Summer.

well, folks...

(unwillingly) devoted subscribers...

this blog has taken such a hiatus, it doesn't even smell like cooking anymore.

that's because, i've gotten REALLY busy and EXTREMELY lazy.

it is, after all the summer still, and if we can thank the indians again this year, it'll still be the best season for weeks to come.

i can't remember the last time i cooked something that wasn't bacon and egg related.

wait, what about those ribs and those steaks at nick's mom's cottage?  oh, yes...nick cooked those...kudos to nick, who never disappoints in the "man department".  grilled meats.  please.

let me see, here are a couple of food highlights since "we last spoke"...in quotes for obvious reasons...post-modernity, suck my corn on the cob.

so, food stuffs.

this is great news...

in my ever-gentrifying neighbourhood...(that's not the good part, though i'm not complaining about the recent lack of pigeon shit all over the sidewalks and remarkably less crack pipes in the alleys)....we have some new restaurants!

a great pizza place called "Pizzeria Libretto"...

we went last night and thoroughly enjoyed it.  

great food for a good price and a nice atmosphere...in the liner notes of my record i thank the local businesses, and although i wrote that before this place i opened, THANK YOU...and i include you retroactively.

secondly, there is a "high end burger joint" going in a couple of blocks up from us which is great because i LOVE BURGERS....but i am skeptical because usually these kinds of places can't live up to the best burgers in town....in spite of the douchebagery of local douching holes The Drake and The Beaconsfield...they serve GREAT burgers...not to mention my favorite lunch-time hang THE SWAN who's burger will blow your balls off, it even blew my brothers balls off and he's eaten burgers INTERNATIONALLY.  one time i called him when i was eating a swan burger and drinking a swan coffee (crazy juice), and he gagged at the thought of burgers and coffee...c'mon, this is the new millennium.

thirdly, but firstly though lastly..i proposed on a piece of french toast.

many words, upwards.

sebastien

If it walks like a duck...

duck soup.   

poor little quacker!  

eaten up for easter dinner at eva's...left(over) for dead in a pot in my fridge....

why yes my ex-feathery friend, i will cover you with a liter white wine and simmer you for 2 hours...

and of course i will strain you and seperate you from your delicious broth,  carefully choosing a few choice bits of your tender flesh to keep...with a single tear i will compost your remains, retuning gleefully to your simmering broth...a delicious whisper of your past form...your spirit...liquified.

TO YOU I WILL ADD TWO BIG CHOPPED CARROTS....TWO BIG WHITE POTATOES, CUBED!!!  ONE CHOPPED COOKING ONION, A BIG CHUNK OF BUTTER....I WILL SIMMER YOU FOR AS LONG AS I CAN.

holy ducking shit....you're delicious.  i believe i'll eat you with buttered toast.

for desert?  a whole row of chocolate chip cookies and milk...i'm a secret fat guy.

chocolate bread

the secret ingredient is lemon.

i don't know how to give this a better title.

i am eating the leftovers from last nights dinner FOR BREAKFAST.

that's a testament to this meal's deliciousness.

i started by chopping up a nice piece of bacon* into fine little pieces and threw them in a pan on medium high, i then added 10-12 medium sized white mushrooms (diced).  then i added a tablespoon of butter, then half a white onion  (diced), add salt!...at some point...maybe even before you start the pan, boil some water and add your favorite pasta.  ( i used linguine)...

i sauteed everything down so it's nice and tight and kinda greasy looking, then i covered the pieces with a (pre-made) tomato/basil sauce, and then squeeze the juice from a WHOLE lemon...keep it moving, add a teaspoon of your favorite pesto.    cook it down!  don't forget to keep it covered cause all the fats plus the tomato sauce will be popping tiny little tomato stains all over your stove top/shirt.  i probably added more butter at some point, let's be honest here. TURN YOUR OVEN ON TO BROIL.  if you have a bottom broiler make sure that you're not storing any pans in the drawer, OR as was once the case for me, a plastic serving tray that melted and puked nauseous plastic gas all over my kitchen.

once the pasta is cooked ( i like al dante), strain it then add it to the pan and get the pasta totally saucy....the sauce should be thick and kinda sticky, and dark/rich/somewhat reduced...anyway, now!   pour the pasta into a bread pan, press it down LIGHTLY so that the top is flat...NOW!   cover the whole thing with a thin layer of grated ROMANO (or parmasean)...then a healthy (not really healthy, but GENEROUS) layer of OLD CHEDDAR....pepper the top then PUT IT UNDER THE BROILER...yes, cook that cheese until it gets a little browned/crispy....

