The Louisville Magpie ... Shiny Things Catch My Eye!

Easy Fried Rice

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:05:00 -0500

I have always liked fried rice from the local Chinese take out but was concerned about all of the salt it contained. I modified a few recipes and came up with the following. I was extremely happy with the results. This taste just like take out without the salt lick! :) I also tried it with shrimp instead of chicken and it worked as well.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients

¾ cup finely chopped onions

2 ½ tablespoons oil

1 eggs, lightly beaten ( or more eggs if you like)

3 drops soy sauce

3 drops sesame oil

8 ounces cooked lean boneless pork or 8 ounces chicken, chopped

½ cup finely chopped carrots ( very small)

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

4 cupscold cooked rice, grains separated ( preferably medium grain)

4 green onions, chopped

2 cups bean sprouts

2 tablespoons light soy sauce ( add more if you like)

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add chopped onions and stir-fry until onions turn a nice brown color, about 8-10 minutes; remove from wok.
Allow wok to cool slightly.
Mix egg with 3 drops of soy and 3 drops of sesame oil; set aside.
Add 1/2 tbsp oil to wok, swirling to coat surfaces; add egg mixture; working quickly, swirl egg until egg sets against wok; when egg puffs, flip egg and cook other side briefly; remove from wok, and chop into small pieces.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add selected meat to wok, along with carrots, peas, and cooked onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add rice, green onions, and bean sprouts, tossing to mix well; stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp of light soy sauce and chopped egg to rice mixture and fold in; stir-fry for 1 minute more; serve.

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:58:00 -0500

I had a drink and snack at the Holy Grale last night and totally loved the place. They have an amazing selection of craft beers from around the world and a delicious snack menu. I ordered a Norwegian Nogne 0 Kollaborator Doppelbock - 8.5% ABV and a dish of poutine (fries, cheese curds and gravy) and I was stunned by the tastes of both. The Holy Grale is incredibly small and seating can be problematic on a weekend. Beware - they do small pours, 12 ounces , so at $6.75 my stout was very pricy. Catching a buzz here could prove to be very very expensive. The staff know their beers and are very friendly. A few questions pointed me to a beer that I can honestly say I loved on first sip!

Condensed Milk

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:42:00 -0500

Condensed Milk
I was watching an episode of a cooking show the other day and they mentioned that the Vietnamese use condensed milk to lighten and sweeten their coffee. This method is popular due to the difficulty in keeping dairy products in a tropical environment. I was immediately curious to try this method and see how it tasted. My first stab was to use about 3 Tbsp for a large mug of Cafe du Monde chicory coffee.The result was delicious! There is a nice balance between the milk and sugar and has a good finish. I think I have found a new habit!

Harvest -

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:41:00 -0500

Harvest on East Market Street

Farmers Market - Bardstown Presbyterian

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sat, 6 Aug 2011 13:03:00 -0400

Visited this market for the first time this morning. A nice selection of the basics were available plus some more unusual products. I ended up buying some Romanesco Zucchini which I will use in the Zucchini Bread I am making for the State Fair. Additional purchases were Purple Viking Potatoes. 2 inch long baby Japanese zucchini and Zephyr squash. I also picked up a cow tongue and some goat milk soap. Next week I want to try the Douglass Loop Market. I understand that members of the Limerick Community Garden have a booth there.

Bourbon of the Week - Early Times

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:35:00 -0500

Early Times is a good whiskey. It is not a bourbon because it is aged in used barrels and therefore does not meet the official requirements. This is not necessarily a bad thing though; all Scotch is aged in used bourbon barrels as well. The second use of the barrels makes the whiskey a bit less woody than most bourbons. The taste is pleasant and its finish is very smooth.

This is not a sipping whiskey though; it is best in shots where a smooth finish is desired or as a mixer. Its cheap enough that you don't feel bad about wasting a good bourbon in coke.

If it cost more than $20 a bottle it wouldn't compare to more flavorful spirits like Maker's Mark or Jim Beam Black but, at $10 a bottle it is an excellent buy.

