Ingredients of the Day: An Interview

I have an interview today, so I won’t be making lunch. You are welcome to wish me luck and I’ll update you on how it went later on.

**Update: Interveiw went well. I like the people and the organization. They do good work and I would enjoy working for them. On another note, I have received a notice from a bank telling me that I am overdrawn on an account that I CLOSED 3 WEEKS AGO. I am inventing a new sport to take out my aggression on Regions Bank. Anger running. It works well for me. I’m still angry now, but I’ve at least run 2 miles at a rather quick pace. Apparently, all I need is for someone to make me shaking-angry right before I need to run and I’ll be at 13.1 miles in no time at all!

Ingredients of the Day: 92 people + Cassaroles

Crescent City Cafe for the homeless was yesterday. We served 92 wonderful people who braved the coldest day we’ve had this season (there was snow across the lake to our north) to come have a hot breakfast at our cafe. I met amazing volunteers as well as some fascinating patrons, one of whom used to do photography work and traveled all over before Katrina wiped out all of his equipment and his business and home, leaving him in a state of poverty. He had a camera with him that he was taking photos of us with, which, ironically, glitched out on him as he was capturing the meeting after the cafe. I hope to see him again. I would love to hear more of his story.

This cafe, in planning the meal I wanted to do something more “Christmas-y” in nature than normal, but still filling and hearty.

The menu (we didn’t have a cafe photographer, so sorry I don’t have photos):

1. Honey Glazed Ham (spiral cut, Wal-Mart), Cheese Grits, Biscuits and Eggs

2. Potato, Sausage and Egg Cassarole

I invented this cassarole out of necessity. Most of the ones I found with potato in them had other wierd things in them that our guests might not like. I find simplicity is the best method most of the time.

For each recipe (at least a 9×9 pan, remember I’m doing this on a much larger scale, so it’s tricky):

1 package of regular sausage (Jimmy Dean Mild)

1 dozen eggs

1/2 sack of potatos

salt

rosemary

Prep: Wash the potatoes and cut into 1/8 inch slices. Cover the bottom of the pan in a layer of potato slices.

Brown sausage and drain.

Crack eggs into a bowl and wisk until all yolks are blended.  Add sausage to the eggs.

Pour half of the sausage-egg mixture into the pan on top of the potatoes. Add a sprinkling of salt over the top and a sprinkling of rosemary. Both should lightly coat the area. Add another layer of potaoes and top with the remaining sausage-egg mixture.

Cook on 400 degrees until lightly brown and potatoes are soft. About 1 hour.

The one hour was where we had the problem. The key to the kitchen didn’t arrive until late and we didn’t have as much time as usual to cook the cassaroles. We finished two of them, but the others did not finish until much later. But we managed to still have enough for all of our guests, even though we’ve run out of eggs everytime dispite buying an extra five dozen for each cafe. Troubleshooting is fun, no?

Also, we were featured in the New Orleans paper, the Times-Picayune in the Metro section: http://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2009/12/post_5.html.

Plus, it’s never too late to give to the cause. Donate online at CrescentCityCafe.com!

Ingredients of the Day: More shrimp and condiments

I had leftover pizza dough from yesterday, as well as leftover shrimp and pesto. With aims of cleaning out my fridge, this is going sound a bit like yesterday. Sorry. It’s my lunch. Don’t worry your pretty little heads about it.

Pizza (also needs a name)

Pizza dough (see yesterday)

1 cup of Shrimp tails, cooked (again, de-everything-but-the-meat-ed)

2 tbsp Pesto

3 tbsp red onion

1/4 cup of Barbecue Sauce

Parsley, to taste

1 cup Skim Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan, to taste

PREP: Roll out the dough and top with parsley.

Spread barbecue sauce evenly on top of the pizza dough. Top with red onions and evenly disperse shrimp on top of sauce. Drizzle pesto across the top.

Top with cheeses and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Tomorrow is prep night for Crescent City Cafe for the homeless. I’ll be posting recipes if I get time between setting up and buying ingredients and supplies. Donate to our cause online via the website (that’s the link underlined up there!!)!

Ingredients of the Day: Shrimp and Flour

This post is also known as What to do when you’re on hold for an 01: 17: 58. That’s an hour and seventeen minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Sheesh! That’s what we in America call “ridiculous.” While I was on hold, I decided (Corky Romano-style**) to make a pizza. You know when you first are on hold (say, the initial ten minutes of bad music and “If you are calling to do X, Y, or Z, please visit our website www.wethinkyou’reanidiot.com.” Obviously, I am not calling because I need to do X, Y, or Z. I’m calling because you screwed up X, Y, AND Z and I want it fixed (and by the way, I’m going to do it by actually speaking to a real person!!)) you’re calm. No longer calm enough. I need to make a pizza. By the way…does anyone else notice that they tell you to put your account number in, but whenever the person on the other line picks up, they never know you’re account number…interesting.

