Saturday, October 11, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Green Bean Casserole Will Be Banished !
There is this vile dish in the United States called Green Bean Casserole. It consists green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and french friend onions. Somehow this dish has become a staple of American Thanksgiving despite it being created in 1955 by someone at the Campbell Soup Company called Dorcas Reilly.
First of all, people should always be wary of anyone named Dorcas. Come on, you know Dorcas probably received more wedgies and was pushed into more school lockers than the entire chess club – who names a kid Dorcas ? I am sure Dorcas’ revenge on the world was green bean casserole.
Secondly, it contains Campbell's Soup - talk about a salt fest - blech!
The original recipe card for this dish is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron Ohio. Anyone for a road trip to Akron ?
If you have not guessed, I cannot stand Green Bean Casserole. Or at least that's what I thought until I made it using fresh ingredients - I'll be sharing that recipe real soon!
First of all, people should always be wary of anyone named Dorcas. Come on, you know Dorcas probably received more wedgies and was pushed into more school lockers than the entire chess club – who names a kid Dorcas ? I am sure Dorcas’ revenge on the world was green bean casserole.
Secondly, it contains Campbell's Soup - talk about a salt fest - blech!
The original recipe card for this dish is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron Ohio. Anyone for a road trip to Akron ?
If you have not guessed, I cannot stand Green Bean Casserole. Or at least that's what I thought until I made it using fresh ingredients - I'll be sharing that recipe real soon!
Favourite Words : Slacktivist, Slactivism
Examples of activities labelled as "slacktivist" include signing internet petitions, putting a ribbon magnet on a vehicle, or joining a Facebook group. Slacktivists also include Anonymous people who send off email comments, written in all caps, to bloggers.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Today Is A Great Day To Ride The Endangered Species Carousel at @TurtleBackZoo
The Endangered Species Carousel at Turtle Back Zoo is great fun no matter what the weather outside!
Guests can ride a panda, alligator, a tiger or one of the other 30 other endangered or threatened animals on this custom built carousel.
The carousel house features mosaic floors and stained glass windows. The small fee to ride is so worth it (and how often do you get to ride a lion!)
God Only Knows Launches BBC Music
The Beach Boys' masterpiece God Only Knows remade with the help of a few friends
to celebrate the launch of BBC Music.
To find out more go to BBC Music
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Naked, Nude, and Nekkid (Understanding The Difference)
There is a difference.
Three very distinct meanings.
Naked means you have no clothes on, simple enough.
Nude means you have no clothes on and are doing something artistic. Makes sense. Think of all the nude paintings in the National Gallery – no one refers to them as naked (save for school children)
Nekkid is a whole other ballgame. Nekkid means you have no clothes on and you are doing something that you don’t want people to find out about.
Three very distinct meanings.
Naked means you have no clothes on, simple enough.
Nude means you have no clothes on and are doing something artistic. Makes sense. Think of all the nude paintings in the National Gallery – no one refers to them as naked (save for school children)
Nekkid is a whole other ballgame. Nekkid means you have no clothes on and you are doing something that you don’t want people to find out about.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Classic Remixed: The Beekman Boys Macaroni and Cheese with Mushrooms and Kale Recipe #sundaysupper
The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell has become a favourite around here, so much so that in addition to writing a review I had to share one of the recipes from the book. Macaroni and Cheese with Kale and Mushrooms is true to the nature of the book as includes notes from the authors about options as well as space for our own notes and ideas to make what was passed down your very own.
In addition, margin notes include detailed information about cooking greens, which has already inspired me to rethink other classics in which kale might just become a great addition.
Add the macaroni to the boiling kale-cooking water and cook according to package directions. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the dried porcini with 1 cup warm water. Let stand until the mushrooms have softened, about 20 minutes. With your fingers, lift the mushrooms from their soaking liquid, leaving the grit behind. Line a fine-mesh sieve with paper towels, a paper coffee filter, or cheesecloth. Pour the mushroom-soaking liquid through the sieve into a bowl. Reserve the liquid. Coarsely chop the mushrooms.
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the porcini and cremini mushrooms, thyme, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have wilted and released their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushroom-soaking liquid, milk, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Add the macaroni and kale and toss to coat.
Transfer the mixture to a 9 X 13-inch glass baking dish or individual ramekins. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the panko and toss to coat. Scatter the butter crumbs over the mac and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is crunchy and golden brown. Serves 8
Instead of a 9 x 12 baking dish I used a few gratin dishes and divided the mac and cheese among them so some can be enjoyed right away and the rest can be stored for later in the weekend.
