Wednesday, December 16, 2009

the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!

One cold November day, I received a mysterious card in the mail. Bill? No. Credit card offer? No. Then what could it be? I anxiously tore it open while still in the elevator and gasped with surprise and sheer glee: a BID. Not just any bid, a neon pink bid card inviting me to join the most prestigious club in all the land: Cooking in the Hood!

The theme for December was easily agreed upon: BOOZE. Being the new girl, I had to do something pretty great. Well, aside from consuming alcohol, what's the next best thing you can do? Set it on fire.

I read a few different recipes for saganaki, the famous flaming Greek cheese (ironic now, isn't it, with the whole bid process. i digress) and picked my favorite parts of all the recipes. So here we go:

Kasseri is the most widely-used cheese for this--it should be a hard cheese, but melt nicely.















Cut into slices and place in shallow bowl.















Soak in brandy for 2 hours
















When ready to serve, dredge in flour















and FRY in a hot skillet. (30 seconds to 1 minute on each side--you want a crust and it to start to get melty)















Oh, oil your pan first so the cheese doesn't stick.

I then transported the cheesy goodness to the secret Cooking in the Hood clubhouse, and rewarmed in the broiler.

As soon as the cheese is hot and melty (again, in my case) pour 2 tablespoons (or a generous shake from the bottle) on top of the cheese and light a match.

photo credit: ms. ashley

Prepare yourself for thunderous "oohs" and "aahs."

photo credit: ms. ashley
Now there are a couple tricks to this, which lead to why we don't have better documentation of the fire:
1. make sure your brandy is warm--room temperature is fine, but it needs to not be cold or it wont flame.
2. the heat from the cheese also help warm the brandy up to flamable temperatures so as soon as the cheese is out, the fire-lighting process must initiate.
3. nothing actually excuses the fact that i have no pictures. i am, after all, a terribly successful food blogger.
shameless plug. i'm okay with it.
Squeeze some lemon on top to extinguish any lingering flames and serve immediately.

As the newbie (or pledge, depending who you ask), I'll be hosting January's meeting--can't wait!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Cheers from the hood....


Let's say you spend 5+ hours on a train, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, where there are not enough seats for tickets sold (Good job Amtrak!) and crying children all around you.

Let's also say, you didn't listen to your mother and bring food on the train. You're hungry and cranky, and have to wait in a cab line of enormous lengths at Union Station.

But it's all okay!!!

Why you ask?



Because your fellow hood members are standing by with cake and champagne to greet you!

A celebration and toast to a year gone by and a year ahead, it was made with Lmac's grandmother's checkerboard cake pans and lots of love (and patience i think). Vanilla dyed pink, and chooclate cake, with chocolate icing. Who wouldn't love that?

Balance it with a glass (or two) of champagne, and it's a dinner fit for a queen. Take that Amtrak
















Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Very Merry Thanksgiving for Two

Let me begin by apologizing to my fellow Cooking in the Hood members. Somehow the pictures from the inaugural cooking club have disappeared, somewhere between the camera and the computer. There's a good possibility Bacon Boy pulled them off the camera and promptly did nothing with them. So, my apologies for the lack of pictures (or entry, really) from our authentic Italian feast – it was so long ago at this point, I can't do the meal and the wine consumption the justice they deserve.

To make it up to you, may I present: A Thanksgiving for Two (or 10), as prepared by me and BB.

Our (Mostly) Vegetarian Menu:

Turkey (prepared completely by BB - previous work seen here)
Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding, made with a Blue Hubbard squash, instead of butternut
Brussels Sprout Slaw with a Mustard Vinaigrette and Maple Glazed Pecans
Cranberry Mustard Relish
Corn Linda (a Thanksgiving must have in our house)
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Rosemary Bread (BB's creation)












This was our fourth Thanksgiving spent in DC together, and sadly, our third one spent without other guests. Don't get me wrong, I love cooking, and spending a very quiet weekend with BB, but there comes a point when you make too much food for two people, who are eating leftovers every day for a week. But it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the overindulgence and gluttony, right?

Well, it's certainly not helped when a recipe you are following seems to quadruple as you prepare it, as was the case of the Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding. This recipe came from the November issue of Bon Appetit, a trustworthy source. It even had an entire article devoted to this one particular recipe. I'm always looking for a new main dish for me, and this covered two requirements – a filling main dish and stuffing (or dressing, for you Midwesterners out there). It was added to the menu, without a thought.

It started at the Sexy Safeway, when we had to ask them to restock the kale, for the pound listed in the recipe. Of course, then the butternut squash they had were puny and soft. Crisis averted, I chose a fun, new squash from their pile of winter gourds. Then they were out of baguettes, so we opted for a loaf of French bread, to be mixed with a Quinoa Multigrain loaf. We've both lived in the city long enough, we know better than to expect any grocery store we go to actually have everything on our list, especially in our neighborhood, so we're both pretty adept at change.

The real issues came during the preparation. First, the lovely Blue Hubbard has some of the thickest flesh I've ever seen on a squash. The blister I got on my finger from peeling the thing can attest to that.


Then there wasn't nearly enough of the custard for the bread to soak. And did you know that washing, de-ribbing, and chopping a pound of kale reduces your already tight counter space to just about zero? Move on to the sautéing of the kale and shallots. This resulted in a few burned leaves (and most of the shallot), and the realization that following the recipe might not be the best idea anymore.

The final straw was in the building of the dish. The recipe clearly calls for two layers of everything. I'm not sure exactly what kind of magic casserole dish they were using in the Bon Appetit test kitchens, but mine was full at one layer and comical at two.


Forty-five minutes later, our meal came together beautifully. Is there a better feeling than pulling all your dishes out at the same time, everything hot and ready to eat? I say no. Everything was delicious, as usual, even the ever expanding Squash and Cheddar Bread Pudding. Of course, we ended up freezing half of it, and still had to throw some out. Moral of the story: don't always believe the serving size listed in a recipe. Maybe next year we'll have company and won't have to worry as much?


Don't worry, you're all invited.
- Lauren McK