Quenepas

I think I was nine the year I went to Puerto Rico with my dad for his friend's son's christening. My mom and brother stayed home for reasons I can't remember, so for a couple weeks it was just the two of us, exploring the island and eating.

Like me, my father likes to snack and feast, and thinks about his next meal midway through the current one. He gladly handed dollar bills out the car window to panhandlers on the highway selling plantain chips and bags of cucas--these hard round cookies about the size of my palm that tasted of ginger and shortening (with a hint of exhaust). They're the kind of cookies you gnaw on instead of chew, and I could gnaw through a bag for the better part of an afternoon while driving across the island.

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Inspired Living: On Turning Thirty & Creating the Life You Want to Live

In exactly 30 days from today, I'll be turning 30!

I know a lot of people tend to approach this milestone with a certain sense of bad freaking-out-ness (totally a real word), but I'm just excited.

Why? Because I'm exactly where I want and need to be right now in my life. I created a career for myself that allows me to do all the things I love, and which has set me on the path to achieving all the things I dream.

Please note the use of the word "created." That's so key, because I really did create it. It was an active move on my part. I figured out the stuff that I love to do, and then I figured out a way to get someone to pay me to do them.

About 3 years ago, I made a dream board. A dream board (also known as a vision board or a treasure map) is really just a visual collage of all your hopes and dreams and goals. It's a way of concretely making a statement about the things that you want to draw into your life.

I've been making dream boards since I was a little girl. My mom, a life coach and psychologist, is BIG on them. I remember sitting at the table with her and my little brother cutting and pasting pictures of things we wanted.

The big dream on that board I made 3 years ago was the phrase "work from home." I pasted it over an image of a woman soaring through the air in a red dress, which to me looked like the perfect embodiment of freedom and success. By that point, I had figured out that working in an office was not for me. I hated having to report at the same time to the same place every single day. I hated having to sit in a chair for hours and hours a day, just because. I hated memos and meetings and things that took hours when they could have easily taken minutes.

Even though my job was pretty awesome and afforded me some incredible opportunities, I couldn't get away from the feeling that I was wasting my time and not doing what I was meant to be doing. I used to wake up feeling stressed and dreading the day ahead; on Sunday evenings, a feeling of depression would take over as I thought about the week ahead. I felt like I had very little time to do what I really wanted to do, and would resent anything that took away from my tiny bits of freedom--dinners with in-laws, phonecalls from friends, even weekend brunch dates! I was constantly calculating just how many hours I would have left to pursue my real dreams.

In the Fall of 2010, I started getting backaches. The pain started getting worse and worse, radiating down my legs until one afternoon at work I was in so much pain that I hobbled into my boss's office and tearfully asked her if I could go home. It hurt so badly that I had actually started to cry. I took a cab home that day, swallowed about 4 Advils, and fell asleep on the living room floor with a heating pad on my back.

A doctor discovered that I had a bulging disc in my lower back, and I soon started treatment. I worked out an arrangement with my employers that allowed me to work from home or leave early on days when the pain was too strong. I also would usually leave for a couple hours during the middle of the day for physical therapy. The funny thing is this: despite the massive amounts of physical pain I was in, I found that I was overall feeling much happier because I was spending less time in the office.

Yup, I was actually thankful for my super painful injury!

And that's when I realized I had to make a change, because it's never a good thing when horrific physical pain is actually the better alternative.  (Feel free to quote me on that.)

I started saving money and worked things out with Eugene so that I was able to leave my job about 6 months later. I admit that I left without a plan. I had vague ideas, but I just knew that I needed to get out of that "comfort" zone (as uncomfortable as it actually was) and force myself to go for something truer to myself.

What actually ended up happening was different (and better!) than I expected. I started freelancing and was even hired by my old bosses to write the food and cocktail pages for the magazine Cosmopolitan for Latinas, which launched last year.

I've gotten to travel to more places since I left my job, than I did in the previous 6 years combined.

I started doing more and more TV appearances and hosting, and realized that it's something that I both love and am actually very good at. I also made some great partnerships with brands that I actually use and respect to develop recipes or serve as a spokesperson.

There is a lot more on deck for the coming year and I am enjoying every minute of it.

And another (and probably the best) thing has happened. While I enjoy the free time and ease of the weekends, I find that on Sunday nights I'm excited for the week ahead. Sometimes, I can't even wait for it to start, because I know that each day brings another opportunity to do something amazing.

And that's the BEST THING EVER, because we have each been granted limited time on this earth, and I don't believe that any of that time should be wished away or dreaded. 

If I hadn't taken that major step a couple years ago, I would probably be facing 30 with a mix of depression and fear, but right now, I'm just ready for the awesome ahead.

Let's do this!

****
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My Kitchen Favorites (AKA Stuff I actually use daily)

Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite kitchen tools. These are the things that I actually own and use in my kitchen on a near daily basis. Take a look--maybe you'll get a few fun gift ideas for the cooks in your life! (Or just for yourself, that's cool too!)

(From left to right, top to bottom)

1. Metal Tongs: I have about 5 sets of tongs in my kitchen and I use them constantly. They're great for putting marinated chicken or steaks onto the stove, flipping grilled veggies, turning tortillas, tossing and serving salad, the list is endless. I even use them for pulling down boxes from high shelves in my kitchen (do this at your own risk--I usually end up with a box on my head). Bloomingdales, $29

2. Kitchensmart Solid Oven Mitt: These are my FAVORITE oven mitts. When I got married, a bunch of people gave me overpriced oven mitts from Williams Sonoma--and they all developed holes within days. But THESE super cheap ones from Bed Bath & Beyond, rock. I also love how they're designed with the thumb on the bottom (as opposed to the typical "mitten style") so that you can easily grip hot, heavy pots. (They're also great for opening up jars.) Bed Bath & Beyond, $7

3. Le Creuset Saucier: I love this little pot and actually want to get myself a couple more. It's made with the same heavy construction as the large dutch ovens, but is the perfect size for everyday cooking--I use this to make soup, fry foods, make tea or hot chocolate, make rice or quinoa, reheat food--it's incredibly versatile. Amazon, $180

4. Joseph Joseph 8-Piece Nesting Set: I first discovered this super cool nesting set of measuring bowls, sieves, and measuring cups at City Cookhouse, the commercial kitchen space I occasionally rent to teach in. Each piece is a different bright color and they all nest right into each other--which is great if you have limited space. They're dishwasher safe, too! Amazon, $36

5. Krups Coffee/Spice Grinder: I don't really drink coffee, but I use my grinder all the time for whole spices, and to grind down espresso beans for cooking purposes. It works super quickly, doesn't take up much room, and is a great way to add intense flavor to your cooking. Bloomingdales, $25

6. PAM Baking Spray: I'm generally anti cooking sprays, but this thing is a gem. It has flour in it so you can easily spray baking dishes (especially tough ones with weird crevices like bundt pans or decorative molds). I always have consistently perfect results when I use it. Most major grocery stores, $3

