It occurs to me that we eat kind of fancy for some workaholic young broke people. I'm a half decent cook; I can make just about anything from scratch, and I'm pretty good at improvising recipes. I also have an affinity for buying food at Trader Joe's, and they enable me by being the closest and cheapest grocery store in my area. Most of this stuff I got at TJ's or Sprouts.
So tonight I made this mushroom and sausage orecchiette, based on those damn Carrabba's commercials on TV lately. I'm a sucker for anything mushroom and/or pasta, but I really hate overcooked chain restaurant pasta. I prefer to make it myself or go to a local greasy spoon Italian restaurant.
So fast and so delicious!
Mushroom and Sausage Orecchiette
2/3 lb hot Italian sausage
2 tbsp. olive oil
½ a package of crimini mushrooms, chopped
½ a sweet onion, chopped
½ a green bell pepper, chopped
2 c. beef stock (Better Than Bouillion)
2 heaping tsp. flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
Dash basil and pepper
½ cup heavy cream
1 lb. cooked orecchiette pasta
Parmesan cheese
Heat olive oil in wok on high (it needs to be a large pan), add chopped mushrooms when hot. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until just starting to get golden brown around edges. Push up on to side of wok; add onions and peppers and caramelize. Push onions and peppers aside, add sausage and brown and crumble. Add 2 tsp. flour, garlic powder, and basil and pepper to oil/drippings mixture in pan and stir until golden brown. Add 2 c. beef stock and stir well, drop heat to a simmer. Stir in heavy cream when thick and let simmer for a few minutes more, or until sauce regains thickness. Toss with pasta, top with Parmesan cheese. Serves about a billion people, or two hungry metalheads with leftovers.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Weekend brew revue, #2!
This week was a busy one. My husband and beer exploration companion switched jobs - from a national insurance carrier to a local hospital - and it's rush time at the university, where I work, so we didn't really get out much this week to try beers. We did manage to go to our favorite local brewery last night and try some seasonals on tap. It's bourbon barrel beer time!
I have to start out by saying that I'm not really a whisky drinker, but I love the idea of bourbon. Like, as in bourbon balls. Bourbon fudge. Bourbon flavored buttercream icing on a cupcake. And some bourbons I could even admit to liking, not that I've had a lot (I did tour the Woodford Reserve factory a few years ago when on vacation in Kentucky, which was a really cool experience and I recommend everyone take the tour if you're in the area). Anyway, bourbon just seems classy to me. And tastes really good in confections.
Sasquatch Scotch at IVBC: Good flavor, dark color, nice and robust. This is a barrel aged beer, although I'm not sure if it's a bourbon barrel or just a regular whisky barrel. Like I've said before, I'm not big on pale ales and it's my meager understanding that scotch ale is a type of pale ale, but I liked this far better than any IPA I've ever tried.
St. Bob's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout at IVBC: Deeeeelicious. I like stouts. I know you know this. This one was a little less smooth than the Milk Chocolate Cherry Stout, but it has that smoky whisky taste and the smoothness of bourbon. It does pack quite a punch with a high ABV of 11.5%, so they limit you to two 10oz pours at $6 each. I'll admit that if I hadn't eaten some snacks while watching football on TV that afternoon, I would have been knocked on my ass. I highly suggest you try it while it's available.
Next week I ought to have a few extra beers to review, seeing as how I'm headed to Bosque Brewing Co. today for my first ever Draft and Craft meeting! What is Draft and Craft? Well, I figured I could get together a small group of professional crafters and artists and we could provide a support system for getting shit done. Because you know crafters are procastinators. It could still turn out to be my worst idea ever. We'll see.
I have to start out by saying that I'm not really a whisky drinker, but I love the idea of bourbon. Like, as in bourbon balls. Bourbon fudge. Bourbon flavored buttercream icing on a cupcake. And some bourbons I could even admit to liking, not that I've had a lot (I did tour the Woodford Reserve factory a few years ago when on vacation in Kentucky, which was a really cool experience and I recommend everyone take the tour if you're in the area). Anyway, bourbon just seems classy to me. And tastes really good in confections.
Sasquatch Scotch at IVBC: Good flavor, dark color, nice and robust. This is a barrel aged beer, although I'm not sure if it's a bourbon barrel or just a regular whisky barrel. Like I've said before, I'm not big on pale ales and it's my meager understanding that scotch ale is a type of pale ale, but I liked this far better than any IPA I've ever tried.
St. Bob's Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout at IVBC: Deeeeelicious. I like stouts. I know you know this. This one was a little less smooth than the Milk Chocolate Cherry Stout, but it has that smoky whisky taste and the smoothness of bourbon. It does pack quite a punch with a high ABV of 11.5%, so they limit you to two 10oz pours at $6 each. I'll admit that if I hadn't eaten some snacks while watching football on TV that afternoon, I would have been knocked on my ass. I highly suggest you try it while it's available.
