I have been a compulsive dressing buyer. I buy dressing for something (italian bottled dressing is a perfect marinade, by the way) and don't use any more. I end up with a fridge door full of dressings that are going bad with no use.
If you're like that, you can throw all of those away. They're full of fat (especially the creamy ranch and italians you're buying) and the list of ingredients is usually far too long. Here's the best way to make tasty dressings that you know the contents of. And you probably have half the ingredients in your cupboards anyway.
Here's my basic list for a dijon vinaigrette:
Dijon mustard
Sweetener (honey, agave nectar or brown sugar)
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
I always start with dijon. It's a really nice flavor base and it gives you the homogenized product you're looking for. You don't want the oil to sit on top. You don't want everything else to sit on the bottom. When making a vinaigrette, you want all of it to blend together so you're not chasing it around on your plate. Put a couple tablespoons of that in a bowl.
Next is the sweetener. You can do without it, but sometimes the dressing can get way too sour. I like mine sour. I usually sweat while eating my dressing. But sometimes it's way too sour and some sweet will definitely make your dressing more rounded in flavor. Always look for that balance. I usually have honey in my cabinet. Agave nectar is perfect as well. I like choosing sweeteners that have their own depth of flavor to bring something to this flavor party so stay away from plain granulated sugar and go at least to brown sugar. Add about a tablespoon to your bowl.
Next is the vinegar. What's a vinaigrette without vinegar?! I like Balsamic vinegar. It's an aged red wine vinegar that has be come super concentrated and oddly sweet. I find it perfect for salad dressings and a lot of people agree. If you don't have it, I like red wine vinegar. I even mix my vinegars if I want my balsamic to last longer. Stay away from white distilled vinegar though. That's better for cleaning. Add about 1/4 cup of the vinegar.
Salt and pepper are essential to your cooking. Season to taste. Use cracked black pepper.
Here's where you can get creative. Have a bunch of basil or thyme that needs using? Toss it in! Garlic or onion powder? Sure! Play with the flavors and see what you like and what you want to do.
Whisk all of your ingredients together until combined.
While whisking, add your olive oil. Use a good quality oil for this. Seriously. You're going to taste it and you need it to taste the best. Add about 1/4 cup of oil.
The most important part is to taste it. Make sure you have a couple leaves of lettuce on your hands to taste it and make sure it tastes how you want it. I made the mistake of not tasting it just a couple weeks ago and it tasted way too much like plain dijon mustard but I didn't have the ingredients to fix it. Make sure you taste it so it tastes just as you like it.
My salads usually consist of a mescalune mix with baby spinach, radicchio and romaine with some feta crumbled on top. Yummmmm!
So let me know how it goes! Try it out and see how making your own salad dressing works out for you!
By the way, we've stopped buying salad dressings in my place. I have a bottle that I keep in the fridge at all times and refill whenever we're low. It's actually at the point where if I'm in the grocery store and even *look* at a bottle of dressing, my boyfriend asks me what the HELL I'm doing and informs me that my dressing is so much better and I'm a fool for looking at it.
I'm not lying.
Have fun with your salads!
-Merry
25 July 2010
22 July 2010
Lunch the Old Fashioned Way
Looking for a nice, quick, light lunch? I have the perfect solution. But it needs an anecdote.
I grew up doing medieval recreation with the Society for Creative Anachronism or the SCA. I grew up paying attention to who was king, who won the tournaments, what I could purchase from the merchants and, most importantly, what I was going to eat. I was lucky enough to have been exposed to a lot of rustic and high court style foods. Chicken with a raisin stuffing, armored turnips and almond creams were typical of my pallet when I was young.
But my favorite food? My absolute favorite thing to do for lunch growing up, dressed like a little princess and starving from playing on a big playground all day?
My mom looked for a way to feed three hungry girls quickly. The morning of the event we would go to the grocery store and pick up cheese, bread and grapes.
What? My favorite meal is bread, cheese and grapes? Yep. Let me explain.
