frites & fries

Want: Food Snob Cards

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:01:00 -0500

Made by David Kamp. This is exactly what I want for Christmas! (via)

Link: Learn Something New Everyday!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:59:00 -0500

Link: Learn Something New Everyday!

Erin Hanson. Good Morning!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:33:37 -0500

Erin Hanson. Good Morning!

A Very Veggie Thanksgiving

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:31:00 -0500

The day after Halloween, my local Duane Reade and CVS already had candy canes and snowman chocolates on their shelves. It’s not even December yet so I’m not really thinking about all the different peppermint concoctions. However, we do have to prep and stock-up for Thanksgiving (There’s a pumpkin shortage, y’all!). I’ve been in A LOT of conversations with (panicking) people who wanted to know what a vegetarian eats on Thanksgiving. So here it is: a recipe round-up of things that have caught my eye recently after the jump.

(Note: I personally ~~hate~~ dislike Tofurkey). Sides are pretty simple: grilled vegetables, beans, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes…etc.

Hors d’oeuvres/Appetizers/Sides:

Main Course:

Stuffed Pumpkin
Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Potato Mushroom Pie
Vegetable Stew
This Lentil Loaf recipe from a blog, with this mushroom gravy from Gourmet (R.I.P.)
Lentil Loaf recipe from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Being Vegetarian

Rengim Mutevellioglu. She also has a set of beautiful...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:48:25 -0500

Rengim Mutevellioglu. She also has a set of beautiful photographs documenting her time in Turkey.

Apparently, Drugstore.com thinks that I may be pregnant because...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:30:00 -0500

Apparently, Drugstore.com thinks that I may be pregnant because it recommended two, not one pregnancy test. Thanks a lot. Someone needs to re-program their product customization algorithm. Just sayin’.

Edit: I should note, in my defense, that my account only has razors and toothpaste saved and they’re the only things I’ve ever bought from them.

Almond Scented Cranberry Bars

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:07:10 -0500

I didn’t have time to buy blanched almond slivers, but they’re best with almonds sprinkled on top. They’re just as good without them though…Read the recipe after the jump!

For 9” square pan:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” pieces
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. sugar
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 tsp. almond extract
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. blanched almond slivers

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with greased foil. Mix the cold butter, flour, salt, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. It should look crumbly, like an apple crisp topping. I don’t have a food processor so I did it by hand (they used hands not machines, back in the day!) without melting the butter. Bake the crumbly part until it turns slightly golden with the sides of it pulled away from the pan; its starting to look like a solid mass! Meanwhile, cook fresh cranberries, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, almond extract, and water in a saucepan over medium heat.

Make sure that berries burst and the mixture starts to thicken like maple syrup. Pour cranberries over crust and bake until the edge of the bars are golden brown, for about 25 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over top and sprinkle blanched almonds on top; let the bars cool completely in pan on a rack. Lift them of pan and sift more sugar on it. Cut them into small squares. They should cool enough that the cranberry topping starts to stiffen and solidify a little bit (like cheese!):

Picture text from Chef. It is a pig head…a smiling one. He...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:23:13 -0500

Picture text from Chef. It is a pig head…a smiling one. He finds these kinds of things romantic I guess.

[I apologize if you have a weak stomach]

Hollis Thornton Brown. Some of his photos/art are quite amazing:...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Hollis Thornton Brown. Some of his photos/art are quite amazing: he does transfer prints on paper; The transfers he uses are sometimes vintage photos but the faces are cut-out. It makes a creepy work of art!

Things I Did Yesterday

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:42:00 -0500

Gave away my cranberry bars at work (luckily I saved one for Chef)
Went to get a pedicure with two of my friends. I really wanted an obnoxious highlighter yellow but ended up with fuschia because my friend was trying to talk me out of it. I have this thing where I always pick the ugliest nail polish color for my toes. I regret not picking highlighter yellow and giving into peer pressure.
Went to PJ Clarks with Colleen and ate a lot of french fries. I regretted not ordering the Clarks coffee. [If you haven’t tried it, ask for it!]
Had beer on the Upper East Side with Chef’s sister, and some friends. Also realized that night that the Wisconsin cheesehead hat looks like a uterus on the inside. There is probably an incriminating photo of me on the interwebz.
Took a lot of cab rides and spent too much money…sigh.
Ran into my old roommate on the UES!

