Ali's Chocolate Cake

Tonight's dessert is dedicated to Ali at the Verizon Help Desk, who saved me from utterly losing my schmidt when the VPN connection wouldn't work on the new laptop. To Ali, who went off script when he realized how upset I was, cracked a few jokes, and when all was resolved and I was gushing thanks and offered to make him a cake, he reminded me he was in India, but that I should make the cake anyway. He didn't care for Nutella, thank you, plain chocolate would be fine.

I happen to make a chocolate cake that is by no means plain. It comes from the Feb 2009 edition of Martha Stewart Living, "Cupcakes for All Occasions."

So it's a cupcake recipe but I almost always make it as a sheet cake. This is the cake the kids take into school on their birthdays. This is the cake I make when I get the sudden impulse, "Hmm, I think I'll make a cake." I've made it so many times that page 148 of the magazine is crumpled and sticky with translucent fingerprints. At this point, I can make it in my sleep. I love this cake and this cake loves me. 

You will love it too. If you don't love it, send it to me. I will love it and it will love me back.

By the way, did I mention you can make this cake in ONE bowl and ONE measuring cup. Watch. It's amazing.

Ali's One-Bowl Chocolate Cake à la Helpdesk

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam (or prep your cupcake tin)

Get a liquid measuring cup, this will be your holding tank: measure 3/4 cup buttermilk. (If you don't have buttermilk, regular milk is fine or regular milk with a little plain yogurt or sour cream mixed in. I've made it with all these things, it's fine no matter what. I promise.)

Throw 2 tablespoons safflower oil into the measuring cup. (The original recipe does say safflower oil. I have used canola or whatever vegetable oil I had to hand and it's all fine. I make this cake so often now that I did go out and buy safflower oil especially for it.)

Crack 2 eggs into the measuring cup

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla into the measuring cup.  Put measuring cup aside and proceed.

Get one (1) big mixing bowl out. (The white one pictured below, by the way, was my mother's, the mixing bowl of my childhood, and I will keep it forever and give it to Pandagirl or Redman. If they don't want it, please bury me with it.)

Put a strainer over a mixing bowl. Measure in:

  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder*
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt.

Now listen to me, I'm going to get a little evangelical. Thou shalt use Hershey Special Dark cocoa powder. It will be thy cocoa powder and thou shalt have no other cocoa powders before it.

Sift all dry ingredients down into the mixing bowl. Make a little well in the center of your dry ingredients and start whisking in the contents of the measuring cup. Take the cup over to the sink, measure 3/4 cup warm water, whisk that in too until combined. There will be lumps.

Pour into baking dish or fill cup tins 2/3 full. Bake cupcakes 20 minutes. Bake full cake for 30-35 minutes. The top should be springy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes if you can hold back the masses.

If you use the Special Dark cocoa powder (stern look) the cake will be a dark brown that is nearly black. In fact, if you put the cake down on your black granite countertops it will practically (audience lets out collective ooh) disappear (audience lets out collective ahh).

This cake needs nothing. But if you are so inclined, a generous blob of whipped cream islovely. In fact this combination is what Hostess cakes wish they could taste like if only they weren't filled with things no one can pronounce. But they have to have those things so they can stay for 6 months on the shelf until somebody buys them whereas a child can make this cake fresh in less than an hour.

Powdered sugar sprinkled on top of the cake is a nice touch but make sure it's completely cooled otherwise the sugar will melt and turn brown. If you are craft-oriented and feeling especially creative you can do something Martha Stewartesque like punch different-size holes in a piece of paper, lay the paper on top of the cake before sifting powdered sugar thereupon, and when you remove the paper you have lovely powdered sugar circles on your cake and everyone will go "ooooohaaaaah..."

But really, I like it best plain with a glass of milk...at around 3 in the morning.

Corn and Seafood Chowder

I totally made this up. I hope I can recreate it. Jeeps has a charming expression for this kind of cuisine...let's jut say he wants me to publish a cookbook called, From My Ass to Your Table. 

Har har.

