Post BMN
I'm so freaking predictable. Last night was Bad Movie Night (BMN), but it was a particularly wonderful BMN. It's all about the company you keep.
Yes, we watched another bad movie. Yes, I fell asleep, but that is not indicative of the quality of the movie. I fall asleep on good movies too if I'm tired or sated enough. "The Producers" was ho hum in my opinion. The original flick with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder was hysterical. So, if ya feel compelled to watch it, watch the orig. I must say that Nathan Lane did a good Zero Mostel. For those who have not seen either movie would probably not be as jaded about the new one than I was.
Tonight, is Top Chef. Those rat bastards at Bravo didn't play a new episode last week so I was left Jonesing. There is, however, a new episode tonight. Who's gonna get cut next? Inquiring minds wanna know. Frankly, as annoying as Marcel can be (dude, roast the frickin' turkey. It's not all about gadgets. Sous Vide - gimme a break), I'm over Betty. You don't blame people for burning the sugar when you are the one who had to place crystalized ginger on top. Nothing short of a miracle could have prevented that from burning. The camera angle sucked so I could not even tell of there was water in the pan in which the brulee was baked off. She bitched and moaned about the consistency, but if you overbake it - creme brule gets watery. This of course assumes that she actually made a flavored creme brulee, which it appears that she did not from the judge's comments. The other person who won't last is Mike. Looks like his stuff hasn't been all that up to par for the past several weeks. So those are my guesses. It's still anybody's game. I'm favoring Ilan at the moment. That all being said, I certainly could not keep up with any of these folks. I need planning and paper to make stuff happen in the kitchen.
Speaking of which, mithinx and I made a kick ass paella out of Cooking Light. I'd substitute chicken for turkey and add a bit more saffron, but it was delicious. The other alternative is to really strongly season the turkey. I don't think that it went very well with the spanish sausage. The other thing that needs to happen is to minimize some of the steps that don't make any sense. For instance, the garlic can go into the onions and red bell pepper after they have become tender. There really is no need to cook these separately then add them back in one at a time. It's best to just make a sofrito then follow the recommended steps. That'll cut down on cooking time by several minutes.
We've also baked together. Monday she decided to make a persimmon bread as she was gifted some of the fruit and it was ripening fast. She snazzed up with cranberries and crystalized ginger and added some clove. It tasted like a very good spice cake. Tonight we are going to simplify the recipe as the way that ingredients have been grouped don't make sense and it too has a number of extra steps. I'm thinking that if you just combine the wet ingredients with the wet ingredients and all of the dry ones together and add them in stages, the same thing can be accomplished without overworking the flour too much.
And yes, I know, my posts are typically ALL about food. I'm obsessed 'kay.
Yes, we watched another bad movie. Yes, I fell asleep, but that is not indicative of the quality of the movie. I fall asleep on good movies too if I'm tired or sated enough. "The Producers" was ho hum in my opinion. The original flick with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder was hysterical. So, if ya feel compelled to watch it, watch the orig. I must say that Nathan Lane did a good Zero Mostel. For those who have not seen either movie would probably not be as jaded about the new one than I was.
Tonight, is Top Chef. Those rat bastards at Bravo didn't play a new episode last week so I was left Jonesing. There is, however, a new episode tonight. Who's gonna get cut next? Inquiring minds wanna know. Frankly, as annoying as Marcel can be (dude, roast the frickin' turkey. It's not all about gadgets. Sous Vide - gimme a break), I'm over Betty. You don't blame people for burning the sugar when you are the one who had to place crystalized ginger on top. Nothing short of a miracle could have prevented that from burning. The camera angle sucked so I could not even tell of there was water in the pan in which the brulee was baked off. She bitched and moaned about the consistency, but if you overbake it - creme brule gets watery. This of course assumes that she actually made a flavored creme brulee, which it appears that she did not from the judge's comments. The other person who won't last is Mike. Looks like his stuff hasn't been all that up to par for the past several weeks. So those are my guesses. It's still anybody's game. I'm favoring Ilan at the moment. That all being said, I certainly could not keep up with any of these folks. I need planning and paper to make stuff happen in the kitchen.
Speaking of which, mithinx and I made a kick ass paella out of Cooking Light. I'd substitute chicken for turkey and add a bit more saffron, but it was delicious. The other alternative is to really strongly season the turkey. I don't think that it went very well with the spanish sausage. The other thing that needs to happen is to minimize some of the steps that don't make any sense. For instance, the garlic can go into the onions and red bell pepper after they have become tender. There really is no need to cook these separately then add them back in one at a time. It's best to just make a sofrito then follow the recommended steps. That'll cut down on cooking time by several minutes.
We've also baked together. Monday she decided to make a persimmon bread as she was gifted some of the fruit and it was ripening fast. She snazzed up with cranberries and crystalized ginger and added some clove. It tasted like a very good spice cake. Tonight we are going to simplify the recipe as the way that ingredients have been grouped don't make sense and it too has a number of extra steps. I'm thinking that if you just combine the wet ingredients with the wet ingredients and all of the dry ones together and add them in stages, the same thing can be accomplished without overworking the flour too much.
And yes, I know, my posts are typically ALL about food. I'm obsessed 'kay.