Refrigerator Memory

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwZJykGdIRM7a_MPCZnZDobAR_kFlb5kuVhYvcI1W5fM06wBo9N5UysLKW3J8IKnwoIxM93kTSOU7F6_TXsIKaX9nJYSL0w8NMOiVhtyLAjQ5zLrwaw9YmtkkRvgdPtRX6mYAfzAhjEYI/s1600/ge.refrig.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546849989567122546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwZJykGdIRM7a_MPCZnZDobAR_kFlb5kuVhYvcI1W5fM06wBo9N5UysLKW3J8IKnwoIxM93kTSOU7F6_TXsIKaX9nJYSL0w8NMOiVhtyLAjQ5zLrwaw9YmtkkRvgdPtRX6mYAfzAhjEYI/s400/ge.refrig.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 383px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />This GE refrigerator with a motor on top and room to sweep underneath was introduced in 1927, but when I was a small child that's what still stood in a corner of the kitchen in my parents' one-bedroom apartment. I may have mentioned it before, but I just noticed the photo on the GE appliance history website. Inside, the tiny freezer compartment could make a few ice cubes, but ice cream wouldn't stay frozen there.

Refrigerator Memory

This GE refrigerator with a motor on top and room to sweep underneath was introduced in 1927, but when I was a small child that's what s...

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Follow Up Thanksgiving Photo

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5229514850/" title="joel-aparna by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="joel-aparna" height="429" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5229514850_64aa21d4cb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Joel was missing from the set of Thanksgiving photos I posted before. So here are our hosts, the turkey chef and banana cream pie maker: Joel and Aparna.

Follow Up Thanksgiving Photo

Joel was missing from the set of Thanksgiving photos I posted before. So here are our hosts, the turkey chef and banana cream pie maker: Joe...

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Molecular Gastronomy Comes to Ann Arbor

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5224140688/" title="molecular4635 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="molecular4635" height="375" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/5224140688_68f9d9bbcd.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5223542625/" title="molecular4640 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="molecular4640" height="374" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/5223542625_cd4ed6a6d0.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Last night I had a nitrogen shake. At tableside, the waiter stirs liquid nitrogen into a hot ice cream preparation (such as you might put into an ice cream maker, I think). The result is a cold mixture of chocolate and other flavors that you drink with a straw, consistency of a milkshake. I guess nitrogen is tasteless, otherwise we'd smell it all the time when we breathed. I thought when molecular gastronomy reached Ann Arbor I would hate it -- but in fact it was fun. The taste? Not much different from most milkshakes.<br /><br />My previous posts on molecular gastronomy:<br /><ul class="posts"><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/05/futurists-see-future.html">Futurists see the future</a></li><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/05/moleular-gastronomy.html">Molecular Gastronomy</a></li><li><a href="http://regional-food.blogspot.com/2008/11/cookbooks-i-do-not-want.html">Cookbooks I DO NOT WANT</a></li></ul>

Molecular Gastronomy Comes to Ann Arbor

Last night I had a nitrogen shake. At tableside, the waiter stirs liquid nitrogen into a hot ice cream preparation (such as you might put in...

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Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe by Request

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5065947033/" title="pumpkin4298 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="pumpkin4298" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5065947033_04cbc243c8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">PUMPKIN LASAGNA</span></span><br /><br />First prepare a medium-sized pumpkin by cutting it in eighths and removing stem, seeds, and stringy interior stuff. Bake the slices on a cookie sheet, skin down, at 350º until it's pretty soft and you can easily peel off the skin. Cut the peeled pieces into 1/2 inch chunks. You will need around 2 or 3 cups of pumpkin -- if you have extra, use it in soup or make it into a side-dish with another meal. The pumpkins in the photo are the two that ended up in my two recipes of lasagna. <br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Ingredients</span><br />2-3 cups cooked pumpkin as described above.<br />2 or 3 onions, chopped and browned in butter or oil<br />Around 2/3 of a box of no-boil lasagna noodles<br />1 lb. of ricotta or farmer's cheese (ricotta makes a sweeter filling)<br />Optional: additional 1/2 cup of cottage cheese<br />Around 2-3 cups of shredded cheese that melts nicely (for the topping)<br />Sage-flavored white sauce (ingredients below)<br />Sage, basil, salt, and pepper to taste<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Method</span><br />Make the white sauce (see notes).<br /><br />Mix ricotta/farmer's cheese/cottage cheese with sage and basil.<br /><br />Brown the onions. Add sage, salt, pepper, and pumpkin and cook in the butter for a while longer.<br /><br />Generously coat a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with butter. Layer the ingredients as follows:<br /><ul><li>A layer of sauce</li><li>A single layer of noodles, touching each other and covering most or all of the surface and coated with more sauce. (Break noodles to make them fit if necessary.)</li><li>Half of the pumpkin-onion mixture evenly spread over the noodles.</li><li>Another layer of noodles covered with more sauce.</li><li>All of the ricotta/farmer's cheese/cottage cheese mixture spread evenly over noodles.</li><li>Another layer of noodles/sauce.</li><li>The rest of the pumpkin.</li><li>More sauce and noodles.</li><li>ALL the rest of the sauce and a bit more milk if needed.</li><li>The shredded cheese evenly spread over the top.</li></ul> After assembling the lasagna, be sure that all the noodles are in liquid sauce -- if not, add a bit of milk. Before putting it in the oven, let the assembled dish rest for around 20 minutes so that the noodles can begin to absorb the sauce.<br /><br />Cooking time at 400º -- 30 minutes covered with foil followed by 15 minutes uncovered -- enough to brown the cheese. After removing it from the oven, keep the dish at room temperature for around another 15 to 20 minutes so that the cheese and sauce all firm up. Otherwise you will have trouble cutting and serving nice squares (this is true for all lasagna).<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">NOTES</span><br /><ul><li>White sauce ingredients are: 2 -4 Tb butter (can omit butter if browning flour in non-stick pan), 1/3 cup flour, 4 cups milk, around 1 Tb. sage, salt & pepper. Should not be too thick. If you have never made white sauce, you need to look up the standard method of making a roux, adding hot milk, and simmering the sauce.<br /></li><li>To make onions brown better, add 1 tsp. of balsamic vinegar or a pinch of sugar.</li><li>The lasagna can be refrigerated after baking and reheated a day or two later.<br /></li><li>Obviously if you use browned flour only (no butter) in the white sauce, skim milk, non-fat ricotta or farmer's cheese, little butter or oil for browning the onions/pumpkin, and low-fat mozzarella for topping, you can make this an incredibly low-fat lasagna. I did not try making it low-fat.</li><li>I would NEVER use canned pumpkin for this!<br /></li></ul>

