Canada Cross-Country, August 2006

A few weeks ago I had all these bold and grand notions that the rest of July would afford me plenty of time get caught up on everything on my to do list. And first and foremost on that list was a directive to myself to "Get it together, kid. No. Seriously. I'm talking to you!" and post my photos and tall tales from our lovely May in Europe. Obviously, that never happened. But part of me--hope springs eternal--is still convinced that I'll post those pictures and that travel narrative floating about my head (but getting fainter and fainter everyday) eventually. Actually, I was thinking about doing it tonight, but my computer crashed last week and, since I had to reset everything to factory settings, I haven't yet reinstalled Photoshop; for some reason that seems like a great deal of work right now, just so I can resize some pictures for your viewing enjoyment. So it'll have to wait. Again. But, if you're eager to see some photos while you're waiting for me to get my act together, check out April's Blog (you'll find the travel "diary" in the June entries). That girl is on the ball.

I do, however, have one picture for show and tell today. Below, I present to you our route from Rochester to Calgary. On Tuesday, April and I will be packing up the car and the dog, leaving the rest of the menagerie in the capable hands of our friend Dinah, and begin the 4-day drive to Alberta, where we'll stay with her parents for about 2 weeks, before packing everything up again and coming back. We have myriad AAA campbooks (since we're camping in between each 10-12 hour day of driving), tour guides, maps and a triptik. We decided it would be more interesting to take different routes there and back, so we'll travel to Calgary through Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and then our return trip will take us through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We're particularily looking forward to taking a picture of Fargo in front of the Fargo, North Dakota city sign!

bon voyage

Just a quick post to say that I'm leaving for my European vacation in an hour! Have a wonderful May, and I'll plan a big long picture post for when I return. :)
xoxo

busy bee

I promise I'm not intentionally ignoring anyone. Really and for true. I just have less than a week until I leave for Europe and still so much to do...

Last night, at 11pm and after grading all of my students' research papers, April and I made ourselves cranberry martinis (2 oz. cranberry juice, 1 1/2 oz. vodka or gin--I like mine with gin--and a splash of lemon or lime juice). I posted my grades this morning, and I have to say that I hope my students count themselves lucky because there were far too many B+s in my class. Unfortunately, I can't just make up grades, so I had to go with what the numbers said. Next time, I'll have to figure out what about my grading rubric is inflating my grades. (Maybe my students were just unusually good writers this semester? Nah.)

I just wrote a ridiculously detailed outline of my L Word paper (color-coded: blue for what's already there, red for things I need to add/cut/reframe/revise/make-sound-less-stupid), so maybe I'll work on that for a little while before I go to bed. And then I have to get up at 8am to show some of my fellow students how to use Dreamweaver so they can publish the upcoming issue of Invisible Culture without my help next week.

In other news, I'm soooo looking forward to my trip. (But not looking forward to flying.)

Food Fridays #9

Finally…Part Three of the Eggplant Parmesan Pizza recipe that starts with the Basic Pizza Dough with Italian Herbs and the World’s Best Pizza Sauce. The dough and sauce can, of course, be made separately or together for a myriad of delicious pizzas.

If you’re ambitious enough to attempt the whole Eggplant Parmesan Pizza recipe, make sure to read the whole thing before beginning. The recipe has five parts: the dough, the tomato sauce, the white sauce, the eggplants, and the pizza assembly. It cuts down on the cooking time significantly if you overlap different parts of the recipe (for example, make the sauces and drain the eggplants while the dough rises etc.…). You can, of course, also just use parts of this recipe to make other pizzas.

I also recommend making this for a group of friends, because it’s a good bit of work and you’ll want to share the yummy results!


Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

Basic Pizza Dough with Italian Herbs
World’s Best Pizza Sauce

White Sauce

3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground white pepper

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour, whisk briskly to blend until smooth, and cook, stirring about 2 minutes; do not brown. Add the milk all at once and whisk until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes. Pour the sauce into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface to prevent skin from forming, and set aside.


