Pig: A Restaurant - A Foodie Parody

You know you love to make fun of people - foodies, bloggers, ourselves! Now there's a whole comedy show making fun of the restaurant world, which is playing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA on Thursdays January 26 and February 2.

Pig: A Restaurant is written by Leila Cohan-Miccio. The premise is apparently the opening party for the "most pork-obsessed restaurant in Brooklyn" (I already know many people who can relate to that ...). I don't know my comedians/comedy writers, but I know Gothamist, Eater, Grubstreet, and Saveur have sang praises for it. And hey, it's only $5 to see the show! So why not, right?

Here are the deets:
http://losangeles.ucbtheatre.com/shows/view/2850
Tuesday Jan 26 and Feb 2, 8pm
$5
UCB Theatre
5919 Franklin Ave. Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 908-8702

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Armchair Novel Review: Mr g - A Novel About the Creation

Mr g
A Novel About the Creation
Written by Alan Lightman
Hardcover, 224 pages
Also available as an eBook 

Are you ready for a bedtime story in quantum physics and the creation of the universe?

Alan Lightman, author of the bestseller Einstein's Dreams, is both theoretical physicist and novelist. With Mr g he has given us the science of creation wrapped up in a myth-style presentation.

Mr g (god) has woken up from his nap in the Void and has decided to create.. universes. Time, space, matter, planets, stars, suns, and finally intelligent beings develop in his creation. Mr g is not untouched by his acts, he finds himself changing and changed by the very process of creation as well as challenged by the mysterious Belhor - a seeming consequence of the act of creation.

An interesting parry and thrust develops over the role of the creationist in creation, and with their banter the concepts of good and evil are explored. 

Mr g combines philosophy, astronomy, biology and physics into this fascinating tale. The writing reminds me of Richard Bach (of Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah fame).

One thing is certain, you have never read a book like this before.

Click here to read an excerpt from Mr g.

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Menu Planning - Week of 1/23/12

Why hello there, my pretties! I've been slacking a bit on my recipe posts. Seems like all I ever blog about lately are my menu plans, which don't fully come to fruition lol. But I've missed you all! I'm having some blogging withdrawals.

Not a very eventful weekend. Went to class Saturday morning, only after falling down the icy front steps and busting my butt, then having to scrape like an inch of ice off my car windows. I'm still sore today from falling.  PJ and I spent Saturday together going to Target, and later had a little date night dinner at Mitchell's Fish Market. Yummy in my tummy! Can I eat there every weekend? Sunday we went grocery shopping, watched football, I did some homework while PJ cleaned the house, and finished up a great weekend together. Love spending time with that guy.

Monday 1/23/12:  Asian Pork Tenderloin

Tuesday 1/24/12:  Caramelized Chicken with Jalapeno Cream

Wednesday 1/25/12:  school night, eat out

Thursday 1/26/12:  Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

Friday 1/27/12:  Buttermilk Cornbread Topped Chili

Saturday 1/28/12:  lunch or dinner and shopping with friends!

Sunday 1/29/12:  Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Casserole



Here's to an awesome week! I just got my student loan refund check, so time to buy that lens I've been coveting :) That will seriously make my whole week. Waiting on swagbucks to award me my Amazon gift card though to put towards the purchase. So excited!


What did everybody do for the weekend? What did you think about the results of the football games? And what's on the schedule for this upcoming week?



Peace, and bacon grease!

 

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Durian, from Indonesia to Singapore

Among all the sticky fingers and durian burps came the anticipated question: Should we get another one?
Our tummies were full, we seemed to vacillate but we all knew the answer: Yes.

Fruits. They're what you grab at grocery stores and farmer's markets, to be eaten as snacks or accompaniments to your meal. Garnishes, palate cleansers. But not durian. In Singapore, durian sellers have set up tables and chairs. They will open the fruits up for you to enjoy right there and then.

This practice is spreading to part of Indonesia, too, like in Medan. I think this is partly for two reasons. One is that the stinky fruit is banned from public transportation like MTA and buses in Singapore, so it's harder to buy and take them home. Second, unlike berries that you'd eat as snacks, when you eat durian, you want to eat them.

You may think all durians are alike, but once you land in Singapore you'll realize you're wrong. There are as many varieties of durian as there are in the family of oranges/clementines/tangerines! One of the more popular is the butter durian (pictured above), smaller but sweeter than the durian monthong from Thailand. A box like the one above was S$10. The durian sellers can also tell you which ones are sweet vs "bitter" (they're not really bitter but has more of a subtle bitterness or more fermented taste underneath the sweetness). How? I have no idea until I eat them, but somehow they can. This isn't variety dependent but is a characteristic of each fruit.

