Because "mole" sounds better than dried pepper, peanut butter chocolate tomato meat sauce

Mole Poblano holds a special place in my heart. I grew up in a place that had wonderful mexican food, much, much different than the awful sludge found here in lincoln. Mole was something that a lot of mexican families were very proud of, not to mention very secretive with. Want to get a families mole recipe off of them? Nice try. You'd either have to marry into the family or break into their home to get it. Which is exactly what people will be wanting to do to you once you master this:) Exaggeration? possibly, depending on how good my memory is here:) Seriously people, this is a special one that I have been tweaking for a couple of years. This is real mexican food. not cheddar cheese laden, sour creamified fluff. Get good at this dish and you will have something in your repertoire that can stand up to any dish, no matter how fancy pants it is.

Hardware: tea kettle/big pot/blender

Dish's mole poblano:

5 -6 dried ancho chiles, (stems and seeds removed)

handful of raisins

1 tbs epazote (wrapped in cheesecloth) (optional, dried herb found in mexican aisle of grocery)

2 slices stale bread (i use pain de campagne, i think it gives a good rustic flavor)

28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice

2 med sized onions

1 red bell, diced fine

2 poblano peppers diced fine

3 cloves garlic

handful celery leaves, minced

handful cilantro, minced

2 tsps chile powder

2 tsps cumin seed

2 tsp coriander powder

couple tbs peanut butter

1 round bar of ibarra mexican chocolate

1 heaping tablespoon turbinado sugar (you could use white or brown, just had it out)

fresh chiles, sliced (depending on your hotness/masochist tolerance)

meats of choice / i happened to use pork butt this time, but it's delicious with anything. could also be used with potatoes or beans or fried polenta for a good veggie main dish.

Fill kettle with water and bring to a boil. Put dried anchos, raisins, and sachet of epazote in a large bowl, fill with water, just enough to cover. let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat some olive oil and saute your onion, garlic, peppers, celery and cilantro leaves until you get some color on them, and then add some salt, pepper, and your chile and coriander powder and the cumin seed. lower your heat, adding stock/water if the bottom of your pan is getting too much color. After about 20 minutes, remove the sachet of epazote, and pour the can of tomatoes and tear up the bread into the bowl with the dried peppers. Pour this mixture into a blender (you'll have to do this in batches) and puree until smooth. (when pureeing hot liquids, never fill blender more than half full and give quick, short pulses, otherwise, you could burn your pretty face off). Add the puree into your pot and also add your peanut butter and mexican chocolate. I'm going to be a stickler here and say that you must use nothing other than this chocolate, it has the perfect amount of cinnamon in it. you'll just have to trust me. keep stirring until everything has been incorporated, and then turn to low. Now it's time to add the well seasoned (salt and pepper) meat of your choice. Like I said, I added pork butt this time, but you are pretty safe with anything here. The key is to simmer away until what you are braising is incredibly tender. You can leave the pot on the stove for this, or, if your vessel permits, simmer away in the oven at 300F for about 4-5 hours, checking periodically. Alternatively. If you wanted to make this a veggie dish, just simmer some root veg in here (potatoes, carrots, etc) for a couple of hours. some soaked, dried beans would also be a great addition, just simmer until they are ready (prob at least a few hours.)

serve with fried tortilla chips (cmon you went this far, just fry them yourself, you won't regret it!), some rice and guacamole.

DISH recommends:

Oster classic beehive blender. Three years and running and this blendy has never let me down. now that I said that, it will probably break...

Primal fears...

For whatever reason, I had always been scared of making a prime rib. I guess it's because it seems like a big investment to have turn out poorly, so the other day when I saw one on "manager's special (aka, buy me before I go bad) at supe's I was ready to finally face my fears. My plan of attack was a simple one: trim off some fat, smash some herbs and garlic on top and roast away. I was baffled by how ridiculously easy this was. I will recommend, however, that you pick up a probe thermometer like this, to make your life that much easier. Just set the desired internal temp and an alarm will sound when ready. couldn't be easier. Oh, and those potatoes that I used as a roasting rack...awesome. 1.5 hours of basting with herb crusted beefhunk made them crispy, beefy, potatoey...gurgle, gurlge...

Herb crusted Prime rib

hardware: roasting pan (or big skillet), probe thermometer (preferably with alarm, see link above)

3-5 lb rib roast

8 sprigs thyme, fresh

6 sprigs rosemary, ""

6 good sized garlic cloves

couple tbs olive oil

sea salt. black pepper

2 med. size potatoes ( i used klondike rose)

oven at 450F

mince garlic and herbs together until very fine, add to bowl with olive oil until thick paste forms. trim roast of excess fat (you still want a decent amount, just not the inches they leave on at the butchers.), salt and pepper generously, then add the herb and garlic rub to the top and the sides. Slice potatoes longways into thirds, trimming off round end so all sides have a square edge. Lay potatoes out on pan so roast can rest on top , see pic. Roast @ 450 for 10 -15 min., until a golden brown crust starts to form, then lower heat to 350 for the remaining time (prob 1.5 to 2 hours depending on size of roast and preferred doneness.) Eat delicious potatoes asap, share with a friend, if you are nice.

let roast rest about 20 minutes before carving.

DISH recommends:

Mastering Beef and Veal. A really, really, good book on beef/veal cookery. I consider this an indispensable book for the meat lover. The williams sonoma books that I have, I really like.

