Failure and Inspriration

Cinnamon Hazelnut Mochachino Rolls w/Cream Cheese Icing

It's been a while since I've blogged about food and/or the Day Job; and since we do have an 'any excuse for a party' policy, tomorrow is NOT a Valentine's Day Party in deference to those without Valentines of their own. Instead, it's a Red Food Party. I had no idea what I was going to make and had several ideas bouncing around and finally settled on a chocolate version of a cream-cheese iced cinnamon roll. But when I went to buy my ingredients, I went in a slightly different direction. The recipe called for a certain brand-name chocolate hazelnut spread, but I found a new brand-name chocolate hazelnut spread and a mocha cappuccino version. I debated... and decided to go with the flashier flavor and went off-recipe, even adding an ingredient. And I'm not sure it worked. In the end, I didn't care for the flavor of the spread (it had an odd after-taste), though I loved the cream-cheese frosting, even though I forgot to add the red food coloring -- and now that I know how easy it is to make, I may try my hand at a carrot cake.* The rolls look pretty good (yes, that's an actual picture of my finished product, taken with my Android). Of course, the ultimate judges will be my co-workers. If no one eats them, I'll know they're a fail. I'll try them again in a smaller batch, according to the original recipe.

So, I know I promised you something inspiring and here it is (via) comes the below video, part of The Campaign for Southern Equality's WE DO campaign, in which LGBT couples across the South apply for and are denied marriage licenses in an effort to raise awareness of the need for Marriage Equality. 

Matt and Raymie apply (and are rejected for) a marriage license in Morristown, TN. Of course,the best parts of this clip are Raymie's sweet, heartfelt speech; their families' support and the sweet, smiling clerks who are obviously supportive. Get your tissues out, (because you're gonna cry, pervs!):

How much have you fallen in love with Matt and Raymie? So I guess I'm officially making Matt and Raymie my Valentines, this year. T and I have yet to have a second date -- thanks to Nemo (ugh!), so I thought I'd celebrate another couple's love, instead. Thanks guys, for making your voices heard; for showing the faces of true love; for giving all of us hope. I hope the two of you have a wonderful and romantic Valentine's Day.

*Uncle P's favorite cake, which his cake baker sister never makes him...

OH NOES!!!  MASSIVE FAIL!!!!

I took a small break from writing to get a drink and finish cleaning up the kitchen when I found I had made a fatal flaw! What I thought was a bottle of ground cinnamon was actually a bottle of ground cumin! No wonder I hated them! Here's a cooking lesson well-learned. Double Check the Label! And now I must make a trip to the grocery store for something on my way in. Crap! Double Crap! ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!

More, anon.

Prospero

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Cooking with Alcohol

Drunken Desserts

So regular readers know that Uncle P gets together with a group of dear friends from college every couple of months for a themed dinner party. We've had ethnic nights (our very first such dinner was 'Homemade Chinese,' if I remember correctly); chocolate and vanilla; all soups; vegetarian; 'Everything Garlic' and 'Cinqo de Mayo,' to name just a very few. Not all of them have been successful though lately, we've been batting 1000. The list of what we've done in past 25 years or so, is starting to outnumber the things left on the list to try. I know we still have 'Man Food' and 'Carnival Treats' (among several others) left to try.

Tonight's theme was 'Cooking with Alcohol.' We started with appetizers: Beer Bread with Guinness & cheese dip and Drunken Wienies in Rum Sauce. Delicious and decadent. Soup was a shrimp bisque (my least favorite part of the meal - I'm not big on seafood dishes, especially soups) followed by the main course: Coq au vin, meatballs in a red wine marinara, beer-battered asparagus with horseradish remoulade and spinach sauteed with bacon, onions and white wine (the veggies were my contribution). All of it delicious and filling, though we were hardly done.

The drunkest part of our drunken dinner was dessert. While the alcohol had basically been cooked out of most of the food we'd eaten so far, dessert proved to be a whole other beast. There was a Walnut Caramel Pie with Port-infused Cherries; Rum-soaked Fruit Salad; 'Shots O' Cupcakes' and Pecan Bourbon Balls (both of the latter pictured above). The pie was yummy and the cupcakes divine (they had Bailey's and Jameson in the icing) but the Bourbon Balls were both delicious and powerful. The first bite was good, but the second hit you like a double shot and warmed the esophagus all the way down. More than one of those bad boys and I don't think I'd have been able to drive home.

Of course, the food is secondary. The point is an evening spent with people I have known and loved for a very long time. Those evenings are always too few and too far between, making them all the more precious when we do get to have them.

I came home and logged onto Facebook, where my buddy Pax Romano had posted about his meatloaf dinner, which made me sort of sad that our dinner parties are never quite like this:

Oh, who am I kidding? They're all just like that!

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Alcohol / Cooking / Dinners / Food / Meatloaf / Nonsense / Old Friends / Parties / Rocky Horror with the title Parties. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2012/09/cooking-with-alcohol.html. Thanks!

I'm Cooking for a Party Again?

Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries and Raspberries

So, this marks the second party this month at the Day Job. Why? Just because. Actually, it's a Leap Year party. Leap Year only happens once every four years, so why not celebrate? Of course, it's really just another excuse to eat and show off our culinary skills.

Since 2012 is a leap year, many folks took the challenge to heart. On the proposed menu are 4-bean salad; 4-cheese quiche; 4-toppings pizza... you get the idea. And while I threatened to make both frog's legs and kangaroo burgers, I settled on a simple 4-berry pie.

I love a good pie, and except for a really excellent cream-cheese icing carrot cake, prefer it to almost any dessert. Pies are also pretty forgiving when it comes to fillings, at least. I used a store-bought crust (real pie crust - especially a good one - is so hard to make*) and two, one-pound bags of frozen mixed berries. I thawed and mixed the berries with a half cup of sugar; a quarter cup of light brown sugar; a sprinkling of flour; two tablespoons of corn starch; a half teaspoon of fresh-ground nutmeg; a teaspoon of fresh-ground cinnamon and a teaspoon of lemon zest. I joined the two crusts with an egg wash, which was also brushed over the top crust, along with a sprinkling of sugar. I baked it at 350F degrees for an hour. The result (which you can see below**), may be ugly (I prefer the term 'rustic') but it smells delicious. I only hope it turns out to be at least half as good as the quiche I made for our Valentine's party, earlier this month.

My Angry-Looking 4-Berry Pie

I still seem to have problems with crimping the edges of my pie crusts so they look pretty, but at least they held together, unlike the apple pie I made last fall, which had more than few separations between the top and bottom crusts (and no, I'm NOT going to make an obvious joke here).

Of course, there will another work party in March, for St. Patrick's Day. I already know I'll be making that Asparagus and Vidalia quiche again - it's been requested by several people and has green ingredients. And it was incredibly simple to make.

I do so love to cook. Not everything I make is successful. I have, on more than one occasion, made some truly disastrous dishes. But I've had some surprising successes, too. My pear-stuffed pork chops a few years ago were rather amazing. And I would gladly enter my Meatballs Marinara in any contest. 

Just don't ask me to make or eat poutine (Yes, Jon, I'm talking to you). The very thought of the traditional Quebecois dish of French fries, cheese curds and brown gravy just turns my stomach. I can promise that will never be a dish I serve my coworkers (or anyone else), ever.

More, anon.
Prospero

*Someday, I'll convince my mother to teach me how to make her amazingly light and fluffy pie crust.

**A cell-phone isn't exactly a Leica.

You have read this article Cooking / Desserts / Food / Nonsense / Parties / Pie / Recipes / The Day Job with the title Parties. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-cooking-for-party-again.html. Thanks!

Party at the Drop of a Hat

NOT My Quiche

Uncle P's day job is at a very well-known NPO. We administer (among other things) a very well-known academic test for a very specific field of post-graduate study (that's just about all I can say without violating the non-disclosure agreement I signed when I accepted my position at said NPO and I will neither deny nor confirm any speculation in your comments - even though all my friends know what that NPO is).

My co-workers are a pretty amazing group of people, most of whom I love dearly. We all tend to be rather liberal in our politics and make no bones about it. We also love to eat and party and I have often said that we will throw a party if someone sneezes. This is especially true of the first floor, where I work. 

Tomorrow is our annual "Red Food Party" for Valentine's Day. Not everything served is red, though many try to bring only red dishes. In my department particularly, we try to be as creative as possible with the food we bring to these events. I know I have blogged about food and cooking here on Caliban's Revenge before. And while I am far from a gourmet chef, I do like to consider myself a rather good Home Cook who tries to be creative (I made an amazing, if I say so myself, Blood Orange glaze for chicken a few weeks ago) while using the skills passed on by my grandmother and mother, as well as tips and recipes I have found on various TV cooking shows.

That being said, I made my first ever quiche for tomorrow's caloric orgy. It was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe and called for asparagus and leeks. My local  market was out of leeks yesterday, though the very helpful produce manager suggested using Salad Vidalias instead.The resulting quiche looks rather delicious (though I still have issues with making my pie crust look as good as the ones on TV) and I, for one, can't wait to taste it. 

While I'm not quite ready to test my culinary skills on "Chopped," I do take comfort in knowing that I am a much better cook than any contestant on Food Network's "Worst Cooks in America."

If, like most of the food I make for these parties, my quiche is devoured before noon I will make a triumphant announcement about my glowing success. However, if, like a few of the dishes I've attempted it remains uneaten at the end of the day, I will never speak of this again.

UPDATE: The quiche was gone in less than 45 minutes. I was lucky to get a sliver (which was delicious, if I say so myself).

Also - does anyone else hate Valentine's Day as much as I do?

More, anon.
Prospero

You have read this article Cooking / Food / Parties / Quiche / Ramblings / The Day Job with the title Parties. You can bookmark this page URL https://tammycross.blogspot.com/2012/02/party-at-drop-of-hat.html. Thanks!