Out and Back

Nathan's not-so-famous?

So my husband and I stopped at one of the many dollar stores in our little corner of South Carolina tonight.  Hubby was looking for some inexpensive scissors for pruning our aquarium plants, and I'm never one to pass up the chance to see what kind of unusual, off-brand items are hiding in the dollar store.  We browsed for a bit, and my husband found some "Japanese peanuts" (peanuts in a rice cracker coating) and some stuffed olives that struck his fancy, and I nosed around the candy aisle to see if there was anything good.  I'm always on the lookout for good gummy candy, in particular... gummy colas are my favorite, followed by gummy cherries and gummy bears.  (I suppose if I ate a gummy cola and a gummy cherry at the same time it might be kind of like a gummy cherry cola, huh?  I'll have to try that sometime.)

Alas, I found neither gummy cherries nor gummy colas, but I did find gummy Nathan's hot dogs.  If you think I'm lying, look here.  They come complete with gummy relish and gummy ketchup, but they were just a little too weird for me so I didn't buy any.  Do they actually try to make them taste like hot dogs, I wonder?  I guess they wouldn't be bad with a few gummy colas...

Next thing you know you'll be able to get gummy Totonno's pizzas and gummy Coney Island Lager!

Mom's eggplant soup

To me, a delicious bowl of soup is always a nice thing, even when the weather starts getting warmer.  Today I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes: my mother's delicious eggplant soup.  Make a batch of this and enjoy it with some warm crescent rolls.

Eggplant Supper Soup

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
6 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large can chopped tomatoes
3 cans beef broth and 1 1/2 cans water
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. uncooked macaroni sea shells
grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. minced parsley

Use Dutch oven or heavy pot.  Saute onion and garlic with ground beef.  Brown beef.  Add salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, vegetables, broth, and water.  Cover and simmer 1/2 hour.  Add macaroni and parsley.  Simmer until macaroni is tender (20 to 30 minutes).  Serve in large soup bowls, sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Serves 6.

My birthday in a parallel universe

I turned 31 earlier this week.  The day itself was pretty low-key, which was fine with me.  Now that I'm in my 30s, my birthdays are cause for introspective contemplation as opposed to partying like there's no tomorrow.  My husband gifted me with a copy of The Crack-Up by you-know-who, along with a DVD of what is arguably VK's sappiest movie (but oh how I love it so.)  My auntie sent me a $20, and my brother gave me a copy of Sherman Alexie's latest book. 

My parents were visiting from Seattle, and they gave me a pair of diamond earrings.  Long story short: I had purchased a pair for myself about two and a half years ago -- my rationale being if I waited around for my husband to buy stuff like that for me I'd be waiting for the rest of my life -- and I wore them constantly because they went with everything.  Then, tragically, this past September as I was preparing to check out of the scummy Quality Inn in Allentown, PA, I left one earring sitting on the counter beside the sink and didn't realize it until I was well on my way down the road.  I was bummed out by the loss, but thoroughly touched that my parents decided to surprise me with a replacement pair for my birthday.  I'm too afraid of losing them again to start wearing them just yet, but I'll get over that soon enough, I suppose.

I baked my own birthday cake (with a little help from Mom) and we went to Sonic for a lunch of chili-cheese Coneys and onion rings.  (I can't quite get over the fact that Sonic calls their hot dogs "Coneys," but I appreciate the reference nonetheless.)  I thought to myself that a better birthday lunch would have been a Nathan's dog, some clam strips, and a beer on the boardwalk at the real Coney Island, but I was happy with my fast food chain facsimile.  We had dinner at a local pizza joint (again, not Totonno's, but still delicious) and then headed back to my apartment for peppermint-fudge birthday cake, which was also quite tasty.

I'm officially weird

Am I the only one who gets a huge kick out of those Jimmy Dean commercials with the sun, his family, and his co-workers?  They're wonderfully surreal.  I was overjoyed to discover that they're all up on the Jimmy Dean website, so I can get my breakfast on whenever I feel like it.  I want to get a recording of the music, too... and play it in the mornings when I pour my cereal.

Chinese New Year Cookies

Here's another delicious family holiday recipe for Chinese New Year cookies.  Enjoy!