How to throw/survive a holiday party (appetizer edition)

I'm going to let everyone in on a little tip: The key to throwing a great party is to have great appetizers/finger foods/one or two bite offerings. whatever you want to call them, they are essential to kicking your shindig off right. it doesn't matter if you had the most awesome main dishes (if serving). what people will remember the most are the smallbites that you probably didn't want to make in the first place. i don't know many people that love to make appetizers. They're tiny, fussy, and require a lot of attention and work (the puppies/babies, of the food world, if you will). But just like all things tiny, people go nuts for appetizers. The trick here, is to make things that are interesting/colorful/tasty/cute/awesome, but to avoid a lot of heartache and stress. So, with all that said, here are some tasty treats to get any party headed in the right direction:

hardware you will need:

baking sheet(s)/saute pan/food processor/various platters/patience/mad skills

Salad bites: super easy. you will need some endive (usually available in most groceries) and then it's basically whatever you want to put in the leaves. The leaves on this belgian lettuce are great because they act as a little spoon or bowl. Basically, just make a salad that you really like, only put it on one piece of lettuce. I filled mine with some diced grapefruit, smoked salmon and avocado. dressed with a little reduced balsamic/pomegranate juice. this is a really easy one to put together but, like all of these little buggers, just takes a steady hand and some assemblage time. other filling ideas : blue cheese/walnut, bacon/tomato/ curried chicken, etc. you get the idea.

creamed mushrooms on brioche toasts: got this idea from here. a really easy one to make as you can do the filling ahead of time. I did substitute brandy for the vermouth in the recipe, but followed it otherwise. this one is sure to be a hit among the fungus lovers.

Things wrapped in salty meat: I know what you are thinking..."How could this ever be bad!?" well the answer to that question is...it really can't. I'm a sucker for salty cured meat treats. bacon, prosciutto, jambon, etc., etc. the obvious trick here is to make sure you are wrapping these tasties in something CURED. pancetta and bacon should be avoided because they are most likely raw and wouldn't be nice to serve the people that you love. however, if you are indeed hosting a party for your enemies, by all means, go ahead with the pancetta...and maybe wrap it around some orange roughy that you left out in the sun...Anyway...where was i? oh yeah, things wrapped in meat. My "things" of choice here were prunes. and goat cheese. I don't want to hear any whining about prunes either. They're delicious. So are dates. So enough with the bad rap already. If it makes you feel better, you can call them dried plums...

You put your hand upon my hip... Yeah, sorry, but cmon, couldn't resist. Every party needs some dippage. I like to make hummus, particularly, roasted red pepper hummus. here's my do:

1 can chickpeas (or equal weight of cooked dried), 14 oz.

1 generous teaspoon tahini

1 garlic clove

couple squeezes lemon juice

salt and pepper (white pepper if you are super picky about little black flecks, i'm not)

1 roasted red pepper (or if you bought a can of rrp's because you just didn't have the time or motivation to do it yourself...ahem...about 4-5 pieces.)

olive oil drizzles, my nizzles (fashizzle!)

throw everything in food processor. blend until super smooth, scraping down sides once ( you actually should stop the machine here, unless you are a fan of spatula death). now, slowly drizzle your olive oil in until the mixture starts to emulsify. Now, there are a lot of different schools of thought on proper hummus making. i tend to like mine very inundated with olive oil, it should look kind of like neon cream of wheat. There are folks who like it really thick, but i think that it kind of sucks that way. just my opinion:) top with some diced rrp and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with pita chips. I like these..a lot, but you could make your own (but this is supposed to be easy, remember, and honestly, i like the thinness of these compared to homemade pita chips.)

Mini loaded baked potatoes! these were a pretty big hit. they are really easy to make, just require a steady hand and some creativity. I loaded mine with prosciutto crispies, avocado, and diced red chili. But you can do whatever you want. the trick is to get super tiny potatoes. the variety that I used was a banana fingerling. I suppose you could use just regular potatoes, but these have some extra panache and you can't argue with extra panache, well, maybe sometimes...

anyway:

mini potatoes (preferably banana fingerling, for their excellent, one-bite shape/cuteness)

toppings of your choice

roast mini tates at 400F for about 30 minutes (your cooking time might vary, remember, I'm still using the stupid flair. Click here for more on that)

You could use any toppings you like. To fancy them way up, add some creme fresh, caviar and dill. options are wide open here. Get creative.

So, yeah. Hope that you all give these a try. They are all pretty easy and a great way to put a decent spread out with not too much time/worry. pieces.

Tips/tricks

hummus can be made ahead. (actually, I am demanding that you do so. To save your sanity, and to let the flavors party a little, best made the day before)

Mini salad bites need to be made close to party time

potatoes also close to party time (about 30-45 minutes before, you want them to be warm/room temp)

mushroom mixture can be a day ahead, just reheat and assemble on toasts before you do the potatoes.

things wrapped in meat should be made day of, you can do this first, it's easy.

If "to err is human" well, then, I am like king of human ville, or at least a very prominent figure...

So...Pretty embarrassing here. Last year for christmas, Wifeshow bought me an espresso machine. It is a francis! francis! machine and is super cool looking. however, for the last 11 months, I had been less than pleased with the drinks I could produce. I was attributing it to the fact that It was a pod machine, but I know now that it has more to do with the fact that I am an idiot. You see, there are three settings on the machine, and you turn the portafilter farther to the right to achieve each setting. I never did this. So while I was thinking that I had been making lattes, cappucinos/ macchiatos, etc. I had just been making...coffee. Not that it was bad, but I was disappointed in the amount of crema I was getting. Such a moron. So, now, that I actually went back and read the manual, I am getting some pretty great drinks out of this little guy. This is a pic of a macchiato I had at breakfast. Milk is a little bubbly, but I'll get the hang of it. and for all of you elitists out there, I know that a machine that uses ground coffee over pods produces a better end cup. but the fact is, you need an excellent grinder for those results, which I don't want to spend the money on. I have no plans on becoming a great barista (I rely on tams for that postition:), I just want to have an espresso ( or two) at home once and a while. So, for the espresso lover that doesn't want to trek all over town for the perfect cup or shell out a month's wages. I would totally recommend the francis! francis! line of stuff. Just make sure you read the directions:)

ALSO: learned something new from my friend karina. She made reference to an "ibrik" used for making turkish coffee. turkish coffee is quite delicious. here's some info for the curious.

