Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Cake

     Today is my husband's 45th birthday!  To celebrate in style, I cooked him a delicious dinner feast tonight to celebrate his b-day.  It is much better (and cheaper) than taking him out to eat!  Boy, am I glad that I can cook!
     Anyways, I made a delicious meal of things that I have already blogged about (green chile chicken enchiladas, green chile chicken corn chowder, french bread baguettes, salad) but the best was a dessert that has been haunting me for well over a month now.... Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Cake.
     I have a calendar hanging up in my kitchen entitled "seasons in the kitchen."  The February entry (goes with the Valentines theme, I suppose) was the Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Cake.  I had to stare at that picture for a whole month wishing that I could make it.  The only problem?  I didn't have the springform pan that they asked for.  So, after asking around for almost a month, I finally got one from Chuck McCarthy, the site director of Little Basin.  Thank you very much, Chuck, for your generosity!  Since I got one in March, I decided making this cake would be perfect for Scott's birthday.  And, boy, was it ever worth it!
Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Cake

Note: This three-layer cake uses ganache in two different ways: It's whipped to increase the volume, creating a filling that's lighter in color and texture.  It's also spread on top for a thick, dark frosting.  Make the cake a day ahead so it has time to set up.

Ingredients:

CRUST
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup raspberry preserves

FILLING
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp raspberry flavoring syrup, divided
2 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
1 tbsp sugar

TOPPING
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup whipping cream

Procedure:

1) Heat oven to 375 F.  In medium bowl, stir together cookie crumbs and melted butter.  Press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.  Bake 10 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven; gently spread preserves over crust.  Cool completely on wire rack.
2) Meanwhile, place 8 oz. chocolate and 1 tablespoon of the raspberry syrup in large bowl.  Heat 1 1/2 cups of the cream in medium saucepan over medium heat or in microwave on high until cream comes to a boil.  Immediately pour cream over chocolate; stir until smooth.   Let stand until cool but still liquid (about 65 F).  (To speed up process, place bowl with chocolate in bowl of ice water; stir constantly.)  Beat at medium speed 2 to 4 minutes or until slightly soft peaks form; spread over crust.  Refrigerate.
3) In large bowl, beat remaining 1 cup cream, remaining 1 tablespoon raspberry syrup and sugar at medium speed until firm but not stiff peaks form.  Spread over chocolate filling.  Refrigerate.
4) Place 6 oz. chocolate in large bowl.  Heat 3/4 cup cream in small saucepan over medium heat or in microwave on high until cream comes to a boil.  Immediately pour cream over chocolate; stir until smooth.  Cool until slightly thickened but still pourable (about 75 F).  Spoon over raspberry filling.  Cover and refrigerate until set, at least 8 hours or overnight.  (Cake can be made up to 2 days ahead).
5) To cut cake, leave cake in springform pan; use hot dry knife to cut through top layer.  Refrigerate.  When ready to serve, remove springform pan ring; slice completely.  Store in refrigerator.

Makes: 12 servings

     I spent all of last night working on this cake.  The most pain in the butt part was waiting for things to cool down.  I hate waiting for things to cool down.  However, thanks to both a standing mixer and a hand held mixer, I had plenty of bowls and plenty of space to make everything work.  In retrospect, I think perhaps that I should have whipped the cream a little bit more for the third layer, but it totally works.  I improvised and added raspberries on the top.  The result is definitely definitely worth all the trouble!  I am amazed at just how professional this cakes tastes.  It doesn't look quite professional as I couldn't get the chocolate topping to spread evenly and so ended up mixing it a bit with the whipped cream underneath, but it totally worked.  I've never made a ganache before!  This was definitely the most complicated cake I have made.  I wish I had that little frosting spatula.  And a springform pan of my own.  One of these days...  I hope you enjoy!

The final result- deliciousness in a pan!

