sunday night supper

Sort of without meaning to, I whipped up a supper last night that was really cozy.



I baked a whole chicken. I wanted to make roasted potatoes in this new way that I learned from my mum-in-law, but I decided at the last minute to combine the potatoes with the chicken.


It was a good move.

While the chicken was cooking, I made up a batch of baking powder biscuits (the recipe is all the way at the bottom). Served piping hot with three different kinds of fruit spread (blueberry, strawberry and some of the cranberry jelly leftover from the last time I made a batch). And put together the ingredients for a build-your-own salad.

The build-your-own salad featured baby lettuce, goat cheese (with pasteurized milk, yeah!), toasted walnuts, steamed broccoli, dried cranberries and a raspberry vinaigrette. I made the raspberry vinaigrette the other day and can't stop eating it. I like it best in a simple salad of greens+goat cheese+toasted walnuts and the dressing drizzled over it. Love, I tell you. Pure love. That hunk of peccorino romano is there just for show. I forgot to remove it from the table.



Man do we eat good around here.

Recipes for the potatoes and the salad dressing below. Is it really worth it since they are so easy? Oh, what the heck...

my mum-in-law's roasted potatoes
half pound of potatoes (I used mini yukons so I didn't need to cut them up) cut up into big chunks. leave the skins on 'em
1 small onion quartered
6 cloves of garlic or more depending on how garlicky you like things. don't be afraid, you really can't over do it with the garlic in this recipe
salt+pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.
In a big baking dish combine all the ingredients and toss to coat evenly with the olive oil. Cover with lid (my mum-in-law uses a aluminum tray and covers it tightly with aluminum foil) and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Don't touch the suckas during this time. Your house will smell nice and garlicky and roasted oniony. After the 45 minutes/1 hour has passed, open up the dish and check on the potatoes. They should be fairly cooked through. Give them a good stir and remove the lid/foil and let cook for another half hour till they get nice and brown and caramelized.

Raspberry Vinaigrette
2 tbsp raspberry preserve
1/4 cup toasted walnut oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Try to use the best quality ingredients you can afford. It will really make a difference. Combine all ingredients into a blender or a tall container and blend. I used my immersion blender and gave it a good whirl. The dressing got nice and creamy/emulsified. Store in a sealed container. Keeps for 1 week (or longer, depending on how anal you are about such things).

can I get an "amen?"

Yesterday for lunch M and I went to Wilson's BBQ. It was awesome.

We heard about it from that show on the Food Network Diners Drive-Ins and Dives (I could watch this show all day). And how convenient that it's just a few towns over from where we live. Convenient? Or dangerous??

This was our third trip to Wilson's. The first time we got there at 6pm on a Saturday night and there was a line out the door. Granted the place is tiny. Just a handful of places to sit. I'm guessing that the outdoor patio gets better use when it's not 35 degrees outside with a refreshing wintry breeze to boot. When M and I finally made it into the joint we overheard the cashier mention that they were all out of beef and pork. What? What's the point? Sadly M and I turned around and went back to our car to figure out what to do about dinner.

The second time we went to Wilson's we got there at 4:40 or 5pm (they're only open Thursdays through Sundays from 11:30am to close - whatever that means) and managed to squeeze in and secure two stools at the bar. We ordered pulled pork sandwiches and fell in love with eastern Carolina bbq.

I mean, damn.

Can I get an "amen?"

The pork is tender and juicy.

They include this awesome slaw in the sandwich which acts as the perfect crunchy, tart counterpoint (NB: the slaw doesn't have the traditional creamy dressing.)

And it comes with a side of potato salad and pickles. The pickles were also awesome.

Sorry for the blurry photos, but I wanted to get a shot of this. It was meant to be focused on the bottle of sauce. Not the local soda. This sauce is boss.




When we went back yesterday, we ordered the pulled pork sandwiches again. I mean why mess with a good thing, right?

first snow in Stamford, for reals

It snowed here in Stamford over the weekend!

I can't help but get excited. I thought it was beautiful. Here's what it looked like out our living room window.

Compare to what it looked like a few months ago:


I'd heard we'd just be getting a few inches, but at the end it turned out to be closer to 6. Maybe even a foot??



The och didn't seem to notice. Or I couldn't tell if she noticed a difference. She's got quite the poker face. She must notice how different her world looks.

Another comparison shot from a few months back:

Who knows what goes on in the mind of this one?


M and I went for a walk in the falling snow around our neighborhood. We live across the street from a park and it was cool to walk around it deserted for once. It was just a mite too windy so that there were flurries in your face when we walked into the wind. But it felt refreshing.

And totally unrelated: a beautiful sunset from last night.

my teeth hurt and sort of unrelated: I feel lame

Lots to catch up on. Here we go...

