Mulled Cider

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Anita!
A good thing happened this weekend when I went to another apartment for dinner.  Six good friends were gathered in the kitchen (including my roommate).  Upon my arrival everyone briefly stopped and smiled as if they had been waiting for me to walk through the door.  It gave me a feeling I wish upon everyone, all the time.
If you like cider, I’m hoping this recipe will be that feeling in drinkable form.  The six main ingredients greet you up front and stick with you throughout in a heady, warmifying way.
I don’t recommend letting them steep quite as long as I did, or they may also throttle you to death.

Ingredients (Verbatim from Elise’s Simply Recipes edition, except for the addition of chilis and deletion of nutmeg)

  • 1/2 gallon apple cider
  • 15 cloves
  • 15 allspice berries
  • 7 cardamom pods*
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 medium orange, sliced
  • 2-3 thai chilis (optional. They didn’t make it too hot)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
In a large pot, bring the cider to a boil (or use a crock pot on high, as I did).  Reduce to a simmer, and then add all of the ingredients and mix with a spoon.  Cover, and let simmer for at least 15 minutes.  Sample every 10 minutes after that until the body of the cider gets more full (I know, super descriptive).  When the flavor is to your liking, either strain the cider through a sieve or use a sieve to take out the ingredients.  Eat the orange slices, they’re fantastic!  I asked Elise how well this cider would store in the fridge, and she said that the cider would ferment (read: auto-carbonate) before it went bad.
I ended up leaving the spices in the cider for an hour or more.  The flavor was super complex but kind of overwhelming–I could only drink a little at a time.
*Unsure as to where you will find cardamom pods?  The Food Co-Op on Euclid Ave. sells spices wholesale, and the turnover rate is high enough that you’ll be getting fresher stuff.  You can find whole and powdered cardamom there in any amount (you can even go and buy literally 7 cardamom pods).  You can also get the cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and cloves there in the amount you need–no one needs extra clutter or, worse still, stale spices.
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Posted in Drinks | 2 Comments

Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Ari

A couple of months ago Anita posed the question, “What is your favorite smell?” Being the food obsessed person that I am, my first response was sauteed onions and garlic. Upon further reflection, I remembered that non-food smells do exist, and I told her about my love for the smell of sawdust, musty basements and grapefruit (I know that grapefruit is a food, but just work with me here…). I assumed that this was just a normal one of our conversations, but my sneaky roommate had something up her sleeve. After returning from a weekend trip home, she presented me with a bottle of some of the most delicious smelling body wash my nose has ever had the pleasure of meeting. Apparently her hometown of Columbia, Missouri has this incredible little store called Makes Scents, where you can create different scents for body wash, hand soaps, perfume, etc. Being the wonderful friend that she is, Anita had tucked my favorite scents away in her mind, and during her trip home, created a cedar and grapefruit scented body wash for me!

my cedar and grapefruit scented body wash (creatively named after my hometown)

Being presented with this unexpected gift got me thinking…why do we like the smells we like? I mean, no one really wants to go around bragging that they love the smell of musty basement or skunk (ahem…mom…), but that doesn’t change the fact we inhale a little deeper when we’re around those smells. I find it interesting that not only can smells have a pretty pleasurable effect on our mood, they can also jog our memory. I remember being in a ballet class one time, and all of a sudden having a hundred memories from high school rush back to me. It turned out that the girl I was dancing next to used a shampoo that had the same scent as the perfume I wore in high school.
Okay, a lot of you might be thinking, “Where is she going with all of this?” Don’t worry faithful readers, I promise this discussion is leading to a recipe…but first, back to the story!
With all of these thoughts in the back of my mind, I started asking my friends about their favorite smells. A lot of people (particularly those who enjoy cooking) mentioned that they shared a love for garlic and onions. I also heard a lot of responses that included fresh cut grass, gasoline and lavender. Interestingly, many of the men I asked responded with clove or pumpkin spice. To be honest, I mean I enjoy the sent of pumpkin pie, but it’s definitely not my favorite. So, a little perplexed by this common thread, I typed “pumpkin spice men’s favorite scent” into trusty google, and sure enough the first link that popped up was to an article that described the scents that men and women find most attractive. In the article it explained that the Smell and Taste Research Foundation in Chicago recently conducted a study that determined a lavender and pumpkin spice combination was found to be the most attractive scent in the male population with “normal olfactory ability” (I guess it makes scents…I mean sense…that they would have to exclude those who can’t smell…). So there ya go ladies. Start dabbing yourself with lavender and pumpkin spice as part of your morning routine…or better yet you can just make today’s recipe and serve it to any man with whom you’ve decided you wouldn’t mind getting on a first name basis (yay for the new harry potter this thursday!!!).
Okay. Phew! You made it to the recipe. Just as a heads up, while Anita and I would love to claim creative genius for this recipe, it actually comes from our adopter, Stephanie’s blog: Desserts for Breakfast. Warning, you will need an ice cream machine for this recipe…or you could try it this way.

