Helllllo I am back from the crazy Christmas escapades.  It’s 11 degrees outside, and tomorrow’s low is -10, I’m not even going outside if Saks is giving stuff away… ok no I would.  This calls for grocery shopping online in my jammies.  And…. I ordered 6 bottles of wine.  Because they are groceries too.  *shifty eye looks around*

What’s on the menu?  I’m going to attempt a braised short rib recipe from the french laundry cookbook that involves setting some stuff on fire.  Sean is making some carnitas.  I think I will try to make pain d’epi mostly because I need some bread crumbs, not because I like crusty old french bread.  The bread crumbs are for a tilapia and mashed yams with pancetta sage breadcrumbs recipe, and also on the menu – peppery pasta carbonara with poached egg, and indian lamb chops with curried cauliflower.

STAY TUNED FOR FOOD.

One of my favorite leftover ideas is to use noodles and make it into a ramen, I’m a big fan of using leftovers to create a brand new dish. Eating the same thing for more than 2 days straight is just boring, you need to spice it up!  This uses the braised pork belly I had earlier in the week.  I’ll tell you the secret to making any* leftover dish into a ramen!

First, start your boiling water.  Then add to it powdered chicken or beef stock depending on the type of meat, a tablespoon for every serving.

Here, consider your vegetable options (whatever you have in your fridge or freezer, if it sounds good, try it!).  In my case i did 1/2 cup diced potatoes and 1/2 cup onions.  If you are adding root vegetables that takes a while to cook, you want to put them in the water first and boil until tender.  I added both the potatoes and onions and boiled for about 5 minutes.

Then add in moderation the flavor profile that you used for your leftover.  So for example, for this bowl of ramen, I used a ~2 teaspoons of soy sauce and ~1 teaspoon of sugar.  You want to do this because in most cases, your leftover won’t have that much of the braising liquid to flavor that much water in the broth, this step balances the broth flavor to match the leftovers.  Add the pork belly right into the boiling water along with the braising liquid (it’s probably hardened to a gel at this point), stir, and taste it!  Make sure it tastes just like your leftovers did.  You don’t want it to taste watery or bland, if anything you want it on the slightly salty side due to the addition of the noodles in the next step.

Finally after everything boils for another 2 or 3 minutes, add the soba noodles.  They should only take another minute or two.  They usually come in pre-measured bundles for a single serving.

Ladle into a bowl and enjoy your fast and easy lunch!

*DO attempt with: Leftovers from Asian restaurants such as sesame chicken, kung pao beef, mushu pork, tea smoked duck.  Non asian thing such as Pot roast, steamed fish, steaks, etc.

*DO NOT attempt with sushi, anything fried, anything mashed or mushy in texture, pies, and so forth.

So I spent most of Sunday Christmas shopping at the Mall o’ America and o man I’m really good at picking stuff out.  Honestly.  I am!  I can’t divulge any of the gifts that we purchased today for obvious reasons, but here is what I got for myself for xmas yay!!!!!

Oh look, somebody wrapped this up for me all nice-like.  I wonder what it is…..

Ohhhhh you shouldn’t have.  Two of my favorite words in the dictionary!! (probably not in the dictionary…)

Oh Marc, how I love you.

*swoooon*

Ok I’ve had my eyes on a Marc Jacobs Zip Clutch for the past year, and miraculously found one on sale at Nordstrom.  I love it when you find things you least expect!  This color is past season, but you can get this in black, orange, and my favorite… red.

Here are some more affordable alternatives.  I know this ok, I’ve been looking for a new wallet for 6 months.

Here are a few more picks for the fashionista on your list:

Pretty Party Dresses - who doesn’t love a nice dress? :P

• Nanette Lepore always wins my heart.  I may or may not have already ordered this dress (also comes in Stacy blue ™)…. This dress is in an amazing plum color and if I didn’t already have something similar, I’d be stalking it like crazy.   And finally, this is on sale!  It didn’t appeal to me at first but after I saw it in person, I kind of love it.
• For some cheaper alternatives, this dress at forever 21 is a knock off of this Nanette Lepore dress, that’s like 99849839% off.  And this is very similar to the beautiful red dress mentioned above.

