Get Cooking

I read a New York Times article by Michael Pollan, an author and professor at the University of California at Berkeley. With the release of the new Julia Child film (which I'm so excited about), a spotlight is being pointed on the rise of "foodie culture" in America. More people want to know about food, but few of them actually want to cook it. I found this article to be fascinating.

The guy is onto something. The solution to obesity in the US: "You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself.”

I'll be in the kitchen..

Oh...you're here already??

foodnetwork.com

Ever gotten side tracked and forgot to start cooking for your arriving guests? That happened to me today. I started cleaning instead of cooking and my heart just dropped when I heard the doorbell. Luckily I was making a super simple recipe from the Foodnetwork's Ina Garten. Yea the strange lady that's always saying "how easy is that?". Well it was indeed easy. I threw the pasta in water, got the door, poured some wine and within 15 minutes we were eating.

Click here for the recipe. I made a few changes that play to my own tastes. I added a splash of white wine, reducing the lemon juice a bit and I threw in a handfull of parmesan. It would be wrong to have pasta without cheese right?

Scrambled Eggs Done Right

This was the first dish my mother ever taught me to make. After 20 years of tweaking I think I'm finally happy with my technique. Here's my list of tips:

1. Don't turn the stove up any higher than medium. It takes longer but they don't get as tough.

2. Add herbs or cheese at the end of cooking. The herbs will retain their flavor and the cheese won't blend too much into the background of the eggs.

3. Take the eggs off the burner just before they are fully set. This would be a good time to add things like chives, parsley, cheese etc.

4. Onions, mushrooms, peppers or anything else that needs cooking to soften can be done before the eggs are added to the pan.

5. I don't add milk, cream, half and half or any of the like. More liquid makes them runny. For richness, throw a dollop of sour cream in the scrambled egg mixture before whisking.

6. Whisk in plenty of salt and pepper. Nothing worse that bland scrambled eggs.

7. Don't stir them around too much. Let chunks form.

8. A garnish of chives and extra cracked pepper is heavenly.

9. Butter at the bottom of the pan will add nice flavor and prevent sticking. Teflon pans are not required.

10. Put a lid on the pan for a few minutes to let the top as well as the bottom cook. See #7.

Who Says Gin Tastes Like Christmas Trees?

Ladies, I think it's time for us to put away our aversion to Gin. If for nothing else but for the sake of trying the Batsman cocktail at Dosa Restaurant in San Francisco. This recipe, taken from http://www.sfist.com/ is easy to follow but time consuming and ingredient intensive. Substitute the ginger beer for gingerale, use bottled lemon juice and you're in business. I made a big batch for a BBQ a few weeks ago and it was a hit. Gin will be your new best friend.

The Batsman

1 1/2 oz Martin Miller’s Gin

1 oz Darjeeling Cordial (see recipe below)

3/4 oz lemon juice

Ginger beer to fill

Garnish: mint sprig/lemon zest

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake heavily for approx. 5 seconds. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass, top with ginger beer, and garnish.

Darjeeling Cordial

2 cups white rum (well)

4 bags (tbs.) Darjeeling tea

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup honey

Directions:
Steep the tea in the rum for 3 1/2 hours, stirring once in between. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the honey. Stir to dissolve, remove from heat and let cool. Add this “runny honey” to the infused rum, stir well and bottle.

Dos Coyotes Davis Love

The first place my freshman year RA recommended at UC Davis was to go to Dos Coyotes Southwest Mexican restaurant. It was there that I tried a salsa that would never leave my mind. I was a little obsessed. I contemplated dropping by and stealing some off the salsa bar. Well I've grown up and I think I have the recipe to make it myself. Very simple:

Toss together the following, broil until brown and run through a food processor:

6 tomatillos (husks removed and washed)
1.5 jalepenos

3 garlic cloves

Olive Oil

Add to the above:

Handfull of chopped cilantro

1/2 of an onion finely chopped

2 tbs of honey

juice of 1/2 a lime

salt & pepper to taste

Grab a bag of chips, a quesadilla of your choice and you're set.