7. OXO Hand-held Mandoline: One of my favorite and most fun kitchen tools by far! I'm a cucumber salad addict, so I use this almost daily to slice up super thin slices of cucumber in mere seconds. It's also great for potatoes (potatoes au gratin!) and fruit. I actually own three mandolines, one that cost about $300 and another that cost about $150, but this one is so low-maintenance that I use it WAY more often than the others. Crate & Barrel, $15

8. Le Creuset Batter Bowl: This is a great bowl for mixing up pancake or cake batter--the spout makes it easy to pour things without spills. It's perfect for melting large amounts of chocolate in the microwave. I also use this for soup (I sieve into this bowl and pour into serving dishes or storage containers). It's heavy, thick quality and dishwasher safe. Amazon, $40

9. Williams Sonoma Spatulas & Spoonulas: For Christmas last year, my dad got me this entire set of spatulas and I absolutely love them. I used them daily to get the last bits of cake batter out of the bowl, to fold things, even on my nonstick skillet for things like scrambled eggs. The high quality silicone can withstand high heat and the thick wood handles don't break like cheaper plastic versions.  Williams Sonoma, $8-$22

10. Mikasa Swirl White Dinnerware: This is our everyday china and it's absolutely gorgeous. Matte swirls on the outside and a glazed center. The texture is just lovely (the bowls and mugs have a great hand-feel) and they're really versatile for food photography, or for paring with other brightly colored pieces. I'm kind of a klutz and these take quite a beating without showing a scratch. Bed Bath & Beyond, $150

11. Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce: I don't like regular tabasco, but this smoky spicy version is fantastic. I use this on tacos, on seafood, on my eggs in the morning. It's great over soups, and I occasionally even use it as a marinade. Good stuff. Get the big bottle. Most major grocery stores, $5

12. Smoked Spanish Paprika: My most used spice by far! If you haven't tried it yet, you really should. It adds fantastic smokey flavor and color to dishes. A little smoked paprika, olive oil, and salt, and you've got a great simple seasoning for chicken, shrimp, fish, veggies--everything! Gracious Home, $3.50

13. Le Creuset Balloon Whisk: This is a great silicone whisk to have on hand for use with delicate pots (like enameled dutch ovens, nonstick pans, etc.). It withstands high heat without scratching the pans. I got mine as a gift ages ago and it ended up being one of my most used utensils. Macy's, $27

Important note! All of these products are things that I actually own and use in my own home kitchen. I purchased these myself and/or was given them as gifts from friends (not companies). I'm not being paid to recommend these to you, although if you happen to buy them via my Amazon link, I will get a teeny tiny affiliate commission (pennies on the dollar!) that goes to help support my work here on this blog. 

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What's in My Grocery Bag 12/9/12

I got a comment on Facebook from one of my readers, Michele, who asked if I could bring back the "What's in my Grocery Bag" feature where I share my shopping list and my plans for the ingredients for your voyeuristic pleasure and/or inspiration.

I'm not really sure that I can actually call it a feature since I really only did it twice before I forgot about it (classic Alejandra move). Eugene saw the comment and seconded the request because it's also one of his favorite "features."

I think it's because he likes to know what I'll be feeding him in the coming weeks.

Or maybe he just wants to know what exactly it is that I do with the grocery money...

Either way, I just did groceries a couple days ago, and this is what I bought.  Please note that it had been nearly a month since I did groceries because of travel and events, so this was a much larger order than usual:

Dairy & Eggs
1/4lb Bulgarian Feta (To crumble over cucumber salads and to use in some merguez sausage tacos I've been toying with in my head. I typically prefer Greek feta, but Bulgarian is also good and about 3/4 the price. Thrifty!)
1/4lb Gorgonzola Dolce (For a little holiday appetizer idea I'm planning: crostini with spiced walnuts and poached pears. Will post that recipe soon!)
1lb Lioni Latticini Fresh Mozzarella (For general snacking throughout the week. I slice it, let it hit room temperature, then sprinkle it with salt and olive oil.)
3 Containers Fage 0% Greek Yogurt with Cherry Pomegranate (Eugene likes this flavor so I got him a few for breakfast. Personally, I prefer the full fat plain kind although the mango guanabana is also pretty good--I just add the jammy stuff to my full fat yogurt. I think 0% yogurt is pointless.)
1 quart Farmland Heavy Cream (for homemade whipped cream and to make chocolate ganache)
2 - 1lb Unsalted Sweet Butter Blocks (for holiday baking: fruit cakes, rum cakes, and cookies. I love buying butter in blocks--it feels kind of old fashioned)
2 Dozen Pastured Large Brown Eggs (They're more expensive, but I only ever buy pastured eggs. They're always a little bit wonky-sized, the yolks are bright orange, and they sometimes have bits of chicken poop stuck to the eggshell...that's how you know they're good! I use them for baking, breakfast, and pasta carbornara. (Obviously, I wash the poop off first.))
1/2 gallon Ronnybrook All Natural Creamline Milk (Non-homogenized so the fat rises to the top, just the way God intended. Super creamy NY milk. I don't drink milk straight--I use it mostly for baking and hot chocolate, and the rare cafe con leche when I need an extra dose of focus. Eugene uses it in his post-gym protein shakes.)
1/2 gallon Silk Coconut Milk (I admit I don't 100% love all the funky additives in this, but I love the taste of it and it's a great non-dairy option for breakfast smoothies, drinking straight, and hot chocolate. Also it's about 90 calories a cup, compared to 350 calories in the canned kind--not even exaggerating here.)

Deli
Citterio Cubetti Pancetta (I like to cook these until crisp and add to salads in place of lardon. Also great with roasted Brussels sprouts.)
D'Artagnan Chorizo Sausage (My favorite! Made from heritage pork. I already used half of this in a chorizo, kale, and chickpea soup. The other half became shrimp and chorizo tacos.)
1/2 lb Provolone Cheese, Sliced (sandwiches, maybe in some kind of baked pasta dish if Eugene doesn't snack his way through the whole package)
3/4lb Schaller & Weber Bauernschinken (cured thin, super salty farmer's ham. Amazing in sandwiches, but Eugene and I usually just eat slices of this plain as a snack. I also occasionally fry a slice on a dry skillet to have with my morning scrambled eggs.)
1/2lb Schaller & Weber Smoked Bacon, Extra-Thick (I dice this and use in soups, salads, and with roasted veggies. On the weekends, Eugene will make himself a slice or two along with his eggs.)

