*shakes a fist at the universe*

... and then, this morning, I burnt through the butter container and it melted all over the toaster oven while my English muffin burnt.

I'm thinking this is the universe's way of telling me to eat takeout for the next two weeks. Read More......

How I Burnt My Foot Cooking

Whenever I start thinking I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing, the universe laughs at me and sends these little accidents.

I'm still not very good at making omelettes. For a while, I'd make them in a little pan, so I could put them in the toaster oven halfway through, but I was very hungry this morning and didn't think all the ingredients I'd chopped would fit, so I used my new skillet. It took a little jiggling to get the omelette to release. I always flip the eggs over the floor, so that whatever spills can be cleaned up easily, instead of hitting the flames or something. (I'm talented see.) I flipped - and lost almost half the omelette to the floor. More importantly, a superhot piece of tomato hit my bare foot, so I was hopping around yelping. Fortunately, the rest of the omelette stayed in the pan and finished cooking quickly.

The omelette is delicious. Good thing I made extra. Read More......

Getting My Green On

I know I'm going to hell for this, but I'd never actually been to my local green market until today - and I only went today bc I passed it on my way to Bed, Bath & Beyond for a new nonstick pan.

It was awesome. There were two vendors selling baked goods, one selling turkey, one selling pork, and one selling cheese. I was tempted to buy an herb plant, but couldn't decide if I'd really use enough rosemary to make it worthwhile, or if the basil plant was big enough.

The cheesemonger had cheese-glazed croissants and a variety of rustic breads. I bought a "medieval alpine" cheese, a cranberry walnut loaf, and a croissant. Next time I'll try the whole wheat croissant.

I couldn't decide between the various fish, so I let the fishmonger pick. I broiled the sea bass in the oven with a little white wine, olive oil, and butter while I steamed asparagus on the stove. The fish with the slight olive oil flavor is so delicious, I almost ate it between the kitchen and the dining table. I'm vaguely tempted to go back right now and buy some more, but tomorrow I get to have the beet pasta with pork chops. Mmm... Read More......

Three hours to cheese understanding

It took me so long to grok wine that when I realized I knew even less about cheese, I felt despair. How little did I know? On a visit to the cheesemonger in Grand Central, I enjoyed a proferred cheese and asked, "So how is this different from pecorino?" The woman looked at me funny and said, "well, one's from a goat and one's from a sheep." oops. With so many bad uneducational wine tastings under my belt, I thought it would take many tries before I had any understanding. Instead, Murray's Cheese's 101 class taught me enough to feel confident.

We tasted 7 cheeses with a two wines and fruit and meat as accompaniments. The cheese were of very different types, but what made it so memorable (ergo, helpful) was that the instructor didn't get hung up on categorizing. She gave us flavors that were representative and used them to illustrate a common vocabulary that would allow us to order them again, but didn't get crazy about New World vs. Old World or goat vs. sheep vs. cow. Moreover, her enthusiasm was infectious and enabling.

Even with a sample of only seven, I came to see certain commonalities in what I liked. I adored both the sheep cheeses we tried, although that might be because they were the uncooked pressed cheeses. While I've eaten and enjoyed washed rind and blue cheeses in the past, the contrast made me realize I don't enjoy them quite as much as say a "bloomy" (creamy, Brie-like) cheese.

I can't wait to try my new cheese knowledge at Fairway - although I have to eat all the stuff I have in the fridge first! Read More......