According to the lovely Julia Child, a canape is a type of hors d'oeuvre literally translated as couch. However, they are typically small decorative pieces of bread or cracker "canopied" with butters, cream cheeses, meats, relishes, and other assorted tasties. Base, spread, main item, garnish.
Tonight I made prosciutto and roasted asparagus canapes. They were AMAZING! I really seriously hate to brag on myself about it but I just wanted to test them out and they were AMAZING! Going in my cookbook for sure.
Nowmustsleepgahhh.... night all.
honk-shooo
the end.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
In light of the absolutely horrifying thesis meeting I had this morning, I am really going to have to be a lot more diligent about my research, which, to me, reads as "Hurry up and finish compiling those recipes so you can get to the testing part, lady! And maybe get published some time this century, perhaps even before your thesis is ever done!"
I have come up with a total of 77 recipes. Not all of them I've made before so they make require a bit more testing time. I am a little concerned though. Of all the things I have made before, I do my best to make it my, but some of my recipes are...shall we say "other recipe inspired." At what point is it plagiarism. And what about any other potentially copyrighted recipes out there that I have never even seen but happen to be rather similar to...? I don't want to steal anyone else's glory, just like I wouldn't want somebody to take a recipe I worked hard to create, change one small thing and then take the credit for it in their cookbook. I really have no idea how the whole cookbook publishing thing really works to be honest. I guess my plan right now is to finish it as soon as I can and then mail it to as many influential people in the field as I can think of really.
Also, since I am trying really hard to make my cookbook stand out from everyone else's as much as possible, I am trying to give lots of my recipes clever nicknames, or name them after all the people I know and love as a thank you for their support while I worked on this. I am hoping for every recipe that's named after a friend or family member, I could include a nice picture and short little blurb about who they are and why they are so important to me and how they made this project possible. I think of it, not only as a way to make myself more unique and marketable, but to give me a chance to really dedicate my work to all the people who really deserve it. <3
Anyway, I'm pretty interested to see how a few of the new things work out. I feel like I put use chicken way too much so I am trying to include some other things for more variety. Like lamb. I've never even seen it in stores or eaten it, much less prepared it for other people. hmm. Please, if any one out there ever reads this at all, tell me something about cooking lamb. I could make tiny lamb sliders and then call them lamb-burger-inis. lol. Will anybody out there please comment and tell me I'm clever. I'm desperate for some affirmation here.
Onward march to testing. Oh, my aching wallet. :/
I have come up with a total of 77 recipes. Not all of them I've made before so they make require a bit more testing time. I am a little concerned though. Of all the things I have made before, I do my best to make it my, but some of my recipes are...shall we say "other recipe inspired." At what point is it plagiarism. And what about any other potentially copyrighted recipes out there that I have never even seen but happen to be rather similar to...? I don't want to steal anyone else's glory, just like I wouldn't want somebody to take a recipe I worked hard to create, change one small thing and then take the credit for it in their cookbook. I really have no idea how the whole cookbook publishing thing really works to be honest. I guess my plan right now is to finish it as soon as I can and then mail it to as many influential people in the field as I can think of really.
Also, since I am trying really hard to make my cookbook stand out from everyone else's as much as possible, I am trying to give lots of my recipes clever nicknames, or name them after all the people I know and love as a thank you for their support while I worked on this. I am hoping for every recipe that's named after a friend or family member, I could include a nice picture and short little blurb about who they are and why they are so important to me and how they made this project possible. I think of it, not only as a way to make myself more unique and marketable, but to give me a chance to really dedicate my work to all the people who really deserve it. <3
Anyway, I'm pretty interested to see how a few of the new things work out. I feel like I put use chicken way too much so I am trying to include some other things for more variety. Like lamb. I've never even seen it in stores or eaten it, much less prepared it for other people. hmm. Please, if any one out there ever reads this at all, tell me something about cooking lamb. I could make tiny lamb sliders and then call them lamb-burger-inis. lol. Will anybody out there please comment and tell me I'm clever. I'm desperate for some affirmation here.
