I have a philosophy about Thanksgiving cooking. This is not the holiday for fancy, over-the-top, restaurant-inspired cooking. That's what Christmas is for. Thanksgiving is the holiday for simple, traditional dishes done very well.



I have a plan; we'll see how all this goes.

Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream -- I could happily live on dairy products alone. (Good thing I'm lactose-tolerant. Many thanks to my Scandinavian ancestors.) However, these lovely things are not cheap, so today I did some playing around with DIY yogurt and ricotta. These are some of the simplest recipes evah.

(Had I been thinking, I'd have taken pics.)

For yogurt: I heated a half gallon of whole milk to 180* F, pulled it off the burner, let it cool to 110*. At that point I scooped out some of the warm milk with a measuring cup, and mixed in 2 tablespoons of store-bought yogert. (The kind with live cultures). I poured that back into the pot of heated and cooled milk, covered the pot, and stuck it into a slightly warmed oven for the next 8 hours with the oven light on. Voila, yogurt! Tomorrow I'm going to strain it for Greek-style yogurt, which is even yummier -- thick and creamy like sour cream -- but costs way more than I can justify spending on yogurt these days.

For ricotta: I brought a quart of whole milk to a bare simmer, stirring just enough to keep the bottom of the pot from scorching completely (but don't be surprised if it cooks on a little).** At a bare simmer I poured in a quarter-cup of lemon juice, gave it one quick stir to combine, and turned down the heat. I waited for a minute while the milk curdled, and gave it another quick stir. Once it looked like the milk had separated into curds and whey (yes, like Miss Muffett) I poured the pot into a strainer lined with a coffee filter and let it drain for an hour. When the curds looked mostly (but not completly) drained I put a second coffee filter over the top of the cheese and weighted it with the bowl from my lemon juicer, which fits my small strainer pretty well. I left that for about 30 minutes while I puttered around the house, and then scraped the ricotta into a bowl.

Tonight's dinner was yogurt and a chopped mango. Lunch tomorrow is going to be spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and a glob of ricotta cheese on top.




** I'll be scrubbing pots tomorrow.

There is no charge for awesomeness. Or, attractiveness.

"A fifteen inch deep-fried hot dog topped with jalapeños, habanero chili sauce, coleslaw, diced tomatoes and a mound of cheese."




And go to the Pizza Cone.



No? How about a MetaPizza





Maybe..."The Mega Mel Burger....burger consisting of five pounds of beef, one pound of bacon and a quarter pound of cheese" will trip your trigger.

This Is Why You're Fat

intrepida actually physically recoiled from the screen in horror.

Is stereotypically red, white, and pink.

Here, Valentines Day is green and orange! Up for tonight, one romantic sushi dinner courtesy of His Awesomeness, Baron Alejandro. Salad, sides, and dessert by me.

Pics to follow.

How to Bake A Cake In A Coffee Mug Using A Microwave. Whoever thought that up should work for NASA.

This -




is a CAKE -



d00d.

Deets here. Moar pix here.

Cross posted from my journal

Banana Bran Muffins

( Recipe Behind the Cut )

Courtesy of fiannaharpar over at Medieval Cooking, Site of All Things Gastronomically Awesome. Thanks!



Crash Hot Potatoes

Man, these look good. And tasty. And relatively healthy, since there's not all that milk, cream, and butter to fatten your butt up. Just deee-lish potato-y goodness. I love simple.

http://annathered.wordpress.com/

The author of that blog has a post up of bento lunches she's made based on Miazaki movies. They are IN-sane.

( Based on Spirited Away )

Really really good on a cold day. Very filling. Although, keep in mind I just said 'good'. I didn't say, 'good for you'.

( Ghetto Chili )

Because baronalejandro has a lust for all things pumpkin that almost equals his love for me, I decided to make him some kind of decadent pumpkin goodie as one of his Christmas presents. Behold! Pumpkin Caramel Rolls

( Recipe behind the cut )This recipe is based heavily on the "Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Buns" from the 2004 Best of Cooking Light cookbook. I wanted to make something with a definite pumpkin flavor that recalled the pans of gooey caramel rolls that my Mom would make for special occasions when I was little, without being completely horrible for us. So, the idea of adding pumkin to the caramel itself.

Judging by baronalejandro 's moans and drooling, this was a hit.



Less than four hours later...