Dance After Dark Photography

My alfredo sauce is simple, and it’s never the same twice. (heh) Basically, you take equal parts butter and flour. (Dinner for 2-3, use 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup flour.) Melt the butter in a 6-cup pot (so you have room) over medium-high heat. Once it starts bubbling, stir in the flour a little at a time. This is a good point to add salt, pepper, paprika, thyme… Whatever strikes your fancy. (Technically, a mixture of butter, flour, and spices is a roux.)

Keep stirring the flour/butter roux over medium-high heat until it browns. Darker = more flavor, but go too dark and you’ll wind up doing what I do — making Dirty Alfredo. It tastes butter, but it’s not as pretty & white. A little darker than golden brown is a good stopping point. You want to cook out all the raw flour taste.

Once you’re happy with the color, start slowly stirring in milk. I’d say a cup of milk will do it. You’re aiming to dissolve the roux into the liquid. Traditionally, you should scald the milk before adding it to the roux. I don’t bother. Once it’s dissolved, you can start stirring in cheese. I buy the pre-shredded romano and parmesan from Sargento. I go for about 2 cups of cheese. (For the technical-minded, at this point the sauce is a bechamel.)

And that’s it! Let it sit for a few minutes, throw it over some pasta, and you’re good.

Sounds naughty, doesn’t it?

I’m learning to play the pennywhistle, a.k.a. the Irish whistle, tinwhistle, or feadóg stáin. So far I can play that classic Irish tune, “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” It’s funny, actually. The Gaelic term for the pennywhistle is feadóg (stáin means tin), and mine is purportedly the Original Irish Feadóg Whistle. (I chose it over Clarke’s because Clarke’s is made in England.) Looking at the songbook, we have such Celtic originals as “Amazing Grace,” “The Banks of the Ohio,” “London Bridge,” and “Oranges and Lemons.”

“The Banks of the Ohio” is a quaint American murder balled, and the other three songs are English. I should hope “London Bridge” is obvious, although there’s actually some evidence that it may have Norse roots. They’re the ones who burned the bridge, after all. “Amazing Grace” was written by an Englishman, and “Oranges and Lemons” is a Cockney rhyme on various church names in the heart of old London. “Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clemens. You owe me five farthings say the bells of St Martin’s…”

They’re not the only songs, but I find it amusing that about half of the songs have Gaelic or obviously Irish titles while the other half are mostly English with a few American and French songs thrown in.

For some reason I have trouble tonguing the low D. Every other time it squeaks between notes. I guess more practice will help.

I was just sitting here feeling like I’d missed out entirely on St. Patrick’s Day when I realized that I’ve been reading The Course of Irish History since Tuesday. True, I don’t own anything green anymore. (Just a camouflage t-shirt that says “Now you can’t see me!” which I have yet to actually wear.) I didn’t hit a pub like I’d planned, but I did listen to the Chieftans and the Dropkick Murphys on the way home.

And then I went to my favorite Chinese buffet. That’s traditional, right?

I just finished complaining about putting on a little weight, and what did I do? I pigged out at a Polish restaurant for lunch and stuffed myself at dinner both last night and tonight. I can’t help it. Food is good! But seriously, I’ve been sick for a while, and while I was at my worst I didn’t feel like eating at all. Now that I’m finally feeling better, I’ve been indulging a bit just because I can actually taste and keep down food again.

Yesterday Charlie came over, so I pan-seared some chicken cutlets with just a coating of kosher salt and a little smoked paprika. Then I used that same pan to cook carrots and caramelize some vidalia onions, getting all the crunchy brown bits from the sear process onto the veggies. Next I poured in a can of chicken broth, brought it to a boil, and let it simmer until about half of the liquid had evaporated. Added the chicken back in and let it simmer for another 5 minutes to finish cooking. At the end I added a little flour slurry to thicken up the dark, rich broth. All the seared bits made their own sauce. Served it over saffron rice that Mom had cooked with some juice left over from Friday’s ham. That was some tasty stuff!

Today Mom & I went to the Polonia restaurant in Longwood, on 17-92 just south of 434. Apparently they had a review in yesterday’s Orlando Sentinel, so they were slammed. We still got our food in a good amount of time. It took a while for the waiter (Andy) to take our order and took a while to bring the check, but everything in between was smooth. We weren’t in a hurry, and I used that ample time to suck down a strawberry blintz, potato pancakes, smoked kielbasa, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. Mom had the Polish Combo - stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and pierogi. This was only my second visit to the restaurant, but I’m looking forward to going back again. Everything was delicious.

That was lunch, and we just finished eating dinner. We had Bobby over (Grandma’s deceased friend’s son). He likes to be called Bob or Robert now, which is a change since he got his first girlfriend a few months ago. Good for him. He really likes my cooking, and he prefers beef. Sounds like a good excuse for steak, right?

