Haute Cuisine
The cooking bug has bitten me this week, and a Tuesday night seemed like the perfect time to try out a special, new recipe- why not? I decided to make risotto from a French recipe I recently found, so I pulled out my trusty kitchen scale (everything in grammes et litres!) and gathered the ingredients.
They struck me as oddly monochromatic. White rice, white wine, white onion, butter, olive oil, parmesan, and eggplant. Is this a recipe or an art installation?
I'm always a bit wary of eggplant because of how watery it is. Even though it seems quite dry and solid when you cut it up, one little eggplant seems to hold about five gallons of water once you start cooking!
So I had read in Cooks Illustrated that if you microwave eggplant chunks layered on coffee filters before you cook them, a lot of the water will be released, and then it won't be so soupy. It worked pretty well- here's the end result:
The risotto turned out to be absolutely fantastic. As the onions, rice, and wine simmered together, a glorious cloud of steam filled the apartment. It smelled amazing! I image that angels use a perfume of simmering onions, butter, and wine!
It might not be one of the most colorful dishes, but my goodness! it was delicious! I always thought that there was a mystique about risotto, that it was a dish reserved only for those with culinary finesse. But no, it's the perfect dish to whip up on a Tuesday night!
And just because it was Tuesday night, and Mr. Mersydotes and I are reading aloud a new book, we made a super simple, super special dessert, too! You need some fresh raspberries...
...and some melted white chocolate for drizzling. You can pour the melted chocolate into a little plastic bag and then cut a little bit off one of the corners so that you have the perfect icing bag.
The taste of raspberries reminds me of being a kid, living outdoors in the big back yard which was filled with raspberries, blackberries, grapes, cherries, apples, peonies, and lilacs. It is such a strong taste memory for me- one bite of a sweet/tart over-ripe raspberry, and I'm five again!
Eat something yummy tonight!
~Mersydotes
They struck me as oddly monochromatic. White rice, white wine, white onion, butter, olive oil, parmesan, and eggplant. Is this a recipe or an art installation?
I'm always a bit wary of eggplant because of how watery it is. Even though it seems quite dry and solid when you cut it up, one little eggplant seems to hold about five gallons of water once you start cooking!
So I had read in Cooks Illustrated that if you microwave eggplant chunks layered on coffee filters before you cook them, a lot of the water will be released, and then it won't be so soupy. It worked pretty well- here's the end result:
The risotto turned out to be absolutely fantastic. As the onions, rice, and wine simmered together, a glorious cloud of steam filled the apartment. It smelled amazing! I image that angels use a perfume of simmering onions, butter, and wine!
It might not be one of the most colorful dishes, but my goodness! it was delicious! I always thought that there was a mystique about risotto, that it was a dish reserved only for those with culinary finesse. But no, it's the perfect dish to whip up on a Tuesday night!
And just because it was Tuesday night, and Mr. Mersydotes and I are reading aloud a new book, we made a super simple, super special dessert, too! You need some fresh raspberries...
...and some melted white chocolate for drizzling. You can pour the melted chocolate into a little plastic bag and then cut a little bit off one of the corners so that you have the perfect icing bag.
The taste of raspberries reminds me of being a kid, living outdoors in the big back yard which was filled with raspberries, blackberries, grapes, cherries, apples, peonies, and lilacs. It is such a strong taste memory for me- one bite of a sweet/tart over-ripe raspberry, and I'm five again!
Eat something yummy tonight!
~Mersydotes
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