SammyD's Rants

Week 51 Cooking

2009-12-20T18:31:35Z

Ham and Split Pea Soup (p58 The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition)
Honey-Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet and Tangy Slaw (RC Cook's Country December/January 2010)

Week 50 Cooking Results

2009-12-20T16:57:46Z

Chopped Steak Sandwiches (p109 Fine Cooking December/January 2010)

This was quite good, even though I couldn't ge the tips that it asked for, but it still turned out great. I really enjoyed this.

Oven-Baked Chicken Chimichangas (RC Cook's Country December/January 2010)

This was pretty good. I don't know about the trade off between fried and baked, but the insides were pretty good. I couldn't find cilantro, to go in them, so it didn't turn exactly right, but good none the less.

Skillet Carbonara Casserole (p17 Cook's Country December/January 2010)

This was pretty good, quick to make, but I was also baking cookies at the time, so it made for a very crowded kitchen. But it turned out well and given my recent past with hot pans in the oven, I didn't burn myself.

Honey Glazed Applewood Smoked Berkshire Pork, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Peas with Shallot and Mint (p24 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009)

I wasn't totally satisfied with the peas, I think I used too much lemon juice and cooked them too long. I was a bit distracted through. The garlic taste of the mashed potatoes was a bit too strong, I probably should've sautéed them in the butter first, before I soaked them in the warmed milk and butter. But even so, it was still good, it was just a bit too strong. The ham turned out very well and that with two bottles of Boom Boom! Syrah, I think I had a a happy Dave, Chris and Holy, and Shannon.

Quicker Hoppin John (p19 Cook's Country December/January 2010)

I was thinking that I'd have enough ham left for another use, being that it was a decent sized ham, so lucky for me, this was right in there. This had quite the down home feel to it. Good, hearty, and relatively cheap for the amount of servings that it'll provide. Though I probably upped the average serving cost, buy using the ham I did...But I'll be eating this for a few days I think...since it made lots.

Week 50 Cooking

2009-12-13T18:32:30Z

Ham (either Black Forest or Apple Wood Smoked Berkshire Pork (I already have both), for movie night)
- Mashed Potatoes
- Sauteed Peas with Shallot and Mint (p24 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009) (Yes, Chris, I know you don't like peas)
Oven-Baked Chicken Chimichangas (RC Cook's Country December/January 2010)
Skillet Carbonara Casserole (p17 Cook's Country December/January 2010)
Quicker Hoppin John (p19 Cook's Country December/January 2010)
Chopped Steak Sandwiches (p109 Fine Cooking December/January 2010)

Week 49 Cooking Results

2009-12-13T17:42:00Z

Cassoulet (p19 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009)

Nom nom nom nom...I'm so making this again. And being that I still have leftover Eden Farms pork shoulder (put back in the freezer), I can make it almost the same way. I didn't find some of the ingredients, which I found a bit annoying, but over all, I think it turned out fantastic.

Leftovers!

Well We ate Cassoulet, and other leftovers, combined some things to make leftovers, used the cooked pork loin to make something out it (twice). So it was a totally lazy week for me, as far as cooking went.

But it has been quite the success, no more meat and cheese in the fridge, no more leftovers. Just a mostly empty fridge.

Week 49 Cooking

2009-12-06T15:50:18Z

I've been making some pretty big meals lately. And we've fallen behind, so this week, we'll be cleaning out the fridge. I imagine I'll make tacos out of the pork (shredding it), sandwiches perhaps, eating some other things and what not.

Cassoulet (p19 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009)
Leftovers!

Week 48 Cooking Results

2009-12-06T15:37:56Z

Scrambled Burrito

Simple...and ok. I don't really have much else to say about it.

Pork and Elk Mini Burgers

I had a bit of pork left over from a previous recipe and some elk in the freezer...so blam! I wanted the flavors of the elk to be in front, so I didn't mix it up with a bunch of other thing, it was just elk. It tasted pretty good.

Pork Loin Sandwiches

I sliced off a couple of pieces of Eden Farms pork loin and then breaded and fried the pork as the recipe called for. Though I did find out that I really need a candy thermometer or oil one or whatever, because I had to use my instant read thermometer to find out what the temp of the oil is. I don't think that is the best thing for it. Anyways, it turned out pretty good, though I don't know if the oil was quite high enough. But they still made for good sandwiches. As one that rarely uses that much oil to fry things, I was in a bit of a quandary as what I should do with the remaining oil. I ended up pouring it into an apple juice container and tossing it. Seems pretty wasteful though.

Greek-Style Penne with Lamb, Parsnips, Tomatoes, and Cinnamon (p68 Bon Appétit November 2009)

I think we both really liked this. Plus this being, I think, the first time I've used parsnips, it tasted very good. Plus the smell of the parsnips sautéing in the pan was really truly glorious.

