LEMON!!! Orzotto

A brief story:

Okay, so I was craving something bright, relatively light, but warm and saucy...weird, I know.  When I aquired a zester, I got pretty excited and figured that this was the route to take.  I had also recently discovered the awesome-ness that is orzo pasta.

I tried it with just a little zest one time and juice another...meh.   Not lemoney enough...

Then I decided to forgo subtlety and go for broke. 
(seriously, why do I bother trying to do subtle?  It's not my strong suit...)

Zest and juice = LEMON!!!

It was still missing a little something, so I added a bit of garlic. Done.




LEMON!!! Orzotto:

Half an onion (diced) or 1 decent sized shallot (diced)
1 or 2 lemons (zest THEN juice... it just doesn't work the other way around)

garlic minced (I use at least one big one, but figure out what's best for you)

1/4 cup to 3/4 cup dry orzo pasta

[WTF is Orzo?: it's a pasta, but it looks like bloated rice.  I like to substitute it for rice when I'm not in the mood for rice or there are ingredients that don't twirl well with longer pastas.]

Dry Basil

Kosar Salt

Hot water--I use a kettle, 'cause it's super useful and lives on my stove top

A bit of butter (maybe 1/2 Tbsp, depending on how much you make) and a little olive oil (to help the butter not burn)
-->It'll be fine if you just want to use olive oil

It'd been a while since I'd made it, and I forgot the onion/shallot.
My bad.
(figured it'd be better to post some pictures than wait till I make it again)

--I pretty much use medium heat the whole time

1. Start heating water
   -It's super friggin annoying to get to the point where it's needed, and then you have to wait
   -Get in the habit now
   -The same goes for pre-heating an oven
2. Melt butter in a medium skillet with a little olive oil
3. Saute onion/shallot till clear
   -Add some salt now
   -(You'll be adding salt as you go)

   
   

   

   Toasting the orzo...exciting.

   -pretend that you're seeing a lovely picture of minces onion/shallot being sautéed here. Thanks :) 

4. Add garlic
   -don't let it burn, but cook it for about a minute or so
5. Add DRY orzo
   -WTF? Why dry?
   -Well, like when making an actual rizzotto, it toast the orzo and adds another depth of flavor
   -I also use this method when making cous cous--you're welcome
6. Add lemon zest
7. 
   

   

   You should be able to see the orzo is nice and toasted

   When sufficiently toasted, add lemon juice
   -Again, WTF?
   -Well, since lemon is the main flavor I'm going for, I wanted to make sure that it was well absorbed into the orzo
   
   
8. When the juice is absorbed, slowly start adding hot water
   -Stir! Don't let that awesome burn or get too sticky
   

   -->You can also tell when to add more water by stirring and seeing how long the "line" stays
   -if it stays for a bit, add more water

   
   

   

   See the line?  Awesome. Now, add more water.

   
   
9. Test as you go
   -For taste
   -For done-ness
10. As you're approaching done, add basil
    -Too soon, and it might burn
    

     
    
    

    
    

The starch in the orzo makes it kind of creamy/goopy, so it'll stay together well on a fork.

 

 

Delicious...and, it's even more delicious when you don't forget the onion/shallot.
(I was wondering why it didn't fill the bowl as well as it normally does.
That's when I finally remembered about the onion/shallot.  Oops.)

 

Pea and Pesto Soup: Everything's Green

I could say that I was inspired by St. Patty's...but that'd be a dirty lie.
 
At this point, it's just a happy coincidence
 
I intended on having this done the weekend before last, but I'm accepting that it's taking time to adjust to my new job...and that means some things get put on the back burner...but I'm here, and I'm letting you know about this glorious soup.
 
It brings me great joy.
 

 
So, let's go.
 
 
A small story:
 
  I'm an odd creature, as many of those close to me can attest.  How this often relates to food is in the form of... interesting cravings.
 
  For some bizarre reason I was craving something that was green, savory, and bright.
 
  Yeah... even I was like, "Dude, WTF?!"
 
  Well, it was apparently put out into the universe, and it came back to me.  Huzzah!
 
 
  Thank you, Nigella Lawson.  This is exactly what I was wanting.  Oh, and it's super easy.
 
