Tom & Alissa

On Monday, I stayed home sick. But sick to me usually ends up being an excuse to do the things I need to do, whether or not my head is spinning. (It seems like I used to be more laid back . . . I wonder when I went crazy?)

In any case, I did go to the coop on Monday because there was only brie and jam and six ounces of portobello mushrooms and some bad-looking baby lettuce in the fridge, and so I came home with an abundance.

And I was hungry that night, so I modified this mushroom soup from Blueprint, and this is what it turned out to be:

1. Put 2 cups of mushroom broth (NOT the creamy kind - I used Pacific Natural because that’s what they had at the coop) into a saucepan. Add a dash of thyme, about a teaspoon of salt (mine was six cranks of the salt grinder) and one crumbled dried chili pepper.
2. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat, leaving the saucepan covered.
3. Heat 3 T. olive oil in a larger saucepan.
4. Cut up 6 oz. portobello mushrooms. When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and cook about five minutes.
5. Add three fresh sage leaves, a dash of thyme, and two small cloves of minced garlic and cook for about two more minutes.
6. Add two tablespoons of white cooking wine (I use some kind that is probably lousy but is sold at my local gourmet store specifically for cooking with that won’t go bad if it’s in the cabinet forever) and cook for about thirty seconds.
7. Pour in broth; boil; turn off the heat and let it sit for about five minutes while you wash the dishes.

It’s a little spicy and a little mushroomy and very tasty, especially with crackers. Yum.

It was good! I think I might try WAY less salt and slightly less pepper next time, though. Still, tasty. Crusty bread is a must-have accompaniment. Tom picked up a stellar chianti as well. I think I might also try throwing some potatoes in for the last hour. Mmmm.

We watched The Lookout (Joseph Gordon-Levitt!) while we were eating, and enjoyed that, too. Finished it and we were talking about something, and for some reason, we decided to watch The Matrix, which we ended up pausing for future watching about halfway through because it was late. We love our little parties.

I made something interesting for dinner tonight; can’t wait to go home and try it. It’s been in the oven all day.

I found the recipe loosely described in the Tuscan butcher apprenticeship section of Heat. This is it, sort of:
1. Buy a good-sized beef shank.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Put the beef in a pot (I used our Le Creuset 2-quart French oven, which was a wedding present from Angela and makes me happy every time I look at it, though I want the whole set now and that’s not too good).
4. Pour in a bottle of chianti to cover the shank. I didn’t have chianti, and my pot was just a tiny bit too narrow at the bottom for the beef, so I fudged it with a bottle and a bit more of Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe’s - cheap and tasty.
5. Add three tablespoons of salt and one of black pepper.
6. Peel a head of garlic and add the whole cloves to the pot.
7. Reduce the oven heat to 200 degrees; cover the pot and put it in the oven.
8. Cook for twelveish hours.

You can see it’s a lot of guesswork; in the book, he says to serve it with hearty white bread and the wine that you cooked it in.

So anyhow - we’ll let you know how it went!

This pudding is from the Sweet Serendipity: Delicious Desserts & Devilish Dish cookbook (yep, that’s the restaurant in that John Cusack/Kate Beckinsale movie). I made it around Easter and it was so amazingly yummy; light, fluffy, sweet but not too sweet, and very coconutty - it’s a lot like whipped cream, but lighter and with coconut in it. This makes a huge amount, but you can halve it to make much less.

7 teaspoons (2 envelopes plus 1 teaspoon) unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup milk, cold
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
3 cups heavy cream, cold
5 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flaked, sweetened coconut (was about one bag for me)

Combine gelatin with milk and heat it in microwave in 10-second bursts until the gelatin dissolves; do not boil. The mixture will appear to have curdled a little as the milk solids separate due to the heat. Allow it to cool a bit, but not so much that it re-solidifies.

In a clean medium bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites with the salt. (Note: I used my only blender, a Cuisinart “magic stick”, and it worked beautifully.) Slowly add 6 teaspoons of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until stiff, glossy peaks form.

In a large bowl, beat the cream and vanilla with the remaining confectioner’s sugar just until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the whipped cream. Don’t overmix - it’s okay to stop when there are still some streaks. Add the gelatin and fold just until incorporated. Fold in 2 1/2 cups of the cocounut.

Spoon the mixture into eight 1-cup ramekins. (Here the recipe notes: “If you have fresh coconut shells, use them in place of the ramekins” - I just left it in the bowl as I had neither.) Cover wiwth plastic wrap, then chill until completely set, at least two hours. Toast the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in a wide skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally. Top each pudding with a tablespoon of coconut. Serve chilled.

It was a somewhat edited weekend, with work cutting in at all angles and reducing it a bit. But some much-needed R & R was spliced in.