I might end up in Brooklyn tonight but my head hurts and I just want to hide in the covers, drink hot chocolate, eat Swedish fish, and watch Gossip Girl.

Aime Lee. I was thinking about doing another photo project with...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:17:49 -0500

Aime Lee.

I was thinking about doing another photo project with my friends’ body parts, cut out the photos and reconstruct it into a person. [I could’ve done a better job of describing this potential project.]

Burnt Orange Sunday (photo via Joakim Kræmer, Patrick Fulton,...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Burnt Orange Sunday (photo via Joakim Kræmer, Patrick Fulton, and Kamal Hamid).

The ZIPScribble map connects all the ZIP codes in ascending...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:10:00 -0500

The ZIPScribble map connects all the ZIP codes in ascending order. most of the empty, white zones separate states, while each little dense center seems to be a county. (via)

New York is really messed up. Look at this:

Ruby Red Friday! Speaking of Ruby Red, I feel like going to Ruby...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Ruby Red Friday! Speaking of Ruby Red, I feel like going to Ruby Tuesday’s for milkshakes and french fries — I am bumming it this weekend.

(photos via vis.ualize.us, cofano, Sabine)

Malaysian Pancakes

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:16:00 -0500

Read the recipe after the jump.

For two dozen pancakes (adapted from Tom Kine’s Street Food):

2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. soy milk
5 bananas
2 tbsp. sugar
salt
vegetable oil
powdered sugar

Mash the ripe bananas in a mixing bowl and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients, then add in the soy milk and sugar. Fold in the mashed bananas until the batter is smooth and creamy. Heat about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a medium sized pan on medium heat. Use a half cup scoop and cook the pancakes. Repeat until the batter is completely gone. Serve with powdered sugar and sliced bananas on it. Caramel syrup (especially this one from Bon Appétit) is also a great alternative.

I should add that I’m not Malaysian. Just FYI, my family is native Taiwanese, Chinese, and Portuguese with some other stuff. When I told my soon to be boyfriend that my father was Taiwanese, he blurted out that he loved Thai food. Not. The. Same. Somehow Ryan Skeen found out about it and won’t let him forget that. Way to go!

Pale Mint Thursday (photos via Mike Carney, Denis-Carl Robidoux,...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:48:17 -0500

Pale Mint Thursday (photos via Mike Carney, Denis-Carl Robidoux, and Jessica Wilson).

These colors make me want to have a tea party…on the beach.

I’m trying to determine if this is scary or not: My Milk...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:25:23 -0500

I’m trying to determine if this is scary or not: My Milk Toof is a photo series Inhae Renee Lee depicting teeth (uh, toofs?) in everyday settings.

Currently watching Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965).

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:07:00 -0500

Currently watching Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965).

Horacio Salinas. A creative way to re-use that used paper baking...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:02:33 -0500

Horacio Salinas. A creative way to re-use that used paper baking case.

Fancy Schmancy Pumpkin Muffins

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:11:00 -0500

This took a dozen mushy muffins and a dozen dry muffins before I was able to perfect it and make it remotely edible. I’m sorry Mother Earth. Read the recipe after the jump!

Makes a dozen muffins:

1 2/3 c. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. milk
1 c. pumpkin purée
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 cup butterscotch chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin/cupcake pan with paper cupcake cases. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs; mix in the olive oil, milk, pumpkin purée, and sugar. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour with the salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda into the mixing bowl. Stir into the wet mixture until just combined. Fold in the butterscotch chips if you’re using it. Fill each of the cupcake cases about 2/3 of the way worth of batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested in the center of a cupcake.