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Archive for April, 2010

Apr 28

sushi

Roundup: Sushi, Canvas, Kiehl’s, Emma Jeffs, Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Garage Home

SUSHI: Last night Frank took me to Koyi Sushi Too, and it was good sushi, you know, for the Midwest. Really good Gyoza. The interior looked sort of LA-ish but had these kitschy little items like fake rice in a mini bowl and random porcelain cats scattered throughout the restaurant. And they had Frank Sinatra playing in the background (songs from the Vegas years I think), and the view offered up a Holiday pump where people were getting gas. Kind of hipster on paper, but not in feeling. Needless to say, we sought out for a new sushi joint that pleased us, and pleased we were. And, close to home in the Seward neighborhood. Read more

Apr 27

http://postercabaret.com/sheandhimconcertposter.aspx
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Art Prints

Art wise in our house, this past year has been all about the Art Print, specifically, the (music) poster print. I love the paper aesthetic, variety and visual stories. The usual suspects constantly turning out new and awesome prints from a wide variety of artists are 20×20, etsy (obviously), and Poster Cabaret. Some specific talents I’ve been checking back to are The Small Stakes and The Heads of State, to add to the current collection I’ve grown this year. Read more

Apr 20

Classic Cobb Salad


Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs for the variety of foods posted, and notably, their food photography (in fact, just voted best food photography in food blog by Saveur. The Classic Cobb Salad caught my attention, so I made two salads for my lunches this week and YUM. It’s a good standby Cobb Salad recipe to reference, and I love the dressing – light, refreshing and just a tiny bit tangy.

Apr 20

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Shortbread Bars


I came across this recipe for Shortbread Bars on The Cookbook Chronicles and decided to make and weigh against the Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies from Keller’s Ad Hoc. While I would say the Shortbread Bars are far, far easier to make than the Cookies (in fact, I would highly recommend making these if you have 15 minutes to make before company comes over…that’s how easy they are), the Cookies do have a classic crunch about them. What I mean is, the Shortbread bars feel quintessentially Minnesotan because they are, in fact, bars; Cookies, and classic Scottish/British shortbread nonetheless, feel very sophisticated…like you should drink a cup of tea with them. Anyway, long story short, with the shortbread bars you mix in a stand mixer, then pat down into a cookie sheet. To make them quite pretty looking, cut the edges of the bars away, then cut into petite squares.

Placed into the cookie sheet, and half patted down into bar shape

Ultra-Tender Shortbread, inspired by Mado’s delicious shortbread recipe, via The Cookbook Chronicles

1 lb. unsalted butter, softened until it resembles clotted cream
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar (plus about 1/4 cup more sugar for sprinkling)
4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup + 3 tbsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment, and grease generously with butter or oil.

In a stand-mixer, combine the softened butter, salt, and sugar. Whip on medium speed for 5-6 minutes, until the butter becomes pale and white, and increases in volume. On low-speed, mix in the flour and cornstarch.

Pat the dough evenly into the sheet pan. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the edges just begin to color. (The shortbread itself should remain white in color.)

Refrigerate the pan of shortbread for an hour until cool. Slice into squares and serve.

Apr 13

Felt Wreath: Cheesy or Awesome?

Winter Felt Flower Wreath, via Purl Bee

Earlier this year, The Purl Bee posted about making a winter felt wreath, and I loved it – sophisticated yet whimsical, crafty meets I want that. The great thing about crafting is seeing something, learning to dissect it, and make it. The even better part about crafting, is realizing there is an art to it, and that you have to work towards awesome.

I went to Treadle Yard Goods in St. Paul and picked up some felt squares, decided on my color palette at home and started to draw flowers. Picking out the better drawn flowers, I cut around the shapes, and started to assemble the felt floral composition. Now, what I love about the Purl’s wreath is the neon thread the holds the pieces to the backing, and accents the colors. No neon thread in my drawer, and running out of time, I grabbed a frame and hoped it wouldn’t fall apart as I tried to assemble it. First criticism: though the matte color should change, I hung it, and am living with it until I figure out a new color. Second criticism, sewing the flowers to the backing will actually give it a nice touch. Until then, this may hearken to Edgar Leeteg and the American black velvet kitsch.

Apr 6

Homemade Biscuits and Gravy


My brother left almost a week ago for his biking trip (14 countries in Europe, 3000 miles on bike!), and before he left we made homemade biscuits with sausage and gravy. This is a dish I never thought I’d like to eat until I had it about two years ago and loved it. And, after making it, find that it’s a really easy meal to make on those lazy Saturday afternoons. Especially if you pre-made the dough and it just needs to thaw from the freezer. While the biscuits were baking, we cooked the sausage (“breakfast sausage” seemed logical, which is what we used) and kept them in larger chunks; after cooking thoroughly, we added gravy powder, which called for a little milk and water (1/2C. each), and mixed in the pan for about ten minutes until thick.

Buttermilk Biscuits
Recipe courtesy Cuisinart

2¼ cups unbleached,
all-purpose flour
¾ cup cake flour
1 tablespoon cream
of tartar
4½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon granulated
sugar
½ tablespoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground
pepper
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus
1 tablespoon) unsalted
butter, cold and cubed
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons unsalted
butter, melted

Makes 12 biscuits
Approximate preparation time: 10 minutes plus 10 minutes for baking
Preheat oven to 500°F. Line one baking sheet with parchment paper. Insert the large metal chopping blade into the large work bowl of the Cuisinart® Food Processor. Add both flours, cream of tartar, and baking soda and process to combine for 10 seconds. Add the sugar, salt and pepper and process again for 5 seconds. Add the cold butter and pulse 15 times to incorporate into the dry ingredients, until the size of the butter resembles peas. With the machine running, pour the buttermilk through the feed tube and process until just incorporated. Remove dough from work bowl and place onto a well floured surface. Knead dough by hand about two times, form into a log and cut into 12 equal pieces. Form each
piece into a ball and place evenly spaced onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Once biscuits are ready, remove from oven and brush with
melted butter. Serve immediately.

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