Coping by baking

I've been creating some kind of baked good every day (with one flawed exception).

Peter Reinhart's white bread recipe, variation 1

No bake Hershey's bar pie (http://www.food.com/recipe/no-bake-hersheys-bar-pie-29084).  First mistake: didn't have enough Hershey's bars, so I substituted Nestle's Toll House choc. chips.  Second mistake: I went out and bought whipping cream instead of whipped cream.  (What can I say, I haven't been myself lately.) This set in the freezer, but I don't know if it's any good.

My go-to muffin recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Ever-Muffins/Detail.aspx).  I only put in 1/2 cup of sugar, so they're not TOO sweet.

I also made more Hello Dolly bars; turns out that Smitten Kitchen's recipe is essentially the same as Joy of Baking's.  The boss is allergic to walnuts, so I used almonds instead.  Other pics removed because I was unhappy with them.

Just whistle while you work

I have proclaimed this week Vietnamese Food Week.

Why?  I'm not really sure.  I am fortunate enough to be with a guy who has a self-proclaimed "Asian stomach" but I haven't been preparing much at home lately.  We've been going out quite a bit.  :\  Anyway, here are some pics.  I would post recipes, but I don't really measure anything and it would be difficult.  Just ask me if you are curious.

Tofu, tomato, and egg (for protein) soup, in a chicken broth base--this was from last night.

 My mom makes this dish with pork, and adds green onions.  I dislike both and so this is a tofu, tomato, and chicken breast dish.  I have looked up this dish online, and typically it is done with just the tofu and tomato.  But protein is good, don't you agree? 

 

Fuzzy squash soup and my grandma's homemade cha in the forefront.  I've been hoarding the 2 rolls she gave me since May!

What do you want to work on?

Here's my list:

1.) pie crusts- Maybe it's time I examined my prejudice against Crisco.

2.) cheesecake- Water bath and/or springiform pan, here I come.

3.) pasta- My machine is still in the closet.  :(

4.) vegetarian dishes- You know, the ones that don't leave you wondering where the meat went.  (So far, not so many...although portobello mushrooms top the list.) 

Fork, Cork, and Style=disappointment.

I should have known that Fork, Cork, and Style would be pretentious and dripping with moneyed socialites simply because it was at Churchill Downs.  The band sucked, the food was sparse (only 1 small portion per person), seating was bad, and the cooking demonstration with the Top Chef winners was the worst.  One of the winners was a blonde lady who was either drunk or trying to drum up excitement that wasn't there, because she kept screaming "Whoo!" and waving her hands unnecessarily.  The food that they created wasn't even that interesting---a chicken banh mi sandwich, and they were incoherent throughout.  The "Cork" portion would've added an extra $35/ticket, and the "Style" portion was actually a silent auction for tailgating food and gear.  

The only positive things about this were: 1.) I only spent $14 and not $29 (thanks Groupon!), 2.) Emeril's demonstration was very good, and 3.) I got to try one of Louisville's signature dishes, the Hot Brown.

The Hot Brown is an open-faced turkey sandwich with Mornay sauce, from the Brown Hotel (heh).  For some odd reason, this was in a mini pie crust, but that was ok with me.  The Mornay sauce is "a Béchamel sauce with shredded or grated cheese added. Usually, it consists of half Gruyère and half Parmesan cheese, though some variations use different combinations of Gruyère, Emmental cheese, or white Cheddar." (Wikipedia).  This was decent, but definitely not a favorite.

Emeril was an excellent performer; humorous but in control of his food and presentation (unlike the Top Chefs).  He made grilled honey brined pork chops, grilled corn, white nectarine chutney, a cucumber/gin mixed drink, and sweet cornbread with stewed cherries as a dessert.

Camping!

I went camping last night for the first time in at least 2 yrs.  It was fun, and the people I hung out with were stellar.  :)  Of course, we had lots of food, including chips, dip, a caramel/chocolate pie, candy, s'mores, and the main dish: beef stew with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, rice vermicelli, and various herbs/spices.

Bread of the week.

I had four avocados lying around in the fridge, so during a recipe search I found avocado bread.  It's strange...

Recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/avocado-nut-bread-123454

I found it quite sweet, with not much else going on.  Not my favorite quick bread.

I don't suffer fools gladly.

Work is stressing me out.  :P  So now I'm playing catch up and posting multiple small restaurant reviews.  And watching another Futurama movie. 

Clockwise from left: mint, tamarind, and onion chutney at Dakshin.  The mint was my favorite.

Southern Indian lamb & goat curry (good, but not awesome).

Beef/goat gyro, chicken gyro, and fries at Zaytun Mediterranean Grill.  YUM. 

Sushi at Asahi---again, a good, but not great place.  I felt like it was stylish and expensive.  (The back roll is the Caterpillar.)

Mr. S.'s sushi---spicier and more interesting than mine.  He had the Popcorn Lobster and the Spicy Salmon.

Neat presentation.

Filipino food at Sari Sari...it was okay.  They have a tiny buffet, but a decent variety of dishes (~9-10).  The pork and chicken curry dishes were the best.  This is not the place to go if you like vegetables.  At $13/person, it was expensive, but we made sure to stuff ourselves.

On my anniversary, I had smoked ribs at F.A.B.D. (Frankfort Ave. Beer Depot)---falling off the bone and delicious.

1/2 of a chicken with Texas toast.  The chicken was decent; the smoked flavor penetrated well although the bark wasn't the best I've had.  We also had Kraft-like macaroni and cheese (bleh) and good onion rings (although I don't like those, they were well done).

Finally, not sick!

Stuffed eggplant: http://www.food.com/recipe/eggplant-lovers-stuffed-eggplant-263672

I used ground turkey and Parmesan cheese. Also, I didn't have fire roasted tomatoes....But this was still good.  :)

Hello Dolly/Magic/6 Layer Bars (http://www.joyofbaking.com/barsandsquares/MagicBars.html)

I wouldn't use this recipe again.  Even after cutting down on the amt. of butter, the bars were still MUCH too greasy.

More cinnamon rolls!  I let them proof for 72 min. and they turned out fabulously puffy.