Onward march to testing. Oh, my aching wallet. :/
as my graduate career and thesis project continue to head south, I am having more and more trouble seeing myself with a career having anything to do with psychology ever again. Congrats university, you win. I can't wait to be finished and then move back closer to Mario and possibly even take cooking classes. I found an ACF accredited program very near there, and depending on my work situation and how much it costs, I may go for chef certification. Assuming I ever even finish my thesis, I'll have a master's degree, and end up going back to a technical college but who cares? I'll be doing something that doesn't make me want to crawl under the covers and cry anymore.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Visited a Corningware and Corelle store at the mall, but didn't see anything I just couldn't live another day without. I was hoping to find a garlic roaster like this
but didn't see one there. :/
headed off to Spice Traders, smelled lots of goodies but nothing I absolutely had to have...until I passed by the bagel place next door. Whole wheat everything bagel with cheddar garlic cream cheese. You are my friend.
I really want to learn to make my own bagels. I LOVE bagels. :D
but didn't see one there. :/
headed off to Spice Traders, smelled lots of goodies but nothing I absolutely had to have...until I passed by the bagel place next door. Whole wheat everything bagel with cheddar garlic cream cheese. You are my friend.
I really want to learn to make my own bagels. I LOVE bagels. :D
To Pineapple or Not to Pineapple?
So Mario and I and some of his roommates had a few tacos for dinner and after we were all cleaned up, I went ahead and trashed the kitchen again with a few new recipes of my own creation.
First up, I made some roasted corn salsa with fresh peppers, cilantro, lime juice and tequila. I attacked the boys for gratuitous feedback to ensure maximum awesomeness before I decide to include it in a potential cookbook. The overwhelming conclusion was that it had great heat and the perfect consistency but would be just right with the addition of a tropical fruit, pineapple in particular. Mario, who does not appreciate any sweet or fruity salsas vehemently denies this. After a long discussion about the flavors, we arrived at a decision: I am redoing and canning for his mom and her friend, Amy. I am going do everything pretty much the same except for a few ingredients that seemed to get lost in the mix: I am going to double the roasted corn, add a lot more salt, some more cilantro, and CAREFULLY more tequila. Then I am going to separate and add the pineapple to half. Then we will do the whole sterilized mason jar + hot liquids trick, and take them to the other side of the state for more opinions from serious foodies. Depending on their feedback, I will either add and subtract til its just right, or "Sweet Corn and Cuervo Salsa" with be a ready recipe for the still nameless cookbook project.
Rice and Beans with Chorizo and Creamy Cheese Sauce. Rice and beans, pretty standard as far as Mexican food goes, I think. But I also added chopped chorizo, which I was thoroughly excited to use for the first time. Basic cheese sauce with a touch of sour cream to top it off. End result, too much beans, not enough rice. The boys ended up eating it with tortilla chips like it was bean dip. It also had a really chili-ish flavor to it, which I suppose was good but nothing outside the box, and I definitely did not get any chorizo impressions from it at all so I absolutely need double or even triple the amount. I felt like the cheese sauce was good but didn't really stand out much from the rice and beans. It was delicious and super rich on its own, but it was meant to be a cool contrast to the spiciness. Maybe more sour cream next time. Who knows?
Anyway, heading to Spice Traders tomorrow, always a delight! Whole vanilla beans imported from Madgascar, how can that not be exciting?!? Hopefully I don't spend too much. Also hoping to head back to World Market soon, that place is great too. Also, Whole Foods was recommended to me today. Temptation, thy name is unique and foodie-coveted goodness.