Moving forward I know that I will probably do two versions of this recipe, dividing the cheese sauce in half before adding the macaroni and kale, and adding cayenne and Dijon mustard to one portion as the authors suggest. The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook is available at Williams Sonoma, including the Montclair store on Valley Road, as well as Watchung Booksellers In Watchung Plaza
Macaroni and Cheese with Kale and Mushrooms:
Ingredients:
•3/4 pound kale, stems cut from leaves (about 5 1/2 cups)
•8 ounces elbow macaroni
•1/2 ounce (1/2 cup) dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed
•3 tablespoons olive oil
•4 garlic cloves, minced
•3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, halved and thinly sliced
•1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
•1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•2 cups milk
•1 1/2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
•2 tablespoons unsalted butter
•1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Method:
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the kale for 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the kale to a colander (keep the pot of cooking water at a boil). Run the kale under cold water to stop the cooking and then drain and squeeze out any liquid. Coarsely chop.Add the macaroni to the boiling kale-cooking water and cook according to package directions. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the dried porcini with 1 cup warm water. Let stand until the mushrooms have softened, about 20 minutes. With your fingers, lift the mushrooms from their soaking liquid, leaving the grit behind. Line a fine-mesh sieve with paper towels, a paper coffee filter, or cheesecloth. Pour the mushroom-soaking liquid through the sieve into a bowl. Reserve the liquid. Coarsely chop the mushrooms.
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the porcini and cremini mushrooms, thyme, and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have wilted and released their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mushroom-soaking liquid, milk, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Add the macaroni and kale and toss to coat.
Transfer the mixture to a 9 X 13-inch glass baking dish or individual ramekins. In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the panko and toss to coat. Scatter the butter crumbs over the mac and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is crunchy and golden brown. Serves 8
Instead of a 9 x 12 baking dish I used a few gratin dishes and divided the mac and cheese among them so some can be enjoyed right away and the rest can be stored for later in the weekend.
Moving forward I know that I will probably do two versions of this recipe, dividing the cheese sauce in half before adding the macaroni and kale, and adding cayenne and Dijon mustard to one portion as the authors suggest. The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook is available at Williams Sonoma, including the Montclair store on Valley Road, as well as Watchung Booksellers In Watchung Plaza
Discovering New Jersey : Peddie Memorial - First Baptist Church in Newark NJ
The First Baptist church was formed when part of the congregation of the Lyons Farms Baptist Church split on June 6, 1801. Permission to form this new church was granted by
the Lyons Farms Baptist Church on July 24, 1800.Their first ceremony, on the day of the organization, was the baptisms of Joseph Smith, Abigail Hobdey, Reuben Kellum and Jemime Bruen, performed in the Passaic River. Services were held in an old private schoolhouse, "White School House", on the corner of Clinton Ave. and Spruce St. until 1805. (Many years later, long after the church moved, this building was burnt down by a vandal).
In that year the church purchased the lot at the corner of Academy and Halsey streets measuring 87 x 100 feet for the purpose of building a "meeting house and burial ground". The church building was erected in 1806 and dedicated on September 16, 1806. The building was enlarged in 1810, improved in 1841 with the addition of a vestibule and a Sunday school room. A new church was built and it was dedicated on May 23, 1869. This building was abandoned around the turn of the century and was used by the United States Post Office for a time.
The present structure was built in 1890 by a monetary gift from a Newark Merchant, T. B. Peddie. The interior of the church is round with the pews set in theatre style seating. The balcony goes around the entire church with seating in the three quarters in front of the alter. Each window
on the lower floor is made of Tiffany glass.Griffins are present on the ends of the balcony. They once held a gas line that lit the interior of the church. Originally a statue of St. Peter stood on the roof but it was struck by lightning and never replaced.
The church grew not only in numbers but also in its commitment to mission. The present building was dedicated to God in 1890 by the generous gift of Thomas B. Peddie, who served two terms as Mayor of Newark and was later elected to Congress, representing the sixth district of New Jersey.
Thomas Peddie's vision was that the church building should be "open to every great meeting of a proper kind that people desire to hold, and should be dedicated to religion, to education and to the social
purposes for the good of all the people." His vision of the church "for the good of all the people" continued to be realized when eight Chinese Christians were baptized in 1923. The demographics in Newark changed drastically during the past century, and the church responded to this change by warmly welcoming people of all ethnicities and nationalities.
Today, the church is an international church with people representing over twenty nations from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America,and West Indies.
On their International Sunday in 2004, the church celebrated God's gift of diversity with the reading of Scripture in ten languages, the music and dance of Africa, and the feast of delicious food from many nations
It is the congregations desire that they grow in strength and maturity, not to take pride in successes, but to glorify God and to care for His people, especially the weak, the poor, the lost, and the marginalized.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
These Guys Don't Like Ray @DrBBQ Lampe's Slow Fire, But You Will
Burgers, Franks, and the occasional Steak are not barbeque.Before everyone gets their knickers in a twist and posts endless comments let’s go over some of the basics. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Steaks are grilled. Since barbeque is traditionally cooked outdoors that’s where barbeque somehow evolved to mean most any cook out.
Barbeque is cooked low and slow, its smoky and saucy, and did I mention it takes time, lots of it, at low heat, for a long time. Think brisket so tender if literally falls off the bone, with a knife used only to push the tender meat onto the fork. Yankees refer to this as “Southern Barbeque” but foodies know it simply as barbeque.
Enough of my rant, what about the book? Read the full review on Devil Gourmet.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)