Sushi Sushi Sushi!

I have been meaning to post this for an obscenely long time, but as my blog description clearly disclaims, I post only during four times of the year; and this isn't one of those "I only drink wine on days that end in Y..." kinds of things. I actually only post when I have a kitchen, which--considering my life is currently packed into four boxes, a suitcase the size of a German shepherd, and my Gregory pack--is not now.

**disclaimer: I don't currently have a camera, either, so all pictures are from my Blackberry.**

I made candy sushi for an April Fool's joke for my Big. It was Rice Krispie treats wrapped around delicious candy bits like Swedish fish (only the red ones, obviously), Glo-Worms, and green Twizzler cucumbers. My friend Ali and I also made Fruit Roll-up nori, Fruit-by-the-foot ginger, and frosting wasabi. (Wow, that was a lot of licensing.)



The final product looked surprisingly real. We tucked it into a real sushi container and couldn't hand it to Helen before busting out laughing. In hindsight, it really wasn't that funny. But she was a good sport about it.


At the same time I was fooling around with my Rice Krispies, Ali was doing this:


Yeah, that's a basket weave... made with frosting. She is frightening with a pastry bag and nozzle. Girl can do anything with a little royal icing! (And yes, that's a recipe written on the back of her hand.)

We were making a cake for a charity competition for our sorority, and the theme was spring, so we made a strawberry cake with lemon buttercream filling, marzipan flowers, and crystallized lemon. I managed to lose the pictures of the cake itself, but it was BEAUTIFUL. Ali is really, really great at cake decorating.

And I maintain that the sushi wasn't so bad, either.

Mustard

Still thinking about St. Patrick's Day and what I could have made to go along with the grilled cheeses... Gouda is one of them. If I'd had the foresight to go to the store before dinner, I would have bought gouda and havarti for sandwiches. But more importantly, I would have made this little treat from Saveur:

Spicy Guinness Mustard

1 12-oz. bottle Guinness Extra Stout
1 1⁄2 cups brown mustard seeds (10 oz.)
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
1⁄4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice

1. Combine ingredients in a nonreactive mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1–2 days so that the mustard seeds soften and the flavors meld.

2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor and process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until the seeds are coarsely ground and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a jar and cover.

St. Patrick's Grilled Cheese

Yesterday I was browsing my favorite food blogs, looking for St. Patrick's Day inspiration. My dad and I are both fasting from meat for lent, so corned beef and cabbage were out. And anything with Bailey's would be out of reach for my younger brother, fifteen, and sister, eighteen. And then I came across a beautiful skillet bread recipe by Nicole from bakingsbites.com. I absolutely love her blog, and this recipe is super super easy, and easily adapted for either sweet (more sugar) or savory (less sugar). 

When I poked my head in our fridge to grab the milk, I noticed my mom's cheese drawer and a beautiful idea formed in my head. Grilled cheese is one of my most favorite foods. We had a bunch of this amazing gruyere and for people who don't like swiss, a mild cheddar, provolone, and shredded jack also worked, although the cheddar got a little oily. (My brother had his with all of the above.) We also had a fresh tomato, a chicken breast leftover, and some spinach. If only we'd had some bacon or smoked ham!

I simply cut the wheel-shaped bread into wedges, sliced those horizontally and stuffed them full of my ingredients. Warm them, covered, in a skillet over low heat and voila! My favorite combination was just gruyere, spinach and tomato, with a little extra salt and pepper.

2 cups flour (plus extra for kneading)

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tbs - 2 tbs sugar

1 cup buttermilk (I use regular milk, add 3/4 tsp cream of tartar, and let it set for ten minutes)

Just whisk together dry ingredients, add the milk (I made a well and added milk slowly, but I'm not sure it was necessary; just something I picked up from other bread making), and knead as little as you can, only until it's no longer sticky. I had to add about 1/4 cup of flour to get to this point. Shape it into a ball and roll it out to match the size of your skillet. "Bake" it, uncovered, over low to medium heat for about seven-ten minutes per side, until the crust is golden brown and the bread is set.

For my savory bread, I added onion powder, dried parmesan cheese, and cracked pepper to the dry ingredients; when I rolled it out, I coated one side of the crust in corn meal. I also made a dessert soda bread, adding cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice (1 tbs, 1/2, 1/2, 1/2) and raisins and walnuts to the dry ingredients. When it was done, I drizzled creamed honey over the warm bread and dusted it with powdered sugar. (Only half of it was eaten, so for breakfast I cut it open, toasted it, and spread it with butter.)

Happy cooking!