Miscellaneous Friday

I went to a potluck tonight.  It was awesome.  I brought Cauliflower and Barley Risotto.  It was pretty good, although I think I still prefer the sweet potato barley risotto.  It took longer to cook than I thought it would, and I was panicking towards the end because I was so late - I would say it took a good 45-50 minutes to really cook properly.  I will probably work on adapting this for the crockpot, since it was pretty good.  I think I might use white wine next time.

The taco casserole from the other day actually came out great.  A tortilla was rendered unnecessary by the rice, but cheddar cheese and sour cream on top would not go amiss.

I have found the winning bread recipe.  I'll repost it shortly, but it's the American Sandwich Bread recipe from The New Best Recipe Cookbook.  Do yourself a favor and buy a copy.  It comes out dense and filling but not too chewy, and no matter how you screw it up, it's totally salvageable.  Thus ends the quest for the perfect white bread and I'll be moving onto whole wheat.

In totally other news, I just closed out our registry at the Pampered Chef, and will be getting my new pizza stones (2!) and pie pan and other stuff shortly.  The one thing we didn't upgrade at all with our registry was really our baking stuff, so I'm very excited to have the stones - I got a round one and a rectangular one, but imagine that I can make cookies and stuff on both of them.  We have a bunch of frozen pizzas in the oven that I think we'll be using in the next few weeks because I've actually started to be busy during the day - volunteer work, but good stuff and keeping me occupied.  Has anyone tried baking stuff other than pizza on stones?  Help a girl out with some tips!

I think the first thing I might try to make are these cookies, which a co-worker brought and and are amazing!  Her's didn't have the nuts or the drizzle on top, but they were still seriously seriously fantastic.  

Holiday Gift Guide

Kitchen Stuff makes great holiday gifts.  We have a few wonderful items we've received as wedding gifts that I think would make great holiday presents.
For the more serious cook :

Cusinart Contour 2qt Pot

This is a great pot - it's wonderfully nonstick, etc.  and the lid lets you drain the water out like the Amazing Pasta Pot on those infomercials.  Also, the pour spout is fantastic.

For the from a box chef:

Smooth Edge Can Opener

This opens cans smoothly, and the lids come right off.  It's amazing.  Totally amazing.  If there is a convenience cook in your life, this is the perfect gift.

For the baker:

Classic Batter Bowl (both sizes) from Pampered Chef

I LOVE this bowl.  LOVE it.  The lid is perfect.  It goes onto the bowl, and locks on and stays, but isn't hard to put on.  It's great for mixing because of the higher sides - the stuff is easier to mix.  

For the wine enthusiast: 

Corkscrew Set

This is a great, cheap alternative to the Rabbit corkscrew set.  It's sooooo much easier than a crummy ordinary corkscrew - it's unbelievable.  

Any specific requests for gift suggestions?  

Registry Reviews: Noritake Colorwave

Back in March, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond and registered for stuff.  Some of it was cooking, some was housewares, some was boring but necessary (towels.)  I really wished there was some way to find out things about the china that we registered for, and I didn't see many recommendations - most of the stuff I found was "look at how pretty and classic our Vera Wang China is".  That is not helpful.

We were very very fortunate to receive most of what we registered for, including our china.  I'm sharing it here because what we chose to do, particularly with our china, is a little unorthodox but it makes us happy, and it was very hard for me to find information on what kind of china to register for, how it fit in the cabinets, and what type of person it suited. (And a lot of people nowadays register for white china and white china is boring.)

We registered for four different colors of the Noritake Colorwave China.  It's a fairly heavy, dishwasher safe, glazed stoneware and it looks both elegant and whimsical, especially because we got the square.  We find that having different colored plates and bowls can be helpful in knowing whose dish is whose, and livens up the table.

This is our everyday-ware and our fancy-dinner ware, so we were happy to get plates that served both purposes.  As you can see, they are pretty tall (much taller than our old Corelle), but everything stacks together really well, meaning there is very little "wasted" space in our cabinet.  And we finally have enough bowls for both soup and cereal.