Fruit
2 Bosc Pears (Poached as part of the aforementioned crostini with Gorgonzola dolce--if Eugene doesn't eat them first! He's a fruit fiend.)
4 Hass Avocados (We already ate all of these! We had guacamole for dinner on Friday and I ate the other one smashed on sprouted grain toast with a sprinkle of salt.)
4 Honeycrisp Apples (My favorite! Super crisp and the perfect blend of tart and sweet. Love these just on their own or with slices of cheese and ham--a mini ploughman's lunch, if you will.)
4 Organic Pink Lady Apples (2nd favorite--also very crisp, tart, bright pink skin.)
8 Lemons (Zest goes into baked goods, pasta, yogurt sauces. Juice goes into my daily water. I drink lemon water all day long every single day. My body is about 60% lemon water.  I also use it in marinades and Eugene has thin slices of it with his tea at night.)
2- 12oz bags Ocean Spray Cranberries (Not totally sure yet. Some baking, probably. I might make this Cranberry Ropa Vieja again, too. They were on sale so I snagged them. They may end up in the freezer.)
5 Red Grapefruits (Eugene's favorite snack. He eats one a day and the entire apartment smells like citrus for an hour. His hands always smell like grapefruits, which I suppose is better than my hands, which always smell like smoked paprika, garlic, and vanilla.)
1 Banana Bunch (smoothies, Eugene's protein shakes, on-the-go breakfasts, occasionally frozen and dipped in melted dark chocolate)

Meat
1 6lb Beef Brisket (Braised in a coffee and ancho chili rub until fork tender. Then I pulled it and we had it for dinner tonight as tacos. Amazing. Recipe coming soon.)
4lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (I cut these down into tenders, marinated in chimichurri, and divided into 1lb portions that I put in the freezer for future quick meals.)

Seafood
2 Verlasso Salmon Fillets (I brushed these with olive oil, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and pepper, then broiled until crispy on top for dinner on Thursday. Eugene had the leftovers for lunch on Friday along with a cucumber and red pepper salad.)

Vegetables & Herbs
Celery (for snacks, salads, and as a base in soups)
1 Bunch Cilantro (on tacos and in marinades)
6 Heads Garlic (in everything!)
1lb Green Beans (trimmed, tossed with olive oil and salt, then roasted)
3 Large Green Cucumbers (Sliced thinly with my mandoline, then dressed with olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Crumbled feta on top. Easiest side ever! I eat this almost daily for lunch.)
2 Large Bunches Green Kale (For soup, sauteed with olive oil, garlic & red chile flakes, and in salads)
1 Bunch Italian Parsley (For chimichurri marinade that I use on chicken, shrimp, and steak. I took pictures when I made it, so I'll post the recipe for you soon.)
2 Red Bell Peppers (For salad and sofrito.)
3 Red Onions (Sliced thinly and pickled to serve on tacos with the pulled brisket, also roasted in the oven along with root veggies, and diced into guacamole.)
1/2lb Satur Farms Brussels Sprouts (A local NY farm that grows amazing produce. Roasted in the oven with pancetta or bacon.)
1 lb Satur Farms Wild Arugula (For quick salads with olive oil and lemon, topped with pancetta or avocado, served alongside salmon or grilled chimichurri chicken)
4lbs Yellow Onions (For use in marinades, soups, sofrito, caramelizing…pretty much everything!)

Grocery
Dole Pineapple Juice (For cocktail recipes I'm working on for an article. Also for marinades and deglazing the pan after grilling the aforementioned chimichurri chicken. Eugene will probably just drink most of this unless I stop him.)
1 Quart Coconut Water (For drinking. Most amazing stuff ever.)
3 Cans Carnation Evaporated Milk (For making homemade Coquito--the Puerto Rican version of Egg Nog, and Christmas fudge to gift.)
2 cans Goya Coconut Milk (For coquito, coconut rice, and curry)
2 packages La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas (My FAVORITE brand of tortillas! They're half corn and half flour, which makes them 100% delicious. For all the aforementioned tacos)
Rosa Mexicano Kitchen Corn Tortilla Chips (For guacamole.)
Spice Supreme Oregano (I was out of it. I use oregano in pretty much everything that I cook.)
2 Bags Stacy's Pita Chips--Simply Naked (These were on a 2 for 1 sale so I got a couple to keep in the pantry for snacks and last-minute company. Love these with hummus!)

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On Intuition and Kitchen Disasters

How good are you about following your gut instincts? Do you pay attention to your intuition, or do you shrug it off, preferring to stick to what you planned or think you should do? I recently got a great reminder about why I should always, always, follow my intuition.

Early last month, Eugene and I drove down to Brooklyn for brunch with my in-laws. We met Eugene's dad, mom, and brother in Williamsburg and then walked around a bit until we found a nice spot to eat.*

After brunch and a few scoops of palm sugar ice cream from the Van Leeuwen truck, Eugene and I got back in the car to return to the city when I suddenly got this weird urge to stop by Brooklyn Kitchen. I wasn't even really sure where it was located though I knew it was somewhere in Williamsburg. We were already starting to drive away when I kind of blurted out that I wanted to stop by there. Eugene, used to my impulses, didn't even question me as he looked up the address on his phone then entered it into the GPS which led us the three blocks to the store. I didn't have anything in particular in mind though I wandered around a bit looking to see what jumped out at me. While checking out the flyers on a table wondering if I should leave a few for my classes,  I came across a postcard for a culinary retreat at a place called Good Commons. I grabbed the card (and left a few of my own) then headed out.

Later that evening, I was about to go to bed when I decided to check out the postcard again. The retreat sounded fantastic: a long weekend in Vermont, visits to local farms and artisan producers, gourmet meals, massages, a hot tub, even round trip transportation! It led me to the retreat's Facebook page where I saw a contest to win a free trip to the culinary retreat. To enter, I just had to submit a brief story about a recent kitchen disaster. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided to go to bed and enter in the morning. In fact I did shut down, but something kept nagging me as I lay in bed. So I got back up, turned on my laptop, and at 2AM I wrote my story. I sent it in, along with the photo below, and went to bed.

The next morning, I told Eugene about it. I said, "I entered a contest to win a trip to that culinary retreat and I'm definitely going to win." Once again, used to my unusually confident declarative statements he just laughed and went to work.

Needless to say, a week or so later I heard back and I had won! Here is my little 2AM kitchen disaster story:

"It was already late, but the craving wouldn't wait.  I worked from memory, and just like each time before, the dark chocolate cake moistened with freshly brewed espresso baked up perfectly. While the layers cooled, I started the frosting, opting to go with something foolproof given the late hour.

I melted the butter, pouring it into the base of the mixer and added scoops of cocoa, watching as the paddle whirled the dry and wet into a unified silky, black pool. A pinch of kosher salt, an over-flowing tablespoon of homemade vanilla, a splash of raw Jersey cow milk delivered fresh from the farm.

I reached for the glass canister of confectioner’s sugar and scooped in a few powdery white clouds. Stirring gently at first, then raising the speed until the dark liquid grew lighter, fluffier. The texture was perfect so I took a taste.

