bah humbug
Nov. 20th, 2008 09:25 amSo I totally forgot that it was supposed to start raining today. And of course I didn't bring my raincoat. I have my fleece, and that'll have to make do as I hurtle down 108th to the Transit Center.
This weather and the proximity to holiday fun has apparently made me babblier than even usual.
I brought leftover pizza for lunch today. I want to eat it right now. I went out last night with my good friend Amy T. I love her. I haven't seen her in awhile because her in-laws were visiting for two and a half weeks. So last night we stole away to 3rd Place books in Ravenna (and to NY Pizza in Maple Leaf), where I bought a used copy of Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. It is such a beautiful book, I can't believe someone gave it up!
I have too many cookbooks of course. And I usually count myself lucky if I have two solid recipes that are in my rotation from each book. There are a couple that I haven't even tried yet. LAME! So, must amend that. The problem is that there are so many exciting recipes that cross my desk every day from a myriad of food blogs. The list of what I want to make grows and grows daily!
I wish I could be like some of these people who go through an entire cookbook, one recipe at a time. Like that Julia Child woman or the French Laundry woman. But I'm so picky about what I even want to make, that's probably unlikely--there's no way I'd make anything in aspic or using offal (barf). But this book is really exciting. Tons of techniques and details. Usually, because I'm impatient and lazy, I just jump to the recipe and scan the details a little (like with the Best Recipes book). But as I fall more and more deeply in love with pastry work, I find that I don't mind reading up on techniques so much.
Still, while I have no interest in making every recipe in this book, I've already flagged three that I simply have to make immediately right now so can I please go home and do that then? Please?
One is this Mudslide cookie which looks really good. All chocolatey and decadent. (Going to try to make this tonight!)
Then there's this beautiful looking yellow butter cake. I've been wanting to make a yellow cake with one of my favorite frostings --a chocolate orange buttercream, so maybe I'll do that this weekend.
But also--there's this gorgeous Chocolate Sabayon Cake. It's a sponge cake, filled with chocolate sabayon, and frosted with ganache. It looks beyond insane. I've never done some of the techniques before, and they intrigue me. It looks like velvet-y goodness.
OH and for next summer, there's this strawberry cream tart, that has a layer of chocolate brushed on the bottom. Mmmm.
I should scan some of these pictures, because OMG.
I just want to go home and bake. Is that really asking too much?
I think it's the winter, but I've also wanted to do more slow big pot cooking. I made the pot roast, and now the next things on my Wanna Cook list are:
A lovely bolognese (from Cook's Illustrated --I last used it in a lasagna, but would like to just eat it over noodles this time. Or with a spoon.)
And I also want to make this French lentil with sausage soup. This recipe, I can easily cut in half.
AND, this isn't slow cooked, but it's more involved than I usually am willing to be on weeknights, but I want to make Tyler Florence's amazing tomatillo enchiladas again.
Part of the problem with cooking big pots of food is that the things I want to eat (things with meat) aren't things vegetarian Jeff eats. But if I kept focusing on cooking only for him, I would end up killing him in his sleep. He doesn't expect me to cook for him, so it's been my own doing. But I finally realized how much I missed the food I like. Anyhow. the dilemma is still that I can never make my way alone through an enormous pot of food. Even if I took it for both lunch and dinner, I would get bored, and it would go bad before I could make a dent.
But I remembered recently that I have many people I can feed on any day. There's Sarah and Emily. There's Judy and Ellen's families. There's my friend Kirsten (who I can have Jeff deliver food to at my former place of work). I just have to be more vigilant about packing food up and getting it to people so I don't waste anything. I hate waste. So anyhow. I have options, is what I'm sayin'.
That's about it. I am now STARVING and also impatient about being at work, and it's only 10AM. I have a document to plow through, that I hate, which is very sad. Especially when I could be home. COOKING!
This weather and the proximity to holiday fun has apparently made me babblier than even usual.
I brought leftover pizza for lunch today. I want to eat it right now. I went out last night with my good friend Amy T. I love her. I haven't seen her in awhile because her in-laws were visiting for two and a half weeks. So last night we stole away to 3rd Place books in Ravenna (and to NY Pizza in Maple Leaf), where I bought a used copy of Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. It is such a beautiful book, I can't believe someone gave it up!
I have too many cookbooks of course. And I usually count myself lucky if I have two solid recipes that are in my rotation from each book. There are a couple that I haven't even tried yet. LAME! So, must amend that. The problem is that there are so many exciting recipes that cross my desk every day from a myriad of food blogs. The list of what I want to make grows and grows daily!
I wish I could be like some of these people who go through an entire cookbook, one recipe at a time. Like that Julia Child woman or the French Laundry woman. But I'm so picky about what I even want to make, that's probably unlikely--there's no way I'd make anything in aspic or using offal (barf). But this book is really exciting. Tons of techniques and details. Usually, because I'm impatient and lazy, I just jump to the recipe and scan the details a little (like with the Best Recipes book). But as I fall more and more deeply in love with pastry work, I find that I don't mind reading up on techniques so much.
Still, while I have no interest in making every recipe in this book, I've already flagged three that I simply have to make immediately right now so can I please go home and do that then? Please?
I should scan some of these pictures, because OMG.
I just want to go home and bake. Is that really asking too much?
I think it's the winter, but I've also wanted to do more slow big pot cooking. I made the pot roast, and now the next things on my Wanna Cook list are:
Part of the problem with cooking big pots of food is that the things I want to eat (things with meat) aren't things vegetarian Jeff eats. But if I kept focusing on cooking only for him, I would end up killing him in his sleep. He doesn't expect me to cook for him, so it's been my own doing. But I finally realized how much I missed the food I like. Anyhow. the dilemma is still that I can never make my way alone through an enormous pot of food. Even if I took it for both lunch and dinner, I would get bored, and it would go bad before I could make a dent.
But I remembered recently that I have many people I can feed on any day. There's Sarah and Emily. There's Judy and Ellen's families. There's my friend Kirsten (who I can have Jeff deliver food to at my former place of work). I just have to be more vigilant about packing food up and getting it to people so I don't waste anything. I hate waste. So anyhow. I have options, is what I'm sayin'.
That's about it. I am now STARVING and also impatient about being at work, and it's only 10AM. I have a document to plow through, that I hate, which is very sad. Especially when I could be home. COOKING!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:46 pm (UTC)It does NOT!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:07 pm (UTC)I have a piece of FB flair that says, "I wouldn't have OCD if people just did things the right way"...I'm starting to think that is very accurate....
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:09 pm (UTC)And yeah, I know. I just either toss it in the car and forget it or leave it at home or don't want to wear my raincoat. It's just annoying. You're right--I should buy an extra goddamn umbrella and leave it at the office. (Though of course I'm then just going to take it home on the first rainy day and forget it there.)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:35 pm (UTC)And I think I just found your birthday/Xmas gift :PpP
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:43 pm (UTC)God. I'm so bored today. You should live here so we could sneak out and have coffee!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:47 pm (UTC)You should live *here* so we could sneak off and have La Pinata!
no subject
Date: 2008-11-20 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 08:27 pm (UTC)I agree that there are entirely too many recipes to try out and not enough time to do so.
Good luck! haha
no subject
Date: 2008-11-22 09:46 pm (UTC)