Curry Butternut Squash Soup.

Butternut squash is one of those things that people don't know what to do with or something like that. Maybe? I've made a number of new soups this semester, not all of which turned out that well, but a prevailing theme seems to be pureeing things. Boiled with onions before processing and then simmered with chicken broth, curry powder, salt, and pepper. The spice from the curry and sweetness from the squash went over really well.

One squash produced about 4 small-but-large-enough bowls which is just right to go along with a sandwich.

Christine Andrew Tempranillo 2005.

Initially, a punchy grape taste and mildly woody. Mouthfeel smooths out and thickens nicely with aeration. A rather uncomfortable, bitter finish. I put it somewhere in between a zin and a cab.

Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale.

I don't drink a lot of soda. I've bought two 12-packs in the last year and have yet to finish either of them. But I saw this and bought it on a whim/out of curiosity because I like green tea things and am a fan of ginger ale.

It's pretty good, still obviously ginger ale, but with touch of green tea at the beginning. I'm glad the green tea taste is mild rather than in your face and all since green tea just doesn't roll that way. Though, like most flavored sodas, particularly Vanilla Coke, the flavoring disappears into the background after a few sips, and it just tastes like the regular thing.

Apple Quesadilla.

Fast snack. Standard quesadilla made in the pan, with sliced apples. I remember seeing apples and cheese suggested on the back of a Ritz (best fucking crackers) box, thinking it was weird, and then trying it as a late evening snack once. It was awesome.

Ham Stuffed Pancakes.

I was told this was a foolhardy idea. NOPE. It was AWESOME.

Spinach Tilapia Alfredo.

Throwing random stuff in my fridge together before it went bad. Mushrooms, jar of alfredo, sauteed spinach and garlic, flaked tilapia. Fish and alfredo actually works really well together.

Beef Carbonnade.

Sourced from Elise. I used Ommegang Abbey Ale. Turned out decently enough, I think. It's a strongly flavored beef and onion stew. I had it with sourdough rolls, but it should go well with rice, potatoes, etc. It reminded me of beef stroganoff but heartier with a more complex and less salty flavor.

Shock Top.

Michelob's response to Coors? An inferior Blue Moon.

Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre.

I'm debating whether my tagging scheme was rich enough. I tried to not have an explosion of redundant tags based on what certain breweries wanted to call their brews. This is Belgian-styled, but I wouldn't really call it an abbey.

Again, some leftovers. It won Beer of the Year some year. Pretty good, interesting malty taste, sweet, raisins are the dominant flavor. It is damn pricey though. I think we billed it about $10/6-pack? I might pick it up for myself in the future sometime. But not anytime soon.

Impaled Ale IPA.

Some leftovers from some events. Hoppy but with a strong fruity taste. I don't really like that fruity after thought. Nice experience, but I would definitely buy other IPAs before this one. Brewed relatively locally though.

Apfelwein.

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One month taste test.

Sorry, picture got wonky during conversion so no picture.

Nice, clear golden color. Somehow carbed itself just the slightest bit. The sourness that was present at bottling has mellowed out, and the apple is starting to show through. Finishes drier than most white wines I've had. Will try it "suß" when I get around to it.

Addendum: tried backsweetening with apple cider, which was meh, and ginger ale, which was ok.

Sandwiches, Part 3.

So here's the thing. Sandwiches can be fucking awesome. But I got burnt out before with all the sliced loaf business, even with the rye and pumpernickel variations. I finally made the expo into wrap realm last year. But I don't want to get burnt out on wraps. So I'm starting to experiment with other loaves of bread. Loaves. Not sliced. Like I had forgotten how much I like sourdough.

So I've been doing some thinking. Awesome stuff to put on sandwiches that's not a meat or cheese:

• Japs.
• Banana peppers.
• Onions, any variety, red is one I've ressurected. Now that I think about it, green onions might be interesting.
• Green peppers.
• Spinach.
• Tomatoes. Roma are the best.
• Black olives. Kalamata only goes with certain things.
• Mushrooms, preferably grilled unless nothing else is going to be hot.
• Cucumber only if everything is going to be cold and preferably if hummus is involved.
• Hummus only if everything is going to be cold.
• Creme cheese and cranberry sauce.

