Also from the same New York Times thing as in the previous post, I made Vin D'Orange. I'm really attracted to infusing vodka with ridiculous things, apparently. I'd like to make limoncello next.
I think I just used oranges. I put a cinnamon stick in, but took it out after a couple weeks rather than the six(?) I let it sit in my fridge. Used this Riesling (I guess, thank goodness for cameras)
instead of rose because I've never had a rose (out of 2) that I've liked. Also didn't add the rum in as the recipe recommends. Nice with some tonic water mixed in, but I don't think it was exciting enough to make again, unlike that creamscicle experiment.

Also, I'm aware that I'm phenomenally behind on posting anything that I've made. I'm not quite ready to declare bankruptcy, but maybe I'll try to post some pictures and bare details and that will seem less overwhelming. Oh right! I made KIM CHI. Apparently because I am insane. In retrospect, I would have used larger mason jars (I bought smaller ones because I walked to the store, and those were lighter? I'll admit this made no sense on my part, since I should have just driven. August was a weird month, alright?)

I used that most authentic of all sources for Korean food...the New York Times.
Incidentally, I didn't use fish sauce, but I think I did add in some Korean chili paste. The jars sat at room temp between 1.5 and 5 days. It was hard to tell when they were bubbling since I think I overfilled them. Also, everyone has a different idea about how to make kim chi and most of my sources completely contradicted one another (do not fill with liquid vs. make sure everything is covered by liquid, for instance. How long to soak the cabbage was another issue. Overnight? Or just briefly? It was very confusing, but I really enjoyed the end product).

Delicious things I had this weekend:

A glass of mead(!) at White Horse Trading Co. It went nicely with re-reading A Handmaid's Tale.

"The Burger" at Skillet Diner with a side of salad that was also amazing (at least 8 different kinds of greens, I think).

Then I made colcannon, which makes it sounds much more exciting than just potatoes and kale. Potatoes and kale are surprisingly good together though! Especially with butter.


And I had this, which was amazing and much better than I would have expected and (not to be a cliche) made me stop and think, where have you been all my life? Which is to say, buy a bar when you're at Trader Joe's (but also do not look at the nutritional facts) and I will be stockpiling shortly.

Bee Cookies

My grandma's 100th birthday is coming up (in November), and we were trying to think of party favors. A google image search for bee cookies produces simply awful cookies, so I tried to make my own. I think I was overly ambitious, but it was an excellent first try. I got the idea and the recipe from this very talented girl. The brown is from cocoa powder; which ended up being too dry, while the yellow and blue (from food dye) ended up being too wet, partially due to how I proportioned out the dough. Rolled out the dough then layered it, then cut striped squares off. I understand many are ugly mutants; it's called brainstorming. I at least got 4 super-cute ones out of the deal. The cookies themselves weren't too bad, but not exciting (the bee part is the exciting part).

Creamsicle Liqueur

It's a normal response to want to try something if I see pictures like these, and it involves creamsicle flavored liqueur, and unrefrigerated milk, right? Right?


I think I used about two regular oranges, some vanilla extract (with vanilla beans that had been soaking in it) and scant cups of milk, vodka and sugar. It never really separated at all, although that might be because I shook it whenever I went into the kitchen.
I let it sit, covered with a lid but out out on counter for about 2 weeks (I occasionally uncapped it since I worried about it building up pressure and anaerobic bacteria). And no, the milk never went bad. It did take forever for the milk solids to filter out, but the resulting liqueur does smell like an orange creamsicle. I've been keeping it in the fridge though, and I'm not sure what to mix it with. Ginger ale?

Pull-apart bread

I was looking for a recipe for monkeybread, but came upon this site for very pretty pull-apart bread, so immediately transferred my affections to that. Really, I just needed a yeasted bread recipe, as my mother got a new brand that seems to work better than anything else.
As you can see, her's looks nicer. I think I needed to roll it thinner, since as you can see, I did a double layer in the pan instead of single. Still, it came out very pretty and tasty. (Nick, it's not as messy as it looks, it was very easy to eat and not sticky or anything). I did let it sit in the fridge overnight, and as much as I love sugar, the cup she calls for in the filling is waaaaaay too much. Granted, I lowered the amount of butter also, but that much butter and sugar cannot physically stick on the dough. Halving the amounts would still be more than enough, I think.

Rainbow Cake!

So behind. So, I'm going to start with what I've baked most recently. Namely, rainbow cake. Rainbow cake! I just used a white box cake (duncan hines, I think) since I didn't want to spend time on making a cake from scratch if the dye job came out terrible. But it didn't! It didn't come out quite how I was aiming for, (Leprechaun cake) but very nice nevertheless (for instance, not like her other experiments). I did add a small amount of powdered sugar glaze, but it probably didn't really need it. Note my cell on speakerphone with RJK throughout the baking process.
Update: I would be remiss not to mention the cake my sister baked for my last birthday, which was also a rainbow cake, of a different sort, wherein she combined three recipes at once.
http://www.omnomicon.com/rainbowcake

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/best-birthday-cake/

http://www.cookiemadness.net/2010/04/yellow-cake-inspired-by-shirley-c/

I got this beautiful cathedral bundt pan for Christmas (as I specifically requested the Cathedral-style. It's been on my Amazon wishlist since December 2007). This is the honey cake from Maira Kalman's "The Principles of Uncertainty." (Thanks, Nick!) It's not the first cake I baked in it- I had a chocolate cake box mix that I made earlier, which I thought was only one year expired, but it was two years expired, and I decided not to risk poisoning my coworkers.
I also made this bread, which was not bad, although I probably wouldn't make it again.

Also received for Christmas- Enamel Cast Iron Casserole Dish, far left. Soaking beans, far right.

Hiiiiiiiiiii.

Things I have made recently that were delicious and make me feel like I'm an adult and could feed other people, or throw dinner parties, or own a restaurant.

Roasted cauliflower and Skillet carrots

For the record, I don't even like carrots or cauliflower. But I'm trying to eat more vegetables, thanks to New Roots. Having organic vegetables and fruits delivered to you makes you feel instantly smug.

this is probably boring, but i'd like to remember it, and this salad was the best thing i've eaten in weeks.

lettuce mix, avocado, fresh mozzarella, with lemon juice, oil, balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper.

it made me remember very fondly the california salad at salonica. (hi, three people who read this blog! i'm really going to try to visit chicago in the next year)

I hope everyone realizes I just use this blog to complain about weird food marketing.

But I also talk about things I make. So first, here are some cookies I made. I was less than impressed with them, and sort of overcooked the first batch but undercooked the second batch. I felt bad taking them into work, but I figured my standards are too high, and I was right, by the end of the day, they were all gone except one (out of politeness issues, I assume. BTW, that link is first when you google "not taking the last cookie." [not with quotes]). Anyway, Lacan notwithstanding (really, I don't think I've ever read him) the recipe was via Baking Bites, from Cindy McCain and scandal. I wouldn't make them again though.



Now to be curmudgeonly. So, I saw this bread at the Safeway. To my discredit, I actually bought it, since I like millet and flax in bread, even though I think "ancient grains" is a terrible name for a bread and not descriptive at all. It's not like this is made out of genetically engineered, previously extinct grains. (Unless it is, which would be awesome. But I doubt it.) I mean, this list is...grains. It's alright though, but sweeter than I like bread.