Slightly dark picture of an individual slice of cake

Beans 'n Greens Burritos

     So, I've made kind of a major dietary choice in the past few weeks.  After looking over my pictures for the last few years really brought it home how much weight I have gained lately.  It can be blamed directly on my cooking for myself (and eating too much of my good cooking!) and a lack of exercise.  I figured that the exercise would come in time (since I am naturalizing a lot lately so hiking a lot), but I could directly control what I ate, now.  A lot of this comes from Food Matters a cookbook by (guess who), Mark Bittman.  I could kiss that man!  Anyways, this cookbook emphasizes a lot more vegetables, a lot less dairy and meat and the use of whole grains over white.  I've been eating like this (more or less) for a few weeks and have already noticed a difference!  I feel a lot healthier and I am losing weight.  I'm not perfect yet; I've fallen off the wagon a few times, but I really feel it is making a difference!  So, what follows is one of my favorite recipes from my new dietary regime:  Beans 'n Greens burritos

Beans ‘n Greens Burritos

Ingredients:

-4 large or 8 small whole wheat flour tortillas
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-1 onion, chopped
-1 tbsp. minced garlic (3-4 cloves)
-1 tbsp. chili powder
-salt and black pepper
-1 bunch of kale (about 1 pound), roughly chopped
-2 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained, liquid reserved
-1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, optional

Procedure:

1)Preheat oven 300F. Stack tortillas and roll them up in a sheet of aluminum foil. Place them in the oven to warm while you cook the filling.
2)Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to color, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt and pepper. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until leaves wilt and release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, and mash them with a fork or potato masher, adding a spoonful of the reserved liquid if the mixture seems dry.
3) To roll each burrito, lay a tortilla on a flat surface and put 1/4 of mixture (or 1/8 if using the small tortillas) on the third closest to you.  Sprinkle with some of the cheese.  Fold the tortilla over from the bottom to cover the beans and greens, then fold in the 2 sides to fully enclose them finish rolling and put the burrito seam side down on a plate.

Note: These freeze well.  Just wrap them individually in foil or wax paper and freeze in a tightly sealed container.  Reheat in the microwave or oven.

     The first time I made these, I made homemade whole wheat tortillas to go along with them.  Between the homemade tortillas and the feta cheese, they were amazing!  I kept going back for more!  Normally, I don't like kale (unless it is in the form of kale chips), but this was a really good combination.  I've made it quite a few times since then and have found that this mixture is good for all kinds of things: burritos, sandwiches, on rice, etc.

Homemade whole wheat tortillas

Kale and black bean mixture

Deliciousness!

French Onion soup

     Aaahhh!!  Somehow, life has run away with me and I haven't had the opportunity to blog in about a month!  Between getting sick, working five days a week and cooking like a crazy maniac, the time has slipped by!  I just tallied up all the recipes that I would like to blog about and they total 17!  Yeah, I don't think that I am going to really have the opportunity to blog about all of them!  So, I'll just put up a few select favorites.  Including, of course, French Onion soup.
     I had to blog about this recipe as I mentioned making the stock in my last blog.  However, that is not the only reason.  No, it is not the only reason at all.  I can honestly say that this recipe was so amazing and delicious that it ruined having French onion soup anywhere else except at home.  I mean, it just can't be beat!  The rich flavor, the crunchiness of the bread, the cheese floating through out.  Deliciousness in a bowl.  AMAZING deliciousness.  Did I mention it was delicious?

French Onion Soup (from Julia Child's The Way to Cook)

Timing: For the most delicious results, you want a slow simmer of 2 3/4 to 3 hrs.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. light olive oil or fresh peanut oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (2.5 lbs)
1/2 tsp each salt and sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 1/2 quarts homemade beef stock, at least 2 cups of which should be hot
4-5 tbsp. Cognac, Armagnac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white French vermouth

Special equipment suggested: A flood processor with slicing blade or a hand slice is useful for the onions; a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan with cover for onion cooking and simmering.

Procedure:

Browning the onions- 40 minutes. Set the saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil; when the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover the pan, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Blend in the slat and sugar, raise heat to moderately high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Simmering the soup: Sprinkle in the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock.  When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, the Cognac or brandy, and the vermouth.  Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much.  Correct seasoning.

