Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sweet and Salty
In Evanston, just south of Northwestern's campus is a historic building. Students go there often, grateful that its doors are always open. When the town is shrouded in darkness it lets off a beacon of light, of hope. Despite the ups and downs of the economy and the many businesses that have departed the downtown, this place has continued to survive. I can only be talking about Burger King.
In college, I refused to go to Burger King for a proper meal. I never ate the burgers. I only ever went there late at night, when all the good restaurants and coffee shops around downtown Evanston were closed. It was a common hangout after a party or drunken dorm room binge. But often it was just something to do for a college student who didn't sleep before 3am, who was bored of ordering Papa John's pizza and cheese sticks with garlic sauce, who had exhausted the dorm's movie collection, who didn't have a boyfriend or a pre-med major.
How can I write about Burger King in a cooking blog? Isn't that like sacrilege? I only bring up Burger King because I have a memory lodged in my taste buds of salty greasy fries eaten alongside a thick vanilla milkshake. Even at age 18 I had a sophisticated palate and could recognize that combining sweet and salty flavors was satisfying.
I've since graduated from french fries and milkshakes, and had my flirtations with pretzels dipped in chocolate, canteloupe topped with feta, and caramelized walnuts. I put honey on steamed brussel sprouts and sauteed zucchini. For breakfast I can never decide whether I should have the waffles or the eggs benedict, and end up with pancakes and a side of sausage, or an omelet with a scone to start. Seeking snacks on a dreary Sunday afternoon, I bounce back and forth between cheese and crackers then scoops of Nutella. A little bite of salty, a little taste of sweet, and back again. It's like reading a book that makes you laugh and cry, like teasing the person you love the most, like listening to Prince followed by a little Norah Jones.
Lately I've been obsessed with caramel ice cream. It could be because Top Chef contestants were always making salted caramel sauce, or because I "shared" a delicious dessert of profiteroles with caramel ice cream and chocolate sauce at Enoteca Roma where I ate far more than my share. Having tried the burnt caramel ice cream recipe last week, I decided to try a regular caramel ice cream recipe and revel in the salty-sweet combination.
This recipe combines sugar melted and browned with cream, milk, egg yolks and corn syrup. Once it's been strained and frozen, the ice cream is topped with a sprinkle of sea salt (which has a slightly less harsh, less chemical flavor than regular salt). From the picture, you may detect a certain inconsistency in the consistency of my ice cream. Yes, unfortunately my version did not freeze and rather resembles a custard...or a soup. I don't know what went wrong, though I speculate that the sugar to dairy ratio was too high. But no matter. Make yourself some caramel sauce, then sprinkle on some sea salt or kosher salt. Eat it by itself, eat it with ice cream that actually freezes, eat it with a dark chocolate cake. Have a little sweet, a little salty, a sip of milkshake, a french fry, play a John Mayer CD, switch over to Nelly, and curl up in front of Little Miss Sunshine. Enjoy the flavors.
In college, I refused to go to Burger King for a proper meal. I never ate the burgers. I only ever went there late at night, when all the good restaurants and coffee shops around downtown Evanston were closed. It was a common hangout after a party or drunken dorm room binge. But often it was just something to do for a college student who didn't sleep before 3am, who was bored of ordering Papa John's pizza and cheese sticks with garlic sauce, who had exhausted the dorm's movie collection, who didn't have a boyfriend or a pre-med major.
How can I write about Burger King in a cooking blog? Isn't that like sacrilege? I only bring up Burger King because I have a memory lodged in my taste buds of salty greasy fries eaten alongside a thick vanilla milkshake. Even at age 18 I had a sophisticated palate and could recognize that combining sweet and salty flavors was satisfying.
I've since graduated from french fries and milkshakes, and had my flirtations with pretzels dipped in chocolate, canteloupe topped with feta, and caramelized walnuts. I put honey on steamed brussel sprouts and sauteed zucchini. For breakfast I can never decide whether I should have the waffles or the eggs benedict, and end up with pancakes and a side of sausage, or an omelet with a scone to start. Seeking snacks on a dreary Sunday afternoon, I bounce back and forth between cheese and crackers then scoops of Nutella. A little bite of salty, a little taste of sweet, and back again. It's like reading a book that makes you laugh and cry, like teasing the person you love the most, like listening to Prince followed by a little Norah Jones.
Lately I've been obsessed with caramel ice cream. It could be because Top Chef contestants were always making salted caramel sauce, or because I "shared" a delicious dessert of profiteroles with caramel ice cream and chocolate sauce at Enoteca Roma where I ate far more than my share. Having tried the burnt caramel ice cream recipe last week, I decided to try a regular caramel ice cream recipe and revel in the salty-sweet combination.
