Thursday, February 12, 2009

porrkk!!!!!

I forgot to write bout the pork dish I made on Tuesday night!!!

sometimes it does stink to cook just for myself but when I work on creating a recipe and it comes out great I sort of forget that I ate it alone in my attic.

I bought a pork tenderloin that I thought was on sale but it turnedbout not to be. so I over spent but I still wanted to enjoy it.

after researching some ideas I was inspired by the idea of a braise and also using a mustard marinade. mark bittman's recipe used Dijon and curry powder on the pork.

I did that but used champagne shallot Dijon. I seared it and then put it in a pan with chicken broth, more mustard, garlic cloves and cherry tomatos. I wish I had put even more mustard and more curry for a stronger flavor but in the end the juice was soooo good and the pork was soft and delicious.

I roasted some winter squash and that was great with the juice as well. so yummmmm right!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Memories

I'm watching lydia's Italy right now and her grandmother is on. Lydia made gnocci with cinnamon sugar and smoked ricotta and the grandmother was so excited. she said seeing that dish brought her back 60 years to a similar dish she had.

I think food is all about memories like that. foods and smells always bring bAck memories, science proves it!! I live for the smell of a roast chicken because it always brings me back to my moms kitchen when I was little. I think I started to love cooking because I want to recreate those food memories.

I am trying to think of meals or dishes that I might remember in 60 years. I will always remember my first raw oysters and I will never be able to eat oysters without thinking of my former main man.

I will always remember the experience of eating borscht and blinis and smoked fishes in Russia. it was so comfortig to be in a foreign country and eat those foods that I had grown up with. it made me feel so Russian.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

fried chicken, no burns

I have been craving fried chicken foe pretty much my entire life.

today I made some!!!!!!!!! it was my first time frying anything and I would say it was a success. my first batch burned even though I followed mark bittman's temperature directions exactly.

it stilltasted lovely and my next two batches were PERFECT. I first marinated the chicken in buttermilk, cayenne, thyme, salt and pepper. then just flour to coat.

the crunch was magnificent and the taste was pretty good but I wished I'd used more spice.

I feel pretty icky now. tooooooooo fatty fat.

while I love fried chicken I think I will only eat salad.

here is a poem about the experience.

the crispy chicken
bubbles and spats
crunches. spices.
fat
grease
fat
crispy greens will follow