Month: February 2009

Random Appetites: Travelling Food

Nibbles

Happy Fat Tuesday to all the revelers among us: Laissez les bon temps roulez! (let the good times roll, for the uninitiated)

(And, now, back to our regularly scheduled Random Appetites)

Seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time in my car–I’m sure many of you can relate. And even though my commute is a short one (around 20 minutes to work, less if the students are on break), the road trips have become quite regular occurences and, among other things, road trips mean travelling snacks.

It all started when I was a kid and we’d take trips back home to visit family over the holidays. The boys (my younger brothers) would be tucked into the back seat with toys to keep them occupied for as much of 6 hours was possible and a bag of simple, non-messy snacks to keep the tummies from grumbling. Just after high school I was diagnosed as hypoglycemic so travelling with food became more of a necessity than a perk. And then there’s those trips home where the sun makes you sleepy and the only thing you can do, once blasting the a/c and the radio have stopped working, is chew to stay awake–travelling food to the rescue.

When choosing foods for interstate foraging it’s best to follow a few, simple guidelines:

  • Avoid those that need refrigeration; you never know when the cooler will get wedged closed, spring a leak, or just be too difficult to get into while at top speeds,
  • Packages must be easy to open so as not to cause impediment that you’d have to explain to a state trooper or your insurance company,
  • Must be edible with only the use of hands–no cutlery allowed.

I prefer, also, to keep things on the dry side (easier to brush off crumbs than spills) and as self-contained as possible (to avoid those crumbs in the first place).

In the canvas bag that holds the snacks for the next road trip are the following supplies:

  • 3 types of organic granola bars–the Cascadian Farms bars are just too yummy and the fact that they avoid all those convoluted chemicals can’t be a bad thing
  • dried fruit (apricots, pineapple, cranberries)–can be high in sugar but it’s at least fruit that won’t spoil if left in the car for a few hours
  • packets of trail mix–good for protein
  • baked pita chips
  • Oreos (what, I need chocolate in there somewhere!)

The cookies, admittedly, are more for destination snacking when the post-con sweet-tooth hits. The rest are prime examples of road snacks.

Random Appetites: Mardi Gras

Nibbles

Even though Fat Tuesday, the culmination of weeks of carnival-type fun in New Orleans, Mobile and elsewhere, isn’t until next week, what’s the point in giving you recipes, etc. to try out with only 1 day to do it? Exactly. So here’s your annual dose of the green, gold and purple with time to spare.

For those who may not know, I grew up about an hour away from New Orleans, in a little town named Ponchatoula which has been making it’s name, over the last couple of decades, as an antique center. Anyway, despite my formative years having been so close to the action and family still fairly thick over there, I have a confession to make:

I have never been to Mardi Gras.

The shame! I know! How can I have gone this long without attending this cultural event? Hell if I know. But one of these days I’ll remedy the lack and experience the fun for myself. Of course, more and more I have less and less tolerance for crowds and craziness so I think it’ll be only when I can afford (and book way in advance) a Quarter room so that I can explore and escape as needed without having to navigate anything but foot traffic.

But I digress!

There’s a lot of history behind Mardi Gras and this New Orleans website has a heaping helping of it, so if you’re curious, check it out! But I know what you really want to know, you want the skinny on all the fattening, pre-Lent consumables. And here we go!

First things, first, the King Cake. (Pardon me while I drool…) Now, in reality, the King Cake is a coffee cake decorated for the occasion in green (for faith), gold (for power) and purple (for justice) and with a wee plastic baby, silver or gold coin or bean of some such inside. Why? Well, it’s heavy on the Christian symbolism: the prize inside is supposed to be the Baby Jesus. Whoever finds the baby, coin or bean is, traditionally, the King or Queen of the week and is supposed to host the next party or, at the very least, supply the next King Cake.

Any oval coffee cake will do and many, these days, deviate from the cinnamon brioche tradition and use danish pastry filled with cream, fruit filling or chocolate. Yum! I tend to stick with the eggy brioche because it’s just so good the way it is, and the crunchy sugar on top is the best!

According to Rima and Richard Collin’s The New Orleans Cookbook, the King Cake should be made with a coffee cake dough of choice that uses about 4 packages of active dry yeast. So, the first time I made it I went to my go-to brioche recipe from Nick Malgieri’s How to Bake, which uses 2 packages of yeast. So I doubled the recipe. Despite the fact that Malgieri’s recipe makes 2.5 lbs of dough. I made 5 lbs of brioche. I ended up with 2 ginormous king cakes that overflowed my sheet pans, not to mention my counter space. Use only a single batch of the recipe below and you’ll probably still have enough for 2 normal size cakes.

Brioche Dough
(by Nick Malgieri with my paraphrased directions)

Sponge
1 c milk
5 tsp (2 env) active dry yeast
1.5 c all-purpose flour

Dough
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
6 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 lg eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2.25 c all-purpose flour

For the sponge: Heat the milk until warm (seriously, you don’t want it over 110 or you could kill the yeast, so just slightly warmer than body temperature) and (off the heat) whisk in yeast and then the flour, cover with plastic wrap to protect against drafts and let sit for 30 minutes.

