Je Mange la Ville » Misc.

Two Completely Unrelated Sauce-Type Things

mlb — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:28:53 +0000

Here are two accompaniments that I made recently (for different meals), that I really liked but they seemed really short for single posts. So, I bundled them up in one super-unrelated post!

The enchilada sauce I made for, uh, tostadas, which you can see in the title image. Does this make it tostada sauce? Anyway, it was very good. I thought it was a little spicy/harsh after the initial 15 minutes simmering time, so I added a pinch of sugar. I think that helped round it out. I also made the sauce about 5 hours before I needed it, which I think made the sauce perfect by the time I was ready to use it. I recommend doing that, or even making it overnight. It’s really great after the flavors have a chance to meld and stuff.

#1 Easy Enchilada Sauce
Adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse
3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 tbsp AP flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups chicken stock or broth
10 ounces tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of sugar

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute.

Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings, add the pinch of sugar. Use with your favorite Mexican concoction.

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Now, this was originally meant to go on corn on the cob, which I am sure is wonderful, but I made it to go on some grilled salmon (also wonderful). I made a half recipe from what is listed below, mainly because there are just two of us and it seemed more sensible to do that. But really, you can store it in the fridge for a few days, so making the recipe as written is probably the way to go. Sensible-schmensible.

It’s really fragrant and delicious on grilled things! Or hey, probably crackers or bread too…

#2 Feta Mint Butter
Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine
4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
7 ounces feta, finely crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp chopped mint
1/2 tsp salt

In a food processor, combine the butter, feta, mint, and salt.

Scoop out and roll up in plastic wrap and chill. Slice to top fish, chicken, lamb or grilled veggies.

Okay, the next post will definitely be pictures from our dinner at Laurelhurst Market!

Why I Cook

mlb — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:52:04 +0000

Yesterday, Michael Ruhlman posed a question on Twitter as to why food bloggers cook. It’s short and bullet-pointed, but this is why I cook.

It’s fun and relaxing (especially if you have a glass or two of wine while cooking).
Otherwise, my husband would eat dry ramen noodles & take-out burritos. (Probably not all the time, but sometimes, yes.)
I love eating.
It’s a creative outlet.
It seems familiar and comforting — I have fond memories of my mother and I watching Julia Child on TV every Saturday afternoon.
It’s healthier. I know what I am eating and how much fat/salt is in there. And, if there is a lot of fat in there, I put it there on purpose. Ha!
The successes are really great feeling. When I baked my first loaf of French bread, (last month!!) even if it wasn’t perfect, it was still recognizable as bread. And it tasted like bread. That was so awesome.

Bonus Question Why I blog about it:

It’s nice being part of an online community of people who are passionate about food and love cooking too. I also just really, really like taking pictures of food.

Pictures from Roslyn

mlb — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:30:48 +0000

Mostly all pictures from our trip to Roslyn, WA. We stayed at Huckleberry House, right near downtown. We were in the Cicely Suite. Breakfast was delicious — smoked salmon and vegetable egg scramble, pepper-honey bacon, huckleberry pancakes and fruit. If you are looking for a place to stay in Roslyn, this was very nice. We aren’t normally B&B kind of people, but we enjoyed it.

Okay, now the pictures.

The drive there, along 84/30.

Where we stayed.

The Cicley Suite.

The B&B’s library.

Northern Exposure location guide!

A poster from MooseFest, a NoEx convention kind of thing.

The Brick Tavern!

Dr. Fleischman’s office. Now it’s a gift store, but his name is still there.

The Roslyn(‘s) Cafe mural. They’ve taken out the ‘s.

Me by the mural!

The door to KBHR. The text is still up! Minnifield Communications Network! This is a 2nd door to a furniture store. You can’t go in this way, but they’ve kept the DJ area intact too.

KBHR from a distance and a mining statue.

The DJ area, without Chris waxing all philosophical.

Records!

Totem pole in town that was used in the show. We just re-watched the episode where that guy died in Joel’s waiting room. They put the body out by this totem pole and then people walked by to see if any one recognized him. No one did…

Looking down the main street.

Another view of the familiar buildings.

Ruth-Anne’s store (Sundries).

Maggie O’Connell’s house (the first one).

The building that was used as the church. I read that the crew constructed it just for the show. It’s abandoned now.

Watch that first step.

Part of the Roslyn Museum’s coal mining exhibit.

An outhouse in the exhibit.

Huckleberries?

Just an arty shot in town, outside an art gallery.

More arty.

The Brick at night.

Roslyn(‘s) Cafe mural at night.

Columbia Gorge area, on the drive home.

Facebook is Fun and Stuff

mlb — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:27:22 +0000

Become a fan of Stash Tea on facebook.

Yeah, that’s pretty much it. I made peanut butter cups a couple of day ago..I’ll try to post that tomorrow night. Also, seafood chili. Even jwa liked it! That’ll be (hopefully) this week too. If you become a fan of Stash Tea. . . . → Read More: Facebook is Fun and Stuff

Crafty New Toy

mlb — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:19:48 +0000

I have always wanted to learn how to sew on a machine and make stuff. So, I got myself a birthday present and got a great deal on this sewing machine. jwa and I found a used desk at a resale shop on Hawthorne for a very reasonable price and … voila! It’s my new crafty set-up. Look out Etsy, here I come.

I’ve been taking a sewing class at a place by work (we use their machines — super nice and pricey Berninas) and so far I have a pillowcase.

I even had extra material and was able to then use my machine and whip up a matching pillow case at home on Sunday! So far I really like my little sewing machine. It’s not too complicated and it seems to work well.

The machine and desk fit super nicely in my office. I think next, I’ll try to do some pillows or something like that.

I haven’t forgotten the food. Coming up next – Vietnamese salad rolls!

But not before one more sewing machine shot.