Roast Pork Loin in Horseradish Crust

I should've trimmed more fat of the pork loin. I also should've brined the pork loin. I have to remember that the pork that I buy from Eden Farms is not like the pork that you get in the store and needs to be treated with a bit more care. But over all this was pretty good, though I did adjust the temp at cooking for the point of getting potatoes in the oven at the same time. But it turned out pretty good. there's a lot left over though.

Cassoulet (p19 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009)

I had forgotten about Shannon's work's Christmas Party, so, I'll be making this today.

Week 48 Cooking

2009-11-29T18:24:17Z

Scrambled Burrito
Pork Loin Sandwiches
Greek-Style Penne with Lamb, Parsnips, Tomatoes, and Cinnamon (p68 Bon Appétit November 2009)
Roast Pork Loin in Horseradish Crust
Pork and Elk Mini Burgers
Cassoulet (p19 Cook's Illustrated November/December 2009)

Week 47 Cooking Results

2009-11-29T18:20:11Z

Thanksgiving at my parents...mmm... And I got to bring home nearly two pounds of homemade lefse? How can it get better? When going out to buy cilantro for the chili, I stopped by La Mie to get some bread for turkey sandwiches (decided I didn't have enough meat to make something out of the turkey), I got feedback from Joe Logsdon on the Chocolate Chunk Tart Cherry Oatmeal cookies that I've been working on, "you should quit your day job and open a cookie shop." I responded that I only have about 4 recipes...but I could see myself doing that. So I may have to think long and hard about if I want to start collecting cookie recipes, or continue to post them.

Grandma's Enchiladas (p27 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

These were quite good, good spice, they took a while to make (which is why I saved them for a weekend). But the combination of all the spices the slow braised beef just let for quite a delicious experience.

Ginger-Shallot Chicken Breasts

I got this from the Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter. I found it to be quite good, I especially like the sauce...I suspect Shannon would've liked the sauce had I actually seeded the peppers like the recipe called for, but since I left the seeds in, it was a bit too spicy for her. I did also like the way that they cooked the chicken breast too.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Ham, Peas and Gruyere (p36 Entertaining Fall 2009)

I vaguely followed the recipe...it seemed like a lot of work to get a similar result, so I just kind of simplified it earlier. I ended up cooking the potatoes with the stuff in them in the omelette pan that I had been using, and in continuing with my recent history, to get the potato out, I had forgotten that the pan had been in the oven for a good 20 or 30 minutes, grabbed the handle with my left hand and got a nice burn on my palm, and most of my joints. Though I realized my mistake pretty quick, so it wasn't too serious. No blisters.

Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili (p5 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

This turned out pretty well. Though how can you call it chili, if it didn't have chili powder in it...but perhaps that's just me. Anyways, I actually had to grind up some coriander, because I had run out, so I was happy, once again, that I bought a coffee grinder not too long ago. I also didn't really want to use the slow cooker (mine is bigger then I think what they are calling for), so I ended up using my beloved Chantal stock pot and the oven. I looked on the internet and found that the low setting was 200F and the high setting was 300F and ended up using a hybrid of the two and went around 250 for most of the cooking. When I pulled the chicken thighs out of the pan, I had trouble because they were falling off the bone tender...

Earlier in the cooking, while putting the onions, in the pot, there was a little chicken fat and oil splatter and I got quite the blisters on my right arm.

Lasagna Bolognese (p26 Entertaining Fall 2009)

This was quite a bit of work to make. Make two sauces, put everything together. But it turned out very well. We both enjoyed it...and we have a whole lot of leftovers too...

So to sum up, right now I have a burn on my right ring finger, that is almost healed, a splattering of burns on my right arm, still look pretty ugly, and some fairly minor burns on my left hand, which feel like dry skin for the most part now...

Week 47 Cooking

2009-11-22T16:32:42Z

So Friday night we went to Le Jardine and had a wonderful dinner with Sean and Becki Sullivan of Juan O'Sullivan's Salsa. They joked quite a bit about the age difference. We talked about a range of topics and I think we both had a good time. They invited us out to their house for the next night (there was a party already planned), but we already had made plans to go to dinner and a movie with Chris and Holly. Dinner at Le Jardine was fantastic.

Grandma's Enchiladas (p27 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Ginger-Shallot Chicken Breasts
Twice Baked Potatoes with Ham, Peas and Gruyere (p36 Entertaining Fall 2009)
Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili (p5 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Lasagna Bolognese (p26 Entertaining Fall 2009)

Week 46 Cooking Results

2009-11-22T16:05:15Z

Cinnamon Swirl Brioche French Toast and Eden Farms Bacon

Mmm...bacon. The cinnamon Swirl Brioche was from Gateway Market. It turned out pretty good, I was happy. Especially since I re-toasted some in the toaster the next morning and had it for breakfast.

Chicken Paprikash (p23 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

I should've really called this an excuse to get rid of leftover chicken in my freezer. And now it's all gone! woo! This was good, I though I had nice mixture of the hot and sweet paprika (1/3, 2/3 of total).

