Snappy Toddler Top: FAIL, I think

I printed up this free pattern from Prudent Baby and made it using the scraps from the Sorbetto tank top I made a few months ago.  While it came out pretty cute, I'm pretty sure I must have printed the pattern too small, because it came out tiiiiiiiny.  Maybe it might fit a newborn, but I have serious doubts about its ability to fit its intended wearer, Ms. Zoe.  Sigh.

In any case, it allowed me to try out some new techniques, some of which I handled with some level of success, others not so much.  Hand sewing a buttonhole:  not too bad!  Sewing really small curved areas: pitiful.  Live and learn.

Anybody know a newborn girl looking for a hand made summer top?

Fritter FAIL

I was trying to use up the mint leftover from my mint ice cream as well as some feta left from my grilled corn and feta salad... add in a zucchini and you get: mush.  Oops.

Very loosely (no ricotta, fresh rather than dried mint) based on this recipe from an Australian cooking show I've been watching recently, I put together these zucchini, feta and mint fritters that I planned to top with a spicy fresh tomato sauce.  Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to drain the zucchini of its water, these fritters were super soggy, floppy and definitely not crisp like I imagined.   Sigh.

But the flavor was good... perhaps a similar flavor combination in a different format next time.  Over pasta?

Baby Sweater: Try, try again

It seems like for every finished crafting or cooking project I put up here I have at least one, and sometimes multiple, failed attempts before I get a success.   This time it was a baby gift for Amy and Adam's impending baby boy using this blue, yellow and green yarn from Bernat.

First, I tried knitting a pullover sweater, based on this cute pattern.  The body came out great, albeit a little curly at the edges.  But it all went to hell when I tried to add the sleeves...  my knitting skillz are apparently not advanced enough to know how to troubleshoot and eliminate the hole that kept appearing in the armpit.  Sigh.

Then I tried to make a baby blanket using the same yarn.  Initially I was winging it, just doing stripes (not unlike the baby blanket Chuck made last year), but I didn't like the way it looked and felt:

Next I tried a blanket based on this "Purely Square Baby Throw" pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, but I think my yarn was too thick.  The blanket was heavy and stiff and draped awkwardly (although I liked the pattern... maybe it would be nicer in a finer yarn):

Ultimately I ended up going back to an old, reliable, fool-proof favorite...  ye olde crochet baby cardigan. 

Works every time:

Beef Rendang: Take 2

Ok, so after my last beef rendang attempt and failure, I felt I needed to redeem myself.  If at first you don't succeed, yada yada...  this time I tried using this recipe from Rasa Malaysia (yeah, I know, Malaysia is not Indonesia, but the author claims to be using an Indonesian recipe). It looked more promising than the last recipe I tried- it involves a paste made from all of the aromatics, plus additional spices (which are so cheap here! hooray for the spice islands!), but most importantly, the recipe had more detailed instructions.

Well, I gave it ye olde college try, but the recipe was still not successful.  Sigh. Fail. Maybe closer than the last try, but not quite right.  While the flavor is nice and it smells amazing, I can't seem to achieve the deep, dark caramelization that they get at restaurants here.  Tim says that I can buy pre-darkened coconut milk here, but that seems a little bit like cheating and none of the recipes I've seen online include it. 

Perhaps I need to take a cooking class here and have someone show me how to make this dish correctly.

The redeeming factor in all of this is that I made nasi goreng with the leftover rice, and it was delicious.  Nasi goreng is Indonesian fried rice, made with chilies, garlic, onion, kecap manis (a thick, sweet Indonesia soy sauce- "manis" = sweet), and usually shrimp paste (terasi udang), which stinks to holy hell, but gives the dish the umami flavor it needs. The ingredients vary slightly depending on who's making it, but the ones I listed seem to be the essential ones.  I put chicken on my rice, but you can put pretty much anything on top and call it breakfast, lunch or dinner here.  Egg, shrimp, chicken...

Beef Rendang: Partial FAIL

Last weekend I tried my hand at cooking some Indonesian food... partial fail.  See my other blog for a description of my attempt at making beef rendang. 

Here's the recipe I used, which I deem to be tasty, but not quite asli (genuine, authentic).  I'd like to try a recipe that uses more fresh, whole spices and has better directions for getting the tender, deeply caramelized flavor I was hoping for.  Maybe this recipe from Rasa Malaysia should be my next attempt. 

Beef Rendang
From The Complete Indonesian Cookbook, by Agnes De Keijzer Brackman and Cathay Brackman

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 stalk lemongrass, crushed
1 lb cubed beef topside round (I used beef that I bought at the store that was specifically labeled "Rendang beef", but I think it's pretty much stew beef.)
2 or more red chilies (such as birdseye chilies), crushed
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 salam leaf (essentially Indonesian bay leaf, as I understand)

Directions:
- Heat oil in a frying pan
- Add garlic, turmeric, ginger and lemongrass; saute lightly
- Add meat and chilies; saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently; add salt and mix well
- Pour coconut milk over meat and add salam leaf.  Cover and cook over low heat until almost dry.