Ahead-of-time note: may be prepared in advance; chill uncovered, then cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Variation: Onion Soup Gratineed

Manufacturing note: Be sure you have a homemade type of bread with body here because flimsy loaves will disintegrate into a slimy mass.

Ingredients:
12 or more Hard-Toasted French Bread rounds
1-2 oz Swiss cheese, very thickly sliced
Ingredients for the preceding French Onion soup, heated
3/4-1 cup finely grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Assembling and baking- about 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 425 F and set the rack in the lower middle level.  Line to bottom of the casserole with half the slices of toasted French bread, and spread over them the sliced cheese.  Ladle on the hot onion soup and float over them a layer of toasted bread, topping with the grated cheese.  At once set in the preheated oven and bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the cheese has melted and browned nicely.  Serve as soon as possible- if you dally too long, the toast topping may sink into the soup.

Katie's note:

Hard-toasted french bread rounds (croutes) are simply french bread cut 3/4 inch thick basted with olive oil on both sides and baked through for 25-30 minutes in a 325 F oven.  I made them while the french onion soup was cooking.

     Well, I don't think I really need to say much more about how this soup came out.  It was definitely a time commitment, but the results were well worth it!  I very much loved my food processor that day.  Oh, I should mention that I found that one large onion yields about 3 cups of sliced onion.  Delicious!!

     A big thanks to my Steve and Sarah Gentile, my siblings-in-law, without whom the soup would not have been made!  Thanks for the baguette pans and the soup crocks!

My homemade frecnch bread baguettes... the best they've ever turned out!

8 cups of sliced onions just as I'm starting to cook them

They've become transluscent

Starting to brown

Getting even browner

Now they've become sweet and caramelized

Setting up the soup in the crocks

Fresh out of the oven!

     I love these pictures; I call it the disappearing onion act.  Mmmmm.... caramelized onions! 

Fondue... the new macaroni and cheese (and sourdough)

     Those of you who have been reading my blog (or at least who read the first blog) know that this blog is called "in search of the perfect macaroni and cheese" as I can never find a great macaroni and cheese recipe no matter how many different kinds I try!  I found out through the process of blogging and baking that sourdough bread is like that for me as well.  I just can't seem to produce a good loaf.  Well, today I have one more recipe to add to the family; fondue!
     I have loved fondue ever since I first heard about it.  I mean, who doesn't love the idea of melted cheese that you dip things into?  Yum!  I will admit that when I first tried it in Switzerland I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped I would be, but I still liked it.  I'm sure I have had it a few times since then but none have stuck out so much as going to The Melting Pot with my friend Jasmine and her boyfriend.  The Melting Pot is a chain restaurant specializing in fondue.  It comes with a four course meal; cheese fondue, salad, meat fondue (basically hot oil that you put raw meat into to cook) and a dessert fondue of chocolate.  Delicious!  The cheese fondue was superb and it inspired me to create fondue at home. 
     I didn't have a fondue pot for the longest time, so this was a recipe aspiration that got put on the shelf.  Then, I watched Alton Brown's Good eats and saw his recipe on fondue.  He introduced the idea to me that one didn't have to have a fondue pot to make fondue.  It also occurred to me around the same time that I could use a slow cooker as a kind of fondue pot.  Well, it turns out all of this was unnecessary as Robbin and Steve gave me their fondue pot that they hadn't used.  There were some complications with this, as it didn't come with fuel and then I found out the pot had been recalled anyways because of the fuel, but I eventually figured it out.  So, now I had the fondue pot and a recipe I wanted to try ("fondue vudu" from the Good eats show) so I was ready to go.
     Original recipe to be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/fondue-vudu-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, halved
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle hard apple cider
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• Pinch kosher salt
• 5 ounces (2 cups) Gruyere, grated
• 5 ounces (2 cups) Smoked Gouda, rind removed, grated
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• Several grinds fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Rub inside of fondue pot or heavy small saucepan with garlic. Pour cider into pot. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the brandy and salt and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, grate the cheese and toss well with the cornstarch in a large bowl. When the cider just begins to simmer, gradually add the cheese a handful at a time, allowing each addition to melt completely before adding the next. Continue adding cheese and stirring until all cheese is incorporated, about 3 minutes. If mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to low. The mixture is ready when creamy and easily coats the back of a spoon. Stir in curry powder and pepper. If cheese seems stringy, add some or all of the remaining lemon juice. Move fondue pot to alcohol warmer, and keep stirring during service. A variety of breads, from pumpernickel to rye to bagel chunks can be skewered and dipped as can cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms and potatoes. (Soften all vegetables by blanching briefly in boiling water then chilling.) Crisp fruits such as apples make great fondue fodder, as do cooked meats and sausages. Even soft pretzels make for good dipping. If any fondue is left over, cover with ice water and refrigerate, pour off water and reheat over low heat.