Bitter! I could taste cocoa, the butter, but not a hint of sweetness.

I added another puff of sugar, thinking, “perhaps I miscounted the scoops?” Around and around the paddle whirled; powdery white disappearing into the chocolate. Another taste.

Still nothing!

More sugar. More whirls. Nothing but bitterness. My mouth and eyes in confused disagreement by what each experienced.

And then? A hunch. I took another taste, this time from the glass jar I'd nearly emptied in frustration. It tasted starchy, floury, dry.

It was not sugar.

A few days earlier I'd organized my pantry, wiping things down. Tossing things out. Transferring baking ingredients from flimsy boxes to strong glass jars, each neatly labeled with my own handwriting. Somehow--perhaps at the end of that long day of sorting--I got it wrong, pouring cornstarch into the jar meant for its much sweeter twin.

I scooped out the contents of my mixer. I'd just made myself a batch of the most sweetly-scented chocolate play-dough I had ever seen."

The prize weekend ended up being fantastic. Stay tuned for pics and more details in my next post.

xoxo

Alejandra



*I think the place was called Elsa's or Ella's, but I don't recommend it as the food was terrible, the water tasted dirty, and the waitress was wearing an uncomfortable-looking pair of tweed high-waisted shorts that gave me a vicarious wedgie each time she came to our table. I did not order dessert.


****
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What's in My Grocery Bag

I totally had a picture of my grocery bag overflowing with food to accompany this post, but my camera ate it. (It must have looked very delicious.) Anyway, now you get a picture of 2 shelves in my refrigerator instead.

Do you know what I love? Those articles in magazines that feature celebrities "revealing" what they have inside their purse. I know that a lot of times these lists are totally staged and edited, and that the pics don't even feature the actual things, but I'm still a sucker for that voyeuristic peek inside a stranger's life.

With that in mind, I thought that it would be fun to start including my own version of the "What's in my bag" feature by spilling the contents of my grocery bag (figuratively, that is; I don't want any eggs on the floor). It's supposed to be fun, but I also want to give you a little more insight into the way that I (we) shop and eat around here on a daily basis, and what I do with ingredients beyond what makes it onto the site.

So here it is. The contents of this week's grocery bag (I've also included notes on what I plan to do with each of the ingredients.)

Dairy
1/2 lbs of Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged 2 years (to shave over salad and soup, use in pesto)
2 17.6 oz cartons of Fage TOTAL Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt (that's the full-fat kind; I use this in and on everything…fish tacos, on soup, to make dipping sauces and dressings and lassi, on potatoes, in baking.)

Seafood
3 Wild Soft-Shell Crabs (Hello, lover! One for Eugene; TWO for me!)
1 bag Shell-Off Medium Farm-Raised Uncooked Shrimp (frozen; don't have specific plans for these right now, but they were on sale and they're always great to have on hand for quick meals)
10oz Wild Caught Mahi Mahi Fillets (also on sale and frozen; I'm going to make fish tacos with these)

Meat and Poultry
9 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (these were on major sale, hence the huge quantity I purchased; I will separate it and most will go in the freezer for future meals. Some will become chicken paillard.)
1 1/2 lbs Organic Grass-Fed Lean Ground Beef (this will become meatballs)

Fruit
5 Hass Avocados (I love having plenty of avocados around for sandwiches, tacos, salads, and guacamole)
4 Lemons (we go through lemons like crazy in this apartment; these won't even make it to Friday. I use them for salad dressing, baking (the zest & juice), my morning water, and Eugene's nightly tea)
2 Red Grapefruits (I'd like to broil these with raw brown sugar on top but the reality is that Eugene will probably get to it first. He likes them plain.)
4 Organic Pink Lady Apples (for snacking along with cheese and to put in salads; I already made an arugula and apple salad with one of these; stay tuned...)

Vegetables & Herbs
1 bunch Organic Broccolette (sauteed with olive oil and garlic, then tossed with whole wheat pasta and the Parmigiano-Reggiano)
3 Organic Garnet Yams (diced and roasted with sage; will probably serve with chicken)
1 bunch Organic Scallions (for eggs and mashed potatoes; also for cream cheese if I end up making bagels)
1 lb Local Asparagus (roasted with olive oil and a LOT of black pepper (I may also make risotto with this and the parmigiano)
10 Baby Artichokes (trimmed, blanched, and sauteed with butter, olive oil, and garlic; baby artichokes are so much easier to deal with than their full-grown counterpart)
16 oz Brussels Sprouts (I will be making this with these)
6 Kirby Cucumbers (pickling these into half sours)
2 bunches Organic Lacinato Kale (for raw kale salads and soup)
4 stalks Rhubarb (rhubarb crostata or maybe compote)
5 lbs Russet Potatoes (mashed potatoes and potato skins)
10 oz Satur Farms Wild Arugula (salads with the avocado, apple, and some lemon juice; so simple and good)
Sage (for the yams)
Chives (for the mashed potatoes)
 
Grocery
1 box Arrowhead Mills Organic Quinoa (a side for chicken, as bulk and to replace breadcrumbs in the meatballs)
1 jar Roland Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil (for pasta sauce and salad dressing)
1 package Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast (3pk) (baking whole wheat bread and english muffins; maybe bagels)

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Say it with cake

"If you want it badly enough, and are willing to make some changes in your life to cause it to happen, you too can take over the world... or do anything else you really want to do. Yes, you really can have it all. The only things you’ll need to give up are assumptions, expectations, and the comfort zone that holds you back from greatness." Chris Guillebeau

Last week I brought a chocolate cake into work. Not so unusual in my world since I'm always bringing a chocolate something-or-other to the office, but this one was special—two round 10-inch layers of moist, dark chocolate cake filled with chocolate raspberry cream all encased within a thick layer of wavy cocoa frosting. I set it on top of the work station near my desk and sent a message out to everyone in our department letting them know there was cake available. In the email, I noted that the name of the cake was my "special announcement cake."

That got them alright.

Within a few seconds, nearly everyone had come by to find out the news. I pointed to the cake, on which earlier that morning I'd used my pastry bag to pipe out a buttercream message.

“I’m Leaving HMI,” the message said. HMI being short for Hearst Magazines International, where for the past four years I’ve worked as a magazine editor.

My coworkers were surprised—some laughed, some were sad that I was leaving, some took photos with their iPhones. All were excited about the announcement and (naturally) the “paper” on which it was printed. As we sliced the cake, I told them about my plans. I summed them up easily. I simply said, "I'm going to focus on my food thing."

No explanation needed. Everyone seemed to know. And of course! For they've stood by for the past four years, eating my cakes, reading my blog posts, granting me days off so that I could moderate panels at food blogger conferences, attend special tapings of the Martha Stewart show, and get my photo taken for magazine articles about me. They've sent me links to Food Network casting calls, and asked me for help with meatloaf recipes. And when I told my bosses (a couple days earlier with a proper meeting and computer-typed letter, not just cake frosting), they guessed before I said it and were supportive, understanding, and not the least bit surprised.

