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Helping You Unlock Your Kitchen’s Potential
August 10, 2009
I was perusing Cake Wrecks this afternoon, and found out about a contest that Threadless is running called “ThreadCakes.” The subliminally creative shirt-makers are hosting a competition for fans to recreate one of their designs into cake-form. While some are refreshingly amateurish, so many of these cakes are absolutely, ridiculously, phenomenally well-constructed. Check out the site to see the corresponding T-shirts they go with (which are ingenious!). Here are a few of my favorites:
April 21, 2009
 photo by Jenn of jenncuisine.wordpress.com
A friend of mine took part in an online cooking contest for Marx Foods. The challengers took on the infamous dried morel, and tried to create their best dish. Her submission is a gorgeous sausage-sage-and-morel ravioli.
VOTING ENDS TODAY! Please go here to vote!
March 10, 2009
 Think Outside the Pot: Two Lids Are Better Than One I haven’t forgotten about you, my foodie friends! The Famous Souping Throwdown that occurred a few weeks back has finally ridden out its glory. The competitors have returned from their world-souping-tour (which basically consisted of a victory lap around Allston, MA) and are back behind the buzzing screens of their office computers, slugging back coffee and schilling products for The Man. However, those memories of a great souping battle are all but gone, with the scars to prove it.
So apologies for the delay, it just took us some time to get our act together and actually write down our recipes. It’s hard to quantify and qualify a recipe that, when cooking, is really entirely in your head. I noticed at the time of the Soup-Off, both of us were relying predominantly on taste and sensation when we were cooking our soups. For me, a smell or a feel of the soup would prompt an immediate reaction: I’d add something more or decide to put a little less in. I was so constantly altering and changing my course, that measurements became obsolete. The Soup-Off confirmed, for me, that soup-cooking is based largely on improvisation. So, while I will supply our recipes below, you really need to approach cooking them as you would a ball of clay. Mold away, readers! Mold away!
I must say, though, I do still feel the warm glow of victory radiating through me. Hopefully this will help propel me into my next challenge (details to come!).
THE SOUPS:
Alex’s Admirable Submission: Hot and Sour Soup with Cloudear Mushrooms and Tiger Lily Buds
Becca’s Soup-o’-Victory!: Southwestern Corn and Crab Chowder
February 23, 2009
Hey there, souping fans! So, it was a cold, sludgy day in February where the Greatest Soup-Off of All Time went down in the kitchen of an Allston, MA, Victorian. The menu was diverse, and the soups were spectacularly crafted. It was an East vs. West showdown, with both chefs stepping up their game for the final battle!
In the Red Corner was Alex with a hot and sour soup that combined the flavors of several exotic mushrooms, tiger lily buds, and bamboo shoots. Paired with it was a tall glass of chrysanthemum bubble tea. Absolutely astounding in both aroma and taste, Alex’s soup definitely showcased the chef’s creativity and skill.
In the Blue Corner was Rebecca (me). I mixed together a corn chowder containing jalepenos, pepper sauce, and Old Bay to give it a spicy kick. My pairing was a cold, American brew: Harpoon beer. I also added a dollop of yogurt mixed with spices (pepper sauce, salt, and Old Bay) and chopped cilantro to the dish. It performed wonderfully and served as a cool-down to the heat of the soup. I believe my piece really showcased my skill at cooking hearty, old-fashioned comfort food.
Roughly 20 people were in attendance, with 3 official judges. The judges were to vote based on a set of criteria (flavor, aroma, consistency, etc) and the rest were left to voting for one or the other. It was a close one, but with the results in, the winner is…
Read the rest of this »
February 21, 2009
 photo by bookgrl via flickr.com Tomorrow’s the big day!
February 20, 2009
 photo by jonesor via flickr.com
The day of reckoning is upon us. I am stressed to the max with work and class and other personal obligations! My head is a frantic blip on the radar, and my friends have been wonderful about dealing with my constant phone calls/emails/messages. I don’t know about you, but when I’m feeling flustered I do two things: 1) I reach out to as many people as possible. 2) I cook.
Cooking when you’re stressing out is interesting. For many, it’s calming. It’s something that makes sense to the day. Me, I’m an angry stress-cooker. I’m impatient, I’m fiery, and I’m in a fury. The dishes I make tend to come out spicy and bold, as if I’ve somehow transfered the storm going on in my head into the dish. Cooking becomes cathartic only if I’m in a frenzy doing it.
So, with the Soup-Off coming this Sunday, it’s going to be interesting. For one, I will be sharing my cooking space with another person, something I’m not used to. It’ll be fun to see how he deals with me and my frantic, energetic cooking. Secondly, I’ll be running around all weekend leading up to the Soup-Off, which will put even MORE energy into my stress-cooking. I’m intrigued to see how that all gets incorporated into my final product. Hopefully I’ll resist being too heavy handed with the cayenne pepper…
Happy Souping!
February 18, 2009
Preparations for the Soup-Off are swiftly underway; we’ve announced our soups, figured out the logistics of this fantastical event, and exchanged more trash-talking than one would think a souping competition warrants. What can I say, we’re hard-core.
In related souping news, Cookstr.com features Chef Mario Batali, today. Included in this feature is the recipe for Mario’s Caldo Gallego soup. Reading over it, it reminded me of this fantastic Portuguese Kale Soup my grandparents make. All it involves is chicken broth, chopped kale, olive oil, chorizo*, salt, pepper, and chunked potatoes. Throw it all together, let it simmer and stew, and perfection!