This is what's called a farmer's or a peasant's lunch. The peasant in question was usually fairly poor. Can't kill most of his livestock. He needs them to work or make things like eggs or milk for him. He also is probably working in the heat most of the day so he can't have something that will go bad.
Bread is constantly being made. Flour lasts a while and it's easy to use and make into bread- all kinds of bread. Flatbreads, rustic breads, etc. There's a reason that bread is a staple of most households.
Milk goes bad pretty quickly. In the Middle Ages (or really any time before the mid 19th century), milk wasn't pasteurized or anything to kill off microbes. As a result, it turned to cheese quickly. What do we do? We roll with the punches. Pretty much any culture that used cows a lot has its own cheese.
And fruit needs to be eaten quickly or preserved.
For me, the perfect peasant's lunch is a rustic bread (a loaf of Italian bread is wonderful), a nice cheddar cheese and grapes. The basic mouth feel of the bread combined with the sharp cheddar and the sweet grapes is a perfect balance for a nice lunch on a hot day.
Another nice option is my "cheap lunch" when I'm at my big event, Pennsic. Last year, the Coopers (the family that owns the site the event happens on) decided to start carrying local artisanal breads, rolls, etc. The real kicker is that they started selling dipping oil- olive oils and herbs perfectly blended to a delicious and perfect concoction for, say, a nice challah roll. Pair that with a nice container of blueberry greek yogurt and gatorade (it's hot and the electrolytes are good) and I have a greek peasant's feast for me to enjoy all on my own, people watching at the Cooper's Store.
But why stop there? There are plenty of other international options to choose from!
Feeling exotic? How about some pita and hummus with a stone fruit like plums or some olives? Some sushi is a good option for those feeling an Asian element to their day (though refrigeration is highly recommended).
But the best part of this meal? Enjoying it. Sit under a tree with a book. Go to a local park and people watch. Have a picnic. The best part for me growing up was sitting with my sisters, enjoying the sun, listening to the music, the battle cries and truly feeling transported.
So open your eyes, look around and enjoy a Peasant's Lunch and let me know how it goes.
Email me at merryskitchen@gmail.com!
-Merry
I grew up doing medieval recreation with the Society for Creative Anachronism or the SCA. I grew up paying attention to who was king, who won the tournaments, what I could purchase from the merchants and, most importantly, what I was going to eat. I was lucky enough to have been exposed to a lot of rustic and high court style foods. Chicken with a raisin stuffing, armored turnips and almond creams were typical of my pallet when I was young.
But my favorite food? My absolute favorite thing to do for lunch growing up, dressed like a little princess and starving from playing on a big playground all day?
My mom looked for a way to feed three hungry girls quickly. The morning of the event we would go to the grocery store and pick up cheese, bread and grapes.
What? My favorite meal is bread, cheese and grapes? Yep. Let me explain.
This is what's called a farmer's or a peasant's lunch. The peasant in question was usually fairly poor. Can't kill most of his livestock. He needs them to work or make things like eggs or milk for him. He also is probably working in the heat most of the day so he can't have something that will go bad.
Bread is constantly being made. Flour lasts a while and it's easy to use and make into bread- all kinds of bread. Flatbreads, rustic breads, etc. There's a reason that bread is a staple of most households.
Milk goes bad pretty quickly. In the Middle Ages (or really any time before the mid 19th century), milk wasn't pasteurized or anything to kill off microbes. As a result, it turned to cheese quickly. What do we do? We roll with the punches. Pretty much any culture that used cows a lot has its own cheese.
And fruit needs to be eaten quickly or preserved.
For me, the perfect peasant's lunch is a rustic bread (a loaf of Italian bread is wonderful), a nice cheddar cheese and grapes. The basic mouth feel of the bread combined with the sharp cheddar and the sweet grapes is a perfect balance for a nice lunch on a hot day.