Right.

We, very late on Friday night, watched Dirty Pretty Things. We’d both heard of it but neither of us had seen it; however, I’d recently interviewed Stephen Knight, the writer, about his work on Amazing Grace, so we wanted to see it. We had differing reactions but I think we both liked it. Audrey Tatou is divine. This is the first time I’d hear her in English; of course, she had a Turkish accent, but it worked.

Saturday was a lot of feeling under-the-weather and trying to survive; Tom was at “the office” all afternoon and I dragged myself into Soho to try and find an inexpensive suit for a presentation I have to give this week at Columbia. I did not succeed and felt more miserable for trying, but I did pick up two enormously expensive and heavy two-terabyte hard drives from the Apple store for the film project (not bought by us, thankfully) and lugged them to BAM, to get tickets for Edward Scissorhands, and then convinced a cab driver that yes, he could drive ten blocks to my apartment. And then we brought food to our friends the Pesnells, who just had a baby twoish weeks ago. She is beautiful and tiny.

Possibly most notable event of the weekend: the first disc of the American version of The Office came (I was torn - British? American? - but being in an office right now in America, I opted for the latter, plus, Steve Carrell!!!). I watched the first four episodes, including the pilot, and giggled. Exactly my kind of humor, exactly appropriate.

Jim: If I got promoted, then this would be my career. If this was my career, I’d throw myself in front of a train.

We had lunch after church yesterday with Angela and her friend/neighbor who’d come to church with her, and we had fascinating conversations and then bolted across town so Tom could interview a set intern and I could run errands. Tom bought long underwear; necessary in this weather when you’re outside for 12 hour days, just standing and yelling “Quiet on the set!” repeatedly. And then we came home and I slow-cooked baby back ribs (ridiculously easy) and we whiled the evening away on our laptops.

Speaking of, Tom is on Day 1 of shooting Cult of Sincerity today, so if you see him in Williamsburg, holler. Or don’t, rather, but wave. He’s the assistant director.

Things you should check out:
• 8apps - I think I’m addicted to online productivity tools, and I think it’s Ken’s fault. In any case, this one is one of the more full-featured I’d seen. Add me if you see me on there.
• I love these sheets!
• Because I like to talk about awards: the Bloggies nominations are up. Sometimes a good way to just find a good new blog to read.
• Web design in 2006 roundup.
• The recipe I used for our baby back ribs. Insanely easy.

This was dinner last night (with baguettes), and it was a winner - and very, very easy and quick. I varied it slightly with chicken thighs instead of chicken tenders, which ended up being a pain. I’d recommend using chicken breasts instead, and dice them before you put them in the pot.

This is courtesy of Rachel Ray and the Food Network website.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 starchy potatoes, skin left on and diced (recommended: Idaho)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with leafy green tops, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, chopped
1 small bunch pencil asparagus, trimmed of woody ends and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas (a couple of handfuls)
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh tarragon, 4 to 5 sprigs, chopped

Heat a large, deep skillet or a medium soup pot over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and butter. Melt butter into oil then add the potatoes, onions, celery and carrots, adding them to the pot as you chop them. Add bay leaf and season veggies with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, cook 5 to 6 minutes to soften them a bit. Add flour and cook another minute then whisk in wine and cook off a minute more. Add stock and put a lid on the pan or pot and raise heat to bring to a quick boil. Slide in chicken and cook 5 minutes. Stir in asparagus and cook 3 minutes more. Turn off heat and add the peas and tarragon. Stir to combine and adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread for mopping.

My first post on our new blog together and it shall be a recipe (courtesy of B.J. at RazzleDazzleRecipes.com).

The pork chops were actually leftover from an earlier meal Alissa had cooked on Saturday, so I only fixed the glaze to spruce them up, but how amazing it was! And I definitely recommend doubling or even tripling the apple slice portion of the recipe. I made those proportions to cover our two pork chops and it was just the right amount to coat everything generously. They’re so good you’ll want that extra helping to go around. Enjoy!

Maple Glazed Pork Chops

6 bone-in pork loin chops, about 1-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until hot but not browned. Brown pork chops on each side. Add maple syrup and coat lightly. Transfer meat to baking dish. Bake until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Bourbon Buttered Apple Slices:

1/2 cup butter
2 large golden delicious apples, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 tablespoons bourbon or apple cider
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Heat 1/4 cup of the butter in large skillet. Add apples and shallots and cook over medium heat until apples are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add Bourbon and cook 2 minutes. Add maple syrup; cook 1 minute. Add cider and cook over medium-high heat until most of liquid has evaporated. Reduce heat and stir in remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in sage, nutmeg and cloves. Serve over pork chops.