Beef Stroganoff (p12 Entertaining Fall 2009)

I should've chopped the mushrooms smaller. Shannon wasn't a big fan of how many and how much the mushrooms were in there. So that was a draw back. I supposed if i diced them it could've been better. I still liked it though.

Quick Croque Monsieur (RC Cook's Country October/November 2009)

I had forgotten that we wer going out to eat with the makers of Juan O'Sullivan's, I had over planned for the week, so I thought this was going to be pushed until the next week, however movie night got cancelled (Chris and Holly not feeling so well), I ended up making this. It was quick and easy and tasty.

Grandma's Enchiladas (p27 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

Since we ended up going out to eat with Chris, Holly and etc I ended up not being able to make this, though I still have all the ingredients, so I'll be making this today.

Week 46 Cooking

2009-11-15T16:47:30Z

Even though I made Chicken Paprikas on week six, being that it was 40 weeks ago, and a recipe from another company, I figure it is find to duplicate it a bit... With movie night being this week (I don't have to cook) and me going to see P.O.S., it'll be a shorter cooking list.

As a note to myself, I also want to make Turkey Tetrazzini Pasta (RC Cook's Country October/November 2009) and will do so when I have some leftover turkey from thanksgiving. I also plan on making Slow-Cooker White Chicken Chili (p5 Cook's Country October/November 2009), but need a Weekend day, or day off to prepare it. Since I'm trying to save up a bit of PTO for the holidays so I don't go much below my desired bank size (400 hours), I couldn't do it this week, since I want to do the french toast today, and the enchiladas (another long prepare time) on Saturday.

Cinnamon Swirl Brioche French Toast and Eden Farms Bacon
Quick Croque Monsieur (RC Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Chicken Paprikash (p23 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Beef Stroganoff (p12 Entertaining Fall 2009)
Grandma's Enchiladas (p27 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

Week 45 Cooking Results

2009-11-15T16:45:07Z

Aunt Nina's Breadballs (p24 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

This was kinda fun to make. Though I did make a bit of a mistake that made for quite the...spicy sauce. When adding the Red pepper flakes, I opened it, and being used to the holed lid on the normal one that I buy being there, I go to sprinkle maybe a bit more then the recipe calls for (I tend to like the extra spice), and there are no holes to struggle through and I proceeded to dump a large portion of the container of red pepper flakes into the mixture. I picked out as much as I could, but still what remained was a quite spicy sauce. It was still good though. The fried breadballs? Some of them I didn't pack together well enough so they kind of fell apart while I was cooking them. Though I used that as an excuse to eat fried bread... Good meal, took a while to make, but not absurdly so and relatively cheap over all.

Reduced Fat Sloppy Joes (p4 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

Putting in mushrooms to reduce the amount of meat and fat in the meat that you use, is a pretty good idea and this turned out well. Though after I put some of the Prairie Breeze cheese on them, I probably went over any reductions in calories or fat that was there. One thing that I thought this was missing was mustard. I love the taste of yellow mustard in a Sloppy Joe, so much so that I tend to add more after it's done. Perhaps, that's just me though.

Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes (RC Cook's Country October/November 2009)

This was pretty simple to make. I really liked the spice mixture (the recipe calls for: oregano, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, though ended up not using the cayenne pepper because I used hot paprika (couldn't find cayenne pepper at the store)). on the potatoes. Gave them quite a bit of spice and taste. With the process of pre cooking the potatoes, in the microwave, and then sauteing them to give them a nice crust. That way they get cooked (while cooking the steak) and then get finished in the pan.

Granny's Tamale Pie (p25 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

Holy crap this took a long time. I started cooking around 5:15, 5:30 or so, and we at around 9:15. I also got a 2nd degree burn on my ring finger on my right hand (blistered skin)... Even so I would make this again, on a sunday...staring at 3. Though in my mind this recipe was a bit lacking. Me, I'd add a diced jalapeno pepper or two to the mixture. The recipe seems a bit lacking too. It seems to me that somewhere between step 3 and 5 there is a missing step or two. Even so, It turned out well.

Savory Baked Mac & Cheese (using some combination of: Huntsman, quality swiss, Prairie Breeze, cotswold, smoked gouda)

I was a bit lazy, didn't take the time to actually form a sauce, so it was really turned out to be noodles and cheese. I used the last of the huntsman, all of the smoked gouda, and all (except for a few tasters) of the swiss. So it ended up, to me, tasting like it had ham in it and I think this was because of the smokey taste from the gouda. Even being lazy, it's kinda hard to mess up cheese + noodles.

Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce (p18 Cook's Country October/November 2009)

There is a mixture of ground beef, onions and pepperoni. The recipe told me to to set aside a cup the filling for the noodles, but I missed it (twice, cause I went back to look saying where is that cup supposed to go)...so I ended up putting it on top with the cheese (used more cheese then the recipe called for since, well, it was there). It still turned out great. Though I was very hungry by the time and most of my way through a bottle of red from Southeast Australia, so that may have tempered my judgment. Shannon seemed to enjoy it as well, though.

