Cinderella’s cat, Lucifer
December 23, 2012
Cinderella’s cat, Lucifer
Month: December 2012
December 22, 2012
Feliz Navidad
December 21, 2012
Daguerreotype walls @ the Four & Twenty Blackbirds bakery in Gowanus, where we saw John Hodgman: That is all at The Bell House. (It was hilarious, by the way. Lucky for us, it’s still a few hours from Ragnarok.
December 20, 2012
There’s a monster in our kitchen. A red, hulking monster that takes vegetables and turns them into tasty, perfectly smooth tasty beverages. It does a mean butternut squash purée, too.
December 19, 2012
Blinding afternoon sun in the office.
December 18, 2012
7 days out from Christmas: cookies & cards are out and presents are wrapped.
December 17, 2012
This tee is OG
Spicy Ginger Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice
This dish is tasty. Like deeply tasty, with layers of flavors, which is good ‘cuz it isn’t quick. It is however, fully satisfying and filled with stealth veggie goodness. Paleo & gluten-free.
Spicy Ginger Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice
Adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple’s Sesame Chicken and “Rice” with Fiery Ginger and Chile Sauce
For the chicken:
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 per serving)
2 cloves garlic
4 slices ginger
4 scallions
2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp. shallot
Salt & white pepper to taste
For the rice:
1 head cauliflower
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
5 shallots
5 cloves garlic
3 c. chicken stock
Salt & white pepper to taste
For the chili sauce:
2 Tbsp. sambal olek
3 Tbsp. ginger
3 Tbsp. shallot
3 cloves garlic
3 limes
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. chicken stock
Salt & white pepper to taste
Garnish:
1/2 cucumber
Big hand full parsley
Sesame oil
First, let’s prep the massive amount of shallots and garlic you’ll need. You will need roughly 7 shallots in total, all minced. Mince those babies up, dividing into 3 separate bowls (one for each component of the dish). Mince and divide a total of 2-3 inches fresh ginger and 10 cloves garlic. Divide these as well by component.
Once all this mise is done, split your scallions in half and slice into small moons. Juice your limes. Dice your cucumber. Chop your parsley. Gather the rest of your ingredients and break your cauliflower down for easy adding to your food processor.
Let’s start with the “rice”, since this takes the longest to cook. Add your broken down cauliflower to your food processor a little at a time and process until it looks like crumbly rice. This may take a few batches.
Add the coconut oil to a wok or large pan over high heat. Add the shallot and garlic (from your separated cauliflower rice bowl of mise) and stir-fry until beginning to brown and fragrant. Add the cauliflower and stir fry about 4 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add 3c. chicken stock and cook 15-20 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Salt & white pepper to taste and set aside if the rest of the meal isn’t done yet.
While the “rice” is going, make your chicken. Cut the thighs into 1 inch cubes. Heat 2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the ginger slices, chicken portion of shallot & garlic and chicken cubes and stir-fry until cooked through and beginning to brown. Add your scallions and stir-fry 2 minutes more. Season with salt & white pepper.
On to the sauce. Add the sambal olek, chili sauce portion ginger, shallot & garlic, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar to the bowl of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until a paste is formed. Add the chicken stock and whiz again to combine. Season with salt to taste.
When all your components are done, add the “rice” & chicken to a large bowl and toss to combine. Top with the cucumber and parsley and toss again. Add half of the sauce and taste. Add more if needed. To serve, place in bowls and drizzle with a little sesame oil to finish.
Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch with a little extra sauce.
December 16, 2012
Happy Birthday to me. Today (yesterday now) was a great day.
This was how my day started – bacon & eggs in bed with a fabulous cake card.
Then on to the Rockettes!
Radio City Music Hall
The pre-show stage
Santa on stage
That white shiny line is the Rockettes doing a kick line. It was a good show. One of those quintessential NYC holiday experiences and I’m glad we got to go once. Now I don’t have to go again.
Even though it was drizzling and rather chilly, we decided to take a stroll down to dinner. It was quite the haul, but I’m very glad we did it. We ended up seeing all sorts of things we hadn’t before, the least of which was a store were you can get things printed by a 3-D printer (or buy your own). Coolest. Store. Ever. Poo. Apparently, the store was just a popup and is closing soon. But on the upside, some of the beyond awesome designs featured in the store are for sale over at Shapeways.com.
After the long hike and some restorative hot coffee & tea, we arrived at dinner. The DH didn’t tell me beforehand where we were going, only thought I might have an inkling once he spilled the genre of food (new American). I had a thought, but was still on the surprised and delighted side. WD-50 is one of my very favorite restaurants and we had not had a chance to visit since the menu switchover.
Since it was my birthday, we did it up big and had the tasting menu. Words can’t adequately describe just how fantastic this meal was. Wylie Dufrense is my type of chef – cerebral, conscientious, and playful; and his dishes reflect not only that personality, but his profound ability to marry flavor, texture and experience into a truly memorable meal. Unfortunately, I can’t find the man on Twitter or as a verified listing on Facebook to thank him for such an experience in semi-RL. This was by far one of my top 3 (if not top 1 – sorry, NAOE) dining experiences ever. Expensive? Yes, but totally worth it for the experience. A few of the dishes challenged how I thought of certain ingredients, and more than a few have re-ignited my passion for exploration into the mechanics of cooking.
Our follow-along tasting menu print with notes scribbled hastily on the train on the way home. A day out, and I am still in awe.
Bathroom mirror selfie after getting home last night and staying up late to talk to my father. Yeah, dad, I’m not smiling in this one either – I was tired 🙂 I will do better next time. I don’t feel any older… just full and decorated with a beautiful sparkly & black pearl necklace from my DH.
All in all, a very successful birthday. Thanks, love.
December 15, 2012
2012 holiday card
Gastography 