Eggplant Pizza

2 pounds globe eggplants, peeled and sliced crosswise about ½ inch thick
all-purpose flour for dredging eggplants
equal portions vegetable oil and olive oil for frying
salt
freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for brushing pizza pan or screen
olive oil, for brushing crust and drizzling on top
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 oz), Parmigiano-Reggiano is the best
about 30 small whole fresh basil leaves, or 3 tbsp. minced fresh basil or oregano

Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt and place on paper towels. Cover with more paper towels and place a wooden board or heavy weight (evenly distributed) on top of the eggplant slices and paper towels for 30 minutes to draw out moisture.
Meanwhile, prepare the White Sauce and the Tomato Sauce.

Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. Dredge lightly in flour. Pour equal portions olive oil and vegetable oil into a sauté pan or heavy skillet to a depth of 2 inches, and heat over medium-high heat. Add as many of the eggplant slices as will fit comfortably without crowding the pan and brown on both sides. Continue to cook, turning several times, until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted utensil or tongs, transfer the eggplant to paper towels to drain; then season to taste with salt and pepper. Brown the remaining eggplant slices in the same manner, adding more oil as necessary to prevent sticking.

Brush pizza screen or ventilated pizza pan with vegetable oil; set aside. On a floured surface, roll out the dough and place on prepared screen or pan.

Brush the raw dough or the prebaked crust(s) all over with olive oil, then top with the eggplant slices, overlapping slightly and leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Spoon the White Sauce over the eggplant; then top with the Tomato Sauce. Sprinkle with about ¾ cup of the cheese and drizzle evenly with olive oil.

Transfer pizza to the preheated oven, and bake until crust is crisp and the cheese and toppings are bubbly, about 8 minutes for prebaked crusts, or 10 to 15 minutes for fresh dough. Remove from the oven and lightly brush the edges of the crust with olive oil. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and the whole or minced herb leaves. Slice and serve immediately.

the wonders of the Interweb

My two new favorite time wasters film-related websites:

Trailervision
(More fake movie trailers, but most of them are previewing original films that don't actually exist--some are political, some are hilarious, many of them are quite good.)

MovieRap.com
(Rappers write/rap film reviews)


Also, for those of you who, like me, are a little slow on the uptake and didn't see this when it first made the Underground Internet Circuit last fall, the Association of Independent Creative Editors had a competition for its assistant editors to see who could make a movie trailer with scenes from an actual film that made the film look like something completely different than it actually was (only soundtrack and voiceover could be altered). There was apparently quite a bit of buzz (even an article in the NY Times), but I missed it until now. Here are a couple of the (amazing) trailers. Context is everything, it seems:

Shining
(The Shining as a family drama)

Brokeback to the Future
(The Back to the Future trilogy as a love story)

West Side Story
(West Side Story as a zombie movie)

whack the mole

(Don't ask about the subject line, even I couldn't tell you what it means.)

Tales of my abduction and dismemberment have been grossly exaggerated. Really. I promise.

I thought I'd pop in to tell anyone who's reading that I'm fine and still lurking around and still know that I owe many of you emails and about 18 Food Fridays and so much more. And you'll get all of that. Very soon, I hope. I finally feel like I have a little bit of time to myself this weekend so hopefully I'll get back on the ball (no promises though that I'll stay on the ball after that, but rest assured that my repeated absences do not mean I'm going away permanently or anything).

So, news from the past few weeks:

1. Last week I was in Atlanta, GA for five days for a the Popular Cultural Association Conference with April, her friend and her friends' fiancee. We gave our papers, we tooled around the city, we enjoyed the 85 degree weather, we ate at the Flying Biscuit Cafe, which is wonderful and (unfortunately) yet another restaurant in a far-flung city that I'm in love with. We also met up with several good friends who now live in Atlanta, so that made the whole trip twice as lovely.

2. When I returned, I had to comment on fifteen 4-9 page papers (they were drafts so their length varied greatly) in two days. That was a bit harrowing, but this is the last batch of papers I'll have to look at before May 3, when classes end and my students turn in their final research papers.