Bourbon of the Week - Kessler

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sun, 6 Feb 2011 14:41:00 -0500

Kessler Bourbon

This bourbon was originally produced by Julius Kessler in 1888 in Leadsville, Colorado. Kessler was an immigrant from Hungary and his bourbon was popular in the Wild West of the late 19th century. The slogan for the bourbon is "Smooth as Silk". The brand was purchased in 1935 by Seagrams and was marketed as a drink below their Crown Royal price point.

The bourbon is 80 proof and is astonishingly smooth for a blended bourbon. The body is a deep amber in color, has good legs and the nose reveals deep tones of licorice, citrus and leather.

Seagrams now produces the bourbon in Louisville (over on 18th Street) and blends and bottles in Clermont, KY at the Jim Beam Distillery.

In Louisville, I picked up a fifth for 10.99 and was impressed by the bang for the buck. The closest comparison to this product so far is Old Crow, which is one of my favorite everyday drinking bourbons.

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:30:00 -0500

When I lived in New York City and was working as a chef, I used to make this every New Year's and it always sold out. Served over white rice and corn bread of course. There are lots of southerners outside of the south :)

Hoppin’ John

1 pound black eyed peas, rinsed and picked through
2 large Spanish onions, one peeled and halved through the root, one medium diced
2 carrots
4 bay leaves
kosher salt to taste
8 ounces bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
5 cloves of garlic, or more, smashed with the side of a knife and roughly chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (3 if you like it really hot)
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

Put the black eyed peas, the halved onion, the carrots and 3 bay leaves in a large pot. Cover it all with about three inches of water (you’ll need about 2 quarts). Put the pot over high heat, bring it to a simmer, then turn the burner to medium low and continue to cook until the beans are tender, about 60 to 90 minutes. Add two or three teaspoons of salt midway through the cooking. (Add more water if the water level goes below the beans.) Reserve two cups of the cooking liquid. Strain the peas, picking out and discarding the onion, carrots and bay leaves.
While the peas are cooking: in a pot big enough to hold the beans cook the bacon over medium low heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is browned. Add the medium diced onion and a three fingered pinch of salt. Cook over until the onion is softened and translucent and beginning to brown, five or ten minutes. Add the cumin, pepper flakes, and black pepper, turn the burner to medium and stir to combine the seasonings with the onion. Add the juice from the tomatoes. Then add the tomatoes crushing them in your hand as if you were furious with them, dashing them, their brains squirting out between your fingers. (You could instead put them on a cutting board, of course, and roughly chop them, then scrape the tomato and juices into the pan with the onion.) Add the last bay leaf. Bring this to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or so to reduce and thicken the sauce.
Stir in the black eyed-peas, and cook to heat through. Add some or all of the reserved bean liquid to keep it juicy (add all of it if you’ll be chilling and reheating it). Taste. If it needs something, try a little more salt. Still need something? Try some fish sauce. Want it hotter? Add more pepper flakes. Too salty? Oops! Need to make a half batch with no salt and add it to this one! (Actually I’ve always found the above recipe to be on the money.)
Serve immediately, or if it’s Wednesday and you’re not serving it till Saturday (the case here), cool then chill it in the fridge uncovered, then cover it when it’s cold. Reheat it slowly so as not to burn the bottom; add some water or some wine if it looks a little dry.
Serve with rice and some crunchy toasted and buttered bread, and garnish with pickled chillis if you have them!

Makes about 2 quarts of beans, which will serve about 15.

Eulogy For a Dying Breed

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:04:00 -0500

The last free-standing A&W Restaurant, open since the early 1960's on Dixie Highway near Kosmosdale, unceremoniously closed its doors a few months ago. The building now is a location for a Hawaiian hamburger chain called Kahuna Nui Burger and Fries..

This is a sad development. One of my earliest memories is of my parents driving us from Fort Knox for frosty mugs of root beer. I remember hot summer nights and the yellow neon lights of the drive-in. The car hop delivering our food and drinks. My brother and I would be in the back seat and would greedily handle our cold and frosty mugs of root beer. The mugs seemed so huge in our small hands! My mother was particularly enthralled with their phenomenal pork tenderloin sandwiches. and would stop by every time she was in that part of town.

Another part of my childhood has now faded away.

