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Polgrits --->Polenta Cheese & Girolle Grits

Polenta Cheese & Girolle Grits

Made for Thanksgiving

Medium sauce pan
Polenta Box of 500G
1- 1 1/4 L of boiling h2o. But, added créme fraiche and butter, so I used about a liter but the package said 1 1/4.
5 tbs créme fraiche
6 slices of gouda
Corn/Maize 1 large can
2 tbs of fleur de sel crusted butter - it's really all the salt you will need!
1 cube veggie/herb/chicken bouillion --> your preference! this can be added the boiling water
raz el hanout
pepper-taste
Option: 1/2 teaspoon siracha/chiracha/red pepper paste


~Redacción:
-If the polenta seems too dry, add more h2o.
-1/2 cup white wine & 2 bay leaves
- Gouda: TRY SMOKED APPLE GOUDA
- if no Raz, try some nutmeg, curry powder, ginger powder, cumin, cardamom, fennel, it's really easy to fall in love with Raz el Hanout, I am adding it to my eggs and everything these days!.

When the polenta is added to the water, start stirring. The polenta will be drying up fast, so keep a good rhythm while stirring. While stirring add:
Cheese - let melt
creme fraiche
pepper
raz el hanout
corn pepper


Small sauce pan
Girolle/Chanterelle Mushrooms-- thanks Nate! I would have never realized they were actually chanterelles! Got a nice bunch
3 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup onions
1 tbsp olive oil

Add all to sauce pan and sauté for about 8 minutes depending on how large the mushrooms are. Once nicely sautéed, mix into the polenta slowly, and try to make them evenly distributed.


When all mixed in, SERVE!


I had some ideas of...making a lil' dent like in mashed potatoes for the gravy, and pour in some honey....for next time!


Great idea for a present?
I can make specialized holiday recipes for you =) Ask!

Featured Wine: Bordeaux Clairet

Chateau Haut-Mongeat
Bordeaux Clairet
Appellation Bordeaux Clairet Controlée
Mise en bouteille au Chateau
Vignobles Bernard Bouchon et fille S.C.E.A.
Propriétaires à Génissac
Gironde France
5,55EUR


No descriptions whatsoever on the notes or anything of this wine...but I don't blame them! IT IS A PARADOX!
Color: clear, cranberry juice color, but "burnt."

Don't be fooled...this is NOT a rosé, this is a Bordeaux Clairet, which is darker. This is a very easy wine to drink, with little tannins (that finish that leaves yours mouth dry, and goes great with greasy meats!)

Drink on a picnic...when you want a light wine that is not white! Scent: light on red fruit, sweet to the nose. Body: medium-high body on the tongue...when you look into the glass, the legs fall down about 1 cm wide, but not with dark red in the middle like other heavier red wines. When you close your eyes, it tastes like you are savoring a hybrid of white and red wine. You can easily drink the clairet as an aperitif with your starter, or sit down and enjoy for hours!

If you are a white wine only lover...taste a little of the dark side within clairet..and I will assure you...you will never look back!

Thank you Salon du Vin!

Brinner tacos

Tortillas- gouda melted on
Sausage - smoked, andouille, cut into slices then fourths (an inch of the cilinder per person if it's a large 2.5in-3in wide diameter
onions - to taste
pepper- to taste
olive oil -tbs
2 eggs (per person)
fresh avocado
creme fraiche/sourcream
Polgrits - recipe below

Melt gouda on tortillas as you're heating them up. In a sauté pan place the onions (I put about a handful), sausage, and olive oil and cook for 5 minutes (unless sausage is not previously smoked or cooked). Add Eggs and scramble in (I usually due one yolk per person, good for health to have more whites! Also, it makes them fluffier without milk). Once all done, place the mixture on top of tortillas. Add the fresh avocado, some siracha, creme fraiche and serve with polgrits*.


*New recipe coming soon. I reinvented it with an inspiration of truffle oil mac n' cheese!!!

Salon du Vin...

It is finally here,

If you are in Paris, YOU HAVE TO GO!

Whole convention center space with wine at the tips of your tongues. Wine Independent Vigneron Heaven, I was so elated when I went last time. Now with the work I've have done through some awesome people at the Bourbon House ((Kat, Marc, Andrew Steven! To name a few - If you ever have the opportunity of having them as your waiter, you're in for an experience.)). I really loved that about my time in the restaurant. Working in the service industry makes you appreciate details so much more -- that transcends into many areas.

My request is:

whomever you are, reading this blog...

Tell me what wine you want to taste, style, type, area...I will try to find it tomorrow, and will let you live vicariously through my Wine Tasting tomorrow if you can't be here! French Independent Vignerons.

If you see this too late, still let me know and I will try to find it.

I am already starting my list!

Comment here or shoot me an email!!!!