I actually love the mugs.  I was so against getting mugs and wanted to just register for open stock, but it cost the same to get the set with the mug and was easier for our guests.  First of all, they are actual mugs, not "teacups", there are no saucers, and they fit a reasonable amount of hot cocoa.  I find myself using these rather than our (large) collection of mugs because I like how they feel in my hand and the inside is a bit easier to clean than some of our mugs.  

The bowls are on the larger side, and they are flatter, which makes them great for things like both soup and cereal.  Our old Corelle bowls were okay for cereal, but too high for soup. Since they are large, they aren't ideal for ice cream, but we actually eat ice cream out of ramekins anyway.  For dinner, we usually use the smaller plates, which are still big enough for a reasonable one-pot type of meal, without a lot of side dishes.  If we're serving a main course and sides, we break out the big plates.  

If you are uptight and want fine china, this is not the set for you.  But if you want nice matching plates that double as fine china and everyday, this is definitely a great set to consider.  They also come in round, and you can get all of the same color if that is how you roll.   

White Bread

Since I wanted to start things slow with Darth, I opted to start with a super-easy bread recipe.  Unfortunately, it's so good that I don't have any incentive to try anything more challenging. It makes two loaves and I froze one.  We finished the other one off in a few days.  Mr. Barefoot wants to try making it in the crockpot during the day so we come home to fresh baked bread.  Any tips? Anyone know where I can get a rack for my crockpot?
I did also use Darth to mix up some of my famous foccacia bread - I've been making this recipe for years and it's a real crowd pleaser.  It's so nice to not have to knead the bread myself - it means that I can make bread on a whim without getting all flour-y. 
When I made the foccacia bread, instead of using the Italian seasonings, I used Old Bay, garlic powder, and minced onion (I need to get powdered, but I don't have it yet).  I topped it with cheddar cheese.  Next time, more Old Bay, but otherwise it was pretty good. 

Mrs. Barefoot is back!

Okay, so I'm like, the lamest cooking blogger ever.  The truth is, I've been pretty short on time to cook lately.  What with the bar, the campaign, and getting married, cooking has fallen by the wayside.  So I'm excited to be back and to finally get to use all of the fabulous new toys that have been filling our apartment.  (Registries are fun.  It's like having the most practical birthday ever, which, when you are super-interesting like me, is AWESOME.)
We got a lot of interesting products that I'm excited to use and will be reviewing a bit here, like a cusinart food processor, Le Cruset French Oven, and Ultimate Mandoline.
One of the things I have to say nice things about so far is this pan which is pretty easy to clean and a good size for general use.  I love calphalon generally, and I really like using stainless steel - we only registered for a few pots and pans, because we have found that we don't really use that many pots and pans, and having space is nice.  I think we'll end up with 2 3-qt pans, a 10-inch fry pan, a 12-inch deep skillet, and a big pot and frying pan.  We're not really sure what the best combination is, so any guidance is appreciated.
I also got gifted several cookbooks at my shower, which are all awesome looking - many of them are vegetarian, green, local, or otherwise delicious - so I'll be reviewing and relaying recipes from those as well.  So far, Cooking from the Garden has some really interesting recipes which are delicious.

Cilantro Lime New Potatoes from Cooking from the Garden (in the Le Creuset French Oven)

We also got this slightly controversial gift.  If you know me, you know how I feel about these guys.  I'll admit...I was pretty excited when this showed up, since we didn't register for it (I felt too guilty...)
Meet Darth:

I'm going to get him a lightsaber.  He makes delicious bread that is super easy.  I think that will be the next recipe that comes up here.  Also, Cheesy Onion Souffle Mac & Cheese, which is more delicious than it looks.  (And I think it looks pretty good.)