1 12 oz package semisweet chocolate chips
1 12 oz package butterscotch chips (if you can't find butterscotch, try peanut butter chips)
1 12 oz. jar or can of salted peanuts (the dry-roasted, lightly salted kind work best)
4 c. crunchy Chinese noodles (LaChoy chow mein noodles are a good choice)

Combine the chocolate and butterscotch (or peanut butter) chips and melt them over hot water, stirring constantly.  (If you don't have anything that will work as a double boiler, just microwave the chips and stir them periodically.)  Remove from heat, stir in peanuts and noodles.  Stir until all are well-coated with the chocolate mixture.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Cool until set up, store in an airtight container.

These cookies freeze really well and are definitely unique.  Leave some out for Santa!

Sheep may safely graze... on Chex Mix!

And I'm not talking about the fake, yucky Chex Mix that comes pre-made with four million additives and preservatives.  I am talking about homemade, souped-up, bad-ass Chex Mix.  (We called it "Nuts & Bolts" in my family.)  Not unlike most families, Christmas in our house was all about the food.  And Chex Mix was definitely one of the highlights of our holiday cuisine.  My mother made vats of the stuff and put it in jars to give to people as gifts, put it out for us to nibble on whenever we were gathered around the tree, and for weeks after Christmas, she would put little baggies of it in my lunch to eat at school.  Yes, it is safe to say that Chex Mix was a mainstay in our house at Christmas time.

Although I am slightly embarrassed to admit it, today I made a batch of Chex Mix for the first time ever, using my mom's recipe.  (It only took me 30 years to try making it myself.)  It came out tasting exactly the way I remember, and I've been grazing on it all afternoon and evening.  I may be the only one that eats it, since my husband doesn't like it and my father-in-law is watching his sodium intake.  Maybe my mother-in-law will rise to the occasion and help me eat it when they arrive next week.

Here's the recipe, if you want to try making it yourself.  It's ridiculously easy, and tastes a thousand times better than the pre-packaged junk.

Nuts & Bolts

3 cups Corn Chex or Crispix
3 cups Cheerios
3 cups Wheat Chex
1 16 oz. jar peanuts
1/2 of a 1 lb. bag of pretzels (the short, skinny stick kind work best)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 sticks butter (are your arteries screamin' yet?)
1 Tbsp. Lawry's Seasoning Salt
4 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce (this is the badass ingredient)

Combine the cereals, peanuts, and pretzels in a big pan (a disposable aluminum roasting pan works really well).  Melt the butter and combine it with the Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, and garlic salt, and pour the whole mess over the dry mix.  Stir/toss to coat, and then put the pan in a 175-degree oven for three hours and give it a stir periodically.  For a fun twist, add a pound of cashews or deluxe mixed nuts to the pan about an hour before the mix is done.  Let it cool and store it in the biggest Tupperware container you can find.  Eat, eat, and eat some more.  You won't be able to stop.

The uber-saltiness of this tasty holiday snack is a perfect counterpoint to all the Christmas cakes, cookies, and pies you'll be eating, so enjoy!  (And if you give it to someone as a gift, I guarantee they'll like it better than fruitcake.)

The politics of pizza

Now that those pesky elections are over I can get back to blogging about other stuff, although today's topic has a bit of a political overtone.  Yes, I have decided to throw my hat into the ring and devote a blog post to....

.... Domino's new "Brooklyn-Style" Pizza.  (Yes, after typing that I had to stop and make air quotes with my fingers.)

I will preface this post by stating that I am not a Brooklyn native.  I've only hung out in Brooklyn a few times during the past ten years, predominantly in Coney Island, although I have also visited Prospect Park.  Oh, and the Brooklyn Bridge and the Atlantic Avenue subway station, too, if those count for anything.  At any rate, my trips to Brooklyn have given me an appreciation for the area's cultural landscape. 

One of my favorite things about a visit to Coney Island is the delicious pizza from Totonno's on Neptune Avenue.  I used to love to eat a Totonno's pie and then walk back to the amusement area and chase it with a soft serve from Ruby's.  I loved how my husband and I could split a pizza, eat the whole thing, and not feel over-full or bloated afterwards... just comfortably satiated.  I loved the fresh mozzarella and the slightly charred, bubbly crust.  Yum....

Now that I live in South Carolina, a trip to Totonno's isn't as easy as it used to be.  Around here, our pizza choices amount to the chains (Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, etc.) and a relatively decent local joint called Chanelo's.  As you can imagine, there's no pizza here that even comes close to Totonno's.  I'll admit that I was somewhat intrigued when Domino's announced their new "Brooklyn-Style" pizza, but after reading more about it (check out this piece in the New York Times) I realized there is no duplicating the singular work of art that is a Totonno's pizza.  In addition, I realized that there is no definitive "Brooklyn-Style" pizza -- all of Brooklyn's pizzerias have a unique approach -- so why does Domino's think there's only one way to make a pizza in Brooklyn?  Not to mention the fact that the TV spots for Domino's knock-off are stupid and loaded with stereotypes.  Isn't marketing fascinating?