Happy Sunday =)

Pardon the lack of entries! Midterms and papers..yay!

I have been having some fun in the kitchen:

Polrits & Cheese

About 5 minutes...Great wake up with warm fuzzies in your tummy. This made about 2 portions
Polenta (couldn't find grits) 1 cup
Corn/Maize 1 small can
Raz el Hanout - to taste (These vary, but if you can find one with rose, it would come out AMAZING!)
- if no Raz, try some nutmeg, curry powder, ginger powder, cumin, cardamom, fennel, it's really easy to fall in love with Raz el Hanout, I am adding it to my eggs and everything these days!
Emmental - to taste (you can substitute with cheddar, chevre, gruyere, mozzarella, w/e you prefer...honey goat cheese would also be AWESOME)
Creme fraiche - 2 tbs
pepper-taste
Option: 1/2 teaspoon siracha/chiracha/red pepper paste

Polenta+water into a small pot, let the grits start to flourish a bit. Add corn, cheese, raz, pepper, mix in. When the polenta is already open, add creme fraiche, and red pepper paste. Serve!!!

Got some leftover lentils? Heat them up and serve on top of Polrits. Chili too =) Bagalipolo..yum!
Also try with the lentils some tzatziki/caciki:


Tzatziki...my own flip to it..

Creme Fraiche, large tub
1 whole cucumber - peeled, cut in half moons
fresh garlic- 1-2 cloves, substitute with shallots, about 1 tsp of chopped/minced shallots
Herbes de Provence & fresh mint,
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
Salt- to taste, but I just skip it all together. If you're too addicted, try sprinkling some veggie bouillon or chicken bouillon...if you have cubes, cut into half and smash up the cube into powder. Also with NO sodium. Believe me, the garlic won't let you miss the salt. I don't even have salt in the house! Only...butter with fleur de sel =)

Enjoy!!!! Please email me with questions. Have questions about Thanksgiving recipes or something you want to get creative with, I would be glad to be of help!

A story to tell...

A story to share

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young girl who was going out with a boi.
They loved each other very much, and one day, her boi had her go through the forest to find magical clues. At the end was a beautiful story of love containing a forest ring in the hands of the boi inside a labyrinth. The boi asked her to marry him, and she delightfully said yes to spending her Happily Ever After with him.

When he daughter told the Queen about her boi, the Queen Mother was not happy about this joining of souls, for she had problems understanding her daughter's choice in it being a boi. She says, her daughter must be under a cast spell for the boi is of no level for her gorgeous little daughter. To this day, she is in the same stance.

The young daughter suffered and still suffers from her misunderstanding mother, and was appalled to see to what extent the Queen Mother was stubborn at not even attempting to get to meet the boi and his wonderful and amazing family. The Queen mother does not understand that, denying her boi is denying a part of her own daughter.

Meanwhile, the young daughter calls upon her fairy Godmother to watch over the Queen Mother and hopefully open her eyes one day. She is happy as can be with the boi she has willed to marry one day. She hopes that one day the Queen Mother takes the veil off of her eyes and sees that the boi is like no other, and is the one that compliments her being like no other.


Try to find the courage to take a stand in what you believe in, for you are not alone. Believe me, I understand it is NOT easy. But no one ever said it was.

Redacciones Lorena: National Coming Out Day

October 11, 2010 is National Coming Out Day.

I, Lorena Quintana, stand for equal Human Rights for all, and I MEAN ALL; irregardless of gender, age, nationality, etc. Humans are humans and we all have rights that should be not trespassed.

If you, or some one you know, is in the closet and lost in regards to their sexuality and don't what to do, email me. I want you to know that you are not alone and that there are people out there ready to listen and be there for you.

I would like to be able to prevent such cases as suicides of LGBT members because of the pressure and pain they are suffering from people bullying and torturing them in their daily lives. Those people who are the tormenters and the bullies, do it OUT OF INSECURITY. NO ONE should be teased or discriminated against because of their sexual preference.

Parents of those who do not understand your child's sexual preference, or are ashamed of them, give it a chance to try to understand.
Just because their sexual preference is not what religion or society has said is right, it does NOT mean they are going to hell.

We humans have been socialized into believing that anything different than man & women is not right. That it's not normal. A different sexual preference is NOT a threat to your religion or society. We are all not made by cookie cutters. Humans never fit into those little boxes society forces upon its members. We are not 2+2+2 sides to a cube, we are more than that, we are multi-faceted.

I only wish for those parents and families who shun away their children and chastise them for their preference, that one day, they see the light and realize that what they are doing is causing their children more pain than they will ever come to realize. One more parent that doesn't accept it, and shuns them, is creating one more reason for another to continue in the closet, and NEVER become fully the person they actually are on the inside. This causes emotional and psychological frustrations that leave the person marked FOR LIFE - beyond the life span of those family members.

