Real Life

    

     In real life, I have lots of papers. I have lots of exams. But, I also love to go dance. I love to dress up. I just discovered makeup (it's a late bloomer thing?) and it makes me happy. In real life, there is time for school and work and fun and dancing...but just barely. That is probably why I spend half my studying time dancing around the kitchen...mostly to LMFAO because they are awesome.

     In dream life, I have time to eat healthy food everyday in between all the working and dancing. I never ever eat batter for dinner (it only happened once! I had no food! I was making banana bread! and it was leftover batter not alll the batter...but really, is there an excuse?). In dream life, three of my meals in a row Never consist of - generous slices of - said banana bread - toasted with butter on top - . In dream life, there are balanced plates of meats and veggies.

     Sometimes, on rare occasions, dream life and real life collide! Suddenly, I Do have a balanced meal. Mostly, this happens because I recently went to Trader Joe's. That place is my little heaven. My home away from home. The place to find all the things that make me happy and take me away from Organic Chemistry Land: the one nice cheese I allow myself to buy (last week it was Manchego, this week a 1000 day old Smoked Gouda), the frozen bibimbap which is almost like being at Super 88 back in Boston and eating it out of the stone bowl, and my brother's favorite gnocchi with tomato sauce.

     On these occasions, real life tastes dream life good. On this occasion, this happened because my Trader Joe's visit led me to buy asparagus and pears...because they seemed seasonal...and it was only when I got home that it struck me: Asparagus and Pear Pizza. Asparagus and pears go great together (I found this out when I googled 'Asparagus and Pear' and found tons of recipes...score!), and Deb on SmittenKitchen had made asparagus pizza long ago....and it just seemed like a good idea. And as I discovered while standing over the baking sheet trying not to burn my fingers as I pulled away slices of this pizza and shoved them into my mouth....pears crunchy and slightly sweet, asparagus all green and fresh and slightly sharp, and deep, nutty Smoked Gouda make a pizza worthy of dreams.

Asparagus and Pear Pizza
Loosely Adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Shaved Asparagus Pizza

1/2 Trader Joe's Pizza Dough Ball OR Enough Pizza dough for a 6'' Pizza
10 Asparagus Stalks
1 Pear (I used a Green Anjou pear...I don't think you can really go wrong here)
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Honey
Three to Four Generous Grindings of Black Pepper
1/4 cup Shaved Smoked Gouda (or Pecorino Romano if you have that on hand instead)

Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees.
 
Then, shave your asparagus stalks. I took Deb's example and held the asparagus stalk by its thick end, using my vegetable peeler to shave off thin strips, and then discarding the end. You should get about 3/4 cup of shaved asparagus. Next, cut your pear into thin strips (cut into thin slices, then cut them into strips).

Get a large bowl, and dump in your asparagus and pear. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and the black pepper mixing it together thoroughly (I used my hands - you want everything coated nicely). You can taste this and flavor it further to taste (for example adding salt, if you like salt, or red chili).

If you do as I do, grab half the Trader Joe's dough and roll it into a ball. Then, rub olive oil all over your 9 by 11 baking sheet and stretch out your dough really thin (this is Thin crust pizza) until it covers the majority of the baking sheet. Or, if you use a pizza stone, roll out your dough into an approximately 8'' diameter circle, it should be very thin, and then lay it on the stone to bake.

Either way, once your dough is all rolled out, top it with the asparagus and pear mixture, spreading everything out so you have a nice flat layer covering the majority of your dough. Grate, or use your vegetable peeler to shave into small pieces, your gouda or other cheese and then sprinkle it all over the top of the pizza.

Stick the baking sheet into the oven and let it bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crispy. Take it out, and allow it to cool for 10 minutes (if you can), transfer to a cutting board, cut and serve!

Browning Butter

 

     Dear people, I wrote this post a long time ago....and then....I never posted it. But, it still holds true! More posts soon!

 

      Have you ever browned butter? Placed a tablespoon or two of butter in a pan and cooked it lightly until it turns a light brown color and then cooked things in said butter or put it in your baked goods? If you have, you are a very smart person. I wish I had been like you earlier. If you haven't, you should - sometime soon. Because it is very very very worth it.