So we had petite sirloins, marinated at room temp for about 15 minutes in soy sauce, roasted garlic rice vinegar, paprika, and rosemary. I went easy on the rosemary, which is a good thing. It worked out very well as the dominant flavor, but if I had used more than a dash of the dried leaves (for six steaks) it would’ve been overwhelming. I also baked potatoes with a liberal coating of kosher salt, paprika, & garlic powder. I’d say the potato skins were the tastiest part of the meal. Rounded it out with a nice salad and some crusty bread.

I’ve eaten so much! I am the überpig!

alternate title: Happiness is a clean fridge

We went all out for dinner tonight, but just like all of my recent endeavors the prep and cooking time was less than 30 minutes. It only took that long because mom & I were both in the kitchen at first. Once I got her settled at the table, she was able to prepare the salad and I got started on the fish. Tonight was proof that we’ll do much better once I’m able to build her an island with a butcher’s block, and I’d really like to incorporate a griddle or a teppanyaki table.

The garage is practically sparkling. Mom’s new wheelchair ramp is in place, but we’ll have to rework the door before she can use it. Now the door opens out, thereby blocking travel down the ramp. I’d like the door to open in, but we may just switch the hinges to the other side and leave it at that. Depends how complicated things get.

I’m in über-clean mode, so tonight I tackled the fridge. I moved the shelves around, so now the milk, water, juice, and other tall items are on the bottom. That makes them more accessible for mom, and putting leftovers on the top shelf makes them more visible and less likely to slip into The Great Beyond. I’m pretty good about remembering and finding leftovers, but every once in a while something resurfaces. I found some baked beans tonight that have to be at least a month old. Kudos to me, though, because I neutralized them before they were able to organize a coup.

Zucchini Ribbon Salad

1/2 cup diced tomatoes, seeds removed
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 tbsp basil herb paste
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 medium zucchini

When I first tried this at Publix, I thought the zucchini ribbons were some kind of pasta. Above is the Publix recipe, but for the herb paste we substituted 2 fresh basil leaves and about 4 tbsp fresh parsley. We also used feta cheese as a much cheaper alternative to gorgonzola. The flavor is similar, and I would prefer 1/3 to 1/2 cup of cheese. That’s just me. Because of the fresh herbs, our version was much better than the store’s preparation.

Combine all ingredients except zucchini in salad bowl. Cut zucchini into 3-4 inch sections. Cut thin lengthwise “ribbons” with potato peeler. (Peel until reaching core with seeds; discard inner portions.) Add zucchini to bowl, toss to coat, and chill until ready to serve.

Fried Tilapia

2 lbs tilapia filets
approx 2 cups fish fry breading
(1 cup AP flour, 1 cup cornmeal, 1.5 tsp mustard flour)
juice of 1 lime
salt
pepper
flour
milk
hot sauce

I’m not a big fan of frying. It’s probably the last thing on my list of cooking preferences, but I love fried chicken and fish. This was surprisingly easy. Tilapia is a very firm fish, so handling it was no problem. We cooked 2 lbs, which equates to 8 filets. You’d think that’s a lot for three people, but we only had two left. The breading can be varied. This was the first time we’d used (or heard of) mustard flour. I found it at the Korean grocer here in Sanford, Young Kim’s Produce. It gave the fish a nice little zing. I would add as much as 3 tsp, but I had to keep things mild for mom’s sake. These filets came out crisp, moist, and a little tangy.

Frying is best accomplished with stations. First you’ve got your fish filets on a platter. Squeeze lime juice over the fish as you’re setting up. It’s a nice addition to the tilapia’s mild flavor. Next station is flour. You can add salt and pepper to the flour if you like, but I prefer to sprinkle salt and pepper over each filet before lightly and evenly coating it with flour. Third station is a milk bath or an egg wash. I added about 10 drops of Goya hot sauce, but I’d recommend about twice that. Dip both sides of the fish in the milk, hold up to drain, and then move on to station four - the fish fry breading. Coat both sides of the fish, gently shake to remove extra breading, and then gently lower the filet into your preheated pan.

I fried these in a shallow pan of canola oil over medium-high heat. I used just enough oil to cover a little more than half of the filet. Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes or until you see golden brown coloring on the lower edges, then flip and fry an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. My pan is big enough to fry two filets at a time, but you want to be careful not to overcrowd the pan. That would drop the heat, increase the cooking time, and make the fish greasy. The last (but vital) step is to sprinkle a little kosher salt over both sides of each filet once you remove it from the grease. When frying anything, it’s best to salt while the food is fresh from the oil.