For the dough: Cream the butter until it’s very soft and fluffy, beat in the sugar and then one egg. Alternate flour and the remaining eggs, one after the other, until everything is incorporated. Mix in the risen sponge then knead for 5 minutes (or let the dough hook of your mixer go at it for 2 minutes). Cover with a piece of plastic wrap, let the dough rise for about an hour, punching down the dough periodically.

Punch down the dough once more, then place it in an oiled bowl, turning the dough over so the surface is lightly coated. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 4 hours or overnight. It’s going to rise so use a big enough bowl to accommodate it and don’t be surprised if it goes all ‘blob’ on you and pushes the top of that super-large rubbermaid container completely off–just means your yeast was really healthy!

After four hours or overnight, take the dough out, punch it down and knead it a bit to get the extra air out, and divide the dough into 2 pieces for one big cake or 4 pieces for 2 normal sized ones.

Now, if you want to fill your dough with anything, that’s up to you. Filled or not you want to roll out each piece of dough into a log shape and twist two of them together and then arrange the twist into an oval, gently pressing the two ends together. Sprinkle the ring with colored sugars and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the bread is golden and done (thump the bottom of the loaf and if it sounds hollow, it’s ready).

Alternately, you can simply sprinkle the dough with cinnamon sugar, bake, and then drizzle the cake with a powdered sugar icing and then top with the colored sugars. (But the crunchy baked sugar really is one of the best parts!)

After the cake has cooled, insert the bean, baby or coin in through the bottom of the cake (make sure no one is looking) and serve to a group of friends. Sure, you can bake a bean or coin inside, but I usually don’t. It’s just as easy to wait until it’s cool (and make sure you clean that coin well before adding it to any food!).

Now, if you’re serving this cake in the morning, coffee will work well enough to wash it down (but at least go for a good, chicory blend or an all-out cafe au lait) but if you’re off for the day or out for the evening, wash your King Cake down with the quintessential New Orleans drink: the Hurricane. You can find a mix in many liquor stores or specialty shops, but Chef Rick has a from-scratch Hurricane recipe that will most likely treat you better than any powder ever could:

Hurricane Punch

1 ounce white rum
1 ounce Jamaican rum
1 ounce Bacardi 151 proof rum
3 ounces orange juice, with pulp
3 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Grenadine
Crushed Ice

Combine all ingredients, mix well (shake or stir). Pour over crushed ice in Hurricane glass. Garnish with orange or pineapple ring and drink through a small straw for maximum wind speed.

Also, his olive salad recipe is the best I’ve found short of taking a trip to Central Grocery for a jar, which isn’t exactly convenient when you’re 4 states away and craving a Muffaletta

Random Appetites: Pick-Me-Ups

Nibbles

Had a bad day? A rough year? Or maybe you don’t have a Valentine of your own. There’s nothing that says you can’t be your own cheerleader, champion or sweetheart. After all–who knows you better than you do?

Whatever the reason, pick-me-ups are one of those staples of life that we all need from time to time. They come in all shapes and sizes–from fluffy reads to high-carb treats–with the acquisition sometimes part of the fun (aka retail therapy).

Here are some of my indulgences when I want to boost my mood, lift my spirits or just treat myself.

  • Flowers. I used to buy myself flowers every week at the grocery store. They didn’t cost a lot and I would spread them throughout my little apartment to brighten up the place. My second husband took the stance that killing flowers for the enjoyment of one person was wrong, that everyone got to enjoy them as they grew in the wild. Another ex- considered the giving of flowers even more intimate than saying “I love you” so I learned a long time about to get them when I wanted them and not to expect someone else to. Because cutting them does kill them, it’d be lovely to be able to grow my own but I’ve got a horrid black thumb so I’ll have to settle for the cut variety when the mood strikes.
  • TV on DVD. Perfect veg-out fodder: immersing myself in a season or two of a favorite television show. Even though most of my favorites (Charmed, Friends, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, ST:The Next Generation, Gilmore Girls and Sex and the City) are now off-the-air, it makes them all the easier to find on DVD and stock up for that emotionally rainy day. Best for weekend indulgences, weeknights still work (especially during reruns or those blank slate nights where nothing I like is on) just in smaller doses.
  • Chocolate. This certainly should have been obvious. Hershey’s and Dove are all right for day-to-day consumption but when I want decadent, I want Godiva. Of course, that means a trek out to the Mall most times, so I settle for second best (but still not shabby) Lindt.

Those are my preferred pick-me-ups but no matter what form yours take, treat yourself often and in a preemptive manner and you might find the need for the emergency mood lifters decreases.

(Oh! Notice alcohol isn’t on that list? I prefer to keep that for celebratory times since any euphoric effects are temporary and seem to make the doldrums worse. We here at Random Acts… encourage you to have all the legal fun you want, as long as you do it responsibly.)