This dish came to be because last time I was in the frozen food aisle of Trader Joe's, I remembered to get roasted sweet corn, and then I saw langoustines.

Gesundheit.  

Langoustines are crustaceans that looks like tiny lobsters. I put a bag in my cart thinking something interesting could be done with them and the corn, and also because I'd seen an interesting recipe with langoustines on Stacey Snacks.  Or maybe I'd dreamed that because when I went back to her site and searched, I couldn't find what I thought I'd seen.

Don't you hate that?

So I had frozen langoustines. I had frozen roughy. I had frozen shrimp. I had frozen scallops. And I had a hot husband asking for soup. Thus was born:

Corn and Seafood Chowder

I defrosted all the seafood in the fridge during the day, then drained it and cut the roughy into chunks. Besides these assorted fruits de mer of your choice, you will need:

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced (the other half from when you made Hoppin' John)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • Pinch saffron threads
  • Dill (fresh or dried), and paprika
  • Frozen corn (Hoppin' John left me with half a bag so I used that)
  • Milk and half-and-half, or heavy cream
  • Bottled clam juice (which I did not have although I made a desperate run to our local specialty deli in the hopes she would have it. She didn't, and don't get me started on there not being any good place around here where one can dash to get out-of-the-ordinary items, it's a post for another day)

Prep and dice all the veggies. In your soup pot (I used Madame LeCreuset), get some olive oil and a pat of butter going. Add the onion, carrot and celery first, saute 5 minutes, then add the garlic, pepper and potatoes. Saute another 5 minutes, then add water to just cover (about 2 cups). Add pinch of saffron threads.

Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add roughy, shrimp, langoustines, and scallops.

Sprinkle seafood with dill and paprika, cover again and simmer at least another 5 minutes, until fish flakes and shrimp are opaque.

Add the corn, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons sherry and stir. The clam juice would've come in here if I'd had it. I tasted and fiddled with the salt to get it where I wanted it.  

This was one of those recipes where at the end, I am trawling the fridge with one half of me thinking hm, maybe a splash of lime juice, or what about some halved cherry tomatoes? And the other half is yelling LEAVE IT ALONE!

I left it alone, sprinkled a little parsley, and it was pretty damn good.  

Now I know what you're all thinking... OK, maybe not all of you, but I know what my friend Stacie is thinking: did my kids eat this?

(Haughty expression) Puh-leeze. I am a foodie. I am raising foodies. I encourage, nay, I insist my children expand and educate their palates and I make no concessions to picky eaters, thank you very much, what is on the table is what is being served and OH F**K NO, THEY DIDN'T EAT IT!

Yes, I made them scrambled eggs. Lame, but some nights you just want to eat your damn fish soup in peace. And when Redman patted my arm and said happily, "Mom, you make the best dinners," well, you see my point.

Pandagirl at least tried a few spoonfuls and admitted it didn't suck. There's hope.

Hoppin' John

This is not true hoppin' John. One, it has neither bacon nor sausage. Two, it has a host of other ingredients that have no business in authentic hoppin' John, but which I add to make it appeal to the shorter people who live in this house. Still it makes a great side dish or even a main course if you are in a vegetarian state of mind. I served it over rice tonight, along with roasted broccoli and brown-sugar glazed salmon. Along with my apologies and all due respect to the authorities on southern cooking. Think of it as a lighter, keener hoppin' John. Skippin' John. You might even call it Dancin' John, although I don't know if he'd appreciate that.

Hoppin' John

  • 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 3/4 cup frozen corn 
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander

Heat olive oil and a pat of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, celery, carrot, and red pepper. Saute another 5 minutes. Add cumin, coriander and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional). Add black-eyed peas and corn, stir to combine. Lower heat, cover, and cook another ten minutes. Before serving, add some chopped scallions and chopped parsley. Serve over white rice.

Best Bar Nuts, Bar None

Taking off for the weekend. I made Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts for the car ride...

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  • 18 ounces (2-1/4 cups) assorted unsalted nuts
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 teaspoons Maldon's sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary,coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread nuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until they are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, cayenne, sea salt, brown sugar, and rosemary. Thoroughly combine toasted nuts with the spiced butter and serve warm.

