Conner's Blog

I’m a bit excited today, I finally got my Christmas present, a new lens. It was delivered to me at work and I spent all afternoon trying to talk myself out of taking the day off and going out and playing. I had willpower and made it through the day. So I got home and what did I do, cooked and took photos of food of course.

I made creamed spinach for the first time, it went pretty well. Not perfectly, I had to improvise a bit at the end to get it to come together, but I’m happy with the results. Taking photos was also a breeze. I love this lens already, it’s a 35mm 1.8 prime and makes taking photos in the lighting of my apartment many times easier.

Recipe*

• Spinach
• Whole Milk
• Flour
• Lemon
• Sour Cream
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• Crushed red pepper
• Cajun seasoning of some sort
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic
• Onion

Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, once hot add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is translucent. Once ready, start adding the spinach. Cook in the oil until limp and dark green. Transfer to a cutting board and chop coarsly.

In a saucepan add the remaining oil and butter from the frying pain, add milk and then put the spinach in the saucepan. Cook until heated fully. In a seperate bowl add a bit of milk, sour cream, and flour and whisk until smooth. Add that mixture along with a squeeze or two of lemon and stir. Continue cooking until the sauce is thick. Serve as soon as possible.

*Recipe is a bit generous, I kind of suck at measuring so have no idea how much of anything I put into the spinach.

Tonight I attempted something I’ve never made before. Now this normally isn’t a big deal, I’m a big food experimenter and usually new events in the kitchen don’t worry me. This time though I was kind of nervous, I had a few people tell me how difficult it is and after reading a few posts around and about the Internet I wasn’t feeling quite 100% certain.

It turns out it wasn’t as difficult as it sounded. First off, baking your potatoes correctly is an important step. Make sure you pierce them almost all the way through multiple times and bake them at at least 400 degrees. This way you will get drier potatoes which is really important. I baked mine at 425 for about an hour. The came out almost the right texture.

Once you have them out of the oven you should immediately cut them in half and spoon the inner portion of the potato out. Using a ricer or a collander, rice the potatoes into a large bowl. I baked about 12 potatoes and added about 1 1/2 cups of flour to the riced potatoes.  The recipe I was using also called for about a teaspoon of nutmeg.  I didn’t really notice this when I was eating the gnocchi, but it didn’t hurt anything.

Mix all this up well in your bowl and then turn it out onto a work surface.  By this time they should be cooled down enough to handle. You basically want to knead the dough until everything is smooth and incorporated. I think I kneaded for about 5 minutes or so.  The dough should not be sticky.

To make the gnocchi you want to roll it out into 1/4 inch rolls and then cut the strips into 1/4 inch pieces.  Then you roll them against a fork to put a dimple on one side and tine marks on the other. This is time consuming and got a little frustrating, but it was worth it.

The important part is testing the gnocchi, you want to boil some water and then cook 2-3 pieces at a time to test the consistency.  I had to add a little more flour as they seemed a little too soft initially and you want them to be a bit chewy. This is where you can perfect the texture. You could also add some egg if you want to make it more wheat pasta like.

I cooked my gnocchi two ways. I boiled some of it, it takes about 2-3 minutes and should end up floating. Make sure you salt the water, it makes a big difference in the flavor. I also pan fried some and this was fantastic. Put a little olive oil in a fry pan, heat it over medium high heat and then throw the gnocchi into the oil.  Toss it until it’s browned. These turned out crispy on the outside and soft inside.  Quite tasty.

I served them with butter and a little parmesean and mozzarella cheese.  The boiled version could have used a sauce, but the pan fried were excellent. Even Ninja wanted some, she even put a napkin on to try and convince me to feed her.

Overall I call my first attempt at gnocchi a success.  Now if I can just get the pronunciation right.

I have a confession to make, until last night I had never had curry in any form.  There is no reason for this, other than just a lack of effort on my part.  So yesterday I pursued my Joy of Cooking looking for new things to try before I went grocery shopping.  I stumbled on a curry recipe and decided to give it a try.

After a marathon shopping session, due to the fact I hadn’t done any serious grocery shopping in almost a month, I came home started dinner.  I chose the chicken curry recipe.  Overall things went pretty well but I did end up making a couple of mistakes.  First I cooking the chicken and the onion together which apparently you are not supposed to do.  Second I ended up accidentally buying vanilla yogurt instead of plain yogurt.  This didn’t seem to have any effect, thankfully.