     I don't actually think I've ever smelled anything as delicious as the fragrance that floated up when I dumped a box-worth of sliced brown mushrooms into two tablespoons of browned butter. Just thinking about it is making my mouth water. Like actually.

     And delicious smells are important. Linguine covered in a fall-inspired pumpkin brown butter sauce and mushrooms is important. Full stomachs are important. Because people, it is cold outside. It snowed...what is with that? Why did it snow????? But moving past that, life can get tiring. One can get so worn down by school that one (i.e. me..ahem ahem) can stop caring about anything but the stress of work work work essay essay essay exam exam exam. And that is not good.

     So, one needs to stop and smell the roses...or butter...you know what I mean. Its worth it to take a little bit of your day to chop up those mushrooms and make some delicious (note: hearty, slightly pumpkin-y, a little rich, with that depth of brown butterness) sauce and just let everything go. Or make anything you want! Just stand by the stove or over a mixing bowl and stir stir....and relax a little. Then maybe go out...or see some friends! And forget work for a bit. Because after tonight I get a real life BREAK from work for a few days....and I want you to get one too.

Browned Butter Mushroom Pumpkin Sauce

2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 box Brown Mushrooms, Sliced
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (maybe a little heavy 1/8th of a teaspoon, but to your own taste - I like nutmeg)
1/4 tsp Ginger
3/4 cup Canned Pumpkin
1/3 cup Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth, so this can be veggie-friendly)

In a large frying pan at medium-low heat, cook the butter. Stir it so it melts, then allow it to cook for 2 minutes until it is a light brown color. Once that is done, dump in all the sliced mushrooms. Make sure they get coated in the butter, and cook them for two minutes. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and ginger, stirring into the mushrooms. Then, add the canned pumpkin, stirring it in, and lastly the chicken broth. Once everything is mixed together, allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes, so that it thickens. Once the sauce is nice and thick, serve with your pasta of choice. I used linguine that I cooked as the sauce was cooking.

Breakfast

   

     Breakfast is a very important meal. I've already talked about how much I love brunch. I mean I loooove brunch. But what is brunch but breakfast foods? And breakfast foods are what you need to start the day out right. To be energized and full of life. To be able to face the world.

 

     So, what I'm saying is: sometimes you should treat yourself to breakfast. Move past the cereal...because some days cheerios just won't do. Mix it up a little bit and especially if you have people to share it with (have a breakfast brunch happy food party!) make Breakfast Pizza.

     Breakfast pizza is something I've been fascinated with. Its something I bookmarked when Deb made it on SmittenKitchen. And then again when Joy the Baker made it. But then I finally did it. I invited a friend over to brunch and made this lovely pizza (using that ridiculous Trader Joe's Pizza Dough...I swear I'll make my own crust some day but it only costs a dolllllarrr and I can't resist...). I cracked eggs directly onto a pizza! It was empowering.

     More importantly, it tasted so good - the whole thing, eggs included. Breakfast can taste delicious. And filling. And healthy and vegetable-y. But also goldenly cheesey. Breakfast can wake you up and make you go out and grab the day. So someday, maybe not today because I know you're busy, but someday - you should think about making Breakfast Pizza. Then you can go conquer the world.

Breakfast Pizza
Loosely Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Note: The simplicity of this recipe is alarming, you just throw a bunch of stuff onto rolled out pizza dough. This is why you can make it any time!

1 Trader Joe's Pizza Dough Ball or enough pizza dough for a 12'' diameter pizza
Olive Oil
1/2 cup White Button Mushrooms, sliced 
1 cup Baby Spinach
2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 cup Chedder Cheese, shredded
3 Eggs

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees and grease your baking sheet (if you are using a baking sheet and not a pizza stone) with a little olive oil. Roll your ball of dough into a 12'' diameter circle or into a rectangle the size of your baking sheet (alternately: stretch it out, place it on your baking sheet and continue pushing at it until it fills the entire baking sheet - try not to tear). Drizzle the dough with olive oil and rub it in. Lay the spinach leaves down, then the mushroom, then sprinkle the oregano, salt, and pepper over everything. Top with the cheese, spreading it evenly over everything and creating a flat surface for the eggs. Crack the three eggs on three different parts of the pizza (making them a little more far apart than I did would probably be helpful) trying to keep the yolks intact. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is golden and the eggs are just cooked (I overcooked my eggs a little as you can tell by the yolks, but really it tasted great anyway). Take out, allow to cool for 5 minutes, transfer to a cutting board, and eat!