First up, I made some roasted corn salsa with fresh peppers, cilantro, lime juice and tequila. I attacked the boys for gratuitous feedback to ensure maximum awesomeness before I decide to include it in a potential cookbook. The overwhelming conclusion was that it had great heat and the perfect consistency but would be just right with the addition of a tropical fruit, pineapple in particular. Mario, who does not appreciate any sweet or fruity salsas vehemently denies this. After a long discussion about the flavors, we arrived at a decision: I am redoing and canning for his mom and her friend, Amy. I am going do everything pretty much the same except for a few ingredients that seemed to get lost in the mix: I am going to double the roasted corn, add a lot more salt, some more cilantro, and CAREFULLY more tequila. Then I am going to separate and add the pineapple to half. Then we will do the whole sterilized mason jar + hot liquids trick, and take them to the other side of the state for more opinions from serious foodies. Depending on their feedback, I will either add and subtract til its just right, or "Sweet Corn and Cuervo Salsa" with be a ready recipe for the still nameless cookbook project.
Rice and Beans with Chorizo and Creamy Cheese Sauce. Rice and beans, pretty standard as far as Mexican food goes, I think. But I also added chopped chorizo, which I was thoroughly excited to use for the first time. Basic cheese sauce with a touch of sour cream to top it off. End result, too much beans, not enough rice. The boys ended up eating it with tortilla chips like it was bean dip. It also had a really chili-ish flavor to it, which I suppose was good but nothing outside the box, and I definitely did not get any chorizo impressions from it at all so I absolutely need double or even triple the amount. I felt like the cheese sauce was good but didn't really stand out much from the rice and beans. It was delicious and super rich on its own, but it was meant to be a cool contrast to the spiciness. Maybe more sour cream next time. Who knows?
Anyway, heading to Spice Traders tomorrow, always a delight! Whole vanilla beans imported from Madgascar, how can that not be exciting?!? Hopefully I don't spend too much. Also hoping to head back to World Market soon, that place is great too. Also, Whole Foods was recommended to me today. Temptation, thy name is unique and foodie-coveted goodness.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Taco Tuesdays
Heading to Mario's for dinner tonight, the boys have decided (with no input from me) that they are having tacos, and if I want to cook, I need to go with the taco theme. :/
I enjoy some southwest/tex-mex kind of food, but as far as cooking goes, I wouldn't call it my forte. I've been trolling for a bit on allrecipes.com but I have decided in light of my recent commitment to adventure, I am going to wing it. I am going to go to the store, buy cilantro, limes and some other veggies, make whatever the heck seems right, and if the boys rate it 10/10, well then into the cookbook it goes!
I can always use the practice and my cookbook could always use a little more variety, right?!
so just throwing some ideas around, I am thinking about making a roasted corn salsa, and some sort of spicy rice and bean type dish with a creamy cheese sauce to cool it down a bit. I think I am going to start having Mario take pictures of all my test recipes, and perhaps build a chart for the boys to rate all my test recipes.
Also been reading my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" a bit today, and I really want to try to make hollandaise sauce soon. I really just need an electric mixer though, anytime I have to whisk anything to thicken it, it never turns out. I just can't seem to whisk fast enough :[
I enjoy some southwest/tex-mex kind of food, but as far as cooking goes, I wouldn't call it my forte. I've been trolling for a bit on allrecipes.com but I have decided in light of my recent commitment to adventure, I am going to wing it. I am going to go to the store, buy cilantro, limes and some other veggies, make whatever the heck seems right, and if the boys rate it 10/10, well then into the cookbook it goes!
I can always use the practice and my cookbook could always use a little more variety, right?!
so just throwing some ideas around, I am thinking about making a roasted corn salsa, and some sort of spicy rice and bean type dish with a creamy cheese sauce to cool it down a bit. I think I am going to start having Mario take pictures of all my test recipes, and perhaps build a chart for the boys to rate all my test recipes.
Also been reading my "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" a bit today, and I really want to try to make hollandaise sauce soon. I really just need an electric mixer though, anytime I have to whisk anything to thicken it, it never turns out. I just can't seem to whisk fast enough :[
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