Enjoy!

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Roast Chicken

“There is nothing like roast chicken. It is helpful and agreeable, the perfect dish no matter what the circumstances. Elegant or homey, a dish for a dinner party or a family supper; it will not let you down.”
— "Roast Chicken", from More Home Cooking, by Laurie Colwin

Tonight I roasted a chicken and served it with sauteed sweet potatoes and edamame. I roast a chicken nearly every week. If I am particularly flush, I will roast two chickens and have the second to eat cold for lunches. Truthfully, I like cold roast chicken better than hot, and even more truthfully, I like cold roast chicken for breakfast better than lunch.

Enough confessions, darling, or else we shall fall madly in love and ruin everything.

I always struggled with time and temperature when it came to roasting, until Ms. Colwin showed me the way: 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I tried it once and have never looked back. Perfect roast chicken every time.

As for prep, I don't do anything fancy. Wash the bird in cold water and pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Moisture creates steam and ideally you want dry heat rather than steam, although it won't ruin your dinner.

Remove the bag of giblets and...do whatever you think you should do with it.  And speaking of which, here is an old Sprint PCS commercial that I LOVE. Even though the woman in the spot is regarding a Thanksgiving turkey, her delivery is spot-on.

You want me to put my hand in the what?

You want me to put my hand in the what?

Put your bird breast-up on the roasting rack in the roasting pan. Stuff the bird with a halved lemon, a thousand cloves of garlic (or less), and some sprigs of sage, rosemary, thyme, Simon or Garfunkle. Drizzle olive oil over the bird, rub into the skin, sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.

Roast at 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. When the leg bone wiggles in the joint and the thigh meat registers 165 degrees on a meat thermometer, it is done. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to let the juices settle. Carve and serve.

Carve. Hah. I cannot carve a chicken to save my life. Really. It's embarrassing. I usually fob the job off on a willing guest, or use kitchen shears, or tear the bird apart with my hands in private while unapologetically eating the roast chicken skin and the tail and the wingtips—with the privilege that comes from being the chef.

Roast Chicken.jpg

I also have a gravy problem but I'm in a support group. I'm doing OK. One lump at a time.

Now here's a little story about roast chicken. My mother, being the groovy foodie she is, gave me one of those baking dishes with the central cone so you can roast your chicken vertically, ensuring evenly crisp and beautiful skin. As per manufacturer's recommendation, the cone is filled up with ale and the chicken is sprinkled with salt and pepper.  

I was having company for dinner one night, so I roasted one chicken vertically, and had a second chicken roasted in the traditional way. Just so we could all make a comparison.

The consensus seemed to be that both chickens were equally delicious. The vertical roasted method did not produce evenly crisp and browned skin, rather the neck and shoulders were beautiful and from the waist down it was...not. Furthermore, the ale in the cone didn't seem to bring anything to the table.

My mom later tried roasting just a turkey breast in the vertical roaster and said it was a howling success. I trust her on these things. Furthermore, roasting just the turkey breast skirts the whole issue of, "You want me to put my hand in the what?!"

Sauteed Sweet Potatoes (with those....things)

Lima beans called. They want you back.

I never had a good relationship with limas since I was a kid. I spent a lot of time picking them out of frozen mixed vegetable medley and lining them up around the rim of my plate. 

There was one memorable time I ate dinner over my best friend Frank's house, and her mother, my dear Aunt Susan, served baked ham and lima beans. And salad, thank God—I had to eat the beans out of politeness and I discovered drowning them in the salad dressing made them palatable.

I'm still not crazy about them yet there are so many delicious-sounding recipes for lima beans out there that make me think I need to give them another chance. I think the best chance I can give is to grow them in my garden, that way they will be super fresh and stand an extra fighting chance. Hold that thought until May.

This recipe is from Padma Lakshmi's cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet (as am I). 