Sweet Potato Pancake Mix

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:22:00 -0500

I made these pancakes tonight for dinner and was amazed by how great they tasted. The pancakes came out sweet and were wonderful with butter, syrup and a dusting of 10x sugar.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

½ Cup Cooked Sweet Potato

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and sweet potato. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

The Book of Tea - Kakuzo Okakura (1862-1913)

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:30:00 -0500

This is one of my current bedtime reads. Kakuzo discusses how tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture , thought, and life. The book is very accessible to English speakers because Kakuzo was taught at a young age to speak English; and spoke it all his life, becoming proficient at communicating his thoughts to the occidental mind. In his book, he discusses such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of Tea and Japanese life. This is a wonderful book to read while sipping a hot cup of tea. His explanation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony is particularly engrossing.

Homemade Kuhlua Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:17:00 -0500

1 12-cup pot very strong coffee

2 lbs. light brown sugar
4-6 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 bottle 190 proof Everclear

Bring coffee to a boil in dutch oven or large pot. Gradually add 2 lbs. light brown sugar and return to boil stirring constantly. Let cool until room temperature. (Add 1 cup of ice to cool water in a sink and use as a cooling bath).

When completely cool, add the vanilla and Everclear. It is ready to serve.

An Amazing Hors d'oeuvres

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:07:00 -0500

I saw this appetizer on a TV show about Spanish Basque cooking. The idea of combining anchovies and banana peppers appealed to me. I simply wrapped the anchovy around a pepper which had been drained and destemmed. The flavors were amazing. The sweet and sour nature of the marinated peppers neutralized the extreme saltiness of the anchovies. Eaten with a nice dry red wine, these make for a wonderful tapas.

Pizza Crust Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:06:00 -0500

This recipe makes a great pizza crust

10 ounces of general purpose flour
6 ounces of water
1 ounce of olive oil
1 package of active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon of Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon of Sugar

1. Heat water to 100 - 100 degrees and mix in yeast - allow to sit for 10 minutes

2. Mix remaining ingredients and form loose dough ball.

3. Place dough ball in the refrigerator for 4 hours

4. Roll out dough with a rolling pin and bake at 500 degrees for five minutes.

5. Remove from oven and spread sauce and desire toppings

6. Bake pie for 12-15 minutes

I make a triple batch and divide - the dough freezes well.

Kvass

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:27:00 -0500

My next project - Kvas (квас) is an ancient beverage from Slavic Europe. While it is basically a low-alcohol beer, it is enjoyed as a soft drink, even by small children. Factory-made versions have been available for some time and many are quite good. But homemade will always be best. Often spelled "kvass."

Stale dark rye bread, cubed -- 1 pound
Water -- 3 quarts
Active dry yeast -- 1 (1/2-ounce) packet, or 2 1/2 teaspoons
Water, lukewarm (110°F) -- 1/4 cup
Sugar -- 1 cup
Raisins -- 2 tablespoons

Method

Preheat oven to 200°F. Spread the cubes of bread on a baking sheet and place in the for about an hour, or until the bread is fairly well dried out.
Bring the 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the bread. Cover with a clean towel and let rest in a dark, cool place for 8-10 hours.
Pour the liquid through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer, gently pressing one the bread to get the liquid out. Don't press too hard, or your kvas will turn cloudy.
Mix the yeast with the warm water and a pinch of the sugar. Set the yeast mixture aside for 10 minutes to proof until foamy. Stir into the strained liquid along with the 1 cup of sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved. Cover again with the towel and let set another 8-10 hours.
Strain the liquid again through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer and pour into a 1-gallon pitcher or container. Add the raisins and cover tightly with plastic wrap and a rubber band. Set in a dark, cool place for 4-5 days until the yeast sediment has settled to the bottom of the container and a clear liquid remains.
Carefully pour off the clear liquid into a clean container or individual bottles, taking care not to disturb the yeast sediment. Chill well before serving..