Next week I ought to have a few extra beers to review, seeing as how I'm headed to Bosque Brewing Co. today for my first ever Draft and Craft meeting! What is Draft and Craft? Well, I figured I could get together a small group of professional crafters and artists and we could provide a support system for getting shit done. Because you know crafters are procastinators. It could still turn out to be my worst idea ever. We'll see.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Weekend Brew Revue!
So, as some people may know, my husband recently got into craft beers. I've liked them for some time, but never really ventured out past the sweet Belgian style beers. However, I got him hooked on an Il Vicino Brewery Canteen (hereafter referred to as IVBC) peach wheat this past summer, and we've been trying different craft beers since.
So as a weekly feature I thought I would do a recap of the beers we've tried during the past week. I'm not a brew aficionado, nor do I claim to know jack shit about beer, I just like beer. You won't hear a lot of crazy terminology from me, either! I just want to share what new local and craft beers we've tried and what I like or don't like about them. I ain't puttin on no airs!
This week we tried:
IVBC's Milk Chocolate Cherry Stout
I like stouts. Guinness was the first beer I really liked, and I learned that to me, beer you can't see through is a good thing. I haven't spent as much time sampling other stouts, but in comparison to most that I've tried, this one was excellent. The flavor is mellow, cocoa-y, and just a tad bit sweet. It doesn't have much of the bitter aftertaste typical of stouts. Definitely recommended. I've only ever seen it around the holidays, though.
Hoegaarden
Of course I would like this, it has the wort in the bottle! You have to swirl it up before you open it, or pour it into a glass, because the wort sits at the bottom of the bottle and needs to be mixed in. Typical mild Belgian wheat, overall a little spicy coriander and orange flavor. I'm disappointed that the other beers in Hoegaarden's line aren't available in America. If you like Blue Moon and other beers of the hefeweizen ilk, you will probably like Hoegaarden.
La Cumbre Elevated IPA
I'm not a fan of IPAs in general, but I figured I would give this a shot since everyone raves about La Cumbre. It's a pretty gold color... But that's about all I have to say that's nice. Extremely fragrant. Like, smells like a brand new car air freshener fragrant. Very piquant as well. I had a hard time drinking this, I think the smell of the hops was too overwhelming for me.
Well, that's this week in beer. Tune in next week for more beer talk!
So as a weekly feature I thought I would do a recap of the beers we've tried during the past week. I'm not a brew aficionado, nor do I claim to know jack shit about beer, I just like beer. You won't hear a lot of crazy terminology from me, either! I just want to share what new local and craft beers we've tried and what I like or don't like about them. I ain't puttin on no airs!
This week we tried:
IVBC's Milk Chocolate Cherry Stout
I like stouts. Guinness was the first beer I really liked, and I learned that to me, beer you can't see through is a good thing. I haven't spent as much time sampling other stouts, but in comparison to most that I've tried, this one was excellent. The flavor is mellow, cocoa-y, and just a tad bit sweet. It doesn't have much of the bitter aftertaste typical of stouts. Definitely recommended. I've only ever seen it around the holidays, though.
Hoegaarden
Of course I would like this, it has the wort in the bottle! You have to swirl it up before you open it, or pour it into a glass, because the wort sits at the bottom of the bottle and needs to be mixed in. Typical mild Belgian wheat, overall a little spicy coriander and orange flavor. I'm disappointed that the other beers in Hoegaarden's line aren't available in America. If you like Blue Moon and other beers of the hefeweizen ilk, you will probably like Hoegaarden.
La Cumbre Elevated IPA
I'm not a fan of IPAs in general, but I figured I would give this a shot since everyone raves about La Cumbre. It's a pretty gold color... But that's about all I have to say that's nice. Extremely fragrant. Like, smells like a brand new car air freshener fragrant. Very piquant as well. I had a hard time drinking this, I think the smell of the hops was too overwhelming for me.
Well, that's this week in beer. Tune in next week for more beer talk!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Oh Christmas Tea, oh Christmas Tea...
Yeah, I'm a little late on the Christmas tea post. I know. I know.
In case you don't know, my name is Jamie. I like metal music, sewing, hiking, cooking, gardening, beer and... tea. Tea was certainly my first passion in life. I collect tea cups with skulls on them, make bad-ass tea cozies and wallets, and drink tea on a daily basis. Tea probably runs through my veins. I like black tea, green tea, flavored teas and tisanes, but I'm not a huge fan of oolongs, rooibos, or white tea. In a pinch, I'd probably still drink one, though.
I'm also not a huge fan of teabags. I like loose leaf teas, but bagged teas have their place in life too... Like in my travel mug. On my way to work. In a tea wallet. Occasionally you will see me mention bagged teas, but most of the time my tea talk will be about loose leaf teas by the pound. I'll also be featuring new beers every week, as I try them.
My biggest pet peeve about tea is stale tea. I hate stale tea. There's nothing you can do to make stale tea taste good, except throw it out and replace it with fresh tea.