This recipe combines sugar melted and browned with cream, milk, egg yolks and corn syrup. Once it's been strained and frozen, the ice cream is topped with a sprinkle of sea salt (which has a slightly less harsh, less chemical flavor than regular salt). From the picture, you may detect a certain inconsistency in the consistency of my ice cream. Yes, unfortunately my version did not freeze and rather resembles a custard...or a soup. I don't know what went wrong, though I speculate that the sugar to dairy ratio was too high. But no matter. Make yourself some caramel sauce, then sprinkle on some sea salt or kosher salt. Eat it by itself, eat it with ice cream that actually freezes, eat it with a dark chocolate cake. Have a little sweet, a little salty, a sip of milkshake, a french fry, play a John Mayer CD, switch over to Nelly, and curl up in front of Little Miss Sunshine. Enjoy the flavors.
Craziness
I always mean to post more on here. Then I get on and can't think of a thing to post about. So here is a post just for an update! :-P
I found out today one of my co-workers is quitting. Which is fine and all, except that it couldn't have happened at a worse time. We have another guy off for 3 weeks because he just got a foster-child. Then one of our other therapists is off next week all week for a vacation. The girl that is quitting is done next Wednesday. So there will be just two of us for the whole OT caseload, which of course is huge right now. So on my way home today I treated myself to ice-cream at UDF because I was already stressed out just thinking about it.
I found out today one of my co-workers is quitting. Which is fine and all, except that it couldn't have happened at a worse time. We have another guy off for 3 weeks because he just got a foster-child. Then one of our other therapists is off next week all week for a vacation. The girl that is quitting is done next Wednesday. So there will be just two of us for the whole OT caseload, which of course is huge right now. So on my way home today I treated myself to ice-cream at UDF because I was already stressed out just thinking about it.
Real Irish
Boiled ham ,Soak in water For a few hours then change water boil half way change water (Boil for 2 hours ) Eat with spring cabbage , carrots , mash potatoes and white sauce (flour , milk, butter ,salt and pepper)
Boxty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxty| “ | Boxty on the griddle, Boxty in the pan, If you can't make boxty, You'll never get a man. | ” |
Boxty where I am from is usually in the dumpling form8 oz/ 250 g/ 1 cup raw potato
8 oz/ 250 g/ 1 cup mashed potato
8 oz/ 250 g/ 2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
large knob of butter, melted
about 1/4 pt/ 125 ml/ 1/2 cup milk
Grate the raw potatoes into a bowl. Turn out onto a cloth and wring, catching the liquid. This will separate into a clear fluid with starch at the bottom. Pour off the fluid and scrape out the starch and mix with the grated and mashed potatoes. Sieve the dry ingredients and mix in along with the melted butter. Add a little milk if necessary to make a pliable dough. Knead lightly on a floured surface. Divide into four and form large, flat cakes. Mark each into quarters but do not cut right through, and bake on a griddle or in a heavy pan.
Recipe from herehttp://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/recipes/cooking/boxty.shtm
I remember my dad making it we would boil potatoes , grate more and squeeze till all the starch is gone mix together maybe add flour and boil . I also remember making cake these were not boiled but cooked in the oven. I love boxty for breakfast . Boxty is a is popular everywhere my cousins come down form Dublin and buy as much as they can to bring back with them as they cant get it there.
10,11,12 april @ sarawak
a long post.
10th april 2009 - friday
happy birthday faten!
senior melawati yg berada nun jauh di india.
terlelap nak dkt 3pagi. yeah~ x habis packing pon lg time nih. then bgn pukul 6 lebeyh.
mata panda ku semakin teserlah. habiskan packing. mandi pagi2 bute~~~ grrr.
da lame x mandi b4 kul 7am. last zaman skola kot. haha. tataw2!!!
msg lecturer, in4m x dpt g class. siap2, n gerak g LRT setiawngsa.
mama terus gerak to KLIA. while sy baru nak g KL Central.
dats da 1st time sy berada d mane2 stesen LRT seawal itu. n...
sy nganga lg setibenye sy berade d stesen itu. ramai org~~~
hua3. lupe plak office hour. org nak gerak g office la weyh!
