gansie


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Seven Years in the Making

jack and spinach quesadilla

In 2004 I burnt a quesadilla. Burnt to inedible sadness. In the years since, I feared trying it again. I ordered the fried wonder all of the time, usually with wilted spinach mingling with the melted cheese. If I couldn’t cook it myself, I could at least enjoy it elsewhere.

That was until last night.

Bennett and I have been on a grilled cheese adventure, well, not really an adventure as most of the sandwiches resemble normal grilled cheeses. Except, though, for this character with Brussels sprouts, which was inspired by #2 on America’s Top 10 New Sandwiches.

But with our block of cheese still going strong, I decided to face my fear of the quesadilla.

In the seven years since my first attempt, I’ve changed boyfriends and kitchens. I learned that not everything can cook on high heat. And I learned that one failure shouldn’t keep me from enjoying another way to love cheese.

Plus, I adore frying tortillas. How hard could it be with less oil?

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in Cheese / Recipe 3 comments
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What is French Toast, Alex?

french toast

Yup. The title is in the form of a question. The answer is: “The end pieces of a loaf of bread can be successfully used this way.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever really used the end of commercial loaves before. Growing up my mom would always sacrifice and eat them for us which led me to deem them mutants and therefore inedible. But that all changed this weekend.

How could a coating of egg, milk, vanilla extract, honey, salt and cinnamon NOT transform something into deliciousness? I let a few slices—and the mutant slice—sit in that mixture for a few minutes before they were fried in butter. To ensure the mutantness could be hidden even more, I covered the slice in cinnamon-sauteed banana slices and real maple syrup.

Here’s to nose-to-tail eating. Sort of.

in Breakfast / Recipe 2 comments
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What the Hell Do You Make with Lentil Puree?

brown lentils

Unless it’s mashed potatoes, I’m not into a side of mush. I once made a butternut squash-pumpkin-ruttabaga puree as a side to a cabbage hash, but that was once. Just once.

And now I possess a large bowlful of lentil puree. At first I wanted to make a lentil salad, but when my lentils tasted bitter, I doused them with soy sauce and threw them in the food processor for a prompt whipping.

I rolled the first batch of the puree, with slightly cooked and soy-flavored cabbage, into spring rolls. The rolls were then topped with a dipping sauce of grated carrots (using a microplane), sesame oil, sesame seeds and more soy sauce.

But the appetizer used only a third of the lentil puree. What to do? I googled “lentil puree” and found an idea from The Sneaky Chef.

Lentil Patties with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrot-Soy Sauce

And I just want to put this reminder out there – I mess around in the kitchen. I love telling you what I’ve made and how I do it, but there is no exactness to my cooking. Take it as a guide.

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in Recipe / Veggie 6 comments
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In Search of Liquid Comfort

banana

Last week after a press dinner at Smith Commons (yes to the mushroom soup) Johanna and I checked out a few bars along H Street, NE, an area hard to get to from most of the city. We figured if we’re all the way out here already we might as well sniff out the scene.

We landed in Fruit Bat, a bar bursting with so much fruit that huge baskets hang low at the counter, blocking my view of the bartender (and the back mirror that I use to finger wave my hair back in place). I tried a pumpkin infused vodka, but when it didn’t taste like pumpkin pie I became upset.

Sometimes I just want a creamy drink. I was raised on Kahlua and cream (my mom would let me sip her’s during the last hour of our cousins’ bar and bat mitzvahs) and I sometimes I can’t shake the urge for liquid comfort.

A few nights later my friends Tim and Alice entertained. I didn’t have much to bring, but pulled together 2 bananas, a V8 and a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout (in fact, from my Smith Commons goodie bag). I knew cocktail master Tim would find a good use for my gifts – a dream of a shake with all the comfort a girl could want.

PB, Banana and Vodka
Blend: peanut butter, banana, milk, honey, Kahlua, Creme de Coca, Vodka and ice.

(Photo: Dalekwidow)

in Drinks / Recipe 0 comments
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Drinking Together is Better

segregated-drinking-fountain

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

(Photo: LA Progressive)

in Drinks / Holiday 0 comments
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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

staub coqvin vs. le creuset braiser

Most of the chatter this week was concentrated in forkitude‘s Ode to Staub:

This thing was a culinary tool workhorse. A Clydesdale of cookware. The creme de la creme of enameled cast iron.

However, not everyone is on team Staub.

Brit showed off his Le Creuset collection:

I’m the proud owner of a Le Creuset grill pan and press, 7.25qt dutch oven, 2.25qt saucier and a 3.5qt casserole all in black with stainless steal knobs and I couldn’t be happier (I didn’t need to list them all but I thought I’d make you weep).

BS’s Mom showed off Le Creuset’s longevity:

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in Uncategorized 0 comments
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