Yesterday's messes =_+^

Yesterday must have been the most awesome day I've had in a REALLY long time. I can't remember the last time this happened, but almost everything that could go wrong, did. In retrospect it's kinda funny, so I thought I'd share those blunders with you.

First bad thing that happened was my trying (and failing) to update my last two posts by adding pictures. Somehow, I managed to delete a huge chunk of the entry (my favorite part) and replace it with some random html code (idk how that happened, I wasn't editing html at all). I didn't notice until I'd already republished. Not only that, but even had I not republished, blogger had already autosaved multiple times by that point, and there was no way to get it back. -_-^ grrr.... so then I had to rewrite it all, which was super fun because I couldn't remember what I'd written. Awesome.

Then I tried to reformat and update my resume, and while I normally pride myself on being relatively tech savvy (not extremely, but better than the average person) I was having a LOT of difficulty. The reason? I am a huge fan of finding a good version of a program, that works for me, and sticking to it. Read: HUGE fan of OldVersion.com -because newer is not always better. I tried to use the current version of MSFT Word on P's computer, and realized that I hate it because everything is so automated; not in a good way. I like to do things manually, because I can control everything. When the computer tries to make things easier by doing something for me, it seems to always interpret my intentions incorrectly. Then I'm stuck trying to figure out how to convey to the computer program what I want to do - which in my opinion is a huge waste of time. I'd rather just do it myself. -_-^

So I decided to quit before I ripped out my hair or killed myself and started to cook one of my absolute favorite meals ever: Pasta with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce. ^__^ Instant Happiness right?

.. wrong. so wrong.

Earlier in the day, I had gone grocery shopping, and carefully selected some mushrooms and spent over $10 on about 1.25 pounds of mushrooms. >_< egh. i know.. mushrooms are soo expensive! -_-^ but I was still in the happy b-day glow and I wanted to cook something nice, since P had so nicely cooked for me. I knew we had some heavy cream left, but I didn't know how much, and whether or not it was still good, so I bought half a pint extra, figuring that I could just use some in the sausage gravy and biscuits I was also planning to make later.

When cooking, everything was finally going well. I was down to the last step, adding cream. I take out the old cream, check it out. Expiration date is in Nov. I remember hearing somewhere that after you open it, you should use it within a week or something. I've had it for a couple weeks at least... hmm.. sketch. But it smells and tastes fine... Against my better judgement, I shrugged and started pouring it in. It was fine, and curled smoothly into the mushroom broth. Then, all of a sudden, PLOP! a big chunk of something falls into the middle. F*CCCKKK MY LIFE. I hurriedly scoop it out, rinse it off and examine it. It looks like a white chunk of butter, and smells like cream. But it has a weird elasticity inconsistent with that of butter. FML, I just ruined the whole thing. So much for not killing myself. I almost just poisoned us, I think.

So then I'm thinking "CRAP WHAT DO I DO?" I ended up just stirring it and continuing to let it simmer, while I search google about the shelf-life of open containers of heavy cream. Not surprisingly, there's a huge variety of answers. Everything from "DON'T EAT IT! CHUNKS ARE BAD! ALWAYS!" to "meh just use the ol' sniff/taste test. If it seems okay, it is" to "woot! I accidentally made clotted cream by leaving an opened container of heavy cream in the back of my fridge for wayy too long. it was soo perfectly delicious. totally dreamy." =_=^

So of course I'm afraid to eat it, and when P arrives, we debate whether or not to eat it. It smells, looks, and tastes okay... but what if we get food poisoning?? There's only one toilet! O_o Hmm... but what if it's okay. P tries to console my by offering to take me out to dinner for restaurant week - he'll pay. I'm still reluctant to let a whole thing go to waste. T_T my mushrooms!

Eventually, P says "Want me to go buy some more mushrooms and you can cook it again?" Me: -_- _x_ -_- _x_ -_-(nodding with grumpy pouty face). So we go and get some mushrooms (we had everything else) and P nicely cleans up the kitchen again so I can focus on prep and cooking since we're short on time before my Bachata class.

Things are going well, I open the fridge to put the jar of garlic back, and out plops a new container of yogurt. And of course, the container splits. fml. P says "wow you're really having a terrible day" to which I respond by nodding. He hugs me and says "sorry, but it's kind of funny" and we both just laugh. Then he puts the clean portions of yogurt in a bowl, and cleans up the mess. =) my saviour. Consoles me AND cleans up my messes.

And after that, things finally continue to go smoothly. =) MLIA.

He also took pix, the 2nd time around. I'll upload them later (this time without deleting bits).

Recipe (I don't really measure when I cook, but I'll try to be more specific in this):

Ingredients:
1 pound or so of mushrooms (use whatever you like. I like fresh cremini and dried porcini. The mix doesn't matter, but I like having half dried, because after reconstituting the mushrooms, I use the mushroom water in the dish. Just rinse the mushrooms quickly before you soak to remove dirt or debris.)
1/2 large onion - diced
1 - 1.5 tsp garlic (I used minced garlic from a jar)
1/2 cup? 3/4 cup? of cream - heavy or light, whatever. I think next time I will try 2% milk, to make it a little less unhealthy.
1 tsp flour
12 oz Pasta (any shape is fine, though I like Barilla Campanelle, Farfalle, and Penne)

Optional:
Seasoning - to taste (salt, pepper, maybe oregano, or thyme, sage, or rosemary)
Chopped fresh chives for garnish
Truffle oil (my personal favorite)

Heat some oil in a large-ish skillet (the kind with some depth) at about medium high. I like a mix of EVOO and canola. Just pour some one one, and then the other, and kind of mix it around. That way you get the benefits of both. When the oil is hot, add the diced onions. Give them a minute or so before adding the garlic. Sweat the onions until they just start to become clearish and softer, but careful not to let the garlic burn.

Add the mushrooms (separate the reconsistuted mushrooms from the water, you'll add that later). Cook until the mushrooms begin to soften - about 3-5 min. At this point, there should be some juice in the bottom of the pan, if there isn't add a little bit of the mushroom water. If you added mushroom water, wait until that gets hot before proceeding to the next step.

Sprinkle about a 1 tsp or 1.5 tsp flour over the onion/mushroom mixture. Mix well, making sure to break up any clumps, evenly distribute the flour (this is kind of like making a roux, sort of. except it's not that much butter and flour, and you have other stuff in the pan to help you break up the flour clumps). You will see the mixture tighten and any previous liquids will get thicker. At this point you can add all the mushroom water.

When it comes to a boil (or just before) add the cream. I think generally you're not supposed to boil cream, or you'll form a skin, but IMO there's enough water that any skin that forms, will be be very thin and will dissolve as soon as you stir.

Bring the heat back up until small bubbles start to form again, and then let it simmer until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes). While it's simmering, you can season as desired. (I use a little salt and pepper, a pinch of dried oregano).

When it's done, take it off the heat, and I drizzle some white truffle oil on top and fold it in. (Or, depending on your timing when simultaneously cooking the pasta- instead of tossing cooked pasta with olive oil to prevent sticking while you finish the sauce, toss it with some truffle oil instead =D)