Currently, my daily drinker is Russian Caravan tea from New Mexico Tea Company. My friend David runs NM Tea Co., and they have an excellent assortment of super fresh loose leaf tea. Yes, I'm probably biased towards David and his teas, but it's because he knows his shit like no one I've ever met save for my mom, and my mom was an unofficial tea scholar. For serious.
So, on to the Christmas tea post! I didn't buy any special new tea for the holidays this year, but my amazing friend Sheika, her other half Micah, and Micah's mom Judy sent me a bag of Gentleman's Blend from The Vintage Tea Leaf in Long Beach, CA. It came with an adorable teeny-weeny itty-bitty spoon and some cute ACEOs. My husband Juan received a tactical head scarf from them, complete with skulls and crossbones woven right into the fabric. It came just in time, too, because it's been cold as balls here.
On first inspection of the tea, the name got a laugh out of me. I've often thought I have drifted from green teas towards drinking stodgy old British gentleman tea, not to mention Gentleman's Blend sounds very James Bond-y, so I've read the label in a Sean Connery voice since I opened the box.
Gentleman's Blend is a blend of Lapsang Souchong, a smoke-dried Chinese tea (they use it to make Tea-Smoked Duck) and Russian Caravan, which can be a blend of various black teas and Lapsang Souchong tea. I've found Lapsang Souchong usually has the milder flavor of the two, and smells like chicken flavored ramen noodles. Russian Caravan is stronger in flavor and more acidic. In this tea blend, the Lapsang Souchong really cuts the acidity down and mellows out the tea while still imparting a smoky flavor, and the Russian Caravan destroys the chicken ramen smell I get from the Lapsang Souchong. It's a win-win situation! The tea is very fresh, too. It must be a popular blend!
I've been brewing a full teaspoon of this tea in a mug with boiling water and one spoon of turbinado sugar per cup. The brew is a lovely dark gold color, mild and sweet with an almost vanilla aftertaste, and the leaves sink to the bottom of the cup, so I didn't need an infuser.
My only complaint is that The Vintage Tea Leaf uses waxed paper bags for storage of the tea. Good thing I have extra airtight containers around - if I don't drink it all in the next week or so, which is a very real possibility, I can store it to keep it fresh. I highly recommend that anyone who likes tea invest in an airtight jar or container for tea to prolong the freshness, or use those metallic ziplock type bags to store it. Either way will keep the tea good and fresh for a few months.
In case you don't know, my name is Jamie. I like metal music, sewing, hiking, cooking, gardening, beer and... tea. Tea was certainly my first passion in life. I collect tea cups with skulls on them, make bad-ass tea cozies and wallets, and drink tea on a daily basis. Tea probably runs through my veins. I like black tea, green tea, flavored teas and tisanes, but I'm not a huge fan of oolongs, rooibos, or white tea. In a pinch, I'd probably still drink one, though.
I'm also not a huge fan of teabags. I like loose leaf teas, but bagged teas have their place in life too... Like in my travel mug. On my way to work. In a tea wallet. Occasionally you will see me mention bagged teas, but most of the time my tea talk will be about loose leaf teas by the pound. I'll also be featuring new beers every week, as I try them.
My biggest pet peeve about tea is stale tea. I hate stale tea. There's nothing you can do to make stale tea taste good, except throw it out and replace it with fresh tea.
Currently, my daily drinker is Russian Caravan tea from New Mexico Tea Company. My friend David runs NM Tea Co., and they have an excellent assortment of super fresh loose leaf tea. Yes, I'm probably biased towards David and his teas, but it's because he knows his shit like no one I've ever met save for my mom, and my mom was an unofficial tea scholar. For serious.
 |
| Juan sporting his scarf. |
On first inspection of the tea, the name got a laugh out of me. I've often thought I have drifted from green teas towards drinking stodgy old British gentleman tea, not to mention Gentleman's Blend sounds very James Bond-y, so I've read the label in a Sean Connery voice since I opened the box.
Gentleman's Blend is a blend of Lapsang Souchong, a smoke-dried Chinese tea (they use it to make Tea-Smoked Duck) and Russian Caravan, which can be a blend of various black teas and Lapsang Souchong tea. I've found Lapsang Souchong usually has the milder flavor of the two, and smells like chicken flavored ramen noodles. Russian Caravan is stronger in flavor and more acidic. In this tea blend, the Lapsang Souchong really cuts the acidity down and mellows out the tea while still imparting a smoky flavor, and the Russian Caravan destroys the chicken ramen smell I get from the Lapsang Souchong. It's a win-win situation! The tea is very fresh, too. It must be a popular blend!
My only complaint is that The Vintage Tea Leaf uses waxed paper bags for storage of the tea. Good thing I have extra airtight containers around - if I don't drink it all in the next week or so, which is a very real possibility, I can store it to keep it fresh. I highly recommend that anyone who likes tea invest in an airtight jar or container for tea to prolong the freshness, or use those metallic ziplock type bags to store it. Either way will keep the tea good and fresh for a few months.
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