3. My car got broken into Tuesday night (in my driveway!), and I was awoken by the car alarm, which obviously scared off the potential theif. They broke one of the windows and then tried to open to the door (and set off the alarm). I didn't have anything in my car, so it was more of a hassle than anything else--calling the police to file a report, calling insurance, getting my window replaced, getting the damage to the window casing and door frame assessed, etc.

4. I volunteered to be on the Programming committee of our city's LGBT film festival (mostly because a friend told me to do it, but also because it's fun) in my copious free time, so I've been watching a lot of queer films in the past few weeks (some good, many very very bad).

(Now that I've listed the things I've been doing, it really doesn't seem like I've been doing all that much, but, damn, it sure feels like I've been going non-stop for weeks. Maybe it's just that certain things, like Atlanta and the grading, took up a lot of my time.)

Now on to the things that I'll be doing in the next few weeks
(a.k.a. Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines):

1.I have a karate tournament on May 6th. I'll try to compete in Jiu-jitsu, too, but I'm not sure if they'll let me since I'll be the only woman competing and all the guys are bigger than me. I understand the concern that I'll get crushed like a little bug, but I think it would be a good experience (competing, not getting crushed). Either way, I'll definitely compete in karate--kata, weapons, sparring. Last time we had a karate tournament, I didn't do as well as I'd hoped so I actually need to practice beforehand this time (not just frantically the night before). Also, last time I got the crap beat out of me in sparring because one guy had no sense of control (we don't spar full contact) and blasted me so hard in the stomach that he knocked me over...twice. The irony was that I still won that match because power/strength has nothing to do with scoring points, and he kicked me in the head hard enough that the judges called a foul (kicks to the head can get you a lot of points, but you're not allowed to make more than light contact to the head). So, near the end of the match when he kicked me in the head again, his second foul of the match turned into a point for me and I won. I think it was poetic justice, especially since by then I was crying (but still fighting) in spite of myself. Hopefully there will be none of that this time around.

2. I'm going to Germany and France on May 13th for three weeks. I'm very excited, except #s 3-6 below all have to be completed before I leave.

3. On May 3, I'll be getting fifteen 8-10 page research papers that will need to be graded by the following week.

4. My paper on the L Word is due back to the editor by May 15th (technically, 13th). Have I started my revisions? Not really...unless you count thinking about it.

5. My conference paper on the L Word for the National Women's Studies Association Conference is due on June 1st. But since I'll be out of town then, I need to get it done before I go. Luckily, it's similar to the paper I'm publishing (#4).

6. I have to get a revised copy of my dissertation proposal to my committe before I leave the country.

Okay, that's all for now. [/whiny post]

Food Fridays #8

Part 2 of the three-part Food Fridays Eggplant Parmesan Pizza extravaganza (see also Part 1: Basica Pizza Dough with Italian Herbs).

I've gotten much lazier than I used to be when I first started making homemade pizzas a few years ago. That is to say that I rarely, if ever, make my own pizza dough by hand anymore (sometimes I buy it from the grocery store, sometimes I use April's bread machine). However, I always always always make my own pizza sauce...because this is the best pizza sauce in the world! And it's quite easy to make. Again, from James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza.


Basic Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
½ cup finely chopped, peeled carrot
½ cup finely chopped celery
2 tsp. minced or pressed garlic
3 cups peeled, seeded, chopped, and drained ripe or canned tomatoes
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. minced fresh basil or oregano (optional)
salt
freshly ground black pepper

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato, and vinegar. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium, and cook until thickened and most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Stir in the herbs (if used) about 5 minutes before the sauce is done. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer sauce to food processor with metal blade or to a blender. Process to a coarse puree. Set aside for immediate use, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 or 5 days.

Food Fridays #7

This is Part 1 of a three-part Food Fridays recipe for Eggplant Parmesan Pizza from the James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza cookbook. Both parts 1 and 2 can be used on their own to make really excellent pizza dough and pizza sauce, respectively.

