Call me naïve, but I believe it.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
fail no evil – cinco de mayo
My hard drive failed. Well, to be correct, it has been failing. I have been spending a good bit of time lately backing up and recovering data. This is when having a little bit of a background in computer forensics comes in handy.
I should be back up and running this week. So, lots to come. Shepherd, MI Maple Syrup Festival, Smoking you own bacon, cheese and chicken, the rest of the Weber review and a great chicken Caesar baked pasta for Mothers Day.
It is Cinco De Mayo! Go have yourself a beer.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
grill no evil – the weber grill
I was in Indianapolis over the weekend for my nieces christening and managed to sneak away to check out the Weber Grill.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
grow no evil – go green, thumb first
Think of what we could do if everyone did what he or she can, for just one day every year. Amazing, isn’t it. Today is Earth Day. Well, it is too bad that most people will not do a single thing different today. So it is going to be up to us to do more the rest of the year to make up for them.
I try to do what I can by growing my own veggies. I am not going to go into all the benefits that our planet gets from me doing this. I am not going to go into all the fossil fuels that won’t be used or how each plant (albeit a small amount) helps clean the air of nasty Co2.
Do you know why? Because I will admit that me doing this is partially selfish. Not only am I saving a butt ton (that’s a real measurement, kinda) of money by doing this, but I am also getting some better quality goods in the process. That’s always a good thing.
You want another reason? Have you ever tasted a tomato that was allowed to fully ripen on the vine? The store bought ones may be red. That doesn’t mean they are ripe, though. You should try it. It may just change your life forever.
Happy Earth Day! Lets make up for some green slackers today….and tomorrow, and the next. Man, I wish these people would get on board and help out.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
finish with no evil - vanilla bean cheesecake
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Nilla Wafer Crust and Fresh Raspberry Sauce.
True store…well, not really.
But what was that smudge on his jacket, she wondered. It looks like cheesecake. But no, Harold loves my cheesecake. He would never eat just any hussy’s dessert. He would always come home for hers, she told herself as she picked up his shirt. But as she stared at that red stain on the collar of his dress shirt she knew. She knew it was worse then her worst nightmare ever dreamed of… Raspberry sauce.
Later that night when Harriet confronted Harold, he admitted right to it.
“You said you were bored with vanilla, Harold. Do you remember telling me that? Hmmm?”
“That wasn’t the vanilla I was talking about, Harriet.” He sighed. “This is natural vanilla. With those wonderful little specs of …er, um….of wonderment.”
“I’m sorry, Harold. But just because my cheesecake isn’t as good as Lucinda Applebottoms, doesn’t give you the right to run around behind my back!”
“You should see the crust she makes, Harriet! You should see it…She makes it out of Nilla wafers.”
“Nilla wafers, Harold? Really, how old are we?” Harriet spat.
“See, Harriet. I knew you would never understand. That’s why I am leaving you.”
“Don’t Harold! Don’t say that!” Harriet pleaded as Harold picked up his fork and left. Harriet knew where he would be going. Lucinda Applebottom. Damn you, she screamed inside herself. Damn you!
If only Harriet would have had this recipe. Don’t be like Harriet. Don’t let your relationship fail because of sub-par cheesecake. Go make your loved one one right now! Go, run like the wind!
Vanilla Sugar – It all starts with vanilla sugar
2 cups sugar – This is more then you need, but it never hurts to have some extra on hand. Vanilla sugar is good in tea.
1 vanilla bean
Place the sugar into a zip top bag. Slice the vanilla bean and scrap down the bean with the back of a knife to remove the inside seeds. Place seeds and bean into the bag, seal, shake and store.
This can be done several days ahead of time, but two weeks would be even better.
Nilla Wafer Crust
50 Nilla wafers
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch cake pan. If you opt for a spring form pan, make sure to wrap the bottom and sides with tin foil before it enters the pool. The one down side to spring forms are that they leak.
Adhere parchment to the bottom and a long strip around the side.
Take the Nilla wafers and place into a large zip top bag. Crush. If there are still plenty of big pieces left, good. That adds a nice texture to the crust.
In a small bowl, combine crushed Nilla wafers, the remaining melted butter, and the 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
Cheesecake Batter
20 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
2 eggs
3 yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
In the bowl of your mixer, beat sour cream for 10 seconds. You are going to want to get it on the beaters and around the bowl. This will help the batter come together. Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds. Once the sugar is wet you can turn it up to medium. Thoroughly scrape down the side of the bowl.
In a separate container, combine vanilla, the insides of a scraped out vanilla bean (seeds), eggs, yolks, and heavy cream. With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the mixture into the mix. When half of it is in, stop and thoroughly scrape.
Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are in. Once completely combined and smooth, pour into the cooled crust.
Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Place the cheesecake into a preheated water bath and bake for 1 hour.
** If you are using a spring form pan, I can’t stress enough the importance of sealing the bottom of your pan with tin foil. Your cheesecake will be in the pool for a minimum of two hours. That is a lot of time for it to leak. **
Turn the oven off and open the door for about one minute to let some of the heat escape. Now close the door and let it be for one more hour. It may not look completely done when you turn the oven off, don’t worry. It will firm up in the next hour.
Remove the cheesecake from the pool. Dry off the bottom and place in the refrigerator for a minimum if 6 hours before serving.