Anyway, commence pizza making. I was going to add an avocado to this but it wasn’t ripe. Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow as I have leftover dough (the bread kind not the cash money kind).

Pizza (Open to naming options in the comments section)

Pizza dough (click the link for recipe. One day I’ll have yeast, until then it’s pita pizza.)

1 cup Shrimp tails, cooked (and de-exoskeleton-ed)

2 tbsp. Red Onion

4 tbsp Pesto Sauce (make your own by putting fresh basil, olive oil and garlic in a food processor together)

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

8 tbsp Salsa (I used restaurant-style, very finely chopped, salsa)

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread the dough on a stone or pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Apply a thin layer of mozzarella to the dough.

Coat Shrimp and onions in pesto sauce. Place shrimp individually on top of mozz. In a swirling pattern apply the remaining pesto mixture to the top of the pizza.

Place 8, 1 tablespoon lines of salsa out from the center (one for each slice). Top with remaining Mozz and a sprinkling of Parm.

Place in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

This is an interesting blend of flavourful and spicy. It’s got a tinge of kick to it! Yum! **Just in case you didn’t get the reference before for Corky Romano click the link.** Watch the whole thing, but specifically 1:27 in. It really is hilariously bad. Love this movie!

Ingredients of the Day: Thanksgiving leftovers

Thanksgiving this year was lovely, as always: too much food, hunting shows on tv, talk on politics, views on foreigners, the Macy’s parade, etc.

The trickiest part of Thanksgiving at my grandma’s house (where there are usually at least 4 pies) is leaving without being “gifted” whatever remains of the day. When I was in college, it was like “Oh! Take this honey. You don’t want to have to eat that cafeteria food all week.” I have gained a little more power in my refusal skills since then. The leftover food was in surplus like crazy. My mother would’ve liked for me to take the remaining half of the green bean cassarole home with me, but I barely wiggled out of there with just some turkey and dressing. I have to start training hardcore for this Rock-n-Roll half marathon this week…I can’t be eating on leftovers for the next two months! (It looks like today may end up being my day off of running due to weather. Unless I want to run in cold rain, that is.)

In keeping up with the trends in food, I have noticed that mini-burgers and “nibblers” are rather popular lately. From Chef John Besh’s mini-burgers with pepper jelly (!) on them to Zaxby’s Chicken Nibblers (it was a stop on the way back from Nashville), mini food is making a statement (even if they give you three mini ones which is probably more than 1 regular one…just saying). Here’s my Thanksgiving take on mini sandwiches:

Mini-Turkey and Dressing Sandwich

Turkey or Chicken (I have my uncles’s smoked turkey, yum.)

Cornbread dressing Really any carb-y stuffing or dressing will do.

Dried Cranberries (It was more of a mental request than what I actually have in house.)

Bread I have a cornbread muffin

Half the cornbread muffin (or roll or whatever) and set aside. Mix together the turkey and dressing and the dried crans. Place some of the mixture on the bottom half of the muffin and top with the other half.

Stand around for a minute so that you feel like this was much more difficult to do that it really was.

**I am officially rid of leftovers now. I also watched Love Actually for the first time this season, so I am officially in the Christmas spirit. Things like “All I want for Christmas is yoooou, baby” and “Ok. Let’s do it. Let’s go get the $*^% kicked out of us by love” are among a continuous stream of fun quotes in my head.

Today’s Post is Cancelled

Yesterday, I fell into a child-sized man hole. I’m still shocked that it actually happened. That’ll teach me to walk nonchalant on a sidewalk. I think that yesterday just should’ve been avoided. Won’t be posting today due to circumstances. See you after Thanksgiving!

Ingredients of the Day: I’m going running.

I had an interview get cancelled today due to restructuring of the staff and a hiring freeze. I don’t have much of an appetite. I am going running to get all of this frustration off of me and I’ll be back with something doubly amazing tomorrow.

PS- I’m about to start training for the Mardi Gras Rock-n-Roll half marathon, so this may morph into running and food blog. We’ll see.

