My Urban Pantry

first birthday

November 14, 2010Leave a comment

Caribbean Mahi

we began the round of fall/winter gifty events this week with Z’s mom’s birthday. Most of our family’s big days fall between November and February with few stragglers. Our Christmas box to Colorado always included nine Christmas gifts, and four birthday gifts. This year we are way ahead of the curve with most of the shopping completed in the way I like – seeing items that we like for a specific person as we shop or travel, the first gifts being bought way back in the summer when we visited the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and stashed in the closet.
We enjoyed a birthday dinner for Barb at Crabby Bill’s minus the waterfront view because thanks to daylight savings the sun had set.

pre-thanksgiving roulade

November 8, 2010Leave a comment

why is so much fall food tan?

we aren’t making Thanksgiving dinner at our house but rather making rounds at Z’s and maybe later my parents. Tonight we made a turkey roulade filled with my mom’s stuffing recipe. I haphazardly butterflied a turkey breast (totally ugly, not a skill I presently have!) and pounded it to a semi uniform thickness. I spread stuffing over the whole and rolled and tied it with string. I put a bit of salt and pepper and canola oil on top and baked it for about 1 hour 40 minutes at 350. While it baked I made my Grandma James’ twice-baked potatoes. As is usual for our Sunday nights lately we ate dinner late…closing in on 8. But really, way easier than the whole bird and the cleanup was a snap. I stand behind not making the whole bird-this is loads easier, faster and kind of fun too.

paves du mail

November 7, 2010Leave a comment

we went round town relieving our closets of their closely guarded hordes. The old cat carrier and drinking fountain to the pet adoption people, bags of kitchen detritus and clothes, books and old computer programs to Goodwill and making a big loop of errands around town. Not a terrible way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We made it home around 5 with thoughts of supper and a flank steak waiting for a sear. So, house filled (and I am exaggerating about filled) with smoke we pan fried peppered flank steaks and tossed a quick salad with house-made lemon shallot vinaigrette. I was supposed to be able to use the pan juices to make a sauce with cream, dijon mustard and brandy but I didn’t have juices so much as char so we skipped the juices and bubbled the others together in a shallow pan. It was a little bitter sauce with a creamy bite to the finish and the steak was perfectly cooked but the scent of smoke lingers like leaves burned in the fall.

oh Canada!

November 4, 20104 Comments

Canadia Cheese Soup

ever been to Epcot and watched the gripping 360 degree surround movie they play in Canada? Well, the music goes something like Canadaaaaa, oooooh Canadaaaa…. CANADA, OHHHH Canadaaaaaaaa and is one of those things that randomly wanders through your mind. OFTEN.
Now, I love Canada, which I fondly call Canadia. Growing up in Seattle we often went north to Victoria visiting the wax museum, Butchart Gardens, the rainforest, etc. We went to the world expo in 86 in Vancouver. A good friend Linda and I went to Canada on the Victoria Clipper the weekend I decided food and cooking would be my hobby. Shout out to La to because she is having a baby any day now which will be her new hobby.
All that said, we had this great cheddar beer soup while we were at Epcot on Friday and bought the cookbook to recreate it at home. I can’t find a link for purchase.
Wycliffe is home to a couple of voting precincts so yesterday I worked a little bit of a weird schedule, 10:30-8 or so and when I got home, about 8:30, Z had a pot of soup sitting on the stove waiting for me to spoon it up! He is a great cook and so good to make me supper after a long day of crowds at work.
This recipe makes a massive pot. He made a couple small changes from the Le Cellier Canada area recipe, including a bit of extra cooking for the bacon and extra chicken stock as the thick factor kind of nerved him up but they were good changes This is a pretty easy soup to made and so great.

1/2# of bacon, cut into lardons
1 medium onion, 1/4″ dice
3 ribs of celery, 1/4″ dice
4 T butter
1 cup flour
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
1# grated white cheddar cheese
1 T Tabasco
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Moosehead Lager

serves 10
1. Cook the bacon, stirring until crisp in a 4 or 5 quart pot.
2. Add the onion, celery and butter, saute until veg are soft – about 5 minutes.
3. Add the flour, whisking constantly for about 5 minutes over medium. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil for about 1 minute. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the milk and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Do not boil after you add the milk.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, Tabasco, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Stir in the beer.
6. Garnish as you wish. Serve with some toasty rolls.
The festival cookbook adds that you can add some extra milk if it is too thick but the addition of extra stock seemed to alleviate this problem.

kitchen cure week two/three

October 31, 2010Leave a comment

we went out of town last weekend so I missed the second week of the cure and am combining week two and three this weekend.. Week two is purging unused or excess and what I am really finding is either I don’t have that large of excess junk or …I am not willing to part with it. This has been more of an exercise of sorting, organizing and cleaning than that of purging. I spent the bulk of my day yesterday pulling items out of cupboards and drawers and wiping down the insides and neatly replacing the majority of what I removed. I do have a small pile of knives and other paraphernalia that I can live without and won’t miss.
Week three is restocking and replacing items that were expired, broken or otherwise needed. I have a short list to pickup at the market with the regular shopping, bay leaves, cumin, sugar…that kind of thing. My couponing while shopping has more or less kept pace with anything that needed throwing away and I can happily replace items out of my own stash. I also need to send my knives for sharpening and make a trip to Ikea for napkins and maybe some new place mats. I also have a few small appliances to replace or purchase but think I will hold out for Christmas or other gifting opportunities… a different waffle iron – mine works fine but I’d like a square four up instead of Belgian single, a new/unbroken toaster. Z wants a food processor, maybe an induction burner or two and some All-Clad. After all, we are foodies.

ps. this afternoon we went to Ikea and Crate and Barrel. I am the new owner of some cute new placemats and a square waffler.
pps. we ate brunch at ikea – scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries and french toast dunkers all for $1.99