Recipes from the book were featured in a magazine that I shamelessly swiped from the dentist's office. I tried the one for keralan crab cakes which were awesome. And I've made this sweet potato dish twice but I confess: I've never made it with limas. I use edamame instead. And I've made a host of other adaptions because I typically don't stock the spices called for (or my family doesn't care for them). Also my kids are more accepting of a mix of regular and sweet potatoes.

Sauteed Sweet Potatoes and (Lima Beans)

  • 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (or half sweet, half regular potatoes like Yukon Gold or fingerling)
  • 1 pound frozen lima beans or edamame
  • 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds (which I have never found; I've either gone without or substituted 1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (I use 1 tsp ground cumin)
  • 1 dried whole red chili (I substitute a pinch of red pepper flakes)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 gloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (reach for your trusty jar or grate it fresh)
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

Boil the lima beans in enough water to just cover, 10-15 minutes. Drain. (Frozen, shelled edamame on the other hand will take only 5 minutes)

At the same time, boil the sweet potatoes in enough water to just cover them, until tender, about 25 minutes. Peel and dice once they are cool enough to touch.

Really, Padma? Really? Peel and dice after you boil them? Please. Swainma says peel and dice first, then steam the potatoes for the same amount of time. I will peel russet potatoes but for small ones like fingerlings I just scrub and dice them, skins and all.)

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds; when they pop and start to crackle out of the pan, add the cumin, red chili, onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir well. Let the onion turn golden brown, then add the limas/edamame and stir. Add the sweet potatoes.

Mix all ingredients well and saute about 5 minutes more to let the tastes mingle. Salt to taste. Add lemon/lime juice and stir. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

I made this with roast chicken tonight and it was delicious.  But here's an interesting observation: I'm a slow eater, usually last at the table, with the result that my food often goes cold. I noticed the colder this dish got, the better it tasted. I started to envision it as a cold salad instead of a hot side dish. And while it was nice with the chicken, the spices made me think it would be even better on the side of barbecued ribs or grilled lamb.

Hold that thought until May...

Lunch Advice for the Young at Heart

I work from home. Sounds like an anachronism, right? My husband also works from home. Now it gets interesting.

Anyway, working from home allows me to be there not only for my kids, but for my other girlfriends who are working mothers. Which is why today, our eleventy-first snow day of the year, I had five (5) children in my house including my own: three 10/11 girls and two 6/7 boys. (Since they are all into animal hats, they are identified as such.)   

Having my kids occupied with play dates actually makes it easier for Jeeps and I to work, we just have to stick our heads upstairs every now and then to gently remind them to stop screaming, or please not to run around near the artwork, or to suggest maybe it's a good time to go outside. Please. Now. Out.

You wouldn't believe what five jackets and five pairs of snow pants sound like in the dryer, nor how much food five kids can pack away, especially after playing outside in the snow. But my girlfriends are swell enough to have sent them over here with provisions. You can guess what they wanted for lunch. What do kids always seem to want for lunch?!

Someday I'm going to make mac n' cheese properly from scratch, but today it was Annie's to the rescue, along with some Nathan's hot dogs. But here's what was interesting. Around my dining room table sat five kids under the age of twelve, happily munching away their lunch, and talking about food. 

A large part of children's conversation seems to be survey-based: who like this? Who likes that? Raise your hand if you...? And true to form, these kids were polling each other about food. I was actually surprised to hear some of the commentary. I mean, there were the things you would expect: Brussels sprouts—disgusting. Lima beans—vomitrocious. 

"I have never eaten a turnip," offered up Koala, her tone clearly indicating she intended to continue on this way for life. Then Cat ventured, "I tried spinach. Spinach is actually pretty good."

"I love spinach pie," Panda swooned.

"I love spinach and pasta," replied Koala enthusiastically.

"Who likes Pierogies?" sang out Redman.

"I'm Polish, are you kidding," retorted Cat.

Koala: "What are Pierogies?"

Cat: "Pasta pockets with potatoes and cheese"

Koala: "Oh, they sound like gnocchi, have you ever had gnocchi? It's awesome."

Panda: "No." (Ahem, she's had gnocchi, she didn't like it, but there is nothing like a friend to up one's food game. Note to self: try gnocchi again)

Cat: "Who likes chili?"