Week 45 Cooking

2009-11-08T17:19:56Z

Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce (p18 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Reduced Fat Sloppy Joes (p4 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Granny's Tamale Pie (p25 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes (RC Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Aunt Nina's Breadballs (p24 Cook's Country October/November 2009)
Savory Baked Mac & Cheese (using some combination of: Huntsman, quality swiss, Prarie Breeze, cotswold, smoked ghouda)

Week 44 Cooking Results

2009-11-08T17:16:37Z

So for game night last night I bought quite a number of cheese, including Huntsman. Now we had Huntsman at our wedding and I remember it being very good. This was truly fantastic of a cheese. Such a nice combination of flavors between the two cheeses in it and the Roasted Garlic crackers...fantastic.

Also we went through the vast majority of a round of Elk Sausage called "Ring of Fire". While it was spicy, it wasn't smoking hot. I bought it from the "elk guy" (Deo Gloria Elk Products, I think) at the downtown farmers market. I bought some other ones, we didn't end up opening them though.

I made some Chocolate Chunk and Tart Cherry Oatmeal cookies that I was finally satisfied with the way they look. I think have have to adjust the chocolate level down a bit, or take a bit more time and cut them into smaller chunks. But I think I have the right ratios, finally, I'll make 'em again for thanksgiving.

Shannon and I went to see Anthony Bourdain at the Civic Center. He started off by telling several stories and then went into a Q&A section. I think we both really enjoyed it. He seemed to have good things to say about Bistro Montage and about Reichert's Dairy's Robiola. When I emailed Lois, she stated back "I brought some special, aged a bit longer, robiola in specifically for him". So that's pretty cool to have a sort of connection, even if it's a few times removed.

Last night, We had a light attendance at game night (me, Shannon, Will, Jen and Jen's friend from Kentucky, who's name escapes me), but it was still fun. We played Sorry (I won), Simpson's Clue (Shannon won), Killer Bunnies (that was a strange and confusing game, Jen won), and then Scene It (original, Will and I won, even though by the end, I was falling in and out of sleep).

Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce (p54 Bon Appétit October 2009)

So because the chicken in here was bought in a 3 pack, and I only needed two, I used one of the others, pounded it out, breaded it with whole wheat flour mixed with the Emeril's Spice mixture from the Black Bean cakes. I ended up putting them and making sandwiches. This was pretty good.

The dish itself actually turned out fantastic, even though I had to improvise a bit with the pan sauce (I ran out of Dijon mustard). Quite easy too. Though, because the recipie told me so, I did buy Panko bread crumbs, which broke my new rule about...well not buying bread crumbs because it's such a waste of money.

Cannellini Beans with Garlic and Sage (p101 Bon Appétit October 2009)

Wow...just wow. The combination of the all this stuff, cooked...the beans, the water, and etc just made for a fantastic flavor profile. It was really a shame that we couldn't wait for this to get done (it took a really long time).

Sausages with White Beans in Tomato Sauce(p101 Bon Appétit October 2009)

So the combination of the beans before, made this meal easy (by easy, I guess that excludes the 3 or so hours it took to make the beans from before), but I really liked this, such a built of flavor profile.

Ultra-Juicy, Skillet Grassfed Goat-burgers

The spice mixture used for this, onion, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, cumin, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce, I think over powered the goat flavor, but was still quite good. I think it would be good with something mild like ground turkey.

Christmas Suggestions List 2009

2009-11-04T04:35:23Z

Sam:

Shannon:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + BD Live w/ Blu-ray packaging) [Blu-ray]
Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition + Standard DVD+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]
The Wizard of Oz, Blu-Ray (No special editions, no extra stuff, if you can't find just the movie, don't bother, otherwise it's too expensive)
Dyson DC25 Animal Ball-Technology Upright Vacuum Cleaner
Happy By Clinique For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 Ounces
Wii Sports Resort
Wii Fit Plus
The Biggest Loser
Scrap Booking Kits or Materials or Gift Cards
Old Navy Gift Card
Bath and Bodyworks Gift Card
The Body Shop Gift Card
Kohls Gift Card

Both:

Boom Blox Bash Party
iTunes Gift Card
Target Gift Card
Lowes Gift Card
Home Depot Gift Card

Week 44 Cooking

2009-11-01T16:10:48Z

Oh and one more thing, when I was putting away the meat from the Farmer's market, I had to reorganize my freezer and I noticed that more then half of what I had in there was pork...probably something like 60%. And I have (excluding pork, in order from most to least by weight): Beef, Duck, Chicken, Elk and Goat. Just thought that was a bit odd...

Panko-Crusted Chicken with Mustard-Maple Pan Sauce (p54 Bon Appétit October 2009)
Cannellini Beans with Garlic and Sage (p101 Bon Appétit October 2009)
Sausages with White Beans in Tomato Sauce(p101 Bon Appétit October 2009)
Ultra-Juicy, Skillet Grassfed Goat-burgers

Week 43 Cooking Results

2009-11-01T16:02:31Z

Last downtown farmer's market this weekend. I added $20 to what I normally budget for being down there, and still ended up going over by $25 or so. I didn't get eggs like I intended (Foxhollow Farms was out), but I did end up getting a whole duck from them. I also got ground goat meat, a Ham from Eden Farms, and some of my normal fare. It was the ham that pushed me over my budget...but hey, I love ham, so how could it be bad.

