Sunday, June 27, 2010
...overheating...
...i honestly think the best times in life are the simplest...when you are with the people you love, when you can say that you wholeheartedly enjoy their company, & you can spend your time together having a night on the town, or just relaxing in your living room, content with just each others company...
I was delighted when one of my kindred spirits, the fantastic ivel told me she was coming to visit new york! a passionate vessel of love&creativity, ivel is a force of nature...from the moment we met i knew we would be present in each others lives for the long run...one of the reasons I love Ivel, is the shared passion we both entertain for cooking&eating...we decided to have a feasting celebration for her time here...as anyone who knows me can attest to, I believe you can never have enough food...especially when you are entertaining company...it can get expensive, tiring, time-consuming...it doesn't matter...its sooo worth it...when you have company & are being a hostess, you are showing your guests who you are by what you make for them...since cooking is my way of expression & my passion, I always want to express to my guests that I value their company & I want them to have the best time possible & experience my passion through the food...as always, one of the staples @ my dinner parties is empanadas! ...lately, potatoes have sneaked their way into the recipe on a regular basis...so its so very simple...a little vegetable oil, fresh chopped garlic & onion (red, yellow, or white! no food discrimination here, they all have great flavor!), after they get to know each other in the frying pan for a bit, i introduce them to the cubed potatoes, (i like red! i'm sorry), crushed spanish olives& the spices start to flow...cumin, paprika, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, sazon...after some caramelization, its time for the main event...the ground beef takes its place in the pan, soaking up the spices & making its presence known....I also did a vegetarian version for company with an aversion to meat using morningstar "ground beef" crumbles...I put my lovely sous chefs to work (ivel&jenny!), & they awesomely filled 40 empanadas for me, alternating between the meat & veggie versions, adding cheddar cheese to some to increase the awesomeness factor...as the empanada factory line was being worked, I worked on the gravy(sauce) for the homemade pizza...I had prepared the dough that morning using my grandmother's simple recipe...3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1 package of yeast, & 1 cup of lukewarm water...kneading& rising are necessary...kneading is my favorite part, i love getting my hands dirty & working the dough...its an experiene everyone must have...my gravy is a little different every time, I like to change it up a bit, but it always has the smokiness i love...last night, i started with a few swishes of extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, & a few finely chopped carrots & celery...crushed tomatoes, & tomato paste jumped in accordingly...sea salt, crushed red pepper, bunches of fresh basil came next...then my favorite part....a giant red pepper, which I broke into pieces & gingerly dropped into the aromatic pot of goodness...
I doubled the dough recipe & had enough for one large pizza&five small pizzas...once the dough was rolled out & rested upon olive oil coated pans, I blanketed them in gravy, parmesan cheese, fresh mozzarella & even more fresh basil...okay so empanaadas& pizzas on their way to completion...I also had vegan chocolate cupcakes baking @ this moment...I surveyed the room of culinary wars & decided I needed something else...the cabinets were torn open & I fervently searched for what was next...I had creamy caesar dressing, pasta shells, chickpeas, & black olives...a pot of water was set to boil, & pasta salad was on its way to conception...ivel complemented all this with her refreshing sangria...fresh blueberries, strawberries, granny smith apples, apricots, & california peaches drowned sacrificially in a swirl of red wine, ginger ale, & peach schnaaps...three pitchers later & full tummies led to contentment& happiness...we didn't run out of food, guests went home with plates brimming with leftovers & good times...i fell asleep overheated from the overworked oven & the crowded apartment, but was smiling all the way...
