split some very tasty salt and pepper calamari before our entrees arrived.  We had a fantastic halibut fillet and the Black Pepper Beef (yeah, we shared so we could both try more things on the menu).  My husband had a beer, but I had a lychee martini which was excellent.  Given all the appetizers and drinks, the final bill with tip was close to $100 but it was worth it for a splurge night out.  I'm pretty sure we could go back and eat a bit more reasonably for a more regular dinner out.

What I don't understand given the amazing food and atmosphere is why it wasn't busier.  I hope we just hit an off night.  Jasmine is wonderful; if you are in Seattle I highly recommend going.  Oh, I forgot to mention, the service was really very good too.  So 5 stars all around.  I'll go there again for business dinners as well as personal dinners out, every chance I get. 

 

After dinner we stopped at the W for dessert and more cocktails (and parking validation).  Both the lemon drop and emerald drop were both fantastic; the lemon was sour and the emerald was sweet.  The desserts were small but sooooo good (yes, I broke my 1200 calorie a day meal plan for this night).  I had something that wasn't on the menu, their special for the night, which was a chocolate/caramel pastry with sea salt.  Unbelievably good stuff. 

 

Sorry no pics of the food.  It was a date - I didn't bring the big Nikon D70s along. 

 

One more thing - thanks Zot for sharing your babysitters with us.  Good babysitters are hard to find; most people hoard them.  :)