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Limoncello Cheesecake Squares

There are two universal facts about cheesecake:
#1 - everybody loves cheesecake
#2 - no matter how much they love it, nobody has enough room for a whole slice of it after a big dinner.

That's why these cheesecake squares are such a great idea! You can have one if your are fairly full, and a few if you are really in the mood for cheesecake. Hey - we're not judging. I myself happen to like these cheesecake squares first thing in the morning, right out of the fridge. They're handy like that.

The cheesecake turned out smooth and perfect, no cracking or sinking or any other potential cheesecake pitfalls. And the limoncello? Inspired! I love the light lemony flavour with the subtle kick of the booziness. Perfect for when you are having friends over.

Limoncello Cheesecake Squares
For Cookbook Sundays #7
Giada De Laurentiis, Giada's Family Dinners
Also available on FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

    Nonstick cooking spray
    8 ounces purchased biscotti
    6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
    3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
    1 (12-ounce) container fresh whole milk ricotta, drained, at room temperature
    2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
    1¼ cups sugar
    ½ cup limoncello liqueur*, store bought or homemade, recipe follows
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    4 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor. Add the melted butter and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Blend the ricotta in a clean food processor until smooth. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend well, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the work bowl. Blend in the limoncello, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time, and pulse just until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the baking pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Bake until the cheesecake is golden and the center of the cake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour (the cake will become firm when it is cold).

Transfer the cake to a rack; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days. Cut the cake into squares and serve.

*Limoncello liqueur can be found at most liquor stores and in the liquor department of some specialty markets. If limoncello liqueur is unavailable at stores near you, use the following recipe to make your own limoncello liqueur.

Limoncello:

    10 lemons
    1 (750-ml) bottle vodka
    3 1/2 cups water
    2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight.

Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Makes: 7 cups

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Cebicheria Erizo (Tijuana, Mexico)

Chef Javier Plascencia from Tijuana can be likened to Wolfgang Puck in Los Angeles, dominating the Tijuana dining scene with numerous restaurants. Capping off the weekend-long Baja Culinary trip this past year was a tasting at one of these restaurants, Cebicheria Erizo, specializing in fresh seafood (including, of course, ceviches). Seafood from fish to octopus to clams are displayed in refrigerated cases as you enter; daily specials written on the blackboard above it. For our visit, though, we left it up to Chef Plascencia to serve us whatever he wanted.

To whet our appetite was a shot of leche de tigre with cucumber, fish jerky, and sea urchin (erizo de mar, the restaurant's namesake) hidden at the bottom.


Following up was a bowl of lightly spicy callo de hacha, Baja scallops with chicharrones

Instead of scooping up ceviche with tortilla chips, why not take it to the next level with chicharrones? Better yet, can we replace salad croutons with chicharrones from now on?

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Chocolate Whoopie Pies!

I know it will surprise a few people that I baked these - but when King Arthur Flour posted the recipe... I couldn't help myself. They are huge. And rich. And decadent. And seriously over the top.

With all the drama over the fate of Twinkies and other creamy-sugary-cakey snack products - rest assured you can make these at home. Just be sure you have a young person or two around to help you eat them. Did I mention how rich they are?

KAF Chocolate Whoopie Pies
shared from King Arthur Flour

Cakes

    1/2 cup butter
    1 cup brown sugar, packed
    1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    3/4 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 large egg
    1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
    2 1/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
    1 cup milk

Filling

    1 cup vegetable shortening
    1 cup confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
    1 1/3 cups Marshmallow Fluff or marshmallow creme
    1/4 teaspoon salt dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
    1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2) To make the cakes: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla till smooth. Add the egg, again beating till smooth.

3) Add the cocoa, stirring to combine.

4) Add the flour to the batter alternately with the milk, beating till smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and beat again briefly to soften and combine any chunky scrapings.

5) Drop the dough by the 1/4-cupful onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of room between the cakes; they'll spread. A muffin scoop works well here.

6) Bake the cakes for 15 to 16 minutes, till they're set and firm to the touch. Remove them from the oven, and cool on the pans. While still lukewarm, use a spatula to separate them from the pan or parchment; then allow to cool completely.

7) To make the filling: Beat together the shortening, sugar, and marshmallow till well combined.

8) Dissolve the salt in the water, and add to the marshmallow mixture. Add the vanilla, and beat till smooth.

9) Spread the flat side of half the cakes with the filling. Top with the remaining cakes, flat side towards the filling. Wrap individually, in plastic wrap, till ready to serve.

10) Yield: 8 large whoopie pies (about 4" dia., about 5 ounces each).To make 16 smaller whoopie pies (about 2 3/4" dia., about 2 1/2 ounces each): drop the dough onto the baking sheets in 30g balls, about the size of a large ping pong ball, or about 1 1/4". Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, till set. Finish as directed in the recipe.

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