Non-Super Bowl Super Bowl Party!

Since Tim's team, the Giants, is in the Super Bowl this year, he insists on watching the big game live.  Which, here in Jakarta, means he'll be watching it Monday morning at 7 am.  Boo.

Craving American-style fatty, cheesy and salty Super Bowl party foods, we decided to host a mini (4 people) non-Super Bowl Super Bowl party this past Sunday.  We played Wii and ate lots of terrible (but terribly delicious) food, including:

Heart-attack-on-a-plate: cream cheese + chili + cheddar, all melted together and served with chips.  An oldie, but a goodie.  In the past, canned chili has sufficed, but I couldn't find it here, so I made my own chili based on this "adult" sloppy joe recipe I've made in the past.

Hot spinach dip: in an attempt to incorporate some veggies into the meal, I made a hot spinach dip- cream cheese, mozzerella, spinach, garlic, onion... you'd think you couldn't go wrong.  Except it did go a little wrong: somewhat bland.  Not sure what the solution is... more salt?  Some red pepper flakes sauteed in with the garlic and onions?  It was good, however, a few days later spread on bread, topped with sauteed chicken breast and mozzarella, and grilled like a panini.

(sorry forgot to take a photo of the spinach dip!)

Ribs: Tim decided that his contribution (well, besides lots of beer) would be to try making grilled ribs.  He bought some baby back ribs from our local butcher shop, put together a dry run, marinated for 24 hours, then "smoked" them on charcoal grill using indirect heat and water for steam for about 2 hours.  Pretty good!  He thinks perhaps the grill ran a little bit hot and he could have taken them off sooner, but I thought they were pretty good for a first try at ribs!

Hummus: the old In Garten stand-by hummus made an appearance, with the addition of some cumin, paprika and additional lemon juice and zest.

Buffalo bites with homemade blue cheese dip: I sorta made this recipe up a bit... I cut some boneless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, coated them in egg and flour, lightly pan-fried them, and then tossed them with a mixture of butter and Louisiana Wing Sauce (we are the proud owners of about a million gallons of this stuff... I wanted Frank's or Crystal, but this was the only option.  A good buy, though.)  I was hoping that the way I cooked the chicken would give the sauce something to stick to, but not get soggy.  Served 'em with a homemade blue cheese sauce, similar to this recipe, but without the dill and with the addition of a splash of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.  I think these were the winner for the evening... so addictive!  Definitely tasted like good old American bar food.

Rice Krispie treats:  I had big plans to make S'mores with my homemade marshmallows, but a number of factors dashed those dreams on the rocks... 1) I couldn't find graham crackers at the store (I saw them around Christmastime and am now kicking myself for not buying a box or two.) and 2) in a trial run, the marshmallows didn't toast correctly- too wet and melty.  Sigh.  Fail.  I blame it on the humidity.  Rainy season is a bitch.  Rice Krisipie treats were a good back-up, though.

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Muffins- Partial FAIL?

The day after Thundersnowtrafficpocolypse, the federal government had a 2-hour delayed start... I decided use my 2 hours to make these cream cheese filled banana muffins.

The muffins tasted great- super light and fluffy-but the cream cheese filling was a bit of a FAIL in the sense that it basically melted into the muffin, rather than being a creamy filling. I should have consulted some other recipes for the cream cheese filling methodology- mine was super runny. Other recipes mixed the cream cheese with an egg yolk, rather than the whole egg like the recipe I used. I'll try that next time...

Mocha Meringue Bark: Fail.

I saw this mocha meringue bark recipe being made on Claire Robinson's 5 Ingredient Fix and thought it looked easy and pretty tasty... how could it go wrong? It's got almond, chocolate chips, coffee, meringue... seems straightforward and good in theory.

I'm not sure where it went wrong, the recipe or my methods, but it somehow tasted wrong... not very coffee-like, kinda flat and strangely textured, generally odd. No likey.

Cookie Extravaganza!

Chuck and I, with the help of Mark and Leah, made about a thousand cookies to put in Christmas tins and hand out to friends. Here are the recipes!

Pecan Tassies: mini pecan pies, made with the tart press that Martha stuck in my stocking one year.

Matcha (Green Tea) Cookies: sugar cookies with green tea powder mixed in.

Turtle Thumbprints: chocolate, pecan and caramel goodness.

Ginger Chewies: gingery soft and chewy cookies with raw sugar on top for crunch.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats: No photo, but you can imagine...

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons: another Ina recipe, dipped in semi-sweet chocolate.

Jam-Filled Cream Cheese Cookies

A Martha Stewart Every Day Food recipe that I can't find online, but that's probably ok because they were a FAIL anyway... they were supposed to look like this (which about 2 of ours did):

But the vast majority of them looked like starfish writhing on the ocean floor as they bleed to death:

Pistachio Refrigerator Cookies

Not sure where Martha got the recipe, but here it is:

2 cups flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup finely chopped pistachios
non pareils
green food coloring

Mix dry ingredients. Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add dry ingredients and mix.

