Sunday, July 31, 2011 Oops!

I'll admit it. I have totally neglected my blog over the past week or so. Sorry :(

I've had a big week! Big week for Vanessa David the playwright. We performed my new play Connect Couples (dot) Com at the Piedmont Club in Darien and at the Mystic Performance workshop in Mystic. If you're not familiar with the state take a look at a map - I-95 runs along the shoreline, Darien is exit 10 and Mystic is exit 89. Quite a trip.

Dinner parties were forced into the back seat during the month of July, partly because of the show and partly because of the HEAT! It gets hot in my place as it is - add in the heatwave and a dozen guests and you can see why this wasn't a doable option.

I did have a great time cooking up my blueberries! Two pies, blueberry BBQ sauce, pasta salad...I feel like I'm forgetting something. I did take video while picking at Jones Family Farms - if I can manage to focus my brain I might make something out of it. Right now my mind is trying to work on rewrites of my play so I can send it off and start collecting my royalties! The play has commercial potential - isn't offensive, no swears (besides pussy and asshole) and it can be easily produced. But I always have trouble parting with any of my words... So the rewrites are slow going.

We've had a little pizza drama here in Stamford. Colony pizza is an institution down here. Thin crust bar pizza that locals will swear by, complete with terrible service and old school ambiance. For YEARS Colony didn't even have menus. They had their toppings, you knew them, and some old guy would write your order down on a paper plate and, if you were lucky, he'd eventually bring it to you.

Fast forward to now and there's a new place opened up across town that has the same thin crust pizza, but better. Plus you can get crazy things like salad. AND they deliver. Word travels fast and before you know it Colony is suing them. It's all in the paper.

My opinion?

WAH!

Shut the fuck up, Colony! It's called the free-market douchebags! How's about bringing back the quality of your pizza (which stinks these days) and try giving good service, or at least passable service, and give your customers what they want! Because now we have somewhere else to go.

We actually tried. We called Rico's (the new guy) and were put on hold...so we gave up. I'll give them one more chance before I just resign myself to making my own damn pizza - which IS the best in town :)

Tonight I'm planning on making a breakfast pizza - bacon, eggs, maybe some deep fried mashed potato tots :) I've discovered another way to proof my dough. I put it in one of those clear domed cake stands on the porch and let the sun and the heat do its thing. Worked last time :)

So, again, I apologize for my lack of focus. I'll be getting back on track, yet I'm committed to my inner playwright getting her due. So this should be interesting. Vanessa David - Playwriting, Performing, Culinary Artist :) Oh, yeah. And my certificate came in the mail! Boo yeah!

-HH

Sunday, April 3, 2011 Carnival Night Recipes

Carnival Night was a great success! The bunny may not have been impressed with the meal, but Uncle Carlos and Aunt Linda brought him bananas and basil so he couldn't really complain. And the people in attendance enjoyed celebrating the bunny's birthday with some awesome tasting food.

Deep Fried Salad with Kale Chips



Handful of green beans, one pack of button mushrooms, one jar of pickle spears.

Dry out the pickles, clean and destem the mushrooms, clean green beans and take off the strings if you need to.

To coat the veggies you'll need three bowls. One with flour, one with a milk & egg wash and one with corn meal. I used corn masa flour for the first bowl. I seasoned the milk and egg mixture with hot sauce and the corn meal I left alone.

Dip. Dip. Dip. Into the hot oil. Not rocket science. The green beans didn't really need that first bit of corn flour, they weren't moist enough to take any of it on. But the three dip process I've found really works wonders. Fish, squash...it adds a nice crunch to pretty much anything. And if you need to be gluten free the corn flour and corn meal is the way to go.

The kale chips were really tasty. Not everyone liked them, they can be a little bitter. But with enough seasoning I could be convinced to eat them every day!

Clean the kale, remove the ribs, toss with olive oil, salt and paprika and bake them in the oven in a single layer around 325 for about 15 minutes. When they're crispy they're done!