THAT'S IT!

it's so good.   yum.

i couldn't bother writing this out in a classic recipe form.   

serve with salad OR steamed veggies....wine, juice, water, whatever....enjoy!

*i buy this sweet smoked bacon at the portuguese bakery on the corner...it comes UN-SLICED and with a thick skin on it that i find i need to cut off...anyway, it's way better than pre-sliced breakfast bacon which always seems to contain so much water (ie.  white and juicy fatty liquid, kinda gross...) as opposed to this delicious bacon that renders clear and beautifully! 

EVA BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND BABY CLAM PASTA SAUCE

Last night Eva made this amazing pasta dish!   I asked her to write it out to show the world!

Purist southern italians would cringe at the use of seafood and cheese, but f-that.   This is crazy delicious....



eva butternut squash and baby clam pasta sauce

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
1 cup chicken broth
butter
garlic
salt & pepper
1 can baby clams
tubular pasta like rigatoni or penne

Remove the skin of the butternut squash and throw out the seeds/flesh from inside. Dice the butternut squash into small pieces. Bring one cup of chicken broth to a boil and throw in the squash, lowering the heat after 1 minute. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the squash is nice and tender. When it has become soft, drain the water and mash the squash with a potato masher, add butter. Make the pasta at around this point. In a pan on medium heat, melt 1 tbsp butter, and 1 - 2 cloves of thinly sliced garlic. Drain the baby clams and throw them onto the pan. Add salt and pepper and after a few minutes add the butternut squash (which should be thick, not runny). Mix everything slowly, add pesto if desired. Your pasta should be ready at this point. Throw it into the mix, then serve.
Add parmigiano to taste.

CHRISTMAS...hey man, i just ate it!

thanks mom.

AND AGAIN...STILL NO VERDICT!

so, i just took a crack at the cookies again.  same basic dough, (which i will not disclose until i taste)...this time i added chocolate chips and smothered them in melted butter and cinnamon before i put them in to bake...we'll see once they cool off!   in the meantime...

here is a recipe from zoe.

For a butter lover:

English Toffee

14 tablespoons (1 stick, plus 6 tablespoons) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 chopped pecans
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash salt
1 (6-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips or thin chocolate bars

Generously butter a cookie sheet. (Or spray with Pam or similar)

Put butter, sugar, and water in a heavy pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Bring to a bubbling boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove spoon from pan, and cook to a very brittle stage (300 degrees to 310 degrees F on a candy thermometer). Or, make a cold water test: candy will separate into hard, brittle threads when dropped in cold water.

Remove from heat and add nuts to mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread to 1/4-inch thickness. Cool slightly.

In a double boiler (you can make your own, placing a metal bowl in a pot filled with water), melt bag of chocolate chips. Spread melted chocolate over toffee. Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

and here is one from connor which i suspect he got from the label on a peanut butter jar...which i don't want to officially condone...but i can't really say either way until i try it!

well. i dont know if santa or baby jesus are alergic to peanut butter but if not then these are awesomely great.

super easy peanut butter cookies

1. mix together 1 cup of any kind of peanut butter, 1/2 cup of sugar and an egg
2. roll into balls and flatten with fork on an ungreased cookie sheet
3. bake at 325 degrees ferienhiet for 15 minutes. do not over bake. makes about 24 cookies.
4. if you want add chocolate chips nuts or raisins to the first step to personalize them.
5.enjoy

hope this is something along the lines of what you wanted!


Regards
Connor Allen