Kitchenaid has arrived!

My life is complete. I officially own a stand mixer!! I hadn't expected to be investing in something this large so soon, but I had $40 in Amazon gift cards, it was on sale AND Kitchenaid is currently running a rebate promotion. It seemed too good of a deal to pass up.

Sadly, it's been HOT in St Paul this week, so I haven't gotten to use it yet!

It finally cooled off a little tonight, and I used some tomatoes from Jake's dad to make a great marinara sauce.

I also popped a batch of cheese and herb biscuits into the oven. They weren't a stand mixer project, but they are pretty damn tasty!

Generally, I followed the Amateur Gourmet recipe I've used in the past except for a few steps:
* I found I needed closer to 3 cups of flour. 2 cups gave me more of a thick pancake like batter.
* I added 1/3 c shredded gouda to the dough just before the buttermilk.
* Sprinkled the tops with chopped thyme and oregano from Jake's dad's garden. Also about 1 tsp kosher salt
* After the initial 5 min bake, I took them out, brushed them again with a little butter and sprinkled a little more gouda.

New baby herb garden!

One of the most exciting things about our new place is the space I have to grow herbs! It's a bit late in the season, so my options were a little limited when I went to the nursery but I managed to get my hands on a beautiful tarragon plant and two rosemary plants (I killed my last round of rosemary, so hopefully this one goes better). I also bought two "live basil" plants at the grocery store and planted them together.

So far, they look healthy and are getting lots of sun. Anyone have tips for keeping tarragon and rosemary alive? I'm hoping to bring them all inside this fall and keep them alive under lamps - which I was able to do with my chives, basil and parsley in my last college apartment.

Can't wait to start cooking with these little guys!

Welcome Home Gifts!

So, there hasn't been much to report, as I didn't do much cooking in Disney World over the weekend.

But, I came home to 2 marvelous surprises.

First, former Washington Post intern classmate Morgan dropped in this week and gifted me a beautiful handmade apron. It's made out of oil cloth, so it'll wipe clean, no matter what I spill or drop on it!

Next, Jake surprised me with the adorable panda dip bowl I tweeted about earlier. Naturally, I loaded it up with pineapple fried rice and went to town.

My kitchen wishlist

One month later, I'm all moved into a great new place, my new kitchen is set up, and I've been cooking like mad.

I haven't been spending as much time perusing the websites of William Sonoma or Crate and Barrel, because, well, I'm pretty much set! (sidenote: this was NOT necessarily the case during #snomageddon when I was literally running out of things to do)

But, the past week or so, I've noticed there *are* a few things I could do with.

So, here it is, my new Kitchen Wishlist:

• apron -- I keep cooking in old T shirts, all of which are now stained or oil splattered. It's becoming a nuisance, and wish I had an apron or two for clothing protection. Needs to be of durable material, so stains won't soak throw, and dark colors, so it doesn't get ruined the first time I use it. 
• Large, wide bowls. With the amount of mul naeng myun, and now pho, I eat at home, I need to stop eating of my mixing bowls (which, is too narrow, and I end up making a huge mess). I had some great ones (OK, they were plastic, but at least the correct shape) at my last place, from the dollar store, but I think they got thrown out. 
• Kitchen timer - I bought a $7 one at Target, and surprise surprise, it broke after about a week. Because my oven isn't that accurate, I just keep a close watch on things anyway, but it would be nice to know HOW LONG things have been cooking for.
• Sugar bowl - I love the tupperware set I have for storing flours, sugar and salt, but there is something that says to me "this is a home" when sugar can be stored in a beautiful little jar or bowl. My mother has a very distinct one, my grandmother has a very distinct one -- it's just something that feels important. And would be convenient. :) 
• Tiles - I recently saw a post about using simple tiles as a pizza stone and to moderate heat in your oven. My oven is notoriously bad for having even heating (as proved Sunday with burnt outsides and wobbly insides on my first attempt at pound cake). The concept of having an accurate and evenly heated oven sounds wonderful.

Better than takeout

Chinese takeout is not only insanely bad for you (so much salt, oil, possibly MSG, nevermind the portion sizes), it also tends to get a bit pricey if you depend on it often.

Therefore, I bring you this: better than takeout orange chicken with snap peas.

