Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Help!
People have too much time on their hands...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Pies, cats, and other things.
Pumpkin layered cheesecake. So bad, and so good.
This can be made slightly less deadly by using the "1/3 less fat" Neufatchel Cheese.
This works best with a 9" springform non-stick cake pan.
INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter. Mix until nice and crumbly.
Carefully spread the crumbled graham cracker mixture around the bottom of the cake pan. Use a large fork or spatula to evenly press the crumb mixture into the pan, then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread carefully onto the graham cracker crust, then set aside.
Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter that is already on the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the center is almost set. Allow it to cool, then refrigerate for 3 or more hours.
I kinda messed up and used a 9.5" springform pan... so that's why mine is so "flat". (click the pic to see the whole thing)
Kitty
Monday, October 20, 2008
I'm back
For those of you in the mood for a little food porn, here you go:
Breaded, seared Ahi tuna with mashed red potatoes and asparagus.
Beef kebabs on the grill (marinated in worchestershire, lemon juice, garlic).
Fried mozzarella sticks.
Last, but not least... the best ever oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
8 oz unsalted butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 cup rolled oats/oatmeal
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugars, and salt with an electric stand mixer with whisk attachment until creamy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, oatmeal, baking soda, and 1/2 cup flour until blended.
Stop the mixer, remove the whisk attachment, and replace it with the dough hook.
With the mixer on slow speed, add the remaining flour, then slowly add the walnuts and chocolate chips.
When all is mixed, cover and chill for half hour or so.
When ready, form 2" diameter, 1/2" high "hockey pucks" and place them on ungreased non-stick 12x15-inch baking sheets (lined with parchment, if you desire easy clean-up). Bake at 400F degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes, until the edges are brown, but the middles are still slightly pale. After removed form the oven, the centers will settle to make moist, chewy cookies. This recipe makes about 3-4 dozen, depending on how big you made your cookies.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Secondary Cat
Monday, June 2, 2008
Really?
Ok, this is mostly a foodie blog, so I feel this is appropriate.
Dr. Fredric J. Baur (June 14, 1918 - May 4, 2008) was a chemist and food storage wizard, perhaps best known for conjuring up the famous, tubular Pringles pop-top can for Procter & Gamble.
Dr. Baur died last month, just shy of his 90th birthday. At his request, some of his ashes were buried in a Pringles can!
WTF?
Sure, the Pringles can is certainly a unique, recognizable chip-storage device. I'll give him that... but it's not like some revolutionary life-changing invention. I mean, it's not like he invented the actual crispy crunchy deliciously processed fake salty potato treats that reside in the can. No, he just invented the can. Plus, if you think about it, it wasn't even that great of a can to begin with. One minute, you're reaching in and getting your perfectly formed chips... and before you know it, your hand is stuck in the fucking can and you can't get the chips out. Solution? I say -slightly bigger chips, bigger can.
I wonder if his ashes were buried in a new can, or a used can (with some salt and crumbs mixed in).
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Bart's House
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Calabash
I found this at the grocery store. Why haven't I seen these before?
Also known as - cucuzza squash, Italian edible gourd, bottle gourd, long fruited gourd, long melon, long squash, peh poh, woo lo kua, hu lu gua, opo squash, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, snake gourd, suzza melon, or zuzza. The name given to this squash in other countries include: yugao (Japanese), po gua (Cantonese), kwa kwa or hu gua (Chinese), upo (Filipino), cucuzzi (Italian), bau (Vietnamese), and dudhi or lauki (Indian)...
...in some cultures, they make penis gourds out of these!
Now that you've had your funky squash lesson for the day.... What am I supposed to do with it?
Spanish Balls
Last night, I pulled this menu idea out of nowhere... I needed something new, yet easy.
I made Southwestern-style meatballs with a creamy tomato sauce, Spanish rice, and stewed seasoned tomatoes... topped with light sour cream, guacamole, and cheese.
I thought it was pretty good. Matt is picky, though - he said it was good, just that Spanish stuff isn't his style. Bah.
The guacamole on tomato was an appetizer.
Tater Skins
Monday, May 19, 2008
Pizza Fix
I fired up the KitchenAid mixer this evening (she and her dough hook had been seriously neglected lately), to try a seemingly promising thin-crust recipe I found online, only to be disappointed. I mean, it was edible, but it wasn't thin-crust.... and just not what I was hoping for.
It was way too bland for my taste. Next time I figure I'll try it with more seasoning, less yeast.... I'll also replace the Italian cheeses with some Feta. Live and learn.
On the plus side, considering it was pizza, it was relatively low in fat/calories. No sauce, no meat, and lots of veggies.