So now you're the only ones left to tell. (And, I have to say, the ones I've been most excited to share this with.) Starting around 5:01PM on April 1st, I will officially make the move to self-employment, exchanging the security of a steady paycheck and fancy job title for the opportunity to pursue the dream that’s been slowly growing and forming and crystallizing in my head for the past several years.  I'm leaving the comfort zone (which, less face it, has grown increasingly less comfortable the more I realized what I really wanted out of life) and am going for greatness.

When I started this blog a little over three years ago, I had an inkling. I knew my passion and I knew that there was something else, something more, that I was meant to be doing.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but starting this blog was the thing that ultimately helped me figure this out. Through this blog I’ve found my voice, I’ve developed my skills, and I’ve met people and received opportunities that have now made this next step possible.


My plan for now is this: As of April 4th I’ll be blogging 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, here on Always Order Dessert. The focus will continue to be original recipes, but with added content—entertaining ideas, inspiration boards, bagged lunch ideas, cookbook reviews, and video tutorials (and lots of other things I dream up along the way).  Instead of a part-time hobby, I'll be treating this blog like a full-time job; I'll be spending my days developing and testing recipes, improving my photography skills, writing, editing, and constantly bringing you new and inspiring content. A few months ago, I was talking about my blog with someone who had asked me about my traffic. I responded with my not-so-shabby numbers and added, “imagine what they would be if I could do this full-time!” With this move, I plan to find out.

Along with the blogging, I’ll be freelancing for both print and web with a focus on food and lifestyle article. I have a few things already in the works, but am of course open to more. (If you have any opportunities or ideas, please send them my way!)

I'm also going to finally (!!!) finish that book proposal that I have started and thrown out and restarted at least half a dozen times over the past two years. I sometimes kick myself that this has taken so long, but I’m also a very big believer in timing and I know that the only reason why I haven’t felt completely satisfied with what I’ve written yet is because the time has not been right. Each time I go back and revise or start totally from scratch, I get a little closer to finding my book--the one I'm meant to share with you.

And (as if that weren't enough), I'm also working on a couple special projects that I'll be sharing with you all in the coming weeks.

It's a lot, and I know I'm going to be working longer and harder than I ever have before in my life, but it's the work that I want to do, and I know that it will ultimately pay off.

I have so much more to say about this change. So much to say about the people who inspired me to just go for it, the ideas that I've been working on, and the people who have made this possible, but I think that all deserves its own post.

Stay tuned, and for now, have some cake.


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New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading! 

Dark Chocolate Layer Cake w/ Chocolate Raspberry Filling
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, March 1999 (via Epicurious)

Ingredients
For the Cake:
4 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate
1.5 cups hot brewed espresso
2 cups granulated white sugar
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup grapeseed oil
1.5 cups light buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the chocolate raspberry filling:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound confectioners sugar
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

For the frosting:
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Directions:

First make the cake:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour two 10" round pans
  
Finely chop the chocolate and place in bowl. Pour hot espresso over the chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth. Set aside.
  
Into a large bowl sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thick and pale yellow. Add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide the batter between pans and bake about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
  
Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely.

Make the filling:
In the base of a mixer, cream together the butter, milk, salt, vanilla extract and confectioners sugar until fluffy. Beat in the melted semisweet chocolate. Fold in the raspberry preserves until evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill until ready to use (rewhip if necessary before filling cake).

Make the frosting:
In the base of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together about half of the confectioner's sugar, the 2/3 cups cocoa powder, 1/2 cup butter, half of the milk, the salt, and the vanilla extract until fully combined and creamy (about 5 minutes). Slowly beat in the remaining confectioner's sugar and milk, and continue to beat for about 5 more minutes until smooth and fluffy. Use immediately to frost cooled cake, or cover tightly with plastic wrap

To Assemble:
Place one layer of the cake on a serving dish. Use a pastry bag or zip-loc with the end cut off to pipe a one-inch ring of frosting around the cake. Fill the center with the filling (you may have extra). Top with the second layer of cake. Frost the cake entirely. Keep cake chilled before serving and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

0

Bay Scallops in Brown Butter Cream Sauce

There are some nights when I come home from work feeling so exhausted that I tell Eugene, "I'm tired. I don't think I'm going to cook tonight." He'll nod and simply say, "OK, do you want to order something? Should I just make a sandwich?" No," I reply as I get up and walk into the kitchen. "I'll figure something out."

A little while later, I'll walk back out holding a couple plates that look like the one above. Eugene will roll his eyes and say, "Man...I'm SO glad you didn't cook tonight."

I realize that this sounds kind of ridiculous, but the point is just to show that there are dishes--even ones as pretty-looking as this one--that are pretty pain-free to make. Even (or especially!) on those days when you feel like you just don't have it in you. The trick is just making sure you have the right ingredients on hand.

Last week, I did an interview for a magazine during which I confessed to the reporter that one of my secrets for getting weekday meals on the table quickly is frozen seafood. Not, mind you, those oddly rectangular pieces of pre-flavored fish "filets", but rather the large bags of frozen raw shrimp or bay scallops that you can usually find at warehouse stores like BJs or Costco.

I like to keep a bag or two of these in the freezer so that on those evenings when I get home late from work, I can still quickly throw together a satisfying meal with very little effort. I like to think of them as my kind of convenient foods. Not processed and loaded with scary unfamiliar ingredients, but rather foods that even in their natural state are simply and naturally convenient.

The beauty of frozen shrimp or bay scallops is that you can always keep them on hand, but you don't ever have to plan ahead. While most other meats and fish freeze are wonderful to have in the freezer, they still require a bit of advanced planning. I, for example, ALWAYS forget to pull the steaks or pork chops out of the freezer the morning (or night) before I want to cook them. Often this will happen to me 2-3 days in a row before I manage to get my act together. I think it must be hereditary; while we were growing up, my mother regularly would call home from the office asking someone to "please take the chicken out of the freezer," so that it would be defrosted by the time she got home from work.

Hence these wonderful little bay scallops! Which don't need to be thawed, and which cook so quickly that they can literally just be stirred into a simmering sauce or hot pan while still frozen.

I came up with this particular recipe on a night when both groceries and patience were in dangerously low supply. A stick of butter, simmered on the stove until nutty and brown became the basis for the sauce. A few herbs, a splash of cream, and a few generous handfuls of the sweet little bay scallops where all I needed to round out the dish, which I served on a bed of whole wheat spaghetti (because I firmly believe the whole wheat cancels out all that naughty butter and cream).