This is a great example of a) reasons to marinate the heck out of your chicken and b) ways to sneak in an extra serving of fruit.

Orange Chicken recipe (exact proportions to come, but here's the general idea)
Marinate chicken pieces in 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part sesame oil, 1 part rice vinegar, (about 1/3 c and scant 1/4 c each), 2-3 crushed cloves garlic, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp red chili flakes and the juice of 3 oranges.
About 30 mins before cooking, mix 2-3 TBS corn starch in with the chicken marinade.
Drain the chicken over a saucepan, collecting all of the marinade.
Add to the saucepan similar proportions of soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar, 3 TBS brown sugar and juice of another orange (or two). Heat 5-8 mins until sauce thickens and reduces by about half.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wok. When it shimmers, toss in the chicken and sear quickly. When the chicken begins to turn opaque and crisp, drizzle 3 TBS honey over.
Reduce heat of the wok and mix in the sauce.

Top with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions.
Serve with rice or noodles and a vegetable side (I did steamed snap peas with salt, pepper and sesame oil)
Enjoy!


Another side project I was up to last weekend was making a big batch of chicken stock for some chicken soup while I was sick with a cold.

Stock is another one of those great things to keep on hand - and now that I've got a real freezer, making big batches is perfect.

First, pull as much meat from two store-bought chickens (you could - of course, roast your own chickens, but hey -- I was sick!!).

Next, toss the bones and skin into a stock pot. I also had a wilting bunch of parsley I tied up and threw in.

Add your aromatics (carrots, celery and onion are traditional. I also put in the dark green parts of some leeks I had left) and fill the pot with water

Put a lid on it, and simmer away. I also added some season salt and a few cloves of garlic for added flavor. Others traditionally use a bay leaf, I think.

After an hour or two or three (or in my case, whenever you wake up from your sick kid nap), strain your stock, freeze half, and enjoy. It's silkier, thicker and more complexly flavored than anything you can buy in a carton or can at the store.

Dreaming? of trying popovers this weekend! Can't wait.

A ton o' pics

Since moving to the new place, I haven't had a ton of internet access. So, here's a round up of pictures I've taken, starting with our last meal in the old place.

THE LAST SUPPER: Bibimbap in the basement

Officially retiring the wine bottle rolling pin. New one on it's way!

Frying up the bulgogi

Pan frying the dumplings, as had already packed the bamboo steamer (see below)

 

MMMM bibimbap!!(recipe to follow)

FOOD PROCESSOR

Ingredients for hummus

 

In action!! Fastest hummus ever!

 

Pie crust dough, just for something else to try

Flaky and delicious

BAMBOO STEAMER ACTION

 

 

Recipes:

Bibimbap (Korean rice bowl)

1 1/2 c cooked rice (traditional Koreans use whatever is leftover from the day before)
Any veggies of the following (about 1/4 c of each per serving - sliced matchstick style, sauteed lightly in vegetable oil or butter spray):
baby carrots, spinach, zucchini, onion, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, daikon radish, bean sprouts
ground beef, pork belly or steak (korean bbq style) - about 1/3 c
1 egg, fried on the bottom
1 -3 TBS gochuchang (red pepper paste)

Drizzle 1 TBS sesame oil over rice, arrange vegetables in segments on top of rice, top with fried egg and the gochuchang. Stir to combine.




Hummus (adapted from the Cuisinart recipe book)
1 large can chick peas/garbanzo beans
2 cloves garlic
zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 TBS tahini, more to taste
1 tsp cumin
salt, to taste
2 TBS olive oil
5 TBS water
optional: small handful parsley, 1 tsp red chili flakes

In a food processor, chop the garlic, lemon zest, cumin until well combined.
Add chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, water and parsley if using. Pulse until smooth. Mix in salt and chili flakes, if using, to taste
Add more water and olive oil in small batches to desired consistency. Hummus should be smooth, but thick and creamy.

If you don't have a food processor, you can still make hummus. I use to use an old school mortar and pestle (you could use a heavy mixing bowl and a large spoon or other heavy kitchen tool) to mash up the chickpeas, then mix in minced garlic, the tahini, oil and water (hot water usually helped smooth things out). The hummus is a little chunkier, and if you have a blender (I had a terrible bullet blender), you can try to blend it a little smoother.

Dreaming? of all the new things I can make with my food processor!!