Tormented Kitchen

Nice, flaky, pie crust is one of Justin's favorite things. He even eats the unbaked scraps. This recipe is kind of funny. It makes up a nice mix that I just add water to. All the other crust recipes I've seen you make it all right when you need it. I'll make up a batch and keep it in the fridge so it's easier to whip up a pie than starting completely from scratch. I use this crust for everything sweet and savory from apple pie to quiche. (I will post my quiche recipe someday soon. Promise!) Ingredients 6 c. flour 1 T salt 2 c. shortening Method 1. Mix flour, salt, and shortening in a large mixing bowl using a pastry cutter until an evenly sandy texture is achieved. 2. Store mix in refrigerator in a sealed plastic bag or container up to three months. 3. To make one crust to fit a 9" pie dish, put 1 1/2 c. mix in a bowl and add 4 or 5 Tablespoons cold water. 4. Blend well and and form into a ball. Dough should be sort of dry. If it's sticky add more of the...

Yes, yet another yummy recipe from my mom. It's another one of those recipes that I have no idea where she found it, but it's worth keeping. Ingredients ½ c. butter, softened ½ c. shortening 2 c. packed brown sugar 2 eggs ¼ c. water 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. all-purpose flour 1 ½ tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tsp. baking soda ¼ tsp. salt 1 c. flaked coconut Method 1. Using a stand mixer, cream butter, shortening, brown sugar until light and fluffy. 2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. 3. Add eggs, vanilla, and water to mixer. Mix well. 4. Add dry ingredients to mixer. Mix well. 5. Add coconut and mix to incorporate. 6. *Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2-4 hours. 7. *Shape into balls. 8. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten into rectangles and press the tines of a floured fork on top for texture. 9. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until lightly browned. 10. Cool on the sheet 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack t...

I got this recipe from my mom, good old cooking-frenzy mom. Did I ever tell you about the time she made these at my house? Nope? It was about 3 years ago, a tad more, I think I was pregnant with Eric and we were living in the little house on Hibiscus Court. Well, she made this huge batch of batter and stuck the leftover, unused batter in the fridge. I didn't realize there was waffle batter in there. Mom and Dad went home. The next day I open the fridge door and there is this weird batter stuck to everything from your knees down, all over the shelf, down the side and back, and into the produce drawers. It took a lot of scrubbing the get the semi-dried out, freakishly puffy batter cleaned out. But other than that one freakish time, these are awesome waffles. I normally just cook up any leftover batter and freeze the waffles so I always have waffles on hand. Homemade waffles instead of Eggos...yum. I took these photos at Mom's place, hence the variation in decor. P.S...

As many of my close friends and family members know, I don't drink coffee. Ever. At all. I tried it, and after a long while, I decided it sucked. Now, on the other hand, I LOVE tea. Hot tea. Cold tea. Tea latte. Chai tea. Tea in food. Green tea ice cream. Tea, tea, tea! One of my favorites is Thai iced tea. It seems like a very complicated concoction, but it really isn't that difficult to make. The key is finding good loose Thai tea leaves. I have a hard time finding loose Thai tea locally, so you can either buy it online at Adagio's Gourmet Teas or go to San Francisco's Chinatown. I personally buy Thai tea whenever we go to the bay area at Red Blossom Tea Co. in San Francisco. It's part of our after-Thanksgiving tradition. Ingredients 8 cups water (2 quarts) 3/4 to 1 cup loose Thai tea leaves 1 cup sugar (or more or less to taste) cream, whole milk, half and half, evaporated milk, or other milk-like substitute (some people like coconut milk or soy milk...

A.K.A. Justin's birthday cake. He asked for it. He got it! There is a little Italian deli not too far from home that makes a really good coconut cake. We go there to eat and make sure we save room for dessert. And sometimes we don't save room so we get a slice of cake to go. Since we like that cake so much, it was time for me to make one myself. I followed the recipe, then deviated when it came to the frosting. After each taste-test lick from the beaters, I knew this one was a keeper. The cake was nice and tender, spongy, light. The coconut frosting was very mild. The chocolate frosting was rich. It was a great combination. Ingredients For the cake 2 3/4 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter (room temperature) 1 cup canned Coco Lopez sweetened cream of coconut 4 large eggs, separated 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk For the frosting 1/2 cup shorteni...

YEP. I made it for dinner. I took pictures. I remembered the camera. I'm posting it AAALLLLLL. Thank you Gordon Ramsay. It was good. I had pretty high expectations and the meat definitely held up those expectations. I was wary of the salad. I'm not a fan of raddichio (or Belgian endive by another name). The combination with apples and fresh thyme was refreshing.  I used tempura mix from a box so I didn't have to slave over it from scratch. Little timesavers like that kept me moving so dinner took altogether only about 30 minutes to prepare. And now for what I actually did. Ingredients For the pork 3 pork chops, center loin cut with bone, about 1.2 lbs for all 2 Tablespoons olive oil red salt and black pepper 1 large crushed garlic clove 4 fresh sage leaves 2 Tablespoons butter 3/4 cup marsala wine For the salad 2 Tablespoons olive oil 2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1 head raddichio 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme 3 Tablespoons cider vinegar ...

OK OK I forgot to take pictures again , but there are leftovers so I could. If I remember... Anyhow, who loves Italian food? Who loves cheese? And marinara sauce? And MEAT? And and and...(wiping drool) it makes a whole pan-full. So this is certainly not a top-secret, high class recipe. It's mine. It's pretty basic. It's in the style of good ol' Sandra Lee of "Semi-homemade" fame. Ingredients 1 box manicotti 1 jar marinara sauce 1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese(16 oz. or 4 cups) 1 15-oz. tub ricotta cheese 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1 lb. ground beef 1 cup water parmesan or romano cheese (optional) Method 1. Boil manicotti according to package directions. This takes usually about 7 minutes to get to. Also, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 2. Meanwhile, brown meat until cooked through. Drain excess fat. Set aside. 3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg. Add mozzarella, ricotta, basil, and oregano and blend well. 4. ...