You know I love when you play around with my recipes and make them your own, so if you're not a scallop fan, remember that you can easily substitute shrimp, or even small pieces of chicken (adjust the cooking time to make sure the latter is fully cooked if you go that route). The sauce is also lovely on seared bay scallops. Heck! It's actually even good without any kind of meat or fish over the pasta.



****
New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!

Bay Scallops in Brown Butter Cream Sauce
Serves 2, can be doubled

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
12 oz dry whole wheat linguine or spaghetti
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
1/4 cup sherry or white wine
1 lb frozen or fresh bay scallops
1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper


Place a large pot of water to boil.

Place stick of butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Let butter cook until golden brown with a nutty aroma. Typically at this point I would ask you to strain the butter so that the solids are removed, leaving you with a nice clear browned butter. I find, however, that for a quick meal like this, it's perfectly OK to just pour off the top 3/4 of the butter into the skillet you'll be cooking the sauce in; the solids will have sunk to the bottom anyway and won't get in the final dish.

Season the boiling water and add the whole wheat pasta. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until al dente as directed.

While the pasta cooks, in a separate large skillet over medium heat, pour in the top 3/4 of the brown butter as described above, and add the garlic cloves. Let cook for two minutes before adding the 3/4 cup of cream and the 1/4 cup of sherry.

Stir together and bring up to a simmer. Add the bay scallops and stir until well coated in the sauce. Stir in the chopped parsley and season with salt and black pepper.

Let cook for 2-3 more minutes or until the bay scallops are all cooked (they will look opaque and crackle a bit at the sides). Serve the scallops and accompanying sauce immediately over the cooked and drained pasta.

0

13+ Reader Tips for Reducing Food Waste in Your Kitchen

Last week I wrote a post featuring 10 tips to reduce food waste this year. The post featured some ideas that I've been incorporating in my own kitchen in order to save money, eat healthier, and stop wasting so much food. With the recent devastation in Haiti, it's become impossible in the past week to ignore the amount of poverty and lack of food that people in this world are living with. It's also made a lot of us even more aware of just how much STUFF we all have and buy and consume and (unfortunately) waste.

While it's true that making the effort to not waste a bag of arugula is not actually going to make a difference in the life a hungry family elsewhere in the world; I still strongly believe that it's our duty to be good stewards of all that we've been blessed with. That stewardship starts at home, and there is no better place to begin than in our own kitchens.

9

Kitchen Tip: 10 Tips for Reducing Food Waste

Despite my best intentions, I've realized that each week, I throw out at least a couple bags or containers of spoiled food. I don't know about you, but I get an awful feeling watching the once lush bag of cilantro sitting in a murky and slimy green puddle on top of the trash.

I know I'm not alone; a recent study found that Americans throw away 50% more food today than they did back in 1974. How awful is that? Not only is 50% more food going to waste, a lot of money is also being tossed away along with the slimy parsley and shriveled carrots.

In my apartment, I've estimated that I probably throw out about 10 to 15 dollars worth of unwanted food a week (think freezer-burned leftovers, poorly stored grains, spoiled produce, etc.). In a year, that's enough money for a decadent multi-course dinner at a top NY restaurant or a round-trip ticket to the Caribbean!

In an effort to reduce food waste in my own kitchen, I've started incorporating the following tips into my regular routine and will try to make a habit of each of them by year's end. Even just by following one or two of these, I've found that I'm throwing out a heck of a lot less. If you're looking for ways to curb food waste in your own home, perhaps some of these tips will help:

45

What I Want This Year

After all my active campaigning for the Shorty Awards, I decided today that I want to take a couple minutes to share a few words about the way I use Twitter to both expand Always Order Dessert and my own personal brand, but even more importantly, about my (many!) goals for the site this year. This is a little different from my usual posts, but one that I hope will fill you in a bit on how I see and use and view my presence here on the Web.

I joined Twitter back in June of 2007 when I heard about it from a fellow blogger in the NY Bloggers Meetup group I created and used to run. He was raving about it so I decided to check it out. My first tweet was something along the lines of "Just setting up my Twitter..." but, I confess, that was probably about it for the next year or so.

Then, sometime in the middle of 2008, I started up again. I honestly don't remember why; I just remember that I suddenly really liked it. I loved the instant connection with people all over the globe. I followed every food blogger, food writer, chef, etc., that I could find and reveled in the direct access that I now had at my fingertips. I started conversations with bloggers I had previously only read, and it wasn't long before we were chatting regularly and helping each other out with recipes and ideas. The phrase "my Twitter friend" became a regular part of my vocabulary.


I know there are plenty of people out there who think it's a waste of time, but it really isn't. I've had some pretty incredible things happen in my life 100% because of Twitter. I've met great people that I now consider my friends. I've been invited to events I would have never heard about. I've gotten dinner reservations that I couldn't get through the phone. I made a pretty important Mashable list of Foodies to follow on Twitter that brought Always Order Dessert and my writing to the attention of reporters, publicists, and agents who have encouraged me to take further steps with my career. Even simply being linked to a great article or story that inspired me or moved me in some way--a link that I would have never seen had I not been on Twitter. These things (and a heck of a lot more) are proof to me that this site is anything but a waste of time.

I use the site to communicate and share about my day and what I'm doing. I also ask for help. Twitter can sometimes be like an amazing global customer service. Any question you have, guaranteed, there is someone out there who can answer it. Usually several people! I try to foster this by answering as many questions as I possibly can, and generously (I hope!) sharing my own different kinds of expertise (or even just experience) with the community.

If I had to pick between Facebook and Twitter, I'd pick Twitter without hesitation. I'd pick it because no other medium (not even this blog) gives me the kind of direct one-on-one communication with so many people. If you ask me something on Twitter, I will answer you. If you just drop me a note to say hi, I will respond. If you ask for help with a recipe or for suggestions on what to do with an ingredient, I'll gladly give it.


I will let you know right away that I'm not one of those people who instantly follow everyone back, but I have a good reason. Since I want Twitter to be about more than just collecting "friends," I need there to be some kind of connection before I will take that step. I really like to have at least some kind of basis before I follow someone. I want to open the conversation first. But I promise you that if you respond to me a few times or send me a quick hello and introduce yourself and are open in a way that's beyond simply sending out links or self-promotion, then I will follow you, guaranteed. Every now and then I send out a message that says "introduce yourself" and when I do it's because I really do want to know who is following me. I want to get to know you!

(And if you notice that we've been chatting, but I'm still not following you. Well then just ask me to! I probably just assumed that I already was. That's the amazing thing about the Web: nearly everything you want can be yours just by asking. The trick is figuring the who and how, of course)

I should also note that I'm the same way when it comes to e-mail. If you ever have any recipe questions, ideas for something you'd like to see on the site, questions about what to do with an ingredient, or are even looking for some party planning or entertaining ideas, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Seriously. I freaking love answering those kinds of messages. Sometimes it might take me a few days to get back to you if I've gotten a lot of mail, but you can totally just forward me the note and follow-up. Nudge me all you want!


