Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Merry Christmas to my tummy

A chocolate/chocolate cupcake from Quebrada

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tonight's Dinner Brought to You Courtesy of...

...a long ass day of work. Oddly enough, after a long day of chasing down cheese vendors and cutting big pieces of cheese into smaller pieces of cheese all I wanted for dinner was some crusty bread and a good piece of cheese. Maybe it was to remind myself of why I go through all the crap.

 Rogue River Blue is a raw milk blue cheese that uses the same strain of blue as Roquefort. But they wrap it in grape leaves and soak it in pear brandy. The outside is so sweet but there's this peppery thing from the grape leaves. It's also 38.99/lb so I can only buy it in tiny increments. But totally worth the splurge.
I've been wanting to try Pretty Things since we visited their brewery. Baby Tree is brewed with dried plums, I thought that would be an interesting pairing with the pear in the rogue river. It's not a super fruity flavor, which is good. I didn't want anything too sweet.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Playing with my new camera

 I got my new digital camera today. It actually has a "food" setting. So I decided to test it out while I made my dinner; Sloppy Joes and sweet potato fries.





 The recipe for the sloppy joes came from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. It was yummy but could have used a bit more spice. I think my next batch might include a little chili powder.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Baked brownie bribe

We're having a little turf war with the boys in beer/wine. So I thought I'd pacify them with chocolate.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Rainy Day Cooking

Penne with Gruyere cream sauce, bacon and caramelized onions.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Cranberry Ginger French Toast with Honey Marscapone

 It's a bit chilly out today so I wanted something hearty and maybe just a bit sweet. I start with a loaf of cranberry ginger bread (I get mine at Whole Foods) and then I mix equal parts egg and milk. It's better the more fat in the milk, actually half and half or even heavy cream work best, but I've used 2% and it turns out pretty damn good. I sprinkle in some cinamon and a little agave nectar for good measure.

Then I fry it up (in Kerrygold salted butter. I'm sure it's no better than any other salted butter but it has nostalgic appeal for me.)


 Then I bake it off in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes depending on how thick the bread slices are.

I'm not always in the mood for syrup, so a slightly sweetened marscapone is an awesome alternative. It's halfway between the sweetness of the syrup and the richness of butter. I just mixed about a tablespoon of honey into a quarter cup of marscapone.

I cannnot wait for christmas time. Panettone french toast is possibly my favorite breakfast item ever in the history of breakfast.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Why yes, I am eating a burger and fries at 9:30am. The one bright side of 7 hour flight delay is getting to eat at places I didn't think existed anymore.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Currently Reading...

I've been harboring a not-so-secret desire to eventually own a small goat farm and make my own goat cheese when I grow up. I think I possess just the right mix of intelligence and enjoyment of manual labor. Whether or not I'll ever be comfortable watching goats go at it is another story...

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Pear and gorgonzola tart

My first attempt so it looks a little "rustic". The reduced balsamic vinegar really makes it.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

If the English call Stilton the King of Cheese and the Italians call Parmaseano Reggiano the King of Cheese, do you think cheesemongers from their respective countries get together and rumble? I hope so...

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Breaky

Challah french toast stuffed with mascarpone and huckleberry jam

Friday, August 13, 2010

Adventures in Cheese Buying

And yes, I mean that on a totally professional level. Yesterday, after only working in the cheese department a few times a week for about three months, I was chosen to be my store's new Cheese Buyer (there should be trumpets or something)!

Which means a couple of things:
1. Long hours-I have to figure out the ordering systems, inventory, pars, not to mention I'm a defacto supervisor in the department now
2. I have a LOT of homework to do. At this point I can talk competently about virtually all of the chocolate, 1/2 the cheeses we sell and virtually none of the olives.

I've begun the research phase of my orientation by picking up a few books. If anyone has any other suggestions I would be majorly appreciative. Here's what I've got



Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Potato Gnocchi w/ Brown Butter Rosemary Sauce

Mmmmm...fried rosemary



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, June 3, 2010

I More Than Like You Brownies

Ever since I started working at Whole Foods I compulsively buy the Callebaut or Varlhona chocolate anytime there's a price reduction. Which means that I have several blocks of chocolate hanging out in my pantry at the moment.

Which leads us to another recent purchase. Shannon and I recently made a trip to Trident Booksellers and Cafe where I picked up (finally) I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris.

Chocolate+Amy=Aunt Joyce's Brownies

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread (or something witty)

Despite the fact that the flowers are in bloom and my grass is now long enough to need mowing, I have been craving pumpkin bread. As a matter of fact, there is no time of year that I'm not craving pumpkin bread. I love the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. That married with the soft, almost creamy, texture of pumpkin kills me every time. Like pizza, even bad pumpkin bread is pretty good.


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Monsters!

Ever wonder what happens when you combine all your favorite cookies into one? I personally adore monster cookies, mostly cause it takes all my favorite parts of cookies and combines them. 



Wednesday, February 17, 2010

This Charming Cookie

I spent my day off baking cookies and listening to the Smiths. Which, let's face it, might be the best way to spend a day off ever.(Though the bit where I was dancing around my kitchen and suddenly noticed one of the creepy turkeys in my yard staring at me was less fun). I started off not really knowing what I wanted to make but knowing that I had a TON of chocolate chips. And by that I mean a four and half pound bag from BJ's.
The matroyshkas beckon you in


Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Food Related

My niece's 4th birthday is coming up in a few days and I'm a little strapped for cash. So I decided to try out my crafty skills by making her an apron (and by me making it I mean Shannon supervised while I sewed together the pieces she gave me).

Here's the finished product:


Sunday, January 31, 2010

Some vacation acquisitions

While in Spokane, Wa., Shannon and I visited an adorable coffee/tea shop called Atticus. They kept all the tea in large glass jars along the wall in this one nook so it looked like an apothecary. We went in one day to warm up after ice skating and I had no choice but to drag Shannon and her mom back in the next day.

I picked up two kinds of loose leaf tea while I was there (plus a super cute water bottle):  Market Spice Green and Earl Grey with Lavender.






Apparently "market spice" is a west coast thing, but I had never heard of it. I haven't properly tried that yet. The earl grey is actually something we sell at the west coast stores but never get in the east coast shops so I was curious to try it out. It's nice. It smells pretty floral but mostly you just taste the black tea base. It's like drinking tea and your posh aunt's house.
This little guy was a world market purchase but he makes a damn fin cuppa

Friday, January 8, 2010

My New Obsession:Baked

Shannon's sister gave me Baked: New Frontiers in Baking for christmas. So far I've done two recipes out of it and they have both been a-mah-zing. Some of the recipes are a bit involved but all the steps are simple and easy to follow. 

The first recipe I tried was the Flourless Chocolate Cake (pg 50)


It was delicious (though the ganache was super thick, I might half or three-quarter the recipe next time).

The second recipe I tried was the Sour Lemon Scones (pg 27).
We were too busy eating them to take pictures. I love, love, LOVE the texture of these scones. I didn't have enough lemons to make the candied lemon peel but I definitely want to try that next time. I also had to use lowfat buttermilk because it was all the store had. I also love that its a good basic scone recipe that could hold up to whatever I wanted to add.