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drunkpenguin: have a cup of tea. (you whore) This

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:42:50 -0500

drunkpenguin:

have a cup of tea.

(you whore)

This

I heart this. Like whoa.

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:20:06 -0400

I heart this. Like whoa.

I’m eating this. I am happy.

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:03:23 -0400

I’m eating this. I am happy.

Awwwww. Poor donut.

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:47:39 -0400

Awwwww. Poor donut.

Spring = Strawberry Shortcake.

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 23:51:00 -0400

So, spring time happened today in Chicago. Like, whoa. I don’t know why, but on the first really nice day of the year I crave two things, outside drinking and strawberry shortcake. Since the street festivals haven’t quite started yet in Chicago, I had to (and gladly) settle on the latter. I ran to the store for whipping cream, strawberries and eggs. I completely forgot the eggs and couldn’t stand the idea of going back to the store to get them. My neighborhood grocery store is ridiculous on Sunday…I avoid it at all costs. So, I spent the day experimenting with no-egg cake batters. I finally worked this out, and it’s kind of amazingly worth it.

Strawberry Shortcake:

Pound Cake Ingredients:

1 pound fresh strawberries

5 tablespoons sugar (for strawberries)

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick butter (softened)

1 recipe whipping cream (below)

Pound Cake Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder until combined. In a large bowl, blend the vinegar, milk, vanilla, and butter until combined. (The butter will still be lumpy, and that’s ok.) Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend until the mixture fluffs up a bit. 4-5 minutes should work fine.

Prepare a baking pan by greasing with butter and lightly coating with flour. (I used a 9”x6”x4” loaf pan). Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes. Test the center with a toothpick or knife to check doneness.

Let cool before removing from pan.

While the cake is baking, prepare the strawberries. Remove the stems/leaves and slice. Mix with 5 tablespoons sugar. Refrgerate until ready to use.

Ingredients for Whipping Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipping Cream Preparation:

Beat all ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Best if made immediately before serving.

And done! This was damn tasty and, by the way, crazy cheap to make too.

Here’s a few pictures of my friends enjoying this here cake. William said the strawberries need more sugar….sooooo…..take that into account. Maybe?

Thanks for reading!

I am soooo making these. prettyfoods: Chocolate Kiwi...

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:35:09 -0400

I am soooo making these.

prettyfoods:

Chocolate Kiwi Popsicles (via ShowFood Chef)

zlot: This picture contains two of the three greatest breakfast...

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:25:54 -0400

zlot:

This picture contains two of the three greatest breakfast foods: eggs benedict and hash browns. I have a girlboner right now. (Fun fact: I grew up in a small town in Ohio and thus didn’t eat eggs benedict until I was 22 years old. Needless to say: I now make up for lost time.)

(The third best breakfast food is bacon. Duh.)

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:43:00 -0400

My friend wanted me to post this recipe because he thinks I’m a culinary genius. His words, not mine. Though he is, more or less, accurate.

Ok, not really. This is ridiculously easy to make and damn tasty though. Obviously you can use whatever ingredients you want. This time around I used chicken, green onion, red bell pepper, snow peas, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms. The recipe calls for fried chicken cubes which is amazing but I like to pretend I’m healthy every once in a while and just go with sauteed chicken strips.

Make sure to get your prep done for everything first and then you can just fly through the cooking process.

For the veg, slice the mushrooms, red bell peppers and onions. Finely mince the garlic and grate the ginger, and be sure to remove the strings from the snow peas. (Trust me, it makes all the difference.)

Slice the chicken breasts into even strips.

The sauce is the best part of this: Start with the corn starch and add a tablespoon or so of the chicken broth so the corn starch doesnt clump. Mix it well and then add the rest of the broth and the other ingredients (sambal, soy sauce, sugar).

Start the sauce in the sauce pan, bring to a boil. Meanwhile, drizzle a skillet with olive oil and start sauteeing your chicken strips on medium to medium-high heat. After the sauce boils reduce to a simmer and cook. (You’re waiting for the sauce to thicken up).

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and dump the oil. With a fresh drizzle of olive oil, throw in and sautee your veg. Remember it’s a stir fry and you want your veggies to be crisp so all you need is two, maybe three minutes tops.

Add your sauce and chicken and mix it well.

At this point, all you’re waiting for is the sauce to thicken and stick to all your ingredients. Feel free to add a bit more corn starch to help thicken. A little goes a long way. Just be sure not to overcook because a stir fry with mushy veggies is stupid, yo.

Finished! In all honesty, I should have let the sauce thicken a bit more, and served on rice buuuuuuut my friend Matty Q showed up and we had some major drinking to partake in. BTW, this is the best end of the night, partied too hard food ever!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts, cut into strips (Cubed and 3-step breaded if you’re going to fry)

3 Green Onions

1 Red Bell Pepper

1/2 Cup Snow Peas (Strings removed)

1/2 Cup Mushrooms, sliced

2 Cloves Garlic, fine mince

1 1/2 Tablespoons Ginger, peeled and grated

2 Teaspoons Sambal

1 14.5 oz Can Chicken Stock

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

3 Teaspoons Corn Starch

2 Teaspoons Sugar

Preparation:

Mix ingredients for sauce and bring to a boil in saucepan. Reduce to simmer. Sautee chicken breasts and remove from pan. Set aside. Sautee veg until warmed, add chicken and sauce, and cook until sauce thickens and coats ingredients.

Serve on a bed of rice.

WANT

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:48:03 -0400

WANT

"You ever heard of a birthday…FISH? No, did your dad ever take you on a CAKING trip?"

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:41:33 -0400

“You ever heard of a birthday…FISH?
No, did your dad ever take you on a CAKING trip?”

- Kitchen Confidential

My coworker and I were talking about how much better mini things...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:54:03 -0400

My coworker and I were talking about how much better mini things are than their regular sized, boring counterparts. Chocolate chip cookies seem to be no exception. Especially when one of them looks like a cookie baby seal.

Anybody that actually knows me, or at least follows my bitching...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:32:00 -0400

Anybody that actually knows me, or at least follows my bitching on twitter (@ubershibbydude), knows that I just worked my ass off for my purchasing class this last quarter. I had to conceptualize a restaurant, create a menu (4 apps, 3 salads, 3 soups, 8 entrees, and 4 desserts), provide recipes for each item, and provide an inventory to make 50 of each menu item. I also had to create product specifications for the two main ingredients in each item. It was a pain in my ass and all I had to look forward to was after: when I would make this.

I saw this recipe in Bon Apetit about two days after hearing about the project from hell. After exclaiming “Fuck me, yes!” on a crowded CTA bus, I pulled out my notebook to start jotting down ideas for my menu. Trust that this chocolatey orangey goodness was there. I had to mix things up a bit, giving the option of raspberry or blueberry creams. (Did you know all you have to do is change two things on a recipe to call it your own and avoid plagiarism?)

Long story aside, I really want to make this. Maybe this weekend?

If you want to try it yourself, and possibly beat me to the punch, click the pic to be linked to the recipe via epicurious.com.

This is just too perfect not to be my first post. Buffy and...

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:44:46 -0400

This is just too perfect not to be my first post. Buffy and Thanksgiving. My favorite of all things. I’ll get a bit more serious later. I just needed a first post.