So, it's been over a month since my last post. All I can day is that there are sometimes things that supersede the luxury of making/photographing/blogging about food. Yes, we all have to eat, but imagine having to document it to the world. While it is not a complaint, that is what Chefetta has been up until this point; a record of what I eat, made maybe only slightly more interesting because I also make most of what we eat. There have been some " personal" things of late that have been a deterrent. While I want to assure you that it is nothing too dramatic,(or enough to make my mom worry) it has made writing Chefetta not plausible at this time. So, I am not sure when I will return, just that I will.

Sorry!

Chefetta has definitely been absent. Most of what's been happening in the kitchen lately is off-the-cuff, last-minute things. There hasn't been as much thought put into the meals(and so no forethought about photos, blog narratives) because they have been more about eating-so-we-don't -collapse and not about the kind of eating we do as a conscious action. My better half may argue with that since he has still remarked on a few occasions that a particular meal has been in his top 5 (a top 5 list that is 1000 items long! :D) But, for me, the important thing in writing here is about how I feel surrounding the process and execution of making a meal. And, well, I haven't been feeling it. Which is ironic because I'm sure a lot of you might want to know what I made out of necessity that makes my hubby go mmmmmmmmm....
So, I can just ask you to bear with me. It's not that I've lost interest in making a blog about food, so it's not like I'm cooking away and don't feel like sharing it with you, I'm just not thinking a lot about food right now in general.
I am still reading a lot about food: recipes, biographies of chefs and/or wanna be chefs and also "alternative" philosophies about what we eat... so that's good, and I'm sure Chefetta will return soon:D
xo

Shhhh!

Chefetta has been quiet. Very quiet.
She has had a few things going on in the studio that have been taking up all the brain power. Take today for instance. She forgot to eat(or didn't stop to) almost all day and was experiencing that hunger delirium when the hubby came home and saved the day with pierogi's from a secret Russian deli on the east side. Yum and thanks insert-pet-name-here:) (I'm unsure as to why I've been speaking in the third person...)

I am in the final throes of Thanksgiving menu prep. It's not that I don't like turkey, but I never feel inspired by the traditional menu, and when I've tried to make it despite that, I never enjoy the process. So we have what I'm in the mood for. Last year it was cassoulet. You'll have to wait for this year's menu, as there has been some difficulty procuring some of the ingredients. Not because they are so unusual, but, well, I'm just not gonna go into the details in the spirit of the holiday and all--let's just say a purveyor is on my sh*! list now . It should all be worked out tomorrow, but I don't want to jinx it! We are having a few friends over for dinner, those whose family are in other parts, like ours are.
It's gonna be a good day and you will hear all about it soon!

Boring!

Hi, just checking in. This weeks meals have seemed like "the things consumed so we don't pass out." I've had some studio projects that are keeping me busy, and that means a little less time/brain space to get too creative in the kitchen. There was a night out for me, some take-n-bake pizza from our fave fancy place, pasta w/ a bunch-o-veggies and turkey-jamon sammies. This weekend is supposed to be icky, so I may feel a little more inspired...

a quickie...

Healthy family meal...photo by T.

...and by quickie i mean post and recipe execution. I had some family in town recently and I made this roughly based on a recipe I saw on Epicurious: I mixed, in order of greatest volume:
sake
light miso paste
mirin
brown sugar
soy sauce
sesame oil--I made a paste of all of this, and then spread it on a 1lb. filet of true cod to marinade for 2+hrs. before broiling it for about 8-10 mins.(keep door open slightly and watch like a hawk)
I served it with broccolini that was sauteed with garlic, ginger and sesame oil, and short grain brown rice cooked with a green tea bag.

Pickled Onions

Hi. Sorry I have nothing really exciting to post. This past weekend involved quite a bit of dining out, so I didn't end up cooking much. The only noteworthy thing was the pickled onions I made Thurs. nite and have been using to garnish everything. Since I was kind of winging it, I only made 1/2 an onion's worth, but now I'm wishing I made more!

Pickled Onions

Bring to a boil:
1/2 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1-2 Tbs. maple syrup
1Tbs. mustard seeds
few sprigs fresh thyme
1 bayleaf
salt and pepper to taste

Add 1/2 large sliced onion and return to boil for two minutes an remove from heat. Cool for 15-20 mins and then store overnight in an air tight container in fridge. Then add to sammies, soups, stews, omlettes, pizza. I made parsnip soup with gruyere, pear and pickled onion toasts on the side.

I would suggest starting w/ this quantity to gauge how much you like 'em and how fast you can eat 'em. I don't know much about canning/preserving, so I'd say these are good for a week or two in the fridge since they aren't "preserved" as far as I know.

ps. this is the time of year where I have to apologize for either the crappy quality or lack of photos for the posts(see no photo above) because there is not natural light left come dinner time. I am working on a solution for this. Part of this includes how much of my kitchen I want to look like a photo studio as storage and free space are pretty much spoken for in our kitchen already. Plus, some of the solutions can greatly change the aesthetic of the photos..blah, blah, blah..

One more thing about photos: my banner photo is part of a project I'm working on to be revealed soon!

Weekend wrap up with a birthday wish...

This past week has been a full fall assault--lots of rain followed by rain and then some rain. It kinda put us in full comfort mode, so we spent a good amount of the weekend at home. And comfort mode of course means comfort food.
Starting with Saturday's meal(it was so over the top, it really was the main meal of the day)...

I made a spread of onions, mushrooms and greens by sauteing them and then pureeing them. That was layered with Dijon mustard, Gruyere cheese, Spanish jamon, and day old French boulot. It was all dipped in egg, like french toast and grilled in butter to golden perfection. Served with a side of oven roasted fries, it was a really decadent and blissfully food-coma inducing. Mmmmmm.........

Gettin' golden in butter...photo by Kristin

Food coma on a plate. Jamon, cheese and onion, mushroom, greens spread with Dijon mustard....photo by Kristin

Today's birthday wish goes to G. She is spending her weekend at our fave place, the Or. coast. Last year, she found a gorgeous vintage roasting pan and bought it for me! Then her love traveled,by train, to Seattle to deliver it during a visit. I am soooooo lucky!
I use the pan to roast a chicken with rosemary and lemon between the skin and meat over a bed of rutabaga, cabbage, onions and carrots. Topped with a mustard gravy, it had us lapping our plates tonight.

Fabulous vintage roasting pan...photo by Kristin

Just out of the oven...photo by Kristin

Dinner time...photo by Kristin

And now for a treat for G.'s b-day, a behind the scene video of one of our shared favorite food celebrity. (ps. I think this repeats itself, so you really only hafta watch the first 3 min.)