Rye Cooks

Dinner Tonight

It seemed that today was going to be one of those days that I had no idea what was for dinner and we were going to run out for Chinese take out.  

I really didn't want to do that, mainly it would have killed my saving money buzz.  Earlier in the day I went to Bloomindale's to return a sweater purchased just before the holidays in which a two inch hole appeared in the seam, but not just the seam, which I could totally stitch up myself, but an actual hole.

Although I probably have the receipts for the outfit my fifteen year old wore home from the hospital after her birth, I could not find the receipt for this particular sweater.  

But Bloomingdale's, unlike, say, Target, is perfectly willing to take back pretty much any thing, any time, so the adorable sales girl smiled her way through this annoying transaction, no receipt, no ticket, and credited my Amex for the price I paid months ago.  Really, a sweater should last the season, don't you think?  

So, either I could be perfectly justified spending a little on dinner, but no, I would no longer be a clever money manager if I did that.

I am making one of our staple, dinners: white rice, chicken breast marinated and sauteed in Soy Vey, the universal teriyaki sauce that goes on everything, except maybe hotdogs, and broccoli, sauteed with garlic. Just so you know, our other dinner staple is pork loin marinated and cooked in Soy Vey. Same for flank steak.  Buy it. You won't regret it. 

P.S. Thinking of a sister blog called
"Rye Returns".  What do you think?

 

 

Waffling

With renewed energy, we have been working hard to bring you the third episode of Rye Cooks, on Rye's public access channel (that's either 76 on cable or 33 if you have Verizon). You'll also be able to watch on your computer, I'll provide the link and hopefully you will be able to just click on that tv icon on the right hand corner.

When we first realized that we have been at this for a year, we were a bit disconcerted.  Did we think we would have had 12 shows in 12 months? We had so very many ideas and tons of forward momentum.  It would seem that (almost) 3 shows does not really meet our goals.  But there was so much more to this than we could have imagined.

Our skill set has grown exponentially in the past year.  Suzy learned all kinds of technical applications, and I have learned that being engaging is more important than getting all your ingredients right the first time.

Luckily, being human and imperfect is what is I am good at. There are so many other blogs and tv shows that will tell you how to get everything just right. On professional television, they do lots of takes, they have staff to clean up spills, and they have big teleprompters that the hosts read from.  I know, because I went to see both Rachael Ray and Martha Stewart during the past year.  

They also have people who run out with little brushes to fix skin imperfections that have cropped up during the breaks(Martha), and when something doesn't work, they do it again, keeping the studio audience clapping just like we never saw the bit just a minute ago (that's more Rachael). Being part of those studio audiences would have been fun for me anyway, but checking out how they get it done it made it much more interesting.

We have interviewed lots of people around Rye, even if we haven't used any of that information on the show, it has been valuable.  We've talked with the man in charge of the food service in all the Rye City Schools. We spent time with the woman in charge of education at the Rye Historical society and had a fascinating conversation about cooking over an open hearth. For a crowd. We've met fabulous people at RyeTV and the Rye Middle school, took part in an awards ceremony and earned our very own Margie, and yes, there were other entries.

The title of this post does not refer to any lack of dedication to giving you an entertaining look at food and people of Rye, it refers to the fact that we made waffles a while back for a cooking segment to be used in our upcoming show, the audio was poor, so we did it all over again. This time it worked out really well and hopefully you will see it soon on Episode 3!

 

 

Moon Cookies

We are just NOT talking about the weather.  We all know how icy and slushy it is today, and the kids will be going to school until the Fourth of July to make up for all the missed days.  Besides, we don't want to jinx it.  

I am now pretty awesome at building a fire, (I thought it would be nice this year to make a resolution that is actually attainable) and I bought something I never bought before at Costco yesterday, their gigantic block of butter, 4 pounds!  

Before you get all amazed and envious of my plan-ahead abilities, I realized this morning that I have only three eggs, so it's not like I am prepared to go on some crazy baking marathon anyway.

Today, it's going to be "Chinese Mooncakes", otherwise known as jam-in-the-thumbprint cookies.

Super-easy and yummy. February 3rd is the start of Chinese New Year, and it's the year of the Rabbit.  The Chinese calendar is based on the phases of the moon, hence the round cookies.  I am bringing them in for my daughter's class tomorrow for the Lunar New Year lesson (party!).  

I will also be digging out our homemade dragon which consists of a head made out of a cardboard box, painted gold with wild eyes and a long red and orange fleece body that the kids will use for a little parade.  We'll be dining on lo mein for the long noodles, signifying long life.  'Cause that's the kind of Chinese mom I am, generally much more bunny than tiger. Or maybe that's just the Jewish part. :)

Here's the recipe for the cookies: Adapted from www.Asiaforkids.com

NOTE:  This requires 30 mins of refrigeration time......don't you hate being half way thru the recipe only to be told to come back later?

PREHEAT to 375.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

1 cup flour

1 cup jam........probably WAY too much...

pinch of salt

 

1. Combine butter, sugar and one egg yolk. Mix completely until creamy.

2. Add the flour, mix thoroughly.  Add the pinch of salt. Form the dough into a large ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30      mins.

3. Unwrap chilled dough and form small balls in the palms of your hands, about an inch in diameter.  Place on cookie sheet. (Parchment paper or silpat recommended.)  

4. Make a hole with your thumb gently in the center of each "moon cookie" and fill with about half a teaspoon of favorite jam.  (More authentically, I suppose, they give you an alternate of using red bean paste in here.  Up to you.) Don't overfill; the jam liquifies and spreads and your cookie sheet will turn into a burned sugar mess if there is too much.  Also, a child's thumb is handy here.  

5. Brush each cake with the other beaten egg yolk (don't really need to).

6. Bake in 375 degree oven about 12 minutes, checking that the bottom is just light brown. Maybe a bit of light brown on the outside edge of the cookie, but that's all.

Gung Hay Fat Choy, Happy New Year!