All in Eating and Cooking
What does it take to make a delicious breakfast treat? Waking up early in the morning to spend hours slaving over a hot stove to churn out some tasty pastries? Scouring the local farmer’s market to find the freshest fruits available for your muffins? Maybe pounding and beating dough to make it rise and fall to have the best and fluffiest cakes available? No, it doesn’t take all that work. It takes butter and sugar; lots of butter and sugar. At least that is what I learned while baking up this month’s delicious Make me a Sandwich treat; orange-cranberry scones.
Who doesn’t love potatoes? The answer is no one. Everyone loves to eat potatoes in all their many shapes and sizes. Baked potato? Check. Mashed Potatoes? Double Check. French fried potatoes? That isn’t even worth a response. Potatoes are everywhere and you can get them at your favorite restaurant with ease but what about potatoes slutty cousin the sweet potato? Sweet potatoes are rarely listed as a menu item at a restaurant and when they are it is like seeing a unicorn in the wild. That is too bad because the sweet potato is delicious, can be used in any recipe that a potato can be used in, and has a sweetness that can really make a potato dish extra special.
In part 2 of this two part post, we make brunch.
In part 1 of this two part post, we provide a brief history of brunch.
Somewhere along the course of human history it was deemed inappropriate or uncouth to drink alcohol before noon. I don't know why that became the standard. It's not like the sun passing the midway point in the sky has some sort of mythical power that allows alcohol to be acceptable. However, there is one exception: brunch.
Why is it so hard to find real food in a box? I get some things are not made to stay fresh for long periods of time without some sort of preservatives. Meats will spoil. Vegetables will go bad. Fruits will rot. But what about baking products? Doesn't it seem like these types of boxed foods don't need to be filled with ingredients we don't recognize and can barely pronounce?
When it comes to methods of cooking, baking has always scared the hell out of me. Throwing something in a frying pan or on a grill makes sense in my neanderthal brain. Meat + Fire = Good! Maybe toss some salt and pepper on that bad boy and then you're on your way. However, baking is too much like going to chemistry class to possibly be real. Only some sort of witch could mix together 17 different powdery substances with an egg and some water to create a delicious cake. I assume there had to be some blood of a newt or the hair off a dragon's ass in order to make baking a reality.
Everyone is familiar with cooking with wine. A nice white wine sauce can go well over a lightly sautéed chicken and some al dente pasta. Most people know that cooking with liquor, especially in desserts, can make a tasty treat. Much lesser known is cooking with beer. Sure, you've had some beer cheese from the local bar or beer battered fish. These are great but beer can also be used to make some sophisticated dishes and not just "pub" food.
I've never been a big proponent of Valentine's Day celebrations. I don't mind the card or wishing someone love on Valentine's Day but I never felt like it was something to take all too seriously. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying those people that put a lot of time and effort into the celebration of the day are wasting time. It just wasn't my thing. With that in mind, I decided to make a four course meal for Rizzo and I to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Rizzo got me an interesting book for Christmas this year titled The Mad Feast by Matthew Gavin Frank. It wasn't anything on my list but it is a great book and I'm glad to have received it. The book explores various foods from each of the US states told through essays, short stories, or autobiographical excerpts that revolve around that particular states food. Sometimes recipes are included, sometimes not, but so far they have all been interesting tales.
Getting this book inspired me to revive a project that I had started once before but never too seriously. I decided that once a month I'm going to cook something that I have never cooked before and see how it turns out. I enjoy cooking from time to time but I'm not a gourmet chef by any definition. The purpose is just to enjoy some time in the kitchen and maybe find a recipe or two that can be a keeper.
