Doing some research on the most famous buildings in Chicago, I came across this site. I’m pretty sure this has been passed around before, but why not again.
I’ll be back soon folks. Just making a random post.
1.27.10 7 note(s)
I never thought I would actually post something from the creative ideas newsletter from Lowes. But this is pretty cool. Make your own shadow lamp for Halloween, with either a flash light or flood light. Click through for the project details.
10.1.09 14 note(s)
Mac and Cheese
Evrt asked for my mac and cheese recipe. I have two, actually, this one being the more traditional one. It also lends itself to deep frying.
Oh no, you say? I say, Oh yes.
Macaroni and Cheese
- 1 lb dry elbow macaroni
- 1 table spoon butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk (use 2% at least)
- 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped elephant garlic (or other flavoring agents*)
- *Macaroni and cheese is like a blank culinary canvas. It’s waiting for you to fill it in with your own favorite flavors. I sautéd minced elephant garlic, but you could use any number of things: jalapeño pepper, paprika, truffle oil, oregano—you could even use milder cheeses and shave in dark chocolate for a more desserty approach.
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (unless you’re doing the chocolate thing)
The macaroni:
Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box, though err on the side of under-done. You can always soften it up by heating in the oven or microwave, but over-done will end up rubbery.The cheese sauce:
- Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large pot
- Sauté the elephant garlic (1 - 2 minutes)
- Slowly add the flour, whisking while you do so (this will make your roux, which will thicken the sauce)
- Add the milk, and let the heat come back up
- Slowly add the cheeses, continuing to whisk
- Once the cheeses have melted, you can pour the sauce over the pasta and stir together
- Garnish with finely chopped oregano
But what if you want more? What if you’ve bored with plain macaroni and cheese and all its endless variety? What if the chocolate shavings didn’t work out as well as you’d hoped?
Well, you could always fry it.
Fried Mac & Cheese
First, if that macaroni and cheese is fresh off the cooktop, forget about it. To fry it up, you need to let it chill. In the refrigerator, preferably overnight. Then you’ll need a batter.A simple beer batter:
- 1 12-once can (or bottle) of light beer (I used Amstel; it worked fine)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano (or other flavoring agents)
- 1 additional cup flour
(You will keep the additional flour off to the side for dredging)Put about three inches of canola or vegetable oil n a large, heavy, high-sided pot (you could also use peanut oil as it has a high smoke point, but it will lend flavor to your food, and you might not want that)
Heat the oil over medium-high heat to about 375 degrees (f)While the oil’s heating up,
- Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and flavoring agents in a large bowl
- Slowly—slowly!—whisk in the beer. It’ll bubble and foam, but just keep working it slowly. Eventually the ingredients will combine.
- Cut the chilled mac & cheese into bite-sized pieces and set them up, assembly line style
To fry:
- First, dust the mac & cheese bites in the flour, then dunk into the batter, coating evenly
- Gently ease the coated pieces into the oil and let them sizzle and fry to a delicious, golden brown
- Remove from oil and let dry on paper towels or some kind of rack
While the beer batter worked very well (and was wonderful for frying up some yucca fries), I would probably go with a breadcrumb dredge in the future:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (I’m a huge fan of panko, Japanese breadcrumbs, which are usually available in the ethnic food isle of your local grocery store)
- 1 teaspoon oregano (or, again, other flavoring agents—garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika—whatever suits your flavor sensibilities)
- Season the flour with the salt, pepper and flavoring agents
- Beat together the egg and water
- Dredge each mac & cheese piece through the flour and sake gently to remove any excess flour
- Dip into the egg wash and then coat with the breadcrumbs
- Set the dredged pieces on a plat and let them rest for about five minutes so the crust has time to set up a bit
- Gently ease the pieces into the oil, a few at a time and fry until golden brown
- Let drain on a rack or paper towels
This recipe originally appeared in my long-defunct blog, Winepairings.
Wow…. this sounds awesome. I am definitely putting this on the list of things to make soon. Thanks for sharing!
Reblogged from turbine.
