This is not a post about food, and may be upsetting to other animal lovers.

I had to kill a mouse the other day -- manually. I had to stamp on it, since it was in my house and seeming like it was sick. I felt horrible doing it, and still do, but I couldn't have it around. It was a really unpleasant thing to do, and I still feel really bad for the little guy.

"Quick" Weeknight Chili

In a large pot, dump in one can of tomato puree and a can of chopped tomatoes, a can of red beans and a can of black beans.

1 medium onion, one yellow bell pepper, two large cloves of garlic, all minced and sauteed in 1/2 tbsp olive oil until the peppers just start to char. I added the garlic towards the end so that it wouldn't burn. Dump in the pot and turn on the heat to medium.

Brown 1 lb ground beef and add to the pot. Roughly chop three strips of bacon (I used turkey bacon -- HEALTHY!) and crisp them up in the reserved beef fat and add to the pot.

Add to the pot: 1-2 tsp cumin, 1/3 cup chipotle salsa (I would have used minced chipotles in adobo sauce, but didn't have any on hand), 1-2 tsp chili powder (or several drops of Dave's Insanity Sauce), 1 tbsp light brown sugar, 1 tbsp minced cilantro, and some salt and pepper. I also added about a heaping teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder.

Bring to the boil, and then back down to simmer. Make sure it's at a regular simmer (not a rolling boil), stir occasionally, and go watch TV and read for a couple hours, or until your dinner partner gets home from yoga. Before serving, add chopped scallions and shredded cheese as desired.

The cornbread? From a box. Still good.

A final note -- for the first hour or so, this looked a heck of a lot more like soup than like chili. Don't panic! At some magic point that hasn't been explained to me, the beans break down and suddenly... chili! Thick, rich and tasty. For a largely improvised recipe, I was rather proud of it.

Brussels Sprouts with Parmigiano and Panko

Take 1 lb brussels sprouts, trimmed of the bottoms and any yellow leaves. Simmer in a heavy covered pan with about one inch of lightly salted water for about 7 minutes.

Drain, and toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil.

Shred 3/4 cup of parmigiano reggiano, and mix with an equal amount of panko breadcrumbs, with a teaspoon each of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix this around with the sprouts, and bake for 10-15 minutes, uncovered, at 350.

Photo credit: essgee51

Pot Roast

Although the chill weather seems to be fading fast, I wanted to try my hand at this winter classic. I combined a sort of mish-mash of recipes -- Mark Bittman's from "How To Cook Everything", Alton Brown's, and my Mom (I called her to ask her how she used to make it back when I was a kid). What I was after was that perfect falling-apart richness that you scarcely need a knife for, and it pretty much worked.

• A pot roast, about 3 lbs. The cut was chuck round? I think. It was a big piece of cow, nicely marbled.
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• One head of garlic, peeled and smashed
  
• 5 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• Two medium/large potatoes, chopped
• 2-3 cups of red wine - I used about a third of a large bottle
• Cumin
  
• Salt and pepper
  

Rub the meat all over with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt. Preheat your oven to about 350, and heat up a cast-iron skillet that has a heavy lid. Pretty damn hot, I'd say -- I left it until it was nearly smoking over medium-high heat. Pour in about a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and sear the roast on all sides. Once nicely browned all over (this is for flavor and color) remove and put aside. In the same pan, sautee your onion and garlic with a bit of Kosher salt, until softened. Put the roast back in the pan, cover with the veggies, add the wine, and cover tightly. If you're using my proportions, and have a 12" skillet, this should juuuuuust fit.

Cook in the 350 degree oven for approximately 3 hours, and test for doneness. Does it smell wonderful? Does it pretty much fall apart at the sight of a fork? It's good. Eat now, or save until the next day to reheat -- it also lends itself to being stretched with additional potatoes, peas, etc. Economical and versatile, perfect for this kind of meal.

The Worst Pies in London

Well, not the worst pies by any stretch, and not in London either. Inspired by a meat pie that my Mom made to have over my time spent in Pennsylvania at Christmas, I whipped this up last night. It was tasty, but I went too thick on the dough, which I think I would have preferred thinner.

For the crust:

• One double batch of the crusty pie dough from Bittman's "How to Cook Everything"

For the filling:

• One NY strip, minced into small (~1cm) cubes
• One medium sized veal kidney, likewise minced
• One medium onion, chopped
• One medium apple, minced
• Salt, pepper, thyme and a little flour.

And that's about it -- just seal up the pie, and coat with a light egg-wash. Bake at 350 for about 90 minutes. As I said, next time I am going to go easier on the dough, and perhaps add carrots and/or peas.

