Jul
11
Sesame Beef Strips
Filed Under All Entries, Recipes | 1 Comment
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
3/4 cup oil (I use canola)
1/2 cup Chinese sesame oil (this can be tricky to find at a supermarket)
2/3 cup light soy sauce (not low sodium ‘light’; you can just use regular)
2/3 cup dry sherry
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, cut across the grain into paper thin slices 2″ x 1″
Bamboo skewers soaked in water
Directions
1. Mix oils, soy sauce, sherry, sugar, garlic, and ginger. Marinate beef strips in mixture, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Heat broiler. Thread beef onto skewers. Brush with the marinade, coating heavily. Place on rack and broil for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Turn over. Brush with the marinade. Broil on the second side to desired doneness. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Makers 12 appetizer servings.
Why this recipe?
Because it’s delicious and easy! Even if you don’t have sesame oil (my local Dominick’s/Safeway didn’t have any, although they have in the past), it will turn out excellently. You could also use the same marinade for pretty much any preparation of beef. I made 10 skewers for a small potluck party, and they were an immense hit. A tip on slicing the beef thinly: it’s easier if the beef is partially frozen, and be sure to use a sharp knife.
Jul
10
Why this Recipe?
This recipe comes from the July 9, 2008 New York Times. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds promising! They interviewed several professional bakers to get their cookie tips, and this is the recipe published in the paper. It mentions several crucial factors: cooling the dough before baking (which has a similar function as using only 1 stick of butter in my current favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe), making large cookies (which I do anyway!), using 60%+ cacao chocolate disks, and sprinkle the tops of the balls of dough with sea salt before baking. Once I try this recipe for myself, I’ll pass judgment.
Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (available here and here)
sea salt
Directions
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
[recipe via NY Times]
Jul
8
Diplomatic Games of Strategy and Intrigue - Railroad Board Games Class for Gifted Students
Filed Under All Entries, Games, Projects | 1 Comment
Yes, it might have a somewhat overwrought title… but it’s simply the name of the class I teach to gifted students entering 4th-6th grade over the summer in Worlds of Wisdom & Wonder and Summer Wonders, two programs through The Center for Gifted in Illinois. Although the class originated as a splinter from a broader board game-centric class created by Christopher Freeman, mathematics teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, the specific materials for this class were created by myself.
Overview
The class meets for 50 minutes a day for two weeks, during which students play one of two railroad board games, Empire Builder or EuroRails, both of which are published by Mayfair Games. Both games are played by drawing track on the board, which is divided like a grid, and delivering loads of goods from cities in which they are available to cities which have a demand for them. The only significant difference between the two games is the geographical area they cover: North America and Europe, respectively. My students work in teams of two, optimally with four teams playing each game.
Learning
Learning through activity, in this case play, can be greatly meaningful. When I was in 6th-11th grade, I attended a similar program (also through The Center for Gifted) that has had a profound effect on my life. It further kindled my desire for intellectual exploration and to learn and discover ideas, as well as forming the basis for my still-developing theoretical perspectives on learning and semiotics. By actively encountering the cities of North America and Europe, my students learn more permanently not only where these cities are, but what goods they export and how they might interact economically with other cities. On an even more superficial (yet important) level, they learn how the availability of goods and geographic considerations like mountains have affected the growth of railroad systems. More generally applicable, they must grapple with the life skills of teamwork and cultivate an ability to effectively plan for the long term.
Class Materials
Beside the materials of the board game itself, which includes reference sheets listing all the cities and where each good is available, each team records all of their plans on a handout that I have adapted from Christopher Freeman’s original after watching my students interact with it. This not only facilitates my students’ planning and day-to-day continuity, but helps me write their evaluations at the end of the session. You can downloads section, and the games are available from view this record sheet here. All of the materials I’ve created for this class are available in the Mayfair (educational discounts apply).
In addition to this record keeping sheet, my students fill out a self-evaluation form before I write my evaluations. They are asked to describe at least one of each of the following: a correct decision they made, a mistake and what they learned from it, a good decision on the part of another team, and a general piece of advice to share with a new player. This self-evaluation helps me know what they actually learned from their experience playing the game.
Other Responsibilities
Other than classroom management and helping to create an exciting, safe environment in which to explore the games, I am responsible for writing three letters primarily targeted at my students’ parents. On the first day, each student receives a handout describing the class to give to their parents. On the last, they receive a handout recapping the class and detailing ways to extend their classroom experience, in this case where they can buy the games they played and other recommended board game publishers (all of which are listed in the sidebar under ‘Board Games’). Finally, my evaluations of the students, which includes 4+ sentences detailing each of their specific personal achievements, are mailed home after the final day of class.
Jul
8
Tie Fighter Ties
Filed Under All Entries, Recipes | 1 Comment
Ingredients
pre-cooked sausages or hotdogs
refrigerator breadsticks
condiments
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350/375 F (your call!)
2. Cut sausages/hotdogs in half and set aside
3. After separating breadsticks, cut them in half lengthwise (one breadstick, now in two lengths, per hotdog half)
4. Place a hotdog half cut-side down on ungreased baking sheet
5. Take one length of dough and wrap it around the base of the hotdog half, crossing the ends to make a ‘V’. Repeat with the other length of dough on the opposite side.
7. Bake until the dough is golden brown (about the amount of time it says on the breadsticks package)
8. Enjoy with condiments!
Why this recipe?
Not only does it hearken back to the simpler childhood days of pigs in blankets, this recipe also includes the forces of the Empire. Get ready for intergalactic mustard battles! I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.
It doesn’t work well to prepare this ahead of time and then bake them later, as the refrigerator breadsticks will dry out (trust me). If you must, however, I recommend sprinkling the breadsticks with water before placing the Tie Fighter Ties in the oven.
Jul
8
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
Filed Under All Entries, Recipes | Leave a Comment
Ingredients
1 all-beef hot dog (either Vienna Beef or Kosher’s Best)
1 poppy seed bun (S. Rosen’s)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon bright green sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon chopped onion
1 kosher dill pickle spear
2 slices/wedges tomato
2 sport peppers (I eat my dog sans sport peppers)
dash of celery salt
Directions
Either grill or steam the hot dog and place in bun. Dress the dog (not the bun!) in the following order: mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes between the dog and the top of the bun, pickle between the dog and the bottom of the bun, sport peppers, celery salt.
Grilling
Place the dog over medium heat. Turn once one side begins to brown. Turn four times to brown all four sides, approximately 2-3 minutes each side.
Steaming
Use a Dutch oven fitted with a steamer rack, or a bamboo steamer. Fill the pan with enough water to reach just below the steamer rack. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat to low, and add the hot dog to the steamer basket. Cover tightly and steam for 5-7 minutes or until heated through. To steam the bun, stack them on top of the dogs during the last two minutes of cooking.
Why this recipe?
Because the Chicago-style hot dog is delicious. Hands-down, the best preparation of hot dogs in the world. Use this helpful guide to help you choose the highest-quality ingredients to use when preparing your own Chicago dog.