So here is how I made curry, I had to make a few adaptations to the recipe but I was happy with the results.

First heat up appx. two tablespoons of oil, add the cut up chicken and an onion that has been thinly sliced.  Once the chicken in browned I added two teaspoons each of minces garlic and minced ginger and a teaspoon of turmeric.  After that I added come curry paste I had purchased at Lunds.  I chose Patak’s Biryani Curry paste, only because it’s ingredients looked somewhat similar to the Garam Masala recipe in the cookbook.  After mixing this in I put in a 1/2 cup of yogurt and let that simmer until it has reduced. Next I added a cup of water, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, a Serrano pepper I had cut and quartered and some salt.

Once you have all the ingredients going, you let that simmer covered for about 30-40 minutes until the chicken is done.  Remove the chicken, and if you wish you can boil the sauce until it thickens. Serve over rice.

I can’t say I was blown away, but I was not disappointing.  I plan on working on this again and hopefully perfecting it.  My next goal is to find somewhere that serves some traditional curry so I know what it’s supposed to taste like.

In the spirit of writing a bit more about the food I make, here is a simple, quick, and tasty enchilada recipe.  I got the basics of this recipe from a co-worker.  Her husband says it’s his favorite meal she cooks.  I don’t know if my first attempt made them my favorite.  But they are definitely going into my, “I need a quick comfort meal” recipe box.
Here is the basic ingredients.

• Can of enchilada sauce
• No beans chili
• Chicken stock
• Cheese
• Tortillas

That’s it, you can fill them with whatever you want.  I used some fresh chicken breasts I had picked up at the Wedge, marinated them for about a half-hour in lime juice and some Adobe seasoning I had purchases at Penzeys my first weekend in my new apartment.  I didn’t make tortillas like I normally would have. I was too tired having woken up at 5:00(CST) to fly out of Spokane earlier in the day.

The girl I got the recipe from said she soaks her tortillas in chicken stock before rolling them, I didn’t have enough stock, and didn’t feel like thawing out the stock I had in the freezer so I rolled them dry.  I topped them with Colby and Monterey-jack cheese and some green onions, baked at 350 for about 25-30 minutes, and served with sour cream and guacamole.  I’ll admit I ate one too many and they were just as tasty the next night.

So what do you think, will you give these a try?  Are there any other enchilada recipes you think I should know about?

I made guacamole last night and it didn’t turn out to my satisfaction.  I decided to share this piece of unfortunate news with Twitter and wow did I stir up a conversation.

I have more ideas for guacamole than I have brain cells now.  First here is the recipe I generally follow.

• 2-3 Avacados
• garlic
• tomato
• onion
• fresh lime juice
• Salt (course, either Kosher or sea)

If it’s available and I know everyone who I will be serving likes it, I will usually add cilantro.

Now apparently guacamole is incredibly diverse.  Here are a few suggestions I got on Twitter and ones I found on-line. I had heard of some of these, but some were new to me.

• A squeeze of orange
• lemon juice
• egg
• chili peppers
• cumin
• hot pepper sauce
• chunky salsa
• green onion

I’m now craving guacamole so I may need a trip to the grocery store for some supplies.  Any other suggestions for guacamole ingredients.

It’s been a while since I did one of these.  Hope everyone is having a fabulous week.  Mine started out on a down note, but things are looking up.

• Santa Claus’ Gmail account is busy this time of year.  Seems he might make his own naughty list.
• StateStats is very cool.  I like this analysis of the biking search term.  Interesting that Vermont ranks so highly.
• I found it funny that this article hit the top of Twitter.  What a joke.
• This is a neat little site.  It tracks your own personal light cone.  If you don’t like being reminded of your age this isn’t for you.
• From the Product – A perfect analysis of why winter sucks when you live in a city.
• Emily comes through with another great post, this time it’s a video she found.  Watching things in super slow motions gives you a completely different perspective.
• In case you need to add additional calories to your diet over the holiday season, Orangette offers up a recipe that makes my mouth water.
• The second to last paragraph in this article made me want to slap someone.  You would think anyone who doesn’t drive a car is suspect.
• Finally, if you could purchase tunnels under London, what would you do with them?