 
 
Pea and Pesto Soup:
 
You'll need a blender
  -one of those with a lovely removable center
  -there are some dangers with blending hot/very warm things*
     
3 cups Frozen Peas

(don't worry about fresh)

•  you could add a little more, if you're wanting a thicker soup
• ...or just add a little less water
• that's your deal 

4 Tbsp Pesto
(store bought is fine--I use Texafrance Garlic Pesto...LOVE garlic)
 
2 Green Onions
(trimmed of root)
 
A few squeezes of Lime juice
(I took her advice and used that weird plastic container of juice that lives with the lemons and limes)
 
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
(She suggested 1 tsp, but I like a little more)
 

All the goodies...you may have noticed that everything involved in this is green....
 ...save the water and salt, but you get the idea.



 
To make:
 

• Add salt, onions, and lime juice to water
   
• Bring mixture to boil 
• Add peas
• Bring back to a boil
• Boil for about 7 minutes
•  While this is boiling
• add pesto to blender
• this is super small, but I hate to waste anything
• when you're done spooning the pesto in, go ahead and rinse in in the pot of peas
• get all of the flavor!

  

  Pesto--waiting for glory!

   
• Remove onions
• yeah, if you forget and buzz it up with the soup, it'll be slimy
• ...eww.
• ...just...eww.

  

  Blender--waiting...
  ...so it doesn't explode and scald my ass.

• Pour whole potful into blender
• Let sit for a few minutes
• Place lid on blender
• cover opening in lid with folded over towel
• hold down firmly 
•  some of the soup may get on the towel
• accept and move on
   
• Blend*
• well, duh, but it made me nervous blending a hot soup the first time
• ...that whole may-explode-thing
• if you're nervous, go ahead and start at a lower setting and work up to puree
• Pour into bowl
• you could put into a thermos, but that's your deal.
• Enjoy your very green soup

Dang, soup.  You're super friggin green.
(Oh, and that's a bottle of rum in the corner...Whoops!)

 
 

Capsaicin: I like it when my mouth cries a little

Okay, so when I was learning about receptors in one of my psychology classes, we learned about capsaicin. 

The most pertinent piece I remember from it was that you can actually overload them and make the capsaicin receptor die.  Yup.  Sounds hard to do?  Nope.  (At least, not regarding your mouth).


My brief, tame story:


If you eat fast enough, there's always spicy contact on the tongue.


[How I learned about my friend's story]:  During the first cochon de lait (Cajun pig roast) the picky eater and I attended, we were on the front porch.  I was not to keen on wading through the many people crowded inside.  I did, however, want a rum and coke, (half-and-half, thank you).
A dear friend was already heading to the cooler for beer and offered to mix my drink.  Awesome! 
A few minutes later he presents the drink, I take one sip and nearly choke.  When it tasted right for him, it was about 75% rum, 25% coke...if that.
Then I learned that most of his tongue doesn't work.


My friend's, more pronounced, story:

So, as a child, some remember the taste of soap after uttering a bad word.  My friend instead, stuck out his tongue and held hot sauce on it.  This was a common occurrence, and, eventually, he started asking for more because he liked the taste.  His mom stopped using it after that.

Remember that whole over-loading receptor-thing from earlier?  Yeah, that killed most of the capsaicin receptors on his tongue.






SO, any time I cook something spicy, it's inevitably too spicy for some.  When I try things that are supposed to be spicy, they just taste good.  Or, when other folks make comments about the spice, I'm surprised because....well, it didn't seem spicy.

Basically, you can train to handle spicy things...if you're really wanting to, but be warned--just because your mouth can handle it, doesn't mean the rest of your system can...just sayin'.





Some precautions:

When handling ingredients containing a bit of capsaicin, do be careful.

--Option 1: gloves  (they annoy me)

--Option 2: con someone else to do that particular prep work (...I plead the 5th)

--Option 3: use your tools like a monkey, and don't actually make physical contact with the ingredient  
(I do pretty well with this...but it may be problematic for others)

--Option 4: do what you do, and deal with it afterwards  (good luck with that)

• rinse like mad
• wash
• wash, again
• I like using a soap/hand wash that has milk in it
• milk helps combat the capsaicin
• they form micelles around the capsaicin
• basically, they surround it and get it the hell away from your pain receptor
• wash, again
• still try and avoid your eyes
• ...and sensitive bits.