Some more catch up photos

noodle soup was made with thanksgiv leftovers. just boiled some stock, and then slowly kept adding ingredients., started with chiles and ginger, then some paper thin onions, garlic, and snow peas. then noodles, and leftover turkey meat. added some bok choy and soy sauce at the very last and then garnished with a little cilantro and some sriracha sauce. really tasty way to use up roasted poultry. Other pics are yellow curry with tofu, cider chicken with squash risotto, hoisin beef stir fry, and a huge breakfast with home made sausage, potato and onion rosti, Pain de campagne (version 2.0, soon to be at LeQ, oh man is this stuff amazing, look at the great crust on that thing!) and farmyfresh eggs. I didn't eat lunch after this...

DISH recommends: eating a huge breakfast. curbs your lunch intake, which is most likely the most sedentary part of your day...

also

ALL CLAD mc-2 14'' inch frying pan. This pan is unbelievable! A breakfast workhorse. Was able to make a pretty big rosti, eggs, sausage, and toast all at once. totally loves it.

holla(back)daze

Yeah, I know, super late, but thought I would post a few thanksgiv pics. Crudite and cheese/bread/cracker plates are essential (not to mention crazy fast, you just need to find what you like and plan ahead). Also, if you prefer, cheese board can wait until last, it's kind of nice to end a meal that way, try it out. First pic is a cheese board with some St. andre (soft triple cream), Beechers flagship, black diamond white cheddar, and some locally produced aged gouda from branched oak farm. The little mugs have some local honey ( a must for cheese boards, great to dip semi-firm/firm cheeses in), and some diced dates (go really well with soft cheeses like the st. andre and also chevre). plate below has different bread/crackers and also some serrano ham- wrapped figs. Try these out, seriously. You could use any salty cured meat, just happened to have the serrrano. just wrap around the figgage and toothpick them. easiest appetizer ever. Crudite plate was just some carrots, cukes, celery, tomates, and a creamy dressing made from sour cream, white wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt and peps. also had some artichoke hearts, mixed olives and pickles. Other two pics are my turkey that was brined, compound buttered, and rubbed with lemon zest and fresh herbage. Notice that I don't use a roasting rack (in fact, you might as well toss yours out, I did). Cut up some veg and place the bird on this while it roasts. I do this for every big meathunk. The reason being, when you go to make a sauce with the drippings, you pour everything through a sieve and press on the veg, releasing all of their juices. Makes for delicious gravies. The other cured meat-covered turkey pic is, well exactly that. Before roasting any poultry, I lay some sort of cured meat across the top, whether it be bacon, or prosciutto, or pancetta, etc. Take it off when it starts to get crispy and this will let the breast skin catch up to the rest of the bird. Plus, you now have bacon crumblies for your gravy. Magical...

that other pic is the full thanksgiving monty. was so stuffed. there was also delicious pie.

TG sides were roasted brussels, sourdough stuffing with dried apples and andouille sausage, mashed tates, cider gravy, and corn from dish's folks. Also made a cranberry apple and toasted walnut conserve, but failed to snap a pic.

DISH recommends: Plain White dinnerware. Your food looks better on it, trust me. I don't really know what the brand is (I think it is just called "HOME") but we get our dinnerware, service dishes, etc., from target. It's inexpensive and built like a sherman tank. It has it's own space in an aisle and is all open stock, so you can piece it together little by little. The crudite and veg plates (along with most of the other plain white dishes You'll see on here) are in this collection.

If you burned alive in your car this morning, it's not my fault...

Right about now, I'm wishing that I was the owner of a snow-blower. New house=lots more driveway=huge amounts of snow schleppage. and while this is a valid gripe (and I assure you that it is), the main reason that I am wishing this is because of a major privacy infraction that was administered to the dish around 8:30 am this morning. As I was outside, I saw a local news car (10-11) drive by. I was instantly taken back to the time that I was a little kid, outside having a picnic with my cousin (eating sausages, duh!) and the same thing happened. The cameraman came up to us and filmed us playing/snarfing, and then left and we were on the news later that night. Seriously, there is nothing newsworthy about kids eating sausage. fast forward to this morning. Dish is outside wishing for snow-blower, cameraman drives back by, gets out and starts filming me scooping my drive. He says, "Really wanted to get a shot of someone clearing their drive the "old school" way. I calmly replied, "mister, I'm nothing but old school." (ps. really hope they edit out sound, probably said a bunch of stupid stuff to the guy, I was pretty annoyed at the dude) About this time I'm thinking, "dude, seriously? this is the most newsworthy thing that you could be doing?" so, as I am in the middle of this, camera guy gets a phone call and when he's done goes right back to filming. I sarcastically say "breaking news?" and he replies,"there's an automobile fire holding up traffic." About this time I'm wondering why is he still here filming, and he calmly says, "let's get a shot of the scooping from the shovel's eye view." ?1?! So, If by some major coincidence you are in the small microcosm of the population that reads my blog and/or you were either held up in traffic this morning by the flickering flames of a burning daewoo/and/or you were in the burning vehicle, trying to escape but your skin was melding to the bucket seats, I heartily apologize. See, if I had a snow-blower, none of this would have ever happened.

oh yeah, food...honestly, I have a back-log of like a month's worth of food here so I am going to barrage you peeps with pics. the first pic is some brown sugar and chile-rubbed pork loin with some bourbon glazed sweet tates and beer braised greens (lacinato kale). Second is a quick potato salad with green beans, tuna, sourdough croutons and vinaigrette, and third is penne and meatballs (half beef, half italian sausage). the sweet potatoes were pretty excellent and also easy. Just peel them and toss them with a few glugs of bourbon and a couple tablespoons of dark brown sugar. salt and pepper them, and put a few pats of butter on them and bake in a buttered dish at 400F for about 40 minutes. pretty awesome stuff.

Othersnewsbitsofthingsotherthanfoods: I bought a machine to carbonate things. I heart it, bigtime. I was a pretty big Perrier addict, so this thing will pay for itself (works out to be like .20 a bottle). I am excited to make some sodas and lots of other fizzy drinks. Should be a big hit at parties, which is good, because my conversational flashcards are... indeed...not.

