Random

So I was just watching Top Chef: New York, and I'm pretty sure that on Jeff's caption, it said the Dildo Club instead of what I'm guessing was supposed to be the Lido Club. I may be wrong. I know they've been having some trouble with spelling and grammar in the captions this season.

Sick Food

(my current buffet setup. Delish!)

Winter is upon us in full force, so it seems appropriate (and sucky) that I have a cold. I’ve been trying to recover before I return to school next week, so I’d like to share with you some of my favorite things to eat while I’m feeling under the weather.

Chicken Soup

o This one seems obvious—it’s true! The Jewish panacea is up to its old tricks and more delish than ever.

o In our family, my mom makes stock from scratch using whole veggies and a whole chicken (not just the bones!), as well as a nice little sachet of herbs [note-she has yet to spill the entire recipe to me].

o Simmer in a stock pot for a few hours and when done remove sachet, veggies and chicken.

o You can cut up the chicken and veg to put back into the soup, and add matzo balls, of course!

o Unused soup can be frozen in small portions and defrosted for all of those peripheral colds during the springtime!

Miso Soup

o When I’m up at school and sick I love a cup of miso soup while I’m studying.

o Trader Joe’s has a wonderful instant miso that rivals any restaurant’s bowl.

o I try to add some shelled edamame, kale, or frozen peas for a nutritional kick while I’m sick, because we tend to eat less, especially less healthy veggies.

Bananas

o Bananas are great sick food because they have lots of potassium and are easy to get down when you have a sore throat, which is a nice break from eating soup.

Matzo Brei

o Traditionally a Passover breakfast dish, this is also great when you’re sick

o Really easy and delicious! Take two pieces of matzo (I recommend using plain and not egg) and break it up into cracker-sized pieces.

o Soak in water for about 5 min to soften and gently squeeze out excess water. Add to 2 eggs and scramble up in a pan. It's basically scrambled eggs with matzo.

o There is the great sugar-salt debate that has yet to be resolved: I personally like to sprinkle (more than) a little sugar on top while my mom is a firm salt believer. Please do not add ketchup—that is blasphemous. Ok, you can, but only if I don’t have to look at it. Other options are jelly, applesauce or maple syrup.

I try not to eat a whole lot of milk products while I’m sick. I find it messes with my stomach and makes me feel even more lethargic.

I love the really strong menthol-y cough drops, but I try to alternate them in with a delicious chocolate hard candy. It’s easier on my taste buds and makes me feel like a functioning member of society again. The reason I pick chocolate is because 1) it’s chocolate and 2) it’s easier to handle chocolate and menthol (like mint chocolate) than anything else and menthol.

Other tips are: don’t drink alcohol (drinking cough syrup is ok!), get lots of sleep (usually not a problem) and drink lots of water. A lot of people forget to drink water while they are sick. Tea is great but it’s a natural diuretic so you lose a lot of water when you drink it, and OJ is good for colds but has a lot of sugar.

If you are sick too, I hope you feel better soon!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Let's hope 2009 will be better than everyone thinks it will be.

I just want to introduce/explain a little about myself for anyone who reads this. I'm a senior in college, entering my last semester (wow, scary). In the fall I decide that I didn't want to continue on the academic track that I was on, which was psychology. I don't want to do grad school, which is what I would need for any sort of career in psychology, and probably also a PhD. I love science and psychology and I always will, but it's definitely not what I want to do with my life. I want to go to culinary school. I love tasting food, handling food and making food. I like reading about it and following trends. I like experiencing food from all directions--not just eating it, but picking out items in the store, trying new flavor combinations and new ways of making things. It took me a long time to realize that it's not just a hobby for me--I want to be involved with food as my career path.

After I graduate in May, I'm going to move back home to the NYC area and attempt to get a job/internship anywhere that will take me. Maybe a restaurant, maybe a bakery, maybe a food blog. I need experience and want to save up some money to attend culinary school within the next few years. This blog will a record for me to keep of my experiences, but I'd like to share my story with anyone else who is considering changing their lives in any way. It's never too late.

I've been applying for jobs and internships galore, but haven't heard back from anyone. Yes, it's disconcerting but I'm learning to deal with rejection. I'm definitely going to keep trying and sending my resume and calling about interviews. I know that I have so much to offer to anyone who will give me a chance. I'm going to stay positive.

Feel free to contact me with any words of advice, questions or comments: my email address is seafoamgreen07@gmail.com

Cupcakes and Hot Chocolate

Today was a fun food-filled day in NYC! I started off shopping for a New Years Eve outfit but couldn't find anything I liked. I was invited to lunch at a good friend's apartment uptown so I stopped off at Batch to pick up some cupcakes for dessert.