On my way home from farmer's market, I stopped at Mars Cafe, like I normally do, I chatted a bit with someone who was headed down to the market. She said that she didn't want to eat anything that could be smarter then her (I was talking about the duck and goat that I had bought), and I almost, but held myself back, from stating that either she had a low opinion of herself, or a high opinion of animals. It's like the lady at Josh and Lindsay's rehearsal dinner, who didn't eat veal, because she likes to think that the meat that she was eating had died of old age, even though that wouldn't be cost effective, or probably taste that good. Anyways, good week.

I also saw Matisyahu this week. and that was fun, wich reduced the amount of "real" cooking I did. I don't know if I like the venue though, it just got too hot in there...(must. resist. bad. pop. culture. reference.)

Broiled Chicken Thighs with Chipotle Sauce (p88 Fine Cooking October/November 2009)

Though I had to have the people at the meat counter at Hy-Vee de-bone the chicken theighs (they really vary at their skill at doing it), this actually turned out really well. It was simple to make, the sauce was great, spicy but not over powering, and it was super quick.

Emeril's Black Bean Cakes (Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter)

Fail...total and utter fail. The cakes would not stay together at all. Luckily I had tortillas left over and it became a black bean burritos...to some extent, which were pretty good.

Danish Meatloaf

Pumpernickel bread in meat loaf? What a good idea. It certainly gave it a distinctive flavor. Though I think the bread that I had was much softer then the bread they were talking about because they were just too soft to actually soak in water. But it turned out pretty well. I had a nice meatloaf sandwich for lunch a day or two after, and it was good that way too.

Lynne's Nearly New Mexican Chili

This took quite a while to make...The Meat was good, but it just seemed like it didn't have enough stuff in it...maybe that's just the way they do chili down there. But really 4 pounds of chuck vs 2 onions some garlic and some tomatoes? The broth was just kinda week. I admit that it had a nice smokey back taste, but it was just too watery for me. Though combined with a bit of cheddar and some sour cream, it was pretty nice over all. I'm kinda looking forward to how it melds better over the next day or so.

Frank Lloyd Wright Weekend (Taliesin, Wisconsin)

2009-10-31T21:50:47Z

Our trip from Dubuque, Iowa to Spring Green, Wisconsin was fairly uneventful. We first went to our hotel..er lodge that we were staying at The Round Barn Lodge first, though on thew as we saw the Spring Green Fire Department / EMS building, which just struck me as very pretty.

Up close you can kind of tell that it's not super special construction or anything, but it still looks very good, and fitting for the area, I suppose.

The Round Barn Lodge was chosen because we were on the off peak rates, which are quite a bit less expensive then the regular rates. It was clean, the staff was helpful and quiet. Though we did have a bit of a problem in Dave and JoAnne's room with one of their neighbors being a bit loud, though they did quiet down, not too late. Apparently during the night, there was a firetruck that came near by our hotel...That's what Dave and JoAnne said, I never woke up...so I had no clue.

For dinner that night, we headed over to The Bank Restaurant and Wine Bar. As the name suggests, it is a converted bank. We sat in the vault room, so we had a little bit of privacy (I think perhaps it was the Brother Ali t-shirt I was wearing that got us separated from the other guests). I have to say that dinner was pretty good. Certainly a surprising experience in a small town. Though I don't think it was really worth what was paid. Maybe 10-15% less would've been more fair. I had a glass of Boom Boom Syrah (which is one of my favorite wine grapes) from Washington, which was really quite good (I have since bought a bottle). I guess my biggest complaint had to do with my dessert.

First, all three of the cupcakes were surprisingly dense. I don't know if this was on purpose, or not, but I guess I'm used to light and fluffy in my cupcakes. My biggest problem was with the rightmost cupcake, which was gingerbread with crystallized ginger on top. The problem I had is ginngerbread does not have the same flavor as the crystallized ginger, so the crystallized ginger just dominated over the pretty good taste of the gingerbread. So if there was a lot less and a lot smaller pieces or no crystallized ginger at all, it would've been better.

For breakfast, we headed over to the Spring Green General Store Cafe, which was quite good and inexpensive (Shannon and I ate for under $20, if I remember right). A good hearty breakfast before a day of hiking.

We stopped by the fire department (see above) on our way out of town to take a few pictures. We headed over to the Taliesin Visitor Center. This building used to be a restaurant, and is (partially) again. But it is very nice and has a great view of the Wisconsin River (I think that's what the river is), across the road.

I love the geometric shapes that are inspired by Wright. My brain just loves them...I can't really explain it. I believe that's me in the background there...

