Guest post from my mom: morning-after-fritatta-overload

Listen up folks. I taught Meredith and Ben their approach to creative cooking and it went something like this--if you are hungry, look in the fridge. There's plenty there. This is what I call a morning-after-fritatta-overload and it's particularly good if you entertained the night before. In this case, I chopped up and combined some leftover salmon and roasted potatoes we had for dinner and combined it with the olives and goat cheese we served for appetizers. I added a lonely artichoke heart that had been in the fridge for days. I mixed that with a few egg whites (cutting calories where I can) and made my fritatta. I served it with last night's salad that marinated in its dressing overnight. I ate it while doing an old Times crossword puzzle. This morning's puzzle would have seemed too fresh. Love, Mom

Giant Enchilada Fiesta

Omg, Enchilada Night at the Maxwell. We threw together the leftover steak from the other night and some veggies. Jenn cooked it up with like a whole fucking bottle of enchilada sauce. Amazing. Then we dumped an entire bag of cheese. Kraft may want us to use half a bag, but fuck them. I've never heard anyone say anything was too cheesy (except for maybe my karaoke but I still think I'm solid gold on the mic). Amazing dinner. I can't wait to do this again.
Here's an overhead view. These things were fuckin' huge! I don't know why we made so many and I know even less of why I ended up with two of them on my plate. I topped them with refried beans to start. The rice wasn't my best. I have to relearn my rice timing and ratios for this goddamn electric stove. I cooked it up with a bullion cube, peppers, onion, and some other shit I can't remember. Just the usual.
Here's a picture of the dinner table set for us to start. We put out chips with guacamole and lots of rice and refried beans.
The last bites with some guacamole. Excellent choice. I couldn't believe I made it through two of these bad boys. Kyle finished just after me. It was intense. Jenn wussed out and only had one. The second didn't last long in the fridge before someone snagged that bitch. The consensus at the Maxwell is that this was the largest and best dinner we've collectively made. They were so amazing. Gotta love enchilada night.

America's Test Kitchen FTW

America's Test Kitchen, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You help me make the winningest risotto cakes on Earth. We at the Maxwell (my new apartment) have been struck with a terrible conundrum. We all love to cook as much as possible. Almost as much as we love interesting beers. Why do these two facts cause a problem? Because we can't fit shit in our fridge. The fridge is constantly overflowing with exotic beers, fresh ingredients, and tupperwares stuffed to the brim with wonderful leftover goodies. Luckily for me, while flipping through my favorite cookbook (supplied by Diane and Larry), I discovered a wonderful recipe for risotto cakes. Just my luck, Jenn had just made a killer risotto earlier that week. I took the opportunity to pounce on that tupperware like a crackhead on a dollar. Using my recently honed onigiri (japanese rice balls) making skills, I molded the risotto and stuffed them with provolone cheese. I then dipped them in beaten egg (which I had intended but forgotten to lace with paprika as per Kyle) and then rolled them in bread crumbs which I had mixed up with cracked pepper. I tossed them in some heated oil to deep fry untill golden and then baked them a little after draining excess oil.Here's a picture of all the happy little bastards sitting on the plate together before the first cut. I was thinking about squirting some lemon juice on them but maybe next time. This time I was too damn hungry. Jenn and I cut right in and enjoyed ourselves a wonderful snack. As the cookbook said, after making these badboys, you will forever be making extra risotto just in hopes of leftovers. We at the Maxwell wholeheartedly agree.

Workshopping a Heinous Study Sandwich: A Sibling Approach

Me: the sandwich is toast, parmesan cheese, and anchovies
Ben: whoa

sounds like that bad boy could use some lettuce to settle things down
Sent at 11:19 PM on Wednesday
Me: this sandwich rules

i added lettuce and non marinated artichoke hearts
Ben: word

whats the sauce or is there none
Me: none b/c the artichoke hearts were in brine

semi-brine anyway

breakfast for dinner!

did you know that breakfast for dinner is delicious? and that croissants make delicious french toast? and sangria is a great side? mmm.

french toast:
croissants, sliced into two or three slices. use a bread knife and work the sawing motion rather than a pushing motion to obtain your immaculate slices. dip in eggy dip. fry on both sides in butter. keep in warmed oven until eating.
eggy dip:
eggs (3 eggs frenched 3 whole croissants), add a splash of vanilla, some brown sugar, some cinnamon all mixed up with two splashes milk. add a pinch of salt to break up the egg whites. yum. leftovers are good for cooking like scrambled eggs!


sangria: 2 bottles white wine (dry and without oaky flavors. we got a really good cheap dry argentinian from trader joes), some fruit (for white wine sangria we used the fruit off of a luncheon plate matt snagged from work - oranges, pineapple, watermelon, honeydew, strawberries, grapes), some sugar (about 1/4 cup. frankly, it didnt need it), 2/3 cup apricot flavored brandy, 2/3 cup triple sec (maybe should have used contreau? triple sec was very sweet!), some lime juice, some mint.
combine all of the above. put the lime juice on the fruit before adding it to the liquids and they will keep their bright colors. tear the mint into teeny tiny bits before adding so that the oils really seep into the wine. after combining the above, put in fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. best if overnight (so sayeth the internet).
when serving, add a splash of sparkling water if you desire!

yum. watch out, because of the added sugars can lead to a monster hangover.

cukes

This post is about cucumbers, but also about sandwiches. I am temporarily living back at home for a few months. Drag, right? Wrong. I opened the fridge this morning to make myself a lunch sandwich. WHOA. There was so much great stuff in there, I didn't know where to start. (Of course, food is not the only reason that living at home is not a drag!)

Beginning with spelt bread, I layered on avocado, basil, olive tapenade, cheeses, carrots...the possibilities could go on. BUT. The crowning sandwich element was the cucumbers. My mom prepares a healthy flavored water that involves soaking various ingredients overnight in the fridge. The bonus byproduct of this process is the leftover cucumbers which were hanging out and mingling for hours with lemon, mint, and ginger.

The most refreshing thing you will ever eat EVER. I was advised as well that they are not only dynamite in a sandwich, but also make a really sweet salad.

So, I made a pretty ok sandwich.

I opened the fridge around lunch time. Opening the fridge reminds me most of the time of cooking plans that didn't materialize. Like that basil that was on its way out because I wasn't getting stoked on the pesto I was supposed to make this week. So I told myself to get off my ass and make good.

Whole wheat bread from the fridge had to do. No time to bake my own, though it's easy enough. I like the No Knead recipe because who has time to really do the whole bread baking thing? It's surprisingly good for how little effort is involved.

I made a pretty standard pesto: basil, pine nuts, salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic.

The day before, I tried a new seitan recipe that requires baking rather than boiling. I really love this concept. I altered the seasoning a little (it is reminiscent of pepperoni) and maybe in the future it would be fun to do a stuffed version. I think there is also potential there for a veggie dog that is not just a bunch of extruded soy paste. (Another shortcut confession: I used vital wheat gluten flour rather than forcing the gluten out of wheat dough which takes 8796984 hours.)

Ugh boiled seitan. Talk about disaster stories. I challenge anyone to tell me that their boiled seitan was anywhere near baked in quality. Or even approached store-bought.
Anyway. Sauteed the seitan with some spinach that was turning in the fridge as well.

Bang. Sandwich. Stacked on some carrot matchsticks and sliced avocado. Then I ate it. It was fine.

In conclusion: Sammich challenge? Stuff turning in the fridge challenge?