I've got a lot planned for Always Order Dessert in 2010. It's my goal to post twice as many original recipes as I did last year. I've already started working on articles about entertaining (primarily about entertaining in small apartment spaces like the one that I, and probably most of you, live in) that I'm really excited to share with you. I'm planning more videos, playlists, and events. It's my dream to have this site become major this year and I hope you'll all stick along for the ride.

I'm not sure if I've ever shared this with you guys, but I love this blog. I mean that. I love what I do here more than anything else that I do in my day (I'm including the cooking as part of what I "do" here). I joke around about it, but this site is totally my baby. Even when I'm at work and totally committed to what I'm doing there, the plans and ideas keep unfolding in the back of my head. Over the holidays I took a lot of time to think about the things I want to achieve this year and I've laid them all out here. You're welcome to take a look. Let me know what you think. Let me know if you have any ideas.

One of the best things about always ordering dessert after a great meal, besides the deliciousness of course, is that it gives you a little more time to relax and extend the conversation.

So let's do that. Let's keep talking. And (most importantly!) let's have fun!



****
New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

11

Help me beat Tyler Florence in the Shorty Awards!

It's January, which means it's award season and the Shorty Awards (think of them as the Oscars of Twitter) are officially accepting nominations for the best Twitter users in a variety of categories. I have been nominated for an award in the #food category and am doing quite well, but I have one major obstacle. His name is Tyler Florence.

Now I love Tyler. He's adorable and his cookbook is one of my favorites...but does he REALLY need the publicity and recognition of a Shorty Award? No way! The dude already has shows and cookbooks.

I, on the other hand, don't have shows and cookbooks (yet!) and I think this Shorty award could help me get a little closer. Don't you want to help me get a little closer? (Hint: It only takes 15 seconds!)

I thought you might!!

Here is what you can do: Unlike other awards that ask you to set up an account or login, you can easily submit your vote via Twitter using your existing account; or through the site using your Twitter login info. It takes 15 seconds and would mean the world to me. How great is that? Just 15 seconds to make my day!

So I'm asking, if you've enjoy chatting with me on Twitter or have ever gotten a recipe from me that you really loved...would you give me 15 seconds to nominate me?

Here are the two easy ways to do this:

1. Visit http://shortyawards.com/nandita, sign in using your existing Twitter account, enter why you're nominating me, then hit submit. Voila! That's all!

OR

2. Simply Tweet the following sentence on the Twitter website or through whatever service you use to update your account (Tweetdeck, Twitterberry, etc.)

"I nominate @nandita for a Shorty Award in #food because...
[enter your reason here; doesn't have to be super complicated]"

That's it!!
Oh but you want to do MORE?!

• Retweet this link out to your followers and ask them to vote for me too.
  
• Pop this link into your Facebook status so that others can support the cause.
  
• E-mail this out to everyone you know and ask them to support my campaign.
  

Together we can totally take down Tyler!!

*I took the above photo at an event I went to last year where I met Tyler and Duff. They were both great and while I can't remember the exact conversation they were having in that picture, I'm pretty sure it went something like that...

****
New to Always Order Dessert? Consider subscribing to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates by filling in your address in the box on the right. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

2

Thankful

0

November Challenges

I didn't mention this yesterday, but I've embarked on the absolute madness that is NaBloPoMo. The quirky name is short for National Blog Posting Month and means that for the next 30 29 days, I will post on this blog every single day.

Those of you who’ve been here since the beginning will remember that last year I also gave NaBloPoMo a shot, only to toss my hands up in defeat sometime around the middle of the month when I just couldn't do it anymore.

This year, I'm going to do better. I realize now that set myself up for failure last time by making unreasonable demands on my creativity. I wanted to post fabulous photos, a complete original recipe, and an intriguing tale each day. Except that I forgot that I have a job to attend and a boyfriend (and self!) to feed and an apartment to take care of and that in November the sun has a tendency to set at, like, 3 in the afternoon so it's practically impossible to take decent photos of the food I make without having them come out looking shiny and orange.

So this year I'm taking it a bit easy. This, for example, counts as a post. As will the occasional gorgeous photo or perhaps a tip about cooking or a silly list of some kind. The goal is to relax a little and to just share those ideas that pop into my head with you...even if they're not always 100% complete, yet.

In addition to NaBloPoMo, I've also taken on a second and actually much more important challenge this month. I'm finally finally getting down to business on that book proposal of mine.

The truth is that I've been dilly-dallying on this for the past several months, but have finally realized that I just need to DO it. The problem is that without actual deadlines or accountability to keep me on track, I’m kind of hopeless getting things done. It’s why I really only clean the apartment top-to-bottom when I have company coming over or why I used to only ever start my term papers in college the evening before they were due.

So I signed up for proposal writing class that starts this Thursday. The syllabus indicated that we’ll get a concrete assignment each week and be led through it all by the teacher who is a literary agent, and a guest visiting editor or two. By the end of the six-week course, we are supposed to have a complete first draft. I figure that even if I were to only get through a handful of the assignments, I’ll still be that much closer to achieving my goal.

I’m excited about the amount of work I know I’ll be producing over the coming weeks although I may occasionally need a bit of encouragement from you all to keep me going. Many thanks in advance for coming along on this ride with me.

7

Alejandra & Always Order Dessert featured in the Times of London

We had a giddy day here in the Always Order Dessert kitchen yesterday!

The Times of London published an interview they did with me where I talk about my favorite cookbook, my love of soups that start and end with bacon, and reveal my local pick for a cozy dinner. If you haven't read it yet, pop on over and give it a look.

I'll be back later with more recipes for you.

xoxo

Alejandra

8

Sticky Books: An Introduction & Selections by Marc Matsumoto of No Recipes

I recently woke up thinking about a recipe I used to make when I first started to experiment in the kitchen. It came from a cookbook that my mother had gotten sometime in the early 80s from Cooking Light magazine. Along with the usual "light" recipes, the book had an entire chapter on microwave cookery. Though I was still too young to mess around with the stove, my mom let me go to town with the microwave (once I understood that metal things were off limits, that is).

There was an easy lemon pudding cake that quickly became my favorite. It was a kind of souffle that relied on stiff egg whites for height and just the teensiest bit of flour. I made the pudding cakes all the time that year until I was able to graduate to box mixes and the oven. I don't think I thought about those little lemon cakes again until the other day when they reappeared for no reason at all. I called my mom and she promised to look for the book. We stopped by the house for dinner a couple weeks ago, and found the book sitting on the kitchen shelf. I excitedly flipped through the pages right to the recipe for lemon pudding cakes. There was the picture I'd remembered, and the page...well it was filthy! Crusts of long ago flour and sugar and a rip where the paper had glued itself together. It was the only page in the book that looked like that; the surest evidence of a favorite recipe.