Q mcm nak beli big apple dkt klcc. hua3...
tnggu 3x, sy duk dpn skali barisan. pon x dpt masuk!
cuz its just too crowded n sorang pon xleh masuk. give up~
pergi tukar platform sebelah. d mane sy akan ke terminal gombak dlu.
saje buang mase la kononye. skali sampai sane. pon same.
kene tuka platform. haih. malang~ pon ramai gile. tp nasib baik leh masuk gak.
berdiri pon x pe. asal blh masuk. at last. sampai kl central.
selepas 1 jam berdiri dlm train. ya ampun~ pengalaman.
tnggu si TTM. n 1st time die sampai sharp on time. wakaka.
haih~ kambink sngguh =P
terus gerak ke Air Asia pnye counter. 3 minutes b4 9am.
tp da kene berbaris jgk daa. pd hal baru bukak. tnggu bout 30 min.
then beli ticket TTM ke srwk. lucky sesgt la ade. total pergi - blk,RM424.
rushing blk umah masing2 sbb nak abiskan packing.
bout 10 setgh pg, sampai umah. mandi n siap2 since 11:30, should b.
da gerak ke airport. tp. taw2 je la TTM nih. bab2 mase failed skit.
die sampai 11:45 am. then almost 12 noon baru gerak ke Lcct.
sampai2. terus Q ke check-in counter. pon ramai. nasib la cpt jgk.
lunch at Mc-D. tp both mate x leh bla. both mengantok yg amat.
x lame. gi boarding but delayed plak almost 1 hour. haih~
cuaca buruk + ade passenger x jd naik flight. tngu n tngu.
dlm flight? ape lg. most of the time tdow je la. leteyh kot!
nih baru a few minutes lepas terbang XPsolat maghrib. n rushing gi dinner d luar. since mama pon leteyh lg.
mkn2 d kuching waterfront. dinner je utk 4 persons, da almost 200.
then pergi Mes. i dunno mcm mane nak spell dgn btol. but.mcm tu lah sebutnye. huhu. okay. MES tuh adelah tmpt. tentera.
tentera2 utk mcm lepak kot? sane ade bilik2 utk mrka yg bujang.
dan juge dewan makan utk pegawai2. ade gym. ade karokae & bilik tv.
abah karokae mlm tuh. siap lampu lip lap x leh blaa lg. huu.
mama pon ade duet dgn abah. kambink [TTM] pon nyanyi!1 lagu je, keabadian cinta [anuar zain] since die sakit tekak. haha.
blk da lewat mlm jgk. tdow mati !!! since esoknye kene bgn awal lg.
11th april 2009 - saturday
bgn seawal 5:45am, solat subuh then terpakse mandi pepagi lg.
gile babeng pnye sejuk okay. sbb mlm baru pas hujan. nak kejut TTM.
mmg liat. wahahaha. make sy suruh abah n mama yg sound2.
haha. bangun laju mcm lipas kudung. hee. fhm2. mmg leteyh kot.
then we all rushing ke serikin. serikin nih, border srwk-indonesia.
ape special? tmpt nih mesti sume pelancong singgah. cuz brg murah2.
pandai2 deal lah sbb die org ske ketuk harge sbb taw kte org luar.
die mcm gerai2 rantau panjang, pengkalan kubur dll. n penuh gle org.
rushing nak g sane a.s.a.p. n it takes almost 1 hour from kuching.
d sane. sy x beli pape. tman TTM je. die beli blh tahan pnye bnyk.
yeah2, tugas sy lebeyh kpd tourist guide die ++ cameraman x bergaji.
haha. panas yg amat. kul 10 lebeyh. selesai sume n curik2 tdow dlm keta.
blk umah jap, tnggl brg2. plg penting udang galah tuh kene ltak dlm freezer.
then rush pergi waterfront. sane, bnyk kedai souvenir. pon tmpt wajib.
mcm2 jual. kedai2 die bnyk. sebelah kedai2 souvenir, seberang lg.
sg n tmpt makan2 n lepak2. kire, tmpt faymes ah tuh. huhu.
beli3, bwk TTM gi pasar satok plak. beli ikan terubuk masin. yummy!!!
then nak dkt asar, blk umah n sume ambik mase nih utk rest n tdow jap!
bgn minum ptg, mandi n siap2 lg utk kuar. tp pas solat maghrib.
rushing gi everise PDC. everise nih cam giant,JJ,carre4 & tesco ah.
sane. kami main bowling. mama. abah. sy. TTM.
yup. sy kalah. hahahaha. diam ah. sy mmg main utk ske2. XP
blk da dlm kul 10mlm. kami ke Kuching international airport.
utk ape je? utk supper. wakakak. gi Mc-D 24 hours. hee.