Tweed Jackets - I’ve been OBSESSED with tweed jackets lately.  It’s because I am crazy allergic to something this winter and my skin is itching like crazy.  The docs put me on some hardcore meds and things are a lot better now, but I’m forced to push all the wool cardigans I have to the back of my closet.  But I live in MN!!! I am COLD all the time!!!  So a jacket is definitely the answer.

• White House Black Market black and white (duhhhh) tweed jacket!  It’s got great shape, color contrast, what’s not to love?  (Apparently I’m also obsessed with this store lately…  SUCK IT JCREW!)
• I love this ruffle tweed jacket from Ann Taylor.  Another store I seem to be obsessed with.
• Even though this is not tweed, this new Nanette Lepore jacket is just so coooool.

Nail Polish – When you bring out the ham on xmas and your nails are chipped, you will be so embarrassed and glad you read this…. not that you were shopping for yourself or anything…. never…..

• Matte Top Coat – this is the best invention since sliced bread.  If you live under a rock, the latest craze with nails is to paint them matte.  But before this came around, you had to buy matte polishes which were expensive and seemed a bit excessive because how long can this fad last?  With this top coat, you can turn any of your existing polishes into a matte finish.  I bought a bottle for myself, and for presents as well!  Essie also makes one and it is a little bit cheaper than the Butter London brand.
• Sephora teams up with OPI to bring you the bestest nail polish ever.  This set, you get 3 polishes for the price of 2, and it includes the oh so elusive color Metro Chic.
• And this just seems so smart, a french manicure pen!

“Ok Seriously, when are you going back to being a food blog?”  WAAAAAAHHHH :(  Ok fine.

APRONS! – They are a bridge between fashion and cooking.  Hmmmmph.  This is totally a great gift for somebody who loves cooking.  They make them SO CUTE now!!  How do you resist?

• I’m pretty sure I would wear this apron out as a dress (not with my butt hanging out tho, I’ll wear some pants or something.)  Did I mention that I am also polka dot obsessed?
• Stacy posted this ruffle apron from Anthropologie and I kind of hate her for it because now I’m looking at aprons all over the place and I DON’T WEAR APRONS!!  gah.
• This apron is for kids, but I kind of wish it came in my size because it’s pink and it has a gingerbread man on it.  LOOOOOVE.  This one too…

For the Guys – if they deserve a gift…

• BBQ Stuff – You can get them this cool barbecue set that arranges their barbecue utensils like it’s some kind of tool box.  Then they can make dinner for once and you can paint your nails.  This set if they’ve been REALLY good.  Sean really wants a smoker as well, and I am definitely behind that 100% because he can smoke bacon for me!  This if they’ve been REALLY good.  This if they’ve been REALLY bad.
• Smelly Stuff – This seems like a great idea to try out new smelly stuff, if the guy is into being smelly.  It is also available for women as well!
• A netbook, because somebody wants one……. but he already has a laptop!!

For your Kitchen! – What, this is a food blog?  Why didn’t anybody tell me…

• Lobster Crackers are essential, especially if they are shaped like lobsters.  This is on my gift registry muahaha!
• Snow pup mugs – they are really cute.  I generally hate seasonal stuff, but I kind of love these snow pups.
• Herb Keeper – I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s bought a big stalk of sage or rosemary and couldn’t use it up in time.
• Spice Grinder – most people probably don’t have one, and they are definitely nice to have around, you can also grind coffee with it too.  Under $20 too!
• Rice Cooker – again, most people probably don’t have one, and it’s definitely nice to have around.
• Salad Dressing Bottle – make your own salad dressing, mix it, store it.  Genius I’m pretty sure.
• CAKE STAND!!!!111!1111`~~~~!

And if all else fails, get them chocolates! - If they don’t like chocolates, you shouldn’t be friends with them anyway because they probably aren’t even human and I’m pretty sure they eat babies.  Truffles are the best, I wish somebody would get me some truffles for xmas.  Or if you’re like my friend Adam, get him the nut-free truffles because he’s allergic to nuts (and numerous other items which would involve 50 pages and a flow chart to explain).

And if that faills…. and you insist on still being their friends, I guess they might like some caramels… or enroll them in a fruit of the month club.

There you have it, my 2009 gift guide yaaaaaay.

