Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 | General, Law School, Recipes

Yes indeed, I made pot stickers. Well, Americanized ones. Specifically, Alton Brown ones. I thought they came out pretty decently considering it was my first attempt. We dipped them in a honey soy sauce that was also quite nice. Next up: I tackle Mexican! Well…there might be burgers in between. We have to use up the bacon jam I bought Zach for Valentine’s. Gosh, this post is just full of product placement. Anyway, time for the life part of the post.

Today I attended several lectures on gender in the law. It was actually quite surprising how far women still have to go, and it really made me think about my past jobs. While I have no idea if I made as much as my male counterparts, I do know that I was hired for certain jobs because of my gender. For instance, in one Office supply store I worked at, the customer service department was filled to the Max with women. Now, in the manager’s defense, the non-cashier positions did involve a certain amount of heavy lifting, however I was annoyed not to have even been given the option to try. Any attempt I’d make to grab a box of paper would result in someone shouting for a guy to come help me. In one of my other jobs, a store which was like a City of Circuitry, the customer service department was much more even in terms of gender. However, the few women to be found in the other departments were transfers from customer service. In this store, it was well known that customer service was the lowest paid, despite having arguably the most important job (who answered the phone after no more than three rings? Me, that’s who). I guess the point of all of this is that when you stop to look around, it’s interesting to note all of the instances where sexism in the workplace does exist.

Oh, and chivalry. I’m sick of chivalry. Yes, politeness is nice, but sometimes it can grate me. For instance, a few years ago I had dinner with a large group of friends. I held the door as everyone walked through, just so that the door wouldn’t be flapping for each one of us. One person, however, refused to walk through. Clearly a courteous gentleman, he motioned for me to walk and he’d hold the door for me. I gave him my most sugary smile and said, “Oh no, after you, I insist!” No one can say no to a lady. He walked. That was MY door to hold and no one else’s. But really, what was the purpose for him to attempt to take the door from me? Had he held it for everyone it would have been fine. A courteous gesture. Even if it had just been the two of us and he held it, that would have been ok. But to not allow me to complete my door holding task, simply because I have an extra X chromosome? Craziness. I do wonder…if the world changes and chivalry dies, will I miss it?

Despite all that I’ve written, do keep one thing in mind: I want off the Titanic first.

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | Recipes

When I visited Seattle a year ago, I stopped into a little shop downtown and had the best corn soup ever. Ever since then, I’ve been hunting for the perfect recipe and dun dun dun dunnnnn (do do do sol…triplet followed by a dotted half, if you’re into music), I’ve found it! The following is my adaptation of a recipe I found here:

Yummiest Corn Soup Ever

Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups milk (I use skim and it’s incredibly rich and creamy)
4 cups corn kernels (Fresh is best, but amazingly, frozen is almost as good)
3ish cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion (I process this down with the garlic so it’s practically pulp, but I don’t think that’s really necessary since it will be blended later. I’m just weird about pieces of onion.)
2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs butter
1/2 cup cream (you almost don’t even need this…or, you can substitute nonfat yogurt mixed with a little milk for a healthier version)
1tbs salt, plus some more for seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
Boil the water in a large saucepan, then add in the milk and corn until the corn gets tender. I let it sit simmer and just ignore the lovely milk skin that develops. It all gets blended anyway. No one has to know. Once the corn is tender, drain it but preserve the water/milk mixture for later.

Next it’s time to make the roux. Throw the butter in the original saucepan and cook the onion/garlic mixture until soft and then add in the flour. You’re going to want to whisk it all quickly for a few minutes, just to remove the floury taste. It should bubble and darken slightly. Now, add in the water/milk mixture and simmer it for fifteen minutes or so. I stir it occasionally…again, just ignore the milk skin.

Now it’s blender time. You likely won’t be able to fit all of the corn and liquid in a blender, so take half the corn and half the liquid and blend together until smooth. Put it back into the sauce pan and blend the remaining stuff together. Once blended, add it to the rest and add the cream, pepper, and salt to taste. Reheat and serve. This is one of those soups where I can’t stop licking the bowl/spoon/counter drippings/blender blade. Be careful with the blade.

Monday, June 1st, 2009 | Recipes

I had a party at my apartment and wanted to make a dessert that would impress. Normally I’m not a cupcake fan, I mean, they’re pretty annoying to eat. If society allowed it, I’d eat it with a knife and fork. Nonetheless, I had to make cupcakes when I stumbled upon some lovely cookie monster cupcakes. Aren’t they adorable? They’re also super easy to make!

I started with a basic chocolate cupcake and made up a batch of vanilla buttercream icing. Then, using a few blobs of blue food coloring (gel kind) I turned the icing a delightful shade of cookie monster blue. Next came the fur. I took a bag of sweetened coconut flakes, added a few blobs of the coloring, and proceeded to mix it with my hands until every little shaving was coated. Then I simply iced the cupcakes and dipped them in the coconut mixture. To get the eyes, I cut off the ends of marshmallows, glued them on with the icing, and glued some chocolate chips onto them. Finally, I shoved cookies into their mouths. Ultra easy and a big hit. Next up is Oscar the Grouch!

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Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 | Recipes

This last weekend I visited my parents in Phoenix and as soon as I walked in the door, my mom exclaimed that she had a job for me: decorating cupcakes. While I was a bit wary at first, I quickly came around when I saw how I was to decorate them. There, on the cover of Family Circle, were the most adorable Hostess recreations! If you’re interested in them, it was p. 127 of the April 17 2009 issue.

They’re surprisingly simple to make. Just bake some chocolate cupcakes and once they’re cool, insert a piping tip into the top about half an inch down, and pipe in some white frosting. Then, dip the cupcake tops in a ganache so that the tops are covered. Once they’re dried, simply pipe on some frosting in curly-q’s.

Now you too can buy the ingredients and bake your own hostess cupcake instead of having to go to the painstaking trouble of unwrapping a pre-made one!

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 | Recipes

Although it is common knowledge that alfredo sauce is the king of the sauces, I will let one be the prince. That sauce is Basil Cream Sauce.  Not quite a pesto sauce due to the cream, the sauce rivals many restaurants in its taste. This recipe comes from AllRecipes.com and is quite good when made following the recipe to the letter. Following the comments, I made a few changes, however, which you’re welcome to try:

Basil Cream Sauce

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I used 6. It’s good for you!)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pint light cream
• 1tbs each flour and butter

I cooked several cloves of garlic in about  a tbs. or so of butter, then made a roux with the same amount of flour. I then added the cream until it simmered. The recipe doesn’t call for a roux, but it gave it a little extra thickness which I liked. If you are opting to use milk instead of the cream, I’d go for it.

Meanwhile, I processed the basil and a couple cloves of garlic in the food processor and slowly poured in the oil until it started to emulsify. You can add pine nuts but I didn’t. Tastes just fine without. I added the cheese and processed for about a minute more.

I poured some of the hot cream mixture to the processor and pulsed until it was combined. Then, I added the basil mix into the rest of the cream on the stove and cooked it another five or so minutes until it was thickened. This is something you need to eat hot, otherwise it will get a little lumpy. It does keep well, and I’ve read that if you refrigerate the basil mix w/out the cream, it will last awhile.

You should make this. Really, just do it. It’s good.