I feel like I spent most of last week baking. That's probably not entirely accurate. But that's what it felt like. Two Sundays ago, I did my holiday baking. I usually make something edible to give as gifts. Which works out handily for people like my father-in-law who is notoriously difficult to shop for.

This year's edible gifts were supposed to be two different kinds of biscotti and something I've been calling Christmas Crack(ers). Well, I have a confession to make. Three Sundays ago, I realized that I was running short on time. Somehow I was behind schedule and the holiday cards (which I like to handmake every year) were not coming out the way I'd sketched them out. I was on the brink of a crafting meltdown and very very grumpy. It ended up being a very unproductive weekend which only made me grumpier.

So the following day I made a decision that I was not going to let this ruin Christmas (the irony of the situation was not lost on me). I was going to cut myself some slack. So the cards weren't started on time. So the baking was delayed. So I'm pregnant. Like 35 weeks pregnant (that's almost 9 months pregnant for those of you who follow this sort of stuff in the traditional way of counting). So I'm going to cut myself some slack. I decided to do just enough baking to get presents out the door that go to family. The ones where you know that if you don't have a present for them, it would be just so wrong that you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself (I'm not a complete, total and utter slacker after all.). This consists of just a few family members so the holiday baking that it would entail wasn't going to kill me. And I'd figure something out for the cards to go along with those presents.

And the rest of the world? The folks who are on my holiday card list and the folks who are on my edible gifts list? I was going to assume that they would understand that this is not a normal Christmas. And that I am 35 weeks pregnant. And that if I skipped a year of sending them a card or edible gifts, they would understand and not remove me from their holiday card list. I felt a little lame about this (it just feels so un-Christmas-y!!) but I resolved to live with this decision.

So sorry friends who would normally get edible gifts from me. Am I making it worse by posting photos of what you would have gotten had I got my act together sooner? Not that I think all these friends read my blog anyways...

Let's move on.

This year's Christmas baking consisted of cranberry+pistachio cornmeal biscotti. The recipe came from that Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies mag. I was a little doubtful about the cornmeal. But it ended up being wonderful! The cornmeal adds a nice extra crunch at the end that makes this biscotti special. And aren't the red+green of the cranberry+biscotti pretty? So colorful! So seasonal!


I hit a few glitches with the first batch (pictured above are photos from my second batch). I did a little research and found that someone else in blogland made these (quick, go over to her blog and check it out. Gorgeous photos, reviews of recipes and a personal goal to bake very last cookie in the Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook-which seems to have a lot of the same recipes as the Holiday Cookies mag). She seemed to have run into different issues with her batch. But it gave me some ideas as to how I might improve upon my methods. I have more notes here (in the comments) if you are interested in learning about the trials and tribulations of this recipe. In a nutshell, the center of the cookie loaf is slightly undercooked-that's okay. Let the loaf cool completely (takes longer than the recommended 15 minutes) and then use a really really sharp knife to cut the loaf into biscotti slices (I have tips on the cutting method in my notes) before the second baking.

Next up in my holiday baking was Christmas Crack(ers). They're really called Chocolate Caramel Crackers. I found the recipe on Sally's blog (of Shim and Sons) who got it from Smitten Kitchen. (Recipe and method in the Smitten Kitchen blog.)

Holy crack! These are dangerously easy to make and easy to eat. I used matzoh crackers and added a little sea salt. I don't understand how anyone can eat more than one little square of these. My teeth hurt. I'd been on a major sugar binge lately (I blame the pregnancy hormones). But I do believe that these little shots of candy crack have cured me of my sweet tooth. Seriously. I just don't want dessert anymore. M had a piece and he called them unholy. Nuff said.


Last up in the holiday baking are the chocolate biscotti. I used this recipe. I made a few modifications like omitting the white chocolate chips (not a fan here) and then dipping them in melted dark chocolate (Green & Black's 70%). So they are still triple chocolate biscotti but in a different sort of way. The batter was pretty incredible. It looked more like cake frosting than cookie batter. I learned in the early years of being with M that I'd better save a nice bit of raw batter for him to eat or there'd be hell to pay.

One tip I want to remember is that it helped to moisten my fingers with a bit of water and then smoothing the logs of biscotti batter before sitting them in the fridge for a chill.

I had a taste test of the biscotti before I dipped them in the dark chocolate. Heavenly! I can only imagine how wonderful they'd be with a cup of coffee.

M is surprisingly not a fan of chocolate biscotti and passed. But it's chocolate, I kept saying. In the end, when he saw that the finished product included a dip in melted chocolate, he decided it was worth a try and then gobbled up the last few pieces that were leftover. Heh heh heh.

also in knitting news

I made this for my niece. (Again, I'm going to assume that I am safe posting this here because none of the concerned parties will read this.) For Christmas.