Fast Food

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:53:00 -0500

American Fast Food versus Japanese Fast Food - which one is healthier???? Hmmmmm

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:00:00 -0500

http://www.valumarket.com/valumarket_iroquois.htm

The best ethnic grocery store in Louisville. I love this place. I can easily spend a few hours exploring the aisles just looking at the various items I have never seen or tried. The produce department carries everything from Horned Melon to Yuca Root. The deli makes the best pressed Cuban sandwich in Louisville. Seafood? Huge tanks contain live fish for truly fresh seafood - right now the tanks are stocked with Tilapia. This is where I buy my noodles, sausages, squid and sandalwood soap. There is so much that I want to try. This is not Jungle Jim's of Cincinnati but it is the best we have in Louisville. If you cannot find something - ask for Josh. Josh will get you anything you wish! All of the Valumarkets are good but the one in Iroquois Park area is the best.

Perfect Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sun, 7 Nov 2010 18:55:00 -0500

I attended the Kentucky Opera Sights and Sounds for Madam Butterfly this afternoon. Afterwards, had a late lunch at the Vietnam Kitchen. I cannot pronounce what I had but it was K6 :) Does anyone actually know the names of their favorite dishes at VK or do they just refer to the codes? (Checked the menu and K6 is Hu Tieu cay Trieu Chau)

Mark Twain on Food and Drink

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sun, 7 Nov 2010 07:58:00 -0500

"the only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd druther not."

Great Louisville Restaurant Menu Site

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sat, 6 Nov 2010 17:46:00 -0400

The collection of menus may not be complete but they have a huge amount. I like to look before I visit a restaurant for the first time.

http://www.louisvillediner.com/

U of L School of Music New Music Festival - November 8-12

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Sat, 6 Nov 2010 09:04:00 -0400

Festival Dates: November 8 - 12, 2010
The University of Louisville New Music Festival is an annual event devoted to the promotion of the diverse music of our times. The festival demonstrates the School of Music’s commitment to the study, performance and celebration of contemporary music. Works of the late 20th and 21st century are featured in free, open to the public concerts presented by various ensemble combinations, such as Chamber Music, Electronic Music, Wind Ensemble, New Music Ensemble, Choir and Symphony Orchestra. The festival features many world and American premieres as well as performances of exiting new music presented by faculty, students and guest artists. Each year the festival features a distinguished guest composer who shares her/his work, knowledge and experience with audiences, faculty and students.

The guest composer for the 2010 New Music Festival will be Danish composer Per Nørgård, who will be joined by two highly acclaimed artists: Peter Herresthal (violin) and Jakob Kullberg (cello). Our guests will engage in lectures, presentations, master classes and performances of Per Nørgård’s works as well as other new music.

Scars on 45 - One Eskimo - WFPK Live Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Fri, 5 Nov 2010 19:48:00 -0400

I attended the Live Lunch today and saw and heard a great show. One Eskimo was delayed so the opening band Scars on 45 started the show. This was the band's second radio appearance and their first American tour. The group played a 5 song set with the highlight being the song Give Me Something. Check out their website www.scarson45.com, you can download Give Me Something for free.

One Eskimo appeared at the half hour mark and played 3 songs. The strongest was Kandi which is heavily played on WFPK. The word was that the lead singer is nursing a sore throat but his performance was brillant. Both bands are playing at Zanzabar tonight. $10 for the show, a major bargain.

Sights & Sounds | Sunday, November 7 | 1:30pm | Speed Art Museum

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Thu, 4 Nov 2010 08:26:00 -0400

The Kentucky Opera will present Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. In collaboration with the Speed Art Museum, Kentucky Opera and Speed Art Museum will present a mix of art, lecture and a showing of the film, Memoir of a Geisha. The event is free of charge!

Louisville Art Web Site

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Thu, 4 Nov 2010 06:57:00 -0400

http://kentuckyartspeaks.wordpress.com/

I recently found this website and it is a wonderful resource for Louisville artists, galleries and art happenings! I believe that there is a wonderful art scene here in Louisville. The problem is one of communication. The great events that happen all over the city are never well advertised.

A case in point is all of the free concerts and recitals performed by the faculty and students of the University of Louisville School of Music. The majority of the events are free and open to the public The quality of performance is professional. If you would like to be on the school's mailing list, contact Shaunitra Wisdom s.wisdom@louisville.edu

Nightmare!

noreply@blogger.com (The Magpie) — Wed, 3 Nov 2010 06:39:00 -0400