So this happened Wednesday night, but I’m posting about it now because I had absolutely no dial tone upon returning home. Despite two phone techs visiting the house, the issue cannot be traced. Normally we have static and, as a result, poor dial-up connections. Twice now we’ve had no phone service at all. I’m not happy.

However, that’s not the real problem. I was driving home from Orlando tonight, and I nearly ran off the interstate because of a spider. Bear in mind that I’m not normally jumpy enough to lose control of my vehicle just because a spider is on my windshield, arm, etc. This is a special case.

I’m driving, and I see a spider crawling on the inside of the windshield. I’ve made my peace with spiders, so although it’s a bit unnerving to see the legs-waving exploratory walk that spiders have, I’m still cool. Not a problem. I’m driving and thinking “I’ve got a tupperware thing with me. I’ll get him into that, close it, and dump him next time I stop. Otherwise he’ll be in here forever.”

I get the tupperware ready, and once I get out of the curves in downtown Orlando and onto a straight section of road, I lean forward and extend the tupperware in my right hand. He’d wandered toward the passenger side, so I’m reaching, watching the road, and still eyeing the spider.

Which means that I did NOT see the other fucker drop from the ceiling onto my left hand — the hand which was, up to that point, holding the steering wheel. Reflex took over. I uttered something akin to “gurraaah!” My arm spasmed, knocking the steering wheel askew and sending my car careening to the left. My brain kicked back in, and I yelled every obscenity I knew as I steered into the skid and brought the car back under control. Out loud I said, “Please let there be no cops. No way in hell I’m going to explain this one. ‘I’m sorry, officer. Those damned spiders double-teamed me. They’re wily little bastards!’”

I was so distracted that I forgot which car I was driving. When I got off the interstate in Lake Mary, I stalled the engine because I completely forgot to push in the clutch. I only realized what I’d done after I stared at the console for a few seconds, wondering “What the hell’s wrong with my car?” I haven’t found the tupperware yet. It bounced off one of the windows, which were closed, so it’s in the car somewhere.

And then spider #1, the evil little fucker that he is, dropped from the ceiling of the car onto my face. Just popped right onto my eyebrow. Obscenities failed me. I made up new words. I invented a whole new language which solely consists of profanity.

The rest of the drive home went something like this: “GODDAMNIT, ALL BETS ARE OFF! I don’t like to kill, but I’ve had it! NOT COOL, MAN. NOT COOL!”

(muttering and twitching) Fucking spiders.

My grandmother came back from Los Angeles this morning. She’s been visiting my cousin for the past week and a half. She’s been having fun, but her best friend passed away over the weekend and grandma couldn’t get back in time for the funeral. With that in mind, I wanted to make something special for her. Grandma loves cinnamon, so here’s breakfast: (two recipes)

Baked Apples

2 small green apples (what we had, no idea what kind they are)
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
water for consistency, approx 1/3 cup

Let me begin by saying that I modified the heck out of a recipe I found, and I didn’t truly measure any of this. These are close estimates.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small pot, melt butter. Add brown sugar and stir until melted. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, then stir in water until smooth liquid is formed. Core and slice apples, then lay them flat in bottom of 8″ baking pan. Try to keep to one layer. Drizzle sugar mixture over apples, cover with foil, and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Cinnamon Sugar Pancakes

2 cups pancake mix (I made my own, recipe to follow soon)
1/2 cup water
1 - 1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar or brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
butter

This is an adapted recipe. I use the King’s Flour recipe for pancake mix, which calls for only 1 egg and 1 cup of water. I wanted to make lighter, thinner pancakes that didn’t require syrup and matched the apples, so I improvised all of the other stuff. It’s amazing what you can find in that book, by the way. I plan to make my own tortillas and pita soon, and I’m going to attempt Navajo frybread. Good stuff!

Preheat pan on stove at medium heat. In small bowl, combine egg, vanilla, water, and 1/2 cup milk. Slowly add pancake mix; stir until smooth. Add remaining milk a little at a time until batter reaches heavy cream consistency.

Melt a pat of butter in the pan. If butter bubbles and forms froth, pan is hot enough. Pour small portion of pancake mix into pan. Go slow; this is thin batter! The pancakes are easier to flip when they’re small, and they’ll spread more than you think. Let pancake sit undisturbed until bubbles form throughout and edges turn a darker shade of white. Gently flip pancake and cook for another 30-60 seconds. Remove to plate and repeat process. Makes 10-12.

The pancakes really only take 10-15 minutes, so I took my time making them. I topped each pancake with 3-4 slices of apple and some of the cinnamon-sugar goo from the bottom of the baking dish, but these pancakes are sweet enough to be eaten without syrup or other topping. They’re also great with bacon, almost like a thin french toast.