Humans have the right to exert their happiness. To be free to love the person they love.

I stand for equal rights. If you have a problem with it, don't start telling me what's wrong with me and my beliefs. Put YOURSELF in the shoes of those who are suffering from this disregard of rights and then come back and talk to me.

The "others" which you define as different and should be ignored are just ANOTHER FACET OF YOUR BEING. They are another manifestation of the prism of which we all are a part of. "They" are not much different than you, your neighbor, your family.

We, are all one. This is why we should respect them too.

Please, I beg you, find the courage to see beyond social lines. We create society, and current society is not encompassing the realities of all it's dynamics.

I also beg you to find the courage to come out of the closet. Like I've said, "I urge you to accept your inner self. Acceptance of your inner self is the most overly understated obstacle that a few recognize, and even fewer get to conquer." When you take the step to accept yourself, you come to understand yourself so much more.

Peace and equality for all,

Lorena Quintana

New section to Redacciones Lorena...

First ever...

Redacciones Lorena Photography!!!

First flipbook...Paris Nuit Blanche 2010

Check it out at:
Redacciones Lorena Photography

If the link does not work go to: www.wix.com/redaccioneslorena/casa

Bookmark it, share it, comment, whatever your little heart desires!

<3,
Lolo

Mmm...Mesclun!

So...after a long day after preparing a Crisis presentation and a tour of the Bibliotheque Nationale..

Yummy Salad!

Mesclun = mixed herbs like spring mix
1/2 cup of rotini pasta
emmental rectangle shaves = swiss, gruyere, emmentaller
dinde au four- roasted turkey --> rolled up one large slice and sliced
fresh melon = scooped out like shavings

dressing = mustard with herbs + balsamic + olive oil.

Enjoy!

Please, get tested, and be one less statistic.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-09/27/c_13531422.htm

The letters in bold are my commentary

This is an article I just found while doing research for a presentation tomorrow, it's on:

"1 in 5 gay, bisexual men in 21 U.S. cities have HIV
English.news.cn 2010-09-27 10:49:38 FeedbackPrintRSS
BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A recent study shows that one in five gay and bisexual men in 21 U.S. cities are infected with HIV, but nearly half of them are not aware of this."

Which ones? What are the dynamics of these cities...very urban? suburban? what are the dynamics of this society? Illiteracy? AIDS/HIV prevention programs available?

Ok, so. If you are including bisexual men, why did you not include women in your study? Women can contract HIV too you know...or did you not?

Every year about 56,300 Americans become infected with HIV and about 18,000 die from AIDS, according to the study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study, initiated in 2008, tested and interviewed 8,153 men who had sex with men.

This is NOT the only way Americans can contract HIV. I mean..how did it start in the first place? Ah yes, not just men having sex with other men. So why the focus only on men to men?

The research findings show that 28 percent of black men who had sex with men were infected with HIV, compared with 18 percent of Hispanic men and 16 percent of white men.

"For young men who have sex with men, including young men of color who are least likely to know they may be infected, the future is truly on the line," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.

Why is it that “young men of color” are least likely to know they may be infected? Where was it more prevalent? Did your research try to investigate this? Because, ok, your findings have been referenced before, that HIV numbers are higher amongst homosexual and bisexual men...even to the point that homosexual men are not allowed to donate blood. Pff. Not even I can because I travel to Colombia, that's neither here or there.

Therefore, the CDC recommends that gay and bisexual men receive an HIV test each year and that those who have multiple sex partners or use drugs during sex get a test every three to six months.

(Agencies)

Editor: Yang Lina"

The message should NOT be just for gay and bisexual men. EVERYONE, and I really mean everyone, should get tested for HIV. PERIOD.

Instead of sending money to studies that are not capturing the whole spectrum of those who contract HIV (which yes, they are important for our knowledge), implement the money into PREVENTION programs and HELP with these statistics in not only those 21 U.S. cities.

Please, get tested today. It does not matter if you're the King of Timbuktu. HIV does not discriminate.

Explorations in Cheese and Wine..

Today after an absolutely exhaustive mission on getting internet on my computer, I rewarded myself with a bottle of wine...

I decided to be naughty and walk into Nicolas Winery...I mean...IT'S THE FOIRE AUX VINS TIME OF THE YEAR!!! If you can, stalk up, if not, come with me to the Salon des Vins in November for a very merry time =). Imagine...a convention center FULL of wine booths begging for you to come by and try some of their wine and by a box or TEN.

Since, J'etude, donc je suis BROKE,
I cannot afford a lovely 142 euro bottle of Dom Perignon. Therefore, I need to stick to something with less opportunity cost in my economics. The beauty of France is that even a 9 euro bottle of wine can be absolutely worth every centime. Thanks to a lovely job as a beverage waiter at the Bourbon House (of Pain), I do not choose my bottles anymore by the entertaining label they have..

