Mushroom Ragu

January 9th, 2010 § 1 comment

ragu

After a month of limited cooking, it felt good to make my shopping list, grab my reusable canvas bags like a true Park Sloper, and head out to the market for the ingredients for a mushroom ragu. My first recipe of 2010 is not a complicated one, but it is a satisfying, simple dish that reheats well the next day. It can also be doubled (or tripled) to serve as a layer in a vegetarian lasagna.

Before I get to the recipe though, I want to do a quick follow-up on my New Years resolutions. I admit I have not brought my lunch to work this week and I have not written in my journal since Monday. However, I’ve made dinner four nights and I made an appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed. (Can you hear the joy in my prose?) If you have any suggestions for good post-wisdom tooth removal recipes, I’d love to hear them. Now, on to the recipe. » Read the rest of this entry «

New Year’s Resolutions

January 3rd, 2010 § 4 comments

NYE Cheer

I have posted my New Year’s resolutions on the web since 2005, believing that if I post them in a public forum and revisit them at the end of the year, I am more likely to follow through. I’ve never accomplished every single one, but I believe I’ve completed more of them as a result.

Before I launch into a review of last year’s resolutions and provide the new list for 2010, I have to say that 2009 was the most difficult in my quarter century of existence, with months of unemployment and fighting to find freelance work taking its toll. I felt crippled creatively, devoting all of my energy to job hunting and stressing about finances, but cooking and this blog provided a welcome relief.  When I put on my headphones and entered the kitchen to cook dinner or bake, everything else fell away.

Despite its hardships, I ended 2009 in a good place (particularly with the holidays). I’m employed full time and doing work that I enjoy, my love life is back on track, and I also love where I live. Things can only go up from here.

2009 Resolution Review:
1. Find a job in this lovely financial meltdown: Done. Both freelance work and my current full time employment.
2. Post on Apartment Dining once every two days, post on my personal blog once a week: Well, I posted here three times a week for a good stretch, but definitely not on my personal blog. I wrote four posts there all year.
3. Finally send out some work to publications. I really have no excuse at this point: Submitted to a handful of publications, but nothing was accepted.
4. Be more conscious of spending and increase balance in my savings account: I was very conscious of spending, but didn’t have much left over to put in my savings account.
5. Once finances stabilize, take another writing class and make sure it’s an actual workshop, not reading work aloud once a week: Finances didn’t stabilize (and still haven’t completely).
6. Related to #5: take a cooking class: Again, no stable finances.
7. Increase overall creative output: Done.
8. Read more, both fiction and food writing: Done.
9. Explore more of Brooklyn: Well, I moved to another part of Brooklyn, so mission accomplished.
10. If finances improve, take a real vacation: Again with the finances. I was so optimistic last January.

Resolutions for 2010
1. Continue to increase creative output, and if enough suitable work is ready, submit to at least two publications per month.
2. Maintain a daily journal.
3. Increase the balance in my savings account.
4. Take care of myself, both physically and mentally. This means regular check-ups at the doctor and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
5. Attend more cultural events in New York.
6. Go on a culinary adventure at least once a month.
7. Cook dinner or have leftovers four days a week. Related: Bring lunch to work four days a week.
8. Post here at least twice a week, ideally three times a week.
9. Redesign my personal website.
10. Go on weekend adventures. Montreal? Jersey? Boston? Anything’s game.

To help ring in the New Year, I’ve posted a few of my favorite photos from the holidays after the jump. You can see the full album in my Flickr set. » Read the rest of this entry «

Merry Christmas

December 25th, 2009 § 0 comments

In celebration of the holiday, I present this awkward prom-style Christmas photo for your consideration, complete with soft focus and head tilts.

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Cocktails and Cookies

December 23rd, 2009 § 1 comment

I have been missing in action for over a month. A very hectic time at work has now ended, and as we enter the new year, Apartment Dining will become a priority again. There will be a return to my schedule of three posts a week!

A new feature on AD will also be the occasional video. I picked up a Flip HD camera at Target during a serious Black Friday sale, and I put it to use for the first time this weekend at my apartment. My roommates and I threw our first cocktail party, and I documented the preparation for the event, from the pitchers of sangria to the Krispie Kringle.

Cocktails and Cookies from Mo Cahill on Vimeo.

Harvest Sandwich

November 11th, 2009 § 2 comments

sandwich

Can all of the flavors of autumn be captured in one sandwich? I set out to do just that on Sunday, piling as many complementary autumnal items as possible between two slices of bread. Crisp apples, caramelized onions, and butternut squash from the farmers’ market, brie and dijon mustard from the store, and an amazing loaf of bread from the new branch of Almondine Bakery in Park Slope. I mean, come on. Look at this loaf:

bread

The Almondine Bakery in DUMBO makes the best macarons I’ve had in my life, so coming upon the new storefront during a Sunday walk took my already wonderful weekend to a new level. Having the bakery within a few blocks of my apartment is going to be very dangerous. Ten pounds dangerous.