org lain g airport nak sambut org / naik flight. kami utk mkn. hehe.
mkn simple2 je cam fries, ice cream & pie sbb sume da kenyang.
just saje spend time pas main bowling. blk umah.
almost 12 x silap. n sume tdowww mati lg! huu~~~
happy birthday arashi-cuzzy~
happy birthday 2 amirul, bekas pakwe x menjadi.
sbb kakak die, x restu. wakakaka =P
happy birthday 2 amirul, bekas pakwe x menjadi.
sbb kakak die, x restu. wakakaka =P
bgn seawal 5:45am, solat subuh then terpakse mandi pepagi lg.
gile babeng pnye sejuk okay. sbb mlm baru pas hujan. nak kejut TTM.
mmg liat. wahahaha. make sy suruh abah n mama yg sound2.
haha. bangun laju mcm lipas kudung. hee. fhm2. mmg leteyh kot.
then we all rushing ke serikin. serikin nih, border srwk-indonesia.
ape special? tmpt nih mesti sume pelancong singgah. cuz brg murah2.
pandai2 deal lah sbb die org ske ketuk harge sbb taw kte org luar.
die mcm gerai2 rantau panjang, pengkalan kubur dll. n penuh gle org.
rushing nak g sane a.s.a.p. n it takes almost 1 hour from kuching.
d sane. sy x beli pape. tman TTM je. die beli blh tahan pnye bnyk.
yeah2, tugas sy lebeyh kpd tourist guide die ++ cameraman x bergaji.
haha. panas yg amat. kul 10 lebeyh. selesai sume n curik2 tdow dlm keta.
blk umah jap, tnggl brg2. plg penting udang galah tuh kene ltak dlm freezer.
then rush pergi waterfront. sane, bnyk kedai souvenir. pon tmpt wajib.
mcm2 jual. kedai2 die bnyk. sebelah kedai2 souvenir, seberang lg.
sg n tmpt makan2 n lepak2. kire, tmpt faymes ah tuh. huhu.
beli3, bwk TTM gi pasar satok plak. beli ikan terubuk masin. yummy!!!
then nak dkt asar, blk umah n sume ambik mase nih utk rest n tdow jap!
bgn minum ptg, mandi n siap2 lg utk kuar. tp pas solat maghrib.
rushing gi everise PDC. everise nih cam giant,JJ,carre4 & tesco ah.
sane. kami main bowling. mama. abah. sy. TTM.
yup. sy kalah. hahahaha. diam ah. sy mmg main utk ske2. XPblk da dlm kul 10mlm. kami ke Kuching international airport.
utk ape je? utk supper. wakakak. gi Mc-D 24 hours. hee.
org lain g airport nak sambut org / naik flight. kami utk mkn. hehe.
mkn simple2 je cam fries, ice cream & pie sbb sume da kenyang.
just saje spend time pas main bowling. blk umah.
almost 12 x silap. n sume tdowww mati lg! huu~~~
12th april 2009 - sunday
bagun awal b4 6am. solat. mandi cam mandi ngan ais. sejuk yg amat. huu.
then b4 7am da gerak kuar rumah! yup. since sy n TTM nak g kmpng budaya.
mama stay d umah. abah maw g main golf. so kami gerak sesame.
dlm keta, abah, sy n TTM curik2 mase utk tdow! hujan lebat lak tuh. hee.
n sy nmpk driver abah tah bape kali menguap. wahahah. mmg enak tdow.
then abah da sampai golf club pon sy x leh bukak mate. sbb mamai.
sy nmpk je abah da trun keta. x mampu nak salam or ckp pape. huhu.
then terus kami ke kmpng budaya. sampai2 kul 8:20am. hurm jauh gak~
skali. kmpng budaya tu bukak kul 9am! haha. boring tnggu2, chaw dlu.
gerak ke pantai. aaaa...pantai santubong la tuh kirenye. huu~
lepak2 d sane tgk view n hirup udara segar dgn ttm. sampai 9am.gerak ke kmpng budaya n tnggu org lg, benjamin. kwn abah.
yg suppose kasi kte org ticket utk msuk. nape perlu die?
cuz dpt half price! oh la la. mmg senang de kabel kan kan kan?
from RM 60 dpt la RM 30. but then. die try dptkan student price.
confirmed2 la sy x bwk student card. but dpt jgk, RM 15 sorang! haha.
jalan2 melawat sume umah d kmpng budaya. til kul 11 lebeyh jgk.ade jgk jual kuih2 tradisional yg fresh d buat dkt ctu. huu~~~ best3.
