Kate F____, Girl Reporter

Oh sad. My beloved 12″ powerbook is….not happy. It’s has been overloaded (despite offloading thousands of photos to an external hard drive) and slow and so forth for months, but the other night it froze up and finally I forced it to restart and now it stays on the startup grey screen with the twirling circle of death forever, until I shut it back down. I “zapped the PRAM” (?!) which accomplished nothing. I let it rest overnight and tried again–nothing. We are about to go away for the weekend (to Vail for a Tuck informal-reunion-ski weekend) but next week I think I have to take it to the computer hospital, wherever and whatever that means.

I did manage to get a few photos uploaded before the meltdown, so I’ll try to do a quick post later to leave you on for the weekend. Meanwhile, please think Cheap Fix thoughts towards my poor computer!

Sigh.

In an attempt to branch out and due to menu planning on the fly at Trader Joe’s while on the phone with my mom, I decided to make chicken quesadillas for dinner one night last week. I bought:
-A packet of small corn tortillas
-A package of chicken tenders
-Grated cheese
-Guacamole (which comes in two clever little sealed packets so you don’t open a whole pound at once)
-A container of “Salsa makings” or something along those lines, containing two shallots, three roma tomatoes, one lime, one jalapeño and a couple cloves of garlic

Once I got home I made salsa using the tomatoes, too much shallot, about two-thirds the juice of the lime, a tiny tiny tiny amount of the jalapeño, and salt (we are both spicy-food wimps and I hate cilantro—not the makings of stellar salsa…). I used the cuisinart stick blender’s mini-prep attachment (which I think I may have later ruined by stupidly tossing the top part (not the stick blender, but the dome that connects the blender to the bowl) in the dishwasher, eek!) to dice up the shallots very, very fine—it worked great.

12 seconds later:

The salsa was only so-so—too much shallot and not enough lime? Also the tomatoes were as blah as you’d expect in February; I don’t know what I was thinking.

I used a bit of the chopped shallot to make a lemon vinaigrette for salad, and put the salsa and salad dressing to the side. Next I made a marinade for the chicken, trying to remember what my mom had told me over the phone. I used the rest of the lime juice, some lemon juice, a bunch of the shallot, a little brown sugar, a couple slices of the jalapeño, and a bit of oil. I cut the chicken tenders into small pieces and marinated them for about 15 minutes (as Mom warned, they will cook in the citrus, like ceviche, if you marinate too long!).

I sautéed the chicken in a nonstick pan—I drained off as much marinade as I could but I didn’t mop the chicken off or anything, and the marinade bubbled up a lot and then caramelized on the chicken, which was tasty.

I set the chicken (a little undercooked so it wouldn’t dry out) to the side and heated up our big griddle. I didn’t get quite the right heat/time balance to make the quesadillas crispy and melty but not tough. I always used to use flour tortillas, which get crunchy but not so hard if you leave them on the heat too long. The corn ones definitely require different timing.