Here's my advice -- if you're close enough to visit Brooklyn, skip the Domino's facsimile and go to Totonno's to experience a real Brooklyn pizza.  You won't regret it.

Eating Junk

A dear friend recently emailed me about his strange addiction to the Carl's Jr. Six Dollar Guacamole Bacon Burger.  Since we don't have Carl's Jr. here in PA (nor do we have their southern sibling, Hardee's) I went to the Carl's Jr. website to check it out.

What a nasty thing.

It got me thinking about my favorite junk foods... having read Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, I admit I've given up eating most forms of fast food... Subway and Quiznos are the exceptions, along with an occasional salad or Happy Meal from McDonald's.  But that doesn't mean I don't still fantasize about eating junk.  What follows is a list of some of my favorite nasty foods.  (Warning: reading this list may induce a full-on coronary.)

Jeanne's favorite junk:

1.) The Arby's Beef 'N Cheddar.  (Love it, love it, love it.... especially with a side of curly fries.)

2.) Taco Bell's Seven Layer Burrito.

3.) McDonald's Filet-O-Fish.  (This is a serious weakness for me.  I could live on these.)

4.) The Thing from Barnaby's Pub in Walla Walla, Washington.  (The Thing is a hamburger with egg, bacon, and cheese on it..... basically an Egg McMuffin on steroids.  Eat one of these bad boys and you don't need to eat again for a week.)

5.) KFC's Popcorn Chicken.

Anybody hungry?

 

Pumpkin pie in the sky and flying cats

I spent Tuesday night making pumpkin pies and washing the "good china" by hand.  My formal china pattern is Royal Albert's Old Country Roses, and we got a lot of it as wedding gifts when we got married five years ago.  It was my paternal grandmother's china pattern, too, so when we got married my aunt gave us some of Nana's pieces to round out our collection.

My dining room furniture belonged to my maternal grandmother, Frances, and it includes a beautiful china hutch with a curved glass door.  I smile whenever I see the china sitting in it, because I find it sort of funny that some of my paternal grandmother's china is now sitting in my maternal grandmother's china cabinet.  According to my father, the two women could barely tolerate each other.  (He tells the tale of the two of them visiting at the same time shortly after I was born... apparently the tension between them was palpable but they were both trying their best not to kill each other.  I have no idea if the story is really true, but based on my recollections of my two grandmothers, I can see how they would have been like oil and water.)

While the pies were baking in my gas oven, filling the house with the delicious aroma of pumpkin and spices, I finished drying the last dish and bundled up my damp dish towels in a ball.  I headed to the basement door and heaved the ball of dish towels down the basement steps so that I could put them in the washing machine later.  Just as they began their descent, Dorabella appeared at the foot of the basement steps, and the dish towels landed with a soft, harmless plop right beside her.  She was startled by their sudden appearance, and jumped about four or five feet straight up in surprise.  It was as though there was a string attached to the middle of her back and someone had pulled her right up like a marionette.  My husband witnessed her leap and said, "What the heck did you do to her?"  I was laughing too hard to even answer and I sank to the floor in a fit of giggles.  It took me ten minutes to stop laughing... who knew dish towels were so frightening to a little orange kitty?

Later, when I went downstairs to feed the cats their evening portion of dry food, Dorabella scolded me with a very pointed string of meows, as if she was saying, "Where the heck do you think you get off throwing dish towels at me?"  But all was well again after she got fed... I guess the lesson here is that no matter how frazzled you get, it's nothing a few bites to eat won't cure, right?

Amazingly, in the midst of all this bedlam, the pumpkin pies came out perfectly.  They're in the fridge waiting for Thanksgiving, and I have locked my husband out of the kitchen to keep him from eating both pies in one fell swoop.

Ain't that too damn bad

I made a friend of mine laugh so hard the other night I thought beer was going to come out of her nose.  We were eating dinner at a great local pub and during the course of our conversation we started talking about various alcoholic beverages.  (I think the topic evolved from comparisons of our respective beers.)  I mentioned that I had never cared much for champagne until I had a mimosa (which, for the uninitiated, is a mix of champagne and orange juice typically served with brunch.)  My friend doesn't like orange juice, so she mixes her champagne with cranberry juice, which sounds good, too. 

