Gestalt Principles?!?!

can you read what it says? teehee.

Design Potluck!

a friend of mine decided to get as many design students together with a potluck. mmmmm....designer potluck. i've noticed after going to many a potluck in college, that most people don't want to actually cook when going to a potluck and usually try to get the drinks or dessert end of the meal and just pick something up at the store. i'm sure many people are just simply busy with school/work and whatnot. so for this lovely design student potluck i decided to make a chicken tetrazzini. just a warning if you're trying to stick to your new year resolutions, this recipe is very creamy and fatty. =) also, i added a good amount more salt than the recipe asked for when making the sauce for the tetrazzini, probably about three tablespoons. but after tasting the finished product it could have used a tad more salt...so be sure to taste as you go. here's the recipe from Giada De Laurentiis:

Chicken Tetrazzini
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Foods that Refuel
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

9 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
12 ounces linguine
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup dried Italian-style breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Spread 1 tablespoon of butter over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a deep large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until pale golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool slightly. Coarsely shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil to the same pan. Add the mushrooms and saute over medium-high heat until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates and the mushrooms become pale golden, about 12 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it evaporates, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to the bowl with the chicken.

Melt 3 more tablespoons butter in the same pan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, cream, broth, nutmeg, remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase the heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes. Drain. Add the linguine, sauce, peas, and parsley to the chicken mixture. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta and the mixture is well blended.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Stir the cheese and breadcrumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta. Dot with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top and the sauce bubbles, about 25 minutes.

Remember to add more salt when making the cream sauce. The tetrazzini turned out ok, just gotta remember to add more salt next time. It's a very heavy meal...I feel like I have to go do some extra exercising after eating some.

I noticed that I haven't posted much design related stuff, so here's some upcoming events for me regarding design! This Thursday, at CSU Chico, Garson Yu will be speaking! For those of you who don't know who Garson Yu is, he is the genius behind many motion graphic sequences(movie title sequences, commercials, etc.) such as "The Terminal," "The Italian Job," "Memoirs of a Geisha," and "Brokeback Mountain." You know all those cool movie intros....yeah, he's pretty freaking awesome and thanks to our super cool design teachers (glenda drew!) we get to go hear him talk! super exciting! i'll try and post pix from the lecture.

ok i guess i should be getting back to working on my project...but i feel lazy, it's sunday afternoon!

First Week of School

so the first week of school has ended. this has got to be the most tired i've been after the first week of school! my design classes started off with projects being due in the second class...which of course meant staying up late. last wednesday, being the first wednesday back in davis, meant going to SUDWERKS for some beers with ThMAL. sudwerks is a local davis, ca brewery that offers drink specials on wed and thurs nights. this means it's flooded with the 21+ college crowd trying to save money while getting drunk. but sudwerks offers some good beers. i found that i like the marzen the best but there are a few that i haven't tried yet, such as the doppelbock. the atmosphere is a strange combination of a sports bar, with your jukebox and tv playing whatever game is on, and a german beer house/backyard patio.

just one week into the quarter and i've already stayed up late into the wee hours of the morning last night. so if this blog is tired and doesn't make any sense, i apologize. so if you're a machead, you probably already have heard the news that the iPhone actually exists!

it's so beautiful. i'm contemplating getting one when they come out in june. i need a new ipod and desperately need a new phone. i was looking for a smart phone but this revolutionary cell phone/mp3 player combo is looking mighty nice. but it is now time for me to catch up on some sleep.

Happy New year

hello hello! been a bit since i last blogged and boy have things changed. it's a new year! 2007 is upon us and it's my year...meaning the year of the boar!

ok so the official chinese new year doesn't start til february 18, 2007 but i would prefer that it start sooner than later. wouldn't you if it was your year? some famous people born in the year of the boar include

• tupac shakur
• thomas jefferson
• missy elliot
• lucille ball
• humphrey bogart
• parker mckenna posey

since this is my year according to the chinese calendar and zodiacs, i'm hoping good things will abound this year. this year is going to be a transitional year for me. graduation is only sixth months away! time to start looking for a job or applying to graduate school ::gulp:: but i'm excited for the new changes that will be happening in my life and the little steps i'm taking towards full "adulthood." eeeep! adulthood sounds scary. adulthood = more responsibility and having to pay off my college loans! but then i think i'm looking too far into the future and forgetting the six months i still have left of school...all-nighters, lots of caffeine in many forms, spray mount, not enough RAM on my computer to run all the programs i need for class, long critiques. sounds worse than it is, but it's still a relief to be doing something that may not be making 6 figures, but at least i can say that i really did enjoy my classes and the work that i've done. woohoo.

anyway, today j went to work and t and i were left to our own devices. MUAHAHA. that of course included food and drink. t and i decided that we would make ourselves a new years feast of snacky type foods and drink. then make our way over to tuco's for dessert. t decided she would make spinach artichoke dip and i decided on making sticky sesame chicken wings and we were both going to make some tartines that we saw ina garten make on "barefood in paris." after hitting the grocery store we returned home w/ our lovely ingredients and started cooking up a storm.

i started on the sticky sesame chicken wings which was basically some minced garlic, 2 parts each hoisin, soy sauce and honey to one part sesame seed oil and a pinch of cayenne tossed w/ chicken wingettes and baked in the oven then tossed again when cooked w/ sesame seeds and scallions. trish started w/ the spinach artichoke dip. they both turned out pretty good. then i continued on w/ brownies. a pretty simple recipe from CHOW mag

CHOW's Intense Brownies
CHOW's version of this classic is not too sweet and just a bit fudgy, with a nice cakey top. This recipe is for purists but add in nuts or chocolate chips as you like.

What to buy: We make this recipe using 60% bittersweet chocolate, but for more intensity feel free to use a chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa (not unsweetened.)

Game plan: All the ingredients should be at room temperature before beginning. These brownies will last three days in an airtight container.

Time/Servings:
Total Time: 45 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 16 brownies

Ingredients:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon brewed espresso
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Instructions:
1.) Heat oven to 350 degrees F and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish with aluminum foil.

2.) Stir the chocolate and butter together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until just melted. Remove and set aside to cool to room temperature.

3.) Briefly mix together the eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, espresso, and salt. Add the cooled chocolate and mix well.

4.) Fold the flour into the batter until just incorporated.

5.) Pour the batter into the baking dish, and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Place on a wire rack and cool completely before cutting.

The brownies came out pretty good. The espresso really helped to make the brownies "intense." Nothing like food cooking and fresh baked goods to make the house or apartment smell lovely.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe new year! Good luck in 2007!