See, the thing I love most about soup is it’s simplicity. While there are some soups that can involve dozens of steps and one-of-a-kind ingredients, the most satiating to me are those you can whip together using whatever you find in your fridge. There is a distinct delight in the creativity that soup encourages; as someone who loathes the measuring and planning-out processes of cooking, I find soup liberating in the sense that it’s just me, the pot, my wall of spices, and the contents of my cabinet. I’ve never had a soup mishap– even the time I accidentally added cinnamon instead of cumin. Soup is forgiving, adapting, accommodating, comforting. The only time you incur it’s wrath is when you burn it. Otherwise, it’s like a committed lover, satisfying you to the last drop. And with that thought, Happy Hump Day, soup-lovers!
* I substitute turkey kielbasa for chorizo and it offers a similar flavor. I would not, however, attempt to use a meatless/soy-based product. It won’t provide the adequate flavor this soup requires, and I envision it turning into globs of mush while the soup is stewing… gross.
February 14, 2009
With the competition swiftly underway, here’s a chance to get to know who you’re voting for!
| IN THE RED CORNER:
Name: Alex
Souping Nickname: it’s still just Alex
Date of Birth: Capricornchowderisforgeezers
Current Location: Allston slums
Marital Status: Rigatoni
Earliest Souping Memory: My older brother pushing the back of my head, face-plant down into the bowl
Soup Mantra: Umumsheemum, Umumsheemum, Umemsheemum
If I Could Serve Soup to the Queen of England, It Would Be: really freakin’ awkward
Souping Soundtrack: John Lee Hooker
Souping Philosophy: Funny you should ask. I picked up this recipe from one of my old coworkers that I haven’t talked to in about 1 1/2 years, so I think the journey of becoming reaquainted with an old friend will be transfered into this soup. It will not only be glorious on the tastebuds, but there will also be this whole existential aspect to it that I believe will even be palpable. This soup will be able to make abstract and intelligent comments on this mixed-up world through an underlying philosophical understanding of human interaction.
What Your Competition Should Know: I’m not actually right handed…
Qualifications: My mother is a cook, my brother is a cook, my Aunt Evelyn is a cook, her husband Herb was a cook. My cousin Ryan is a cook, my good friend Matt and his sister and his sister’s boyfriend are all cooks, and if I didn’t go into media, I would’ve probably been a park ranger or something. But if that didn’t work out, I was thinking maybe something with animals, like at the MSPCA or something. But if that didn’t work out… I probably would’ve gone to the peace corps, I guess…
MENU–
Soup: Hot and Sour Soup w/ Shiitake, Woodear, and Cloudear mushrooms, Tigerlilly buds, bamboo shoots, and other glorius and intriguing items in this hearty and complex meal.
Side: not telling yet (gotta leave something for the imagination!)
Drink: Sapporo (Japanese beer) |
IN THE BLUE CORNER:
Name: Rebecca
Souping Nickname: “The Yellow Dart”
Date of Birth: Will this affect my Green Card application?
Current Location: The Royal Borough of Brookline, MA
Marital Status: Single and ready to mingle
Earliest Souping Memory: Helping my mom prepare and cook Cream of Broccoli. I was allowed to stand on a chair at the gas stove, with a little apron on and my hair in a braid, and stir the soup. Sounds endearing until you realize my mother allowed her 4-year old to stand precariously perched over an open flame!! I think there are child slavery codes against this.
Soup Mantra: I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.
If I Could Serve Soup to the Queen of England, It Would Be: a devious ploy to get closer to her grandsons. So, Cockaleekie?
Souping Soundtrack: Mozart’s Requiem and the soundtrack to Last of the Mohicans
Souping Philosophy: Regardless of the transcendent nature of my competitor’s soup– real souping talent comes from deep within your gut. No amount of fancy, dainty lil’ ingredients can match up to the sheer power and satisfaction of good ol’ fashioned chowder cooking. I believe the taste and skill of my soup will supersede whatever shitake he plans on cooking.
What Your Competition Should Know: I once ate a penny. I don’t really know how that’s relevant to a soup competition, but I just thought you should know. Maybe it’s what gave me my superior palate.
Qualifications: A Bachelor’s in Kicking Serious Souping Butt, with a Masters degree from the Chuck Norris Institute of Taking Names Later, concentration: International Culinary Studies in Soup Karate, Class of 2008.
MENU–
Soup: Southern Corn Chowder with Crab
Side: Alex isn’t telling you only because he doesn’t know. Pressure’s on!
Drink: An ice cold microbrew |
February 13, 2009
 photo by Roby72 via flickr.com Nothing spices up a friendship like a hearty dose of cooking competition! In days’ time, a friend and I are taking each other on in a survival of the fittest cheffing throwdown. Our chosen medium: SOUP!!!!!
I don’t really remember the logistics of how it all began, but what started as a relatively friendly culinary discussion soon became a challenge of “My soup is better than your soup.” And, thusly, a Soup-Off was born!
Such a competition seems entirely appropriate as temperatures in the Northeast continue to rise and plummet, dramatically. Mother Nature sure has a bone to pick with New England. However, nothing warms a heart and soul more than a hearty crock of soup. It has inspired writers (Sendak) and artists (Warhol) alike. Soup is a unifying medium that is present in most all cultures. So, in a lead-up to this magnificent competition, I will post competitor profiles, Soup-Off updates, and other fun soup-related knowledge.
Feel free to share your favorite memories of soup in the comments!
Let the souping begin!
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