Cream of Mushroom and Potato Soup (With Chicken)

Wow, I haven't posted in too long. Well, this is as good a post as any to break my silence with -- I thought it turned out really well

• 5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• About twice as much vegetable stock as would be required to cook them in
• A bundle of fresh herbs, tied in cheesecloth for easy removal
• 1 lb white mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned, and finely chopped in the Cuisinart, then cooked in 1 tbsp butter along with a minced shallot
• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, and marinated in lemon, olive oil, and fresh dill (marinated for at least a couple of hours).
• A pint of heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1 tbsp flour, for thickening if necessary
  

Cook the potatoes in the vegetable stock (I home-made mine, but that's another story) until quite done. Add the mushroom mixture and flour puree with an immersion blender (or, I suppose in a regular blender until creamy. Add the cream, and let it get all hot again -- just below boiling.

In the meantime, simply pan fry the lemony-dilly chicken until nicely browned, but not cooked through. On a cutting board, slice them thinly, and add them to the soup. They add flavor to the soup, and vice versa. Check them for done-ness periodically, and when they're done, so is the soup. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, if you have any.

Filling, warming on a cold evening, and quite rich.

Chicken Salad

Well, with the remains of our Thanksgiving Chicken (the white meat at least, the dark was long gone, thanks to two hungry people who love those parts) I made what I think of as a classic chicken salad. We've had it two nights in a row, once on pumpernickel swirl toast and last night on soft buns, which we both preferred. It gave it a more picknicky feel, somehow. Anyhow:

• Jeez, I don't know how much chicken. Basically the meat from the breast of a roasted 5 lb chicken, more or less. Dice fairly finely.
• 2-2 1/2 stalks of celery, also diced finely
• 1 large onion, diced finely
• 1 cup ( or more, totally up to you) of mayo. I used Hellman's, having had a complete Mayonnaise Fail trying to make home-made.
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 4-5 pickled Gherkins, finely minced
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1-2 teaspoons Chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried dill (fresh would be better, but gimme a break, it's December)
• Squeeze of juice from half a lemon
  
• Ground pepper

And that's about it. Combine it all in a big bowl, and put in the fridge, covered. It will be nice immediately, better later that day, and much better the next evening.

Tomato Relish

Ok, that's not really accurate, but it's as close as I can come to describing it. We had a pint container of cherry tomatoes (one of those clear plastic vented deals) that we bought, like, weeks ago. I noticed it on the counter again, and discovered that they were all perfectly good! So, I washed them, and threw them in the food processor along with various ingredients and left it in the fridge overnight. We ate it last night with yellow corn chips, and it turned out darn well if I say so myself.

• 1 pint small cherry tomatoes
• 2-3 tbsp freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, maybe more
  
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic (I also used some Sherry vinegar)
• Some pepper
• Squeeze of half a lemon
  

Buzz it all in your mini food processor, and let sit overnight. This might also be good on little toasts, bruschetta style. Thoughts for next time -- chopped Kalamata olives? A couple of anchovies? I'll definitely be trying this again.

Brining a Chicken

Got a 4-5 lb. bird from the poultry stand at Eastern Market, which you can read all about here:

The brine was basically:

2-3 tbsp kosher salt
2-3 tbsp light brown sugar
Several teaspoons cracked pepper, plus a scant handful of whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp dry Coleman's mustard
1/2 tsp red chili powder

Take a pot and put your chicken in it, and fill with water until it is almost submerged. Remove the chicken and put it back in the fridge. The water remaining is how much brine you will be making!

Put all the dry seasonings in the water and boil for five-ten minutes. Remove from the heat and add several cups of ice cubes to cool it down. Once it's cool, put the chicken in (should be submerged) and fridge it anywhere from 3 hrs to a whole 24 like we did.

Makes for juicy, flavorful chicken. Enjoy!

Meatloaf

This is essentially a combination of Mark Bittman's meatloaf recipe and Alton Brown's, but I ended up tweaking it so extensively that I feel comfortable claiming it as my own and bothering to blog about it. It's very simple, in two parts: the loaf, and the glaze.

The Loaf

• 2 lbs ground chuck, 80% lean
• 6 oz pork belly, de-boned and ground in the food processor (this part came up because my butcher had no ground pork or veal, which the aforementioned recipes both call for
• 1 medium onion, minced finely
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard (I used Coleman's) don't click that, obnoxious Flash intro
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup of oatmeal, soaked briefly in 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
  

Mix this all up in a large mixing bowl -- but not too much mixing, as that will compress the meat and it will end up dry and dense. Believe me, if you follow my directions, that will be the least of your worries. Use a largish spatula and use a folding motion. Get everything well integrated, but don't go overboard.