sampai gadow2 jgk sy dgn TTM. leteyh la panas2 tuh! nak snap pic die lg.
wahaha. tp taw je la sy. marah jap je. pe gune marah lame2 pun.
then 11 lebeyh tgk show dkt hall die. ade tarian sume jenis kaum d srwk.
almost 1 hour jgk. kul 12:20am kuar, driver abah sampai then.terus gerak ke KGS [kelab golf sarawak] n tnggu abah nak dkt sejam jgk.
abah sampai, terus gerak blk rumah. sampai almost 2:30pm.
mama da badmood. haha. sbb abah lame sgt main golf. then.
mkn sesame. tp mama perli abah sepnjng tuh. sbb mama x mkn. haha.
sy dgn TTM duk tahan gelak je. wakakaka. yer la. klaka taw.
mama duk bebel2 perli2 abah. abah buat bodow je. makan kenyang2.
makan sungguh2 lak tuh. teserlah kelaparan abah. haha. mama da bengang.
last2 mama pon mkn jgk even pd mulanye budget da kenyang. haha.
nasi ayam mama best. seriously~ then kene plak. mama msk jgk.
udang galah yg besar gile. ngatah lg. huu. best best best.
bak kate TTM, "sy x sempat rase lapar pon dkt srwk nih" haha. good3.
then sume rest n relax jap. hua3. sume tdow mati. dlm kul 6pm.
sume kene siap2 da. mama n abah mmg kelam kabut siap2 utk dinner.
sy n kambink siap2 kene follow keluar jgk, tp kami tgk movie.
mane leh join mama n abah ade formal dinner. huhu. kul 7 lebeyh.
da ade dkt Parkson kuching. beli ticket wyng dulu. JGN TEGUR.
since cite lain x kene timing n FYI, wyng die movie mmg terhad.
de 5 cite je x silap. n plg lmbat show, kul 9 malam je. wakakakka.
pas beli ticket. TTM jmpe abg sulung die jap. abg die ckgu d srwk nih.
sy tataw tuh abg die. wkt memule sy nmpk abg die. sy ckp dlm hati.
"gile handsome. nie...melayu ke bukan. wawawawa" skali. tuh abg die.
hahahahaha. x leh ckp ape ah. diam je. hee~~~ hidung mancung!
tp putih. ngeh3. then kami tgk2 baju d parkson. hua3. cantik2!
tp sy x beli pon last2. haha. ke wyng. ticket kami 9:15pm.
FYI lg, wyng d srwk lain skit. i mean. no TGV. no GSC. then.
ticket die kertas nipis gile. x simpan la plak. kalo x leh tunjuk. huu.
n pilih sit x de tgk skrin comp. just tgk kertas A4. wakakak.
and and, sit die mostly mmg x de nombor. pandai2 la congak sdiri.
salah ddk tmpt lain nasib la. hahaha. and and. iklan sgt jap!!!
max 5 mins je. seriously. n kalo sape mask lmbt, mmg payah gakla.
sbb sgt gelap. huuu. then. tgk cite tuh. haih~~~
JGN TEGUR. bagi sy. sy rase cite nih, dr segi make up hantu.n histeria die, mmg da real okay! good job utk cite melayu. but then.
jalan cite terlalu simple. terlalu biase n terlalu pendek. yeah.
sejam 15 minit je. aiyooo. n da blh jangka jln cite die. wawawa.
rugi la mcm tuh! sbb make up hantu n histeria mmg da real lakonan.
adehh. syg sngguh. aiyooo. n dont worry. cite nih x takot mane. hee.
habis movie kul 10:30pm. abah sruh tgk movie lain sbb x abis dinner lg.
skali. 9:15 tuh last show. wakakak. nganga sy dgn TTM. awal nye.
then tataw nak buat ape, kami lepak betol2 d tgh2 bndr kuching.
yeah, d tgh2 patung kuching yg terfaymes d Malaysia. wahaha.
kirenye patung kuching tu trademark Sarawak la. betol2 centre.
sbb kami btol2 menghadap spot-light die. haha. gile mencapub. panas~pot-pet da dkt kul 12am. sy da bosan n leteyh n panas. msg abah.
bile nak abis dinner. skali abah ckp tataw lg. then sy ckp.
nak kunci keta. biar kami tnggu dlm keta. then tnggu sampai 1am.
huwaaaa. lame gile. pastu blk umah sampai la dkt 2am.
tdow mati lg! sbb esoknye bgn kul 6am lg. wawawawa ~~~ =P
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