Basic Pizza Dough with Italian Herbs

1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cup warm (110˚ to 115˚ F) water
1 envelope (¼ oz.) active dry yeast
3 ¼ unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
3 tbsp. minced fresh herbs or 1 tbsp. crumbled dried herbs (optional)

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. (Water should be warm, but not hot or it will kill the yeast.) Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir gently until it dissolves. When yeast is mixed with the water at the right temperature, a smooth, beige mixture results. (If the yeast clumps together and the water stays clear, discard and start over with new yeast.) Let mixture stand in warm spot until a thin layer of creamy foam covers the surface, about 5 minutes, indicating that the yeast is effective.

To mix and knead the dough by hand, combine 3 cups of flour with the salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture and the oil. Using a wooden spoon, vigorously stir the flour into the well, beginning in the center and working towards the sides of the bowl, until the flour is incorporated and the soft dough just begins to hold together.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Dust your hands with four and knead dough gently and thoroughly. While kneading, very gradually add just enough of the remaining ¼ cup flour until the dough is no longer sticky or tacky; this should take about 5 minutes. Add herbs, if desired. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic, and shiny, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Knead the dough only until it feels smooth and springy; too much kneading can result in a tough crust.

After mixing and kneading, shape dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat completely on all sides with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk (approx. 45 minutes for quick-rising yeast or 1 to 1 ½ hours for regular yeast).

Preheat oven to 500˚F about 1 hour before assembling pizza.

As soon as the dough has doubled in bulk, use your fist to punch it down to prevent overising (my favorite part!). Squeeze the dough into a ball, pressing out all the air bubbles. To prepare the dough for shaping, pull the top of the dough and tuck all seams under the bottom to create a ball with a smooth top. This will make a 15- to 16-inch pizza.

Shape the pizza with a rolling pin until it is about ¼ inch thick or by slow and careful stretching. (If stretching, you may want to knead the pizza again for a minute.) Work on a floured surface, and then transfer pizza to a vented pizza pan or pizza screen. Do this right before you are ready to put the ingredients on the pizza.

Food Fridays #6

These are positively the best cookies in the world. April loves them, I love them, people regularily approach me and say "When are you going to make Snickerdoodles again?" Even my dog likes them. (He once stole about seven of them off the table at a party. We weren't particularily pleased [read: furious], but he was bouncing off the walls for hours).

The key to these delectable cookies is to follow the directions (really) and actually take the cookies out of the oven after 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of the cookie). I used to always make the mistake of leaving the cookies in longer because I thought they weren't done, and so my Snickerdoodles were always brittle and hard. But one day I decided I would actually follow Betty Crocker's instructions and, lo and behold, they were glorious. So, the cookies will be gooey and exceptionally soft when you take them out the oven. Handle them with care when you take them off the baking sheet, and you'll have perfect cookies once they cool (with a slightly crispy rim and a soft center). Oh, and don't try to make a half recipe. It won't work, and it will make you very sad when your cookies are hard little mounds of dough.

This recipe is from an ancient version of the Betty Crocker cookbook (and is not in more recent versions); my mother's copy is literally in pieces and stained with sugar and vanilla flavoring. Also, be forewarned that these cookies are definitely not low-fat. Butter and shortening? Is that really necessary? But that's what makes them so gooood.


Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar and the eggs. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded teaspoons into balls.

Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from baking sheet.

About 6 dozen cookies.

Food Fridays #5

The first time I made this was for a study group I was part of while I was getting my MA. Seven of us met weekly to study the entirety of Gaardner's History of Art because we were responsible for all 1000 or so images in that book for our MA Slide Exam. Considering that we spent more time laughing, eating and asking each other how to spell "sarcophagus" then actually studying, it's fortunate that the professors must have graded the Exam like we were kindergarteners ("Oh, she got the time period right within a century and described the painting in great detail--even though she didn't know its title or artist or anything about it otherwise. Give her full credit; her description was pretty.")

All that said, this bread is incredibly good. And if you eat it right after it comes out of the oven (which you should) it has this amazingly crispy outer crust with a soft, warm, doughy inside (because of the onion). It's from a cookbook called Fat-Free Cooking (and, yes, it's pretty low-fat, as is most bread that isn't full of, say, cheddar).