I was delighted when one of my kindred spirits, the fantastic ivel told me she was coming to visit new york! a passionate vessel of love&creativity, ivel is a force of nature...from the moment we met i knew we would be present in each others lives for the long run...one of the reasons I love Ivel, is the shared passion we both entertain for cooking&eating...we decided to have a feasting celebration for her time here...as anyone who knows me can attest to, I believe you can never have enough food...especially when you are entertaining company...it can get expensive, tiring, time-consuming...it doesn't matter...its sooo worth it...when you have company & are being a hostess, you are showing your guests who you are by what you make for them...since cooking is my way of expression & my passion, I always want to express to my guests that I value their company & I want them to have the best time possible & experience my passion through the food...as always, one of the staples @ my dinner parties is empanadas! ...lately, potatoes have sneaked their way into the recipe on a regular basis...so its so very simple...a little vegetable oil, fresh chopped garlic & onion (red, yellow, or white! no food discrimination here, they all have great flavor!), after they get to know each other in the frying pan for a bit, i introduce them to the cubed potatoes, (i like red! i'm sorry), crushed spanish olives& the spices start to flow...cumin, paprika, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, sazon...after some caramelization, its time for the main event...the ground beef takes its place in the pan, soaking up the spices & making its presence known....I also did a vegetarian version for company with an aversion to meat using morningstar "ground beef" crumbles...I put my lovely sous chefs to work (ivel&jenny!), & they awesomely filled 40 empanadas for me, alternating between the meat & veggie versions, adding cheddar cheese to some to increase the awesomeness factor...as the empanada factory line was being worked, I worked on the gravy(sauce) for the homemade pizza...I had prepared the dough that morning using my grandmother's simple recipe...3 cups of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1 package of yeast, & 1 cup of lukewarm water...kneading& rising are necessary...kneading is my favorite part, i love getting my hands dirty & working the dough...its an experiene everyone must have...my gravy is a little different every time, I like to change it up a bit, but it always has the smokiness i love...last night, i started with a few swishes of extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, & a few finely chopped carrots & celery...crushed tomatoes, & tomato paste jumped in accordingly...sea salt, crushed red pepper, bunches of fresh basil came next...then my favorite part....a giant red pepper, which I broke into pieces & gingerly dropped into the aromatic pot of goodness...
I doubled the dough recipe & had enough for one large pizza&five small pizzas...once the dough was rolled out & rested upon olive oil coated pans, I blanketed them in gravy, parmesan cheese, fresh mozzarella & even more fresh basil...okay so empanaadas& pizzas on their way to completion...I also had vegan chocolate cupcakes baking @ this moment...I surveyed the room of culinary wars & decided I needed something else...the cabinets were torn open & I fervently searched for what was next...I had creamy caesar dressing, pasta shells, chickpeas, & black olives...a pot of water was set to boil, & pasta salad was on its way to conception...ivel complemented all this with her refreshing sangria...fresh blueberries, strawberries, granny smith apples, apricots, & california peaches drowned sacrificially in a swirl of red wine, ginger ale, & peach schnaaps...three pitchers later & full tummies led to contentment& happiness...we didn't run out of food, guests went home with plates brimming with leftovers & good times...i fell asleep overheated from the overworked oven & the crowded apartment, but was smiling all the way...
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
...feed me inspiration...
..so many things to write about, so many tastes to savor and attempt to vividly describe, tweaked recipes to share...but where is my inspiration?...it makes me deliriously happy to cook for groups of friends & see the enjoyment in feasting with friends...but what about the times when you are home alone...or you have a day where you are covered in the dust tracks from the insanity of the day...sometimes simple is best...i haven't written in ahile for a mulitude of reasons...one being a lack of inspiration and a burst of self-doubt...so i return to this blog small & simple...last night was a startlingly hot one in our apartment, and with an impending scorching hot summer approaching, the last thing someone wants to do is spend hours in a hot kitchen...actually I don't mind so much! but on hot days, the last thing I want to do is fill myself up with heavy foods...summer makes me think of simple, light foods that depend on natural flavors and not too much meddling to prepare and taste good...last night my roommate jenny grilled zucchini and asparagus...i made sea salt and black pepper encrusted sweet potato fries...light, simple, filling and the food was just perfectly seasoned...with a glass of iced green tea overflowing with ice there is absolutely nothing more refreshing...when in the door today home from a 10 hour day at work today where nothing seemed to go right and I spent to much time wanting to please others the last thing I wanted to do was cook for myself...I was absolutely famished, yet grudgingly opened the fridge door...I knew there wasn't much to choose from, so I grabbed the gouda & some entertaining crackers to snack on while I sat watching Top Chef Masters (not as good as the original AT ALL!)...pondering what to make...i had some leftover brown rice & since I am trying to not be wasteful with leftovers settled on that...excited all of a sudden I grabbed a large frying pan,poured a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in and got cooking! brown rice...hmmmm...what next? perusing my starkly stocked cabinet, my eyes stopped on the garden peas...a few tiny scoops later& the sound of the sizzling pan caused my tummy to start to grumble again...i broke one egg into the waiting pan as if i was breaking someone's heart& scrambled away...a dash of sea salt & my simple meal was complete...now if someone could feed me some inspiration that would be great!
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