Using 1 cup of dough, add green food coloring, then add chopped nuts. Shape into a 10” roll. Wrap in waxed paper and freeze for 10 minutes.

Roll remaining dough into a 10x6 rectangle. Place other roll of dough on the rectangle and gently wrap the dough around the nut dough and seal it.

Roll the whole log in nonpareils sprinkled on waxed paper.
Wrap the dough in the waxed paper. Freeze for about 20 minutes. Slice about 1/8” thick. Place about 2” apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for about 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen.

Butternut Squash Lasagna: Partial FAIL

Ug... I was trying this butternut squash lasagna recipe out, hoping that I could possibly serve it to the vegetarians this Thanksgiving, but it didn't quite work out. I made a half recipe, and made individual lasagnas for me and Chuck.

The flavors were really good, but I had some major noodle cooking issues- I think due to a lack of sauce, but I'm not sure. The bottom noodle wasn't fully cooked, and the sauce was sorta burnt onto the bottom of it, and the top noodle wasn't cooked on the edges.

I think my bechamel sauce got too thick maybe? I don't know- there just didn't seem to be enough of it. Also, cooking the diced squash in the frying pan on high heat was kinda odd, too. It burnt the squash and onions. I think next time I would dice it and then roast it.

Turkey and Swiss Chard Roulade: FAIL

All atwitter (no, not that Twitter) with Tim's impending return from Armenia, I had big plans to greet him with a fancy meal of turkey roulade stuffed with swiss chard, pancetta, gruyere and arborio rice, using a recipe highlighted in the Thanksgiving issue of Food Network Magazine, complete with handy-dandy step-by-step photos. Despite the hand-holding and spoon-feeding provided by the magazine, in my incompetent hands, this recipe went very, very wrong.

I found boneless, skin-on turkey breasts at Whole Foods on the way home from the airport, but not one 3-4 lb breast like the recipe required. Instead I found two 1 3/4 lbs breasts, and figured I would make 2 roulades instead of one, no problem. However, when I got them out of their packages at home, they were strangely shaped, and one of them was actually in 2 pieces.

"Never fear!," I said to myself (actually, it was more like, "what the f%*$?!!!"), "we'll just make 3 mini roulades (roulettes?)" And I proceeded to begin flattening the turkey breasts so they could be wrapped around the tasty filling...

However, these proved to be unflattenable turkey breasts. After approximately 10 minutes of beating them silly, they were still 38-triple Ds, unwrappable, unrollable, un-rouladable.

So, after a few more choice 4-letter words about how much I hate turkey breasts, I made the executive decision (with Chuck's sage advice) to slap the roulette filling on top of the now misshapen turkey breasts, shove them in the oven and call it a day. This is how we ended up with open-faced turkey and swiss chard roulades.

FAIL blog, here I come. Pwnd.

It was supposed to look like this (Food Network's photo):

Ultimately mine looked like this:

Served with purple smashed potatoes and roasted broccoli.

Stovetop Mac & Cheese: Partial FAIL

So... Chuck was craving mac & cheese this week, so I thought I would try out this stovetop method I found online. It was super easy- akin to boxed mac & cheese.

Out of laziness I used some American cheese that was in the fridge because I didn't have any cheddar. Bad idea. I thought using American would be fine... not gourmet, for sure, but fine. It was icky, though. Gummy and tasteless.

I think the method would work if I had used nicer cheese, though. I'll try it again some time when I want mac & cheese quickly. If I have more time, though, Ina Garten's baked mac & cheese is fabulous- I made it for Tim's birthday party and it was a hit. I used panko bread crumbs as the topping, and omitted the tomatoes- awesome.

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches: FAIL (mostly)

Recipe for the super thin brownies: the other Martha.

I ran out of time and couldn't make my own ice cream to sandwich inside the brownies, so I used store-bought coffee and vanilla. I was planning on rolling the vanilla ones in sprinkles for some color, and Jennifer suggested nuts for the coffee ones. However, the logistics of handling the super thin sheets of brownies and the melty ice cream totally screwed me! Hence the FAIL.

BUT: they were received more than warmly by the dinner party guests, and they did taste good despite their messiness and general unattractiveness. Hence the (mostly).

I shall try again and attempt to devise a way to make them without having the ice cream squirt out everywhere.

Ham and Cheddar Stuffed Challah: FAIL

I got the idea for this from the source: the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day blog. They did a stuffed challah with strawberries and cream cheese. I took it the savory route, and spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard, then laid down some thinly sliced cheddar and ham and ground some black pepper in there, too.

Something apparently went very wrong, though, because although the outside looked beautiful... the inside was not fully cooked. And by "not fully cooked," I mean totally raw in parts. No amount of heating was cooking those raw parts, either.

Next time I think I will try this method of rolling it out, which doesn't have any dough in the middle of the filling- just on the top and bottom. I had made the spinach and feta stuffed bread several months ago for a book club, and that method was not a failure.

Well, at least the outside layers tasted good!