The Philosophy of Food, Issue #017: Suicide Cookies

It's taking me longer than I thought to get my latest project completed, so I figured I'd share some photos of something I made last Spring: Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Sounds epic, doesn't it?

The Ingredients
-Home made chocolate chip cookie dough.
-Double-Stuff Oreos

The Process
Encase Oreos in cookie dough.  Bake as normal.

There was technically a recipe I used, but these basic instructions about sums it up.

I use a potato masher in lieu of a mixer. . . because I don't have one.

Pictured: the blackest of sorcery.

I have to admit, it was tempting not to just eat them as is. . .

The Results

 I'll just let the pictures do the talking. . .

Pictured: enough black magic to alter history permanently.

I didn't quite get the hang of using a consistent amount of dough, so the cookies varied a bit in size.

Be warned: one bite is enough to obliterate your soul.

Philosophy of Food, Issue #016: FEAST!

This is it folks.  The ultimate in nostalgia dishes.  Roast chicken the way my mother used to make it.  A slightly modified version of a recipe from the New York Times Cook Book.

The Ingredients
-1 four-pound chicken at room temperature.
-1/2 lemon.
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
-1 small onion, peeled.
-Herbs: I used 1/4 tsp. of rosemary, 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. flaked parsley, and a bay leaf.

The arsenal is assembled.

The Process

This will be delicious.

Locked and loaded.

 First of all, I have an admission to make.  I forgot to get lemons.  If you happen to remember to stock up, you're to rub the inside of the chicken with half of a lemon before sprinkling it with salt and pepper.  I then applied the herbs to the cavity of the chicken before shoving in the funny parts (neck, liver, etc) and then capping it with what was really a medium sized onion.  At that point we put the whole thing in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees F.) and let it bake for about eighty-five minutes.  According to the recipe, it will be done when the leg moves easily up and down.

The Result
I owe my mother an apology for all the times I made a fuss about having chicken for dinner.  This is a tasty tasty dish.  Adding the onion is supposed to help keep the bird moist on the inside while it cooks crispy on the outside.  I've never made a whole chicken any other way, but it seems to accomplish this nicely.  Also, the funny parts I cooked inside were tastey, and a bit of a change of pace.

I also invited a friend over to share this experiment, and we made a bit of a feast of it.  Look and see!

Because it is metaphysically impossible to go wrong with mashed potatoes.

What's this?  Sazerac504 is willingly imbibing green beans!?

Not exactly.  Fresh edamame!  With chicken?  Why not!

The finished bird.

Sazerac504 vs the Bird.

C'mon, this isn't brain surgery. . .

But seriously, I've never carved a chicken before.

Success?  Success.

Dinner is served.

The leftovers were frozen and will, at a future date, be made into soup.  No worries folks, I'll be sure to share.

The Philosophy of Food, Issue #015: Epic Mac 'n Cheese!

Howdy folks!  I have been long absent from blogging for a number of reasons (which I will not bore you with).  Long story short, I'm going to try and resume updating.

For my great return we're going to be making something fairly simple, but delicious.  Mac 'n cheese.

The Ingredients
-Macaroni noodles.
-Shredded cheddar cheese.
-Milk.
-Butter.
-Flour.
-Cajun spice (optional).
-Beef stock (optional).

The Process
First off, a note: exact measurements are for pussies.

I'm (mostly) kidding.  But, I really don't typically measure out the cheese, butter, or noodleage for this recipe.  You have been warned.

Step one: start your water boiling for the noodles and your milk heating up for the cheese sauce at the same time.  Unless you are magic and can find some other way of making sure that the cheese sauce will be ready at the same time as the noodles.  In my experience, the time it takes to prepare the cheese sauce is dreadfully inconsistent, hence my suggested use of sorcery.  I generally use around one cup of milk.  Also, a note: I'm not going to tell you how to boil macaroni step by step.  I will, however, tell you that a hard boil means a HARD boil.  No one wants half-cooked noodles.

Step two:  addeth the cheese.  I generally use this much, more or less:

Actually, you might want to use more.

Stir in the cheese, and keep stirring or you'll wind up with burnt crud on the bottom of your pot.  Once the cheese is pretty melted in there, go ahead and toss in a bit of flour.  Just a pinch or so.

Step three:  Once the sauce has cooked down a little, add in the beef stock.  I used 1/4 cup.  This is something of an experiment for me.  Almost a whim.

Step four:  Once the noodles are ready, butter them up (I use around 1 tablespoon of butter) and pour in the cheese sauce.  At this point toss in any seasoning or spice you want to use.  I used this much Tony Chacherie's:

Mhm.

Step five:  Nom.

The Results
Disaster! (not really).

The cheese sauce didn't cook down enough in time, either because I didn't use enough cheese or. . . because it's finicky that way.  I added the sauce to the noodles as usual and just let the mix cook down a little more.  I still served it a little more liquidy than usual, but it was still delicious.

The beef broth added a tiny bit of flavor.  Not sure I'd do it again, but it wasn't bad.  A friend has recommended that I do something similar with beer.  Part of me is hesitant, but the other part of me knows that beer is magic.

Just a little soupy, ne?

Still delicious!