Why is it that when you slap a Hello Kitty image on anything you get instant cute? I think kitty is powerful in that way. You just can't resist her.

This was pretty quick and easy to make. I especially enjoyed making the pom-poms. More on my ravelry page.

And I lined the inside with some pink fabric. Maybe a bit of pink overkill? Well, I was really trying to work with what I already had in my fabric stash instead of going out and buying a bunch of new materials.

Actually I think my niece will love it. I'm probably over-thinking the pink thing.

poor pekoe

snicker, snicker...

avgolemono

...soup.

It's become one of m's favorites. Lots of restaurants in New England seem to offer it on their menus and he orders it whenever he sees it.

The other night I made a roast chicken intending to use the left-over bits for a soup. And I decided to make avgolemono instead of my usual matzoh ball or chicken vegetable deals.

I used this recipe. It was so quick and easy. I followed the advice of one of the reviewers and used the juice of two whole lemons instead of the recommended 3 tablespoons. I think it was a little too lemony. So I tempered it with a little butter. Next time I'll try sticking to the amounts as stated in the recipe. Served with grilled cheese it was a light but tasty meal.

weird but compelling and cute

I can't get over how weird and cute these photos from Grand Old Bestiary are.

Ack! I just noticed the bunny on the right is nibbling on a carrot. That's too much!




If I look at them too long, they sort of creep me out just the tiniest bit. But then I flip-flop back and love them again. See more at the etsy shop.

(All images from Grand Ole Bestiary)

goat+mutton

We had goatchops for dinner the other night. That's right. GOAT. It was pretty darned tasty. I admit I was just a touch hesitant. But I figure goat probably tastes like lamb, right? Either that or it will taste like chicken.

M found this great recipe for the chops but I didn't read it carefully and forgot to get some of the herbs. So I did a work around with dried mint (not enough of it) and dried rosemary and lemons figuring that those are commonly used herbs/flavors with lamb. And goat is probably going to taste like lamb, right?

It's hard to see what the chops look like in these photos. In retrospect, I probably should have let them cook uncovered in the oven for a bit longer (maybe under the broiler? to get a bit of char?). That would have made for a better presentation and cooked off some of the fatty bits better. Oh and there's a few shitake mushrooms draped across them which makes them hard to see as well.


I served the chops with rice pilaf and a build-your-own salad. I've been doing more of these build-your-own salads lately. I used to make up a nice big salad, dress it and toss it and everything. And then end up throwing out about half of it after dinner because I made too much or one of us wasn't in the mood for salad that night. What a waste. Build-your-owns are better. That way I can load up on the tomatoes and olives which m doesn't care as much for and he can load up on the chinese noodles or meat which I use less of and we each end up with a salad that we enjoy a lot more.


Oh, but about that mutton.

This spring when we first came to New England, I drove past a farm with m's parents up in New Hampshire. Upon closer study we found out Riverslea Farm raises sheep and goat, sell the meats from each and also sell their wool. Fantastic! M and I finally made it up there this fall and browsed their market (such as it was) and walked away with a nice chunk of mutton (for stew) and some goat chops. I didn't make off with any wool. I wasn't into the colors they had on offer, though I will keep these folks in mind for the future if I'm ever in the need of some roving.

A few weeks ago m turned the mutton into this amazing stew. I am so bummed that I didn't take any photos. The meat was tender and juicy. And there was no gaminess to it - which I was sort of expecting. I'd always heard that mutton is tough being that it's meat from an older animal but the mutton we had was anything but. So delish!

Similarly with the goat, I was expecting a gaminess to the meat but it wasn't like that all. It just tasted like really good red meat. Very tender and juicy. Yum!

type love

I am so in love with these dropcaps designed by Jessica Hische. I just read about her new site over at swissmiss. But I didn't get too far in because I fell in love with these. Wouldn't they look great all on one poster?

(All images by Jessica Hische)

Must go back to her site to see more.

too cute!

I love most of the stuff on Erin Jang's website. (her wedding invitations are so awesome!). So it comes as no surprise at how tickled I am with her latest project.

Her husband loves rootbeer, so for his birthday she bought a vintage soda crate and filled it with all sorts of different root beer for him to try. The topper is this adorable card she created to describe each root beer. Sort of a tasting menu guide.

(Image from Erin Jang)

I think it would look fabulous framed and hung to enjoy for longer. And what a sweet reminder it would be of such a cute and personal birthday gift. See more of Erin's work here.

basically I want to dress like an 8 year old

I'm finally getting around to reading the latest issue of small magazine. I started reading it well before I got pregnant because it's so well designed. And because I love children's clothing. More specifically, when I flip through a children's clothing catalogue/magazine I love all the little girls' clothes and I want to wear them myself. Is that weird? If so, I'm okay with that. I mean look at these cuties from french designer rose desbois:

I could so rock this look.