I just installed it.  Please friend me.  So I don’t look like a loser who’s only friend is herself.  *SOB SOB*  Cute puppy picture so you feel sorry for me.   It’s on the right side, right there, click it and stuff. —>

Ok, macarons are serious business.  They are not easy to bake.  I’ve never really failed at anything baking wise (with the exception of being a total retard and forgetting an entire ingredient… or two…) and my first attempt at macarons was an utter disaster and cannot be posted due to extreme embarrassment.  This is my second attempt at macarons and they were definitely better than the first batch.  I guess I should explain exactly what a macaron is too huh?  They are not macaroons which are cookies with coconut and whatnot in them.  Macarons originates from France, where pretty dainty food comes from.  They are made with egg whites, almonds, powdered sugar, and regular sugar.  They come in many different flavor combinations, it really is endless.  In short, they are a very upscale oreo cookie.

How to make a successful macaron you ask?

• First and foremost, measure very carefully.  The wrong proportions, even a little bit, can be disastrous.  A kitchen scale is an invaluable tool here, so you better have one.
• Second, leave your egg whites sit out for a few days, this really does help the texture come together.
• Third, measure your egg whites on your kitchen scale as well!  The whole “3 egg whites” just doesn’t cut it here, that was the epic fail moment of my first batch where I over measured the almonds, and ended up with three eggs with giant yolks and no whites.
• Fourth, size them properly (and try to make them all the same size), and don’t underbake.  I ended up with a giant macaroon at the end where I had extra dough, the size difference caused it to under bake and when it was moved, it totally collapsed with a raw center.
• Fifth, if #4 happens, just eat it ok?  It goes along with the rules of “eat it if it’s too ugly“.

I ended up using a modified recipe from Tartelette because she had exact measurements to the gram, and that’s exactly what I needed after the initial macaron catastrophe.

For the shells:

• 90 grams egg whites (about 3)
• 30 grams granulated sugar
• 200 grams powdered sugar
• 110 grams almonds
• 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg  (I ran out of nutmeg, so I replaced it with more cinnamon)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

1. For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry.
3. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar and spices in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground.  (I found that my food processor wasn’t breaking up the almonds fine enough, so I let it go for about 3 minutes, the mixture should be powder-like.)  Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 20-22 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool.

I didn’t have a pastry bag, so I used a plain plastic bag and inserted it into a tall glass and filled it with the crust mixture.  Then I cut a hole at one of the ends and it piped perfectly.  Although I’m still going to purchase a pastry bag with some tips in the future!

I experimented with both the parchment paper and a baking mat because I read that a baking mat helped them rise better, I saw no difference in my macarons, but they were much easier to get off of the parchment paper and stuck a bit to the baking mat.  So I would not recommend using a baking mat for this.  The baking mat does provide pretty pictures tho! :)

The filling was a simple buttercream and I also used one of Tartelette’s recipes.

Vanilla Buttercream:

• 1/2 cup (100grams) sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded (you can substitute vanilla extract here if necessary)

Directions:

1. Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream.
2. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
4. Add the seeds from the vanilla bean to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.

I only used about half of the buttercream for this batch of macaron shells.  Out of the 18 that I baked, 2 or 3 were destroyed, so I only had 7 macarons in the end.  My next attempt, I will make the shells smaller and daintier!

It’s suppose to be for breakfast traditionally, but this is what I had for lunch.  It’s a hard boiled salted duck egg and fermented tofu over rice porridge.

Salted duck eggs when hard boiled, the egg yolk has a very grainy/sandy texture, it’s almost like a roe.  The yolk of a really good duck egg is suppose to be bright orange in color, so this means my poor duck egg is of poor quality and needed to be salted more.  Usually you can buy these in Asian grocery stores, either cooked or uncooked.  The uncooked is usually packed in the salt it was brined in.  As you can imagine, they are very salty and sadly high in cholesterol so don’t eat them every day.

The fermented tofu is basically what it sounds like.  It’s placed in a salty white wine brine for probably a very long time, and tofu will take on the flavor of whatever it’s soaking in.  You can get them in Asian grocery stores in jars.  They are also very salty in flavor, and the texture is similar to blue cheese or a very soft creamy cheese.

