April 2012
6 posts
on to the next one
Here’s the deal:
As of today, Chop Bouie is no more. I mean, the website will still exist—on account that I don’t want to go through the trouble of exporting data—but I won’t update it. This will be the last post.
If you want recipes, photography, and assorted thoughts on other things, you’ll want to go to jamellebouie.net. There, you’ll get everything I post at...
In a few days, this blog will fold into a slightly larger venture. Details to come, in the meantime, thank you for following this project of mine!
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martha stewart's lemon tart
I have been on a serious lemon kick, where almost every dessert I make involves lemon in some way, shape, or form. I tried a lemon tart last week, and that turned out…poorly. It was incredibly bitter and unpleasant from first bite to final swallow. But, because I’m a little stubborn, I immediately began a search for a better lemon tart recipe. This one is from Martha Stewart, and it is the...
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fried plantains!
When ripe, plantains are sweet and delicious, and this is an easy and straightforward treat.
Take a ripe plantain and slice it at an angle into pieces that are a 1/2-inch thick. In a large, thick-bottomed skillet (think cast-iron), heat enough oil to cover the surface until its hot. Fry the plantain pieces on both sides until they have a nice crust, about 30 seconds per side.
Remove from...
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lemon cornmeal cake with blueberry compote
I made dinner for people a while ago, and the original plan for dessert was to make a pudding. But then I remembered a key fact: everytime I’ve made pudding—ever—it’s turned out less than satisfactory. Instead, I opted for a delicious, gluten-free cake that smells and tastes like summer. The topping was perfect too—blueberry compote, made with frozen blueberries (which are just as good as the...
March 2012
13 posts
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the most useful apps on my ipad
Since buying my iPad last year, it’s become a crucial tool for me as a writer, reader, and someone who likes to keep himself organized. It’s a place where I can focus on a single task—like writing this post—without being bound to the limits of an iPhone. I’ve built a fairly large stable of apps that have helped become a more productive person, and because I like to share, I...
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those...”
– Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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pasta with pea pesto
When I went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for this recipe—adapted from smitten kitchen—they were out of pine nuts, and so I picked up walnuts instead. I have no idea what this pea pesto would have been like with pine nuts, but with walnuts—which, of course, were toasted—it was delicious. The only thing I would do differently is add more lemon juice and lemon zest to lighten the...
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fig, bacon, and goat cheese pizza
Earlier today, on Twitter, I asked the crowd about toppings for a pizza that didn’t include tomato sauce. I prefer pizzas without a tomato base, but I had run out of ideas. One of my tweeps, a former Prospect intern, suggested figs, goat cheese, and caramelized onions. I was going to go with that until Tess mentioned that it would be a little sweet, and so we added bacon.
It was a good...
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“In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason...”
– Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in Sherlock Holmes, A Study In Scarlet
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sweet potato hash with caramelized onions &...
This makes for an awesome brunch, especially when paired with savory oatmeal1 (unseen underneath) or a poached egg. Unfortunately, between the chopping, slicing, caramelizing, and roasting, this is a time-consuming recipe. Thankfully, you can prepare it the day before, and warm it up in the oven when ready to eat. Otherwise, be sure to give yourself two hours to prepare, cook, and clean up. Not...
Instagram hits 25 million users →
Since Christmas the mobile photo network Instagram has gained over ten million users. This makes Instagram the largest mobile only social network with a global reach. Foursquare by comparison is on around 22 million.
When you remember that Instagram isn’t much more than a year old, this is insane.
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pasta with shaved brussels sprouts and bacon
A classic combination, in pasta form. A quick tip on the pasta; be sure to remove a few minutes before it’s supposed to be finished, if firm pasta is your thing. You can also substitute bacon for pancetta, or similar forms of cured pork. You can even go vegetarian; just remove the meat, cook the Brussels sprouts with olive oil, and season with smoked paprika at the end. In either case,...
February 2012
15 posts
Anonymous asked: Hey Jamelle, does it actually matter if you sift the flour, salt, and baking powder? Do I need to invest in a sifter for baking?
Freezer Friendly: Caramelized Onions | The Kitchn →
This sounds like something I will try this week, when I make marinara sauce and try to use up the bajillion onions I bought last week.
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chocolate chip cookies, again
This is my third batch of chocolate chip cookies, and my first using Alton Brown’s recipe, which calls for bread flour and melted butter. Let me tell you-
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made.
The key, I learned, was letting the dough rest for a long time. This dough was in the fridge for 30 hours before I baked the cookies, which yielded uniformly moist...
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“Human mechanisms are made by human hands, Robin. None of them is infallible. It...”
– Batman
overnight waffles
Lately, I’ve been on a desperate quest to make as many kinds of waffle as possible. Last week, I tried savory herbed waffles (recipe forthcoming), and this past weekend, I took a page from Mark Bittman with overnight yeast waffles. Other than the required forethought—which for me, is an actual problem—this is a straightforward waffle recipe. The only thing you need extra is a little...