Fall Sweetness

    

     I love fall and pumpkins. I love how they are both orange. Orange is such a warm color, such a crisp and crunchy leaf color but also a soft sweet potato color...or a soft woolen sweater color. I kind of want an orange sweater. A big comfy one. Anyhows....Orange is pumpkins and pumpkins are fall, so of course I had to make something pumpkin-y.

   
     But not just anything in general pumpkin-y. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies specifically. Because they were blogged about on Slow Like Honey. Because they looked so delicious and cake-like, and I do love soft cookies. In fact, I think almost all the cookies I make are the soft and chewy kind.....the kind that are almost falling apart when they come out of the oven and melt in your mouth when you gobble them up off the cookie sheet and burn your tongue. The kind that stay all springy and tender after they cool down so that you constantly crave one...Yes. That kind of cookie.

     And so, in the barely two days while she was visiting me, I planned to make these cookies with KK. But....then we ran out of time. It was a tragedy. I didn't think I would be able to find any time to make these cookies. I was sad. Still, you know this story ends well because there are cookies. Why are there cookies? Because, I was saved by a source who is as yet a mystery to you.

     That sentence was convoluted. But it sounded kind of like an old detective show. Or the parodies of old detective shows that they do on Whose Line....do you know what I'm talking about? If not, you should watch more Whose Line.

     Aaaanyhow, I was saved by my mentee! My little sister in a Big Brother Big Sister like program you know. Because fourth grade girls like to make cookies. And I like to make cookies too. So its a bonding thing. And we all got delicious cookies out of it. Delicious slightly spicy cinnamony pumpkiny full of chocolatey goodness cookies. The moral of the story is: even when you think you can't make cookies you should find time - or a friendly helper - who will make you make cookies. Because life before these cookies was missing out on pumpkiny goodness, and we all need that sometimes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Slow Like Honey
Yields 20 Cookies

1 cup Canned Pumpkin
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Egg 
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Milk
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tbsp Vanilla Extract 
2 cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and layer parchment paper on two baking sheets (I had to use the two, then do another batch once one came out, so maybe take out a third cookie sheet if you feel so inclined?).

In a large bowl, stir together the canned pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda in the milk in a little bowl, and stir it into the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon until everything is combined (make sure you get all the flour that drops to the bottom of the bowl!). Stir in the vanilla and then the chocolate chips.

Use a tablespoon measure to spoon the batter out onto the baking sheets, it is a sticky, gooey batter so an extra spoon is also helpful. Make sure you leave about 1.5'' of space around the cookies because they will spread. 

Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, until they are firm to touch and lightly browned. Let them cool on the baking sheet for ten minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.

Try to stop yourself from eating them all at once! They will technically last 5 days in an airtight container. But good luck.

Montreal!

  

     I thought I would give you some pictures of Montreal. Just to get you through a lazy Sunday...because it was beautiful while I was there and it seems a shame not to share. Up there I caught CV reading, he is in the center.

    All of these pictures are from Parc du Mont Royal, where every Sunday during nice weather Tam-tams happens. Tam-tams is a drum circle where anyone who wants to can bring a drum, join in, and play. Isn't that such a great idea? So many cool rhythms were going on!

     Meanwhile, there are also vendors selling things, people slacklining and live-action-role-playing (see the crusaders below), and just hanging out all over the park.

     There was also this really cool poster all about life and the different ways to look at and experience life. I wish I'd had time to read all of it, but it was so hard to focus on any one thing with all the interesting quotations and messages all over it.

     As you can tell, there were a lot of people the Sunday I went. Probably everyone was enjoying the last summery day Montreal may have in a long time.

        But it was still very peaceful and beautiful in the park even with all the people.

     I hope you still have nice weather wherever you are, whether it is still keeping its summer sun or finally edging into autumn.

     It is always nice to go out and enjoy the beautiful days while you can! I hope you are getting a chance to.

