American Madness

Today’s recipe comes to us by way of OverTheHillAndOnARoll (an LA Blog for “Folks… who like livin’ the good life.”), their thoughts on Gin are pretty similar to mine. I haven’t yet had a chance to sample this one, but it sounds super refreshing, especially with the hint of cucumber.

2 oz of Gin
5 oz of Tonic Water
3 cucumber slices
1 sprig of rosemary
1 wedge of lime
Soda Water

Place the cucumber slices at the bottom of the highball glass. Squeeze lime juice into glass and slightly muddle the cucumber. Add sprig of rosemary and fill highball glass with ice. Add Gin, tonic, and finish off with a splash of soda water. If you prefer a less sweet cocktail, add less tonic water and more soda water.

Now, technically, I guess this is kind of a cheat, the rosemary acts more as a garnish then an actual ingredient, but I am guessing it is strong enough to either flavor the drink or acts an an aromatic and influences the taste through scent. Either way this definitely sounds like one to try.

I guess I first read about the Soda-Club seltzer maker on ApartmentTherapy: The Kitchn. I had seen similar products during a recent trip to Switzerland (back in November) and was intrigued. I am a big fan of seltzer, sparkling water, club soda…call it what you will, so I decided it was time to get one of these and write up a review for AM.

The first thing you are going to notice if you head to the Soda-Club website is that it ain’t that pretty. It is relatively basic and straightforward, and they clearly didn’t waste too many dollars on the site, which is fine by me.

That the soda maker is pretty nifty. Basically they created a housing for a large CO2 canister that allows you to attach a bottle and pump carbonation into it. The device is constructed out of plastic, which feels a little flimsy, but probably because a heavier casing, combined with the CO2 cannister would weigh a ton, and only contains a couple of moving parts. It is very easy to operate: screw the bottle (included) in place, pump and enjoy. This sounds like an infomercial, but making seltzer is really just that simple. (more…)

Yes, I have been MIA recently, I apologize about that, but when you are working extra long hours the last thing you want to do when you get home is sit down in front of a computer and bang out a post. I am hoping things calm down a bit here in the coming weeks so I can get back to my usual posting.

In the meantime, I’ve got a quick and simple recipe for folks to give a whirl. It’s just a little something I whipped up last night as a little snack, and that doesn’t take more then 10 minutes to make (even with the prep work). It was pretty delicious. You could also make this for breakfast or as an appetizer. There is an aspect or two that may sound a little difficult, but I assure you it is easy as pie.

Ingredients

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So, you might think this is going to be a post about boats and bacon or seafaring bacon or even bacon life preservers or something, but no, when I say going overboard, I mean too much bacon.

New York Magazine has a recipe for a Bacon-Infused Old Fashion from PDT. Part one of the recipe is making Bacon Bourbon.

Here is where I am torn: Bacon and Bourbon are two flavors that go really well together. I know this from mixing up some Bourbon Maple Syrup and pouring it all over my waffles and bacon. Great flavors. The richness of the bourbon complements the smokiness of the bacon really nicely.

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Foodbloggess extraordinaire Miss Ginsu has combined two of the greatest food inventions ever into one delectable treat: bacon and cake.

What? You think that sounds a little, dare I say, disgusting? Au contraire mon frère, I’ll let Miss Ginsu explain:

Now, before you say “eeeew!” remember that sweet and salty tastes are often pretty great together. Chocolate covered pretzels, say. Or salted butter caramels. Or peanut-butter cookies

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ApartmentTherapy: The Kitchn (no typo there) has a post today from their Kitchen Confessional series titled: Good Recipes from the Back of the Box.

They highlight Nestle’s chocolate chip cookies, I mean you really can’t go wrong with them. It’s interesting to see that a lot of the recipes that readers wrote in about were desserts.

Personally I have two favorite “off the box” recipes. The first is mentioned twice in the comments of that post: Quakers Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, I believe they are actually called Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, make them and you will see why, they are delicious.

My personal favorite, which I am a little hesitant to post here since my friends love it so much and some of the mystique may be lost from it is Easy Southern Banana Pudding from the back of the box of Nilla Wafers, though, admittedly, when I am feeling up to it I will make my own pudding for it instead of using the recommended Jell-o.

Anyone else have favorite recipes coming off the back of the package?

Reading food blogs tends to make me hungry, some even inspire me in the kitchen. Of course this is all dependent on how detailed they are. Is the writer just talking about what a great cook they are and making you jealous of all the good stuff they have to eat or are they trying to help you to be a better cook and teach you great new ways to make some food? Well, with CleanYoPlate it is a little of both.

Now I know Ben, and I don’t think he is trying to make any of us jealous, but I also know Ben’s cooking and reading about it does just that. He started CleanYoPlate this year and with the super detailed recipes he has put up I have seen everyone and gotten jealous because of the great pictures and how great I know his cooking is. Of course that is followed by inspiration and cooking plans for the weekend, so it is a bit of the best of both worlds. Ben also knows an incredible amount bout food and cooking.

If you like to cook or read about food or look at some great food pictures I suggest you go on over and check out Ben’s blog.

There is a new(-ish) website around now called I’m Cooked.
It is the type of site where folks who watch the Food Network and feel that they could make better cooking shows then Sandra Lee (and really, who can’t) can come and post their videos of cooking in the kitchen.

Like YouTube or Funny or Die it is all based on user submitted content, but they have some “shows” like A Coupla Fat Guys Cooking, but what really puts the site over the top, like any other website is the celebrity endorsement.

Funny Or Die has Will Ferrell, You Tube has every presidential candidate that you have ever heard of (and some you probably haven’t heard of. I’m Cooked has Christopher Walken. He prepares a chicken with roast pears. Now come on, who doesn’t want to make chicken like Christopher Walken?

Last night I made an heirloom tomato sauce, pasta and blueberry pie for dinner (and dessert). After the oven had been on for about 10 minutes for the pie and I had 2 burners going on the stove top I vowed not to cook again this summer until temperatures dropped below 70 degrees.

With a small apartment the heat just gets really intense and unpleasant really quickly and the A/C doesn’t do a whole lot to counter it.

Fortunately for me the New York Times must be listening to what I say in my kitchen because this morning they had an article called “Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less.*” The recipes range from hard boiling an egg and serving over asparagus to searing a steak and serving over a salad. There is a nice range of flavors in these 101 recipes and while some aren’t going to be for everybody, chances are you’ll be able to find a couple you like and will be able to cut your time in the kitchen drastically. Always a good idea on a hot summer night.

*Thanks to Susannah for the link to the article

As I said earlier today (about 2 posts down) it is summer time, and what better way to ring in the summer then with a nice drink.

I have always thought of Gin* as an ideal summer drink. Its crisp clean taste of juniper berries, how well it mixes with lime, and and how nice it looks poured over ice.

I guess the same could be said about vodka for the most part, except that a spirit made from juniper berries just seem so much more refreshing then one made from potatoes or grains (actually, according to Wikipedia, you could consider Gin a flavored vodka, but I think that is pushing it a bit).

Anyway, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a piece back in January about Gin having a new heyday as new flavored gins start to hit the market, and, to kick things off right, after the jump we have a few gin cocktail just perfect for a relaxing summer evening.

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