With all of my ingredients in hand, I went to work putting together the sandwich. I started by peeling and then cutting the squash into 1″ thick slices. I tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of nutmeg, and then roasted them on a baking sheet for 20-30 minutes at 400º.

While the squash was roasting, I sliced two yellow onions into thin strips and slowly caramelized them in a skillet with a splash of oil and a dash of salt. The process can take around 30-40 minutes, stirring the onions every few minutes as needed.

Once the onions and squash were done, I sliced the bread and topped it with brie, and then placed it in the toaster oven for a few minutes to melt. Finally, I spread on the mustard on the top slice and layered the ingredients on the bottom slice: squash, apples, and then the onions.

It doesn’t beat a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, but when it comes to the flavors of mid-autumn, it does the trick.

Fresh Pumpkin Pie

November 9th, 2009 § 1 comment

pieraw

If I’m forced to choose between all of the pies that appear on the dessert table at a Thanksgiving dinner, pumpkin pie always wins out. I love the custard filling, and I find it difficult to pass up another vehicle for whipped cream during the holidays. My mind also rationalizes that it must be healthier than an apple pie because it has only one crust, conveniently forgetting the amount of sugar and cream required to make the filling.

I have attempted two pumpkin pies over the last month as part of my Pie and Manicure Sunday series, during which I bake a pie and get an very cheap manicure around the corner from my apartment. The first pie’s crust had some issues, and the amount of cream in the filling was overwhelming. I made the second one yesterday and I think I’ve found the correct ratios, but the cooking process was not without incident. More photos and a recipe after the jump » Read the rest of this entry «

Squash Adventures

November 5th, 2009 § 0 comments

squash

Between Halloween, a trivia night in Greenpoint, and getting my hair cut, I’ve only had time to cook one night over the past week…and that was recapped in my post from Monday. I did manage to roast some acorn squash tonight, but a few weeks ago, I tried sweet dumpling squash (pictured above). It’s a small squash with a flavor similar to pumpkin that I randomly picked up at the farmers’ market. I roasted it at 400° for 45 minutes with butter and brown sugar (inventive, I know), and it was the perfect single serving size.

Coming on Monday: An epic pumpkin pie post. I attempted one a few weeks ago with mixed results, so I’m armed with a modified recipe and another pie pumpkin. My success or failure will be paraded before you on Monday morning with plenty of photo documentation.

squash2

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Penne

November 3rd, 2009 § 2 comments

eggplantpasta

Today was my last hurrah for getting takeout for lunch at work, and I went out in style. I had split pea soup and a chunk of baguette from Almondine in DUMBO, followed by two macarons (pistachio and raspberry, respectively). I saved the raspberry macaron for a late afternoon proofreading session and the sugar rush powered me through the rest of the workday.

My new strategy is bringing in leftovers from dinner throughout the week for my lunches, as long as they are conducive to microwave heating. It will motivate me to cook more and save some extra cash to the tune of $50 a week. I’m two weeks away from a nice massage, five weeks from a new winter coat, and thirty-four weeks away from a MacBook Pro.

I started tonight with roasted eggplant and tomato penne that cost me about $5 to make and will last me for three days for lunch and dinner, with a few supplemental items. » Read the rest of this entry «

Bandwidth

October 29th, 2009 § 0 comments

Much like the terrible internet connection in my old apartment, my bandwidth has been very limited lately. Work has been busy, and by the time I’m done with things for my full time job and my freelance job, I can’t stand to look at a computer screen anymore (can I get special glasses for computer eye strain?). I promise to get back to my regular posting schedule next week as I’m vowing to get more sleep and start cooking more, even if I’m exhausted. A woman can only eat so many lazy pasta dishes and I have a lonely pie pumpkin sitting on my shelf.

Momofuku-Inspired Brussels Sprouts

October 23rd, 2009 § 0 comments

brusselsprouts

When most people think of brussels sprouts, fish sauce is not the first thing to come to mind. However, when I had the brussels sprouts at Momofuku Ssäm Bar last year, they were a perfect match. I’ve had plans to recreate a very simplified version in my kitchen, but have been met with a challenge at the farmers’ market every week: beating the competition.

I usually arrive at the market around noon on Saturdays, so the the crates of brussels sprouts are picked over and only a few sad sprouts are left, leaves splayed out and smashed. However, last Saturday morning I woke up at 7:30 to conquer the weekend. I was at the farmers’ market by 9AM and a mound of fresh, perfect brussels sprouts was waiting. I bought half a dozen cider doughnuts to celebrate my victory and started plotting my side dish. » Read the rest of this entry «

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