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!

Sweet Nostalgia, Issue #003: Brunch!

A quick revisit of brunch.  I used a little more bell peppers, and tossed in half a chopped andouille sausage for kicks.  I also decided to fry the eggs instead of scrambling them.  Egg rings are super helpful for this, just make sure you grease them well.  Nonstick is a lie.

Raw fries. . . I swear, I'm gonna par cook some potatoes and do home fries right one of these days.

MAGIC!

Your Craft Epic Breakfast skill has increased +1.0 points.

Philosophy of Food, Issue #014: Crepes!

I didn't use an original recipe for this one, so I'll just link you to where I pulled it from.


The resulting crepes didn't have much of a sweetness to them, but were very good served with a bit of brown sugar.  In the future I'll certainly try experimenting with other ingredients.  I'm working on some home made vanilla extract that might be a good addition, and I've thought of using cold coffee instead of water to give them a little added flavor.

Enjoy.

Philosophy of Food, Issue #013: Bunchity Brunch Brunch

I made brunch.  It was tasty.  I shall share my tasty with the world!

The Ingredients
-2 slices thick cut bacon.
-1 small russet potato, chopped.
-1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped.
-A couple strips of red bell pepper, chopped.
-2 eggs.
-Creole seasoning.
-Butter.

The Process

Part of a balanced. . . and cooking. . .breakfast.  Okay, I admit it.  This picture was staged.  I mean, who'd put their coffee that close to sizzling bacon?

I think I'll use a little more bell pepper next time.

Bacon is magic.

The very first thing I would do is chop up your onions, potatoes, and peppers.  Then butter a small frying pan and dump in the veggies.  Sprinkle with as much Creole seasoning as you care for.  Cook at a low-to-medium heat.  Then start frying up the bacon in a larger frying pan.  When the bacon is good and fried, pour off most of the grease and scramble up the eggs.  Sprinkle the pan with some Creole seasoning first, and sprinkle some onto the eggs once they're added to the pan for maximum seasoning.  I like to cook the eggs fast, so they're still a little bit runny on the inside.

If your timing works out anything like mine, the potatoes-onions-and-peppers should be ready at about the same time as your eggs are done.

The Results

Brunch is served!

  A delicious, classic breakfast.  There's bacon.  There's eggs.  There's something resembling home fries.  Technically, they're raw fries.  Home fries are made with par cooked potatoes, which is something I've been meaning to try out.

The Philosophy of Food, Issue #012: Beef-and-Vegetable Stew/Chili Thing

This is something I haven't made for a long time.  Not since undergrad.  It was born out of an attempt to do something dignified with beans and has evolved to become. . . okay, I'm not going to lie, this is basically my krupnik recipe sans barley.

The Ingredients:
-2 15 oz cans of chili beans.
-3 slices of bacon.
-2 medium yellow onions, chopped.
-Brown sugar.
-1 lb stew beef.
-1 large can of stewed tomatoes.
-Creole seasoning.
-Beer.
-Beef Stock.
-2 medium russet potatoes, cubed.

The Process

Is it edible?  Toss it in the pot!

Okay.  I'm not going to lie.  The basic instructions for this dish are "toss stuff in a pot and boil it 'till it's done."  The important bits are that you use beans, beef, and beer.  The more detailed instructions follow.

Fry up your bacon and prepare the onions as per pretty much everything I've made since stoofvlees.  Crumble bacon and add it, and the caramelized onions to a stew pot along with. . . everything but the potatoes.  For my own mix I used two bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale and a little less than half a 32 oz carton of beef stock, but the important thing here is to cover the solids by an inch or two.  Also, use a liberal amount of Creole seasoning.  I used all my leftover homemade seasoning in addition to a hefty amount of spicy Tony Chacharie's, and it was perfect.

Bring it to a boil and cook for an hour.  There's not barley in this dish, so you don't have to worry as much about stirring, but don't neglect it.  After an hour add in the cubed potatoes and cook it for another hour.

Enjoy.

The Results

Aside from the level going down, this really doesn't look that much different from when it started. . .

Delicious and simple, if time consuming.  You can use ground beef instead of stew meat if you want, and ground turkey works just as well.  The bacon is optional.  The onions can be added raw or sauteed in butter and the dish will come out fine.  Other veggies, such as carrots and celery, can also be added.  I didn't this time because my celery had gone bad. . . been a little too long since I made krupnik.

I promise you, it shall be tasty!