Sew Perfect: Purse Organizer

If you've ever been around me when I'm leaving the house, you might think I am a tad bit absent-minded. I can't find my keys or I have on socks but no shoes. I completely forget to bring my sports bag when I'm going to the gym, and I don't remember it till I'm in the building. I leave things all over the place. Hairbrushes. Sweaters. Underwear. Tennis Balls. You name it, I've forgotten it or left it somewhere. It's kind of ridiculous.

In the face of these apparently uncontrollable tendencies, I am going to let you in on a little secret. This carelessness is just a facade to hide my hilarious wit and razor sharp intelligence. The more you underestimate my limitless capabilities, the more likely you are to leave me alone when I'm doing the things I enjoy...like arts and crafts.

So, today, when I decided to make this purse organizer, it was purely for the joy of crafting and not because I desperately need to be able to vacate my apartment without looking under every piece of furniture I own. Really for really reals, people.

Check this out. Handsewn purse organizer with fabric from Hobby Lobby. I got the idea from the www.pincstuff.com diary. There is a pattern for it here, but I took a little poetic license when making mine.

Three hours, two Say Yes to the Dresses, one What Not To Wear, and two A Baby Stories later, wah-la! And it's purty too. There are little pockets for all of my stuff, and it curls up like a snake to fit into my small Ann Taylor Loft bag. I'm thinking of adding a pink ribbon to tie it together later.

Char Siu: A boyfriend with food baggage.

Comfort foods are a delicate issue in my apartment, and for good reason. Those drunken 4 A.M. cravings that can only be satisfied by Jello-brand butterscotch pudding mix don't hold a candle to the insanity that fills my mind at the thought of a botched baked mac and cheese. Be it strawberry-rhubarb pie or guacamole, everyone has an opinion about what it should taste like and which ingredients are best. Thus, when I offered to make my puppy-eyed boyfriend his childhood favorite, char siu or Chinese BBQ, I knew that my endeavors would come with insurmountable expectations and god knows how many historic competitors from Toronto and New York. My boyfriend LOVES this stuff, and during our trip to Toronto, he would not shut up about its many virtues.We had it in congee, we had it in steamed buns, we had it straight from the takeout box. We had it for dim sum, for New Year's dinner, and while we were hanging out at the mall. Char siu, char siu, char siu.

On top of this food baggage, it is difficult as a poor college kid to invest in an $11 pork shoulder and a quick trip to the Asian market, knowing there's a 40.56% chance that whatever you do with this hunk of meat, the product could end up inedible. But puppy-eyed looks continued, and the whimpering began, and I knew that it was time to spread my Asian wings and fly.

I scoured the web, and created a delicious congolomeration of ingredients. I tested my engineering skills by creating meat hooks out of "S" hooks so I could roast the hanging meat in my boyfriend's oven. The final product was fantastic, crispy on the outside and soybeany, porky, delicousy on the inside. According to my worst critic and best friend, I "nailed it." This recipe made two meals of plain char siu and three of char siu fried rice.

I failed to take pictures of my miraculous hanging meat rods as well as the final product. I am going to blame that on my inexperience as a food blogger...that and the fact that the char siu was being consumed (by me) faster than I could slice it. This google image search picture will have to do until I can manage to control myself.

Ingredients:

5.5 lb boston butt or pork butt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp Chinese 5-spice powder

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup hoisin

1 heaping spoonful of red soybean paste

2 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine

1/4 tbsp. red food coloring (for the distinctive coloration)

Honey for basting

Mix the above ingredients together to make the marinade and reserve about 2 tbsp. Cut the excess fat off the pork butt with a sharp knife and slice the meat into long 2-3" thick strips. Try to make them as uniform as possible and cut with the grain of the meat. Marinate these strips for 24 hours in the fridge.

Run by your local hardware store and pick up some small "S" hooks that will hang freely on the little bars of your oven rack. You will need between 8-10 hooks. Wash the hooks well with soap and water and set aside to dry. Move the uppermost oven rack to the highest position and the lowermost oven rack to the lowest position in your oven. Place a large, wide cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil on the bottom rack. Take the strips of meat from the marinade, pierce one end with a hook, and jerk the hook a little bit to make sure the meat will stay hanging. Hang the other side of the hook on the top rack of the oven, and make sure you hang it over the cookie sheet to catch the drippings. Repeat for all the strips.

Your oven is going to look like a butcher's shop. Turn your oven on at 450 for appx. 13 minutes. Crank it back down to 350 and roast for another 20-30 minutes. I just pinch the meat to see if its done so it may take more or less time. During the last 10 minutes, baste the meat with a mixture of about 5tbsp honey and 2 tbsp reserved marinade. BE CAREFUL! THE OVEN IS DANGEROUSLY HOT! (I burned myself on the oven rack.) This will give it that familiar glazed look and amplify the traditional red color.

Once cooked, simply yank the meat off the hooks and let each strip sit for about 5 minutes or you'll have a juicy mess. Slice the meat thinly against the grain. Serve with steamed rice and a salad.