acculturation : perspicacity : talkies : love me if you dare

"I'd like to be a cream puff. A cream puff with apricots, or even a plain one. Lukewarm at the bakery. In the window."

"A cream puff? As in cake?"

"Of course! What else? A cream puff is a cream puff!"

"A cream puff... Yes, of course, a cream puff! That's brilliant!"

cooking : soup : winter squash : golden squash soup

I've referenced it before, and am now ganking it in all its succulent glory.

1 medium sized buttercup squash, peeled and cut into about ½ inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp curry powder
2 3/4 C + 1 tbsp chicken or vegetable broth
6 oz canned coconut milk
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt and white pepper to taste

Peel squash and cut into pieces.
Heat 1 tbsp broth in medium soup pot. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and continue to sauté for another minute. Add turmeric and curry powder, and mix well. Add squash and broth, and mix. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
Place in blender and blend with coconut milk. Make sure you blend in batches filling blender only half full. Start on low speed, so hot soup does not erupt and burn you. Blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Thin with a little broth if needed. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Reheat, and add cilantro.

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I made this a couple of weeks ago, using delicata squash, and it was one of the most delicious dishes I have ever tasted. Unlike a lot of the squash recipes that I've been finding, wherein nutmeg/cinnamon/cloves are invariably employed, seemingly only to mask or disguise the unique flavor of the squash, this concoction's spices add nuance and complexity - it comes out sweet and rich like a shrimp bisque while maintaining a savory flair.

The original recipe calls for butternut, but I've been trying out new squash varieties, so I'll go with either buttercup or acorn. The deciding factor should present itself tomorrow when I make a trip to the Amish market, fingers-crossed that they'll have some nice, big zucchini... I have an idea for squash ravioli and/or veggie lasagna which would involve substituting slices of zucchini for the pasta, and being a drier variety I'd like to use the buttercup for that.

the new hotness : cocktail du moment: brandy : lower-cal blackberry brandy alexander

"...the Brandy Alexander was known for decades as a "girl drink." This referred not, as you might assume, to the drink's ability to emasculate any man holding it but to its usage by amorous men to cripple female defenses. "More girls probably became pregnant as a result of guzzling brandy alexander [sic]," writes Joseph Lanza in The Cocktail, quoting from an article in a 1966 issue of Playboy Magazine, "than from any other single cause during the 1920s."

Discovered on epicurious.com, basic recipe courtesy of Seattle's Zig Zag Cafe, with slight tweaking*.

2 oz blackberry flavored brandy
1/2 oz dark crème de cacao
1/2 oz fat-free evaporated skimmed milk
ground nutmeg

Shake brandy, crème de cacao, and milk with ice. Strain into a 6 oz cocktail glass and dash with nutmeg to taste.

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*...so as to be enjoyed with less guilt [compared to heavy cream]. That, and substituting the blackberry† variety of brandy gives it a perty violet color and makes it even more tasty.
†I've also tried apricot flavored brandy, but prefer the blackberry, hands down.

After a quick search of the Webtender, I've learned that a genuine Alexander uses gin as the base spirit, and it appears that there are several different ratios out there (1:1:1, 1.5:1:1, 0.5:0.5:2). However, if you've read the epicurious article, you'll note that the authority from the Zig Zag stresses that the crème de cacao and cream should take backseat to the brandy. And, seriously, even at our 2:0.5:0.5 ratio, it is still deceptively sweet-tasting despite being so formidably strong.

Per the Webtender findings, I will indeed be experimenting with the Amaretto, Big Brother, and Sister varieties.

entertaining : drinks : apple cider : hot spiced cider + buttered rum

Sighted in various sources; here's one.

6 C apple cider
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 sticks cinnamon
6 tbsp butter (butter only, not margarine)
6 tbsp packed brown sugar
3/4 C rum

Heat cider, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon to boiling in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes.
Strain cider mixture to remove cloves and cinnamon.
For each serving, place 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp rum (or more...) in mug. Fill with hot cider.

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This was a prospective endeavor for tonight, but we couldn't rustle up any company with whom to enjoy it, so it is being reserved for some evening this week or next weekend when we can assemble a gaggle and include pumpkin-carving, perhaps.

I've seen and tried other recipes which called for the rum to be added before ladling out individual servings, but I like this method better because it will allow each guest to control the amount of alcohol in their mug.

baking : cookies : powdered sugar : chocolate cookies with gin-soaked raisins

Totally filched from epicurious.com.

1/2 C golden raisins
1/3 C gin
3 C sifted confectioners sugar (sift before measuring)
2/3 C sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process (sift before measuring)
1 tsp instant espresso powder (may substitute instant coffee crystals)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour (unsifted)
3/4 tsp salt
3 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla

Before you even let yourself be taken in by this recipe, know that it requires at least 8 hours of prep time (for the raisins to macerate in the gin; I let mine soak for nearly 2 weeks) and that if you are an anal-retentive perfectionist like myself and simply cannot stray from the recipe as written (or, at least, not on the first attempt), then you might have a little bit of trouble finding instant espresso powder.