9.29.09 10 note(s)
Homemade Chili Powder
I did this quickly this morning, to test out my new Mortar & Pestle. I don’t talk about food or cooking much on this blog, but I actually really enjoy both. I usually cook the majority of meals in my household and I love it.
Anyway, this is something I have done before, and it is very easy.
Step 1: Obtain a large amount of dried red chilies (or use your favorite chili). I got mine at the local farmers market, which is probably the best way because they are fresh, and I got a huge bag for literally $1. You need about a dozen chilies or so to make 2T of powder.
Step 2: Cut off the tops of the chilies and shake the seeds out. If you prefer this to be extremely hot, leave the seeds in. Cut the chilies into 1/4” rings.
Step 3: Toast them over low heat in a pan. Do not use anything else in the pan (i.e. oil, butter, nonstick spray, etc.). Make sure to turn them often when toasting.
Step 4: To make a fine powder, simply put the toasted chilies in a clean coffee bean grinder, and then you are done. I decided I wanted flakes instead, and a chance to use my new toy. Grind the chilies by hand with a mortar & pestle for flakes. Place in an air tight container when done. I had an empty spice jar available.
There are many don’t s when doing this. Don’t be like me taking so many pictures, I forget to watch the chilies and burn them. I used them anyway, because I don’t mind a little burnt flavor added. Don’t be like me taking a photo directly above the pan and consequently inhaling the fumes. This results in a serious coughing fit for the next 30 minutes. Don’t rub your eyes after handling the chilies.
Anyway, this is an easy thing to do, and you can use this for future batches of Chili or with the flakes you can shake it on Pizza. Plus it will keep for a very long time, and is much fresher than buying chili powder from the store.
9.27.09 13 note(s)
» Popular Mechanics: 10 Amazing DIY Projects
This is a link you need to look through when you have time. People seriously amaze me with what they can do.
Popular Mechanics has named their top 10 places for the Backyard Geniuses award. And these people literally are geniuses. For example:
#1: Animatronics designer creates a giant hand to crush cars with. And it is controlled by a glove he wears.
#3: A boy in eighth grade and his father create a solar powered, and pedal powered 4 seat bicycle. What did you do in Eighth grade?
#7: An auto body repair specialist creates a 36 foot tall replica of the Saturn V Rocket. And launches it. Breaking all kinds of records…
#10: A former welder built a Gasifier to power a generator. A Gasifier combusts bio mass (food waste, think Back to the Future II) and turns it into power. Now this guy will eventually be a billionaire when he sells his idea…..
So what have you done lately?
9.14.09 6 note(s)
Document Light by Gaby Crohn
There have been a lot of DIY designs popping up over the past couple years. Here is another, involving your old documents becoming the shade for a lamp.
8.11.09 7 note(s)
DIY Shelving
Click through for some instructions on an easy do-it-yourself shelving system. These are not the most thorough of instructions, but it seems simple enough.
7.10.09 10 note(s)
Any design (but especially furniture) that reuses material(s) and still looks amazing, is number one in my book. This is one of the better reuses for a pallet that I have seen. And I think it is great they just sell the instructions on how to do it yourself, instead of trying to sell it for $800.
A long time ago, I posted this mirror which uses the same idea of recycling a pallet, EXCEPT they are asking a lot of money for the mirror.
6.15.09 9 note(s)
Japanese camera buff builds 130-megapixel scanner camera for next to nothing (thanks Hin!)
This is awesome, just for the sake of ingenuity….
Reblogged from Michael Simon.
6.10.09 11 note(s)
Want to build a simple Mid Century table of sorts? Affordable hairpin legs, although you can find them cheaper on Ebay sometimes, but the quality is questionable. At least these are guaranteed. They have other legs as well, and even table tops.
4.15.09 1 note(s)
I’ve always wanted to make a couple terrariums, but never got around to it. I think I’ll try to make some this summer. Here is a quick little how-to with some photos. This guy even includes a lego horse in one of his…
4.1.09 2 note(s)
Feel like fixing that Apple product yourself? Get detailed instructions and help here…..
3.24.09 3 note(s)