Are you grossed out yet or intrigued?

So apparently I’ve been informed that I’m hard to shop for because I just buy what I want, I was like “no wai” but I’ve been trying to compile a list and it seems way too small.  Please don’t look at my pile of 10 boxes in my living room.    I mean I’ve only ordered like 2 things…

So just to try to prove to myself that I CAN actually make a good list of things… in no particular order at all.

Kindle – Sean says I should get a Kindle (or nook) because I’ve been reading a lot on my iPhone.  I have this awesome app that loads up a pdf file, and I scroll through the pages.  But apparently it strains your eyes blah blah blah, and apparently I need a kindle.  I’m still not sold on it tho, what if I want to read in the dark?  (which I do, lots, because I don’t have a reading light because we’re still in the process of picking out table side lamps).  Plus Apple will come out with something and it will be infinitely better, right?

Crumpler Photography Bag – We just got a super awesome Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera, and I’ve already acquired 2 lenses, we need a nice bag to store it in.  Although I told Ronnie that the bag looks like an over-sized lunch box when I first saw it, after doing much searching, I’ve come to the conclusion that all camera bags are fugly and this one is actually somewhat decent.  (Sorry that I didn’t listen to you Ronnie!) I think first color choice would be the gray/red – stylish and sophisticated!  Plus Sean can carry it as well (all the time, so this would be a gift for him, ok?).

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil Brush on the go or something or other.  I use this stuff, I go outside, what’s not to love?

Infiniti by Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Rollers, I think I do need some hot rollers yes?

Such a pretty clutch from Ann Taylor, the black leather one is MUCH better than the red satin, and much more useful as well.   (No I swear I’m not 30, I know I shouldn’t be shopping there yet).

This awesome tank top from Ann Taylor in black, small, it’s so awesome and super cute on, but extremely sold out online.  I saw it at MoA and downtown… I do have a 25% off coupon and sorry I might just go and track this down and buy it.  DAMMIT I SUCK AT THIS!

Ok ok, this ruffle jacket is from the Ann Taylor LOFT ok, it’s for younger people, I swear.  It’s also sold out, because it’s so damn cute.  Curses.  But this necklace isn’t sold out so yay.

These cute little pins in the shape of dudes.  For this tackboard, from cb2.  Love cb2!!!!  This little dude would match too right?  Maybe I need 2 tackboards :O

UH HELLO DO YOU KNOW ME? *squeeeeeee*

WARNING, if you get me any kitchen stuff, my wedding planner Jamie will track you down and slap you upside the head because we need to have this stuff on our wedding registry blah blah blah!

This awesome bundt pan because Ronnie’s bundt cakes are sexy.  Maybe this bundt pan too…

Popover pan, because popovers are delicious and you just can’t make them in a muffin pan, not the same!

I’m going to stop here with the kitchen stuff in fear of retribution from Jamie…….

ok to be fair, I’ve never tried crack cocaine, but I imagine it would be similar to these cookies. Stacy made them first and demanded that I make them, so I did.  I even made a double batch the day before thanksgiving, put all the cookies into 3 bags, and they were gone by Sunday.  Every single one.  How is this possible, about 60 cookies, gone in 3 days?  Because they are like crack cocaine.  You eat one, then you hide one in your pocket while eating another one, and after 10 minutes you’ve gained 10 lbs and lost 60 cookies.  My parents came over on Sunday, I wrapped 4 cookies in a plastic baggie for them to take home, my dad starts eating them and next thing I knew, they were all gone.  I go and grab the big bag of cookies I still had left, he eats 4 more, my mom yells at him (and she eats 4 more) and then they went home and took the bag with them.  THEY STOLE MY COOKIES!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, copied from Little Blue Hen

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smuckers natural smooth)
3/4 cup sugar plus extra for rolling
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (reeses chips)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (ghirardelli)

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix and set aside.

2.) Mix the butter and peanut butter together until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Add egg and mix until combined, then add milk and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in baking chips.

3.) Place a few tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl. Scoop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls and dip in sugar. Place on an un-greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Use a fork to press down gently and make a criss-cross pattern in the top.

