forage
before B turned me onto smittenkitchen and before i saw the list of foodblogs on SK's site, i actually used to do work to find recipes and put together fun menu combos. epicurious.com, the new york times, donna hay, alton brown, giada, rayray and even paula deen were my sources. but nothing was ever wrapped in a bow with feedback, pictures, comments about what went wrong and what to avoid.
but, now, all the work is done for me. i realized how lazy i had become when i put together the menu for sunday night's bbq. well, not put together per say... i just grabbed a few recipes from the list that SK so conveinently posted for people who needed bbq ideas. and although they were all good and josh and i did the actualy cooking, i felt like i was cheating. from now on, inspiration only - no more copying!
so sunday, josh and i made out own bbq sauce. i felt like i was 10 again, grabbing anything i could reach and putting in a pot. we basically used all our brown, yellow and red condiments. tomato paste, soy sauce, hoison sauce, honey, vinegar, you name it. it boiled down and after 30 minutes i made josh taste it. "good." he said. then i tasted it. "it tastes like bbq sauce!" "well - yeah." i am usually a little bit amazed when i take things like flour and eggs and mushrooms and thyme and an hour later have ravioli, but at least that makes sense. this was just reduced brown-ness that tasted quite good. although we will have to replenish the condiment drawer, this was def worth the time and effort. it was just a bit of mixing and then simmering. and it will be fun to tweak next time we decide to make it and make it our own.
i also made bobby flay's coleslaw. i had never used purple cabbage before, but i wanted a little color and something spicey and this fit the bill. the dish was great - the texture had a crunch and the flavor had a bite and it kept well since there is almost no mayo in it. i have made a bunch of his recipes now and am finally seeing a theme - chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, cilantro and a blender.
i attempted a skillet conrbread, which was WAY too dry. when we ate sunday's leftovers on tuesday, i was tempted to throw it away, but decided to try a revival. this would have been quicker in a microwave, but since i am holding out as long as i can without one, i just broke up the pieces of cornbread, put them in a small baking dish and added some milk and popped it in the oven. 20 minutes later, we had huge chunks of hot, moist cornbread. i was tempted to add an egg to the milk before i added it to the bread, but was too lazy. the bread absorbed the liquid perfectly and i don't think the egg would have added anything significant. i will have to remember this trick in the microwave-less future.
i wanted to make deb's baked beans too, but didn't want to do all that work (plus we didnt have some of the ingredients on hand), so i just took a can of vegetarian baked beans, added some red onion, turkey bacon, paprika and salt and called it a day.
also made a quick and dirty salsa, which was a hit. diced red onions, quartered grape tomatoes, diced green pepper, jalepeno, and minced garlic, tossed with salt, cilantro and lime.
one last picture. you got to love the man who puts his glass filled with cold liquid on a hot night right NEXT to a coaster. i usually don't care about the table, but it was RIGHT there. sigh - men.
but, now, all the work is done for me. i realized how lazy i had become when i put together the menu for sunday night's bbq. well, not put together per say... i just grabbed a few recipes from the list that SK so conveinently posted for people who needed bbq ideas. and although they were all good and josh and i did the actualy cooking, i felt like i was cheating. from now on, inspiration only - no more copying!
so sunday, josh and i made out own bbq sauce. i felt like i was 10 again, grabbing anything i could reach and putting in a pot. we basically used all our brown, yellow and red condiments. tomato paste, soy sauce, hoison sauce, honey, vinegar, you name it. it boiled down and after 30 minutes i made josh taste it. "good." he said. then i tasted it. "it tastes like bbq sauce!" "well - yeah." i am usually a little bit amazed when i take things like flour and eggs and mushrooms and thyme and an hour later have ravioli, but at least that makes sense. this was just reduced brown-ness that tasted quite good. although we will have to replenish the condiment drawer, this was def worth the time and effort. it was just a bit of mixing and then simmering. and it will be fun to tweak next time we decide to make it and make it our own.
i also made bobby flay's coleslaw. i had never used purple cabbage before, but i wanted a little color and something spicey and this fit the bill. the dish was great - the texture had a crunch and the flavor had a bite and it kept well since there is almost no mayo in it. i have made a bunch of his recipes now and am finally seeing a theme - chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, cilantro and a blender.
i attempted a skillet conrbread, which was WAY too dry. when we ate sunday's leftovers on tuesday, i was tempted to throw it away, but decided to try a revival. this would have been quicker in a microwave, but since i am holding out as long as i can without one, i just broke up the pieces of cornbread, put them in a small baking dish and added some milk and popped it in the oven. 20 minutes later, we had huge chunks of hot, moist cornbread. i was tempted to add an egg to the milk before i added it to the bread, but was too lazy. the bread absorbed the liquid perfectly and i don't think the egg would have added anything significant. i will have to remember this trick in the microwave-less future.
i wanted to make deb's baked beans too, but didn't want to do all that work (plus we didnt have some of the ingredients on hand), so i just took a can of vegetarian baked beans, added some red onion, turkey bacon, paprika and salt and called it a day.
also made a quick and dirty salsa, which was a hit. diced red onions, quartered grape tomatoes, diced green pepper, jalepeno, and minced garlic, tossed with salt, cilantro and lime.
one last picture. you got to love the man who puts his glass filled with cold liquid on a hot night right NEXT to a coaster. i usually don't care about the table, but it was RIGHT there. sigh - men.
posted by Deepa at 8:24 AM
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