Friday, October 31, 2008

Donuts = Job Security

Never forget this. If you bring a few dozen donuts to work every couple months, you will become unfireable. At least this is my theory. Boston Creams make the f^#*ing world go round!

Shells and Cheese

So,

Backstory. My wife works at an association (the American association of blankety blank) as a meeting planner. As such, she travels regularly and plans luncheons, receptions, etc. She is actually very good at this (despite her perceived need to seek my approval of her menu selections).

So, last year she was at an banquet event sponsored by a member company of her association, which she was not allowed to plan. This was a pretty big event, with several hundred attendees and dignitaries. Did I say dignitaries? Yes, including a head of state no less, the President of Panama. Now, what would you figure they would serve at a banquet with a special guest of such stature? Roast beef? Seafood? Chicken? Something exotic? No, the people who planned this banquet were definitely on a BUDGET, and served shells with cheese, ham and peas (a poor man's Carbonara I guess).

Now, it's not so much that the food wasn't good, but somehow this has become a running joke in her organization. So. Why I am writing about this? Well, the American Association of Blankety Blanks is having a halloween banquet, and as the wife is mildy allergic to cooking, it falls on me to improve upon this classic dish, shells with cheese, ham and peas. I would like to report successs!!

2 lbs of cooked shell pasta (yes two whole boxes)
1 3oz block of good white cheddar, shredded
1 quart of milk (or so)
3/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
1lb Maple smoked ham steak diced into cubes
1 small bag of frozen peas
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Fresh Grated Nutmeg to taste
Salt
Pepper

So this is a basic Roux based cheese sauce.

Melt butter in a 2 qt or larger saucepan. Add Flour slowly, whisking continuously until the consistency of peanut butter. If you add too much flour, it will almost turn into dough, and you may need to add some oil to thin it out. Let this cook, whisking regularly over medium heat for a few minutes, just until the color starts to change (we don't want a dark roux, just a gold colored roux).

Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously until smooth and all milk is incorporated. At this point bring the heat up to high and whisk slowly until the sauce thickens and just begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, and then add the cheese in 2 batches, whisking all the while until smooth and cheeserrific. Add the nutmeg, herbs and salt and pepper to taste (this is a lot of sauce, don't be afraid of the salt and pepper!).

The ham is better if you brown it in a skillet, but you don't have to.

Cook the peas in the microwave following the instructions on the package.

Mix the peas and the ham into the sauce and then mix the sauce into the pasta.

Enjoy :-)

Thanks
- John

Thursday, October 30, 2008

One more thing

Booze. Yeah. I forgot to mention that I will probably expound at length on the qualities of various wines, beers, and other adult beverages. I may even comment on the costs and relative merits of various stores, states, countries, and (in the case of Texas) dry vs. wet counties. So don't be too shocked, okay?

Thanks
- J

Ahh starbucks. The love. The hate. The......

ADDICTION? So. Daily 2-3 pm starbucks run. Drinkable espresso. Water. Was hoping for one of the delicious and seasonal pumpkin cream cheese muffins.. but alas, none to be had. Tried the pumpkin loaf instead. Not as delectable. Passable, but not worth it. Sad Face.

Thanks
- John

All hands Lunch

Every month, we have an all hands meeting in my group here at work, and as payment for making us all sit in a stuffy conference room and listen to updates that we really don't need, we get given lunch. Note, I didn't say free lunch, but it doesn't cost me any money. So really, you can't complain about a no dollar meal, right? As you can imagine, we typically get pizzas (major chains only, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa John's) or sandwiches (potbelly, sometimes local deli's). But today we had a new one. Chinese food. A week or so before the meeting, we got an e-mail with an attached menu, and all of us (20+) all ordered individual lunches. I give the admin staff that did this credit, because there were ZERO errors. Everyone got what they ordered!!!

But onto the food. It's from a place called Mei's Asian Bistro (near Clarendon) and it was suprisingly adequate. Not special, not even memorable. But a nice change of pace. I ordered the Szechuan chicken lunch special. The main dish was, as typical of take out Chinese, a bit too greasy, but it was also adequately spicy, with nice texture and flavor. The rice was definitely "Asian" (very sticky and short grained), and the included salad was fresh, crisp and had separate dressing! But again, a big change from the usual pizza or deli sandwich!

So. Why am I writing about take out lunch at work? One word. Ho's. No not that kind of ho. Ho's Chinese Takeout in the plaza with the CVS and the Spoke's Etc, hidden between the Baskin Robbins and the Antique Shop. Once you eat take out this good, everything else is boring. Try the boneless spareribs, the Singapore style noodles (thin rice noodles with a spicy curry sauce, pork shrimp and chicken) and the pork chow fun (homemade soft wide noodles). All of these are guaranteed to make you feel happy. Just don't expect to sit down and eat there. Take out or delivery only!!!!

Thanks
- John

So it begins




Hi,

My name is John McConnell and I live to eat. I thought about saying "I love to eat," but upon reflection, I think the former statement is closer to the truth. By that I mean that perhaps love isn't a strong enough word to describe the relationship I have with food. Food is my mistress, my mother, my wife. Food is life and love and god and all the wonders of the universe and human ingenuity, and yes I would like to try a bite of that! Spectacular food, simple food. It consumes me. Somehow though, the best parts are always the fatty bits. You know, that last bit of cheese stuck to the paper wrapper. Foie gras. Truffle oil. The crispy skin of a perfectly roasted chicken. These are things that hit you in the face, that make you go back for just one last nibble!

So that's what I want to talk about. The purpose of this blog is to document the culinary events in my life, as widely varied as they are. From the simple pleasure of a fast food cheeseburger to the wonders of Michelin Stars. From banquets and balls to workday lunches. I will do my best to find the fatty bits of life and document them here. Recipes, pictures, reviews, comments, whatever seems to matter to me at the moment are fair game.

Thanks
-John