I am the definition of grace and intelligence in the kitchen

Yeah friggin right.

So, the beef in cabernet - since it was stew beef and slow cooked for a solid 12 hours, it definitely turned into a wine stew of sorts. I wanted to reduce the wine sauce and help eliminate some of the alcoholic flavor of the wine, so I dumped it into a large pot from the slow cooker and turned the stove eye on. On for less than five minutes, I notice that some of the shredded beef, onions, carrots, celery deliciousness are already stuck to the bottom of the pan. >.< I figure I still need to reduce it, so might as well go for it. I add cornstarch mixed with broth to the mixture, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for a bit.

I do realize I could let it cook longer and get thicker, but by now, I'm just ready to be done. So, after it's cooled for a few minutes, start to transfer it to plastic containers. Boy am I smart when I try to pour a whole pot of stew into a container made to hold MAYBE half of the contents. It takes the container completely spilling over for me to realize this, and I don't think I've made a bigger mess.

Plus, the whole bottom of the pan is nicely scorched on. I pray I just didn't scrape too much off to give the whole freakin stew that lovely burnt flavor. It's finally in 4 small containers, cooling before I stick most of them in the freezer. God I'm glad the one roommate that had been around left to run for a while. I did NOT want anyone to see me being a complete retard.

Culinary suggestions

[Seriously, later this afternoon, I will blog about Garan. <3]

I was a total slug Saturday...so to make up for it, I was up by 8am Sunday. Went to Trader Joe's, home by 1, back out to grocery stores in Astoria by 2 (after eating). I'm such a dork. I walked down to Key Foods for their cottage cheese sale, but on the way, stopped at Trade Fair and Top Tomato (more of a veggie/fruit store) to price check. I got a few things at Key Food and then stopped at TT and TF on the way back. I shopped at four freakin stores Sunday. :dork:

I had a few plans on things to cook - a slow cooker beef in Cabernet wine inspired by this delicious recipe my brother made on Thanksgiving (one of MANY things). And I think I'm going to attempt a slow cooker chicken curry today - chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, eggplant, maybe some chickpeas? and peas?... (Any ideas?) I'm sort of blending together this recipe and a slow cooker curry recipe from an America's Test Kitchen cookbook.

But last night, after getting the beef in the slow cooker, I also made roasted shrimp and broccoli. The recipe is found here, and I found out about it through The Amateur Gourmet. (He's so cute, imo...) I have a few issues with it - I thought my broccoli was cut small enough, but by the time the shrimp was done, the broccoli is still a bit too crunchy. I figure by the time I reheat it, the microwave may take care of that issue. But I'm trying to figure out how to dress it... It's been a while since I had actually had cumin and coriander, so the flavor was good but a bit unexpected. Any suggestions on things to dress it or what to throw in with it if I decide to make it into a salad? It's good but it's just missing... something.

So...the beef (it was a stew beef, with lots of carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bacon, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon - $3 buck Chuck from TJ's) ended up cooking for 12 hours! And now it's cooling in the fridge. The plan is to skim off the fat and possibly reduce the wine down a bit more. :) I wish I could share the full Beef in Barolo recipe with you (I do have it...) but I will say, Cook's Illustrated is sort of worth the cost if you're a culinary type. As for the coming curry, I definitely want to do the sweet potatoes, eggplant, some onion, and throw some peas in at the end. Does anyone think chickpeas are a warranted add-in? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

love/hate relationship

[yes, i will update about the internship asap, but this is just a quickie morning post while it's slow at work.]

starbucks. i have a total love/hate relationship with them. their coffee is fairly meh. they're EVERYWHERE in nyc. they have some great sugar-free flavors. they gave me the crappiest, non-foamiest latte this week.

but this morning, after being stumped on what to eat, i decided to wait till i got into the city. there's a bux on the first floor of the empire state building, where i work, so i ran in there - i had noticed their little 'plates' before. i have to say, i was impressed with what i got. the 'protein power plate' - a mini wheat bagel, a small portion (well, maybe 1 tbsp?) peanut butter, two triangles of white cheddar, a hard boiled egg, 2-3 slices of apples and some grapes. it was $4.95, which i know is a total rip-off, but i was pleasantly surprised by that option. it was yummy, the fruit was good, the cheddar was good, and they even thought to throw salt and pepper packets in, because no egg is good without those.

so, yeah...nice start to the morning. and i even behaved and made coffee at home. :)

anyone have any good coffee shop suggestions for nyc/astoria?

Tomorrow is the big day!

So I'm officially settled in in Astoria! And tomorrow is my first day at my internship. Eeeek, can you say nervous?

My apartment is definitely awesome. The landlord left a bit too much of her shit sitting around, so we're dealing with that, but it's a good space. I'm also adjusting to the weather - inside and out. Our apartment is a tad cold, but that's what ConEd does. 70 from 5am-11am, 68 from 11am-5pm, 70 from 5pm-11pm, 68 from 11pm-5am. But we have lots of (nice) tile in the apartment, which makes it particularly cold.

My roommates are sweet girls and I think whatever kinks we have, they'll be worked out. We all seem pretty open, so issues will be taken care of as they happen, I hope!

I work 9am-6pm five days a week. It takes 10 minutes from my front door to the subway platform, probably about 30 minutes on the subway, and then the Empire State Building isn't more than a 10 minute walk from my stop at Herald Square. Not wanting to be late tomorrow, I'll probably leave at 8am, and being the prepared dork I am, I'm setting my clock for 6am.

So, I'm heading to bed now...or as soon as I stop letting the Grammys distract me. And after I figure out what I'm wearing. I hate that I question everything - clothes, purse choice, shoes, everything. I mean, I want to carry my larger dark red purse, but then I'm not sure if it's too big. Or if the red will clash with the brighter red of my coat. Or blah blah blah. Stupid, but I'm never quite confidently decisive on days like this. >.<

I really need to find my own version of Global Village in NYC. I love this place. Taking a breather from my whirlwind day in Raleigh. Mmm iced sf