'it's getting hot in here,' or 'YOLO'

can we talk about the weather for a second here? I hate the summer. specifically july. I don't mind summer nights, swimming, or a nice breeze, but this 95-degree-no-wind-no-rain-for-500-years thing really bothers me. NOW, mind you, I do not complain about the weather in any other month other than july, so I'm allowed to complain about july, right?

but I digress. every year around this time, I just get so sick of the summer and start craving things like warm soups and cardigans and going to the mall just to feel the big, soft, knit blankets at pottery barn that come out in the fall (am I the only one who does that? once I sat on the couch and put one on me. it was awesome). I hate making my kitchen hot though, so I eat sandwiches. a girl can only eat so many sandwiches though, which brings me to the point of this post (yes, there is one). I came across a great vegetarian jambalaya recipe on pinterest about a month ago and even though I wanted to make it right then, I didn't -- because I hate summer and I hate july and I want to sit at pottery barn with blankets on!! jambalaya is hot, spicy, uses the stove, and dirties dishes -- 4 things my sandwich-eating-self couldn't mentally deal with in july.

so I just thought about it a lot. a LOT. and then I got sick of thinking and sick of letting july win, so I just made the f-ing jambalaya already. I was all like, "live every day like it's your last! carpe diem! fight fire with fire! YOLO!" (okay not the last one, I'm not that cool. I just heard that on the 'streets' the other day and knew that's what all the cool kids were saying. thought I'd incorporate that into a post about jambalaya. obviously.). anyways -- standing over my stove, sauteeing sausage and peppers in my 100 degree kitchen was not fun at the time, but the resulting pot of amazingness was worth it. it will be better in January after I get back from pottery barn though.

this recipe serves 6 and it's vegetarian -- I added meat though (this particular time, I added andouille sausage, bacon, ham, and shrimp).

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 pepper, in the color of your choice!, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 c. water

1 c. long grain rice

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, pepper - to taste (I like it hot).

In a large skillet, saute the onion, celery, creen pepper, and garlic in oil until tender (add meat right ...NOW, if you want it in there). add the tomatoes, water, rice, soy sauce, parsley, and spices and stir and smile and sweat and love your jambalaya. this is a necessary step. once it's heated through, you can bring it to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer and cover it on the stove until all of the liquid is absorbed, OR transfer it to a baking dish and cover it and bake it for an hour at 350 degrees.

(*I apologize for the phone photo! my real camera died)

Also, pretending you're emeril lagasse while making jambalaya is absolutely a necessary part of this whole process, but I will let you use your own discretion with that. 

-Hannah

Flavored Whipped Cream

I'm not sure if any of you have noticed that there is now such a thing as liquor infused whipped cream in a can... crazy? delicious? ingenious? This product comes in a variety of flavors as well.. chocolate, cherry, vanilla. At a recent visit to the Rehab lounge, I had the opportunity to try this new product. Now one would think that combining delicious whipped cream and liquour would make for a fabulous combo, perfect for topping coffee, fruit, white Russians..etc. however, this was not the case.
Now the story does not end here... a bad experience with canned whipped cream has never held me back and as a wise woman once said, "Why buy whipped cream when it is So easy to make!" So I did what any intelligent woman would do.. made my own.

In my fabulous mixer, I combined 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 Tbl of sugar and 2 Tbl of Kahlua. Mix until peaks form.
Serve this over strawberries with optional shortcake on the bottom.

Result- Perfection.

moules frites

subscribing to saveur magazine -- maybe, just maybe -- was one of the best decisions I have ever made. they have themed issues and may's was mexican in honor of cinco de mayo ...but nestled in the pages among the potato tacos (will try and share soon) and beans and rice waaaaaas MOULES FRITES!

with me being a french connoisseur and all (by that I mean I took it for a while and remember how to say je parle francais, ah oui oui, comme ce comme ca, you're what the french call les incompetents), I remembered that frites means fries so of course anything with fries is fine by this kid. I read on -- the article was called "a national obsession." vewwwy vewwwwy intewwesting.

