A few days back I tried my hand at replicating a recipe from Karyn’s Cooked, an excellent vegan restaurant in Chicago that specializes in gluten-free foods. The wife recently had an allergy panel run that indicated she had a slight reaction to wheat and gluten, so in the interest of a happy tummy she’s trying to cut the offending products out of her diet. Being a vegan, this can be particularly vexing as many of the staples she depends on for meat-free protein — like seitan — are replete with the stuff.

The wife ordered a dish like this (it isn’t on the linked menu above) at Karyn’s when I met her for lunch early last week. I’d tasted a few bites of the plate she’d ordered, and came up with this recipe.

The results were quite satisfactory, with a few issues. The tortillas had a tendency to fall apart rather mercilessly, though they didn’t stick. Also, it might have been nice if the enchilada sauce were added at a time to allow some to remain on the top of the enchiladas. Damned tasty, though.

When it comes to the drink, I’m almost exclusively a beer man. In contrast to many of the stories I’ve encountered, I took to the stuff like a fish to water — no settling-in period for this beer aficionado. When it comes to mixed drinks I’m considerably less eager. The array of choices is oftentimes bewildering, and to make matters worse there’s a perceived social value of mixed drinks that beer doesn’t seem to have 1.

1 By which I mean that certain drinks are considered “tough” or “cool” and others are “wimpy” or “lame.” I never claimed it was valid.

In any case, I’m making an effort to remedy this. There’s just something undeniably cool about being able to whip up a tasty cocktail. I’m making a concerted effort to better understand and appreciate the noble mixed drink.

Of late, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with the margarita. I came across a recipe on the movie site Pajiba that piqued my interest in this drink. I had long avoided it, believing it to be suitable only for cackling businesswomen at happy hour. Popular culture has made it out to be such a girly drink, and due to my aforementioned belief that drink choice is based largely on image I wanted no part of it. I never said I wasn’t stupid or in the possession of sexist notions.

So, the wife and I tried the recipe linked above and liked it a hell of a lot. It’s a damned tasty beverage with a sizable kick. I actually prefer it with a little less of an initial kick. The recipe below has a pleasant slow buzz to it.

Squeezing the limes is tedious, but oh-so-necessary. The next time I try a pitcher I think I’ll try out the juicer we received last year and rarely use anymore.

Hope y’all had a lovely Valentine’s Day, or that it wasn’t a disturbing train wreck of loneliness and disappointment at the very least. I made my special lady a special meal. It didn’t particularly jive with her diet plan, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. We feasted on a slice of asparagus and mushroom tart, a simple salad, a few pieces of french bread (one of those take-n-bake jobs from the local Kroger), and the nerdiest wine I could find. For dessert: a jaw-droppingly good cheese cake. Recipes follow and are courtesy and/or copyright respective owners.

( I know it was two days ago, but I haven’t had time to finish typing in the recipes.)

Asparagus and Mushroom Tart

Recipe courtesy of www.recipelink.com.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• 5 tablespoons water, ice cold
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 10 stalks asparagus
• 1/2 cup mushroom, sliced
• 1/4 ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°F.

The crust

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Cut in the butter and shortening, mixing quickly and lightly with a pastry knife, a mixer, or your fingers until the mixture is crumbly.

Make a well in the center of the pastry, and add the water, egg yolk, and vinegar. Having only white, red wine, and balsamic vinegar in the house I chose to use red wine vinegar. I only use white vinegar as a cleaning product. Mix until the dough just holds together, adding an additional tablespoon of water only if necessary; the more water you use, the tougher your crust will be.

Pat the dough into a 10 or 11-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Prick it all over with a fork. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

The filling

In a medium-sized bowl beat together the 4 eggs and milk, then stir in the cheese, oregano, and thyme.

Slice 6 asparagus stalks on the diagonal into 3/4 inch pieces. Stir the sliced asparagus, mushrooms, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the egg mixture. Pour this mixture into the crust. Place the remaining stalks of asparagus in a fan patten on top of the filling.

Bake the tart at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until set. I needed a good bit more than 30 minutes. I left it in the oven for 40 minutes before I got worried that I might ruin it and I’m not sure it ever entirely set. Remove tart from oven and let cool to lukewarm before serving.

Sour Cream Cheesecake

Recipe courtesy of Good Eats by way of Food Network.

• 33 graham cracker squares, crumbled
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butted, melted, plus additional for bushing the pan
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 20 ounces cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3 yolks
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 300°F. Brush some of the melted butter around a 9×3 cake pan. Adhere parchment to the bottom and sides. Note: I can never seem to get my parchment to stick to butter, much less accurately cut it to be the height of my pans so I skipped that part without any major mishaps.

In a small bowl, combine crumbled graham crackers, the remaining melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Place remaining crumbs on a sheet pan and bake both the crust and the remaining mixture for 10 minutes. Cool. Reserve additional crumb mixture for sides.

Preheat a water bath while mixing the rest of the ingredients. The only pan I had big enough to fit my cake pan was a half sheet pan. It wasn’t very deep, but I don’t think it needs to be.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sour cream for 10 seconds. I don’t have a mixer with a paddle attachment. I only have a small hand mixer. Despite its diminutive size and musculature it succeeded in producing an agreeable product. Add the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds and then turn up to medium. Scrape the bowl.

In a separate container, combine vanilla, eggs, yolks, and heavy cream. My local Kroger was sold out of heavy cream. The closest I could find was coffee cream. With the mixer on medium, slowly pour the liquid mixture in. When half is incorporated, stop and scrape. Continue adding the mixture until the rest of the ingredients are incorporated. Once completely combined, pour into the cooled crust.

Lower oven temperature to 250°F. Place cheesecake into preheated water bath in the oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and open the door for one minute. Close the door for one more hour. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place in the refrigerator for 6 hours to completely cool before serving. I made the cake the night before on Monday and left it in the fridge until Tuesday night.

When reading to serve, place the entire cake pan into a hot water bath for about 15 seconds. Unmold onto a cake rounds or serving dish. Take the remaining graham cracker mixture and press into the sides of the cake.

To slice, place your knife into a hot water bath and wipe dry each time you make a pass through the cake.

Yum!