I decided it was time to remind you how adorable I am, so I put together some of our best moments in my kitchen together for you. You’re welcome.
The very best ever so far
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Category Archives: Videos
Thanksgiving Side-Dish Face-Off 2: Shaved Root Vegetable Salad
Shaved Root Vegetable Salad: So pretty. So thin. We should all try to be more like Shaved Root Vegetable Salad. I mean, not you. You're already so pretty and so thin. But those other people. They should try.
Thanksgiving Side-Dish Face-Off continues today with a Shaved Root Vegetable Salad facing off against the Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad, which then morphed into Kale Slaw.
Shaving things, as it applies to food, is more appealing than it first appears. I will now provide examples: chocolate shavings, shaving a paper-thin slice of apple and placing it in vodka, shaving potatoes and baking them instead of sitting in your pantry eating potato chips and crying. I am now out of examples, but you see the possibilities here.
Or perhaps it’s just my love of mandolins, a device that provides magical slicing options and the ability to accidentally commit suicide while cooking. Continue reading
Thanksgiving Side-Dish Face-Off
Sometimes after you cook a nice meal for your family, you stand in the corner behind a camera and document them. Everyone enjoys it.
We hosted Thanksgiving for the first time last year. As people do, I set up cameras around the house to capture the experience and create a fake movie trailer about it. It was more or less a dry run to see if I had it in me to create a video cooking blog. And I did. Are you thankful for that? I bet you are. You’re welcome.
As we gear up for hosting again this year, I’m trying to cook as many side dishes as I can to see which ones should make the cut for the big day. Side dishes are the real magic of Thanksgiving, right? Last year’s spread, 19 dishes in all, included homemade macaroni and cheese (we made the macaroni fresh that day), chestnut and parsnip croquettes, pumpkin pie made from scratch and 16 gallons of vodka.
I’ll have more on the side-dish face-off soon. First up: kale and brussels sprout salad vs. shaved root vegetable salad.
Screwdrive your Halloween: Layered black vodka cocktails
We’re hosting a Halloween party Saturday, and I’ve been drinking a lot developing cocktail and punch recipes. Pumpkin pie martini. Dry ice in the punch bowl, or in each glass. I also wanted to include Blavod black vodka in the mix. Nothing says Halloween more than drinking something that looks like death, right? Right.
Then, as I do, I decided to try to make my own black vodka using food coloring. And it works!
Then I wanted to layer the black vodka with something orange. And it works!
This is a basic screwdriver — orange juice with black vodka floating on top. I wanted to keep it basic, and now I have a few days to figure out how to punch it up some. Vanilla vodka? Black sambuca? Pairing our vodka-tasting set with our punch bowl so guests can spike their punch with layered shots of their choosing?
It’s all in the name of science. Oh, and justifying all those failed cocktails that I couldn’t let go to waste. And for you. I did it all for you.
Texas Caviar
Texas Caviar: When you make something this healthy, it's best to balance it out by eating it with chips.
During our Tastes Like Freedom party, we grilled pizzas, potato and paneer skewers and eggplant for baba ganoush. But I knew I’d need a few things I could whip together beforehand and toss on the table. I remembered I hadn’t made one of my favorite dishes this summer — Texas Caviar. I realize this reveals just how pretentious I can get, but I tried several times to think of a better name for the dish. I settled on Salsa Fresca for the menu for the party … but at least one friend was horrified, thinking I’d taken the Tequila Fresca idea a bit too far and turned it into food. Hadn’t thought of that.
The appeal of the dish is that it’s so easy. You open cans. You put the contents together. You pour on some dressing. You chill it. You immediately remove it from the fridge and eat an inappropriate amount to make sure the flavors are right. You chill it again. You serve it. You continue to eat an inappropriate amount, this time in front of your guests.
I’ve tried to fancy up the flavors quite a bit … and am convinced that the real secret is Seven Seas Italian dressing. Fancy yours up as you like, but the dressing will do the trick. Continue reading
Soda jerks.
Did Scott like my Blackberry Mint Soda recipe, or did it put our marriage in peril? Let's find out.
Say, do you remember last week when we made three types of vodka sodas? If you don’t, then I bet you’ve been making them every night since! Now, if you would, sober up just long enough to see how my taste test went.
As soon as I wrapped up taping for the vodka soda video, my husband walked in from work. Is there anything more American than having a cocktail ready to go when you’re husband walks in the door? I mean, aside from the overwhelming amount of camera gear, the ingredients in the glass that were not vodka and the fact that we’re both dudes, it was like a scene out of “Mad Men.”
Remember, the Strawberry, Lemon and Basil Soda and Spicy Ginger Soda recipes were from bon appetit, and I made up the Blackberry Mint Soda recipe on the spot. Did Scott like mine as well as the chef’s recipes? Watch and find out.
Also: I told you about how protective he is of that flour sifter!
Soda three ways
Blackberry Mint Soda, Strawberry, Basil and Lemon Soda and Spicy Ginger Soda
I decided to try bon appetit’s Strawberry, Lemon and Basil Soda and Spicy Ginger Soda recipes. Then I created my own — a Blackberry Mint Soda. The idea here is simple enough: take fresh fruits, herbs and spices and bring soda water to life with their flavors. I used a different technique for each — muddling the ingredients, making a puree and making a simple syrup. This is easy stuff, and definitely worth doing. Mashing strawberries and basil in a glass with some lemon juice, sugar and salt takes but a few moments.
