Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
A New Undertaking
Mike has been working on a number of projects lately, one of which is doing a bit of freelance a cappella arranging. We heard from a friend that Imogen Heap was seeking vocal groups to perform as her accompaniment for her song "Earth" on her current tour.
He passed that opportunity along to one group he has provided arrangements for, Chicago Vocal Authority, and they decided to audition. He wrote the arrangement. (Link)
Hopefully we'll find out in the next few days! The Chicago concert is May 23.
P.S. Those with a YouTube account can join the audition group and vote... it may not make a difference, but it can't hurt!
EDIT:
They got it! Great job CVA, and I'll add video later if we get a link!
EDIT 2:
He passed that opportunity along to one group he has provided arrangements for, Chicago Vocal Authority, and they decided to audition. He wrote the arrangement. (Link)
Hopefully we'll find out in the next few days! The Chicago concert is May 23.
P.S. Those with a YouTube account can join the audition group and vote... it may not make a difference, but it can't hurt!
EDIT:
They got it! Great job CVA, and I'll add video later if we get a link!
EDIT 2:
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Turducken 2009!
Mike has been a part of making a Turducken (turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken) for the last couple of years, and this year we decided to organize and host our very own Turducken party last weekend! It's kind of a huge undertaking, but lots of fun and definitely delicious.
We were smart in a couple of ways this year: first, we ordered the poultry well in advance and paid to have the (20lb) turkey, duck, and chicken deboned by the butcher. Our acquaintances who did the deboning in previous years weren't participating, and neither of us felt up to the challenge of spending a couple of hours with a very sharp knife to prep the birds! Second, we got a couple of packs of turkey lacers, which made sewing the thing back up again significantly easier!
The whole process takes about 3 days, the way Mike does it. He picked up the meat from the butcher and covered all 3 birds in a large sterilite bin with a few gallons of brine (kosher salt and water, basically). The bin went in the fridge and the birds brined for about a day.
Mmm... brine and raw poultry:
During that day, Mike slaved over a hot stove to produce the 3 stuffings we layered between the birds. The cornbread/chowder with fresh cilantro, black beans and spices was a big hit, though the (turkey) sausage stuffing and rice pilaf with cranberries were also very good!
That evening, we had our "build party" with a few interested friends. Julia, Kelly and Jamie had no idea what to expect, but I think everybody had a good time.
Mike and Julia getting ready to lay out the turkey:
A bit ghastly, but soon it will be very yummy:
The cornbread/chowder stuffing goes first as Kelly and Jamie look on:
Now for the duck, which had fallen apart into chunks in the brine but still worked out:
On with the turkey sausage stuffing, followed by the chicken:
And then the cranberry rice pilaf:
Messy hands! Maybe next year I'll gank some lab gloves before the big day...
A beautiful sight, all the layers in place:
And now the reason why we need 5 people for this part of the process: one to take pictures while the other four roll the stack up and sew it closed! Previous iterations took much longer than this year, since they involved actually sewing the turkey meat together with a large needle and cooking twine. The poultry lacers cut it down to less than 15 minutes and held it all together amazingly well!
All laced up and ready to rest in the fridge until tomorrow. We barely lost any stuffing, to boot:
Okay, maybe a tad overstuffed, but a later step will take care of the gap in the closure:
We used a clean cutting board to heft the frankenbird into the roasting pan:
I love how demure it looks sitting in the pan with its ankles crossed.
And here is Mike's favorite little secret! A grand total of 3 pounds of thick bacon layered over the surface of the bird... This prevents the skin from taking too much heat and drying out, and simultaneously provides its own juices to keep the meat extremely tender. Since the thing is in the oven for about 12 hours, it's either this or continuous basting all day long:
Totally protected:
The whole thing went into the fridge for the night, and build team was congratulated on a job well done and dismissed. We were planning on serving the following evening at 6pm, so Mike and I were up at 5:45 the next morning to fire up the oven and get it started. The poultry has to reach 165° to be safe for consumption, so we estimated 12 hours and 220° would get it there.
Here's a few hours in, with the bacon starting to crisp nicely:
And we've made it, just in the nick of time because the guests will begin arriving very soon:
Here's the whole thing out of the oven:
In one last step, we peel off the bacon and start carving the bird-roll. Last year the bacon wrapping was basically inedible because it had been baked rock-hard (along with the wings and less meaty parts of the drumsticks), but this year's slices were thicker, fattier and held up much better:
We had somewhere close to 25 people in our apartment to share in the feast (and bring side dishes and desserts) and the portions worked out just about perfectly! The only problem is that it was such a hit, we'll have to be careful about invitations for next year... everyone who tried it last weekend are already looking forward to the next one, and folks who couldn't make it heard such rave reviews about it that they can't wait to try it now, too!
Yum!
