Monthly Archives: March 2012

Colcannon and Corned Beef

Posted by somegoodish on

Its St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m going to be way too inebriated to cook for myself, so I figured I would get an early start on celebrating the holiday a few days ago with the traditional Irish staple of colcannon and corned beef.

Now, just to get this out of the way, colcannon is Irish for cabbage and potatoes, and bubble and squeak is what the British call it when you add boiled meat to it, so I guess technically that is what I made but come on I wasn’t going to title this post “Bubble and Squeak,” that sounds like an awkward sex position or a really bad superhero duo.

First, I made a corned beef brisket. Its literally the easiest thing in the world to make because you just slowly boil the meat for 50 minutes a pound, and it should come with a spice packet…

Just add water! Cooking shouldn't be like breeding Sea Monkeys...

To prepare the cabbage, first I cut up a bunch of cabbage (duh) and an onion. Tossed it in a big pot with about 1/3 a cup of water, and let it simmer for 8 minutes.

In retrospect green cabbage would have been more appropriate for St. Patty's day, but I already had red cabbage so sue me

At the same time as I was making the cabbage, I boiled some potatoes until the were falling apart (about 20 minutes or so), and then smashed them up and added them to the cabbage. Added 1/4 cup of milk, 1/4 stick of butter, and salt and pepper to taste, and serve with the corned beef!

I refuse to call this bubble and squeek. I'm pretty sure whomever came up with that name was drunk.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted by somegoodish on

I apologize in advance for the lack of photographic evidence on this one, my photographer (aka girlfriend) was otherwise occupied (aka drinking and reading) and cake making is messy business and I didn’t want to mess up my camera (aka phone), but the end result was phenomenal so here we go…

Forgetting crucial groceries likes “dessert” is never fun, but luckily, I had … bread flour? WTF good is that for things that aren’t bread? Whatever, I have the internet. Google-fu at ready, I found a recipe for carrot cake that used it…

Using an electric mixer, I beat 2 eggs and a half cup of sugar together for a few minutes, and added 1/2 a cup of vegetable oil while still beating

Beating it... like a red-headed stepchild? Isn't the term "mixing", when was this recipe written the 1800s?

Mixed together a cup of bread flour (it has more gluten than regular flour – makes for a chewy cake) with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 a cup of sugar.

QUICKLY whisked half of the egg-sugar mixture into the flour mixture, then added the other half. Then about half a pound of shredded carrots, folded in with a spoon.

Cooked in the oven for 40 minutes at 350° F, and done!

Like I said, no pictures while baking... Drinking (or reading) hurts everyone.

…

Well, not entirely done, because I still had to make cream cheese frosting, which I was decided unhappy about having to make after a few beers myself…

4 oz of cream cheese (half of one of those little boxes) and a stick of butter, softened, blendedbeaten with my electric mixer together with 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract:

I may or may not have eaten the leftovers with a spoon...

Slathered it on the carrot cake, and it was served!

Oh goddamn this picture is making me hungry to look at...

Yup having another slice right now. Stupid delicious photos.

Chinese Brussels Sprouts and Fried Tofu with Peanut Sauce

Posted by somegoodish on

While prime rib and bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed chicken breast are well and good, if I ate them every day I would probably have a coronary before the age of 35, so today I proudly present…

The Extra Special Some Good Ish No-Meat Extravaganza!

The first thing I did was make the peanut sauce, because it can just kind of hang out while everything else gets done… Sautee up some minced garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper for a few minutes, then add a cup of water, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 3/4 of a cup of chunky peanut butter (unsweetened if you have it, but who the hell has that?) and half a teaspoon of brown sugar, stir together, and let it reduce for about 5 minutes. This ended up being incredible, I’m going to make it all the time….

My dad said he would give me his peanut sauce recipe on his deathbed (seriously), so I made my own. Dick.

Tofu generally comes soaking in its own watery tofu liquid, and (because I have an aversion to grease fires) before I could deep fry it I had to dry it out…. I did this by wrapping the tofu in paper towels and putting a heavy book on top to squeeze out the water.

Then I sliced the tofu into tofu nuggets, deep fried it in the safest manner I could, and served with the peanut sauce…

For the record, a pot over an open flame is probably not a safe way to deep fry things...

Now, on to the Brussels sprouts…

The first thing I did was make Chinese 5-Spice, because I forgot to buy it and I have a big ass spice rack so I’m pretty sure I can find 5 spices and mix them together… Equal parts anise seed, fennel seed, cinnamon, ground cloves, and whole peppercorns in my handy dandy Magic Bullet ™ and I saved myself a trip to the store.

Laziness accomplished, I shredded a bunch of Brussels sprouts and a sprig of green onions and sauteed them for about 2 minutes.

Action Shot!

Added 1/2 a teaspoon of the 5-Spice, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and continued sauteing it for another 3 minutes or so, and served!

Not pictured - delicious meat :-( but seriously this was goddamn delicious...