Monday, October 29, 2007

bakerysunday

Yesterday I made a buttermilk-cardamom pie and peanut butter bread. It just felt like that kind of a Sunday.

I used a recipe I'd clipped from the San Francisco Chronicle ages and ages ago. The only modification I made was to omit the granulated sugar and to bump up the peanut butter by a tablespoon or two. The link is here.

The Cardamom Buttermilk pie is from the most recent issue of Saveur and we'll be enjoying it this evening after dinner. I really, really wanted it for breakfast this morning, but what with all these kids around I was forced to show some restraint. Restraint sucks.

Friday, October 26, 2007

This Week in Drinks

I've gone over our budget recently.

I mean that in two ways, unfortunately.

Somehow, we've been spending like sailors on shore leave with shiny, shiny doubloons literally falling out of their trousers only to find that our doubloons have been replaced by their aluminum doppelgangers and we're holding the latest booty going, "wha..?" because all of a sudden the credit card statements have come and, oh, my lands, I spent so fantastically much more money on things that seemed really, really important at the time [hello, cheese counter at Whole Foods, placed achingly near to the wine and exotic salts (yes, I've shot my wad on exotic salts, you read that correctly)] than I thought I had...was doing...had done....

But hey! Our liquor cabinet is well stocked and I'm pretty sure they're not going to repo my Kelt Tour du Monde.

So! I have re-jiggered our budgets and allowed for one bottle of wine a week (dude, I totally wrote that as "a night."), which we should be enjoying tonight if everything works out well, and it also leaves the rest of the week wide open to cocktail experimentation. Because, as I said: no repo o' the booze. It's not going to happen. They've all been opened. Even the green chartreuse and benedictine. HANDS OFF.

All this to say that on fridays, or at least this friday because you never know what will happen in the future (I don't think they can repo the computer. Husband uses it for work. Makes it Important. Like the booze.) I will recap what we've had to drink over the course of the week.

Yes, you do care. Now shut up and start taking notes:

  • Monday night. Or perhaps it was Sunday. I really don't remember. We had a stressful weekend:
A Bastardized Betsy Ross. Kelsey bought some port last weekend and tried some different combinations but finally came to this conclusion:

1 1/2 oz port (We have Pedroncelli on hand)
1 oz brandy (Kelt Tour du Monde)
1 oz triple sec (will use cointreau next time)
Some quantity of lemon juice, he said he didn't remember.
Some number of dashes of angostura bitters

Shaken with ice and strained it was lovely. I was a little taken aback by the whole chilled-port scene--I enjoy drinking port on these chilly nights because it's cozy and warming. Having it with citrus, chilled...well, it took me a couple tries before I embraced it wholeheartedly. It's pretty damn delicious.

  • Tuesday night. Or maybe it was Wednesday. I'm pretty sure it was Tuesday:
We had a delicious Hoop-la! in bed shortly before passing out. Our kids have nasty coughs that keep us up at night, and when I say "us" what I mean is "me" and it was all I could do to power through this delicious drink before my head hit the pillow. I was not involved in the mixing of this drink, but I'm pretty sure Kelsey uses Jay's recipe with few to no deviations with the exception of a shot of bitters. I have a man who loves his bitters.

  • Probably Wednesday night. Maybe Thursday. Who cares:
Pisco Sours!

Kelsey uses Gary Regan's recipe from The Joy of Mixology which was my favourite book while the big kids were out of town.

2 oz Pisco
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 raw egg white
Angostura bitters--just a dash on the finished drink

Shake all but the bitters--and really, really shake. Getting those egg whites to do their thing takes some commitment. Kelsey serves it in champagne flutes and liberally dashes bitters on top. It's divine.

And so we conclude our first Week in Drinks. Please join us next week when we'll teach you how to make hooch on a shoestring.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

autumnal

This morning, Peanut took one of our pumpkins to school to carve for their autumn festival. I just couldn't not take a pictures of the clothes she put herself in. I wish I had that girl's wardrobe. And also that I was 7. I think that helps.


Also! I made green tomato preserves yesterday, a la The Silver Spoon because I just didn't think that my heart wanted me to fry these babies up as much as my stomach did.


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The Recipe:

2 lbs. green tomatoes, chopped
1 c. sugar (this will be for next time. This time I used 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 and it was waaaaay too much.)
Juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon.

Let macerate for a couple of hours and then cook until the juice becomes syrupy.

Can.

I....may not do this one again. The idea of a green tomato conserve was enticing, but I think I may be more of a savory green tomato kind of girl.


Sunday, October 7, 2007

What I did on my fall vacation

My parents took the kids out of town for a couple of days.

It was lovely.

But, instead of getting up to some crazy shenanigans, we were crafty.

Very, very crafty.

Also, there may have been some shenanigans involved, but they were not of the crazy variety.

Husband made:
  • Beef Jerky
  • Habanero sauce
  • Jalapeno sauce
  • Apple-Plum leather
  • Apple-Rhubarb leather
I made:
  • A Pisco Sour

That's right.

Oh! Also, I wrapped all the fruit leather nicely in parchment and butchers twine.

(yay!)

This weekend marked the official beginning of the Fizzy Egg White Drink Craze. We started with an Edith Day and finished with Pisco Sours.

...mmmmm...salmonella....

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Weekend Leather 2: The Plumenning

That's Plum-enning. Like, this time! with plums!

Also, there is beef jerky. We are making beef jerky. Lo, we are awesome.

Actually, my husband has been doing this all day and I've been hovering at the periphery making busy noises. Right now, I'm typing and enjoying a Pimm's Cup.

...mmmmm.....

Monday, October 1, 2007

weekend leather


Ok, not THAT kind of leather.

Husband made apple fruit leather on friday night. It is pretty freaking awesome. I encourage an educational field trip.
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