Love, SS

Canadian Thanksgiving

     Did I tell you that I traveled? That I went all the way to Canada? Well, not last weekend but the weekend before that's where I was! For my fall break. And it was lovely. I went up there to see my friend CV at McGill. Do you remember him? He is the one I sent a care package to last year, and I will end up doing it again this year because he just has so much work! Stressed out people need cakes and cookies. Tis a fact. Look at how intimidating the McGill physics building is...

     It was also Canadian Thanksgiving. Which was amazing because two sets of CV's friends held lovely potlucks that I got to attend, so I stuffed my face with roast chicken, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie (pumpkin pie! with fresh whipped cream!), and the most amazing roast vegetables in the world prepared by CV and myself. If you repeatedly glaze parsnips, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and carrots with a mixture of balsamic vinegar, honey, cinnamon, garlic, and a multitude of spices what but the best roasted vegetables in the world could you get after all? And I got to try poutine! Which I wish I had taken a picture of because it is a specialty of Montreal: french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, and it is delicious.

 

     But, most importantly, to the first of those potlucks CV and I brought a Potato Gratin. And this was no ordinary gratin. This was the most scrumptiously deliciously cheesy creamy crispy bacony potato gratin ever to exist. I almost have no words to describe it. It almost achieved Epic Meal Time status. Do you watch Epic Meal Time? Picture a group of guys making curried bacon and or giant gingerbread houses made of meat and then eating these foods that can count up past 10,000 calories each....it is Epic.

     Well, thankfully our gratin wasn't 10,000 calories. But it was delicious. With a bechamel including tons of mozzarella cheese and pumpkin bits that were immersion-blended into it (this was when I got to use the immersion blender!!!! CV has one!!!), and the potato slices some crispy and some soft (because....we ran out of time and there was no time to bake them in the gratin, so we fried some of the potatoes in the pan and baked some of them on a baking tray and then layered everything in the gratin pan with the bechamel and bacon bits and baked it for a bit....Sigh. Still, with all the frantic-ness of multiple potato pans going at once, it did yield inspiring results), and then the Bacon Bits on top giving crunch and saltiness....you smell the epic-ness don't you? And then we ate it along with all this other food. And, as you can probably already tell, we were all very thankfully and contentedly full.

Thanksgiving Potato Gratin

8 medium Russet Potatoes, Peeled and thinly Sliced (a mandolin might help here if you have one)
2 tbsp Butter + A few pats of butter for the potatoes
2 tbsp Flour 
1 1/2 cup Milk (plus extra if necessary)
3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 Medium-Sized Pumpkin, Diced Finely
1 1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Herbes de Provence*
1/4 cup Bacon Bits (or to taste, or leave out if vegetarian dish required)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8 in- baking dish and set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan at medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Continue stirring till the mixture is a golden brown. Then, slowly add in the milk, whisking continuously until it is fully incorporated. Do not add too much milk at once, because you do not want lumps. Keep over the heat, whisking and allowing it to come to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the cheese until it is incorporated. Then, add the pumpkin pieces (which should be small) and use an immersion blender to create a smooth sauce. (If you do not have an immersion blender, you could probably transfer the sauce to a regular blender and blend the pumpkin in that way.) Stir the spices into the bechamel. If at this point, it is too thick - add a little more milk (about a tablespoon). If it is too thin, allow it to continue to cook over the low heat (or maybe raise the heat a little), or add a little more flour, or some more cheese (depending on how much you like cheese!).

Once your bechamel is to your liking, turn the heat off. In your baking dish, arrange your potatoes in concentric circles or as close to numerous flat layers as possible. Layer a few pats of butter on the top layer of potatoes. Then, carefully pour your bechamel sauce onto the potatoes: pour along the sides of the dish as well so you can see it seeping into the bottom, and wherever there are cracks so it goes into all the layers. Place in the oven to cook for 45 minutes, after which you can take it out, top with bacon bits, and put back into the oven for another 10 minutes, at which point it should be done. The gratin is cooked when all the potatoes are soft and cooked through, so you can stick a fork through at the 40, 50, even 60 minute mark because different people's ovens cook differently so the cooking time may vary. Serve warm!