Another nice option is my "cheap lunch" when I'm at my big event, Pennsic. Last year, the Coopers (the family that owns the site the event happens on) decided to start carrying local artisanal breads, rolls, etc. The real kicker is that they started selling dipping oil- olive oils and herbs perfectly blended to a delicious and perfect concoction for, say, a nice challah roll. Pair that with a nice container of blueberry greek yogurt and gatorade (it's hot and the electrolytes are good) and I have a greek peasant's feast for me to enjoy all on my own, people watching at the Cooper's Store.
But why stop there? There are plenty of other international options to choose from!
Feeling exotic? How about some pita and hummus with a stone fruit like plums or some olives? Some sushi is a good option for those feeling an Asian element to their day (though refrigeration is highly recommended).
But the best part of this meal? Enjoying it. Sit under a tree with a book. Go to a local park and people watch. Have a picnic. The best part for me growing up was sitting with my sisters, enjoying the sun, listening to the music, the battle cries and truly feeling transported.
So open your eyes, look around and enjoy a Peasant's Lunch and let me know how it goes.
Email me at merryskitchen@gmail.com!
-Merry
21 July 2010
What I'm All About
Hi there!
My name is Merry and I love to cook. Sitting home after work, I am usually compelled to chop vegetables or get some water boiling for *some*thing.
I am an experiential cook. I have never been to culinary school and worked in a cafe in high school for a total of three days (it might have been two). I was usually able to cook and cook relatively well (I can make a mean box of mac and cheese) but I never had any real interest in cooking, learning the method of it or complicated terms like "ceviche," "roux," or anything like that. I simply cooked to eat and survive. And if it was tasty, I was okay with that too.
Then I moved into an apartment with two of my girlfriends... who watched Food Network almost constantly. It ended up being a bonding activity to come home and watch Sandra Lee, Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten and, of course, Alton Brown. I also learned that I was learning a heck of a lot. Especially once it all went into reruns.
Then I moved a long way away. It was hard. I left all of my friends and didn't have much of a life. The consolation I had was Food Network. I was able to watch all the shows I watched with my friends and still have that bond. I set up Facebook chat dates with one of my roommates to watch Ace of Cakes every Thursday.
The more I watched, the more I became inspired to cook. My mother had given me bits and pieces of good kitchen ware over the years and I became super excited. I had good knives, a kitchen and a hungry boyfriend to feed. So I started experimenting.
It hasn't been easy and there are a lot of stories to tell, but I think it's worthwhile. I hope to get a good webcam and do a YouTube show where you can see me, comment on my cooking and all that good stuff.
But for now, follow me here, ask me questions and I'll post answers. I'll also be posting my recipes as I create them.
Stay Tuned!
-Merry
My name is Merry and I love to cook. Sitting home after work, I am usually compelled to chop vegetables or get some water boiling for *some*thing.
I am an experiential cook. I have never been to culinary school and worked in a cafe in high school for a total of three days (it might have been two). I was usually able to cook and cook relatively well (I can make a mean box of mac and cheese) but I never had any real interest in cooking, learning the method of it or complicated terms like "ceviche," "roux," or anything like that. I simply cooked to eat and survive. And if it was tasty, I was okay with that too.
Then I moved into an apartment with two of my girlfriends... who watched Food Network almost constantly. It ended up being a bonding activity to come home and watch Sandra Lee, Giada DeLaurentiis, Ina Garten and, of course, Alton Brown. I also learned that I was learning a heck of a lot. Especially once it all went into reruns.
Then I moved a long way away. It was hard. I left all of my friends and didn't have much of a life. The consolation I had was Food Network. I was able to watch all the shows I watched with my friends and still have that bond. I set up Facebook chat dates with one of my roommates to watch Ace of Cakes every Thursday.
The more I watched, the more I became inspired to cook. My mother had given me bits and pieces of good kitchen ware over the years and I became super excited. I had good knives, a kitchen and a hungry boyfriend to feed. So I started experimenting.
It hasn't been easy and there are a lot of stories to tell, but I think it's worthwhile. I hope to get a good webcam and do a YouTube show where you can see me, comment on my cooking and all that good stuff.
But for now, follow me here, ask me questions and I'll post answers. I'll also be posting my recipes as I create them.
Stay Tuned!
-Merry
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