Audrey and Jon | Travel. Food. Life. Love.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Posted Thu, 09/29/2011 - 19:50 by Audrey

I tweaked a Bon Appetit recipe and it was pretty good!

Ingredients

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3/4 cup dried chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger

5 garlic cloves (2 whole, 3 chopped)

1 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger

1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half

3 pounds 1" cubes lamb shoulder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)

Mate-ini

Posted Mon, 09/19/2011 - 18:02 by Jon

Infuse the gin (or vodka) with 1 Tbsp dried mate tea using nitrogen cavitation. Allow to degas.

Make a martini

Average:

Your rating: None Average: 3 (1 vote)

Corn Soup

Posted Mon, 09/12/2011 - 19:31 by Jon

With a hat-tip to Bon Appetit

butter
2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups); can substitute yellow onions
5 ears shucked corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs reserved
1 cup coarsely chopped peeled potato (about 1 medium)
4 cups good-quality vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)

Food Links: Bacon Hacking, Beer Politics, More Politics

Posted Sun, 09/11/2011 - 16:17 by Jon

Eight bacon "hacks" : http://lifehacker.com/5837068/8-essential-bacon-hacks (best hack: bacon cups). OK, one more bacon hack: homemade bacon salt: http://lifehacker.com/5838933/make-your-own-bacon-salt . OK, last bacon hack, a Cooks Illustrated method for using bacon paste (their term, not mine) to help chicken kabobs: http://www.101cookingfortwo.com/2011/04/bacon-coated-chicken-kab...

Another fun hack (or a disaster) - sous-vide cooking salmon in your sink: http://lifehacker.com/5830856/cook-salmon-sous+vide-in-your-kitc...

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Lacquered Chicken (Pollo Asado en Mole Rojo Clasico)

Posted Thu, 09/08/2011 - 18:00 by Audrey

This is an adapted Rick Bayless recipe that we use with our mole.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup Classic Red Mole
1/8 cup agave syrup (preferably organic raw) or dark corn syrup
Bone-in chicken pieces
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Sesame seeds (toasted, if you like)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Your rating: None Average: 4 (2 votes)

4-day Cabin Plan

Posted Mon, 09/05/2011 - 13:23 by Audrey

Jon and I have found a great rental "cabin" about 1.5 hours outside of DC (not giving our secret away!). We go there about once or twice a year to unplug and relax. We invariably have a great time.

Each time we go, we plan a menu and bring everything we need to execute it. To help with future planning, here are menu options and shopping lists.

Summer Option

Lunch D1 (optional): Stop at Ashby Inn, Goodstone Inn, or Trummer's On Main.

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Bernice's Fried Eggplant

Posted Wed, 08/31/2011 - 06:57 by Audrey

... with just a little tweaking.

Serves 8.

Ingredients:
2 medium-large eggplants
1.5 cups breadcrumbs (panko or regular)
1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
Spices from your pantry (such as garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper)
2 eggs
1/2 cup or more of all purpose flour
Vegetable oil
[Note: halve these proportions for a medium-sized eggplant]

Pre-prep:

Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)

Negroni

Posted Mon, 08/29/2011 - 19:16 by Jon

Equal parts:

gin
Campari
sweet vermouth

Mix with ice in a lowball.

If you have genever, this is one of the few cocktails where you can sub it in directly for gin, though TheGinisIN recommends "In fact, if you up the Genever and Vermouth in the 1:1:1 ratio to a 2:2:1 you come up with a cocktail that is the sophisticated brother of the Manhattan. The Campari brings a lot of the qualities that the bitters in a Manhattan bring to the table."