Random Appetites: the Food of Love

Nibbles

Aphrodisiacs are one of those things you either believe in or you don’t because there’s no real scientific evidence that any of them work. Superstitious in origin, they build on various forms of sympathetic magic (the idea that if an animal, for instance, possesses a lot of one quality, then the ingesting of the animal will give you some measure of it) or simple vitamin-boosts from what would have otherwise been lacking.

Named for Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, who was supposedly born from the sea, many seafood and shellfish varieties fall under the heading of aphrodisiacs; sort of a “gulit” by association thing (not to mention the similarity of certain foods to certain items to be affected by the aphrodisiac). Many people can’t quite stomach the thought of oysters on the half-shell and fried foods don’t always put one in the mood for love. Still, if you want to serve oysters and see how much of a spark they give, try my favorite way…

Oyster Stew

2-3 dozen small oysters, with liquor
6 green onions, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 Tbsp minced parsley (fresh)
1 quart milk
1 stick butter
Salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce to taste

Saute the green onions, celery and parsley in a little bit of the butter while you heat the rest of the butter and milk in a separate pot–heat, don’t boil! Add the oysters and liquor to the vegetables and cook until the oysters are almost cooked and then add them to the milk and butter mixture. Let the oysters cook through and season the soup with the salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Garnish with a few oyster crackers or some homemade croutons.

Often, though, it’s less about the foods you eat and more about how you eat them. Notice that many of the foods found on lists of aphrodisiacs are able, and common, to be eaten as finger foods? Set up a romantic buffet of carrot sticks, steamed artichokes (the scraping of the leaves via the teeth is remeniscent of certain romantic biting techniques from the Kama Sutra), honey-glazed figs, asparagus spears, peeled shrimp and oysters and feed them to each other in a comfortable setting. Feel free to add your own preferred foods and not stick too closely to the recommendations of this or any site: the important thing is your perception of the food and the event, not what you’re eating.

Though I would caution against overly heavy foodstuffs. Have you ever noticed that there are are no red meats listed as aphrodisiacs? I think it’s because red meat in any quantity (while undeniably satisfying from time to time) tends to weight the body down and tie up the digestive system for so long that the point, generally the immediate one, of aphrodisiacs is lost. So, if you must include some heavier proteins, keep them then, small, not overcooked and without heavy sauces.

And, no, I’m not forgetting about one major aphrodisiac. Once prized for it’s scarcity but now widely available in all manner of concoctions, a good chocolate will almost always be welcome at the end of a romantic meal (or the beginning, for that matter). And what better way to feed each other chocolate than by the very convivial means of fondue.

Chocolate Fondue for 2

4 oz plain chocolate, chopped
2/3 c heavy cream
1 Tbsp Grand Marnier or other fruit or citrus liqueur
1 Tbsp butter, diced
Bananas, strawberries, sponge cake and other foods for dipping

Melt together the chocolate, cream and liqueur in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or double-boiler, stirring constantly and without overheating. Alternately, place the mixture into a fondue pot over sterno or a tea light (depending on the fondue set). Once smooth, dip the fruit or cake into the chocolate and enjoy.

Now go start those plans for Valentine’s Day; it’s right around the corner!

Look! A post!

Everyday Adventures

So, um, I didn’t exactly plan to take a break from the blog for so long (or at all, really) but, well, I was busy and then there were the holidays and more busy and, well, yeah. Too, was the thought of what I was going to DO with this blog. I’m still not sure. I have a bunch of sites right now and, well, one needs to stand out as the clearinghouse of them all, and right now that one hardly gets any attention from me or anyone else. So, I’m going to try and post more regularly over on jenniferwalkeronline.com for obvious reasons–basically any time something happens on the other sites or in a professional capacity. This will continue to be the personal blog; maybe not updated daily but with some regularity I hope, and then comic will be what the comic is/are (there will be a second starting soon over at SoulGeek).

Now, the last update had a staggering number left on the to-do list. Well, it still does. Half the projects on the list are now completed but I still have a lot of work to do. On the up side: the Year 1 book and my 24-hour comic have been sent to the printers, just waiting on proofs now, and should be here by MegaCon. Woo! Satyr#8 from Main Enterprises is out (though not in my hands, yet, but it’s on it’s way) and I’m looking forward to having copies of that for sale at MegaCon, as well. Of the things that didn’t get finished: the handprinted mini still needs most of it’s work done (though I’m confident about it’s chances of being ready for the con, as well), I’m not where I wanted to be with my Small Press Idol entry, but it’s still going to be fine and, of course, Where the Geeks Are is still on it’s way to it’s destination when I’d originally planned to have an entire month of updates up and established. That wasn’t totally in my hands, though, so it pays to just roll with it and do it when all the ducks find their places. Now, of course, I need to finish up those things and get everything else ready for the Con (not to mention try to set up some more cons for the year!).

A truly bright spot in the craziness was our vacation: the 8-day Western Caribbean cruise was, overall, amazing and we both really enjoyed the time away from the every day craziness. I have tons of pictures and video to post but they’re all still on the cameras. Hell, I haven’t even unpacked yet and it’s been a week since we got home!

But now it’s time for bed, work week starts tomorrow and I have a lot to get done.