There’s nothing special about the soda water here, either. It may be called seltzer water or sparkling water. Club soda works, too, if you can’t find those, but it may have a slight flavoring to it, whereas soda water is just carbonated water.
I shot a taste test with a very special guest for these three sodas; I’ll have that video ready for you soon. But suffice to say, my Blackberry Mint Soda was an experiment and an attempt to compare the muddling method with the pureeing method. Truth be told, next time around, I’m just going to muddle everything in the glass or make a simple syrup. The puree took a few extra steps that didn’t add much to the flavor or texture.
Blackberry Mint Soda (in the video)
Puree 2 pints of fresh blackberries. Pour two tablespoons of the puree into a glass, rip up six mint leaves, fill the glass with ice, fill with soda water and top with a shot of vodka.
Blackberry Mint Soda (just do it this way)
Muddle eight blackberries, a tablespoon of sugar and six mint leaves in a glass. Fill the glass with ice, fill with soda water and stir to chill. Strain into another glass filled with ice (unless you’re fine with a chunky soda … . (I am.)). Top with a shot of vodka.
Before shooting this video, I asked on Facebook and Twitter what flavors I should make. Two flavors that piqued my interest: pear cardamom and lavender lemonade. What flavors of soda would you make?
Enchilada leftovers
Last week, we made Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas as we drank Tequila Fresca and snacked on nacho. A good time was had by all. If you did not have a good time, you did something wrong.
Those enchiladas were delicious. And they were easy. But I still had some oopsies along the way. And so, in the grand tradition of that one other time I offered you my leftovers, today I give you my enchilada leftovers — the things that didn’t make the cut.
Mistakes are part of what make cooking fun. Enjoy mine.
Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas
Hello, friends. It’s Fat Tuesday. Let’s get fat together by eating a generous portion of delicious Mexican melting cheese.
Today I made my Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas for you. Why layered, rather than rolled? To cram in as much food as possible into a single baking dish. More food means more cheese. More cheese means more happy. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, in which case our definitions of true happiness likely differ a great deal. I’m a healthy eater, but, dude, I like cheese.
OK, I have a trick to make this not fattening at all, but you’ll have to watch the entire video to learn the six steps involved in getting there.
Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas
Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas
- 2 lbs. red, fingerling or purple potatoes (or a whimsical combination)
- 20 oz. fresh spinach or 2 10 oz. packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 can of corn
- half an onion, diced
- 1 T olive oil or vegetable oil
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional)
- serrano pepper (optional)
- love (optional)
- 18 corn tortillas
- 2 10 oz. cans of enchilada sauce (I grab a 28 oz. can just to play it safe)
- 4 C Chihuahua cheese
- 2 T cumin
- 2 t chili powder
- sour cream
- green onions, diced
- tequila
- Peach Fresca
- sea salt
- single tortilla chip
First things first. Make your Tequila Fresca.
Boil the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, about 25 minutes.
Heat the oil and sauté the onions until glistening, about two minutes. Add the spinach and, if fresh, toss with tongs until wilted.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Chop one chipotle pepper and add to spinach mixture, as well as some of the adobo sauce. Slice the serrano pepper and add as well. Stir. If you’re feeling brave, add one more chipotle pepper. If you’re trying to impress someone with your heat tolerance, add the whole can. I will miss you.
Coat the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with enchilada sauce. Layer six tortillas evenly. Coat lightly with more enchilada sauce.
Drain the potatoes and cool slightly. Either cut into 1-inch cubes or just break them up with a spatula. Throw them in a mixing bowl. Add the black beans, corn, cumin and chili powder. Stir well.
Add the potato mixture to the baking dish. Smash it in. We need room for a lot of food. Add cheese. Be generous.
Check your Tequila Fresca. Are you 1/3 of the way through? Try to keep up.
Add six more tortillas. Coat lightly with enchilada sauce. Layer the spinach mixture evenly on top. Smash it down. Add more cheese. Yes, be generous again.
We’re going into the later layer. Is your Tequila Fresca 2/3 gone? Go on. Catch up.
Add the last six tortillas. Tuck them into the dish if necessary. Coat with enchilada sauce. Don’t let any part of the tortillas remain exposed. Add the rest of the cheese. If you have extra cheese, reward yourself with nacho.
Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for another 10 minutes, ensuring cheese has had appropriate time to melt and hug other ingredients. Now you’ve got 40 minutes. Make more Tequila Fresca. Make more nacho. But only one at a time! You don’t want to fill up.
Let the enchiladas cool about 10 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces, equally are according to how much you enjoy the company of those you are serving. Garnish with sour cream and green onions. Serve with Tequila Fresca.
For when you require one nacho
Last night, I made Layered Potato and Spinach Enchiladas. And I filmed it all. Just for you.
Now, I don’t have the video ready to go yet, but I do have another offering for you. In the grand tradition of using tortilla chips as vehicles to eat all of the ingredients as you cook a Mexican dish, I give you this — my top-secret recipe for making nacho.
That’s right. Nacho. Singular.
Earlier this week, I gave you my leftovers. Think of this as an appetizer, before those enchiladas are ready for you.
Fun Fact: It’s really hard to look like a normal person in the randomly assigned screenshot YouTube assigns. Please enjoy how strange I look. I do it all for you.
Fun Fact 2: Want to stay in touch? Use the e-mail sign-up form on the right to get an update every time I publish a new post.
Fun Fact 3: I think you’re great.