Olive and Oregano Bread

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp. dried yeast
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/3 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. black olive paste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
(you may substitute 1-2 tsp. of dried herbs, if you wish)

Put half the warm water in a cup and sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the sugar and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and fry the onion gently until golden brown.

Sift the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt and pepper. Make a well in the center; and add the yeast mixture, the fried onion (with the oil), the olives, olive paste, herbs and remaining water. Gradually incorporate the flour; and mix into a soft dough, adding a little extra water if necessary. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place in a mixing bowl, and cover with a damp dish towel. Leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in bulk. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead again for a few minutes. Shape into an 8inch round and place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a large sharp knife, make crisscross cuts over the top. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes until well risen. Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Dust the loaf with a little flour. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 400˚F. Bake the 20 more minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer to wire rack and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Food Fridays #4

As promised, last week's absolutely delicious fish and chips meal. An indulgence, sure, but so worth it. Really.

Crispy Horseradish-Battered Fried Fish

Vegetable Oil, for frying
2 1/2 cups complete pancake mix (the kind that needs only water)
1 heaping tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 pounds fresh cod, cut into 4- to 6-ounce pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour about 2 inches of vegetable oil into a large skillet. Place the skillet over a large burner and heat the oil over medium-high heat. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop in a 1-inch cube of white bread. The bread should be brown in a 40 count.

While the oil is heating up, make the batter for the fish. In a wide mixing bowl (or deep plate), combine 2 cups of the pancake mix, 1 1/4 cups water, and the horseradish. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of pancake mix in another wide mixing bowl (or deep plate). Arrange the batter and the bowl of dry pancake mix near the cooktop and the heating oil. Line a plate with a few sheets of paper towels and keep it within reach.

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then toss it in the dry pancake mix, coat evenly, and shake off the excess. The pancake mix will help the batter stick to the fish. Add the fish to the batter, flipping it around in the batter with a fork. You want the fish to be completely coated. Remove the fish from the batter, carefully place it in the hot oil, and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until deep golden. Remove from the oil and drain on the paper towels.

French Fries

4 large or 6 medium baking potatoes, such as Idaho or Russet, peeled
Vegetable oil as needed
Salt to taste

Cut the potatoes into any shape you like (I like my fries medium thick). Rinse in a few changes of water, then soak in ice water while you heat the oil.

Place the vegetable oil to a depth of at least 3 inches in a large, deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat it to a temperature of 375 degrees Fahrenheit. (I didn’t have a proper thermometer, so I just guessed, but they turned out fine. Basically, the oil needs to be very hot.)

Drain the potatoes and dry them well; drop them, a handful at a time, into the oil. After the first addition, turn the heat to high. Once they are all in, turn the heat to medium. Fry the potatoes in one batch, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the majority of them have begun to brown. Turn the heat to low (or turn it off if you’re going to wait to fry them again) and drain the potatoes on paper towels or a paper bag; they will be pale and soggy. If you like, you can allow them to rest here for up to 1 hour before proceeding.

Raise the heat to high and bring the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the potatoes back in the oil and cook, stirring now and then, until brown and crisp, just a couple of minutes. Drain on paper towels or paper bags, season with salt, and serve immediately.

* * * * * * * * * *
The fish recipe comes from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats and the recipe for the fries is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (if you don't own it already, go buy a copy now--it's one of the best all-around cookbooks out there). I did the first stage of potato frying before cooking the fish and then let the fries sit as Bittman suggests while I cooked the fish. And then I threw the fries in the oil for the second, shorter frying right before the fish was done. Make sure to use enough oil in the fish pan so that the fish does not touch the bottom of the pan (but rather floats in the oil), otherwise the batter will stick to the bottom of the pan and the fish will fall apart when you try to take it out of the pan. For the fries I used a big pot full of oil (this is for those of us who don't have deep fryers!) and for the fish I used a deep frying pan. You'll need about a gallon of oil between the fries and the fish...just a warning.

