Cooking in Code

This is what happens when the bin shows up and you’ve been ignoring the fridge all week because you’ve been busy making marmalade. Closely related to the use-up-all-the-left-over-meat-and-cheese quiche is the use-up-all-the -veggies curry. If you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can make your own curry paste, as they do in this recipe. I took the lazy route and just threw in a can of massaman curry paste, and augmented it with some extra ginger, garlic, and thai chilis. Vegetable curry,…

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I haven’t been cooking much lately…mostly just marmalade-making (yes…I made a second batch, I know, I’m an addict). That said, I figured it was time for a “best-of” sort of post. So without further ado, I give you my three stand-by Indian dishes. Make one as a side, or a couple as a meal, the options are limitless. I probably make one of these three every time I cook Indian food. Chana Palak, originally uploaded by CaitKP. Chana Palak This…

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I didn’t mean for it to become a regular thing…I don’t think anyone ever does. I only did it last year because all my friends were doing it and it seemed like once couldn’t possibly hurt. Now I know better. Take it from me kids: marmalade-making is a messy addictive habit, which you should approach with extreme caution and full knowledge that it may become a yearly routine. Lacking most of my kitchen, I wasn’t going to do it this…

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I’m afraid I can’t really take much credit for this one. It was mostly Dan’s doing. I just handled the veggies. However, I will say, having witnessed the whole process, that this recipe makes for a very elegant meal, with very minimal fuss. The sauce and salmon are made separately, and assembled at the end. So there’s the option of multi-threading the whole process, to make the assembly time even shorter. Also, I second Food and Drink’s opinion: rosemary potatoes…

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I think Valentine’s day dinners should be special, but not in a lets-try-to-get-into-the-restaurant-everyone-in-town-wants-to-go-to sort of way. More in a lets-cook-something-we-don’t-usually cook sort of way. Which is why I made a long slow beef stew this year. In addition to feeling slightly indulgent, beef stews make the whole house feel warm and cosy. A good thing for cold dark February days. This one is a combo: Food and Wine’s stew, with Jamie Oliver’s finish (a “kinda hot-pot” potato topping, instead of…

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There are very few cuts of meat that I will buy without a specific dish in mind. One such cut is the pork tenderloin. Quick to cook and easy prepare, I occasionally pick one up on a whim, especially when visiting my new favorite butcher shop Porc Meilleur. This time, I decided to try something different from my usual asian-inspired marinade, and instead make Food and Wine’s Pork with Port and Prunes recipe. Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded…

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Today’s post is only tangentially food-related. If, like me, you live in a northern climate, you probably find, especially in winter, that a lot of your cooking is done after dark (since dark happens at 4pm). Photographing food is a challenge at the best of times, let alone in unnatural light. Since I started blogging, I’ve tried several workarounds. The first was a flash…Don’t. Even. Bother. Flashes make food look like it’s made of plastic. So then I tried a…

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A couple weeks ago, I made baked beans for the first time. It was quite a revelation. Baked beans (and other related dishes) had previously scared me because of the amount of prep involved, but it seems that (unlike the illusive Thanksgiving turkey), once you get the beans in the oven, they really do cook themselves. It was a combination of the weather, the need for something leafy and green, and the skilled photographers of the NY Times that persuaded…

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Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded by CaitKP. If you follow this blog, you know that I pretty much can’t resist a citrus-themed baked good. But — pardon the pun–this one takes the cake, not to mention, it used up the last of my slightly runny seville marmalade. Marmalade Cake Cake:·1cup granulated sugar·1/2 cup unsalted butter softened·2 large eggs·2 cups all-purpose flour·1 1/2 tsp salt·1 tsp baking soda·1 cup plain full-fat yogurt·1/2 cup seville orange marmalade Syrup:·2 tbsp marmalade·3…

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Pear and Blue Cheese Risotto, originally uploaded by CaitKP. We got pears in the bin last week. Usually, when I have pears, I either end up eating them for breakfast, chopped up on my cereal, or I make a simple puff-pastry creation with them. However, I’ve heard good things about pears and blue cheese, and I’d been dying to try it. There was just one issue. Most pear and blue cheese concoctions take the form of a tart or a…

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