4.) Bake 10-12 minutes at 350F. Let cool for one minute on the baking sheet, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

The only thing I would change is use a slightly smaller chocolate chip, the ghirardelli brand, although super delicious, were oversized.  This prevented me from making the cookies any smaller, and I wish mine were smaller so I wouldn’t feel so guilty eating 5 or 10 cookies in 1 sitting.  I already purchased another bottle of smuckers peanut butter… I’m such a crack addict.  I blame this all on Stacy.

Do not read this if you hate deliciousness.

Do you like bacon?  Do you like it a little on the softer side?  If so, this is for you.  This was always a comfort food while I was growing up, and it’s meant to be eaten in moderation.  2 or 3 pieces with a bowl of rice and some greens makes a perfect dinner.  Pork belly offers a very interesting texture as well as flavor, melts in your mouth, makes you happy!

Mom’s Braised Pork Belly

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of pork belly, you can purchase this at Asian grocery stores or the butcher
• 2 tablespoons sugar or brown sugar
• 1 big stalk of leek (or 2 small stalks), washed and cut into 1 inch long pieces*
• 4 slices of ginger
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cooking wine (sake, or white wine is fine too)
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder
• green onions for garnish

*my mom uses a few bunches of green onions, but I find leeks to be tastier.

Directions:

1. When buying pork belly, make sure you get leaner pieces.  Pork belly is fatty, really really fatty.  Generally I would look for something that is 50/50 fat to meat ratio.  Usually they will be ~3 inches thick.  I cut it into 1×3 inches, or 2×3 inches, like so.  
   
2. This is the hardest part.  Heat up your dutch oven, no need to add any oil.  Brown the pork belly in batches.  It WILL splatter, a lot.  Wear an oven mitt to protect your hand.  I got 2 small oil burns this time around, but damn it’s worth it.  You can skip this step too but I find this step gives it a better texture.
3. When you are done browning the pork belly, there will be quite a bit of fat at the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat to medium and add the sugar.  Stir vigorously and don’t burn yourself, let the sugar get a little caramelized, it adds another layer of flavor.  This process should only take about 20 seconds so be very quick here!
4. Add the browned pork belly back into the pan and stir.  Add the 2 cups of water right away.  At this point, the water should reach a boiling point instantly.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir.  Reduce the heat to a simmer.  Your pot should look like this, all nommy and stuff.  
   
5. Cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours.  Then uncover and simmer for another hour.  Be sure to stir every 30 minutes or so, especially that last hour.  You might need to add a little extra water depending on how dry your climate is.  It should look like this.  At the end of 3 hours you should have about a cup of thickened sauce/fat mix at the bottom of the pan.  

Serve over some white rice and spoon a little bit of sauce over the pork belly (minus the oil) and garnish with green onions.

I’ve always tried to make my own pasta when I have time, so naturally I’ve gone through many pasta dough recipes.  Most read the same, flour, eggs, sometimes olive oil.  I didn’t know anything better existed, until now.  The consistency of this dough beats the others out of the water, it’s so easy to work with and it’s got a gorgeous golden yellow color (thanks half a carton of eggs!).

French Laundry’s Pasta Dough
French Laundry Cookbook
Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup (8 oz) all-purpose flour
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Chef Keller goes in depth about the technique he uses in his book but did I use it?  No.  Why?  Because I’m lazy and prefer to use my KitchenAid mixer instead.   You should still get his book and read about it though.  I start with the flour, then I make a well in the middle for all the wet ingredients. Then I turn the mixer on, using the dough hook, and make sure everything is getting incorporated evenly with some fast action spatula work. And I have to commend this recipe yet again, the amount of ingredients was PERFECT. I didn’t have to add any extra liquid, or flour, like I did with those other recipes.  I let the mixer knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes more after everything was incorporated – you cannot overknead this dough.  After kneading, wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap.  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.  Then roll out your pasta!

I have this pasta roller set attachment for my mixer, and I cannot rave more about it.  It’s seriously one of the best things I’ve ever purchased.  Rolling this dough through the roller was like BUTTER.  The texture of this dough is so incredible, there were no weird pulling, no crazy air bubbles anywhere, it was just smooth and perfect.  I whipped up a very easy bolognese sauce to go with it for dinner.  nomnomnom!