cooking Archives - hello kelinda

September 6, 2016

Homemade Kit Kats

Halloween is coming!

Okay, it’s still a month away, but it’ll sneak up on you. Like Christmas always does, but way spookier and with much tackier decorations. Speaking of, have you ever really thought about what you’re buying when you buy Halloween decorations? You’re spending money on things to make your house look like actual garbage: cobwebs in a bag, bloody rags, maybe some rubber severed limbs. It’s pretty bizarre, all things considered, to have a holiday where you actively try to make your yard look like you’re some kind of mass murderer with a poor sense of body disposal.

That said, I do love Halloween. What better excuse to put together an amazing costume that represents who you truly are inside? Perhaps Batman, or Beetlejuice, or a sexy Spongebob Squarepants.

But even as an adult, the thing I love most about Halloween is the candy. Or rather, all the candy that goes on massive clearance the day after Halloween, muahahahahahaaha. And the king of all candy? KIT KATS.

AmyK

1 Comment

September 4, 2016

Brown Butter Froot Loop Treats

I don’t remember much about my college dining hall, except that there was a salad station where I often got chunks of cheddar cheese… and little to no actual salad things, come to think of it. Hmmm.

Also, there were always stacks and stacks of Rice Krispie treats, but more importantly, stacks and stacks of marshmallow treats made out of many other kinds of cereals. Golden Grahams, Cocoa Krispies, Captain Crunch, and my personal favorite, Froot Loops. Genius.

I mean, look at how cheery these are. How can you not smile when you see them?
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AmyK

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May 31, 2016

Rice Salad with Fava Beans and Pistachios

I don’t know why, but I get Bon Appetit in my mail every month. I’m guessing it must have been some kind of promotion when I spent too much money at Williams-Sonoma, but it’s also possible that I subscribed late at night whilst tipsy, like how I woke up once after a night out to find that I had drunkenly signed up for Amazon Prime. I mean, out of all the things one could do while inebriated and on the internet, these things are certainly not the worst.

Also, it is very clear that I lead an incredibly exciting life. Be jealous.

Most of the time, none of the recipes in BA really interest me because I’m not cooking for 4+ people or willing to spend time and money on special harissa ground by nuns or whatever. But I came across a recipe for a wild rice salad in the summer 2014 issue, and it cried out: “Hey! Make me!”

AmyK

“Pesto” Potato Salad

One of my standbys, especially when little baby potatoes are available by the bucketful, is this warm pesto-inspired potato salad. The little bitty potatoes and French (or green!) beans are briefly boiled, then rinsed into cold water to make sure they stay firm and wonderful instead of disintegrating into a mushy mess. Briefly boiled, so that when the temperature rises you don’t make things worse by running that stove for too long.

AmyK

Remy’s Ratatouille (aka Confit Byaldi)

What is the best movie Pixar has ever made?

If you answered with anything other than Ratatouille, you are wrong. Sorry, but it’s not my fault you have lived a life built on errors and lies all these years.

Busted.

I love movies about food, like Big Night, Romantics Anonymous, Chef, Haute Cuisine, and on and on. That said, there are also bad movies about food where it seems like everyone involved in the production of the film wouldn’t even be able to undertake the production of a ham sandwich. I’m looking at you, No Reservations. Shame on everyone involved in that sad-sack romcom.

But Ratatouille! This is an excellent food movie, and I love it more every time I watch it. It is far more charming than any story about an animated rat cooking in a professional kitchen has any right to be. It captures the joy of creating something, whether new or from someone else’s instructions, and sharing that creation with the people you love.

AmyK

1 Comment

March 6, 2016

I’m Aliiiiiiive! And Some Focaccia, I Guess

I’ve had a cold all week, and have made and eaten so much chicken noodle soup that I’m pretty sure all of my blood has now been replaced with broth. Oy. After all of this, if one of my coworkers so much coughs within a 15 radius of me, they are definitely getting Lysol-ed in the face.

But finally, finally, I am on the mend. And the only thing I wanted after days of soup, soup, and more soup was a good piece of bread. I talked about the comfort of sandwich bread before, but this time I wanted something a little more interesting. Something to wake my mouth up from its chicken broth slumber. Something like focaccia!

I love focaccia. It’s fluffy and crusty, fairly simple to make (if a bit time-consuming with all the proofing and whatnot), and you can top it with all manner of delicious things. It also makes a decent “sandwich” bread if you slice it in half, but the fact that it’s soaked in olive oil will make eating that sandwich a messy experience. But I am shameless, so that never stops me, muahahahahahahaahahaha!!!!

AmyK

4 Comments

February 21, 2016

Turnip’s Panna Cotta with Roasted Green Grapes in Honey

It has been a rough week. A little over a month ago, I adopted a little green cheek conure named Turnip. He was energetic, sweet, charming, and an absolute weirdo — but long story short, despite the weeks and weeks of working with him (on my own and with a parrot behavior specialist), he was unhappy whenever I’d have to leave him to go to work, run errands, or basically do anything other than be right there with him. He apparently made a big fuss whenever I was gone, and so he had to be rehomed for the sake of his own sanity and that of my neighbors.

We had bonded fantastically, to the point where if he was getting outside time and I left the room to go attend to something else and took “too long” to return, he’d come searching for me. There have been more than one occasion when I was in the kitchen washing up only to find him crawling up my leg like a little feathery Spider-Man. Awwww.

AmyK