Speaking of cheese, best cheeses:

• Pepper jack.
• Muenster.
• Provolone.

Also, I can't believe I didn't look here before: Kinda sorta Mecca. I've seen better. Here are some more fucking sandwiches.

Random steak sub with actual sirloin. Finally got around to buying a jar of banana peppers which are the greatest thing to ever go on a sub. Basically, all I want most of the time are re-creations of Subway subs.

Motherfucking sourdough.

Meatloaf, The Next Generation.

I haven't had any meatloaf in awhile. Mixing it up a bit, I added minced zucchini in with the mushrooms and onion. Good but a little dry because I forgot to take it out of the oven.

I've also decided that having frozen meatballs ready to cook is a good thing to have on hand.

Delirium Nocturnum.

With a name like Nocturnum, I shouldn't have been surprised with how dark amber this is. I don't pick up on the medicinal smell that others seemed to note until after swallowing, but the mouthfeel is thin and would be clean except for the ridiculous amount of yeast sediment in the glass which invariable ends up in my mouth. You can even see it in the picture. It's not that I'm bad at pouring beer. I just didn't want to throw out half a bottle. There was that much sediment. I do like the carbonation and the malty caramel taste, but I want to have a go at it from the tap sometime, preferably with less sediment.

Schnitzel and Onion Potato Gratin.

Both sourced from Elise. The schnitzel is pretty straightforward with a sauce made from deglazing and stirring in sour creme. The gratin, also straightforward, though I skimped a bit on the heavy creme. And gruyere. And parmesan. Those were bad ideas.

Chicken Riggies.

This is bizarre regional dish from Utica using a combination of tomato sauce, heavy creme, hot and/or sweet peppers, and a lot of personal variations. I only used hot peppers. The canned tomatoes made things a bit watery. I'll either have to drain a bit first, or use more heavy creme which I'm not into. But it was pretty good.

Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi.

Sourced from Elise. The spinach and ricotta sub for the potatoes in regular gnocchi. I need to work on my dough-manipulating skillz. I couldn't get them to pillow as nicely or evenly as Elise, but they still tasted pretty good. In any case, they're like noodle dumplings, don't involve much work or time (though the dough does need to chill for a bit), and cook up quickly. I have a couple baggies in the freezer, and word on the street is that they hold up nicely.

Doritos and a melon.

I had been putting off trying this particular Collision for awhile just because the idea of a taco, particularly "zesty", did not sound all that appetizing. And I'm disappointed. The Zesty Taco tastes like dirty Mexicans and the Chipotle Ranch just tastes like ranch.

And this melon. Is just like cantaloupe. Just different on the outside. I was looking for a change of pace. And it had this sticker that said it was delicious. So I bought it.

Carrot Cake.

Finally got around to using the carrots that had been sitting in my fridge for about a month. Referenced a few sources, but mainly Elise. Buttercream frosting. Was a hit with everybody and got a marriage proposal. Not the healthiest thing, but...carrots?

ADDENDUM: Freezes just fine.

7-Layer Bean Dip.

Man, I fucking love 7-layer bean dip. We had some at a reception recently so that got me in the mood to make some. The thing about it is 7 is a pretty arbitrary number and the number of "layers" varies. Of course, the name implies seven discrete layers, though the understanding is usually seven distinct ingredients. I generally opt for the seven ingredients rule and make as many layers as I have materiel. Warm refried beans, jalapenos, cheese, guacamole, sour creme, cheese again, olives, tomatoes.

Apple-Cranberry-Raspberry Hard Cider.

One month taste test

The cork made a nice pop, and there was an immediate raspberry nose. The fermenting was done with Cranberry-Apple juice blend and Montrachet yeast and flavored with raspberry syrup at bottling. At a month's time, I would have expected more carbing, which is pretty light, less than flat soda even. Can't say much about the ABV other than that it's got alcohol in it. Still rather sour and predominantly apple.