In the bowl, use your (washed) hands to form the loaf into -- well, a loaf. I made mine rectangular, sort of like it had been in a bread pan. Plop this into a baking dish, or cast iron pan, and put in the oven at 350 or so. Cook for about 20 minutes, and then add:

The Glaze

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of your hottest hot sauce

Combine the above in a small ramekin and microwave for about 30 seconds. It sort of takes the bite out of the garlic. Probably an unnecessary step.

Once the meatloaf has been in for about 20 minutes, take it out and cover with the glaze using a brush (if you're fancy) or a spatula (if you're like me). Put the dish back in the oven.

Here's where it gets really unscientific for me, because my oven's temp is so undependable, and because it is so slow to rebound from having the door opened. Cook until it starts smelling good, about another 30-40 minutes, and then test with an instant-read thermometer; you're looking for it to be close to 160, your target temperature.

Once it's close, turn on the broiler. This will create a nice crunchy, meaty, sweet crust out of the glaze that you created. Wait no longer than five minutes, and remove. Serve with potatoes of your preferred preparation, rice, and whatever veggie strikes your fancy. This goes very well over rice with some pan drippings on top, and cornichon on the side as Sylvia discovered.

Pickles!

This is an adaptation of Alton Brown's bread-and-butter pickles recipe which Sylvia and I made last week. After not even 24 hours, they were delicious -- and have only been getting better. Note: these are refrigerator pickles, meaning not the kind that you can store at room temperature forever.

• 2 medium-large cucumbers
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (I used white sugar, but will try light brown next time)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/2 tsp mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp pickling spice (I got mine at the hardware store, of all places)
• Pinch of Kosher salt
  

This will make two quart-jars worth.

Slice up the cucumbers into very thin rounds, and pack into the jars. Boil all of the other ingredients for about five minutes, and then pour over the cucumbers. Cap them with the screw-on lids, let cool slightly and put in the fridge.

This was incredibly easy, and resulted in some of the best pickles I've had in ages. Total cost per batch is probably about a dollar a jar, and I don't think I'll ever buy store-bought pickles again.

This will make no sense, best to ignore it

This will make no sense unless you are a fan of both Fallout 3 and The Hold Steady.

well holly came from megaton
when her dad stepped out, it was the smoking gun
the smoking gun that echoed as she stepped out onto
the banks of the potomac river

[insert chorus, something that rhymes 'smoked those raiders' and 'she said laters' ]

and she came to ground and she staggered around
she did some jet and some stimpaks
and she had to kill some tunnel rats
on the banks of the potomac river

[something that rhymes 'young turk' and 'mirelurk']

I was bored while getting a haircut, and had been listening to The Hold Steady right beforehand, give me a break, huh jeez

That damned Firefox cursor

Have you ever noticed that in Firefox, on some sites the cursor will look weird, like it has a couple of extra pixels jutting out to the right? I think I have finally figured out why. Here's an example, if you've never noticed. I can't believe that this has been bothering me for so long. Years, I mean.

Vermicomposting

This isn't a post about food, but rather about a potential project that I'm considering after I do some more research. A project that could, in theory, lead to delicious food! Vermicomposting is a method of composting kitchen scraps (vegetable trimmings, potato peels, coffee grounds, etc.) indoors, with the aid of our friend the humble worm.

You take a smallish bin (think Tupperware storage, the opaque kind), and after drilling small holes in it, fill it with 'bedding' such as cut up newspaper and corrugated cardboard, the aforementioned kitchen scraps, and worms. Cover with more food and more bedding, add some water, and cover it with a tight-fitting lid.

The worms eat the vegetable material as well as the bedding, and you just keep adding both and occasionally stirring the whole thing around to fluff it up. You have to make sure the worms get enough food, and that there isn't too much or too little water in it, but after a few months, you get a ton of insanely high-quality compost/fertilizer. You separate the worms from the compost, and start all over again.

I grew up in a family who grew a ton of vegetables every spring and summer and composted religiously, but for all of my adult life I have lived in apartments in the city and have felt vaguely guilty every time I throw a piece of celery trimming or potato peel in the garbage. I do have a small area I can grow tomatoes and herbs in, so why not try this to feed my beloved vegetables? I will be looking into it further, and will certainly post about the experience, accompanied by photos if it turns out to be something I can actually do in a bin under my kitchen sink.

Here's what the EPA has to say about it, and here's somebody who is selling a pre-made 'Worm Inn' to do it with.

Quick, spicy, BBQ flavored chicken

One of my favorite quick meals (with a little bit of prep beforehand for marinading) is a dish of roasted chicken thighs and drumsticks, with carrots and onion. I do this differently every time, it seems. Here's what I did tonight. I used four thighs and four drumsticks.