     Well, long story short, I made it but I could never get the darn cheese to melt!  I seriously sat over that pot for an hour, but the cheese never melted!  I'm not even going to include a picture as it is nothing really pretty to look at.  So, I eventually decided to eat it and although the taste was good, the consistency left something to be desired.  I read reviews of the recipes and found out that others had had this problem (they blamed the smoked gouda), so I didn't feel too bad.  I could always try again.

     Yesterday was my attempt to try again.  Scott and I went to the fungus fair in Santa Cruz and attended a mushroom cooking and wine demonstration.  The chef made an absolutely delicious truffle fondue.  I didn't have truffles at home, but I still had the Emmenthal and Gruyere cheese I bought for the recipe, so I decided to try again (and yes, I realize the above recipe doesn't have Emmenthal but I bought it just in case).  I used my Not your mother's fondue cookbook that my friend Lyz got me for my bridal shower (along with a lovely chocolate fondue set that I haven't used yet).  I made the traditional fondue recipe.  I had everything except cherry liqueur, but I didn't think that would made that much difference.  

Hawaiian themed foods

     I'm almost caught up with all the recipes that I have been making!  Today I want to talk about two Hawaiian themed food ones; spam musubi and kalua pig.  We had/made both for the first time at my Hawaiian-themed 30th birthday party.  The spam musubi we had for lunch on monday and the Kalua pork we made for Pete for his birthday dinner in December.  Let's start with the spam musubi.
     This recipe comes to me thanks to my friend Lani Mitchel.  She brought over spam musubi for my party.  It had been years since I had had spam, so I was a little leery.  However, we absolutely loved the stuff and couldn't stop eating it!  She gave us the recipe and I have been meaning to try it ever since (especially since we had all the ingredients at home [or so I thought]).  Here is the link she sent me http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Spam.htm

 Recipe Type: Appetizer, Sandwich, Snack Food, Spam
Cuisine: HawaiianYields: 32 Musubi Rolls
Prep time: 45 min

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked Japanese medium-grain sushi rice *
4 cups water
5 sheets of roasted-seaweed (Nori)**
1 (12-ounce) can Spam Luncheon Meat
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup rice wine (mirin)
Water

* Only use Japanese medium-grain sushi rice in sushi making. It is a medium-grained rice and gets sticky when it is cooked. Long-grained American rice will not work because it is drier and doesn't stick together.

** Roasted-Seaweed (Nori) - Sheets of thin seaweed which is pressed and dried. As a general rule of thumb – good Nori is very dark green, almost black in color.


Preparation:
Wash rice, stirring with your hand, until water runs clear. Place rice in a saucepan with water; soak 30 minutes. Drain rice in colander and transfer to a heavy pot or rice cooker; add 4 cups water. If you don't have a rice cooker, place rice and water into a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and leave pan, covered, for 15 additional minutes.