We were smart in a couple of ways this year: first, we ordered the poultry well in advance and paid to have the (20lb) turkey, duck, and chicken deboned by the butcher. Our acquaintances who did the deboning in previous years weren't participating, and neither of us felt up to the challenge of spending a couple of hours with a very sharp knife to prep the birds! Second, we got a couple of packs of turkey lacers, which made sewing the thing back up again significantly easier!
The whole process takes about 3 days, the way Mike does it. He picked up the meat from the butcher and covered all 3 birds in a large sterilite bin with a few gallons of brine (kosher salt and water, basically). The bin went in the fridge and the birds brined for about a day.
Mmm... brine and raw poultry:
During that day, Mike slaved over a hot stove to produce the 3 stuffings we layered between the birds. The cornbread/chowder with fresh cilantro, black beans and spices was a big hit, though the (turkey) sausage stuffing and rice pilaf with cranberries were also very good!
That evening, we had our "build party" with a few interested friends. Julia, Kelly and Jamie had no idea what to expect, but I think everybody had a good time.
Mike and Julia getting ready to lay out the turkey:
A bit ghastly, but soon it will be very yummy:
The cornbread/chowder stuffing goes first as Kelly and Jamie look on:
Now for the duck, which had fallen apart into chunks in the brine but still worked out:
On with the turkey sausage stuffing, followed by the chicken:
And then the cranberry rice pilaf:
Messy hands! Maybe next year I'll gank some lab gloves before the big day...
A beautiful sight, all the layers in place:
And now the reason why we need 5 people for this part of the process: one to take pictures while the other four roll the stack up and sew it closed! Previous iterations took much longer than this year, since they involved actually sewing the turkey meat together with a large needle and cooking twine. The poultry lacers cut it down to less than 15 minutes and held it all together amazingly well!
All laced up and ready to rest in the fridge until tomorrow. We barely lost any stuffing, to boot:
Okay, maybe a tad overstuffed, but a later step will take care of the gap in the closure:
We used a clean cutting board to heft the frankenbird into the roasting pan:
I love how demure it looks sitting in the pan with its ankles crossed.
And here is Mike's favorite little secret! A grand total of 3 pounds of thick bacon layered over the surface of the bird... This prevents the skin from taking too much heat and drying out, and simultaneously provides its own juices to keep the meat extremely tender. Since the thing is in the oven for about 12 hours, it's either this or continuous basting all day long:
Totally protected:
The whole thing went into the fridge for the night, and build team was congratulated on a job well done and dismissed. We were planning on serving the following evening at 6pm, so Mike and I were up at 5:45 the next morning to fire up the oven and get it started. The poultry has to reach 165° to be safe for consumption, so we estimated 12 hours and 220° would get it there.
Here's a few hours in, with the bacon starting to crisp nicely:
And we've made it, just in the nick of time because the guests will begin arriving very soon:
Here's the whole thing out of the oven:
In one last step, we peel off the bacon and start carving the bird-roll. Last year the bacon wrapping was basically inedible because it had been baked rock-hard (along with the wings and less meaty parts of the drumsticks), but this year's slices were thicker, fattier and held up much better:
We had somewhere close to 25 people in our apartment to share in the feast (and bring side dishes and desserts) and the portions worked out just about perfectly! The only problem is that it was such a hit, we'll have to be careful about invitations for next year... everyone who tried it last weekend are already looking forward to the next one, and folks who couldn't make it heard such rave reviews about it that they can't wait to try it now, too!
Yum!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
New digs
I figured out how to get my camera working again (charging batteries turns out to be the key...) so here are some photos I just took of our new place, now that we're mostly settled in!
First our lovely living/dining room space:
And the kitchen! Complete with dishwasher:
Also the huge basil plants... a big change from the pictures from two posts ago (back in May):
Froggy bathroom:
Mike in the office:
Cozy master bedroom with so much closet space:
We love it so far!
First our lovely living/dining room space:
And the kitchen! Complete with dishwasher:
Also the huge basil plants... a big change from the pictures from two posts ago (back in May):
Froggy bathroom:
Mike in the office:
Cozy master bedroom with so much closet space:
We love it so far!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Change is good
Mike and I are in the midst of packing up our lives to move to a new place, just north of the city and about 2 miles from our current apartment. We had an opportunity to rent a larger, nicer place from a good friend, and the deal was too good to pass up. In the last two weeks we managed to find someone to sublet our place through the rest of our lease, get paperwork hammered out and signed, and accumulate dozens of boxes. Now we have one week to pack up, and I'm completely amazed by how much stuff two people can accumulate in such a short amount of time. Not to mention how it's crammed into a relatively small living space. (I'd post photos of the initial pile - which consists of only the partial contents of one room! - but my camera is momentarily out of order.)
There is an interesting calculus in trying to get as much done as early as possible... some things obviously can sit in boxes for a week (or longer) and not be missed, but others are less easy. I'm considering laying out a bag, packing as if for a week's vacation, and living out of a suitcase as the boxes pile up around us. Should we eat out on the last day so I can crate up the pots and pans?