From here, we started talking more specifically about brunch cocktails... madrases, mimosas, and, of course, bloody marys.  My friend said that she loved, loved, loved bloody marys.  I said that I couldn't stand them.  Her response was, "You don't like tomato juice?"  I said, "No, I actually like tomato juice.  I drink it for the nutritional value.  I just can't make myself drink a cocktail that looks like plasma and tastes like it came from the produce aisle.  I mean, come on, a celery stick in the glass?"  She cracked up laughing.

What cocktails make you laugh?

My Pizza Personality

I discovered via Blogthings that if I were a pizza, I would be a cheese pizza.  Sounds yummy to me.  Check out Blogthings to discover your "pizza personality" and to find other funny stuff to put on your blog.

Cheese Pizza

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

And more coffee....

My brother's blog entry this a.m. is an ode to coffee, that wake-up elixir that so many of us rely on to get us going in the morning.  I decided to throw my two cents in on the same topic, but with a little bit of a twist: I want to talk about coffee roasting.

About two years ago, my husband and I became interested in the prospect of home coffee roasting.  We were sick of stale grocery store coffee (even Starbucks leaves something to be desired in terms of freshness) and we were also attracted by the potential for saving some money.  Green, unroasted coffee beans can be purchased in large quantities at very reasonable prices, and they will stay fresh for much longer than roasted beans do.  On top of that, roasting our own coffee would ensure a fresh cup every time, because we could roast just exactly what we needed and not have to worry about the beans going stale.

So we started researching the possibilities as far as a roasting apparatus was concerned, and we stumbled upon this great site, Sweet Maria's.  They have everything the burgeoning home roaster needs to get started, including every kind of green coffee bean imaginable, roasting equipment (ranging from the diminutive Hearthware I-Roast to the hurkin' big Hot Top Drum Roaster), and plenty of tips and suggestions to ensure roasting success.  We dove in and bought a Fresh Roast roaster (I actually bought it as a Christmas gift for my husband) and went to town.

I suppose the first thing I should share about our experience is this: coffee roasting generates a HELL of a lot of smoke.  The Fresh Roast only roasts enough beans for about two pots of coffee at one go, and the first time we fired it up, we set off the smoke alarm in our apartment.  It was a little embarrassing to call the front desk of our building and explain that we were just trying out the new coffee roaster and not having a bonfire in our living room.  After that, my resourceful hubby figured out a way to ventilate the roaster by putting a box fan in the kitchen window, setting the roaster on a stepstool next to said window, and shutting the kitchen door during the roasting proccess.  That did a great deal to dissipate the smoke.

So after you've successfully roasted a batch of coffee, you have to let the beans cool and have a chance to "gas out" before you actually grind them up and brew them.  Letting them sit overnight after roasting ensures a much nicer cuppa joe.  You can put them in a glass jar or a bowl or anything you want, so long as you don't put a lid of any kind over the freshly roasted beans!  We learned this lesson the hard way.  My husband had put a batch of beans in a small plastic container and put the lid on it.  Later that day, I was sitting in the living room when I heard a huge BANG! in the kitchen, followed by the sound of little coffee beans dancing merrily across the countertop and kitchen floor.  The CO2 produced by the roasting process had gotten trapped in the container and had finally built up enough pressure to blow the lid right off.  It sounded like a pipe had burst in the kitchen raidator.  (Incidentally, it is the CO2 given off by the roasted beans that gives you that great flavor and "fresh" taste... and after a few days that CO2 dissipates, which is why coffee goes stale.)  And no, putting your coffee in the freezer won't keep it fresher longer.

When we moved up to Allentown, we snaked a cord out the kitchen window and roasted on the back porch.  Our next door neighbor thought we were burning trash out there or something (the smell of roasting coffee is NOTHING like the delightful aroma of fresh coffee in the grinder -- to put it mildly, it stinks to high heaven.)  When she came out to see what we were doing, she was amazed that such a small amount of coffee could make so much thick, billowy smoke.

Unfortunately, the roasting chamber on our Fresh Roast is now defunct.  (The plastic got too hot and cracked.)  The new version of the Fresh Roast has a roasting chamber with an aluminum bottom, so supposedly it will not have the same problem as the old model.  I haven't bothered to replace it yet....

.... I'm saving up for a Hot Top!