Cut nori in half widthwise. Place cut nori in a resealable plastic bag to keep from exposing the nori to air (exposing the nori to air will make it tough and hard to eat).
Cut Spam into 8 rectangular slices approximately 1/4-inch thick. In a large ungreased frying pan over medium heat (Spam has plenty of grease to keep it from sticking), fry slices until brown and slightly crispy. remove from heat, drain on paper towels, and set aside.
In a small saucepan over high heat, add soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine; bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Add fried Spam slices to soy sauce mixture, turning them to coat with the sauce; let spam slices sit in marinade until ready to use.
In a small bowl, add some water to use as a sealer for the ends of the nori wrapper; set aside.
Using a Spam Musubi Press, place a piece of nori on a plate. Position press on top of the nori so the length of the press is in the middle of the nori (widthwise). The press and the width of the nori should fit exactly the length of a slice of Spam. (Note: If you don't have a musubi maker, you can use the empty Spam can by opening both sides, creating a musubi mold.)

1. Spread approximately 1/4 cup cooked rice across the bottom of the musubi maker, on top of the nori.
   
2. Press rice down with flat part of the press to compact the rice until it is 1/4-inch thick (add more rice if necessary).
   
3. Place a slice of Spam on top of the rice (it should cover most of the length of the musubi maker).
   
4. Cover with an additional 1/4 cup cooked rice; press until 1/4-inch thick.
   
5. Remove the musubi from the press by pushing the whole stack down (with the flat part of the press) while lifting off the press.
   
6. Fold one end of nori over the musubi and press lightly onto the rice. Wet the remaining end slightly with water, then wrap over musubi and other piece of nori; press down on the other end. cut log into 4 pieces.

Repeat with the other 7 Spam slices, making sure to rinse off musubi maker after each use to prevent if from getting too sticky.

Do not refrigerate musubi, as they will get dry and rubbery.


Makes 32 musubi rolls.

     Please note that the pictures are not mine and came with the website.  I wonder what that yellow stuff is on it.  Anyways, I discovered a couple of difficulties when I made it which I overcame.  1) I don't have rice wine!  I thought I had had it because I have rice wine vinegar, but didn't realize the recipe called for rice wine until I was already in the middle of making it!  Oops... Well, I googled a replacement for rice wine and gin was one of the answers.  Dry sherry also came up, but I had gin not sherry so there you go!  It seemed to work just fine as the sauce came out delicious and how I remembered it.  2) I don't have a spam musubi press.  They mention using the can, but they don't really say how to do it.  I thought that it wouldn't be a problem because I would roll it up like sushi.  It wasn't really, I just had to cut the spam in half lengthwise.  It still came out delicious.  Oh, I also didn't like how plain the rice tasted so I added in some sugar and rice wine vinegar cooked together like the sushi rice package says to do so.  We ended up eating the entire batch in one day!

Our homemade spam musubi

      Next on the list is Kalua pork (labeled Kalua pig on the website).  We first made this for my party (I didn't include the recipe as Scott made it, not me).  Then, when we were describing it for our friend Pete, he sounded enthused so we made it for him for his birthday/thank you for letting us stay at your house dinner.  It is pretty easy and comes out delicious!  Here is the original link:

http://www.paradisefoundonline.com/luau-recipes.html

Kalua Pig

4-5 lb pork butt
2 cups apple cider
1 tbsp liquid smoke
2-3 tablespoons hawaiian salt (regular sea salt will work)

The night before the feast, rub pork with salt and liquid smoke and place in crockpot. Add apple cider. Turn crockpot on low and leave it to cook for 10-12 hours, flipping pork over halfway through. Take meat out of the crockpot and shred. Makes 6-8 servings

     Ignore the part about flipping the pork over halfway through.  There is absolutely no need to do that and it sets your cooking time back any time you open up the lid of a slow cooker.  The recipe itself is delicious and just falls apart!  mmmm....  The challenge?  Finding liquid smoke at your local grocery store!

Kalua pork with a fresh salad, homemade french bread rolls
and macaroni salad

Pete's birthday cake.  Look familiar?  It's the Hawaiian wedding cake
I made for my own birthday.  Still amazingly delicious!