I wear something similar to this already.


This might be a borderline look. Where I look juvenile instead of cute and chic.

And the rest of these I'd get for leftie. The last two I think only a little girl could pull off.




I love the way mini dresses+boots look.


I want that cowl.



(All images from rose desbois.)

amy's salmon

Last night I made Amy's Salmon for dinner. Damn it was good.

(hers was prettier)

I have a confession to make. I'm not really a fan of salmon. I don't know if you read this Amy, but I hope you won't be upset by this reveal. Especially since I'll follow it up by saying that I've only enjoyed salmon twice that I can remember in my life. Once was with Jenn and NIL at a charming place (despite it's odd name) called By Th' Bucket. And the other time was at Amy and Ian's home when we stopped by for a visit during our cross country move. Amy made dinner for us one of the nights we stayed with them and served us this awesome salmon dish. Oh and I think maybe the very first time I tried salmon when my dad brought some home and my mom fried it up in oil (everything tastes good fried) in a Korean style sort of way and we all ooh'd and aah'd over this amazing fish we'd never tried before. So red! So tasty!

But somewhere in my travels I lost the taste for it. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's because it's offered to frequently on most menus. You never know if the night you order it at that restaurant, it's going to be good. (Similar to our current conundrum with Italian restaurants and our new town. They are everywhere! And you just don't know if the one you pick to try out that night is going to be a good one or not.)

So normally I'm not a fan of salmon. I won't likely order it at a restaurant, but I'll eat it if it's served to me at someone's home. And boy am I glad I did that night at Amy and Ian's. It was so good I asked for the recipe. I've made it before, but I keep forgetting to take photos of it. Until last night.

I served it with steamed rice and a side of sauteed soy bean sprouts Korean style. And a simple spinach salad (just fresh spinach with some ponzu based dressing that I've been obsessing over these days). It was so good that I had it again for lunch today.

Thanks Amy!


Amy’s Salmon
Ingredients:
2 pounds salmon filets, with skin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Directions:
1. Make several shallow slashes in the skinless side of the salmon filets. Place filets skin-side down in a glass baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, pepper, onion and sesame oil. Pour the liquid over the salmon, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Remove cover from salmon, and bake in the marinating dish for about 30 minutes, or until fish can be flaked with a fork. Serve salmon over steamed rice, and pour sauce over.

the cosiest

I think I am safe in revealing this on my blog because none of the concerned parties will see this. I wanted to share the Christmas gift I made for my mum-in-law. When m and I were visiting this summer, we were having dessert after dinner one night and she pulled out her big metal teapot that she got from Ireland (M has a smaller version of it. When we were dating I discovered it in his cupboards one day because I wanted a pot of tea and I'd never seen the guy drink so much as a teacup of tea. And I thought to myself: man, if we ever split up I am so going to make off with this teapot. I know, I'm shameless.).

She pulled a tea cosy over her teapot and someone asked about it and she lamented how she could never find any cute tea cosies. (Auntie) Bonnie has tons of cute tea cosies, but my mum-in-law could never find any. So of course that got me thinking.

A quick search on ravelry revealed a plethora of tea cosy patterns. So I made this striped one:


And this silly one with tu-tu ruffles:


They're sort of ill-fitting on the teapots here. I made sure to measure my mum-in-law's teapots and hers are much taller than the ones at my office. But the lighting at my office is so much better for photography than what I get at home so I had to make do with what I had.

And while I was working on the green tea cosy of course I had to have a little try-on with the kitties. Doesn't the Och look lovely? Really goes with her eyes, right?

I can't imagine any practical purpose for a kitty to wear a capelet (heh heh) but for my amusement. I can't wait to get a shot of Pekoe wearing the cosy. HAHAHAHA!!!

chonie gets ziggy

The ziggy-est. Isn't he the cutest? And look how great he looks in the sweater I made for him.


I do think that the blue in the sweater does great things for his eyes. Or do his sparkly eyes bring out the color in the sweater?


knitting details at my ravelry account.

and now I'm hungry

How have I not been to Jennifer Causey's wonderful blog Simple Breakfasts yet?

(photo by Jennifer Causey)

Every morning she takes a photograph of the breakfast she eats. The photos are beautiful, the breakfasts look wonderful. I love seeing her collection of plates and cloth napkins. Sometimes you get a peek at what she's reading/browsing during her meal. And I love the variety of healthy breakfasts she features. What an inspiration! And it makes me crave eggs over easy which I can't eat right now because I'm preggos. But don't let that stop you. Go on over there and check it out.

PS. She writes a description of the breakfast in the comments.