Make sure to have tartar sauce and lemons and/or malt vinegar on hand for the fish. And whatever your fancy for the fries (I like ketchup mixed with a couple teaspoons of curry).

overcoming inertia through the magic of chemistry

I was feeling overwhelmingly sluggish today (I would even describe myself as "sloth-like," doing everything at 10-20%) and so I decided to buy Coke's new soft drink/energy soda, Vault at the grocery store this afternoon. And, um, wow. I had three-quarters of the bottle (a normal 20 oz. bottle, not a liter or anything!) about three hours ago and the last few swallows about 20 minutes ago, and I'm completely wired. Earlier, I was talking non-stop. Now, I can't seem to stop blinking.

I am both fascinated and disturbed. I certainly don't feel sloth-like anymore, but I'm not sure I have the willpower to channel all this excess energy into something productive. I also can't be completely confident that everything I'm writing right now won't read like complete jibberish in the morning, since my brain is working too fast for me to concentrate on one word at a time in an ordered sequence--you know, what we usually call reading.

Food Friday #3

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and Friday in general, I made fish and chips tonight for April and her friend. It was ridiculously good, if I do say so myself--I used a Rachael Ray recipe for the fish and a Marc Bittman recipe for the fries. It was also ridiculously unhealthy (the most healthy part of the meal being the oil and vinegar-based cole slaw), and now the entire house smells like oil. But, no matter. I think next week I'll at least post the recipe for the fries (okay, maybe the fish too), since they were relatively easy to make and very good, but I didn't have time tonight to type up all the recipes.

Instead, I leave you with a really lovely pasta dish (also part of last month's Valentine's Day meal along with the Chocolate Lava Muffins). This Rachael Ray dish is very simple (not terribly low-cal, though) and excellent. The cream sauce is tomato-based and tastes quite light and refreshing considering it's full of cream, or maybe it's the vodka that makes this sauce so delicious.


"You Won't Be Single For Long" Vodka Cream Pasta
(recipe also available here)

This recipe will make enough for 4 people. If serving only 2, reserve half the sauce to freeze for another supper before the addition of basil, and only cook 1/2 to 2/3 pound of penne.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan in a slow stream
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 cup vodka
1 cup chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces)
Coarse salt and pepper
16 ounces pasta, such as penne rigate
1/2 cup heavy cream
20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn

Crusty bread, for passing


Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes to develop their sweetness. Add vodka to the pan, 3 turns around the pan in a steady stream will equal about 1 cup. Reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente (with a bite to it). While pasta cooks, prepare your salad or other side dishes.

Stir cream into sauce. When sauce returns to a bubble, remove it from heat. Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with sauce and basil leaves. Pass pasta with crusty bread.

home again

So, I'm back home again after a ridiculously seamless and excellent NYC trip* which included, but was not limited to: seeing my favorite 7-year-old twins (who were not eager to see me go...their little teary eyes this morning almost made me want to change my flight); going to the Whitney Biennial (and randomly running into one of my fellow grad students there); meeting up with my friend Lisa (which was lovely) and her friend and eating the best vegetarian food I've had in a long time; having lunch with my friend T'ai.; going to Henrietta Hudson with Misa; going to see Anne Heaton (and having her ask me "have I met you before?" [which she had] when I asked her to sign my poster) at The Living Room, also with Misa; horseback riding in Central Park, on a horse named Nellie (whoa, Nellie!); shopping; eating Curried Duck Noodles and Black Sesame Ice Cream at Republic; and having my NYC direction sense suddenly improve by leaps and bounds.

That's it in a nutshell. Also, I finished a novel while I was away, which seems as much an accomplishment to me (since I haven't been reading fiction as much as I'd like) as the successful travel venture itself.