A chorus of "Meeeeees."

Redman: "Who likes potato pancakes?"

Chorus of "Mmms," and then both Koala and Cat comment how much they liked the potato latkes at our Hanukkah party. But not the soup.

Dog (brother of Koala): "Who likes meatballs?"

Forest of hands raises above the table, followed by commentary on whose mother makes the best meatballs, and whether tomato sauce should be referred to as "sauce" or "gravy." 

(By this point, I am hiding in the kitchen writing this shit down.)

Panda: "Who likes tuna cakes?"

I cringe a little, thinking this will be induce a mass gag-reflex. But Koala asks politely, "What are they?"

Panda: "Well, they're..... OK, so like, you know how you make meatballs and you put in breadcrumbs and parmesan and an egg and seasonings and stuff? OK, so you do all that, but you use tuna fish. And you make little patties and you fry them in the pan. They're really good."

Koala: "Oh. Sort of like fish tacos?"

Redman: "Tacos are my favorite!"

Pause, and everyone yells, "Spaghetti tacos!!!!"

On and on it went, it was terrific! And here's something else impressive: Koala has tree nut allergies. For dessert I cut up some strawberries and grapes, and put them out with some cookies Cat brought—shortbread, and Chips Ahoy. I went back downstairs to work. A few minutes later, Koala comes downstairs with the wrapper from the shortbread cookies. She points to text in an enclosed box: Not suitable for people with nut allergies.

"That means me, right, I shouldn't have this." 

She wasn't really asking a question, she just wanted the second verification, but I was really impressed with how she knew to stop, think, and consult. 

"What about the Chips Ahoy?" I asked. 

"Those are fine, I have those all the time." She smiled and skipped back upstairs. A minute later, I heard Panda instructing her friends to bring the dishes over to the sink, leaving me with a sort of lump in my throat. In such an age of hover- and helicopter-parenting, I'm a firm believer that if you give them rules and guidelines and basic training, and then benignly get out of their way...the kids are all right.

I also believe in an alternate schedule instead of snowdays.  I would have no problem sending the kids to school from 12-6PM on a day of inclement weather.  Then again, easy for me to say that because I work from home.

By the way, I had two hot dogs for my lunch and they were awful good, but they made me thirsty as hell.  The kind of thirst that can only be truly assuaged by a beer. But I was working. Once you start drinking on the job, it's a fast road downhill.

Shtupping on the job is permissible. But only on lunch hour. On non-snowdays. With your spouse. Not with your employee/er. Or the poolboy.

This post was over 2 paragraphs ago, wasn't it?

(*Ahem*)

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf!

 

No, no, not you, sir. I meant...

Meatloaf!

Yeaaaaaaahhh. Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Paradise by the oven light.

Meatwoaf. That sacwed institution. That dweam wivvin a dweam....

Actually I feel ridiculous putting up a meatloaf recipe. In my mind, acquiring knowledge of meatloaf happens in one of three ways: 1) you get the recipe from your mother; or 2) you get it from some other significant person in your circle of family and friends; or 3) you buy a pound of ground beef and think "how hard can this be?" and after successive trial and error, you arrive at your own personal meatloaf that you then make by rote until someone asks you how. Then you think about it.

I made meatloaf the way my mother taught me, which was via a series of notes left on the kitchen counter when I was growing up as a latchkey kid.  "Pr--h--t ov-- to 350 a 5:00," was always at the top (my mother had terrible handwriting and she was always scribbling these notes in a hurry).

Sometimes the dry ingredients had been laid out for me, sometimes not. "Gr---d b--f in frig.  2 egs.  1/2 cup br--dcr---bs..." The last direction was always to open a can of Campbell's tomato soup and spread it over the top of the meatloaf. Why? I never thought to ask why until later years, and my mother shrugged and said that's the way her mother had done. I accepted that, and in later years I went from tomato soup to just plain ketchup as a top glaze.  Why? I don't know, maybe I didn't have the soup one night, made do with the ketchup and liked it better. This is how these things happen.