DISH recommends: Sodastream Pure. making unfizzy things fizzy is my new passion. Which is good because that whole making unfuzzy things fuzzy campaign didn't really take off. Really thought the world would embrace a fuzzy nectarine...turns out that spot's already filled.

pieces.

Tick tock, you don't Strop? well, you should.

I am a classic non-listener. I can't explain it. It's not that i don't hear you...it's mostly that I think I'm right...about everything:) ok, I hope I'm not that bad (no comments on aforementioned subject, wifeshow), but I kind of feel like I can get that way about certain things. for example, I thought that I had a pretty decent idea on how to sharpen my knives properly. They were in need of some love, so I got out my stones and steel and as I was getting ready to take them to a respectable level of sharpness, I thought, "Hey...maybe I will do some research on knife sharpening." You see, I recently bought a new pairing knife and it pretty much floored me with how much sharper it was than my current line-up. I thought that maybe I was missing something. I found a pretty informative website called japaneseknifesharpening.com. it was talking about stropping your knives after sharpening them. I had never really done this before. WOW! couldn't believe the difference that it made. I used an old belt and stepped on one end, pulling the other end tight and then ran the knife's edge up and down the back side of it at a slightly aggressive angle (a little more than you would use to "steel" it) 5-6 times. if you want to take your knives to a new level (we're talking razors here, my arm hairs are scared to death, like they went to a midnight showing of paranormal activity) try it out. You could, however, buy a super fine grit expensive stone to get rid of the burr, but come on, whose wife doesn't have an old leather belt lying around? HA! (just kidding mames, used my own:)

ok, food: It's fall, which means it's time to get your roast on. all you beefeaters out there (the meat not the gin) had better fire up the oven, set it to low, grab some root veg and a hunk of meat, a dutch oven and set your watches to party. I like to chunk up some onion, potates, carrots, turnips, etc., season liberally with salt and peps olive oil drizz, and then set my beefhunk (a little thyme, a little rosemary, salt, peps, and paps) on top and then add some stock or beer (enough to come up about 1/2 way), put the lid on and slow roast at 300F for about 2 hours. can't be beat. after it's done, I let the meat rest, take out the veg with a slotted spoon (put in a bowl, it's too hot for your face at the moment), and thicken up the gravy with some roux and more stock. tasty.beefy. other pics are red beans and andouille and also shahi paneer. I based it off of this recipe, but ended up using a little tomato paste (my pal anuj tipped me off on that one) and also red chile instead of green and also some chaat masala (mdh brand. actually a long story, couldn't find any here and ended up getting some brought back from chicago. really funny, because they don't have it on their website either:)

So, I imagine that everyone making a thanksgiving dinner is either freaking out about everything they have to do, or has already started. Hopefully, most everyone is in the second category. Start doing little things like prepping veg that is preppable and making your compound butter that you are going to shove under the skin of the breast. You were planning on that, right? of course you were, but if not, I'll post it at the end.

DISH recommends:

le creuset 5.5 quart dutch oven:

or

Staub 5 qt dutch oven

either of these is a great pot to have in your kitch. I use mine every week and can't say enough good things about them. a bit of change to fork over, but so worth it. good for braising, stews/soups/frying/risottos/sauces/justabouteverything. would make a great gift for the hols. alittletip: there is a red one at tjmaxx right now for way less than the one I linked up. cheers

compound butter for your turkey:

1 stick butter

leaves from :

2 sprig rosemary

2 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs italian parsley

and about three sage leaves.

throw it all into a food processor, and blend it up. after combined. roll it up in parchment and fridge it. do this ahead of time. one less thing...

when you are ready to cook your bird. loosen the skin of the breast and rub (well-softened, as in take out the butter on thanksgiving morning and let it hang out for an hour or so) the compound butter all up in that turkeys business. super basty, super tasty. Do this after the brining process! and for extra goodness, lay some bacon/prosciutto/pancetta/jambon across the breast for the first hour and a half of roasting. once you are close, remove it (this will even out the browning process) and set aside. I like to crumble this stuff into my gravy.

going to have thanksgiving here in dishville this year with nance and carroll and three dogs. should be a good time. pieces.

It's hard to fall in a rut, when you run with the wolfpack.

CHEESE DISCLAIMER: The following post contains some supercute dog pics and some slight gushing about loving dogs. If you find this uncomfortable please go away or click on one of these websites for a more palatable internet experience.

www.antidog.com or Ithinki'lljuststayhomeanddonothing.com

I'm convinced that dogs were put on the earth to teach us lessons. You want to know about unconditional love? get a dog. Cuteness beyond measure? get a dog. how about cheering people up? get a dog. how to never take crap from clowns or magicians? yeah, get a dog. ok, so maybe that last one is an isolated event, but you get the point. One thing that I've tried to pick up from my four legged friendly is how to take advantage of every moment that I can. If people were as committed/excited to getting out and doing things, the world we live in would be a much different place. There are so many times that I have things I want to do or try, but for whatever reason, I get lazy and let them fall by the wayside. Dogs would not do this. in fact, this is anti-dog behavior. So, where on earth am I going with this? I don't really know, but it has something to do with thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday, no question there. people gathering around food, etc, etc. The problem with thanksgiving is that, well, there are actually two problems.

unfortunate thanksgiving problem #1.

The turkey. If you are not super careful and don't have a proper plan, you are going to be serving your loved ones dry roasted cardboard. Luckily, in this modern world we live in, people have eaten enough dry cardboardy fowl, that they have come up with some methods to get out of the turkey rut that takes down so many thanksgiving cooks. The one I most highly recommend is brining your bird. When you brine something it allows the protein molecules to expand and become hydrated to almost a false juiciness. you are kind of cheating here, but that's ok, just this time. this technique is better (in my opinion) than just basting, because it is like basting the meat from the inside. even if you overcook the bird, it will still seem juicy. you can still just baste the bird and cross your fingers, but you probably shouldn't. check out brining tips here. ( I always add some simon and garfunkel (come on, you know this by now right? (hint: scarborough fair)) to the mix, just in cases...

and

Unfortunate Thanksgiving Problem #2:

Leftover turkey.