We ate the tortillas with the salad, salsa and guacamole. I’ll try again soon, but I had forgotten that I really don’t love anything but cheese in quesadillas. Maybe I’ll do soft tacos instead?

~~~

BTW, I’m writing this post on the Acela from NYC to Boston. I’m online thanks to a tip from a co-worker—turns out you can get t-mobile to help you set up your computer to use an internet-enabled cellphone (I have a blackberry pearl) as a modem. Amazing!!!! I’m headed home after a wonderful weekend with my dear friend Bridget (who is moving to London next week—good luck, Bridge!). Friday night I got to NY at 9-something and we met at the Spotted Pig, where we only had to wait an hour and devoured the amazing burgers. Next time I don’t think I’ll bother on a weekend—the crowd was dense and not our scene as the night went on—but the burger was amazing and I’ll definitely go again on a weeknight.

I made a variation on this back in October (complete with stunningly ugly photo), but I thought I’d post this anyway, especially since it’s the first time I’ve used the new mini-photo studio I got for Christmas.

This is a quick weeknight meal. I started with Trader Joe’s lemon pepper pappardelle, which I’d read about on Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchen last fall. It has a bright lemon flavor and good pepper kick, which makes it worth buying, to me, despite my dislike of long, flat pasta. (Hard to eat! Sticks to itself!)

I cut up two small pieces of broccoli, lopping the florets off and slicing each one lengthwise into two or three sheets. I peeled the stems and then shaved them into ribbons with a vegetable peeler.

I sautéed those in a bit of olive oil, starting with the florets, leaving them undisturbed for long enough to caramelize a bit, then tossing in the ribbons towards the end. The broccoli got nice and crispy in some parts and wasn’t overcooked; I had to be careful not to eat it all plain. Next time I think I’ll make it as a side dish and just squirt a little lemon juice over the bowl.

(Photo taken in the regular lighting of the kitchen, not the interesting light box where the rest of these were taken.)

Meanwhile Ben grilled some sausages and sliced them up. When the pasta was cooked I tossed it with a bit of olive oil, then with the broccoli florets and ribbons, and topped it with feta and the sausage.

I can tell I’m really ready for spring because whenever I think about what to cook right now, I think of bright and light colors. I don’t want anything heavy or stewed, even though I didn’t do any braising this whole winter. I’ll have to get over that, especially since after two days of temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and a lovely sunny afternoon, I noticed as I walked back to my office to write this a little while ago that it was suddenly snowing hard. And blowing sideways. Hmm.

I decided to make cheese fondue for dinner last night. I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten fondue, though I always meant to and loved the idea. And all last year in Hanover I meant to break out the fondue pot but never got around to it. I used a recipe from Epicurious that had lots of happy reviews, a Three Cheese Fondue made with champagne. (I used prosecco.)

The recipe called for Gruyère, Emmenthal and a bit of brie, plus shallots, cornstarch, lemon juice, champagne and a bit of nutmeg and white pepper.

I used the cheese grater in the Cuisinart for the first time–now that we have a dishwasher I’m trying to get over my Cuisinart-Avoidance Complex (all those fussy little pieces to wash!). Oh my GOD. It literally took 20 seconds to perfectly grate all the cheese (not the brie, obviously). Amazing.

I used prosecco that was already in the fridge, since I figured it would be nice to drink with the fondue.

I cooked the mixture on the stove since I’d never used the fondue pot and I’d bought the wrong size sterno can (sigh) and I just didn’t know if it would really cook. I think it would have and it would have been more fun to do the cooking in the pot in front of the fire. Not scenic, though. The mixture looks super gross when you add the cheese in to the shallots and champagne:

It did thicken up nicely, and I transferred it to the glass insert for the fondue pot (which is fussy and hard to get in and out of those handles):

Then put it over the hot water in the metal part of the pot, and set the whole thing up on my pretty new yellow tray (ugh, nice shot.):

We ate it with a big salad straight from the bowl, and the champagne, in front of the fire. It was a bit warm for all that hot cheese and hot fire, but fun to picnic!

I’d planned to make fancy hot chocolate with real whipped cream for dessert, but we were too full. Another time!

Emily tagged me to post seven random things about myself. This is so much tougher than you’d think!

1. Cooking chicken makes me nervous. I’d rather deal with pork or beef.

(epicurious.com)

2. I still re-read my childhood favorites when I need comforting. In the last six months I’ve read all the Little House books, all the Elizabeth Enright Melendy Family books, Howl’s Moving Castle and A Little Princess. I also re-read all the Austen books regularly (I’m currently in the middle of Emma, my least favorite), and the Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books, as well. I love re-reading books; the characters have been my friends for decades and it’s always relaxing to dip back into favorites scenes.

(awesome t-shirt (which I own) by Bookshelves of Doom)

3. I played violin from fourth through ninth grades and I loved theater. One term in eighth grade I was in the spring musical, the top orchestra and choir (I’m an alto). I haven’t performed in anything since my senior year of high school, when I played Ophelia in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. I also love to paint and want to take art classes.

4. Nine out of ten evenings that Ben isn’t home for dinner I make myself a fried egg sandwich and eat it in front of the tv.