Bargains

So if you are at the point in your life, where I am, when everybody is getting married, it might not be surprising if, when you see items like this on sale, you are struck with the urge to buy six and just give them to everybody you know as wedding gifts. Go to Slickdeals to get the activation link for free shipping as well. (Deal is from Sunday the 22nd.)
I'm really tempted to buy one for myself....the green is so pretty!

A potless girl in a strange city

So Mark and I moved in together over a year ago, and combined our kitchens. I threw out all of his stuff and replaced it with mine, because I'm a controlling woman and my stuff is nicer. So how do we divide it up again?
I am moving to Michigan for the summer, to work in a job that sounds amazing. To me, this means that I get to use my pineapple sheets and flowered duvet cover and pretend I'm single. It also means that...we have to divide up the kitchen, possibly. Depends on whether the sublet I find comes with pots. It'll be furnished, but furnished does not always mean pots.
I'm pretty sure that I can get by with the basics - my knives, a cutting board, an always (3qt) pot and an always pan (6qt. saute). I guess I need a colander. Oh, and my food processor. Fortunately, I'm currently hoarding two.
I'm planning to borrow some knives from my dad so that Mark and I don't have to be too hard up - and I'm leaving the meat knives with him, as it only seems fair. I get the veggie knife and the (new!) tomato knife. Cuz there is a farmer's market.
If we have to acquire pots, we'll either hit up my sister who just got married and has an excess, or try goodwill, or check Ikea.

Cookie baking tools & reviews

So last night I made my all time favorite christmas cookie, the peppermint meringue. I love these cookies. So does my sister. And my mom. So I figured I would bring them to both my family's christmases, and whatever was leftover to Mark's family. I figured that instead of making two separate batches, I would make one batch.
DO NOT EVER DO THIS! (I will qualify this -if you have a stand mixer and two ovens, it might be okay.)
The recipe says it makes 16. I could easily say that I get 32 out of each recipe. I had to use every baking sheet I own, and that includes the baking sheet for the toaster oven. However, they did come out totally perfect and awesome...so maybe I shouldn't complain. (Although we'll see about my salmonella cookies that I cooked halfway last night and need to do the rest of this morning...)
I also put together dough for christmas cookie cutter cookies from my trusty cookbook. This is a great cookbook because they give you the reasons why their recipe is best, like that regular granulated sugar makes holes that are too big in the butter, and that you shouldn't use the creaming method for cookie cutter cookies because then there is too much flour at the end. The only problem with starting with the flour is you are basically using the pie crust method, and that is just really something you need one of these babies for. (I keep telling myself that my thrice annual need to make pie crust does not justify my taking up cabinet space with a food processor. Then I tell myself that the deep fryer takes up way more and would get used even less.
I also had to make superfine sugar, which was done in my trusty mini-chopper (I told you, its a great gift idea!) and wound up looking like an episode of Will it Blend when I opened the lid, with a cloud of sugar dust coming out. (P.S. I totally need a blendtec to make meringues, because chopping up peppermint with a hammer is no longer cutting it.)

Christmas Gift Lists

This is a reminder that with the holidays coming up, asking for kitchen stuff isn't just for wedding registries! I think a lot of people make the mistake of not thinking of their kitchens when writing to Santa (or the Hannukkah fairy), but I've found the culinary gifts I have received to be some of the longest-lasting and most used of anything I've gotten. Kitchenware makes a great gift also because most cooks won't buy themselves really nice tools when they outfit their kitchens on the cheap, but the nicer tools are relatively cheap ($20 or so) to give somebody and they will use it a lot and think of you.
So what do you give and what do you ask for?
Giving:
Last year we received two christmas gifts that we use regularly. The first one is the Vidalia Chop Wizard. I highly recommend it for the amatuer foodie in your life - most people are dubious of As Seen on TV products, so they probably don't own one. There is a William Sonoma version, but its much more expensive, so they probably haven't bought one.
The second is a Calphalon Crepe Pan. It's great for crepes and pancakes, plus non breakfast tasks such as sauteing chopped peppers and onions and making grilled cheese sandwiches, because it has a wider and non-curved surface, unlike most fry pans, but it is usable for more stuff than a griddle because it has higher sides. The Calphalon Crepe Pan with a container of crepe mix is the perfect gift for somebody you know likes food, and you think can handle a mix.
Other favorite gifts include my food scale and Kapoosh Knife Block. Food scales should only be given to hardcore/European cooks who you know want to weigh things as they cook, otherwise it sends the wrong message. (Food scales are used most frequently in the US by people on diets.)
Other ideas:

• Stocking stuffers/Hannukah Nights 2-7 gifts - measuring tools (pyrex liquid measuring cups in a 1 cup or 2 cup size; OXO measuring cups and spoons for drystuffs), silicon spatulas (again, I recommend OXO), the palm peeler and brush , pretty much any OXO Good Grips products (I plan to buy the 20-piece variety pack at Costco and parcel it out among family member's stockings. The Ice Cream scoop is particularly well designed.) A cookie scoop is great too.
  
• Electronics: blender (Black & Decker makes a nice $25 to $30 model - don't spend less than $20, I can guarantee you it will suck), food scale, immersion blender (we don't actually use ours, but if you have somebody who likes to make soup), mini-chopper (look for one with a both chop and grind feature), electric kettle (for the tea lover or Alton Brown enthusiast in your life), hand mixer (the Hamilton Beach one that comes with its own case is quite nice, if you've got money to spare go with the Kitchenaid 6-speed), a crockpot (of any size - the mini-dipper is great for the noncook who entertains. if they are single, get them a 1.5 quart, 4-quart if they entertain or eat dinner with others frequently; 6qt is for a family.)
  
• Other items: bamboo/wood cutting boards, a kapoosh knife block, a really nice knife (I recommend a Santoku knife), potholders, pyrex portables or baked dish/cupcake caddies (for the baker/entertainer in your life), the new line of lightweight Corningware, plus cookbooks that are specific to the chef. Also, don't overlook really nice tupperware, for the right person. (Probably somebody you are close to - somebody you can't legally marry. Which in Maryland is NOT your first cousin.)
  

Receiving:

• Consider requesting a really nice set of pots instead of that new ipod - you'll probably use the pots more! (The set I linked to is the Costco equivalent of Calphalon. Look for infused anodized aluminum - Calphalon, anolon, and a few other brands make it - but not the teflon coated ones.) You'll use them every day, and they are easy to clean. (I use my ipod every day too - so if yours broke, get the iPod. But if you're just upgrading, think about the pots...) If you don't want to request a full set, go for a 5.5 quart saute pan and a 3 quart saucepan - in our house we call them the "always pan" and the "always pot".
  
• If you've always wanted some of that shiny Le Crueset bakeware that looks so nice on the table, go ahead and ask for it! I've never tried it but I did put a mini-casserole on my list so that I can tell whether I like it more than my pyrex.
  
• Electronics - if you bake a lot, ask for a stand mixer. If you live a hectic and busy life, or hate your stove, think about putting a crock-pot on your list. See above list of electronics. I'm really hoping this year my sister re-gifts her old blender to us.
  
• Cookbooks - Santa is a great person to ask for cookbooks - because you can be specific or general. You can say, I really need a new cookie book. Or you can say, "I need a cookbook that isn't psycho about using the right kind of butter."
  
• If your Santa isn't very culinarily-inclined, and you don't trust them, either take your Santa with you shopping (my mom and I always hit BB&B the day after Thanksgiving and she lets me pick my gifts) or ask for gift cards to Bed Bath & Beyond (don't forget that 20% off coupon!) or Cooking.com or anywhere else.
  

Above everything else, when gift giving, make sure to consider the person's age and propensities when purchasing gifts. I have to take the following into consideration:

• My sister doesn't cook. She makes fun of me for buying her kitchen supplies. So I don't. Some people are a lost cause and you should just get them iTunes gift cards.
  