This is assuming you have made plenty of delicious sides to go along with your meat, but I maybe have two times I can eat thanksgiving dinner before I am sick of it. So, to remedy this, I just use my turkey like it was raw poultry (within reason), and tackle any new (fitting) recipes that I have been wanting to try. hotpots, noodle bowls, not boring sandwiches, etc. Get out of your comfort zone this year and make something that you have never made with your leftovers. Or, use most of your leftovers to make something else. What about a turkey/caramelized brussels sprouts, and cranberry chutney panini, eh? sounds good to me. Or maybe take your leftover mashed potatoes and pour a little coconut milk and some curry powder in there, you get the idea. So, this year, on black friday, get creative and don't eat the same thing over and over. You had better not throw away that turkey carcass either, them's primo stock fixins, fools.

oh yeah, food: Made an asian noodle broth sort of thing (perfect way to use leftover turkey carcass/turkey meat) with meat that I had leftover from making chicken/duck stock. the duck added an extra dimension and made for a super flavorful soup. Just got the broth to a rolling boil, and added ginger, onion, chiles, cilantro, grean beans, and then some noodles, and threw the chicken meat in there at the end along with some fish sauce and soy sauce. Middle dish is sausage gravy made from the close to 50 pounds of sausage that was made this weekend! Should be stocked for a while (should be...). Last pic is of the ultimate slider. Well, ultimate as far as food goes. I knew this kid andy in first grade that was king of the playground...anyway, these particular mini burgs were topped with onion soubise (2 onions, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of water, and tsp kosh salt cooked very low until they turn into a sort of jam, try it, it's unbeleivable, takes around 1.5 hours though, stir every once and a while) a fried egg, bacon, and ketchup. eggs on burgers are awesome, try it...tomorrow.

ok, nonfoods: I have been riding wilderness park a lot lately. It's my favorite time of year to ride the bike trail (in fact, I'm going there right after this.). Dusted off my camelbak and have been having a lot of fun out there. Also, made it through a hellish two weeks at work, too many hours, too little rest. Ready to relax a little and possibly take some time off.

Also: We are getting closer to the remodel and as of now are toying with the idea of stainless countertops., if we can find somewhere to get them.( ok, I know what you are thinking, resale, and that they scratch. but the thing is, it's my house. and I'm not living in it with the sole intention of pleasing the next peeps, so there:P)

ok, hope to post more frequently, pieces

DISHrecommends: getting out and doing something. get out and enjoy the outdoors. go on a walk (with your dog!), ride bikes, jog, run, whatever. just don't get sedentary. it's the root of all evil. so is money, though. So, I guess if you are rich and just do nothing all day, you're pretty much the worst person in the world. Or at least really, really, ridiculously bad.

About this food, I have no reservations...

A couple of weeks ago, I received the new jamie oliver cookbook, "Jamie's food revolution." I've always been a pretty big fan of his stuff, and this one didn't disappoint. I was excited to see that there was a whole chapter on curries. He recommends using a brand of curry paste (korma, masala, vindaloo, called patak's.), if you choose not to make your own (but he does give recipes to make pastes, which I eventually want to try.) The chicken tikka masala pictured above was from that book. It was pretty good, would have been even better if I hadn't accidentally doubled the amount of tomatoes involved.

So, yeah, have kind of been on an indian food kick here recently. Also have been experimenting on making different interpretations of aloo (indian spiced potatoes). they're pretty addictive, if you are like me and could live solely on potatoes...forever. Last pic is of gus, who has permanently taken up residence below the flair's cooktop. Wifeshow and I were wondering what he is going to do with himself once the remodel starts. He loves it under there, primo spot for snarfs.

getting sidetracked here...Back to the cookbook, actually cookbooks in general. I really have been trying to utilize the ones that I have more completely. I know that a lot of people (self included) fall into the trap of buying cookbooks and never use them even to half of their potential. So, this week, take some time and pick out at least two recipes you have always wanted to try. It will add so much to your kitchen skills and give you more ideas to play off of. The finished product may not look like the picture, may be different than you had planned, but you will have learned something and perhaps can tweak it to fit your tastes. I try to do this at least twice a week, you'll be amazed at how fast you learn to cook new things and how much more interesting it will make your cooking seem. Totally interested to hear what you guys are going to try out, let me know!

Other stuff: Picked up some black mustard seeds at a shop on 25th and O street the other day. It's an eastern market that has ridiculously low prices on spices (even better than OH!). Also, We went to a halloween party as zoolander and hansel. Will let amy post those pics if she wants. Had a great time, ate some eyeballs, partied with devils, cowboys, indians (pun intended) gomez, pirates, and gypsies. In other words, a typical saturday night for the dish. oh yeah, I made some killer chocolate mousse, and piped it into phyllo dough cups, but forgot to take a picture:( recipe is here.)

Also, nonfoods, sort of: Finished the shining. Thank goodness for resolutions. I don't think I could have made it through that book without one. got so scared at one point that I slept on the couch with the dog ( i read before I go to bed during the day). Definitely a halloween-worthy read. Bakery boss is going on vacation so it's up to marth, the nabster, and I to run things. Sounds scary, think we can handle it though. not really looking forward to working all by myself on wednesdays, though. just have to suck it up...

Dish's Aloo (great as a side or all alone served with chapatis or papadum)

serves 2

2 russet potates, peeled

1 medium onion, minced

1 clove garlic minced

I red chile, small dice

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

small handful of cilantro, separated into minced stalks and leaves

5 threads saffron

1tsp, smashed coriander seeds (or 1/2 tsp coriander powder)

salt and peps

olive oil

med. heat, add a couple of glugs of olive oil in a medium size pot and add the mustard seeds. they will start to pop, then add your onion, garlic, and chile, stirring frequently. add the rest of the spices and the minced cilantro stalks, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until the onions start to get some color. Then add your potatoes, and make sure that they are coated with the spices. Add approx half cup of water and stir potatoes every 30 seconds to a minute, until the water evaporates. do not cover pot! do this process multiple times until the potatoes are done to your liking. when you reach this stage, instead of adding one last 1/2 cup of water, add a little olive oil (or ghee if you have it), and lightly fry the potatoes, until you see the bottom of the pan starting to go brown. add the cilantro leaves, and more salt and pepper to taste. kill the heat, let sit for one more minute and then scrape up the browned bits on the bottom and stir to incorporate. (this should give you some nice crunchy bits, in with the soft potatoes) Garnish with natural plain yogurt and papadum.