What you need (makes about 10 large scoops):

  • 7 oz of cream cheese
  • 5-6 tbs of pumpkin puree (I was lazy and used the canned stuff, but fresh works too!)
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1/2 cup of half and half
  • 2/3 cup of sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp of nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp of allspice
  • 1/4 tsp of ground clove
  • a pinch of salt

What you need to do:

  1. Add all of the ingredients to your handy-dandy food processor, and blend until smooth (we noticed that you need to look out for clumps of cream cheese that refuse to be blended).
  2. Place mixture in the fridge and chill (we left ours in overnight…mostly because we were being lazy).
  3. Add the mixture to your ice cream maker (make sure you chilled the bowl beforehand!) and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
  4. The finished product will be the consistency of soft serve ice cream, so we put it back in the freezer for another couple hours before serving.
  5. Enjoy!
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Posted in Dessert, Pumpkin | 14 Comments

We’re moving up in the world…

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Ari

I wanted to quickly point out that 2 of Anita’s photos have now been accepted to foodgawker! Her olivada photos were accepted this morning, and earlier in the summer, her photo of our spiced muffins was accepted! Just felt like bragging out my partner in crime…Enjoy your Thursday!

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Posted in Non Recipe | 4 Comments

Olivada

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Anita!
I’ll set the scene: you’re at a party full of acquaintances.   You’re supposed to act like a human and make eye contact and conversation with the host and the other guests.  You’re dressed in non-stomach-expandy clothes.  It’s expected that you will be judicious about how much you eat.
But small bites of food are malingering on a table on the other side of the room, whizzing by your head on lofted trays, or–worst of all–lying in a seductive array in the middle of your social circle.  This is torture; the food is definitely more attention-grabbing than the small talk.  There are four approaches to this situation, and I’ve tried them all.
1. Lion – eat as much as you can at the beginning, then sleep it off
2. Squirrel – load up your plate and store for later (bonus points if you hide the food somewhere)
3. Pigeon – repeatedly peck at the food
4. East Germany – divide out territories.  eat any potential defectors
At the end of a gathering, you’re likely to find me with glazed eyes and guacamole in my hair, mumbling something about the weather.
Appetizers only work out with the right people.  At home, dinner is occasionally composed of small plates.  And as the family member expected to set the low bar in social graces, I can end up with the last 1 or 2 pieces of toast slathered with this spread.
This is basically a pesto with olives instead of basil.  If you don’t like olives, try sun-dried tomatoes.  Anything that has a bit of a sour taste.


Ingredients
  • 1 can of large pitted black olives or a cup (and change) of kalamata olives
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 big handful of walnuts
  • 1 handful of grated parmesan
  • some olive oil on hand (no more than a few Tbsp)
  • salt (no more than 2 tsp)
  • pepper
Use your best judgement when making this.  Start with the olives, garlic, walnuts, and parmesan and whir in the food processor.  Add the olive oil at a slow drizzle until you reach a spread consistency.  Your paste actually should look more like TV snow than the matte grey in my picture (I tried using sunflower seeds instead).  Add salt and pepper a little at a time, whir some more, taste it, and adjust as necessary.  The end effect is an olive spread, with a tangy flavor and a slightly grainy texture.  Serve on toast (sliced sandwich loaf for a snack, sliced baguette for a party).  It tastes better the next day.
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Posted in Snacks | 11 Comments