We wandered around the store for a bit... If we had the money, we could have spent a whole lot (there were these chairs, about $1k each, and a table, near $6k and a ton of other things). So when the time came, we gathered up and headed out on the ~4 hour estate tour.

We got on the mini-bus and started off at the Unity Chapel (the private chapel of the family of the Lloyd-Jones, including Wright). We saw the grave marker of Frank Lloyd Wright (he's not actually buried there).

There were other markers there of the family since the building was dedicated in 1886. Apparently it is tradition in the family to get married and etc in the building. We then headed to the Hillside Home School.

Apparently people still live and learn here in the school. We actually heard a few. I was really quite sad that we couldn't take pictures inside the building. There were great shots that I could have gotten, were I able to...but I can understand why, to some extent. The building was certainly showing it's age, or the inability to maintain and upkeep it at the level that it probably should be. There were certainly areas where I was shocked as to how much age was showing. Kind of detracts from the whole mystical ideal that I believe is tried to be put forward with Wright.

We went through various areas of the building, the drawing studio, around the building, the theater and then headed up to the Romeo and Juliet Windmill.

The windmill has been rebuilt and restored, and the area provides a great view of the surrounding area. The concept is that the taller building, Romeo, protects and breaks the wind for the shorter building, Juliet, who supports Romeo. Certainly a nice story.

We passed several other buildings on the estate, which had been used for other things, but are now occupied by the Fellowship members, including Tan-Y-Deri. We also passed the more then appropriately named Midway Farms building. as we headed on towards the home and personal studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, Taliesin.

We met Sherpa, the cat, and headed up to the terrace to have tea, coffee, water, and a rest before we continued on. The terrace had a wonderful view, which just seems natural of the area...

Even Sherpa enjoyed the view.

After the break, and my fat ass needed a bit of one, we headed in and saw courtyards, indoors, and several buildings. The inside itself, in certain areas, I found pretty frustrating (again with me being taller then the "human scale"). When I look back through the pictures that we took (they got less, because the camera that Shannon was using was running out of battery power (didn't bring the spare battery), I noticed that many different views of the building could be homes in and of themselves.

To me, the use of space, indoors, often seemed to be highly experimental, which I also got the impression that things would often get remodeled based on who was coming or etc. So something that weren't so annoying at say, Cedar Rock, were more troubling at Taliesin. The designs were still good, and provided great views, and again, I would've loved to be able to take pictures.

So in this last picture here, we have a shot through the grate, where you can see the burned out timbers of Taliesin II and III (the original burned all the way down, I believe).

While I can understand the emotional reason for rebuilding, to me, I often find myself complaining that I am not given the time to do things right the first time... I suppose if he had planned a bit, that end of the building wouldn't be having the problems that it is (it's basically built on the ashes of Taliesin II). That really kind of bugged me. Then again, it was his own house, and I suppose he can do what he wants with it.

After our tour ended, we bought some things at the store. We got some coasters, a Christmas ornament (continuing the tradition of getting at least one ornament a year), magnet and a few other things (maybe a Christmas present or two?). Then headed over to Mineral Point and had lunch at Brewery Creek Inn. I had a pint (I wasn't driving), and it was pretty good. The food was pretty good, though they did mess up Dave's order.

We did do a little, not much, searching for some Wisconsin cheese, and Dave bought some cheese curds, and then headed home. At one point, I think everyone but Dave was napping in the car.

It was a good weekend trip, and even though I'm a bit disenchanted with some of the stuff surrounding Frank Lloyd Wright, I think we'll be taking more trips to see stuff. Perhaps to Mason City (day trip), Chicago, and maybe more, depending on how things go. I also appreciated having Dave and JoAnne on the trip, because they've traveled to way north east Iowa more then we have, so they knew of good views to stop and see.

I also liked that other then the trip home, we basically took our time, had many stops, didn't have everything planned out (a nice combo of planned and seat of our pants).

I would suggest visiting Cedar Rock...and soon, because apparently the Trust for the house and grounds, which is not funded by the state, will run out in ~2 years. And after the trust runs out, it is unknown as to what will happen.

Frank Lloyd Wright Weekend (Cedar Rock, Iowa)

2009-10-31T19:07:03Z

So a week ago (10/24/2009), Shannon, Dave, JoAnne, and I headed out to see a few Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. This all started with a documentary that we saw on IPTV. While the documentary wasn't the best (kind of rambling), it got us talking and thinking that hey, that's it's not to far to Spring Green, WI (under 300 miles) to see Taliesin (east). After doing a bit more research we found that there was an Iowa state park called Cedar Rock, which is a Frank Lloyd Wright signature house. Which means that he designed the house, furniture and etc. Which is something that he insisted would be for the best.

The signature tile for Cedar Rock:

The house itself on the outside is absolutely beautiful. Clean lines. Though with the flat roof and Iowa and winter and rain, I could see out it could create problems. The roof is actually kind of a bowl, so not only does it collect rain and snow, it keeps it. Still looks good though.