Pot Roast Sundaes



Believe it or not I've never made a pot roast. I'm not even sure if I've eaten one. I must have, it's not brain surgery. Big ole piece of marbled meat seared then cooked in the crock pot with celery, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and stock. Man I love my crock pot! I did it the day before the party, because food like this always tastes better the next day. I put the meat, veggies and juice in a smaller bowl and put it in the fridge so the fat would come together at the top and I could take it off. The next day I sliced the mean up cold, pureed all the veggies together and put it all in a pot on the stove to heat up, fall apart and come together in tastiness.

In a separate pot I made the mashed potatoes and then they went in the crock pot to stay warm! Love that crock pot, I tells ya!

Two scoops of potatoes, a scoop of pot roast, a sprinkle of cheese and a cherry tomato. I ate two of them. Crazy tasty.


Chili Cheese Dog Pizza



I had planned to make two kinds of pizza, this and a veggie. But the Chili Cheese Dog pizza was such a hit I made it twice. A few folks were brave enough to put mustard and relish on it! My husband made the chili for this one, good thing because I'd planned on just opening a can. GASP! I know. But I didn't feel like making a whole vat of chili for one or two pizzas. Thankfully my husband jumped at the chance to get back in the kitchen.

Chili, sliced hot dogs, cheese (mozzarella and cheddar)...we all wondered aloud why this was the first time our mouths were experiencing this. Incredible. Some suggested slicing the hot dog thinner, but that was nitpickyness. This was an amazing pizza combination. Talk of a pizza truck surfaced as someone suggested calling it "Vizza" :)

But it was not the time to be discussing business options and nicknaming a national dish after me. I had dessert to be making!

Cadbury Creme Eggs baked in a biscuit and served with Orange Butter Sauce.



OMG

Okay, the key here is to freeze the Cadbury Creme Eggs so they don't melt while the biscuit is baking. I used biscuit mix because I had it, but you can use any biscuit recipe you have, you could probably use the dough that comes in a can. Just remove the foil from the frozen creme egg (duh) and surround it with biscuit dough. My dough was sticky so I found myself using two hands to strategically plop, drop and slop bits of biscuit around it's entirety. Cover every little bit, no chocolate should be showing through and then plop onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

Mine baked for about 12 minutes. You'll need to add a little cook time because the center is frozen. That dough will need a bit more time to cook, trust me. My practice run was still doughy in the middle. If you've done a good job of covering the eggs in biscuit dough you won't have to worry about melted chocolate running out.

The sauce was just orange juice, a tiny spoon of sugar, butter and a corn starch slurry. I squeezed three oranges into a sauce pan and added the sugar and butter. In a separate cup I mixed water with a spoon of corn starch. When the sauce was reduced enough I added the cornstarch to thicken it. You could also use chocolate sauce, whipped creme, ice cream. Whatever your heart desires.

These were killer. No doubt about it. I had one the next day heated in the oven and I think it was even better. Or maybe they're just so good.......

Check out the video with music by In It For Storms!

And check out this month's Alternative Control \m/

-HH

Friday, January 7, 2011 Cutting Out Meat And Losing Weight

Already I've lost weight in 2011!

I cut meat out of my diet after the first of the month and lo and behold I've already lost weight. Just a couple pounds, but I'm reminded of something I'd forgotten. Eating meat makes me fat. And I'd willingly forgotten the information, meat happens to taste good, especially when I cook it, but I took that bit of knowledge and threw it right-the-fuck-out-my-head.

And I'm not starving myself at all, I'm eating just as much as just as often, but I'm making better choices as to what I shove in my face. I'm munching on popcorn and cereal and Fiber One bars. I baked Sweet Potato Corn Bread yesterday and then gave it all away. And last nights Celery Apple and Brie Pizza was so good I'm making another tonight.

I'm not missing meat at all.

Not even bacon.

There must be something wrong with me ;)

-HH

Thursday, January 6, 2011 Celery Apple And Brie Pizza!

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm on a pizza kick!

I'm experimenting with white whole wheat flour in the dough, if I add some fiber I feel better about myself. But this baby is topped with double cream brie, so I'm not sure what the point was, other than making tasty pizza.

I topped my crust with some celery tossed with salt and pepper, honeycrisp apple pieces and five of the thinnest possible squishy slices of brie.

About 15 minutes on the pizza stone and wow! I love apples and brie, the celery really complimented the familiar flavor and the crust was like icing on the cake.

Awesome!

-HH