Darker, Richer beef stock

     So, in my convoluted cooking mind, I have decided to make french onion soup.  Why convoluted, you may ask?  Well, let me tell the entire back story... 
     To start off with, I really love French Onion soup.  The first time I can remember having it (I mean, the real deal) is in Paris, France.  My friends Gayana, Javier and myself went on a bus trip to Europe in our late teens/early twenties.  Europe was going through the mad cow thing at the time, so when it came time to order food in Paris, we went for French onion soup and Duck a'lorange.  This was the first time for the soup and the second for ever having duck and I loved them both!  The previous time I had had duck was in a Chinese restaurant and it tasted like smelly feet.  Anyways, the french onion soup was delicious, and the gobs of cheese and the fresh bread were just amazing!
     The second time I ever had French onion soup was at my ex's mother's house.  She served French onion soup and it was as amazing as the one I had in Paris.  When I asked about it, I found out that the recipe had used something ridiculous like 6 or 8 cups of onions (8, it turns out) and it came from Julia Child's The Way to Cook.  So, years later, I borrowed The way to cook from the library and hand copied out the french onion soup recipe.  The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that I didn't have those soup crocks that you could stick in the oven.  After another few years, I actually ended up acquiring The Way to Cook from a used book store for about $8!  After seeing Julia Child's show on my (then future) mother-in-law's television in Dec. 2010, I rented Julia Child DVDs from netflix.  And watched her cook french onion soup.  I found out a few things: 1) You don't have to have individual soup crocks.  You can just cook it in a casserole dish.  2) Make the beef stock from scratch or you might as well buy the canned stuff (according to Julia) 3) Her recipe on Mastering the art of French cooking (on which the show was based) was different than in The Way to Cook.  Finally, this Christmas (2011), I found out something which sealed the deal.  My brother and sister in law were sending us french onion soup crocks and a baguette pan that I had put on my wedding registry for Christmas!  Now, I had to make it!  And I had to make the stock and the baguettes from scratch, of course!  So, not being sure when I would make the soup (indeed, I still haven't made it), I decided to make the stock ahead of time so I would have it when I was ready.  I used Mark Bittman's How to cook everything as this seemed the easiest and used the "Darker, Richer beef stock" variation.  I also decided to use my slow cooker for the first time to make the stock.  Here you go:

Basic Beef Stock (Darker, Richer variation)

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 pounds meaty beef or veal bones, like shank, shin, tail, or short ribs
• 1 cup roughly chopped onion (don't bother to peel)
• 1 cup roughly chopped carrot
• 1 cup roughly chopped celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• At least 10 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more if necessary
• 3 or 4 cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• About 4 quarts water (16 cups)

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 500 F.  Roast the bones and vegetables in a large roasting pan and put the pan in the oven.  Roast, shaking the pan occasionally and turning the ingredients once or twice, until everything is nicely browned.  This will take at least 30 minutes, don't rush it.
2. Use a slotted spoon to scoop all the ingredients into a stock pot; add the remaining ingredients and 3 quarts of water.  Turn the heat to high.
3. Pour off most of the fat from the roasting pan.  Place the roasting pan over a burner set to high and add 2 to 4 cups of water, depending on the depth of the pan.  Bring it to a boil and cook, scraping off the bits of food that have stuck to the bottom.  Pour this mixture into the stockpot (along with 2 more cups of water if you only used 2 cups for the reduction).
4. Bring just about to a boil, then partially cover and adjust the heat so the mixture sends up a few bubbles at a time. Cook, skimming off any foam that accumulates at the top, until the meat falls from the bones and the bones separate from one another, 2 to 3 hours.
5. Cool slightly, then strain, pressing on the vegetables and meat to extract as much juice as possible. Taste and add salt if necessary. Use immediately or refrigerate (skim off any hardened fat from the surface) and use within 4 or 5 days (longer if you boil it every third day, which will keep it from spoiling) or freeze for up to 3 months.