*The brilliance of my trip was only dampened a bit by three things: April couldn't join me this time because she had to work, Anna was out of town, and I almost died on the flight home. The latter was, obviously, the worst. I have travelled a lot in my life, and I can honestly say that I have never experienced worse turbulence in my life. About halfway through the flight, the plane lurched--really lurched, not just falling a bit in an air pocket, but jerking off to the side and tilting downward--so sharply that one of the flight attendants screamed (and you know it's bad if they react) and dropped a tray of cups and ice in the lap of several passengers. And then the approach into the airport was so rocky that I was convinced the pilot was going to say it was too windy to land and pull up, but he landed anyway, even though we hit the ground pretty hard and pretty wobbly. Not fun. But I'm alive. So. That's good, I guess.

Food Friday #2

The next installment of Food Fridays--this one a bit early because I'm going to NYC tomorrow and won't be back till Tuesday.

I made these Chocolate Lava Muffins (an Alton Brown recipe, for anyone who watches Food Network)for Valentine's Day dessert this year, and they are truly incredible. They're also frighteningly easy to make, and so it's tempting to whip up a batch just to have around the house--except that they're basically pure chocolate and eggs and sugar, which isn't exactly healthy per se. Unless you count tastebud happiness as a part of your general mental well-being.

Chocolate Lave Muffins
(click here for the recipe on the Food Network site)

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
Butter, to coat muffin tin
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 teaspoon espresso powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture [I chilled these for approximately forty minutes--while we ate dinner--but I think they're only supposed to be chilled for as long as it takes you to coat the muffin pan. Either way works.]

Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.

While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan. Stir in the espresso powder. Serve over warm muffins.

Yield: 1 dozen

dear rachael, please come live with us...

I just bought a subscription to Everyday with Rachael Ray because what I really need in life is yet another cooking magazine. April thinks I'm a little crazy, but she's awfully indulgent of my whims when it comes to food-related things.

I would like to add that this is all my aunt Rhonda's fault! ;) If she hadn't shown me episodes of Rachael's cooking show two years ago at Thanksgiving, I would never have become so obsessed. Rachael Ray and Iron Chef America have me tuning in to the Food Network whenever I'm in the mood for TV and there's not a re-run of Law and Order or CSI on somewhere.

Food Fridays #1

I've been planning to do this for a while now, but only just got my act together to post. As of now, watch this space every Friday (I'll try to post every week for now and see how it goes) for Food Fridays (sharing the joy of food). Each week, I'll post a recipe I've really enjoyed to share with you all. Some will be fairly easy, some may be a bit more time-consuming, but I'm not a gourmand so I doubt any will require obsure ingredients (no $100 truffles or anything) or excessive/complicated preparation (I generally don't choose recipes that require more skill then the basic preparatory skills: chop, blend, mix, stir, bake, fry, boil, etc.)

April and I both love to cook and, when we have the time and inclination (which is not as often as we'd like), we enjoy seeking out fun and interesting recipes from the Food Network, Epicurious, one of my Cooking Light magazines, her Bon Appetit subscription, or one of our myriad cookbooks. Whatever recipe I post, I'll make sure to let you know from whence it came.

I only ask that if you try one of the recipes and enjoy it (or if you don't), please comment and let me know!


Today's recipe comes from Epicurious.com (click here for the recipe on their site, with pictures). It's extremely easy to make. April made it for my birthday in late January, and we loved the recipe so much that we've been making it over and over again since then (although we usually make it without the mangoes because they're more expensive, but it's excellent with or without the mangoes). I think the dressing (and the avocado) is really what makes this salad so wonderful.

We substituted Welch's frozen berry mix juice concentrate for the passion fruit juice because our grocery store isn't fancy enough for frozen passion fruit juice. And, despite our early misgivings, the berry juice worked very well.

****

Avocado and Mango Salad with Passion Fruit Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons frozen passion fruit juice concentrate, thawed
3 tablespoons minced shallot
4 teaspoons Sherry wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, coarsely cracked
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 cups herb salad mix (about 4 ounces)
1 large ripe mango, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced
2 small avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, sliced

Whisk first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend; gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing generously with salt and pepper. Toss salad mix in large bowl with 1/4 cup dressing. Divide salad among 4 plates. Tuck mango and avocado into salad; drizzle some of remaining dressing over mango and avocado.