Ingredients of the Day: Nashville and great friends

Here’s a pic from my weekend jaunt to Nashville for my friend Brooke Waggoner’s CD release party (new album: Go Easy Little Doves available on iTunes): twelve piece orchestra complete with players from Nashville’s Chamber Orchestra + El Obo (Jesse Copenbarger of Colour Revolt) at the Belcourt theater. Since this is a food blog (more or less), I suppose I should stick to things that are pseudo food-related incidents. So, I’ll tell you where: after Brooke’s show (which was magnificent, as always) we ate at Athens, a 24 hour Greek/American diner that serves breakfast and gyro. Interestingly, it’s the late night haunt for dating couples and post-debauchered partiers alike. Lauren (my road trip partner in crime) and I spent Friday sauntering about bits and parts of Nashville, starting with Provence, an adorable French cafe, with amazing-looking breads and pastries, all made in-house. It’s right next to some fun shopping and a great little coffeehouse, Fido, in the Vanderbilt Med School area and right next to a great bookshop called Bookman/Bookwoman. We played with some very frisky and fearless squirrels in Centennial Park that wanted a picnicker’s french fries. We tried on hats in a very cool vintage shop called The Hip Zipper (that has absolutely nothing to do with food, I know) and went to another cool coffee shop in the evening called Ugly Mugs that was right across from Rose Pepper, a mexican restaurant where we joined friends for a meal later on. Lauren and I were both introduced to the wonders of the Red Box, where you can rent movies for $1/night. All of the locations are kind of wonderfully sketchy, like McDonald’s, Walgreens and gas stations. The morning before we left, Sarah (our oh-so-lovely-and-amazing-guru/hostess) took us to Marche for brunch. This is where this photo was taken. It was amazingly yummy and I think it would be really easy to replicate. I would like to thank McDonald’s, Sonic and Zaxby’s, a chicken joint akin to Cane’s (only here you have to remove your spurs before dancing on the tables), for our much-needed diet coke stops on the 8 hour journey.

Here’s how I think this recipe would go:

Raisin Toast with Warm Brie and Apples

Serves 2

2 large slices of Raisin bread, toasted

2 slices of brie cheese, cut lengthwise

1 large Gala apple, cut into 1/8 inch slices

1/4 cup maple syurp

Warm the brie in a small pan coated in non-stick spray. Replicate the picure with the setup.

Enjoy the rest of the photos from Nashville!

Ingredients of the Day: Thanksgiving (is greater than or) = Dessert

If you had only seen the spread of desserts that were brought to Friendsgiving, you would realize how based in fact that statement is. We had red velvet cake with an inch of cream cheese icing, strudel, walnut brownies, 2 pecan pies, 2 pumpkin pies, apple-whatnot…a diabetic coma waiting to happen. One could’ve gone into shock from all of the sugar in our kitchen.

1. Pecan Pie (as in “Waiter, there is too much pepper on my papikash.” “But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.” Points to anyone who knows the reference) Gourmet | November 2009, by Andrea Albin

Yield: Makes 8 servings Active Time: 35 min Total Time: 5 hr (includes making pastry and cooling pie) Ingredients: Pastry dough 3/4 stick unsalted butter 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup light corn syrup 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 large eggs 2 cups pecan halves (1/2 pound) Accompaniment: whipped cream or vanilla ice cream Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under and lightly press against rim of pie plate, then crimp decoratively. Lightly prick bottom all over with a fork. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes (or freeze 10 minutes). Meanwhile, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in corn syrup, vanilla, zest, and salt. Lightly beat eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in corn syrup mixture. Put pecans in pie shell and pour corn syrup mixture evenly over them. Bake on hot baking sheet until filling is set, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool completely.

Ingredients of the Day: Thanksgiving Prep Day 4: Pumpkin Bread

Kim’s contribution to Friendsgiving was a hit! Of things that you can name that everybody loves: puppies, falling leaves, Raymond (cheap, I know, sometimes you just have to take them), things made with pumpkin are kind of topping the charts right now. The first loaf of this bread was devoured well before the turkey arrived. It’s just that good.

Pecan-Topped Pumpkin Bread

This recipe makes two loaves. Freeze the extra bread, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to one month. Omit the nuts or substitute chopped walnuts, if you prefer. Check the bread after 50 minutes of baking–you may need to cover the loaves with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (about 15 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
Cooking spray
1/3 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through allspice) in a bowl.

Place sugar, egg substitute, oil, buttermilk, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add 2/3 cup water and pumpkin, beating at low speed until blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Spoon batter into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
Yield:  2 loaves; 12 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 198 (30% from fat); FAT 6.6g (sat 0.7g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.9g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 18mg; CALCIUM 53mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.3g; SODIUM 287mg; PROTEIN 3.4g; FIBER 1.2g

Sorry the photo isn’t that good on this one. I realized while everything was being devoured, and I was chatting away, that I’d forgotten to document all of the excellent creations. I rushed this one a bit. It’s a little fuzzy. The bread more than makes up for that though.