* Note: We used these spices because we had them on hand. I could also see 1/4 tsp of Nutmeg tasting delicious, or a little Red Chili Powder for extra spice. Play with the spices, add the ones you like and the amount you want to taste.

The Coming of Fall

     There is one reason I've been waiting for fall. For coldness and chilly toes and red noses (my nose gets very red when it's cold, all the time. It's a curse.) I have been waiting to be able to turn my oven onto 400 degrees for an hour and more without my apartment getting like a sauna. And I've been waiting to do this for one special reason: Roast Chicken.

     There is something about fall weather that calls out roast chicken to me. Maybe its the sudden thunderstorms of Philly that keep getting me soaked and cold, or the long dreary gray walks under sunless skies, but a perfectly golden roast chicken with crispy skin and moist insides just sounds better and better all the time. Which is why I made a roast chicken on Thursday night.

 

     But let me tell you, this was not any roast chicken. This was a celebration dinner with my friend KK who was visiting. It was also an opportunity to roast lovely slices of sweet potato underneath the chicken, so they could catch all the chicken drippings. Deliciousness. It was a roast chicken that was accompanied by the Disney movie Tangled because that is what grown up chicken-roasting college girls watch. And it was the most perfect roast chicken I have ever eaten.

     Partially, it's the recipe. I use Nigella Lawson's super simple roast chicken recipe: stick half a lemon inside the chicken, massage its breast with butter and salt and pepper, and place it in a 400 degree oven: that's it. But maybe it was me using an entire lemon instead of half, or brining the chicken for an hour before roasting it, or the accidental purchase of the best chicken at the store- but this roast chicken turned out to be the moistest chicken I (and KK) have ever eaten.

     I cannot even fathom telling you how good it was. You will just have to make it yourself, cut through that crispy skin into the succulent meat because both dark and white were equally delicious, and find out for yourself the perfection in the simplicity. Then find out again the next day when you make roast chicken sandwiches out of the leftovers and sit there chewing on the couch going: Ahhhh who knew leftover chicken could be so delicious.

Simple Roast Chicken
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat

1 Whole Chicken for Roasting
Salt
Sugar 
Cloves (optional) 
1 small Lemon 
1 tbsp Butter
Pepper

This recipe starts with buying a whole chicken for roasting. Once you bring it home, if you are planning to cook it the same or the next day, take out its giblets and stick it straight into a large bowl filled with water, a tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and 2 cloves (optional). If the chicken is for the next day, cover it and place it in the fridge in its brining bowl. (Whenever you plan to cook the chicken, try to brine it overnight before because this means it stays extra moist.) If you are cooking the chicken the same day, try to let it sit in its brine for at least an hour, to get it all moistened up.

Once you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Take the chicken out of the water, allowing all the water inside it to drain out. Pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels because otherwise the skin won't get crisp. Next, stuff a small lemon inside the chicken (I tend to look at my chicken first and then go out and buy the largest lemon I think will fit inside it). Once that is done, take half of your tablespoon of butter and massage it into the chicken Under the skin of the breast into the meat itself. Take the rest of the butter and rub it around on the skin of the chicken. Then, sprinkle a little salt and pepper onto your hand, and massage that under the skin into the breast of the chicken. Get yourself a little more salt and pepper and rub it over the rest of the chicken. You don't need a lot, just a sprinkling.

Once the chicken is duly massaged, place it on a roasting rack on top of a roasting pan and into the oven. Nigella says it takes 15 minutes per pound plus ten minutes. I generally have my chicken in the oven for about an hour, and the best way of checking if its done is to stick a knife into it and see if the juices coming out are red (not done) or clear (done!).

Note: I never roast my chicken alone. In the roasting pan, I generally spread a generous amount of olive oil. I either cube up russet potatoes or slice sweet potatoes thinly and then turn them around in the olive oil so they get nice and coated. I try to spread them apart in a single layer, then I sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and some spices if I have anything (generally a little paprika and red chili powder on potatoes, and cinnamon and a little bit of honey over the sweet potatoes). If you have a large chicken, the vegetables will probably be done before the chicken, so take them out about 45-50 minutes into cooking time regardless of your chicken. Leftover roast veggies go great in roast chicken sandwiches!