Comfort Food Continued

There are many reasons why I am not a skinny cook, but prominent among them is the fact that I love carbs and comfort food.  Mac and cheese.  Hot flaky biscuits dripping with butter.  Mashed potatoes, or more to the point, ANY kind of potatoes.  In case you think I am kidding about that, I will shamelessly tell you about the time we went to Geronimo, a lovely restaurant in Santa Fe.  I perused the menu which looked interesting, but what really intrigued me were the four or five potato side dishes which were paired with many of the entrees.

Yes, I did!  I ordered every single one of those potato dishes for the sum and substance of my meal.  The poor server thought I was a lunatic, but he complied with my request anyway.  That dinner turned out to be both heavenly and memorable, in part because Henry will never let me forget it.  It would be appropriate to include a photo of a potato at this point in my post and I would if I could, but tragically I don't keep them around.  For obvious reasons.

The other thing that sends me into pure pig heaven is bread pudding.  I'm sure this is equivalent to blasphemy but I would choose it over an elegantly composed dessert, fancy French pastry or even chocolate.  I love it for its simplicity and how it makes you feel just flat-out-good.  At least while you are eating it.  You may want to shoot yourself afterwards, but that's a different matter altogether.  We are not going to talk about that here.

I will say this:  if you are going to indulge in bread pudding, then make it the best bread pudding possible.  That means using a good eggy and fattening bread like brioche or challah and making sure there is an abundance of liquid in which to soak it.  Below is my version of bread pudding nirvana.  Yes, it requires a few steps but if you are going to say "screw it, I'm eating it" then this is the recipe for you.

CARAMEL APPLE BREAD PUDDING

For the bread :
2 round Challah or 2 brioche, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 20 cups)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the apples:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the custard:
10 extra-large eggs
5 cups whole milk
5 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla paste (or extract)
1 cup caramel sauce (recipe follows)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup crushed sugar cubes
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Softly whipped cream for serving, if desired

For the caramel sauce:
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla paste (or extract)

Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Divide bread cubes among 2 half-sheet pans and drizzle with the melted butter.  Toss to coat, then bake for 15 minutes or until just golden and toasted.  Remove from oven to cool while you make the apples.

Heat the 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan.  Add apples, sugar, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Saute over medium heat, stirring often, until apples start to soften, about 10 minutes.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, half-and-half and sugar.  Stir in salt, vanilla and 1 cup of the caramel sauce (recipe follows).  Whisk well to blend, then add bread cubes.  Let sit for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure bread is soaked through.

For the caramel, combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over high heat without stirring until mixture is golden and just this side of being overcooked.  Be attentive!  There is a very fine line between caramel which is golden but not quite browned enough and that which is perfect but not burned.  Don't walk away for a minute.  As soon as it reaches the desired color (and aroma - you will smell it if it burns), remove from heat and slowly add the cream, being careful as it will bubble up.  Stir carefully with a wooden spoon then place over medium heat to smooth out.  Add salt and vanilla.  Set aside.

Butter a large baking dish (the one I used was 11-x-17).  Place apples in bottom, then pour bread mixture over, making sure there is enough liquid to come up to the top (if not, add a little more milk or half-and-half).  Combine the crushed sugar cubes, ginger and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the top.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a water bath.  Bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour then remove foil and continue baking for another 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown but still slightly "jiggly" in the middle.

Remove from water bath and let cool.  Cover with foil until ready to serve.

To serve, cut into squares or spoon onto plates and top with reserved caramel and softly whipped cream.  Try not to care that you are ingesting enough fat and calories to kill an elephant.  Trust me, you won't care while you are in the stupified state of eating this!

Serves 12 - 16 (this recipe can be easily halved)

For those of you who are attentive, you may remember that I posted a recipe for bread pudding some time ago.  For those of you who missed it or who care, here's the link:

http://nevertrustaskinnycook1.blogspot.com/2010/01/home-from-holidaze.html

Wisdom Wednesday

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;
       trust in him and he will do this:

 ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

 ⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
       when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:4-7

OT Tip - Hand Grasp

This week I want to continue something I touched on briefly last week which is how kids hold their writing utensils/pencils. As always, there is an age appropriate sequence that you can go by to see how your child is doing.
So let's start at the beginning. Again these are average ages, every child is different. However if you do suspect your child is behind in their development, please talk to your pediatrician.

• By age 3.9 months your baby should be able to grasp a rattle or other objects. 
• By age 5.2 months they reach for objects with their whole arm.
• By age 10.2 months, they should be able to use a thumb-finger grasp (palmar grasp). 
• by age 12-15 months they use a palmar supinate grasp. They use their whole arm to color and move the marker/crayon to where they want it on the paper. You will also notice that the writing utensil is at a complete vertical angle.

•  By 2-3 years old, they move to a digital pronate grasp, which looks like the picture below.

• By age 3 to 4 they will switch to a static tripod grasp or quadrupod grasp. They hold the writing utensils crudely and use the whole pads of their fingers on the writing utensil. 