For the marinade:

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tablespoon salt
• Lots of pepper
• A couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil
• A couple of tablespoons of ketchup
• A teaspoon of prepared mustard
• A half teaspoon of dry English mustard
• A few drops of one of the really hot novelty hot-sauces (anything that says something like "XXX" or "Do Not Want" or "This will make you Butt Hurt" on it)
• About 10 oz of Coca-Cola (no kidding, Coca-Cola).

Whisk that all together and put it over the chicken parts, in a big bowl. Cover and stick in the fridge for at least three hours.

Once that three hours is about up, preheat your oven to about 400, and cut up a big onion into thick slices, and place that at the bottom of a largish roasting pan. Peel and thickly slice three medium carrots on the bias and add them as well. Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt.

Heat up your biggest cast iron pan, and add olive oil once hot. Brown both sides of all of the chicken parts (you'll have to do it in shifts), and as they finish, put them on top of the vegetables, skin side up. Once they're all added, throw it in the oven uncovered for about 40 minutes.

After the 40 minutes are up, take out the pan and turn the oven to 'broil'. While it's heating up, drizzle a tablespoon or so of the reserved marinade over each chicken part (which should at this point have nice and crispy looking skin) and then stick back under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes.

Remove. Eat. Enjoy.

Happy Independence Day

Watched the fireworks from 902 Hart last night with Hemen, Anna, Sylvia and Tim. Hemen took some fantastic photos.

Quasi-Mediterranean Pasta

Defrosting my fridge tonight (every 3 or 4 months, it starts sounding like there's an idling moped in my kitchen) so wanted to use up some of the spoilables inside -- namely a tub of ricotta that I ordered from Peapod this weekend.

I wasn't in the mood for anything super fancy, so while I was boiling water for pasta, I threw into a small bowl:

• A small handful of Kalamata olives (pitted)
• A clove of garlic
• A tablespoon of olive oil
• A few shakes of lemon pepper
• About a quarter cup plus of the ricotta

I turned it all into a paste with a hand-held stick blender, and tossed it with some linguini, and topped it with some of the cherry tomatoes from my front yard. All in all, it took about 5 minutes of effort (not including the time to make the pasta). I'm pretty sure I'll be trying this again -- nice, simple and tasty.

Tim Russert

I was on a certain website this afternoon and noticed that someone had posted a link titled [RIP] Tim Russert.jpg and thought to myself "nah, it's gotta be a hoax". What a shock to discover that it was true. As long as I can remember following politics as an adult, he has been a constant presence -- especially this primary season, when most people I know and I have been glued to the television every election or caucus night. The randomness to the points of our own mortalities can sometimes feel very cruel, and this is one of them -- that he would not live to see the outcome of this election that he was so obviously very, very excited about.

While I often wished he would press the people in the current administration more closely, the fact remains that he did ask the questions, and that their answers or non-answers to those questions are now a matter of public record.

A great anchor, a great interviewer, and an affable and warm human being. I can't begin to imagine who will be able to replace him on our Sunday mornings. RIP.

Alton Brown's Macaroni and Cheese

Made this macaroni and cheese dish the other night. It turned out fantastically, even though I completely spaced and forgot to add the egg that the recipe asks for. I did, however add some sliced up turkey sausage that I first thoroughly browned in a skillet and then folded in before the casserole went in the oven. A+++ would eat again!

White Rabbits

OK, I suppose I should mention that this blog will also mention non-cheese related things, such as music.

Went to the Black Cat tonight, and saw White Rabbits. It was an incredibly good show -- if you're not familiar with them, just type the name of their band into Youtube to see some wonderful concert footage, including their appearance on Letterman (who knew?) They're a six-piece band, which includes two drummers and two lead singers, all alternating roles from song to song (and often in mid-song) and are right up my alley. I hope it's up your alley as well, since I'm going to be evangelizing about this band for quite some time.

White Rabbits played many songs from their debut album Fort Nightly, as well as new songs, and their encore - "Maggie's Farm". This Dylan cover seemed to pass as an original until the chorus, at which point the crowd cheered loudly upon recognition -- at which point the band seemed to grin as one, and buckle down to the task of bringing the song in to an un-ironic, loving groove. The band left the stage after this encore, and only rejoined the crowd behind their merchandise table, selling T-shirts and CDs themselves.

The Black Cat is always a great venue to see a show at, and tonight was no different. It was not a full house, but still very crowded, and we were able to watch the entire show with no obstruction or incredibly tall personages standing in front of us. All in all, a wonderful show from White Rabbits. I will post later about the bands that opened for them, and link to photos.