     Well, I did things a slight bit differently.  For one thing, I used my cast iron skillet.  It worked beautifully  for roasting everything.  The house smelled amazing.  I got really nice bones from the farmer's market on saturdayforever to cool down!  Scott finally had to use his food service knowledge and put it in baking pans in the fridge (lots of surface area) for it to cool down.  I just boiled it today to keep it fresh as I still don't know when I'll make the French Onion soup(probably this weekend).  The only weird thing is that, when I refrigerated it, it refrigerated to the consistency of jello.  I tried to strain off the fat only to realize the whole thing was fat!  Then, when I boiled it today, back to liquid!  Oh well....

Roasting the bones and vegetables ahead of time

A close up of the wonderful smelling roast bones and veggies

Getting the brown bits off...

The stock before cooking

After cooking

A delicious dark brown (this is pre-skimming)

"The best scrambled eggs"

     This past sunday, I found myself with extra time in the morning and so decided to indulge in what Mark Bittman calls "A Sunday morning indulgence": Best scrambled eggs.  "These take time, cream, butter, tarragon, and-the really hard part- a great deal of patience." quotes Mark Bittman.  Since I had used the cast iron skillet for the frito pie the previous day (see previous blog), I decided it was time to use it for real.  I had made these before in a regular skillet.  How would they hold up in a cast iron one?
  
Ingredients:

• 4 or 5 eggs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp chervil
• 1 tbsp. parsley
• 1tbsp. chives

Procedure:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them just until the yolks and whites are combined. Season with salt, herbs and pepper and beat in the cream.
2. Put a medium skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the butter or oil and swirl it around the pan. After the butter melts, but before it foams, turn the heat to low.
3. Add the eggs to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. At first nothing will happen; after 10 minutes or so, the eggs will begin to form curds. Do not lose patience: Keep stirring, breaking up the curds as they form, until the mixture is a mass of soft curds. This will take 30 minutes or more. Serve immediately.

     I decided to try the "scrambled eggs aux fines herbes" variety, one I had had several times before when I was dating my ex and that I remember being quite good.  So, how they come out?  Not quite as I had expected...  For one thing, I'm not sure if it was the fresh parsley or the cast iron leaking a little or what, but they came out a very unappetizing green color.  For another thing, they took forever to cook.  I mean, he says to use patience, but I gave it like a good hour and hardly anything was happening!  I finally kicked up the heat just the tiniest bit at the end.  From the previous time I had made it, I remembered it being smooth and delicious and well worth the trouble.  Now, it was just... bleh.  I ate it, but it was... bleh!  And then, to add insult to injury, the eggs stuck to the skillet and I had the darnedest time washing them off without messing up the seasoning (this was a pre-seasoned skillet).
     What I finally realized in retrospect was that (I think) my cast iron skillet, despite being labeled as "pre-seasoned" wasn't quite seasoned enough.  I am still *very* new to this whole cast iron thing.  I got the skillet as a wedding present from Lynnelle and Derek.  I put it on my wedding registry as I had heard of the wonderfulness of cast iron.  Unfortunately, the only one that Bed, Bath and Beyond had that looked like what I wanted was made my Emeril Lagasse (who I really can't stand) and (I found out later) was made in China.  But, whatever, I had my first cast iron skillet even if it did sit on the living room floor for months.  Well, after doing a lot of internet research and reading a lot of conflicting advice, it seems the consensus is that even pre-seasoned cast iron skillets still need seasoning.  A lot of people recommend stripping off the preseasoning and seasoning it from scratch.  At the very least, they recommended cooking a lot of fatty foods in it for a while.  So, I think that's why my eggs stuck.  I've been trying since then to cook fatty foods in it and do the proper thing of drying it right away (including letting it heat on the stove for a while) and then coating it with oil.  I even bought lard to use in some recipes that I would have otherwise used oil or butter in just so I could have lard around to season my cast iron if necessary.  However, I made a frittata today and it came out almost completely without sticking to the pan!  So I must be doing something right!  Anybody out there with cast iron experience have any advice?

My snot-colored best scrambled eggs on beer bread. 
This was the best picture I had!