Hypercritical: Better Pasta →
siracusa:
I like pasta. I’d like to help people make better pasta. It pains me to think about all the poorly prepared pasta being served and eaten in America. I’m specifically talking about plain old store-bought dried pasta. Nothing fancy. You’ve probably made some yourself. I’m specifically not talking…
Plenty of great tips here, and a few that I wasn’t aware of (warm bowls, for...
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braised lentils with smoked paprika
I make this once every few weeks or so, and every time, I’m amazed by how delicious it is. Be sure to include the red wine; in the past, I’ve gone without, and it’s not nearly as good.
Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Braised Lentils with Smoked Paprika
Serves 3 to 4
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery,...
Anonymous asked: Hey Jamelle, How many cookies does the oatmeal-butterscotch-cookie recipe make? I asked because it looks so good, but yikes, butterscotch chips + two sticks of butter!
Anonymous asked: Do you have recommendations for cooking pancakes? i.e. type of batter, duration for each cake, et cetera.
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oatmeal butterscotch cookies
Other than the fact that they’re my favorite cookie of all time, I don’t have much to say about these. You should just…enjoy eating them. Just be careful not to eat an entire batch, because it could definitely happen.
Not saying that I’ve done it. But, you know, it’s a possibility.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar
1/2...
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banana bread
As you probably know by now, I’m a big fan of quick breads, and as the year goes on, I cycle through various varieties. The summer is for breads with fruit and nuts (like blueberry or zucchini), the fall is for apple, carrot, and pumpkin. The winter is a little tricky, but I tend to go with banana bread, which is easy, delicious, and surprisingly customizable.
If you’re going for...
“Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and...”
– Henry David Thoreau in Walden
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January 2012
14 posts
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The Apple Boycott: People Are Spouting Nonsense... →
Wages paid to manufacturing workers in China are not determined by the productivity of those specific workers. They are not determined by US wages, by the profits that Apple makes nor even by the good intentions of the creative types that purchase Apple products. They are determined by the wages paid by other jobs in China and that is itself determined by the average level of productivity...
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chewy chocolate chip cookies
Here’s a true story—before this weekend, I had never made chocolate chip cookies. Which, when you consider the sheer amount of baking that happens in my kitchen, is a little crazy. Of course, now that I have a proper chocolate chip cookie recipe, I’m going to spend the next year trying to perfect it. For now, however, here is a guide to the first batch.
They were pretty decent, if...
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“When I eat, it is the food that’s scared.”
– Ron Swanson, “Bowling for Votes
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a thought
I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but if I have, it’s worth repeating. The New Yorker iPad app is terrible, and when I’d rather go through the trouble of saving an article to Instapaper than actually read it in the New Yorker iPad app, there’s a problem.
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SOPA and the Importance of Playing Politics
Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, isn’t hopeful for the long-term prospects of internet freedom:
But what will happen when the MPAA buys the next SOPA? We can’t protest every similar bill with the same force. Eventually, our audiences will tire of calling their senators for whatever we’re asking them to protest this time.
Eventually, we will lose.
Such ridiculous,...
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the "why" of batman
Before I even start this, I want to offer a quick apology to all my readers who thought they signed up for recipes. I’ve been on an extended business trip, and haven’t had a chance to cook. I’ll be back next week though, and will return with more pictures/things to eat, so stay tuned!
By way of Erik Kain comes this analysis of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight from Taylor Marvin, who presents...
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letter from a birmingham jail
If you do anything thing to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, you should at least read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which stands as both a remarkable piece of theological inquiry, and a moving call to justice and action. Here is my favorite passage:
[T]hough I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter...
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kale and walnut pesto
The method for this is pretty straightforward, and should be familiar if you’ve made pesto before. The only difference is that you need to blanch the kale beforehand, in order to reduce the bitterness. You can use the walnuts raw, but I prefer to toast them, for the additional flavor. This makes far too much for a single serving, so when you’re finished with the meal, place the...
Y files: The Gathering Storm →
Yglesias:
These escalating rounds of constitutional hardball (into which we ought to fold warrantless wiretapping and assassination of US citizens & the debt ceiling crisis) seem to me bound to result over time in either de facto parliamentary government or de facto plebiscitary dictatorship. The former result would be much better, but the latter is much more likely.
To indulge the part...
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snickerdoodles
If you’re reading this, odds are also good that you are—like me— watching the returns for the Iowa Republican caucus. Seeing as how this is likely to take awhile, you might pass a little of the time with this recipe for snickerdoodles, or sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon and sugar. If you bake with any regularity, you should have all of the necessary ingredients. If you want these to taste...
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adventures on new year's day
This morning, the ladyfriend ran the New Year’s 5k in Free Union, Virginia, a small town outside of Charlottesville. It was a beautiful day, and while I forgot to bring my real camera—and was a little too tired to take pictures in any case—I managed to snap a few shots with my iPhone and Instagram.
The ladyfriend was number 835 in the race:
I’m not sure what the final total was, but there...
December 2011
30 posts
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