Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Yeah I don't know what to call this one.

FrknCrzyAzn (4:21:50 PM): k0w0y (4:20:53 PM): at least with girls bathroom, there is mostly pee that contaiminates the stall
k0w0y (4:21:02 PM): but you know it's all fecal bacteria in the guys
...
k0w0y (4:21:25 PM): oh, god
k0w0y (4:21:25 PM): ew


SibladeKO (4:23:00 PM): please stop sharing this conversation or i'll kill you

Monday, May 23, 2005

Good ole Spaghetti Sauce

Topic: Recipes
Cuisine: Italian

This is just put together so that Anna would have something to follow.

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb of lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
1 tspn garlic powder
1 teaspoon italian herbs
1/4 tspn salt
cracked pepper
1 tblspn olive oil + 1 tblspn

mix garlic powder and at least 2 good grinds of pepper with meat.
In a small pot heat oil to medium high. Brown meat. Remove. Heat other tblspn of oil and saute the mushrooms and onion with salt. Cover to speed up the cooking process but later cook uncovered to let out the excess water. Add italian herbs and beef. Mix. Add the sauce. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes. You can further thicken with corn starch paste.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Chicken Marsala and Garlic Oil Bread

Topic: Recipe
Cuisine: Italian

The obligatory recipe. Taken from the back of the marsala wine bottle.

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 portabello mushroom caps, sliced
1 cup marsala cooking wine
Chopped parsley
kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Half a lemon. Use the other half for water or something.
1 tablespoon cornstarch with water into a paste.

Slice chicken thighs along the center thinner section. Take each section, cover with seran, and pound flat with a mallet or flat side of a large knife. Pat dry with a dry paper towel. Season both sides of chicken with a pinch of salt and 1 crack of black pepper, or more cracks if you like pepper. Dredge the meat in flour.

In deep sauce pan, melt butter in olive oil in medium heat. Brown both sides of chicken, about 4 minutes on each side. Set aside. One good thing to do with them instead of setting them aside in paper towels is to put them on cooling racks on cookie sheets in the oven on warm heat.
Saute mushrooms, stir in wine. Cook away the alcohol. While the sauce is boiling stir in the cornstarch paste to thicken the sauce. Place chicken back into the sauce to make sure that each piece is well covered. On serving plate squeeze lemon over it and garnish with parsley.

You can add more marsala wine.... 1 cup or so with another tablespoon cornstarch into paste... for some pasta. Once coating the chicken in sauce remove chicken to serving plate and throw cooked pasta into the sauce... stir around and remove. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. You can use the other lemon half for the pasta.

Garlic Oil Bread

1/2 cup olive oil (light or extra virgin)
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon italian herbs

Warm oil in medium heat. Throw in garlic and herbs. Remove when garlic gets a little brown. You can use this as dipping oil OR...
Take a loaf of bread and slice it diagonally but not all the way so that it's still all connected. With the loaf on aluminum foil, spoon oil, herbs and all, into every other gap in the bread. Wrap up and throw into the oven at 300 degrees for 5 minutes.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Hot'n Sour Soup

Topic: Recipe
Cuisine: Chinese

Modified from a Ming Tsai recipe. Where the heck IS that guy?
*He just kicked Bobby Flay's ass in Iron Chef America :) Booya

1/2 lb julienned pork chop or other lean pork meat.
1 teaspoon sesame oil, + 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon soy sauce, + 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Vege oil (1 tablespoon?)
3 dried chilies
1 tablespoon minced ginger
10 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup julienned bamboo shoots
2 eggs beaten (or more if you like egg)
1/2 cup wood ear
1/2 cup lily flowers
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with cold water to make a paste
3/4 cup chinese Black vinegar (If using something stronger like cider vinegar use 1/4 cup)
1 pack of silken tofu (uh... 3*4*2 block?) cut into cubes
chopped scallions
cilantro
salt, White pepper, black pepper

Most of these ingredients are decently easy to find. The not-so-easy ones would be the wood ear and the lily flowers. These may be available at the local Asian grocery store in the dried form. Of course, fresh is best. You can easily find bamboo shoots canned and already julienned.

Notes about rehydrating wood ears and lily flowers: Rehydrate in wood ears in warm water and lily flowers in boiling hot water. Every so often (20 minutes or so) change water (no need for boiling hot in the lilies the second+ time). Rehydrate for at least one hour.

Combine pork with teaspoon sesame oil, teaspoon soy and 2 tablespoons cornstarch and let sit for 30 minutes. In a pot on medium-high heat coat the bottom with oil and sear the pork. Set aside. Add chilies and ginger, stir. Add stock, sugar, bamboo, wood ear, and lilies. Bring to boil. While boiling, stir in the cornstarch paste to thicken. If you like your soup even more goopy add more paste :P While boiling again, drizzle in egg in a circular motion to make ribbons. Add vinegar, soy, sesame oil, pork, and tofu. Check for seasoning with any of the sauces.

When serving add cilantro, scallions, and pepper. Those fried chinese noodle things at Americanized chinese restaurants are awesome too, or you could just fry up some wonton skins.

This recipe can be easily modified to suit your tastes and you can add practically anything you want to it. The most important flavoring in this soup (aside from the vinegar and chiles) would have to be the pork. It just doesn't taste any good without it. Of course this recipe could be veganized but who would want that.