Combine raisins and gin in a cup and let stand at least 8 hours to macerate.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 2 large baking sheets, shaking off excess flour.
Mix confectioners sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, flour, and salt with an electric mixer at low speed. Add egg whites and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth.
Drain raisins in a sieve, without pressing, then add raisins to dough (original recipe calls for "8 oz of pecans (or 2 1/4 cups), toasted, cooled, and coarsely chopped" to be added as well at this point, but I'm not a big fan of that nut. Although, slivered almonds might have been tres delish). Stir until thoroughly mixed. (Dough will be thick and sticky.)
Working quickly, drop 1/4 cup dough for each cookie onto a baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 3 inches apart, and gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven, rotating sheet halfway through baking, 15 to 17 minutes total, or until cookies appear cracked and centers are just set. Cool cookies on sheet 1 minute, then transfer carefully to a rack to cool completely. Makes about 12 large cookies.

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I only consumed one last night after baking a batch. Extremely chewy. Cocaine-like sugar buzz. The taste and strength of the gin was still very present but while the dark chocolate works well as a vehicle, the composition overall was just a little too rich. It doesn't induce one to sit and eat the entire batch. Which is a good thing... I suppose.

I regret not including some kind of nut because at 2 1/4 cups worth it should have been a substantial ingredient and would have helped to cut the intense sweetness.

Still, I don't anticipate having any trouble getting rid of them. It's the weekend, and my friends are just as happy (if not more so) to consume their cocktails in cookie form.

cooking : soup : winter squash : roasted butternut squash bisque thingie

A fusion of two recipes found on allrecipes.com.

2 lb butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 large red onion, peeled and eighthed (is that even a word?)
1/2 medium head garlic
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and thickly sliced lengthwise
3 C chicken bouillon
1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 C nonfat evaporated milk

Line a baking pan or sheet with aluminum foil and place squash flesh down. Roast for 25 minutes at 350~400 degrees; add the onion, garlic, carrot, and pepper (skin side up, flatten slightly) and roast everything for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place the pepper and carrot in plastic baggies, sealed, and set aside to allow them to steam themselves. Scrape the squash flesh into a food processor or blender, along with the onion and garlic (squeeze the tops of the cloves and they'll slide right out of their skins). Puree until smooth, adding the bouillon as necessary. Pour into a large soup pot, and heat to medium-low. Add the butter, olive oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, oregano, nutmeg, and bay leaves, stirring until blended throughout. Remove the pepper and carrot from the baggies, remove the pepper's skin, and slice both pepper and carrot into long, thin strips, and add them to the soup. Add yogurt and evaporated milk. Turn heat up enough to bring soup to a slow simmer, then reduce heat, cover. Believe that you have just wasted 2 lb of squash and 4 hrs of your life because the creation neither smells nor tastes particularly impressive. But, let it cook whilst you go get yourself skankdalized for electronica night, ultimately leaving it up to the roomie to pass judgement on the experiment. Arrive at the club around 11 but get booted out a mere 90 minutes later beccause the overabundance of chalk-dusty fake smoke tripped the fire alarm. Move on to Roustabout!, which has already finished for the evening since, you are told by your friend's roommate's boyfriend, the other band broke up yesterday. Move on to the gay closet bar to join the bartender and one other patron in watching The Color Purple. Be opportuned to see the "Miss Celie's Blues" + post-juke joint kissing scenes. Be treated to a Hypnotiq-pineapple thing and finally catch a buzz. Exit at 1:30 a.m., have tremendous difficulty getting out of the parking garage, drop friend off for her semi-prearranged bootycall, pick up an MTO, arrive home, and taste the damn soup, which is still stewing on low.

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In the end, it is much better than I was afraid it was going to be, but it's just not right. My hypotheses as to why:

1.) The ingredient proportions are off, and the yogurt added a peculiar tanginess... but at the same time, not enough, because it has turned out to be largely a savory dish and I was hoping for a sweet one. Too much broth and too much garlic, and then too much yogurt because of trying to correct for too much broth.

2.) The squash flavor is more reminiscent of pumpkin, either due to the cinnamon and nutmeg, or because butternut squash really does taste remarkably like pumpkin pie, a fact which I had forgotten since having used delicata squash in my last soup.

3.) The squash weren't ripe enough. Period.

It's tasty, and it will be eaten and enjoyed, but I won't salivate to make it again. That Golden Squash Soup, on the other hand...

IRL : the boy-meat : heartache : out wind knocked (a late report)

well, umm.

FUCK.

. . . .

i wasn't quite ready for that.