I have a great recipe to share - one that's simple but seasonal, and one that carries with it, not one, but two spectacular men.
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This, however, is just not its night.
I picked that charming little acorn up at the market tonight, once the sun had left my mostly-windowed kitchen in starry-skyed, snowy-lawned shadow. The taking of a proper photo demands that I delay her cooking until tomorrow afternoon, and I am not one to deny a pretty squash her due.
Plus, I am feeling lazy.
Still, I'm going to do my best. I've already included a picture - which, despite its crappy iPhone-ness, is quite original. And before I get to the narcissistic meat of this post, I AM going to share a recipe with you. It just likely isn't what you were expecting. It's a recipe for iced tea.
Someone sent me the following meme, thinking it was something I might enjoy. It has been a long time since I've done one of these (although I will admit, despite an unfamiliarity with the term "meme" until recently, my friends and I filled out embarrassing numbers of chainmail surveys back when we were fourteen), and I thought it might be a fun way to sneak in a total cop of a post. Yes? No? Eh. So here I am, snowed into my cozy little apartment, alone (save for the dogs; you're never alone when you have dogs), sipping an iced tea and preparing to share some answers with you. Go ahead and make yourself a glass before we get started; I'll wait for you.
Burnt-Sugar Iced Tea
As recipes go, this isn't a terribly traditional one. It has just three ingredients, and two of them are marginally variable. The sugar may be added to taste - I use about 3/4 of a cup per gallon of tea, but you should feel free to use more or less as your palate typically dictates. Because the sugars are melted into a caramel and heated to the brink of burnt, though, be advised that you'll likely want to use more sugar than you ordinarily would for a batch of tea; the caramelization adds a roundness and delicate bitterness to this tea that mutes its sweetness. And as for the tea - listen, I am very much in the herbal tea camp. I drink several steamy cups of chamomile, ginger, clover, nettle, spearmint, lemon, or Rooibos tea a week. However, for my iced teas, I am solidly a black tea girl. You use what you like, of course. I won't vouch for the way any herbal flavors meld with the caramel, though, so proceed with caution.
Steep five black tea bags in two cups of water that has just been brought to a boil and removed from the heat for about six minutes. Stir occasionally, being careful all the while not to break the bags. Remove the bags, drain and discard (these are great in compost, by the way). In a deep saucepan (I like to use the base of my double-boiler), heat 3/4 of a cup of white sugar over a high burner, stirring constantly, until the sugar begins to melt. Once the melted sugar has begun to take on the slightest hint of golden color, remove from the heat. Continue stirring until all of the lumps of sugar have melted and the liquid is completely smooth and translucent. Return the sugar to the heat and stir until the caramel darkens to a deep, bronzed chestnut color. Remove from the heat immediately (honestly - sugar can turn from caramel to burnt-like-tar in a split second) and pour in the steeped tea concentrate (exercise a lot of caution here, as it will be very volcanic and spattery, especially if you've used too shallow of a saucepan, and liquid sugar is exceptionally hot). Stir this mixture until all of the caramel has dissolved into the tea concentrate, and then add enough cold water to make one gallon. Enjoy cold, even in February.
A Foodie Meme
Forwarded to me by a dear friend; origin unknown.
What is your go-to ingredient?
Lately, it is definitely oats. Organic oats are a fantastic way to add fiber and protein to just about any dish, and they work equally well in savory as sweet dishes. I put oats into nearly every cookie, cake, bread, pie and cobbler recipe I come across; I always keep large batches of homemade granolas on hand in our kitchen; I regularly employ our slowcooker to make obscenely good overnight oatmeals for breakfast. I've even started using steel cut oats in place of things like polenta, mashed potatoes, and risotto as the starchy base of a meal. Steel cut oats cooked with some wild mushrooms and good Parmesan? Yeah, man. Yeah.
What nationality of food do you like the best?
Growing up, it was Chinese; for the past ten years, Thai, Vietnamese, and Japanese have all been vying for first place; lately, I think Indian may be taking over. Too bad for my answer that "Asian" isn't a nationality.
What’s your favorite meal of the day to prepare?
Dinner, as it maxes out the time I have to gather and prepare. But I get to share lunches with Scott much more often than dinners, and while I love cooking for one, I'll always prefer having someone to share with.
What is/are your signature dish? (What dish are you ‘known’ for?)
I don't know that I have a "signature" - see my previous post. Part of me hopes that I never do.
What is your favorite comfort food?
Potatoes, in nearly any incarnation. Dark chocolate brownies with walnuts in them, accompanied by a glass of whole milk. Just about any kind of soup. I love soup so much.
What cooking shows do you watch?
I get really into "Chopped." I take notes when I watch it. Srsly.
Your top three favorite cookbooks are:
"A Homemade Life," "Ratio," and the "Good Cook" series.
Your must-have kitchen accessory is:
A sharp set of quality knives. That is the only acceptable answer to this question.
Do you ever eat fast food? If so, what?
If chain Cal-Mex burrito joints count as fast food, I never stood a chance.
Most memorable meal you’ve had while on vacation:
The steak dinner Scott and I shared in Buenos Aires that involved sixteen side dishes, the best steak I have ever tasted, and a Caesar dressing that forever ruined all others in my mind and mouth.
What restaurant do you want to eat at that you haven’t yet?
Village Whiskey, Dish, Babbo, DiFara, LMNOPea, Ad Hoc, Beast.
What’s your favorite dessert?
Anything with a custard-y texture. Panna cotta, puddings, budinos, pots du creme. And I love savory elements that have been incorporated into desserts - bacon chocolate chip cookies, for example, or black pepper ice cream.
What scent in the kitchen do you love?
This generally isn't located in the kitchen, but I love the smell of grilled meat in the summertime. If they bottled that, I'd wear it like cologne.
What ingredient(s) do you avoid/dislike?
There's not much. I tend to shy from some types of offal, though I'm slowly branching out. And I am relatively certain that I will never, so long as I live, try a raw oyster.
What’s your secret splurge at the grocery store?
Organic whole milk, imported butter, aged Gouda, charcuterie. And I will buy fresh figs whenever I see them, almost regardless of cost.
What’s the most decadent dish you’ve ever had?
Truffled cream of morel soup. And (I'm so sorry that this even exists) chicken-fried bacon.
What’s your favorite midnight snack?
At the restaurant, it's always some type of fresh fish with some type of grilled or sauteed fresh green vegetable (when you're regularly awake until 4:30 in the morning, the ubersnack/minimeal becomes a close friend).
At home, it's just iced tea.