Quadrupod Grasp 

 Tripod Grasp 

• By the time your child hits kindergarten they will use the most mature grasp, the dynamic tripod/quadrupod grasp, when they use the tips of their fingers on the writing utensil and also hold the crayon/pencil more at an angle than vertical, much like an adult grasp. 

Again, these are average ages and every child is different. However this gives you a good idea of what to look for as your child starts to explore the wonderful world of writing!

For more information check out the following links, where I got a lot of my info.

FAQ: Hand Grasp for Writing
Get a Grip: Grasping Patterns in Young Children
All Photo Credit: The Handwriting Doctor

Disclaimer: I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. The advise in these tips is not a replacement for medical advise from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult their advice if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child.  

Corn and Poblano Rajas

  

  
Today is the 50th anniversary of Ted Williams' final game.  The greatest hitter of all time capped off his baseball career by hitting a home run in his final at-bat.  Charles McGrath in the New York Times helps us remember Ted Williams through the eyes of John Updike, who was there on that day and wrote his paean to Williams in Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.   McGrath focuses on Updike's phrase, "For me, Williams is the classic ballplayer of the game on a hot August weekday, before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill."  McGrath believes that Updike identified with Williams, both in their physical similarities, both were were tall and slender, but also as artists committed to their craft.  Updike found the hero in Williams as a "player who always care[s]; who care, that is to say, about themselves and their art."  Although, for McGrath, the difference of Williams "was not between a thing done well and a thing done ill, but between a thing done well and a thing done even better."
    
What does this have to do with a corn poblano cheese mixture recipe from a petite Mexican-American chef from Baja?  McGrath, Updike, Williams, and even Marcella Valladolid in Fresh Mexico all remind us that every day, whether on those hot August weekdays before a small crowd, or on those dark weekday evenings before no one, we have the opportunity to be better.  I took that opportunity, as I try to do regularly as reflected in this blog, to do better at a Sunday afternoon tailgating party.  As with the ancho tequila salsa featured yesterday, I tried to do better than just dogs and brats on the grill by featuring the last of these recipes I tried from Valladolid.  It makes a wonderful feeling for a quesadilla, or even just in a small soft taco shell.  A Mexican theme for the party was surely fun, and pulling off recipes fulfilling, but the combination of new and different made everything special.  The important thing, though, is to feel that feeling of being special, not just for and in front of a crowd, but when you are alone, and no one is looking.  That is the sign of someone devoted to a higher calling in pursuing their craft.  It is also the sign of someone who derives joy from practicing their craft.  None of us will ever be Ted Williams, and few of us will ever be a celebrity chef, but we can all be special to ourselves, and to those around us, because we care and choose to do things better.
    
Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups corn kernels
6 poblano chiles, charred, peeled, seeded and sliced into long strips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
tortillas
salt/pepper
     
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and soften for 5 minutes.  Add the corn and and chile strips and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and and crema and cook for 8 minutes, gently simmering.  Add the cheese and stir until melted.  Season to taste the mixture with salt and pepper.  Serve with tortillas.
     

jgn cepat melatah!

erm. demam cam makin teruk compare dgn siang td. panas on off, selsema tersumbat2, rase nak jolok gune pam tandas. tekak pun sakit sampai terpakse batuk konon2 nak hilangkan sakit. tp alhamdulilah aku still blh nak on9 ni sbb demam kali ni tak de sakit kepale atau pening. just lemah badan tu adatlah kan.

by the way, baru lepas cek maybank2u.com. dah ade balik duit ak tuh dlm account. WAHAHA. lega dan tenang semula hati ak. yer nnt kalau ak da jd jutawan da ade 15 juta dlm account, ta de la ak menggelabah. tp da ckup mkn ni, tskkk, tlglah biar ak merase duit sdiri. huhu. tp ok lah kan, less than a day, tgk2 dah settle. alhamdulilah!

tp abah dan mama dan namin dan semua ckp, setiap kejadian ada hikmahnya. mama kate jgn nangis lg. mane ta nangis, time g bank tu ak da plan na belanje die org mkn. ak ta nak la pegang cash in hand bebnyk, tkot ape2 jd. camtu plak jdnye. T___T. tambah lg aku ni fobia gle dgn penjahat2 dkt negare kte skrng. ak slalu rase insecure time driving ++ kalau nmpk motor seblah ak. TAKOT!

esok ade shooting. harap2 makin sehat esok pg. tlglahh. waaa. ak tak mau dilihat mcm org yg cari excuse. no! camne nk berjaye cam gtu. kan? Ya Allah ya tuhanku, sehatkanlah tubuh bdn hamba-Mu ini. eh! tubuh badan tak payah, mmg da sihat, sihatkanlah mane2 yg tak sehat ni!

perasan tak sy selalu tulis 'eh salah' and so on. tu bkn buat2, cuma bile tulis blog, sy jrng nak tekan BACKSPACE or DELETE. sbb mmg tulis dgn spontan, on the spot. jd kalau slh tu mmg slh! :)

ok lah. tu je. saje na ingtkan diri sendiri ttg ape yg da di-pelajari hari ni dan semlm. till then!