DISH recommends:Shun Pairing knife/peeler, and all clad 14 inch non-stick skillet. sweet holy moses! That is one sharp pairing knife. Totally impressed with shun knives now. can't believe that something came from the factory that sharp. blade has a nook in it that is perfect for peeling things. while some would say the size of the pan is overkill, I am totally excited about it! my first position in a restaurant was saute so it's something that I am totally fond of and something that has a lot of good memories. Can do like a billion chicken breasts or whatever in this thing. these were both b-day gifts, great ones...

I've been making lists my whole life, what's one more?

I've been building/discombobulating a lot of stuff lately. It's been really interesting to see how things work and to understand what makes things run (or not run:). It got me thinking...if someone were to take apart my kitchen, what would they find at the heart of it? Besides a healthy dose of intuition and a sprinkle of narcissism here and there, they would find a bevy of staples that have become like an old friend to me (not the ones in my red swingline, but, yeah, those are special too:). So, I've started a list here of things I always have to have, or think I have to have. without further ado:

FRESH VEG

potatoes (come on. only like the most versatile veg on earth.)

carrots (mirepoix component, good for roasting, soups, stir fries, snacks)

celery (mirepoix component, good snack, leaves are great for flavor boosts)

onions (I put onions in everything. Just know that right now.)

garlic (see onions. above:)

cilantro (like to have on hand for making chutney, flavoring mex/asian dishes

flat leaf parsley (it's mostly for pretty, come on, I take pictures of dinner...)

ginger root (actually use this in a lot of stuff, more than you would think)

some sort of pepper (usually poblanos/pasillas, sometimes bells, sometimes jalps)

DAIRY

milk

parmesan

butter (salted and un)

a range of cheeses (try to have a few ranging from soft to firm, in case emergency cheese plate assemblage is needed, it's for guests and stuff. and seriously, sometimes you just want to eat some good cheese.)

eggs? (why are eggs always in dairy? weird. always buy cage free organic, unless my mom brings them to me.)

sour cream

plain yogurt ( Really like greek stuff, but is wicked expensive, usually get dannon)

fruit yogurts ( I like wallaby, and brown cow brands the best.)

heavy cream (was reluctant to put this in there, but I do usually have it.)

DRY/CANNED GOODS

canned whole tomatoes (I like the "clearly organic" brand at super saver)

canned tuna in olive oil

canned broth/stock (chicken, beef, veggie)

Tomato sauce

tomato paste

various pasta (like to have a thin spaghetti, and penne or something shorter)

rice( jasmine, basmati, sushi, and arborio)

quick couscous

dried chiles (ancho, new mexico)

ap flour

wheat flour

sugar/dark brown sugar

baking powder/soda

vanilla

dark chocolate

cocoa powder

olive oil (of course!)

roasted walnut oil (for dressings)

veg oil/canola oil

sesame oil

balsamic, red wine, rice, apple cider, and distilled white vinegars

fish sauce

soy sauce

oyster sauce

dried beans (pinto, baby lima, lentils, split peas, black turtle, and navy)

pam (or other pan spray)

MEAT/FROZEN STUFF

Bacon

some good sausages (andouille, chorizo, brats)

at least one whole chicken

peas (don't be a hater, frozen peas are top notch for risotto and stews)

at least one good, big, roasting meat for entertaining (lamb, beef, pork shoulder, etc)

shell-on shrimp (talk about a quick, easy dinner.)

ice cream (wifeshow would be disappointed if I forgot, yeah, I know we're out:)

MISC

perrier (2 bottles a week)

crackers

pickles/olives

potato chips (I try to buy a bag of kettle chips once in a while, not too often though)

corn chips/salsa

tortillas

tostada shells

red curry paste

so, yeah, seems like a lot, but there are ENDLESS possibilities here. It is really nice to have this stuff on hand, because it all keeps really well (with the exception of the cilantro) and you'll be able to throw together a good, healthy meal really easily. I won't even go into my spice cupboard, that's another post entirely...not even joking.

oh, almost forgot, food. first pic is roasted sausages with scallions and cherry tomatoes on grilled ww baguette. (used staples). 2nd pic is a braised chicken (whole chicken, potatoes, carrot, celery, onion, beer, spices) (all staples). 3rd pic is creamy potatoes and peas (potates, peas, onion, milk, butter, bacon, parsley.) you get the idea. Outfitting your pantry with stuff like this makes your life so much easier, and will make you such a better cook.

I probably left out a ton of stuff, but my kitchen is up stairs and I'm in the basement.

Let me know what you guys have to have in your kitchens. I'm interested to see what things are lurking in your cupboards...

DISH is reading: "The shining", Stephen King. I try to read a scary book every halloween season. I have to admit, I'm kind of scared...

DISH recommends:

St. Andre cheese. Thanks to Mia, I have a new weakness. If I ever get locked in that cracker prison, I hope I have this on hand. Those salty bars of wheat won't have a chance. ( got it at super t. Expensive? some would say, but cheaper than selling your soul away, which is what you might have to do to quit eating it.)

The end of one season, the start of another...

I can't believe that the farmer's market is finally over. A collective sigh of relief can be heard all through the bakery as things (at least on friday nights), hopefully slow down just a touch. I have sooooo many things that I want to accomplish before next may, so I've had to prioritize. Here are a few:

Start Kitchen Remodel: It literally kills me to know that I have a brand new super sweet convection oven just camping out down in my basement. I pretend it's not there. However, I don't really want to start remodeling in the dead of winter so this whole subject is kind of up in the air. We have our cabinets picked out (sort of), Wifeshow has been drawing out the kitch in her sparetime, we are just waiting it out until our cabs go on sale again...