Just to give you an example...
My first bottle in Paris 2006, was the Nicolas line of special recoltes which I chose by it's label that had a naked french man with grapes covering his privates while he's running...

On to the choices for today...

I walked in, and as the helpful gentleman started asking me what I would be interested in this afternoon, I salivated over the Muscadet sur Lie that I enjoyed over Thanksgiving dinner in New Orleans.

But. I snapped out and said to myself, I am in a store full of who knows how many wines that I have never tried and, GO FOR SOMETHING ELSE! Look away!

I mentioned that I am a fan of Muscadet, and he asked if I had ever tried a Bourgogne white wine, I answered, "Not one that has been memorable..."

He suggested, a Chardonnay 2009 Macon Chardonnay vinifie en futs by Jacques Charlet...Appellation Macon-Chardonnay Controlee (as in from the Chardonnay village in the Maconnais region) and with my Muscadet sur Lie, was a total of 12 euros (woot!). I did not pay much attention to his description apart from the floral notes and that it goes well with cheese, but it was a wine from an area I had not explored much of. Description of a wine is one of those I'd rather leave to myself. Taste is something very personal to one's senses, so the experience that one person describes the wine with, is not always useful to another.

After chilling them in the fridge while I ran several errands, I opened the bottle of wine along with, one of my favorite, Tomme Noire des Pyrennees. I had not thought about the actual combination, but I was certainly willing to explore as an appetizer.

I opened the Macon Chardonnay, and what a nice surprise. It had lovely legs falling down the side of the glass, defining body in the Chardonnay. I swirled it, dipped my nose into the glass, and it had only a tinge of a burn from the alcohol (now that I looked, its 12,5%, and Chardonnays can hold their liquor very well!).
What my senses received, was a certainly welcomed taste. It was on the verge of petillant, as in, you can fill a zing! like the beginning of a bubbly, and then a nice medium body that instead of becoming heavy and syrup-y, the petillant made it light. As I mentioned before, taste is personal, but it reminded me a bit of the Domaine St. Peyre Picpoul de Pinet in the light floral notes the gentleman mentioned, and lemon, or general agrumes, which the bottle mentioned when I read the label afterwards.

I bit a piece of the Tomme des Pyrennes, and the Macon Chardonnay made it creamier! The cheese itself, to give you a pointer, reminds me of the consistency of the Babybel round cheeses. It muted the flavor of the cheese though. But the effect of making it creamier was pleasing and the wine tasted sweeter with a nice finish of salty coming from the cheese. I have to admit, I am a sucker for the combination of salty and sweet. Ice cream in a pretzel cone, BRING IT ON!

Ok. I should eat dinner now since the 12,5% alcohol Chard is manifesting itself.

A bientot!

Opportunity Costs...

Wow. My Economics text book summed up the following:
"The point is that in pre-applicance days, the opportunity cost of working outside the home was very high: it was something that women typically did only in the face of dire financial necessity. With modern appliances, the opportunities available to women changed-and the rest is history."

You know..because..the husbands didn't help with the laundry, cooking, rearing of the children, cleaning of the house, grocery shopping, or perhaps the starch ironing of their perfect white shirts for work. Because it wasn't expected of them to, and it's because women were the ones that were expected to do it all. Their "alternative" was out of reach by the weight of their opportunity cost that society imposed by the double standard of expectations by gender.

Nor was there a whole revolution to allow women to go out and vote, and have a choice of where to work --> evolving from only having the opportunity to be a secretary, which was a wife-in-office to fetch coffee, answer your phones, and type letters. It was as it was, this is not a put down on secretaries nor those who aspired to be (believe me, I've been there).

Thank you world for evolving. Or I guess, according to the econ book, for the invention of appliances. pff.

Redaccion Corn Hot Dogs

Mmm. Who is not a fan of corn hot dogs. Love you some fresh-out-of-the-fryer corn hot dogs? Moist inside and a slight crisp to the outside with mustard. *drool*

So I went to Langenstein's, and wandering around found myself staring at the frozen corn dogs. The only time I even get to have corn hot dogs is by sheer luck at work for the server's help meal.

I don't like deep frying, but it is how i love it best. I always find ways to avoid the danger of deep frying, while trying to keep the consistency lost by the microwave. So Read this Redaccion for making homemade, deep fry taste corn hot dogs!

Corn Hot Dogs
Pam Spray
plate & cookie sheet for oven

Ditch the instructions and do this. Preheat the conventional oven to 450 degrees, and grease a pan. Put the corn hot dogs (2,4,the whole pack if you want!)on a plate and into the microwave for 50 seconds. When done, place the corn hot dogs on the pan and leave in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

Redaccion on condiments
Mustard Try: Whole grain mustard, Dijon, Honey
Melt some sharp cheddar cheese