• My father melts everything in his kitchen. Every year, I inventory what he has melted or broken, and go on a hunt for replacements he can't melt or break. Silicone coated spatulas and spoons are the best thing that has ever happened to him. Last year we bought him 10 and he only managed to destroy 1.
  
• Take age into account. My grandmother has some arthritis and while she is extremely strong for 86, I don't like to get her anything heavy. I also like to get her the OXO good grips items whenever possible, because they are designed for people with arthritis - the handles are bigger and easier to grasp.
• Mr. Barefoot learned from his mother that nothing is broken until it actually comes to pieces in your hand and you can't use the pieces in a remotely functional way. (Last year our ice cream scoop broke - the little sweeper thing that actually scoops the ice cream out, which it is useless without because those are so deep - and he wouldn't get rid of it. I bought him a new one for Christmas and he was like, "why did you get me this? we have an ice cream scoop."Also, his old measuring cup actively leaked, but when I got him a new one he was like, "I guess I needed one.") Some people can't understand why you would get them something nicer than what they have, even if what they have barely functions. Upgrade them slowly over time, one or two new things per year, or replace something that they have commented, in your presence, "I need to get a new one of these."

Don't overlook kitchen gifts for gift-swaps either. And think outside the Bed Bath & Beyond/Williams-Sonoma/Target box - Ikea has some pretty decent stuff, and often Marshalls, Homegoods, or TJ Maxx will have a really nice selection of overstocked items. Plus, keep an eye out for coupons and specials. Also, check out a professional restaurant supply store - usually things will be cheaper there, and some will be nicer.
Also, consider clearing out your kitchen of things you don't use or want and regifting them via Goodwill or the Salvation Army - there will be a lot of needy families this year, and that electric griddle you never use might just make someone's Christmas morning or Hanukkah night. Or if you know you're getting a new set of pots or a nicer roasting dish, give yours up a few days early and let somebody else make dinner in that.
Happy letter-writing to Santa!

Stir-Fry

I haven't made stir-fry in awhile. I don't know why, but I haven't really been in the mood. However, with school starting next week, we will probably be stir-frying more for several reasons:
1. It's fast.
2. It can be done entirely from pantry and freezer items.
3. A monkey can do it, even while reading her Bus. Orgs. Textbook.

To stir fry, I usually use three ingredients:
-Costco stir fry vegetables (also available at the grocery store, but I like having a 10lb bag of veggies in the freezer).
-Tofu or shrimp (depending on what is on hand. I also buy the shrimp at costco. Costco does not yet sell giant bags of frozen, sliced tofu, but when they do, I will do a dance.)
-Stir fry sauce/marinade. I've already written an ode to the yellow curry sauce at Trader Joe's, but I'm also a fan of any kind of sweet and sour sauce, or soy sauce mixture. Mark will just use straight up soy sauce, but I find it extremely salty. I like to peruse the stir-fry aisle at my local hippie mart or mega mart to find new mixtures.

I use the following equipment:
-a Wok
-a cutting board, if I'm using tofu; a colander if I'm using shrimp.

We finally broke down and bought a wok last fall. We got the smallest, cheapest wok we could find that fit my strict requirements:
1. Either not too heavy or had an additional handle. (That is one long handle and one small handle perpendicular on the opposite side of the wok.)
2. Nonstick coating.
3. Made of thick enough metal that the first time I left the stove on too long, it wouldn't burn.
My dream wok was something like this.
We wound up getting something more like this. (I think ours was $20 at an outlet.)
At least it came with a lot of extra bamboo pieces for steaming or something. I don't use them - anyone know how to use any of them? Because I can't put my frozen vegetables on that bamboo rack. I sometimes use the spoon. And the chopsticks, but only to see if my cakes are done in the center.

I do recommend a wok. You can get a cheap one that will still be better for stir frying than the average frying pan. This is mostly because frying pans do not fit enough food, and you can't push all the vegetables up on the side while you cook the shrimp or tofu at the end of the meal.

