Non-Food Post - Books Read in 2011

Once again, I'm reading less. Only 18 books in 2011, compared to 24 in 2010. To be fair, I spent most of December reading A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin, which is monstrous. And I'm almost done.

With no further adieu, the list:

Spice – The History of a Temptation – Jack Turner

Manitou – Graham Masterton

Edible Stories – Mark Kurlansky

Mafia Hairdresser – Jon-David

Mistborn – Brandon Sanderson

Salted – Mark Bitterman

The Sword-Edged Blonde – Alex Bledsoe

The Well of Ascension – Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages – Brandon Sanderson

The Way of the Wiseguy – Joseph D. Pistone

Best Food Writing 2007 – Holly Hunter, ed.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop – Lewis Buzbee

The Gathering Storm – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Odd Bits – Jennifer McLagan

Choice of the Cat - E. E. Knight

The Ramen King and I - Andy Raskin

11/22/63 - Stephen King

Much Depends on Dinner - Margaret Visser

What did you read?

Poached Egg and Smoked Salmon on Toast

Just reading the title made me want this dish again.

Apparently, my husband can poach eggs. Perfectly. I'm a little miffed that I didn't know this for the first 13 years of our relationship. But now that I know, he's going to be in the kitchen a lot more frequently.

What you see below is completely my husband's doing. Lightly toasted sourdough, a smear of a French herbed cheese, sliced baby heirloom tomatoes, olive oil, lemon salt, pepper, smoked salmon, chives, a couple pieces of arugula, poached egg.

Look at that gorgeous yolk. There was absolutely nothing I would have changed with this dish.

Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part XXVII

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If you're going to be holding my foot hostage, you better be rubbing it.

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I so wish my aunt Eulalia's nickname had been lollipop instead of Emma.

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I saw that woman's nipples in the casino.

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Stop licking my phone.

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If I ever get thrombosis, I'm f*(k!ng set, dude.

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Grilled Buffalo Wings

I'm a little late to the party, but I received a free bottle of KC Masterpiece Hot Buffalo Marinade from Foodbuzz, since apparently they consider me a Tastemaker.

I rarely (and by rarely, I mean never) buy bottled marinades or dressings. But this was free, and KC Masterpiece makes decent products, so I gave it a shot. Also, there's no high-fructose corn syrup in their Buffalo marinade, so that made me happy, even before tasting it.

I marinated wing sections for about 30 minutes while I got the grill going, then grilled the wings over indirect heat (so as not to burn the sugar in the marinade), basting occasionally.

Served with a simple iceberg wedge with homemade blue cheese dressing, this was a great simple meal. (The dressing recipe is from Great Greens, a cookbook that I highly recommend.) Thanks, Foodbuzz!

Random Quotes from the WIP Household, Part XXVI

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Dude. I seriously had a crush on Lorenzo Lamas back in '85.

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"Luke's such a dick, he didn't invite me to his birthday party."
"That's because he's Asian now."

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I can help you if it has to do with making spaghetti, being awesome, or Canadian trivia.

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I have the power of a hundred horses, and my brain is as bright as a thousand candles.

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I feel so dirty buying the giant box of Goldfish.

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SD Street Eats Food Truck

Next up in my food truck adventures is SD Street Eats. This was actually the first truck we visited, and the one that inspired us to try others. Seared ahi and braised short ribs off a truck? I was skeptical at first, since I'm used to "roach coaches", but these guys changed my mind.

Here's the ahi. Perfect.

And here's the Asian-braised short ribs. Tender and saucy.

The slaw that came with both dishes was super-spicy with wasabi. It made my nose run and my throat burn, and I loved it. And look, wood sporks!

Their menu changes pretty frequently. Currently they're offering smoked bacon mac & cheese and a Brandt burger. As soon as they're back in my area for lunch, I'm there!

Baby Artichoke Risotto

Baby artichokes are so cute, how could you resist them? I hadn't made a risotto in at least a year, so it was time to remedy that. I used this recipe from the NY Times with no alterations.

Pretty, huh?

Unfortunately, I didn't trim the chokes well enough, and ended up with some tough leaves. Oh, and this recipe makes a LOT of risotto, so you'll probably have leftovers. If so, make arancini. Fried cheesy rice? Yes, please.