Outside shots of the house:

The house overlooks the Wapsipinicon River and has a boat house which is also impressive. I especially like the long narrow windows on the side of the building.

According to our DNR guide, the Walter's were actually looking for something like the boat house, to have as a summer home. Simple, practical and etc. If I remember right, the original budget for the house was $18,000 ($~174,324.75 in 2009 dollars) and ended up costing $~150,000 ($~1,344,205.39 in 2009 dollars). So it went a tad over budget. Though according to the DNR guide and our guide at Taliesin, was kind of common with his houses.

While he designed the house to the scale of the owners of the house, it made problems for those of us who are above his so called "human scale". I did like, to some extent, how the areas where people are not meant to congregate (entryways etc) and I could see how it really opened up the areas of the house where people are to meet and congregate. Because of the differential, it made those areas just feel more spacious. Shannon already posted a whole bunch of pictures on her facebook page, so I'll keep my selection of indoor pictures to a minimum to the things I really like about it.

So the living room has a great look, with near floor to ceiling windows, so it makes for a great place to sit in the sunshine or have a great view at night of the surrounding areas.

Nothing says love like a heart shaped ashtray.... I know I already made that comment, but still, I find it funny, but it's still a great looking ashtray, though it probably wouldn't look as good if it had actual butts in it...

Great wood color, mirror and just gorgeous serving things.

If I remember right, this was the "poor man's stained glass". Though placed lighted pieces of glass really accentuated the room and added color. According to the DNR guide, when placing the glass, they never put it back in the same location after cleaning it, because it was meant to be moved around.

It's not really the bedroom, but the wood color...I love the wood color.

While the kitchen was small, it seem very practical and easy to use. Though I would still want a bigger one...but that's just me. I have kitchen envy (not necessarily of this house, but of many houses).

After our tour was complete, we talked with the DNR guide for a bit and she told us about a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Cedar Rapids (who knew?) and Johnston (really?), but they're not open to the public.

After our tour, we headed back to Independence, Iowa and ate at Bill's Pizza and Smokehouse, which was...well...mediocre at best. After lunch, we headed over to the park and mill museum across the street and wandered around a bit. Took some pictures, had a little fun.

We got back into the car and headed to Dubuque. We took a break and spent some time with the views from Eagle Point Park. I admit that I do give my co-workers a bit of crap from time to time for coming from this area, however, it really was beautiful up there. Though the city itself...

Afterwards we headed up to Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Week 43 Cooking

2009-10-26T15:49:21Z

Broiled Chicken Thighs with Chipotle Sauce (p88 Fine Cooking October/November 2009)
Emeril's Black Bean Cakes (Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter)
Danish Meatloaf
Lynne's Nearly New Mexican Chili

Week 42 Cooking Results

2009-10-26T15:46:34Z

Latin Skillet Scrambled Eggs, (The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show)

I don't know what I did to mess this up, but the curds would just never form, it was still ok, I suppose.

Patatas Bravas (NPR)

This was more a side dish then a main, but it was still filling. Shannon thought it was a bit too spicy...but I may have added some extra spiciness. It cooled a bit when topped with a bit of sour cream. Pretty easy to make

Chicken Curry in a Hurry (p47 Bon Appétit September 2009)

I guess by hurry, it means that it wasn't as time consuming as regular curry, even so, it was pretty good, though I doubt their serving size. It ended up being chicken and pork curry, since I used pork to augment the weight. Still was pretty good, though I didn't really follow the recipe exactly.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Prune and Ancho Chile Sauce (p97 Bon Appétit September 2009)

This took a while. The prunes from the sauce really stood out with the wine that I was drinking, but this was pretty good. I cut them into thing slices and so far have used the leftovers for sandwiches, and another meal...and still have more leftovers

Gourmet's Thai-Spiced Tomato Soup (The Wednesday Chef)

I made this (simple) and then brought it over to Chris and Holly's and made Grilled Cheese sandwiches using the La Mie Multigrain bread and Prairie Breeze Cheese. A bit spicy, tomatoey, and over all pretty good...

Week 42 Cooking

2009-10-18T16:13:30Z

Gourmet's Thai-Spiced Tomato Soup (The Wednesday Chef)
Patatas Bravas (NPR)
Chicken Curry in a Hurry (p47 Bon Appétit September 2009)
Latin Skillet Scrambled Eggs, (The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show)
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Prune and Ancho Chile Sauce (p97 Bon Appétit September 2009)

Week 41 Cooking Results

2009-10-18T15:21:36Z

Lighter Chicken and Dumplings (p13 Cook's Illustrated September/October 2009)

This took a long time to make...but since I made it on Monday and I took the day off, I suppose it wasn't that big of a deal. This certainly wouldn't be the type of thing that you'd want to make on a weekday. Beyond that, I guess the best thing I could say about this was Shannon said, "This kind of tastes like what my grandmother used to make.". So that speaks pretty highly when you can bring back some taste memories. This was the first time this week I used my Chantal pot. Love that pot

Cheese Omelet (p24 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)

2/2 successes! For filling I use some leftover Parmesan cheese and some torn up turkey lunch meat. So now with the success under my belt, I feel like I can move on.

Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps (p15 Cook's Illustrated September/October 2009)

So for this, I kind of figured out that the app, Grocery IQ I use on my iPod Touch was crashing on exit (occasionally) and not recording some of the items in my grocery list for the week. Specifically everything for this recipe. I ended up making another trip to Dahl's to finish my grocery shopping, but unlike before, I clearly remembered adding these items to the list...before, I just thought I might have been forgetful. Now don't get me wrong, I still like the app, it's just that it was kind of frustrating.

This actually ended up tasting pretty good. With the food processored pork tenderloin and mix of various things made for a nice dish. Filling, simple, though it still took a bit to make

Summer Corn Soup with Crisp Prosciutto and Basil (p40 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)

Another reason to take an extra trip (and in talking to Sean of O'Sullivan's salsa this weekend, maybe this is on purpose) but Hy-Vee fails to carry the Prosciutto, made in Iowa, and probably some of the best stuff in the world. Why oh why would I want something less? I gotta say, that being broiled just for a bit, really brings out some more flavors in it.

Anyways, this night of cooking proved how much I can still be a total dumb ass in the kitchen. First thing I did, was when I was peeling the potatoes, I slightly sliced my left index finger. No big deal, nicks and wounds happen from time to time when you are using sharp knives or etc, so I just shrugged, washed it off and put a bandage on it and went on. The nick, less than a day later, is hardly noticeable.

Next up, while getting ready to blend the soup up, I decided to goof off a little with the base of the blender (not the blades or the container with the blades, I'm not that stupid). I know that the food processor has protections against turning it on w/o the thing being sealed up, and wondered if this was the same. It wasn't. So what popped in my head, and I admit, as soon as I told Shannon about it, I knew how stupid this actually sounded, is that I needed to slow the gear down, so I choose to do that with my right index finger. It was going so fast that it tore off a chunk of skin and left a bit of a bruise on my finger. This actually bled more then cutting my left index finger...

So here I am, two index fingers down, but determined to finish dinner. So I put the soup in the blender (to create a nice base and add a bit more corn later), and for 2/3 batches it goes pretty well. With blending hot soup, which I have done before, you always have to be careful, since, it's hot, and the blender could totally open up and and explode. When starting to blend, it seems that hot air expands and all ways presses up on the lid of the blender, so you hold it down, and haven't filled it up too much, then you are generally good. 2/3 of the batches when fine. A little push up on the lid, settles down, and it became this creamy liquid. No problem. Last one, was a bit more then the other two, though with less onions and potato chunks. This one...yeah it didn't totally blow out the top, but it did release the seal and splattered my food processor and some other things.

While warming up the rest of the corn, in the now creamy soup, I took some of the La Mie multi-grain bread put some cheddar on it and made some grilled cheese sandwiches.

The soup was pretty good, though probably not worth the injury. But really the grilled cheese sandwiches were the true highlight of the whole thing. I imagine if I put a much sharper cheddar on that bread, it'd be about the best thing ever...

Week 41 Cooking

2009-10-11T13:51:37Z

Cheese Omelet (p24 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)
Summer Corn Soup with Crisp Prosciutto and Basil (p40 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)
Lighter Chicken and Dumplings (p13 Cook's Illustrated September/October 2009)
Thai Pork Lettuce Wraps (p15 Cook's Illustrated September/October 2009)

Week 40 Cooking Results

2009-10-11T13:31:02Z

Green Chicken Enchiladas (RC Cooks Country August/September 2009)

These were easy, I did like shredding the chicken (which gives me ideas for other things I could do), but I thought the green enchilada sauce itself seemed a bit salty...but that could just be me and my now overly sensitive to salt tongue (thank you low sodium diet).

PLT Salad (p21 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)

Olive oil fried La Quercia Prosciutto Americano? Yes please! Other stuff? Does it really matter? I did think I added a bit too much lemon juice, but besides that it was quite the salad, though it didn't hang around too long (around the time I was ready to fall asleep, I felt a bit hungry, and the next day when I had leftovers, I was very hungry by dinner time).

Cheese Omelet (p24 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)

There are somethings that I think that I should just know how to do...but apparently they still take practice. Shannon had something that resembled an omelet, I had something that more resembling scrambled eggs (mine was made first). I did use an 3 eggs and my 10 inch non-stick pan (1 of the 2 I own). I think I may make this again, just so I can practice more.

Risotto with Corn, Spicy Sausage, and Wilted Arugula (p27 Fine Cooking August/September 2009)

I'll jsut start bay saying I didn't use corn on the cob (which means I didn't pre-cook it), and the grated corn the recipe calls for, was food processored corn. I think I used more corn then the recipe called for and I know I used more sausage (the recipe calls for 1/4 pound, it was closer to a pound). Other then that I followed it pretty closely and it was really truly fantastic. I do love risotto, and it's time consuming to make, but generally it's worth it.