Edit:  I couldn’t wait to share this with all of you.  This photo of the Mendota Bridge is amazing.   Via Fresh.mn

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, which is a story in itself as I have no idea where the year went.  But I thought I would post a mashed potato recipe.  As with most of my recipes it’s not technically a recipe, it’s more here are some things I put in a bowl, when the amounts are right it’s really tasty.  I honestly never measure anything when I make mashed potatoes so I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving measurements.  I’ll try to guesstimate though.

First there are a few musts here, the first involves soaking the potatoes.  Now soaking your potatoes is not good for them in the sense that it leaches out the majority of the good things out of them.  But if you are making potatoes on Thanksgiving is health really that important.  Now the potatoes can be peeled if you would like, but I like to have some skins.  What I generally do is peel about 1/2 – 1/3 of the potatoes leaving the skins on the rest.  Then I cut them into approximatly 1 inch to 1/2 inch cubes, put them in a large pot and cover them with water.  Soak them like that overnight.  Soaking them keeps them from getting starchy and sticky when you are mashing them.

Let the potatoes soak overnight, in the morning drain the water and cover them with fresh water.  Stick them on the stove and bring them to a boil.  Another tip that can be helpful, is to put a wooden spoon in the water, for some reason this helps keep the water from boiling over.  I’m sure someone can give a reason for this, or maybe it’s my imagination, but I swear this works.  Depending on how many potatoes you have it can take a while to cook them, I cook until a fork slides in without any resistance, at that point you can drain them again.

Now here is where the fun starts,  I add the following to my potatoes, one or two sticks of real butter, and approximately 1 to 2 cups of milk.  Bring this to a boil in saucepan.  Once the butter has melted then you add some fake mashed potatoes.  Add enough of the powdered potatoes to get a consistency just runnier than you would want if you were serving them alone.

While you are waiting for the butter and milk to heat, you should be mashing the potatoes.  I generally use a electric hand mixer as it will get you a more consistent texture.  But if you like to have a bit of a rougher texture, you can use a hand masher.  Once you have added the fake potatoes to the butter and milk, pour that into the mashed up potatoes and blend in.  At this point you need to use your judgment, if they seem too thick you can add more milk, if they are too thin some additional fake potatoes may be necessary.  Season as you like.  I use Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and pepper only.  I find Lawry’s really adds to the flavor, but of course you could use garlic, sea salt, or other seasoning as you feel fit. Once you have them seasoned how you want, they are ready to serve.

One last tip.  If you have leftovers, don’t put them in a tupperware container.  Instead put the leftover mashed potatoes in a Zip Lock bag.  Fill the bag with the amount you and you family would eat.  Now when you heat them up, all you need to do is throw the bag into the microwave and knead the bag occasionally.  You could also heat it in a pan of boiling water if you don’t like using a microwave.  Then once they are warm, just cut a corner out of the bag and squeeze.  Easy and mess free.

• Do you hate being asked questions that require a 3 second Google search.  Send them to letmegooglethatforyou.com and your problem is solved.
  
• Remember when Forbes Magazine used to be smart, it has become a camouflaged version of People.  Then again I guess it’s things like the Hottest Tots that sells magazines these days.
  
• I normally don’t approve of fans booing their team, but the Thunder as a whole deserve it.  Maybe not the players but the owners for sure.  In fact I propose that the Thunder get booed at all games regardless of where they take place.
• Fun photo of the day, check out the Star Tribunes front page.  Does this inspire confidence in the recount? The guy in the stocking cap is a nice guy I’m sure, but really??
• Michelle Bachmann did not need to do anything else to prove she is insane, but that didn’t stop her.  Can someone please tell her that an urban legend generally doesn’t have video tape to prove they are real.
  
• My blog recommendation for the week is one I discovered but forgot about.  Margaret and Helen have a lot of wisdom and aren’t afraid to tell it like it is. Thank to RosaPena and and nukirk for reminding me.
  