When eating things with capsaicin, you might try some of these:

--Cool down 1: milk

• the standard for good reason
• see micelle discussion from Option 4
• I've found that, the higher the fat content of the milk/dairy product, the more effective it is
• makes sense
• you need fat in order to make a micelle

--Cool down 2: cheese

• add some of this to spicy pasta or whatever else it'd be appropriate in (to you, at least)
• same concept as above
• also, it's hard to go wrong with cheese

--Cool down 3: acceptance

• accept that small part of yourself that's a bit of a masochist
• ...at least, culinarily speaking...
• no judgments!

Creole Cream Cheese: ...the hell?

When I mention Creole cream cheese, the most popular response (aside from a confused look) is, "What's that?"

 

It's a cheese regional to the New Orleans area.

 

My first encounter with Creole cream cheese with through Baskin Robbins when I was in high school... I think.  They had a Creole cream cheese ice cream and it was delightful.  This was my last encounter with it until I found a recipe for it in my copy of Commander's Kitchen.

 

By God, I was on a mission. 

 

I was contemplating buying some, but it was nowhere to be found in Austin.  That left ordering.  The best reviews I've gotten are for Bittersweet Plantation and Dorignac's on Veteran's Blvd in Metairie, LA.

Psssh!  I wasn't wanting to order, and it was a long while till I was visiting back home.

"I'm making it!"

...one small problem--finding rennet.  It was a pain.

 

After going to HEB, Whole Foods (who USED to have it), and Central Market, we were finally able to find rennet at Austin Homebrew Supply. 

Oh, and you need to understand, unless you live in the NOLA region, it's not going to be exactly the same.  It's that whole weather thing--humidity FTW.  Conditions are ideal there... I'm in Texas... there's been a super-long drought... not ideal.

Accept this fact, move on, and enjoy the awesome that you'll still get.

-SO, it's actually a pretty simple recipe:

1 gallon skim milk

1/2 cup butter milk

2 tablets rennet dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water

(I halved the recipe, because I don't have a bowl large enough...yet)


-[Hardware--cause' Lord knows I didn't have most of this stuff when I set out to make this]

Cheese cloth

1 very large non-conductive bowl (glass or steel will work)

1 average sized colander

some clips to hold the cheese cloth in place

1 very large tupperware or some other container large enough to house the colander and the crap-ton of whey that's going to drain

A good bit of saran wrap


-For when you're done with the heafty part:
(Always good to know before getting everything else done--hopefully saving someone a second trip out to the store)

[This is the traditional way to eat it, but I'm not the law, make up your own mind as to how you'd like to enjoy this awesome]

half & half

sugar

whatever berry/fruit you might want to eat with it
(if you're in to that)



-SO, here's what you do:

-First, get all your dairy together

God, I love dairy...

-Pour all the skim milk into said bowl

• (Things tend to work better, if they're room temperature, but I'm historically impatient...and forgetful, and that's not good when dairy is involved)

-Pour in the butter milk

• -stir 

-Dissolve rennet tablet in water



(It's in the little measuring cup)
Looks gross, but it'll be okay... I promise

• -I suggest swirlling it just a bit before pouring it in
• this helps to lessen or prevent the dissolved bits from sticking to the bottom of the cup

-Have your spoon ready (seriously)
-Pour in the rennet-water solution

• Stir ONCE (seriously, once)
• The first time I made this, I stirred maybe three times, and it broke up the forming cheese. The WHOLE THING was off...WAY firmer than intended.
   
• Cover the whole damn thing in saran wrap and leave out somewhere where it won't be bothered by temperature variations or any other nonsense
• (My bad--totally forgot to take a picture after this--will repost once I make this again)

-After about 24 hours, you'll see a giant floating disk  that's separated from the edges

• That's cheese, my friend
• don't touch it
• seriously
• Wait another 12 hours

-Get your colander set-up together
  (OR, your cheese mold, if you're being fancy--not sure if you need the cheese cloth for that one)

• Dampen the cheese cloth
• you've got some options
• enough cheese cloth to fold over itself
• two pieces of cheese cloth
• I usually go for the former
• if the cheese cloth is not wanting to stay in place, this is where the clips come in
• Set the whole thing over the sink
• it's gonna be messy
• other folks say to spoon it into the colander
• it's not preferable to break up the mass
• so, I just dump the whole thing in
• as delicately as possible, of course
• good luck with that
• don't be tempted to pour off some of the excess whey before transferring it to the colander
• the draining is part of the process
• don't mess up the process!
• After a bit of the whey has drained out, put the whole damn thing into your container
• you won't be able to have all the whey drain out at once
• again, part of the process
• Cover that thing in saran wrap
• if you plan, you can use the same saran wrap that you used earlier
• it might look something like this:

Yeah, that.
It's not pretty, but it's effective.