We all have books like this, sticky and splattered with frosting from that cake we made grandpa on his 75th birthday or the splatter of cranberry sauce from the first time mom let you help with Thanksgiving. Seeing that messy and beloved page made me wonder about the stories in other people's cookbook pages, and so Sticky Books, a new weekly interview column here on Always Order Dessert, was born.

Each Friday, a different food blogger or will share his or her top three favorite cookbooks with my readers. Sticky books are a badge of honor for the home cook, sometimes even more memorable than the album full of snapshots, and so I'm excited that so many incredible bloggers have been willing to share them with us. If you have experiences with the books that these bloggers mention, I invite you to leave them in the comments, and please don't hesitate to tell us about your own sticky books.

____
Sticky Books: Marc Matsumoto of No Recipes


Marc Matsumoto started his food blog No Recipes nearly two years ago. Based on the philosophy that cooking is 50% technique, 40% inspiration, and 10% ingredients, he strongly believes that armed with a handful of basic techniques and a little inspiration, anyone can make a tasty meal from even the most derelict pantry.

When I sent Marc the questions for this feature, he told me about a new event that he just launched on his blog called Blog Away Hunger, which is meant to raise money for the World Food Program. The WFP gets food aid to the people that need it most, and with one in seven people on Earth suffering from chronic hunger, they need all the support they can get. He's inviting everybody to participate in this event by simply creating a meal that costs less than what you'd normally spend, post about it on your own blog or website, and then donate the money you saved to the WFP. You can check out Marc's blog for more details.

And now, in Marc's words, his top three Sticky Books:

Marc: Since I don't cook with recipes, my most used cookbooks tend to be reference books where I can quickly look up information on ingredients and basic techniques.

1. On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
This is my "stickiest" cookbook. It doesn't contain any recipes, but it holds within its blessed binding, answers to nearly any food related question you may have. Like "How is soy sauce made?" or "What do cell walls have to do with the mealiness or meltingness of fruit?". This is the Webster's of the culinary world.

2. The Best Recipe by the editors of Cooks Illustrated
What I love about the folks at Cooks Illustrated is that they take scientific rigor and apply it to food. Through a documented process and iterative testing, they figure out the best way to do something. As with anything that comes out of a lab, their recipes tend to lack soul, but what it lacks in character is more than compensated for with rock solid techniques and play-by-play details.

3. Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji
You won't find any drool-worthy photos or nostalgic stories here, but if you want a reference book on Japanese ingredients and cooking, this is the only English language book that will meet your needs. Like Julia Child, with her tome: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Tsuji opens the door into the mystical world of Japanese food with her book.


Have you cooked with any of Marc's favorite cookbooks? Tell us about them in the comments! And remember to check back next Friday for the next edition of Sticky Books.

6

My Culinary Confessions

While wandering around the Internet, I came across an old post on David Lebovitz's blog in which he spills all his culinary confessions. I think it was a meme for a bit a few years ago so I apologize for being late to the party, but I thought it might be fun to share a few of my own kitchen secrets. I'd also love to hear yours  so please feel free to add to the list in the comments section.

Culinary Confessions

I always eat the first (ugly) pancake while standing at the stove making the rest of the batch.

I rarely sift my dry ingredients (even though I often tell you to sift!)

I scoop my flour directly out of the bag even though I know I'm supposed to spoon it into the measuring cup.

My refrigerator door is overflowing with jars of jams, things I've pickled, and condiments.

I go through 12-18 large eggs a week.

I sometimes buy scrambled eggs at work in addition to the ones at home.

I chop onions daily, but they still make me cry like a baby each time.

I preserved some Meyer Lemons last year and haven't used them yet because I'm a little bit scared that I did it wrong.

I bring expensive Greek yogurt to work a few times a week and let it get sour and watery on my desk before I get around to eating it.

I like my steak and fish cooked well done, but burgers I’ll eat medium.

I use too much salt. In culinary school I always lost points on my dishes for over-salting. But I actually like it that way.

I drink close to a gallon of water a day; probably to wash out all the salt.

I don’t like chicken noodle soup, sashimi, edamame, minestrone, most curries, Thai food, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, filet mignon, white chocolate on its own, bottled fruit juice, tomatoes in salad (except Caprese), roast beef, or anything tartare.

I don't like when chicken tastes too "chicken-y."

I don’t always brush all the dirt off my mushrooms when I’m using them in stews and sautes. I tell myself it adds a bit of flavor.

I don’t always wash my berries before eating them, unless I’m serving them to someone else.

I get irritated when waiters start clearing plates while someone is still eating. It's a quirk I picked up from a guy I used to date who would get incredibly annoyed by it, and would hang on to his empty plate for dear life until I finished mine.

I prefer raw cookie dough to baked chocolate chip cookies.

I use the phrase “I can make that” at least once a day in reference to something edible seen on television, a magazine, a menu, or a store.

And then I usually do make it.

I crave Big Macs and McDonald’s French Fries, but it’s been two years since I’ve had either.

I love mayonnaise. Especially with, on, and in eggs.

I also really love candy. Pretty much all kinds, fancy or expensive, except for licorice things. At the store I always wander into the candy aisle and stare at the options for several minutes, but I rarely buy anything.

Except Cadbury Cream Eggs. I always buy those.

And then I sit and Google ways to make them from scratch at home.

I hate licorice.

But I like Sambuca.

And Amaretto makes me dizzy-happy.

My risotto is perfect, but my regular rice is almost ALWAYS mushy.

Fortunately I don’t really like rice.

Except in paella or pudding.

I only like duck in pate form.

After hearing my coworkers complain about the alleged aftertaste of Splenda one-too-many times, I baked a decadent flourless chocolate torte using only Splenda and smiled inwardly when they raved and polished it off completely unaware that it wasn’t made with sugar.

I go to the grocery store every couple days, in addition to a big Fresh Direct delivery. I also stop at the Asian market, the farmer’s market, and Williams Sonoma for additional “staples.”

I prefer grocery shopping to all other kinds of shopping, and when I’m sad or feeling a bit down, I find walking into a grocery store is the quickest way to make myself feel better.

I love veal, fois gras, and pork without guilt.

I don't like buttercream frosting. It's too sweet and too buttery.

This despite the fact that I. Love. Butter.

I do like canned frosting (or the memory of it as it’s been years since I’ve had any).

Anytime I eat out I can’t help but think about how I’d recreate the recipe at home, certain that my version would be better.

I think that pine nuts, when eaten on their own, have a flavor very similar to smoky bacon or prosciutto.

I much prefer imported oil-packed tuna, but my heart hurts a little bit when I have to pay ~10 dollars for a single jar.

I peak in the oven several times while baking. It’s yet to cause a disaster.

As much as I love to cook, there are some nights when all I want is an order of Chinese lo mein noodles from the takeout place next door. (And eaten straight from the carton!)

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