Recipe of the Week and Random Bits of News

First, random bits o' news: I'm officially back to full-time work (bad news for quality time with Sean, good news for our bank account); David sent us an awesome, random present that promises to transport things, entertain both of us, and clothe Sean; Steve barfed on the carpet again; it got to 112 degrees in Citrus Heights yesterday; I made my first-ever grilled tri-tip last night, and it turned out very well.

Now for the recipe, reprinted without permission from http://www.cookandeat.com/:

strawberry semifreddo
(serves 8)

ingredients

• 1 pint of fresh strawberries, stems and caps removed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 eggs, separated

directions

1. Mash the strawberries well (I used a potato masher). Set aside.
2. Whip the cream until it is firm. Cover and refrigerate.
3. Combine the sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks in the bowl of a mixer and beat until it is thick and pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Move to a large metal bowl, cover and set aside.
4. Beat the egg whites in a clean mixer bowl until you get soft peaks.
5. Fold the whipped cream into the egg yolk mixture. Then, fold in the egg whites, trying not to deflate them.
6. Fold in the strawberry puree, mixing just enough to get some nice swirls and streaks but not a solid pink color.
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. You’ll need to freeze it for well over an hour for more of an ice cream texture. Note: If frozen overnight, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes before trying to scoop it.
   

responses

Sean said: "Mmmm."

Sarah said: "I would make this again."

Carrie McChesney said: "Light and fresh."

Dan McChesney said: "Like a light ice cream."

critique

I enjoyed this dessert very much, and I would make only a few minor changes. One is that I would probably macerate the strawberries in a teaspoon or two of sugar before mashing them, because they were a bit tart in the sweet, dairy part of the dessert. I would also suggest setting out the dessert for closer to 20 or 30 minutes after being frozen overnight, because otherwise it's a bit too icy in the middle. I ended up pouring the whole thing into a plastic wrap-lined loaf pan due to personal preference, which made for pretty slices. Those of you who know me well know I tend to like very sweet things, but this is one dessert I've found that had a minimal amount of sugar and was still very satisfying (especially with Belgian butter cookies from Trader Joe's).

Recipe of the Week: Lemon Linguine with Spinach and Pine Nuts

This week's recipe was a bit of a flop. Oh well; that's what I get for trusting the Interweb.

lemon linguine with spinach and pine nuts
(serves 6)

• 1 pound linguine
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup minced shallot or onion
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 8 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• grated Parmesan cheese

preparation

1. In a large stockpot, cook linguine according to package directions or to taste.
2. Meanwhile, a large, deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add shallots, sun-dried tomatoes, and grated lemon zest; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
4. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
5. Drain linguine and add to skillet. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper, tossing over medium heat to combine.
6. Place spinach in large bowl.
7. Add hot linguine mixture to spinach, tossing to combine.
8. Throw pine nuts over the top and add cheese to taste, or pass pine nuts and cheese at the table.

responses

Sean said: "...." Sarah said: "This isn't terribly good, but it's not inedible."

critique

There just wasn't enough seasoning in this dish. In fact, I only used 8 ounces of pasta; I can't imagine how tasteless it would have been if I had used a whole pound. It probably could have used a lot more garlic and sun-dried tomato, and maybe some red chili flakes for interest. I might try it again and play with the seasoning a bit.

Recipe of the Week: Beef and Andouille Burgers

So, as Sean mentioned in our last post, I have tons (more like 400-500 than 150) of recipes I've set aside to try. I get them from magazines, cookbooks, the internet, and people I know. They've started piling up to a point where I felt as though I'd never get through them all, so I've decided to not compile any more recipes and instead focus on making at least one new recipe a week. It's going well so far, so I've decided I would announce it to the world and commit myself to the project. In fact, I've made more than one new recipe for the past couple of weeks. I'll try to get pictures of the food, but it's hard with some dishes to get a good picture and still get it on the table at the right temperature. For my official "launch," I present you with a recipe from Bon Appétit's cookbook (borrowed from the library):

beef and andouille burgers with asiago cheese

(serves 6)

ingredients

4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
8 ounces andouille sausages, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds ground beef (15% fat)
2 large shallots, minced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
6 large sesame-seed hamburger buns
6 1/3-inch-thick slices red onion
Olive oil
1 cup coarsely grated Asiago cheese**
1 7- to 7 1/2-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

preparation

1. Finely chop sun-dried tomatoes by hand or in a small food processor. Blend in mayonnaise and mustard. Transfer to a small bowl. (The mixture can be made one day ahead; cover and chill).


