Made Alton Brown's fudge-y, rich, awesome brownies the other night:
(he calls them cocoa brownies)

oven at 300.

butter and flour an 8-inch pan.

whisk together 4 eggs until light yellow.
add 1 cup sifted sugar. add 1 cup sifted brown sugar (i used dark brown, which was hard to sift).
add 2 sticks melted butter, 1 1/4 cups sifted cocoa, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1/2 cup sifted flour, pinch salt (he called for 1/2 teaspoon, i used a bit less).

mix all together, pour into pan, bake for 45 min until the center is no longer liquid. i had to cook mine for another 15 minutes or so. insert a toothpick into the center to be sure.


i don't crave sweets. I want salt all the time, but this really did the trick.
speaking of sweets, does anyone else feel slightly violated after watching nigella lawson cook?

here, i'll show you:



i thought about making this, but then couldn't care enough to get into my silky black pajamas.

The past few days have been difficult. The weather is not cooperating, and new guy has been out of town for a week. I need a pick me up. Last night I made risotto which was a bust because i decided to add in kale last minute, and well... it just tasted weird.

I DID use up the rest of the pie crust that I made for the quiche and made an apple galette via my new alice waters cook book.

here goes (in oversimplified directions):

take pie crust, rollout. refrigerate while cutting the apples.

slice around 2 large apples thinly. add 2 TB sugar to apples and (my fav, a little lemon juice).

arrange apple slices in an overlapping circle on the pie crust. fold over the edge so the apples are tucked in nicely.

beat and egg and brush over the exposed crust. Sprinkle sugar on entire tart and bake at 400 for 45 min.

tada! delicious.

Zucchini Quiche:


Crust (makes 2) from Alice Waters:

12 TB butter
2 cups flour
salt
1/2 cup ice water

cut butter into the salted flour, work together until crumbs start to form. add a little bit of water. work together into a ball. add more water if necessary. may not need all of it.

divide the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The other dough ball can be used for later or frozen.

Filling (adapted by me):

Sautee 2 pieces of diced bacon with 1 sprig of rosemary until it begins to brown.
Add 1/2 chopped onion.
cook until translucent.
slice 2 Zucchinis into thin rounds. add to onion/bacon mixture. Cook until almost soft.

Roll out one of the dough balls on a floured surface. Add to a pie dish. Trim any excess dough from the sides.
Place the Zucchini mixture into the raw crust and spread out evenly.

Add 1 1/2 cups grated gruyere on top.

Mix together 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cups cream or whole milk. dash of salt, pepper and nutmeg. pour egg mixture over the zucchini.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden at 375.
Let rest 5 minutes.

The bad thing about being a freelancer is that there are moments when i am temporarily unemployed. I feel that way because for the past two weeks i have only been working maybe three days a week. Technically i still have a job, but i suddenly have more time on my hands. The good thing about such time is that i can try out some new recipes.

With that said, i am officially in love with chef john from foodwishes. My favorite food blogger is still smitten kitchen, but chef john's incredibly easy to follow youtube videos really get to me.

Last night i made his vodka sauce recipe. I thought of taking some photos, but why not just watch his video?
I dunno if new guy actually loved this penne or if he was just being nice, but I loved it, so that's the most important thing.



Vodka sauce has always scared me a little bit because my mom refuses to eat or cook with cream. Therefore i have no previous experience cooking any kind of cream sauce unless mac and cheese counts. Then i saw on jersey shore that snooki made vodka sauce and i realized i could probably do it if she could.

mission accomplished. this was fucking awesome.

because im in such a good mood, and not hung over for the first time in 3 days, i will now present my long over-due recipe for queso.

made this weekend with the ladies.
made more enjoyable while drinking beer and watching the craigslist killer.

2 tb. butter (duh)
2 tb. flour
roughly 1 cup WHOLE MILK
1 1/2 cups SHARP cheddar
some salt and pepper
spicy salsa


melt the butter in a small pot.
stir in the flour, and whisk together until a blonde colored paste forms.
slowly whisk in the milk.
heat until thickened. should be able to coat the back of a spoon.

(this is a basic rue. for Yummy Mac and Cheese add a cup of cheddar, 1/2 cup gruyere, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. stir in cooked pasta, add to a baking dish, cover with breadcrumbs and bake for around 30 minutes until brown at 375).


for the Queso:

stir in the cheese, salt, pepper and salsa. turn off the heat. add more cheese and/or salsa to taste.
serve with chips.

nom nom nom...

French Toast:

-Whole Wheat Raisin Bread
-Whole Milk
-2 Eggs
-Vanilla
-nutmeg
-cinnamon
-Butter

Heat large Heavy Skillet on medium high heat with 1 pat of butter.
Beat eggs, 2 TB milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, dash of nutmeg and dash of milk.
dip bread in egg mixture to coat both sides. let excess drip off.
cook until brown on both sides, about 2 minutes.

Serve with hot syrup, bacon and banana slices.

(since i don't have a camera, and my 35mm is in the shoppe for repairs, i figured the next best thing was a pic. of mario batali's crocs. via his website.)

potato croquettes, modified from 3 diff. recipes, and heckling by my mother who claims i "didn't do them like nona":

about 5 waxy yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes. Boil until fork tender.
-put potatoes through a ricer into the hot pot used for boiling. Add 3 tb.'s of real butter.
-add about 1/3 cup milk, or more if needed, turn on the heat and wait until milk starts to froth.
-turn of heat, and mix well.
-add 1/2 cup grated parmegianno. stir.

let cool.

-add a large handful of thinly chopped prosciutto, small handful chopped parsley, dash of nutmeg, and a little salt and pepper
-add 1 egg
-form mixture into little patties, coating with flour. shake off excess flour.

-in a large deep pan, fill with vegetable oil until 1/4 inch high up the sides of the pan.
-fry in batches until golden brown on all sides.
-place fried patties on plate with paper towel to soak up the excess oil
-yummy. enjoy. mangia.

It's HOT out.

Iced Tea:

3-4 tea bags (anything with caffeine)
brew tea in a large container.
take out tea bags after 5 min.
add lemon wedges.
add 2 heaping tablespoons of honey.
add a handful of mint springs.
add about 1/2 a cup of ice.
put in fridge overnight.
yum.

recipe courtesy of my sista.

Watch the full episode. See more Julia Child.

i want to make a souffle. Last night i feel asleep to this video, and dreamt that i was back in my old neighborhood and went for a walk. on the walk i made out with a hot gardener, came home and saw lindsay lohan was my next door neighbor and the two of us discussed her "first marriage". There really is no explanation for this.