Pumpkin Lasagna Recipe by Request

PUMPKIN LASAGNA First prepare a medium-sized pumpkin by cutting it in eighths and removing stem, seeds, and stringy interior stuff. Bake th...

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Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is served --<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5207532419/" title="dinner4612 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="dinner4612" height="480" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5207532419_0bc37c61cd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5208111102/" title="buffet4614 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="buffet4614" height="375" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4131/5208111102_b21bcb8c3f.jpg" width="500" /></a><br /><br />The chefs:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5208111500/" title="gravy4586 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="gravy4586" height="375" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/5208111500_f3bdc90a40.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />Lenny making gravy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5208111238/" title="aparna4592 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="aparna4592" height="493" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5047/5208111238_1f9d8a938e.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />Aparna whipping cream to top the pies. Foreground: spinach ready to saute.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5207514019/" title="carving4603 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="carving4603" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5207514019_86ea3c5b47.jpg" width="420" /></a><br />Larry carving the turkey.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5207514087/" title="elaine4604 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="elaine4604" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/5207514087_85c34c4050.jpg" width="482" /></a><br />Elaine cleaning up.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/5208111624/" title="girls4595 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="girls4595" height="477" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5208111624_35706c1611.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />The girls playing.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is served -- The chefs: Lenny making gravy. Aparna whipping cream to top the pies. Foreground: spinach ready to saute. L...

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Happy Thanksgiving

We are all gathered in Pittsburgh, having traveled on dry roads -- some of us yesterday and others, the day before. The turkey cooks are working on the stuffing and stock. We had our traditional breakfast of chocolate cherry bread and cranberry pecan bread which we brought from Zingermans bakehouse (arriving there just one moment before the huge rush began yesterday morning).<br /><br />In other years, I have photographed the entire process of cooking dinner, eating each meal, and children playing, but this year I think I'll wait and publish a selection at the end of the day to avoid repeating myself. Eating the same ritual meals each year is great, but posting the same photos doesn't seem right.<br /><br />Happy thanksgiving to all!

Happy Thanksgiving

We are all gathered in Pittsburgh, having traveled on dry roads -- some of us yesterday and others, the day before. The turkey cooks are wor...

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Banquets

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl41MAqWS6uqghFpff84aSF6aWcmZlAvJh86HRtHoch9qf3Fgs4hodKu0t3fK5od_6GBZkV1qpL05tja0jr6Kl2b5BcUJORrNVa481ivw0XC4BtumDlZSJkYOqH6vPA3ATFd37mr08qzY/s1600/unswepthall.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542465344122064946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl41MAqWS6uqghFpff84aSF6aWcmZlAvJh86HRtHoch9qf3Fgs4hodKu0t3fK5od_6GBZkV1qpL05tja0jr6Kl2b5BcUJORrNVa481ivw0XC4BtumDlZSJkYOqH6vPA3ATFd37mr08qzY/s400/unswepthall.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px;" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Courtesans & Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens</span> by James Davidson begins with a discussion of an ancient mosaic from Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, a copy of a famous mosaic by Sosos of Pergamum called "Unswept Hall." He says "It is a floor that depicts a floor, closing the gap between art and life.... it is a trick floor, impossible to clean."<br /><br />I've just begun reading, and I'm intrigued, so I looked up this photo of the mosaic. It's a long book -- it might take me quite a while to get further than page XV !

Banquets

Courtesans & Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens by James Davidson begins with a discussion of an ancient mosaic from...

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