2. Finely chop sausage in food processor and transfer to a large bowl. Add beef, shallots, salt, pepper, and fennel seeds. Stir with fork just until blended. Form mixture in to six 1-inch-thick patties.


3. Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Grill hamburger buns until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to platter. Brush onion slices on both sides with oil and sprinkle one side with salt and pepper. Grill until golden, about 7 minutes per side. Grill hamburgers to desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Sprinkle cheese over top of burgers.


4. Spread cut sides of hamburger buns with sun-dried-tomato mayonniase. Top bottom halves of buns with hamburgers, then red peppers. Top with onion slices. Cover with top halves of buns and serve.

responses

Sean said: "One of the best burgers I've ever had."

Sarah said: "Pretty good."

recipe critique

I omitted the roasted red peppers because they just didn't sound appealing for this recipe. I did use the asiago cheese, but we couldn't really taste it on top of all the other flavors; for this reason, I would say it's unnecessary to the recipe and adds unneeded calories. Also, I got "Cajun" style andouille sausage, which was probably the wrong choice. Although Sean loved the taste, I thought the seasoning in the sausage competed with the other seasonings in the recipe. I would probably use mild Italian sausage next time, because it's easier to find and less aggressively seasoned. Also, I found the amount of mayonniase mixture to be inadequate. The sun-dried tomatoes reduce the spreading capacity, so I would probably double that part of the recipe next time. Finally, since Sean and I were eating alone, I froze 2/3 of the prepared patty mix. I'll let you know how it goes when I use the remaining mix.

Sorry About The Slow Update...

I haven't posted anything for a while because I was waiting for one teacher to post my final grade for last semester, which he did today.

So, last semester went very well. I got an A in my math, health and Photoshop class and a B in my modern art history class. I start summer school June 8th and will be taking swimming @ 5:45 AM (whee!) Mon-Thurs., as well as beginners astronomy and economics. Summer school ends August 7th and then I will have five classes in Fall starting August 22nd; so I will have a little break.

Sarah is working more hours at Northwest Exteriors because business is picking up again, which is great. She has also recently organized all of her recipes as well as grabbed 150 new ones (maybe more)and has started putting them in a binder with pictures. She estimates that we can have something new each week for the next five years or so.

We recently got new "blackout" curtains for our bedroom as well as a sofa/bed for our office. The curtains are awesome! They block out 99% of all light and they make our room really dark at night; I highly recommend them to everyone. Wal-Mart+$22 per panel=awesome. Our sofa/bed came from Ikea and will enable us to watch free TV from our computor comfortably as well as allow people to stay with us overnight. It is small, lightweight, cheap, new, and has no metal bars to stick in your back when you are sleeping! You can't for anything more.

We have gone on a few hikes lately, one with friends, and the other alone. We also went to Stinson Beach with Becky, John and Roshni for lunch. I stepped in poo on the beach (barefoot), that was fun. What more can be said other than we love hiking and we love our friends? Nothing more. :)

We also got a bicycle for Sarah from Craigslist for $40. We have been riding together for the past week to get in better shape and we really enjoy it. The time goes by quikly and we get a great cardio workout.

BIG NEWS! Steve barfed a hairball the other day and we got him to do it on tile! Normally he does it on the carpet which makes it very difficult to clean, but this time we were able to grab him when he was making his "barf noises" and take him to the bathroom tile floor. I realize it's gross to talk about cat barf, but when you have a cat that always barfs on the carpet, never on tile, you would get excited too if it finally made it to tile. :)

Not much else is going on. I am still volunteering on highschool staff at church and Sarah has started doing "greeting" a couple weekends a month too.