Resume production of dishbook: Yeah, Yeah...you guys try and write a book. it's super hard (right Marth!). Not only do you have to have original ideas, you have to have the time, and more importantly, the motivation, which I've been lacking greatly here in the last few months. Although, I've been thinking of enlisting a certain crafty lady, if only I can steal her away from her awesome sewing machine and borrow some of her fairy dust to sprinkle on my computer... (seriously, mia, think it over, I don't know when you would have the time but...:)

Acquire some new furniture: It's time to get some new stuff. you know that old couch that was your first piece of furniture that you moved from apartment to apartment? yeah, that's where we are.

Try and take some sort of vacation: oh man do we need this one. Two people, each working around fifty hours a week. different schedules. you get the idea. We see each other for about 3 hours per day during the week. hopefully we can get away for at least 3-5 days. don't have anywhere in mind though, mames has to go to alaska later on, maybe I'll meet her there...

ok foodstuffs: if you have never roasted a piece of meat all day long, put it on your list of things to do this next weekend. The first pic there is an all day roasted pork shoulder. It was around seven pounds and it cooked from 9am until about 6 pm. The trick here is to start the roast off at a really high heat (450-500F) for about 20-30 minutes, and then knock it down to 250 for the remainder of the time. you can season the beast however you like. I just did some herbs (scarbourough fair style) and salt and pepper. You score the skin on top and give the meat a good rub down, getting into all the scored areas. I rested the shoulder (always, fat and skin side up!) on some roughly chopped veg (potates, turnips, onions, celery, and carrots) and then just let it do its thing. the roasting meat and herbs perfume your house with a great smell. Your neighbors will be jealous, even more than normal:) about an hour before the meat is done, tip a whole bottle of white wine into the pan and let that cook for the last hour. when it's done, pull the roast out and set aside for about 20 minutes before you start dismantling it, and pour some stock (chick or veg) into the roasting pan and let it reduce to your liking. You could thicken it if you want a gravy, but I just kind of like "jus" style. Served with some sauteed lacinato kale. Next pic is some braised elk and carrots with super creamy mashed potatoes, which were kind of an accident, but will become a mainstay now. here's the do: Peel the tates, salt the cold water and set them on high. let them boil for about 4 minutes and then cover and turn down to low and let cook for about 35 minutes (seems like a long time, I know, just go with it). Drain water and then smash with butter and sour cream (no milk!) until desired consistency is reached. Yeah, they're fatty, but seriously how often do you eat mashed potatoes? well, you might eat them more if you try it this way...season with salt and peps. next dish was butternut squash soup with braised kale, mushrooms, and bacon. a very good soup that will definitely ward off the frigid briskies. Last dish was chicken madeline, a dish I made up for the Iske's. basically chicken paillards, sauteed with brocolli, caramelized onions, and garlic, then simmered in parmesan cream and served with roasted potatoes.

ok, non-foods: Last week, we bought some power tools. Nothing that I ever thought that I would be saying, but, hey, this is definitely a year of firsts. We debated and debated and decided to go with dewalt stuff, and let me tell you, I couldn't be happier. Very well made and definitely full of zip. I've already used the reciprocating saw that I never thought I would use...

Also, Back to foods: sorry, almost forgot. I eventually knew this was going to happen, but have been putting it off for a while...Wifeshow and I are switching to buying organic stuff. Well, right now we've converted to just produce (except for a few things). We are so close to open harvest now and the quality is just so much better. If there is one thing I hate, it's mediocre produce. I thought that there would be a huge increase in cost, but honestly, we did the math and we only spent 5 extra dollars. 5 bucks, peeps. To me, that's totally worth it, just have to be smart about what we buy there. It may not necessarily be better for our bodies, but I know that it is better for the earth. and it's kind of cool that my carrots came from only 5 miles away, instead if a bajillion. if you haven't been there in a while, check out open harvest. they've remodeled the place, and it's pretty nice. hmmm, I forgot to post the cassoulet recipe again....perhaps later in the week...

DISH recommends:

Bubbies Pickles: It used to be my goal to find the best pickle in lincoln, or nebraska for that matter. until a while ago, I had given up, everything that I had found was lackluster and just riddled with neon green chemicals. that was, until, I picked up a jar of these hunger inducing gems. I can't recommend them enough, just be prepared to shell out 7 bucks a jar ! (Got mine at open harvest)

Duck, Duck, Loose!

For the longest time now, i've wanted to make some duck. It's something that I am not the most familiar with, but I do enjoy it quite a bit. For whatever reason, I kept putting it off, until last week, when I decided to just go for it. Made a cherry cider and balsamic reduction to drizzle over the top and also had some potatoes and asparagus that were roasted in rendered duck fat. Pretty decadent dish, but you know, sometimes you just have to...

Also, the legs and thighs were smoked and then used in cassoulet (will post recipe later, would make this too long), along with smoked pork butt and smoked sausages. That dish was so good that I had wolfed it down before I realized I didn't take a picture. Other dish is veggie risotto, probably an effort to offset the massive meat consumption. Speaking of ducks, wolfing things down, etc, here is a story from my childhood, thought you guys might enjoy this:

"The Year of the Duck"

“You have to come over and check this out.” Those were the words coming from my best friend on the other end of the phone line. It was his birthday, and I was sure that his parents had just given him a super Nintendo. After all, it was all that I had been asking him to ask them for. I was out the door in record time, pedaling toward marioland. I don’t even think that I hung the phone up. On the way there, I thought about how much my life was about to change, how I was going to play a super Nintendo before my brothers, and how jealous that would make them; especially when I wouldn’t tell them anything about it.