• Oh, and do your best to get a good seal
• we have an open, glass pitcher for filtered water
• whey-flavored water is quite unpleasant first thing in the morning
• Now you wait, for 48 hours
  (Hey, I said it was simple, not quick...)
• Oh, and you're baby-sitting...a little
• every now and then, pour off the whey that drains

See that viscous looking stuff at the bottom there?  Yeah, that's whey.  Get rid of it.
(Or, you can save it--I've been told that there's other stuff you can do with it, but I don't remember what it is)

-After 48 hours...

• Have a tightly sealed container ready that can hold the solids comfortably
• I use a pyrex container
 
• I'll forewarn you that (if it lasts that long), you'll have to drain a little whey off every now and again
• Should last about 2 weeks if tightly sealed and kept refrigerated

-To Serve Creole Cream Cheese:

-Get out some sort of dish
  (Maybe one that makes you feel proper or fancy)

• Spoon some cheese into said dish
• Sprinkle some sugar over cheese
• Pour some half & half over the cheese and sugar
• Now, here's where you have a decision to make
• you can start eating it as is
• you can fold everything in for a minute
• it'll become one
• After making that decision, you actually have another one
• fruit?
• If so, CONGRATULATIONS! 
• You've made Creole Cream Cheese Evangeline
   (If you used a mix of at least 4 fruits...but still, you're at least very close!)
  
  
  [Again, my bad...I got excited and didn't actually take a picture of the final product.  I'll post it later.]
   
• I know there are other things you can do with it, but this is the only one I've tried so far
• Most importantly...you get to say, "I made cheese."
• Don't lie
• You're totally at least a little proud
• It's okay...
• ...enjoy it :)

Merry Happy Chrismachanukwanzakah: Starting a new job during the holidays is...interesting (I realize this is way late)

[Note:  I realize that this is WAY late, but it happens.  Some things are way easier to write, and sometimes I don't have the patience to deal with the pictures that I prefer to accompany a particular post...
...Also, I got pretty busy with that job-thing.  Ahh, well.]

A story of the holidays:

I started a job!:  I'll pause for your well-wishes... Aww, thanks.  You're pretty awesome too.

  Yeah, so I started this position just before the holidays, which was...interesting.  We're supposed to go out and find people in the community (not selling stuff...that crap makes me shudder and want to punch somebody), but during the holidays, people ain't out.  All that is its own stress, but that's not the focus of the posts I put out there.  It's just a little background.

  In order to get to my place of work, it's close to an hour there and an hour back... it is the suck, my friends.  When I get home, I'm super wiped, and that turns into me not being good about fixing my lunch for the next day.

  I quickly see just how expensive it can become when you eat out for lunch for a few days.

  Yeah, fuck that noise.  I was much better starting week 2.

  ANYhoo, this part leads into the next.

Chanuka PJ Party: My bad.

I get home after a long, but purposeful day, and I'm about to pass out on the couch.
  Picky-eater: "Aren't we supposed to be somewhere tonight?"

  Me:  "Fuck!  Hanukah!"

Yeah, my bad!  So, the party had already started, and there was NO time to cook.  Luckily, the picky-eater had asked that I pick up a pecan pie on the way home and we always keep a bottle of white wine in the fridge.

Non-chip party contribution FTW

Christmas Eve Day: STOCK! 

We decided to do our gift exchange early (probably because I'm an impatient creature), and the picky-eater got a Le Creuset stock pot for me!  It was one of the many items that remain on our registry.  I'm not complaining, though.  It's an easy go-to list for future gifts. 

The picky-eater is very difficult to shop for, so I went ahead and got a game that'd been mentioned.  Oh, word to the lazy, all new Wii games require the Wii motion plus attachment.  And, don't worry, they did not, in fact, stop making them... contrary to what folks at some Gamestops might say.

GoodEats!

Christmas Day:  Chill.

For the puppies?:  Oh, yeah, they get Dingos.  With a solid supply already in the closet, we decided to forgo our customary Dingo Candy Cane.