5. I loathe cilantro. I once read an article that said there’s a chemical in it that you either can or can’t smell, and the ability to smell that chemical is what makes it smell like soap (or much worse) to me. My mom doesn’t believe me that the article existed, and I never was able to find it again.

(Ihatecilantro.com)

6. I have terrible trouble with shoes. My feet are wide and I tend to either be squeezed into shoes that are the right length but too narrow, or falling out of shoes that fit my toes but flop off the heel. I hate shoe shopping and I usually have multiple pairs of brand new shoes that hurt too much to break in lying around making me feel guilty. I will admit that I end up wearing a lot of Aerosoles.

7. (Following in Emily’s footsteps…) My middle name is Kehrl, my grandmother’s maiden name. It sounds like it should be spelled Carol. I regularly mixed the H and R up until I was about 11.

Front: My grandmother’s brothers and my grandmother; Back: My great-grandparents and a friend

I tag Germi, Laura and Mrs. Limestone.

We went to Florida this weekend to visit some dear friends and their 15-month old baby, and it was a shock to the system to get back to Boston, a mere 8 hours after leaving the white-sand beach on an 80-degree day, and walk out of the airport to frigid 18-degree winds. Yikes.

Sigh.

Maybe tonight’s the night to break into the fancy peppermint-infused hot chocolate mix I bought on a post-Christmas sale at Williams-Sonoma? In the meantime I’m looking at a photo of last week’s tulips and thinking about Valentine’s menus. We’ve given up on going out; it’s like New Year’s in terms of overcrowded, rushed restaurants serving so-so fixed menus… Last year I made a classic steak and potatoes dinner, along with those overplayed molten chocolate cakes. Ben loves them and I admit they are very tasty. This year I might do something lighter–maybe a fancy pasta and a really great salad, and then something rich for dessert?

What are you guys cooking for Valentine’s Day?

I cooked twice this week, guys! And there were home-made leftovers a third night, and tonight Ben was out so I had takeout, and tomorrow we’ll be en route to Florida. That is a big improvement over the last…..long time.

Tuesday night I had to do a work call a bit late, so I ran home beforehand, scrubbed a few beets and roasted them (wrapped in foil at 400 degrees for about an hour, per Bittman) while I was on the phone. After the call I pulled the beets out, hurried over to City Hall to vote, and then came home to finish up.

(Raw)

We stopped in Hanover at the Coop on the way from Stowe a few weekends ago to buy sausages to freeze–we can’t find any here that are nearly as good! Ben grilled a few for dinner that night, and I boiled some israeli couscous until it was a bit under-done, drained it, sautéed garlic in olive oil, and then sautéed the couscous in that for a bit so that some of the pearls were a little browned. I was to experiment with the timing so they get a little crispy…

(after draining)

I wore gloves to peel the beets, doing my best to avoid turning the whole kitchen into a mock-up of a murder scene, sliced them up and put them in a big ziplock. Then I made basic vinaigrette, poured that in with them and turned the bag around a big to dress the beets. When we were ready to eat I sliced some cow’s milk feta (mild and tasty) and layered that with the beets, topped with a grind or two of pepper. Next time I think I will serve them plated separately as a salad course instead of a side to the sausage and couscous, but it was a very delicious dinner and Ben was particularly impressed by the neon pink hue that the beets dyed the feta.

Another nice product from TJ’s: Nieman Ranch vacuum packed ham steak. It’s fully cooked, so you can just heat it up on the stove quickly and serve it. Monday night I served that with home fries and instant applesauce:

Potatoes:
I cut up two big russet potatoes, first in thirds lengthwise, then into thin slices. I heated a couple tablespoons of butter with a bit of olive oil, then tossed the potatoes in and covered them. After a few minutes I stirred them around and covered again, though not all the slices ever got to get crusty and brown. Lots of salt and pepper, keep the lid off for a few minutes to crisp things up, and serve hot.

Applesauce:
I’ve written about this before, but applesauce is so, so easy. Peel your apples, cut them up (toss or compost the cores) in small pieces, put in a pyrex or something with a little water, and microwave. Check every two minutes to see if the apple is super soft, it usually takes about 6-8 minutes for two apples in my weak little microwave. Mash up the apples as much as you like, mix in a little cinnamon,and call it a day.

Comforting and easy, though not very pretty!

There will be cooking this week. It’s just been a rough and busy few weeks with lots of late work for one or both of us/meals in the office/travel, etc.

A few weekends ago when we had the three-day weekend all at home (bliss!), we knocked out lots of little tasks that needed doing around the house. The most satisfying (and life-improving) was finally buying a nightstand. I had been using a $6 Ikea tv tray as a nightstand since 2001. I painted the top at one point, but it was mostly unfinished pine, and just…not good. Because there was no drawer it tended to be cluttered with romantic things like eyeshades (our blinds aren’t great), and it just looked horrible all the time. Plus I kept an old magazine container under it, which was always too full and so I’d stack books and magazines on top of the holder, and….yeah, here’s what it looked like:

Wow, classy.

The new nightstand is simple but it lets me tidy things up. I required a shelf and a drawer, and I got both (I also replaced my lampshade):

So much better! Now I can tuck things away and keep the top neat! I have since moved the book to the bottom shelf. One thing that does stay out, and which you can barely see in that picture, is my new friend, who Christy gave me for Christmas:

Love!