There's turkey meatloaf, and ground beef meatloaf Some will say if you're going to do it, then do it right and use a mix of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal. 

My friend Lisa swore Martha Stewart's recipe for All-American Meatloaf in the same book Favorite Comfort Food is really good. It calls for 1/2 pounds of beef, veal and pork. I've used that and other times I've used turkey and it all comes out good.

Martha Stewart's All-American Meatloaf

  • 3 slices white bread (which she has you process into crumbs but you know me, ahem, I've already done that ahead of time and I will translate this to 1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 1 rib celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, loosely packed (which I already have chopped and frozen because Mommy taught me)
  • 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons ketchup
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1/2 pound each ground beef, veal, pork (or 1 to 1 1/2 pounds turkey)
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon Tobasco
  • I1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary, plus more needles for sprinkling

Put breadcrumbs in mixing bowl (however you procure them)

Place celery, carrot, garlic and onion in food processor, process until vegetables are minced, about 30 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl. Transfer vegetables to mixing bowl with breadcrumbs. Add 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons of dry mustard, the ground meat, eggs, salt, pepper, rosemary and Tobasco. Knead ingredients until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Do not overknead, it will result in a heavy and dense loaf. The texture should be wet, but tight enough to hold a free-form shape. (Whenever you're done, Martha.)

Set a fine-mesh baking rack in an 11x17 inch baking pan (I have neither of those things, honestly, Martha, you piss me off sometimes). 

Cut a 5x11 inch piece of parchment paper, and place over center of rack to prevent meat loaf from falling through (ignore, ignore). 

Using your hands, form an elongated loaf covering the parchment... OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MARTHA! Shape the damn loaf and put it in your meatloaf pan or your baking dish. Done. Honestly. This isn't rocket science.

Make a glaze of the remaining 3 tablespoons ketchup, 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard, and the brown sugar. Brush that over the top. Then saute red onions in olive oil for about ten minutes, add 3 tablespoons of water and cook until that evaporates and...

You know what? She lost me at "parchment paper." This recipe is a production. It's Monday night, I'm tired, people are hungry. I'm spreading Heinz ketchup over the top of my meatloaf and calling it a day.

Bake 50-55 minutes at 400. Let cool 15 minutes and serve.

Serve with what? How about Trader Joe's mashed potatoes and the last of those little baby carrots I got at DeCicco's, which failed so miserably in the crockpot? I trimmed and peeled them, tossed them and my other 1/2 onion with olive oil, salt and pepper, and added them to the 400 oven halfway through cooking.

Oh wait, I lied... I don't have the mashed potatoes. How about Alexia waffle fries? Yes? Nod your head at me. Yes. Good? Don't lie. OK. Thank you.

Dim Sum Outing

I took Pandagirl into the city today to meet two of my girlfriends for Dim Sum. We went over to the Golden Unicorn on East Broadway in Chinatown.  Dim Sum is a great and inexpensive way to try lots of different Chinese foods. This was Panda's first experience ever and I was really proud of her for trying so many new, and sometimes strange-looking things. In the end she decided the spring rolls were her favorite.

This was only my second or third Dim Sum outing; all previous times had been with Karen and Elisa as well.  I think I had Vietnamese food for the first time with Elisa.  She, by the by, is a singer-songwriter extraordinaire; please do visit her website here.

After lunch we wandered over to Mott Street and Aji Ichiban candy store. Besides candy, they have a wide variety of dried fruits and other exotic foods. Panda picked a few chocolates and some dried strawberries; I found some dried strawberry plums I really liked a lot.

From there it was over to Grand Street and Ferrara Bakery & Cafe, for coffee and pastries.

We caught a 3:00 train home.  Panda was asleep before we were out of the tunnel.  I held on long enough to give the tickets up to the conductor then I crashed hard.

Woke up wondering what to make for dinner after such a day of feasting, and thinking about novels of Chinese food and culture that I could recommend. I didn't have to think very long:

If forced to pick between the two, then Last Chinese Chef, no question. In fact, read that and then go read everything Nicole Mones has written.