Data Point 0

I'm doing some tests. This is the first in what I imagine will be a pretty taxing set of trials. There may even come a time when I have to ask you, my friends, to volunteer yourselves as guinea pigs for the good of science. The question of course: if making brownies from a box, which way is best?

Ingredients:

1 box	Target brand fudge brownie mix
2	eggs
1/2 stick	butter, melted
1/2 cup	applesauce
3 ounces	dried cranberries
1 tub	cream cheese frosting

Procedure:
Mix all ingredients other than frosting. Bake as directed on box. Microwave frosting until fluid, about 1 minute. Apply to brownies while still hot in order to easily spread uniformly.

I would like to make clear that I don't really take ownership of this recipe. While I did not strictly follow the recipe on the box (which asks for 2 eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil) the changes were small. And come on, almost everything was premade which is really not in line with the spirit this blog. The only reason I didn't specify the brand of frosting I used is because I used the second half of my old tub (Pillsbury) and the first half of my new tub (Betty). They are slightly different colors but taste the same and are both mostly made out of sugar and margarine.


Gone too fast to get a picture

This recipe gets a "really good" on the Becca scale.

Things I Learned Tonight

There is a reason that you usually put things in the center of the oven and not up against one edge. Things near the edge get blackened real fast compared to everything else.

Just because a recipe has only four ingredients and three steps does not mean that it's easy.

Baking is much more sensitive than frying. The recipe is probably important. Some of you may recall that I've had trouble like this on multiple occasions, most notably with my matrix algebra carrot cake.

Sweet potatoes are pretty delicious no matter how badly you screw them up.

Photodiary 0: Stu

Tonight I made Stu, roughly a third of the recipe I described in my previous entry. I was not completely faithful to the recipe (in part because that's just how this recipe works and in part because of what I had on hand). Most notably, I used sausage links instead of ground sausage, and used canned green beans in place of fresh ones. I much prefer using fresh beans but I found myself to be completely out. The only reason there are any beans at all is because Taylor happened to have some around (thanks!). A particularly astute reader might also notice that I had to switch pans halfway through the frying since I was running out of room.

The images are all scaled down; if you'd like to see a larger version just right click and view image. Enjoy!

It's Stu, Not Stew

You see, because it doesn't stew. There's no stewing. Kai pointed this out to me.

This recipe comes with a story. Hannah, I haven't got any pictures of it in the current incarnation. The next time I make it (soon I hope), I will take some. I'm posting it right away because it's exciting.


Two years ago, I knew how to make one thing: stir fry. Dad taught me that if you put chicken and vegetables in a pan with some soy sauce, then serve it over rice, it's a meal. I went to Poland with that knowledge last summer. I guess I should have been more prepared since I also went knowing that Philip, Thomas, and Nathan had almost no cooking knowledge between them.



I cooked dinner pretty much every night, so stir fry got old pretty fast. Also, stir fry was real difficult since we had no fridge, no cutting board, and no knife sharp enough to effectively cut raw chicken. As a result, my stir fry branched into three distinct recipes. The stir fry with rice remained. I figured out a sort of stir fried spaghetti with noodles. The third was a stir fry made from potatoes and sausage, served with green beans.



The potato stir fry varied a lot more than the other ones. And no matter what, it was always sort of the odd one out. After working on it quite a number of times this summer (most pivotally with Alec and Kjersti) I think it's turned in to what it wanted to be in the first place.

Ingredients:

7	Reasonably Sized Potatoes
1	Large Parsnip
4	Large Carrots
2	Onions (I prefer red for aesthetic reasons)
2 cups	Green Beans
2 cups	Leeks or Green Onions (chopped)
0.5 sticks	Butter
1.5 pounds	Spicy Italian Sausage (ground is best, chunks are acceptable)
2 cloves	Garlic
1	Red Bell Pepper (optional)
4 cups	Broth (I prefer vegetable bullion, the kind with sea salt)
	Salt
	Black Pepper
	Paprika
	Crushed Red Pepper

Note:
Have an array of bowls available. With this many ingredients organization is key, particularly if your counter space is limited.

Procedure:

Chop your vegetables to stew-friendly sizes. Details are up to you, though I prefer quarter medallions for my potatoes since thin pieces will cook faster. Since they cook at different rates (and hence will be added at different times), it's best to keep each species in its own bowl. Mince your garlic. Don't worry about the butter yet.

The two parts of the dish are addressed one after the other but can be completed at once, even by one person.

Part 1, Stirring and Frying
In a very large deep frying pan, start the sausage. Ideally you have chosen some sausage that will create abundant grease when cooked. If not, you may have to supplement it with oil. After the sausage is just about cooked, add half of the potatoes. Apply paprika, red pepper, and black pepper liberally. Salt may be added as well, in quantities that depend on the saltiness of the sausage.
Once the potatoes are getting there, add half of the parsnips. Soon afterwards add carrots and onions. I usually add garlic with the onions; however, some insist that they must be added earlier (to cook into the meat) or at the very end (to avoid burning).
Up until this point you don't really need to stir that frequently, and can in fact leave the top on the pan to get a nice steam room going to help your potatoes out. Beyond here you should be stirring often.
Eventually you will add the green beans and peppers as well, though they will cook much more quickly. Your goal is to keep a little crunch in the beans and carrots. Parsnips and potatoes should be quite soft.
Whenever the mood strikes you, add more paprika. The color will be key since the leeks will be overwhelmingly green.

Part 2, Boiling and Mashing
The remaining potatoes and parsnips, about half of each, should be boiled until they are absolutely demolished. The skin should be falling off of your potatoes if you so much as look at them. Drain the potatoes. Add the butter and enough broth to mash them, do so, then stir in the rest of the broth. Milk may be added for a creamier base, though I have not found the effect to be appreciable. Your potato broth concoction should be very fluid. Stir in the green onions.

Part 3, Mixing and Eating
Remember how I told you to use a big pan? I hope you listened. Pour the potato broth over your stir fry. Stir them together. Serve with bread. Ideally you have been drinking beer through the entire time of preparation. You should continue to do so as you eat.

Serves 8 generously.

Caprese Triscuits

I love Triscuits. I also find tomatoes, basil, and related foods to be pretty wonderful. When Taylor had a wine and appetizers party the other day I got to experimenting. This dish was really thrown together as I went, so quantities are approximations to the best of my recollection.

Also, confession time: I didn't use real Triscuits. The organic equivalents were on sale at my co-op (and they are better).

Ingredients:

1 box	Triscuits (about 35 unbroken crackers)
3	Roma Tomatoes (any fleshy variety will work)
1 handful	Fresh Basil (about a tenth of a pound)
2 handfuls	Pine Nuts
2 handfuls	Shredded Mozarella Cheese
1 large clove	Garlic
	Olive Oil
	Basalmic Vinegar

Procedure:
Eat all broken Triscuits. Preheat oven to HOT. Place Triscuits in a lattice on a basing sheet. Mince together basil, garlic, and pine nuts into a sticky paste. Add oil and vinegar in equal amounts until the paste can be easily manipulated with a spoon, about a tablespoon of each. Divide equally among Triscuits. Slice tomatoes to 1cm thickness then cut each slice into quarters. Apply one slice firmly to each Triscuit on top of paste. Sprinkle mozzarella over Triscuits. Bake such that the cheese melts but the tomatoes do not dry out, about 5 minutes. Eat soon afterward with a variety of wines. Then tell me which combines best with it.