I don't actually know how to use a wok. I'm sure there are real methods of using them, but I stick with my hamburger helper approach. (1 Pound of Hamburger + 1 Pan = 1 Happy Family)

Gearing up for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, in some families, is prepared by Grandma, who has been slaving in the kitchen all day and then everybody shows up, watches football, inhales all the food, and forgets to thank her while they drift into food comas.
Thanksgiving, in my family, is a massive potluck to which everyone is expected to bring a dish. At least. You are expected to bring as much food as you plan to eat.
So portability is a problem. Tupperware melts when you put hot stuff in it, sometimes you don't want to transfer things from the dish you baked them in, and things get cold!
So I am pleased to share with you the greatest tool ever, not to oversell it.
The Pyrex Portables
These are great. They keep food hot, cold, and well packaged. They are insulated packages with hot/cold packs that solve the problem of melted tupperware.
Investing in plain old Pyrex dishes with lids is still a worthwhile thing to do - they're great for cold/cooled dishes, desserts, etc. and will make your holidays infinitely easier!
And if you grandma makes everything? Call her up and ask if you can bring anything. There is no better way to get favored grandchild status. Unless you clip her toenails. I think this is a no-brainer.

Equipping the Kitchen

So - lets talk measures. Measuring is important when it comes to cooking, although I've been cooking long enough that I'm able to Rachel-Ray a lot of things and approximate. But for baking in particular, I do like to measure.
My boyfriend and I just moved in together and decided to buy good measuring cups, cutting boards, and a few other good items.
We went with these measuring cups and these spoons, both by OXO. The measuring cups are great because not only do they come with a 3/4 cup and 2/3 cup measures, they have half-measures marked on them, making it particularly easy to halve a recipe, particularly one that calls for 3/4 of a cup of something. They are really good - I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to upgrade their measuring cups.
We also picked up some bamboo cutting boards - one large, one small. I love a good wood cutting board - because they take the chopping action much better then a plastic one and feel better.
We also picked up a slow cooker at Value Village for $4 - brand new, still with instructions - don't ever forget to look in strange places for lucky finds like that :-).

Good Knives

I don't understand how anybody cooks without good knives. I just don't get it. You should never ever have to saw through a piece of meat or a vegetable. Nor should you have to hack - gravity and the knife's weight should do most of the work for you.
The thing about knives that sucks is that knives are expensive. Good knives are really expensive. I'll readily admit that I'm a knife snob, but there are far worse things to be a snob about. I'm also lucky - my father is an even bigger knife snob and he will habitually clear out his knife drawer. I get the leftovers, and now I'm set for life.
Knives, like anything else made well, will last a long time. You can get them sharpened or buy a sharpener yourself, depending on where you live and how comfortable you feel sharpening your own knives.
Here are a few tips to remember when you are knife shopping:
1. Start small. Don't buy more than you can afford at once. If you can afford a fancy Henckels knife block, power to you, but you might not need all of those knives. Start by investing in what you really need. Think about what you chop the most frequently - for example, if you chop a lot of vegetables maybe you should be looking at a flat bladed santoku, and if all you cook is meat, make the investment in an 8 inch meat knife.
2. Do some research. Look at different brands, different companies, different styles of making the same knife. Read reviews. Ask other people you know who cook.
3. Know how a good knife should feel in your hand. This sounds stupid, but people have different sized hands and one brand might not work for you.
4. Comparison shop. Get knives off of e-bay. Just because knives cost a lot doesn't mean you have to pay full price.
5. Don't be a blockhead! All your knives don't have to be the same brand just so you can have a "clean kitchen" without knife clutter. Don't just buy a set, or think that all the knives you buy have to fit into your knife block. Explore other options - both magnetic strips for hanging knives over your stove (not suitable for clumsy people or homes with small children), or consider the Kapoosh Universal Knife Block .