12 posts tagged “i claim this kitchen”
I don't know why this gets its own item on the list, but it is something I've wanted to tackle for the past few years and that I just haven't.
And granola is so expensive. Surely I can make this heart goodness for less than I can buy it in the store.
If you've got to work, make it something you enjoy.
What I imagine is me in an apron, my hair perfect, my nails done, and all the food layed out in a beautiful spread. People talking, laughing, toasting life.
Time to wipe that image clean and be ready for whatever this comes to be. And be very, very happy with it.
Patrick and I have spent months perfecting my dad's beans and rice (they'll never quite match his, but, on my behalf anyway, our version is fighting years of nostalgia. An impossible fight to win). We've done well, and now it's time to break out.
A couple of years ago, my dad handed over a Colombian cookbook that'd been sitting in the Durango kitchen since I can remember. I already know a dish I want to tackle: albondegas soup (with huge meatballs and potatoes). Everything else will be new. Oh, and written in Spanish.
... fettuccine alfredo, pizza, tamales, enchiladas, tortilla chips, pad thai
There are certain dishes we don't buy in restaurants because we think "we could make that at home!" Spaghetti, steak, most breakfast foods.
Well, how about I turn that on its head? What if I tackled those dishes I only get at a restaurant, because I think I can't make them at home?
I see a lot of experimenting, a lot of test-kichenesque nights at home as we bend over the stove trying to get our sauce to be -- if not just like what we're used to -- as good as what we can get in a restaurant.
We've cooked fish once. And I ruined it (too much salt!).
We have a great seafood shack up the street from us in Knoxville, and when we move to Portland, we'll surely have access to some great fish markets.
I say we figure out how to grill it, broil it, bake it and pan-fry (saute?) it. Let's go white fish, salmon, shrimp, crab, lobster. Butter sauces, no sauces, cream sauces. Served with vegetables, fries, sweet potato, pilaf, pasta. Paired with wine, beer.
That covers it, right?
... including: gazpacho, potato leek, cream of mushroom, tomato, chicken vegetable, beef stew, clam chowder
Out of the blue, Patrick's sister, Liz, sent me a gazpacho recipe. So this one is well on its way.
I wanted to make soups because they're comforting, they're good for you, and buying them in the store means buying preservatives and way too much sodium.
I've already started composing the cupcake in my head: All vanilla. A dense cake. Light, fresh icing. Natural sugar for sprinkles. Now it's down to perfectly each one of those things to create a mouth-watering, memorable experience. And a cupcake that, when people lay eyes on it they say "Ooh, those are Lindsay cupcakes."
... and whenever requested (as long as the asker is not taking advantage, nudge nudge): cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate cake, apple pie
These are some favorites. Rich, rich favorites.
I'm not sure why I threw the chocolate cake and apple pie in there; the cheesecake is my favorite, carrot cake Patrick's. Maybe for variety? Maybe because they're mildly complex and I wanted to stretch myself?
Whatever reason they're there, I'm leaving them. Maybe life will show me the reason one day (yes, chocolate cake could be *that* important).
This is one of those things that seems a little impossible (maybe because it's chicken? Or because it's essentially an entire animal?).
I've heard it's not that hard. And my mouth's watering a little at the thought of a skin-on drum stick ...
French, sandwich loaf, sourdough, whole wheat, yeast rolls, cinnamon raisin, pizza crust
Now that I have a kitchen thermometer, I have no excuse not to try baking my bread from scratch. (The water for the yeast has to get to a certain temperature.)
My dream: A crusty french loaf.