Makes 4 servings.

indulgence

I’m starting my own meme, even though I’m well aware that the word “meme” cannot describe a single occurrence of a post. So go, re-post, tell your friends what you consider a luxury. Don’t make me a liar.

Top Ten Indulgences,
or these are a few of my favorite things

1. Buying and consuming antipasto as a meal, including some combination of the following: olives (stuffed or otherwise), French bread, expensive cured meats (prosciutto, hot coppa, Italian salami), expensive cheeses (teleggio, [fresh] goat cheese, brie, camembert, gruyere). And, of course, red wine.

2. Reading in a hot bath. (This is why Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire has now been dropped in the water twice, but it’s a paperback so it’s still intact and readable.)

3. Splitting an entire bottle of Spanish champagne (sparking wine, for sticklers) with my girlfriend (I’m a big fan of Freixenet, which isn’t incredibly expensive but still very good.)

4. Sleeping in on a lazy Sunday morning. (Even better if April’s also sleeping in, which is a rarity since she’s much more of an early bird than I.)

5. Drinking a cup of Fortnum and Mason tea (preferably Assam Superb, English Breakfast, or Darjeeling) with sugar and a little cream. I love this anytime, but it’s especially comforting on a grey, rainy/snowy day. The effect of the tea is significantly augmented by cucumber sandwiches, but I don’t have the energy (nor do I ever have the ingredients on hand) to make these.

6. Spending an afternoon/evening/day rampantly watching an entire season (or as much as I can handle) of a television show, usually while simultaneously rearranging my furniture or my closet, while wrapping presents (around Christmas), while packing, while sick, or simply when I’m feeling incredibly lazy and indulgent. This was much easier to accomplish with Sex and the City, Newsradio and Neverwhere than when I tried to re-watch the entire second season of The L Word (with some fast-forwarding, I’ll admit) in one night or than I suspect it will be with Bad Girls or Firefly (longer episodes).

7. Writing silly postcards to friends wherein I quote long passages from plays, books or films without any explanation and then sign my name and stick them in the mail.

8. Making travel plans to visit friends without other academically (or fiscally) viable reasons for traveling (museums, theatre, conferences, etc.)—like visiting Chris in MN (where we spent five days watching CSI and going to the movies) or going to LA to spend time with Hilary and her Couch.

9. Cooking elaborate meals, often with several courses (at least salad, entrée and dessert) and a bonus if it takes me more than two hours to cook.

10. Making absurd lists with no inherent use-value of their own when I should be working (this includes memes, surveys, polls and to-do lists that I will never refer to again). Part and parcel of Number 10 is spending long hours on LJ (or otherwheres on the Interweb) reading/writing fan fiction and reading/writing blog entries.

a tedious to do

To-do lists are curious and specious creatures. Everytime I strike something off, I believe for one, blissful second that I can rejoice in my achievment, and then at least five other pressing tasks seem to take its place, swirling up out of nowhere with malevolent determination. I find this frustrating. So very, very frustrating.

My to-do list as of yesterday morning:
1. Finish L-Word Paper

My to-do list now:
1. Finish L-Word Paper
2. Prepare for Class (by 12:30)
3. Call Vet/Pick up Cat
4. Clean house (in time for April's dissertation group tonight)
5. Grade Papers (over weekend)
6. Re-read and newly read some articles/books for my dissertation prospectus (begin over weekend)
7. Rewrite my dissertation prospectus (by February 27)

I mean really. How does it do that?

because everyone's my friend in new york city

I'm uncommonly excited about going to NYC in a few weeks (mscalculus, did you get my email?!). The Whitney Biennial begins in March, I might finally see Wicked, and I'll get to visit some of my favorite people. How excellent. The only downside is that April won't be able to come with me, but she promises to plan a trip with me later in the spring/summer. So it's not so bad if her absence means I get to go twice in one season!

Speaking of visiting, if you're going to be in New York City between Friday, March 10th and Tuesday, March 14th, drop me a line.