• Three new MN based blogs for your reading pleasure
• • Desaraev is interesting if you like reading about internet marketing.
  • Because Emily Says So is great, really I’m not kidding, read her.
  • Finally The Forest of Things looks like it was interesting, Jeff appears to be busy with other writing engagements.  Of course you can follow him on Twitter.
• Did you see the Timberwolves won last night.  They avoided the fate of the 2003-2004 Magic who went 1-19 after winning their first game(check the last item).
• This song was played on Tuesday morning on the Current.  When the first song of the day is titled Zydeco Taco you know things are looking up.
• If you didn’t like my chili recipe, here is a vegetarian recipe that looks tasty.  Also the story preceding the recipe is kind of cute.  (Yes, I’m a guy and I will use the word cute)
• For those on Twitter, if you haven’t see this, check it out.

I made chili for the first time last night, and it was delicious.  I didn’t follow a specific recipe but I did base it from what I recalled was in one of my friend’s parent’s recipes.

Base

• 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes
• One large onion diced
• 2 small cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of green chilies
• 2-3 fresh jalapeno peppers (this could be replaced with canned also)
• 2 packages of chili seasoning
• 2-3 cans of a variety of beans

These are the basic ingredients, I added 1lb of ground beef and a can of mushrooms.  Of course you can add whatever you think would go well in chili.  Just be sure to drain everything you add unless you like watery chili.

To create the base I chop the tomatoes and put them in a large pot, adding in about 1/4 – 1/5 of the juice in the can.  Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least two hours, the longer the better.  In fact you can even put it in a crock pot in the morning and enjoy when you get home from work.

It’s very easy and will provide you with a ton of chili.  I will be able to eat chili for a week off of this recipe.  The best part is that it cost less than $20 for all the ingredients and it’s a very customizable meal.  Post your additions in the comments.

Circuit City is filing for bankrupcy shortly after announcing they would be closing numerous stores.  From what I’ve read it sounds like Minnesota stores are safe which is good.  I’m not a big fan of Circuit City, but I hope they survive, Best Buy needs some competition keeping them honest. 

I’ve added a few new Minnesota Blogs to my reading list:

• Fresh.mn – Started by swirlspice.  I wrote about Erica’s blog in my previous Minnesota Blogs post.
• Via Fresh.mn I found Because Emily Says So. I read the last 5-6 posts and clicked subscribe.  Well written and funny.
• Aaron Landry – Interesting so far, if for no other reason than the photos from local pizza places.  If you are hungry and trying to eat healthy I don’t recommend visiting.
• We Got Served – Well written restauraunt reviews from around the Metro.

So far the Obama’s search for a puppy seems to have caught the nation’s attention more than anything else.  Bob Collins at MPR’s News Cut takes the press to task for their lack of reporting on real issues.

Am I allowed to rescind my opinion on the Timberwolves?  I’m considering starting a fire Randy Whitman site shortly.  The Timberwolves better start playing defense or they won’t win 10 games this year.

The Vikings defense played a solid game against the Packers.  Lucky for the offense the insane number of mistakes they made didn’t cost the Vikings the game.

For the record the Vikings MVP’s halfway through the season are Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen.  If you didn’t see Sunday’s game and how Peterson willed his team to victory after fumbling on fourth down you need to.  Talk about heart.  Allen played hurt all game and was very effective.  He may not deserve his contract, but at least he’s trying to live up to expectations.

The Franken-Coleman race will never end.  This is what Minnesota gets for voting for either of those imbeciles.  There was another choice.

FiveThirtyEight.com had a front page article on the NYT’s web site today.  I started introducing my offline friends to this site.  I’m usually very hesitant to introduce them to websites but Nate Silver’s site was just too good.

I had a horrid experience at the Applebee’s in the Burnsville Mall this weekend.  I’ve never had bartenders be quite so angry at their customers.  On the other hand Chili’s in Burnsville was, as always, a good experience.  Of course I would prefer a non chain bar, but I live in Burnsville so my options are limited.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  This means Christmas music will start shortly.  I hate this, I like Christmas music, just not for a month straight.

With the change in seasons I’m suddenly craving soups and chili.  This is fairly unusual for me so I’m on a recipe collecting spree.  I’m planning on trying this recipe at some point this week.  Any other soup or chili recipies I should try?

It snowed all day on Saturday.  I had to scrape my windshield for the first time all year.  I am not happy I had to pull out the hat and gloves from storage.

If you are a blogger, please read this article from Lazy Lighting.  There are people out their trying to alter the contents of local blogs.  Let’s keep them from succeeding.