french fries and mussels are the fish and chips of belgium. not only was I enticed about how well the pair would taste together, but saveur insisted on making your own mayonnaise to dip the french fries in. I thought I'd take a crack and that like you did, Megan Mae -- and everything came out wonderfully. was so easy to make but so light and delicious. F called the mayonnaise the surprise hit of the meal -- I personally loved the juice from the mussels at the bottom of my bowl (so much so that I wanted to leave my dutch oven on the stove for a few days so I could smell it's celery-buttery goodness in my kitchen).

okay, enough of that - here you go, moules frites (serves 2):

for the mayonnaise:

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 egg yolk

1 cup canola oil, plus more for frying

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for les frites:

2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4″-thick sticks

for les moules:

2 1/2 lb. mussels, debearded and scrubbed (you can find them in a cute little bag at your friendly neighborhood seafood store - they're cheap as dirt too)

2/3 cup dry white wine*

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

3 ribs celery, finely chopped*

1 1/2 leeks, light green and white parts, cut into 1/4″-thick slices*

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped*

*you can do whatever you want with these ingredients - we used harpoon belgian pale ale (also had one as my beer pairing during the meal) instead of white wine. we used celery and onion instead of adding leaks. you can add garlic, cream, curry, etc. to your taste if your heart so desires.

to start:

make the mayonnaise. in a large bowl, whisk mustard and egg yolk. whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in oil in a thin stream until it begins to emulsify. whisk in vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. set aside (side note: how did you do this without a kitchen aid MM? I did mine with my whisk attachment and had the thing on the highest level and it took so long because you have to add the oil so slowly. you must have some real guns on that bod of yours). (another side note: aioli is mayonnaise made with olive oil instead of canola and you add garlic to it. I think that'd be fantastic for this recipe).

make the fries: pour oil into a large pot to a depth of about 2 inches, and heat over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375°. add potatoes and cook until tender (about 8 minutes). using a slotted spoon, transfer fries to a rack and let them cool.

increase oil temperature to 385°. working in batches, add chilled potatoes back in their little hot tub and fry them until golden brown and crisp for about 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, return fries to rack; season with salt.

make the mussels: heat a high-sided skillet over high heat (we used my dutch oven). add mussels, wine/beer, butter, celery, leeks, onions or veggies of your choice. season everything with salt and pepper and cover. cook 'em and stir them every now and then until all mussels are opened for about 5 minutes.

divide between two bowls with the fries on the side. dip fries into mayo and make sure you lick your fingers and drink the liquid at the bottom of your mussel bowl. ahhh.

paired with, in case ya missed it, a harpoon belgian pale ale.

Just Another Reason I Adore My Food Processor

I know many of you have probably heard my raves of the joy of a food processor and it's may wonders and if you haven't you probably don't really want to.. but I'll say it again a food processor is an uber-necessary kitchen appliance. I would choose it over my microwave, toaster, and blender. The only appliances that beat it out are my coffee pot and Kitchen Aid although that probably goes without saying.
So I have here for you all one of my favorite recipes in which a food processor is oh so necessary... If you do not have one, buy one!! or you can probably use a blender or fork (if you're hard core) to mash the ingredients in this yummy dish but seriously buy yourself a food processor. You can thank me later.

Black Bean Burgers

Put half of a red onion and 3 cloves of garlic in food processor. Chop into small pieces.
Add 1 Tbl of olive oil, 1 Tbl. of cumin, 1 Tbl of cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 can of black beans. Blend into a paste.

In a bowl scramble an egg. Add bean paste and 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. You can also at this point add some chopped peppers or corn or any other little ditties.
Heat a large skillet and grease with olive oil. Plop some burger paste in pan and press into a patty. Cook about 5 minutes each side on medium heat or until browned.

You can serve this little guys in many ways... On a bun like a real burger, over a bed of lettuce.

I chose to top them with some sauteed spinach and green onions and serve with a side of sliced tomatoes, potato salad and a hoppy Red Ale brewed by friend Kyle. Perfect accompaniment for this spicy little treat.