A week off

This week I decided to take off due to last week's incident resulting in a burned arm. Instead of cooking anything, I choose to give my body and my wallet a rest in making a new dish and instead thought I would share my musings of why I decided on a cooking blog. Like I believe I said in one of my first posts, I have about ten vegetarian cookbooks that I have acquired over the eight years I have been a vegetarian and so once I heard I needed to do a blog for class, I figured cooking would be the way to go. There were two obvious reasons why I made this choice for myself: I wanted to actually use the cookbooks that I have and I also love to cook. It helps me relax after a stressful day to bake some cookies, it's nice to create a meal for myself and my boyfriend or friends that everyone will enjoy. Now I'm no Martha Stewart or Julia Child but I have been able to hold my own in the kitchen for years without an issue until last week. I think being burned was a knock on the head so to speak in terms of some higher food-being saying "Hey Kendall, you're not invincible in the kitchen. If you lose focus, you can get hurt." And honestly, it was a wake-up call (a very painful one). So this week instead I am reflecting on my kitchen experiences and hopefully learning from them before I head back into the land of ovens and whisks, herbs and spices. So here is I guess what I have learned so far...cooking is great, but don't get cocky or you will get burned, literally.

French Fry Fail

So last week I attempted to make french fries off a recipe that my friend sent me. I figured why not? Everyone loves french fries and they require little money for the ingredients and are relatively simple to make. I should have known that morning that my plan was doomed to fail. I had made waffles for breakfast and apparently unplugged the wrong appliance before leaving for a meeting. Imagine my surprise when I came home two hours later to find my waffle iron still on! After unplugging it (this time) I lifted it up to move and burned my fingers accidentally. Sign number one. A little bit later I went to the store to buy everything I would need to make the fries and when I got home, realized I had bought a sweet potato instead of a russet one. Sign number two. Lastly my friend who was supposed to come and help me had to cancel at the last minute. Sign number three. Intent on still creating delicious (sweet) potato fries, I got to work. Here was my experience.....

Ingredients:

1 large russet potato

1 cup olive oil

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1) Skin the (sweet) potato. Now I found an easier way to do this and it as follows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo <--watch this to see how

2) Once the (sweet) potato is peeled, slice into wedges

3) Place the wedges into cold water to keep them from turning brown while you cut the rest

4) Next set a skillet or pot to medium/high with your olive oil. I used a skillet to start but switched to a pot instead due to ease.

5) While the oil is heating up, mix your salts, paprika and flour together to create the batter.

(slowly add water to the mixture as you stir in order to create the texture you want to dip your fries into. I like my a little thicker so I used about 1 cup of water.)

6) using tongs, dip your fries into the batter one at a time and drop them into the oil

7) keep them in until they are a light brown and then allow to drain in the sink to rid of any excess oil

Tips and experiences:
****DO NOT TAKE YOUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHAT YOU ARE DOING. You are using hot oil that can flame up at a moments notice. If a fire does occur, DO NOT attempt to put out with water, it will cause an explosion. The best thing to do is turn off the heat and cover the pot or skillet with a damp towel or metal lid/tray. If you feel the need to move the pot into the sink, make sure nothing in it has water sitting inside. Because if water hits hot oil, you will burn yourself as I did thanks to stupid dishes in the sink having water in them.

* In case of a burn, immediantly submerge the injured area in room temp. water for at least five minutes. Do not use cold water or ice right away because it can send the person into shock. Ice may be used later to reduce swelling. If you are unsure about your burn, go to a hospital right away.

*Also, these french fries were not very flavorful, therefore I say:
FRENCH FRY FAIL

My Garlic Bread

This week I decided to do something uber simple and well-known. Garlic Bread. I created my version of this recipe one night whilst at a friend's house here in town my freshman year of college oh so long ago. We were doing a group Italian night (one of our many themed dinners) and I was tasked with garlic bread. I figured, how hard could that be right? And then I remembered the instance where my mom set our oven on fire making it and became skeptical. Using the tools available, I decided to make an idiot-proof appetizer (though this time around, there was another fine, though not because of me). Last week my friends and I decided to do another Italian dinner so I thought "what the hell, why not make my bread and use it for this blog?" So here it goes.....

Ingredients:
French Bread
Butter
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Basil, Oregano and Italian Seasoning herbs
Garlic

1) Prepare a cookie sheet with aluminium foil and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then slice the bread in half long-ways

2) Crack a clove of garlic like shown in a previous post (don't remember which one) and drag it over the bread so the bread absorbs the scent

3) Next spread butter over the bread. Then repeat the garlic part again so now the butter absorbs it as well

4)After the second round of garlic, put some EVOO over both pieces of bread. I like using a plastic flat spoon thing to make sure it is even.

5) Lastly, sprinkle the herbs over the bread (a thin layer is all you need in regards to how much herb is enough)

6) Stick the bread in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until it looks lightly to heavily toasted depending on your preference.

Tips and experiences:
* Be aware if your oven cooks unevenly, like the one I used did (^ see the light to dark slide?)
*There is no such thing as too much garlic, unless you are a vampire and therefore have no need to make this anyways
*When cooking multiple dishes back to back, make sure your friend Zack doesn't drop an oven mitt into the oven and not notice it, resulting in a fire.
*If the above does happen, make sure you turn the water on in the sink that you put the now burned oven mitt in instead of letting it continue to smoulder.
*Overall...enjoy!

Kendall's Bruschetta

So this week I decided to do one of my signature dishes, bruschetta. A classic Italian appetizer made with only five ingredients, it is one of my most favorite things to both make and eat. I first created my version of the dish when I was in high school and was preparing for a party to celebrate some thing or another. I had heard of bruschetta before and knew what was in it, but had never seen it or eaten it. Instead of doing what any normal person would do and looking up the recipe online, I decided I knew how it should go and in the end, created my own version. Here is my original recipe for simple bruschetta.

Ingredients:

1 French baguette
1 bunch of fresh basil
1 log of mozzarella
2 regular tomatoes

Directions:

1) Start by pre-heating the oven to 350 degrees. Next begin cutting the bread into slices about 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick

2) Next place the pieces onto a foil-covered cookie sheet spaced evenly apart

3) After the bread is done, pour a little extra virgin olive oil (evoo) over them. I fill the cap from the evoo bottle with the oil and then I can usually cover between 3-4 slices of bread.

4) Once the evoo is finished, cut your tomatoes into slices less than a 1/4 thick

(then cut the tomatoes in half down the middle)

5) Place the tomatoes over the bread, they should fit perfectly but if there is some overlap or under lap that's ok)

6) Next step, mozzarella! Cut the log into slices the same size slices as the tomatoes (less than 1/4 in. thick and then in half)

7) Lucky number 7 is basil (One of the best smells in the world <3) Tear the leaves from the stem and if they seem to be larger than the size of the bread, tear them in half hamburger-style)

Place on top of the cheese

8) Pour evoo over the un-cooked bruschetta so the basil and cheese will absorb some.

9) Place the cookie tray in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted. If some of the basil has darkened or looks crispy, that's ok.

The cheese will drip and the basil will move, both are completely normal and to be expected so don't worry!

Tips and experiences:

*Use fresh basil leaves, anything else will not work

* Mozzarella logs are the thing to use, nothing shredded or the like.

* The ideal tomatoes are not Roma or from the vine but just regular tomatoes

*If you like them, pine nuts make a nice addition to the bruschetta (it would go on top of the cheese and with the basil)

* This appetizer is filling so be aware that it will fill you up :)

* Also know that once cooked, the tomatoes will be HOT so be cautious when taking a bite.

ENJOY!!!