Its Officially Winter

There are certain ways I can tell that Winter has arrived, besides the obvious colder weather and grey skies. I tend to have more of a few things in Winter, specifically, split ends, laundry, and mugs. I get more split ends due to using my hair dryer day in and day out instead of my normal drip dry technique. I have more laundry, mainly because I tend to wear socks everyday when its cold, but also because I layer up. I end up having 100% more socks and twice and many shirts in the hamper (or spread over the floor).

Of particular interest to this post, being that its a food blog and all, is the marked increase in the number of mugs that I have to wash on a semi-daily basis. In addition to my usual cup or twp of coffee in the mornings, I treat myself to several hot cups of tea when I get home from campus. If I have been especially good I get to have hot cocoa. In the summer months, granted I am normally in a foreign country, I usually dont drink anything from a mug at all. Why risk heating up the apartment?













These days, when the days get shorter, I can use a total of 3 mugs a day and have a grand total of 9 mugs in my sink (should I happen to not wash dishes for a few days). When you have the potential for having that many mugs laying around it is especially important to have a favorite one or two. I have four favorite mugs though they all have the same design. I love them because they are anthropological and I am a nerd that way. It has the various words for coffee used all over the world. I also like the fact that the inner portion is the same color as how I take my coffee - with cream. The mug also happens to be the perfect size. I am notorious for not finishing a cup because I only drink it when its the optimal temperature. There always seems to be a half-filled mugs sitting by my laptop when I am not using one of my favorites.


Share your favorite mugs with me! Send me a picture and I will post them in an upcoming entry.

My Wish List

In every persons life there comes a time when they say to themselves, and often others, "I want that!" This is my wish list of things I need/want/adore for my kitchen. Granted, if I actually got all these things I wouldn't have anywhere to put them, but why don't you let me worry about that when I get there. These are, of course, in no particular order (except for the Kitchen Aide Standing Mixer which really is #1):

1) Kitchen Aide Standing Mixer



2) Meat Thermometer



3) The Quiche Pan



4) Lemon Zest Cookbook by Lori Longbotham



5) Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser and Izak



6) The Glass Pie Dish



7) Weber Baby Q (ahem, with stand)



8) Basting Brush



9) An Apron (though preferably not pink though just as cute)



10) Wine Glasses (so I can be a real adult)



11) A Purse-Worthy Camera



12) An Ice Cream Maker


13) A Coffee Maker (Sorry Mom, my hello Kitty one is getting sad)

14) Serving Trays

15) A Mandoline



16) Chihuahua Taco Holders (Just seeing if you were still with me!)

17) Cast Iron Dutch Oven



18) A Double Boiler



19) Salt and Pepper Mill



20) A Knife Set (Just for the fun in it!)



Whats on your list of must-haves and really-wants?

My Present to Myself

I bought myself a food processor! I had been looking at all these wonderful recipes for hummus and other blended goodies and realized that I had no means of actually blending. Normally I am all for the technique of smashing things up in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, but, since moving out, I no longer have a rolling pin to smash with. :(

The food processor I purchased is a low priced Black & Decker model but promises to process the foods I need processed. As my father says, "Well, you arent going to use it every day, so it should be fine." I am hoping he is right.

I already put the top on backwards...typical grad student, too smart to read directions. I had to have R from down the hall come and pry the incorrectly placed top from its non-budging position with his man hands. Photos of processed foods to follow!

Repurposing...

I appreciate when one item can do multiple handy things instead of being a one-trick pony. For instance, my microplaner has become my zester! Sure, its nothing revolutionary, but it does keep me from having to find a place for two separate items. This last week my father and I were making dinner for some friends that were coming over to visit with me while I was in LA. I decided to make a Key Lime Cheesecake for dessert in an attempt to use items that just aren’t available in Indiana. I thought I was in luck since the store had a lovely 1 pound bag of key limes.

When I told my dad how much juice we needed for the recipe, he looked at the bag of limes and said, “This is going to take all f@#$ing day!” Cleverly, he reached for the garlic press and began juicing the limes in a quicker and much more efficient way than I would have. Not only did it render more juice than manual squeezing, but it kept all the seeds out of the juice as well. Two birds with one stone!

Unfortunately, I have been a stickler about purchasing a garlic press. I like to get involved with the food I make and feel like I can take more ownership of the meal when I chop and mince things by hand. This, certainly, only goes so far…though I have made Tabbouleh by hand before. It seems that this repurposing event is actually going to cause me to purchase an item rather than allow me to get rid of one. Alas, I will surely live.

Key Lime Cheesecake - courtesy of gourmet magazine

For crust
1 1/4 cups fine graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

For filling
2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup fresh Key lime juice (strained from about 1 1/2 lb Key limes) or bottled
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

For topping
2 large firm-ripe mangoes
1 tablespoon fresh Key lime juice (strained) or bottled
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Special equipment: a 9- to 9 1/2-inch springform pan; a mandoline or other adjustable-blade slicer

preparation

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F and butter bottom and side of springform pan.

Stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined well, then press evenly onto bottom and one-third up side of pan. Bake crust in middle of oven 8 minutes and cool in pan on a rack.

Make filling:
Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add lime juice, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in flour and salt at low speed, scraping down side as needed, until just incorporated, then add eggs all at once and mix just until incorporated.

Pour filling into crust and set springform pan in a shallow baking pan. Bake cake in middle of oven until set in center, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool completely in springform pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.)

Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. If desired, transfer cake with a large metal spatula to a serving plate.

Make topping:
Peel mangoes and, leaving fruit whole, slice very thinly lengthwise (slightly less than 1/8 inch thick) with mandoline (use caution — peeled mango is slippery). Halve wide slices lengthwise. Gently toss mango slices with lime juice.

Beat cream with sugar in a bowl with electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then spread over top of cheesecake. Bending and curling mango slices, arrange them decoratively over cream.