I've never enjoyed the disarray of moving, the unsettled feeling of being in between stages in life. The work of actually heaving stuff around isn't too bad, especially when there are plenty of helpers. I'm pretty decent at playing "furniture tetris" in a moving van, so that part verges on fun. Still, I'd rather set up shop somewhere and have to do this again as infrequently as possible. I'm excited enough about the new place, though, to feel that this whole rigamarole is ultimately worthwhile, even in the midst of it.
Hopefully I'll still feel that way by the end of the week!
There is an interesting calculus in trying to get as much done as early as possible... some things obviously can sit in boxes for a week (or longer) and not be missed, but others are less easy. I'm considering laying out a bag, packing as if for a week's vacation, and living out of a suitcase as the boxes pile up around us. Should we eat out on the last day so I can crate up the pots and pans?
I've never enjoyed the disarray of moving, the unsettled feeling of being in between stages in life. The work of actually heaving stuff around isn't too bad, especially when there are plenty of helpers. I'm pretty decent at playing "furniture tetris" in a moving van, so that part verges on fun. Still, I'd rather set up shop somewhere and have to do this again as infrequently as possible. I'm excited enough about the new place, though, to feel that this whole rigamarole is ultimately worthwhile, even in the midst of it.
Hopefully I'll still feel that way by the end of the week!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Springtime project!
Mike and I have been in nesting/home improvement mode in the last few days. We've been polishing furniture, moving it around to mop and polish the floors, and generally making things sparkly and shiny. This afternoon we went "thrifting" to try and find some window planters, with decent success (okay, not at the thrift stores, but Marshalls saves the day!)
A few weeks ago there were $1 herb garden starter kits at Target, and I've been craving fresh basil since our last grocery store plant bit it with a case of spider mites.
Cool random fact... these bugs have a unique life cycle in that females are diploid like most organisms while males are haploid (have only 1 copy of each chromosome). That means a single female can lay unfertilized eggs, which develop into males, and from there they can spawn a whole colony! Neat!
Well, unless they are eating your garden.
Anyway, my seedlings had finally reached the point where the tiny plastic greenhouse was too small, so I needed to re-pot them. The tin pots we found came in sets of 3 with a drainage tray, but the pots themselves weren't vented, so first I had to spend half an hour with a hammer and a nail making some holes. A layer of glass stones (salvaged from our wedding decorations!) in the tray provides an escape route for excess water.
I don't have much plant re-potting experience, so the hardest part was teasing the seedlings apart from the root-and-soil clump they had formed in the tiny pot. I soaked it in a cup of water and gently separated them with my fingers, so hopefully enough roots are intact that these suckers will actually grow!
After all of our cleaning yesterday, I felt a bit guilty about the mess... but not too guilty...
And here's the finished product! Looks like Mike will be putting basil on everything after a while. (That's one way to get him eating some greens...)
Yum!
A few weeks ago there were $1 herb garden starter kits at Target, and I've been craving fresh basil since our last grocery store plant bit it with a case of spider mites.
Cool random fact... these bugs have a unique life cycle in that females are diploid like most organisms while males are haploid (have only 1 copy of each chromosome). That means a single female can lay unfertilized eggs, which develop into males, and from there they can spawn a whole colony! Neat!
Well, unless they are eating your garden.
Anyway, my seedlings had finally reached the point where the tiny plastic greenhouse was too small, so I needed to re-pot them. The tin pots we found came in sets of 3 with a drainage tray, but the pots themselves weren't vented, so first I had to spend half an hour with a hammer and a nail making some holes. A layer of glass stones (salvaged from our wedding decorations!) in the tray provides an escape route for excess water.
I don't have much plant re-potting experience, so the hardest part was teasing the seedlings apart from the root-and-soil clump they had formed in the tiny pot. I soaked it in a cup of water and gently separated them with my fingers, so hopefully enough roots are intact that these suckers will actually grow!
After all of our cleaning yesterday, I felt a bit guilty about the mess... but not too guilty...
And here's the finished product! Looks like Mike will be putting basil on everything after a while. (That's one way to get him eating some greens...)
Yum!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Breaking News: Man Eats Vegetable
Self-proclaimed "meatatarian" Mike N., 26, of Chicago, was observed last night eating a stir-fry which contained measurable amounts of Brassica oleracea, or the common broccoli. Witnesses state that, although he voiced concern and appeared discomfited at first bite, he finished the dish without dire consequences.
"I'm shocked and amazed, but definitely pleased," reports the man's wife. "I don't know if this is going to become a regular thing, but it's a step in the right direction.
The man himself was unavailable for comment, since he's busy taking a shower.
"I'm shocked and amazed, but definitely pleased," reports the man's wife. "I don't know if this is going to become a regular thing, but it's a step in the right direction.
The man himself was unavailable for comment, since he's busy taking a shower.
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