Raspberry Sauce
12oz fresh raspberries
¼ cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon lemon
Place the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar into the bowl of your food processor and puree. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Enjoy now or cover and set in the refrigerator.
True store…well, not really.But what was that smudge on his jacket, she wondered. It looks like cheesecake. But no, Harold loves my cheesecake. He would never eat just any hussy’s dessert. He would always come home for hers, she told herself as she picked up his shirt. But as she stared at that red stain on the collar of his dress shirt she knew. She knew it was worse then her worst nightmare ever dreamed of… Raspberry sauce.
Later that night when Harriet confronted Harold, he admitted right to it.
“You said you were bored with vanilla, Harold. Do you remember telling me that? Hmmm?”
“That wasn’t the vanilla I was talking about, Harriet.” He sighed. “This is natural vanilla. With those wonderful little specs of …er, um….of wonderment.”
“I’m sorry, Harold. But just because my cheesecake isn’t as good as Lucinda Applebottoms, doesn’t give you the right to run around behind my back!”
“You should see the crust she makes, Harriet! You should see it…She makes it out of Nilla wafers.”
“Nilla wafers, Harold? Really, how old are we?” Harriet spat.
“See, Harriet. I knew you would never understand. That’s why I am leaving you.”
“Don’t Harold! Don’t say that!” Harriet pleaded as Harold picked up his fork and left. Harriet knew where he would be going. Lucinda Applebottom. Damn you, she screamed inside herself. Damn you!
If only Harriet would have had this recipe. Don’t be like Harriet. Don’t let your relationship fail because of sub-par cheesecake. Go make your loved one one right now! Go, run like the wind!
Vanilla Sugar – It all starts with vanilla sugar
2 cups sugar – This is more then you need, but it never hurts to have some extra on hand. Vanilla sugar is good in tea.
1 vanilla bean
Place the sugar into a zip top bag. Slice the vanilla bean and scrap down the bean with the back of a knife to remove the inside seeds. Place seeds and bean into the bag, seal, shake and store.
This can be done several days ahead of time, but two weeks would be even better.
Nilla Wafer Crust
50 Nilla wafers
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Vanilla Sugar
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9 by 3-inch cake pan. If you opt for a spring form pan, make sure to wrap the bottom and sides with tin foil before it enters the pool. The one down side to spring forms are that they leak.
Adhere parchment to the bottom and a long strip around the side.
Take the Nilla wafers and place into a large zip top bag. Crush. If there are still plenty of big pieces left, good. That adds a nice texture to the crust.
In a small bowl, combine crushed Nilla wafers, the remaining melted butter, and the 1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
Cheesecake Batter
20 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
2 eggs
3 yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
In the bowl of your mixer, beat sour cream for 10 seconds. You are going to want to get it on the beaters and around the bowl. This will help the batter come together. Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds. Once the sugar is wet you can turn it up to medium. Thoroughly scrape down the side of the bowl.
In a separate container, combine vanilla, the insides of a scraped out vanilla bean (seeds), eggs, yolks, and heavy cream. With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the mixture into the mix. When half of it is in, stop and thoroughly scrape.
Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are in. Once completely combined and smooth, pour into the cooled crust.
Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Place the cheesecake into a preheated water bath and bake for 1 hour.
** If you are using a spring form pan, I can’t stress enough the importance of sealing the bottom of your pan with tin foil. Your cheesecake will be in the pool for a minimum of two hours. That is a lot of time for it to leak. **
Turn the oven off and open the door for about one minute to let some of the heat escape. Now close the door and let it be for one more hour. It may not look completely done when you turn the oven off, don’t worry. It will firm up in the next hour.
Remove the cheesecake from the pool. Dry off the bottom and place in the refrigerator for a minimum if 6 hours before serving.
Raspberry Sauce
12oz fresh raspberries
¼ cup vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon lemon
Place the raspberries, lemon juice and sugar into the bowl of your food processor and puree. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl. Enjoy now or cover and set in the refrigerator.
Friday, April 10, 2009
oops no evil - salt and sugar
There are two types of people who ride motor- cycles, those who have put their bike down and those who are going to. Regrettable, I think there is a similar saying for people who do some serious cooking. There are those who have mixed up sugar and salt and those who are going to.
Now, if you have never done this, do not worry. Mark my words, you will.
My story starts like so many others. Making scones. Somehow I got myself roped into making the scones for a tea party themed bridal shower. Very macho, I know. The worst part is that I missed out on some beer and bowling with the guys to do it. We all know that bowling alleys have some of the best pizza out there too. That was something you know I wanted to be a part of. But, alas, I am such a good boyfriend.
It was well after midnight when the mix up occurred. I was on the fifth … sixth round, maybe. Who knows? Hey, it happens. Especially when you consider that coarse kosher salt, my salt of choice, is very similar in texture to sugar. You get going to fast. You start not paying attention. Live and learn.
In my tired state, I decided to bake them. Who knows, maybe it won’t be that bad. Well, it was that bad. Maybe worse. 1/3 cup of salt is too much for most things.
What a shame. I was trying out Girl Scout Tagalong scones. I was thinking they could have been good. The only saving grace was that I was making that batch to take to work. Oh well, Maybe next time I will try PBandJ scones.
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