When I got to his house, I knocked on the door and tried to contain my excitement. I’m sure one of his parents answered the door, but I couldn’t concern myself with such trifle things as saying hello, so I ducked under his mom/dad’s arm and ran back to his room. There he was, on his bed with his back turned to me crouching over his great new “Excalibur” of a present. I took two steps sideways to take in the glorious view of the machine that would dictate our lives for the next year, only to find that what I had come over to see was a baby yellow duck. “I named him “Mighty Duck!” said my best friend. “Do you want to hold him?” Now, of course I didn’t want to hold the duck, I wanted to escape into a land where eating mushrooms makes you bigger and where plumbers can defeat angry, hammer-throwing prehistoric turtles. I wanted to feel the sweet sting of sweat that only comes after an all-nighter of intensive 16-bit video game overload, but all I could say was “Sure.” So I reached out my hand, letting go of my hopes and embracing what did not at all resemble the second player controller. “I think it’s the best present ever!” he said. “It’s pretty great,” was my apathetic reply. What was I suppose to say to him? It was lame and that we couldn’t use it to play contra? About that moment, Mighty duck pooped on my hand. That was it; any hope this duck had of me being nice to it was over. My friend laughed and I wanted to smear my poop hand all over his face, but it was his birthday, and even I wasn’t that mean…yet.

As the duck grew, so did my hatred for him. It would follow my friend around wherever he went and he treated it as if it was his new best friend. The duck was even getting in the way of our playing “home run derby.” That was our favorite game, since we had no super Nintendo. His yard was our baseball field and it was pretty hard to hit a home run. That stupid duck was always in the way. Let’s just say that a lot of low grounders were aimed in the duck’s general direction.

One particular day, we were playing a pretty good game of “derby” and I happened to notice the back gate being open. “Hey man, are you going to shut that gate?” I said. “No, Mighty duck stays right by my side, there’s no need,” he said, with an almost mocking tone. For some reason that statement burned in me like a hot ember and further fueled my resentment for that stupid duck. All the frustration of not being able to live vicariously through a present I, I mean he, had never received had finally taken it’s toll on me. I knew that the next pitch was going to be a worm- burning grounder headed for Mighty Duck. My friend wound up to throw me a fastball, and just as he was about to release the baseball, it happened. A stray dog had run into the yard from the open back gate and headed towards mighty duck. The dog grabbed the duck by the neck and ran off shaking the duck until it flapped lifelessly in the great beast’s jaws. At that moment, essentially a moment that seemed like it was orchestrated by me, the ducks arch enemy, I felt something I had not experienced before. Part of me wanted to cry (a very small part, and mostly for my friend), another part of me wanted to laugh, (because seriously, what are the odds that sweet irony would rain down so heavily upon us?) but most of me was so incredibly confused that all I could do was say, “uhhhhhh…” Sometimes I think that I felt bad because the dog beat me to the punch, but that would make me a monster; sometimes I think that I felt bad for my friend who lost one of his friends in such a horrible way; but mostly I think about how much I wanted a super Nintendo and how much I hated that duck. I guess the moral of this story is, If the dish asks you to ask for something for your birthday, solely for selfish reasons, you should probably do it, or else wild, roaming beasts may run off with your present:)

When I went to the apple jack, I had a caramel apple, but that's only because I couldn't take a dumpling.

I think that I have said before that autumn is my favorite season. I have this theory that you always prefer the time of year that you were born in. Maybe it is because we look forward to that time so much when we are little because we get to celebrate our birthdays and we get used to anticipating it all year long. Anyway, whatever the case, autumn wins out. as the weather turns colder, we find ourselves craving heartier things like soups, stews, and APPLE DUMPLINGS!!! That's right, peeled, cored and stuffed apples wrapped in buttery dough and then baked, and then getting a warm bath in a caramely, brandytastic sauce. Could it get better? only if you ate them on a plate made out of 100 dollar bills with a fork made of diamonds! Wifeshow and I made these (mostly her, except I rolled out the dough (we cheated and bought puff pastry from ideal:)). here's your do: (adapted from martha stewart)

use your favorite pastry dough recipe (or buy puff pastry dough if you spent the whole day helping friends move and then went on a laborious trek to outfit your kitchen with new cupboards and suffered a huge attack of sticker shock, launching you into a post-lowe's coma).

and then:

for syrup:

1/4 packed brown sugar

2 cups apple juice (we used some cider from arbor day farms)

1/2 c brandy

2 tbs honey

1/4 c pure maple syrup

1.5 t freshly grated ginger

2 tbs butter

2 tbs lemon juice

for filling:

2 tbs brandy

2 tbs dried cherries

2 tbs all purp flour

2 tbs almonds

2 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs butter

1/8 t ground nutmeg

1/8 t cinnamon

not filling:

4 apples, I used some jonathans, peeled and cored

4 cinnamon sticks

1 lemon, cut into quarters

dumpling assemblage:

egg white lightly beaten

egg yolk, beaten with tbs heavy cream.

ok, now:

combine all the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan, and cook over med-high (stirring occasionally) until reduced by half (20 minuntes-ish), remove from heat, set aside.

then:

combine all the filling ingredients in a food processor, pulverize. peel and core apples, and rub them with the lemon quarters so they don't turn brown.

heat oven to 450. roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness into 6 inch squares (might need to be bigger for bigger apples). brush entire surface of dough with egg white and then set apple in middle. Fill apple with filling and then insert cinnamon stick, wrapping the dough around and then overlapping it slighty (dipping finger in egg white and pressing overlapping corners into each other), should look like a rustic tart. brush with egg/cream mixture and repeat with the other apples. transfer apples to roasting pan lined with parch or silpat. bake for 15 minutes, then reduce to 375. remove pan from oven and baste with the syrup mixture. return pan to oven and bake 10 minutes more, basting every 5 minutes (twice), continue baking dumplings until golden brown, about ten more minutes (total time 45 minutes). transfer pan to wire rack to cool slightly. heat up syrup mixture and serve with the apples. We put ours in syrup filled bowls (with more syrup over the top, naturally:).

ps, if you have scrap dough (which you will) and you want to be a fancy pants, then take a pairing knife and cut little leaves out of the dough and stick them on, using egg white for glue. then, take your knife and make little "veins" in the leaves. cute points abound. ENJOY!