Batch is Pichet Ong's bakery which is right next door to P*ong, his restaurant. I have heard good and bad about Batch, but I have to say that the cupcakes and service was amazing. The young lady who helped me was beyond friendly and answered all my annoying questions. I was bringing the cupcakes to a friend who is allergic to pretty much everything on the planet so I was asking ingredient-related questions. She was more than happy to help me. I ended up picking out about a dozen cupcakes of varying flavors.

We went out for lunch at a fantastic diner (standard diner fare, not really worth going into) on the UWS and went back to the apartment to enjoy the cupcakes. Though small, they were incredible. Dense and moist, and fantastic. I had a vanilla-vanilla cupcake with pastry cream filling. Unbelievable is all I can say about it.

I drove home with my dad and on the way we stopped in DUMBO at the Jacques Torres Chocolate Shop and got some of their "wicked" hot chocolate--spiked with chili. Very thick, yet delicious. Not really "hot", but deliciously spicy and smokey. There's a bit of a kick in the back of your throat which actually helps cut through the richness in both consistency and taste. It was a nice snack as we sat through traffic on our way home. It definitely took the full hour-and-a-half for each of us to finish a small 8oz cup. Totally worth it, and not very expensive--about $3.00 each.

Recipe: Hanukkah Shortbread Cookies

These are by no means exclusively for any occasion, but in honor of Hanukkah, I made them in fun Hanukkah-related shapes–dreidels, menorahs and Stars of David. Tonight my mom is frying potato latkes and my dad picked up sufganiyot from our local Israeli market, which are fried jelly donuts topped with powdered sugar.

These are a little different than traditional shortbread recipes because of the addition of cornstarch, which makes them very hard to mess up. Cornstarch is a thickening agent, and is best used cold, then heated, and thickens as it heats up. Because of this, it is best to wait for a few hours until after they’ve cooled to eat, if you can keep prying hands off of them for that long!

Shortbread Cookies (makes around 40 cookies):

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature but not melted (2 sticks)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 tsp lemon or orange zest

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whip butter on high speed of electric mixer for 5 minutes. It should be lighter in color and smooth.

Stir in remaining ingredients, and mix on medium for 3 minutes and high for 3-4 minutes.

Remove from bowl onto plastic wrap and place in freezer for 10 min and move to refrigerator for 15 min.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly flour counter and rolling pin, and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

From here cut cookies from cookie cutters or slice into squares or desired shape.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet, leaving at least 1 inch space between cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.

Cool on wire rack. If desired, add frosting or glaze, but they are fabulous as is.

Enjoy, and Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate!

Recipe: Pumpkin-Spice Marshmallows

Note: This post appeared here in my previous blog.

I made pumpkin pie marshmallows!

Actually, they are more like Turkish Delight (or Lokum, as us who have been to Turkey and are extremely cool for that will call it) than anything else. Marshmallows are traditionally airier than is lokum, but made similarly with starch, corn syrup and sugar. I think mine were supposed to come out nice and light but I probably didn’t mix it for long enough. EDIT: After a few days, they are infinitely better and actually taste like marshmallows now!

The recipe I got is from Serious Eats, a favorite source of mine for everything food and foodie. The recipe, found here, is surprisingly easy to make. It’s an original recipe found in the book Marshmallows by Eileen Talanian. They came out so fantastic, I’d love to try other recipes from her book!

The marshmallows themselves only took about 30 minutes for me to make, and I let them set for about 2 hours before I gave up and cut them. I simply couldn’t wait! So sue me. They do taste exactly like pumpkin pie, although I added 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of the varying amounts of individual spices. The recipe seems pretty small to yield the amount that it did; I came away with 135 slightly-larger-than-mini marshmallows by cutting a 12.5×8.5 cake pan’s worth into 15 rows and 9 columns (or 9 rows and 15 columns, depending on how you hold the pan). This recipe is great for those with limited baking supplies because all you really need is a stand mixer. I had to go out and buy a candy thermometer for $15, but that’s about it. And all of the ingredients are pretty much something everyone has at home; even if you don’t, they are things that every grocery store should carry, like gelatin and corn syrup. It’s one of those things where everyone thinks you’re a master for staying home and slaving in the kitchen, and no one has to know what it really took!

My dad’s a huge fan of them so far (I see him sneaking one each time he walks by them!) and my sister said they were ok but I think she’s afraid to admit how yummy they really are.

Hello!

Hi, I'm currently a senior in college and recently decided to disregard the fact that I'm getting Bachelor of Science in Psychology and turn my life around and go to culinary school. As I'm preparing for my spring semester of senior year, I'm going to be chronicling my experiences with the food industry and sharing recipes and tips.