Stepping off the edge

The Dough Master

2010-12-19T17:19:00.000-08:00

Last year I gave you a holiday strategy for making cookies- See Archives December 18, 2009. This year I want to share with you my 2010 selection.

This is not a typical Christmas on The Edge. Life is in boxes waiting to sell the house and move on to new adventures so my pastry tips, bags, and random fun toys are packed away. Licking my wounds I confided in The Princess that I wouldn’t be making cookies this year. “But MOM you have to make cookies even if you make just one kind!” I could feel her eyes welling up with tears.

Wait a minute!! Was that The Princess who wanted me to MAKE something in the kitchen for her??? How could I turn her down? And so I rallied.

First on the list was a new cookie from The NYT- Cardamom-Walnut Crescents a quick dough executed in the Cuisinart. Next a classic from my family- Candy Cane Cookies-but wait-my little grey cells jingled. Why do I always make the dough in one lump only to split it in half to color one part red? How about-(and this is where rocket science kicks in-) I just split the recipe in the beginning! Bingo fans I broke through the sound barrier! I almost called one of my culinary cohorts to brag but I had other dough’s to conquer.

Next up were the brown dough’s. From Rose Beranbaum’s Christmas Cookie book (if you only buy one cookie book this is the one!) I made Mrs. King’s Irresistibles a dense oatmeal, raisin, chocolate cookie made even more decadent with chopped up E. Guittard semi-sweet chocolate (screw Toll House). When finished I think we will do a drizzle of white chocolate to gourmetize. Rose also contributed The Princess’s favorite, Peanut Butter and Jelly Jewels. I used to buy special hydrogenised peanut butter but have changed my ways and use our everyday peanut butter increasing the flour to absorb the extra oil.

Last year Heidi Swanson had a Triple Ginger Cookie I tried. It usurped my Ginger Thin recipe from The Joy of Cooking. If you love ginger this is unbelievable!! It is a trifecta of ginger, freshly grated, ground, and crystallized with a lacing of lemon zest.

For the last few years I have been making Gourmet’s Chocolate Christmas Cookies this year Serious Eats tempted me with Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. I read the title to NSSP and got a nod of approval. Really how can you go wrong with little cocoa discs filled with a peanut butter cream cheese?

And then I was done!! All wrapped labeled and accounted for chillin’ in the fridge waiting for The Princess to arrive and help with the baking.

If any of you are interested in the recipes. Drop a comment below and I’ll get them off to you!!

Pictures will follow~ Fa-La-La!!

Book Review-Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook

2010-12-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook
By Lauren, Leslie, and Bruce Sargent

I was recently contacted to review Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook, by Lauren, Leslie, and Bruce Sargent. This is a unique cookbook that celebrates a family’s dream and those people the dream has touched. There is passion for the land, its history dating back to the American Indians, and how various owners tried their luck. The winners are the Sargents' who bring skill and love to a dream with success.

The book is woven like a tapestry. A cast of many lend their voice and stories about how Buckhorn Springs influenced them and lingers in their memories. Pictures are copious with before and after shots of the buildings, children growing up, and tempting food.

The stories and recipes are divided by the time of day; beginning with Morning and a selection of quick breads, a frittata, granola, and pancakes. All recipes are simply laid out and easy to follow. Noon’s offerings are many with various wraps, salads, and soups, just the right sustenance for a break in the day. Night is more substantial with many filling and mostly vegetarian dishes. After Hours has the kind of offerings that you want to take back to your cabin for a midnight snack.

Leslie Sargent is the driving force in the kitchen. She found her culinary infatuation at twelve when she began cooking for her family. The Buckhorn Kitchen philosophy is to create dishes “simple and fresh, with ingredients from the harvests of local farmers”. Her challenge has been to serve food that fits the wide variety of clients who pass through, taking into account diets, allergies, and food restrictions.

With that in mind, the recipes are stand alone terrific but with room for additions and subtractions to fit assorted diets. Leslie gives credit to her inspirational sources and suggests changes a cook may try. Always take note of the serving sizes because they vary.

If you try only one recipe in the Morning chapter it has to be Very Lemon Bread. This is a straight forward quick bread with the addition of a Lemon Pour that is poured over the bread while still warm. The pour soaks in and adds a fresh lemon infusion to the cake. Divine!

Lunch and dinner recipes embrace global flavors. Ginger Marinated Tofu Wraps with Peanut Sauce reside next to Sweet Potato Quesadillas and Minestrone for lunch. Aside from the usual salad suspects Leslie has included Quinoa Salad with Oranges, a brightly flavored dish with Middle Eastern spices, raisins, and almonds. Her Farro Salad has the addition of vaquer beans (sometimes called vaquero beans) that add protein, a unique color, and great texture. The dish is worth the adventure! Www.RanchoGordo.Com in Napa Valley, CA carries them.

A perfect hostess always sends her guests to bed with a little sweet. Leslie has that covered with a selection that appeals to all tastes and dietary restrictions. Vegan Wheat-Free Cashew Cookies, Summer Squash Spice Cake, Buck Bars (Leslie’s tasty answer to Cliff & Luna bars), and don’t forget Leslie’s Brownies or Lauren’s Oatmeal Granola all put a smile on visitor’s faces.

Buckhorn Springs Heritage Cookbook is an amazing story that one feels is ongoing and not yet at the end. It is a wonderful example of our unique state and what it has to offer the world.

I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Read! Eat! And Enjoy!

Judith Bishop

Buy My Calendar!

2010-11-30T17:22:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are not relatives...And will be receiving a calendar for the holidays... Zip over to www.lulu.com, type in Judith Bishop and check out My Calendar 2011

Traditions be Damned! We have Memories!

2010-11-12T16:57:00.001-08:00

I was asked not too long ago to write a piece on the theme Family traditions. I was flummoxed and hard pressed to come up with a tradition.

Would going to the Nutcracker for 18 years count? Hanging our 48 star flag on appropriate patriotic holidays? A toast to Nouveau Beaujolais in November? Lighting candles for dinner every night? This was a tough assignment.

I called my daughter to see if she fondly remembered any fleeting traditions. She said Christmas cookies.

I thought back to my childhood and tried hard to glean a tradition. I wrote to my sister and she mentioned our Christmas coffee cake, Thanksgiving turkey and maybe roast beef for Christmas dinner. “Geeze I guess we were a bit deprived on the tradition thing...” she wrote.

I don’t feel that my life is lacking because there are no family traditions. We have many fond memories to rely on. We always have a Christmas tree. In Florida we wore sunglasses to the tree stand. Out here on The Edge it has become a tradition to buy and chop one down from the same farm. When we move this tradition will become a memory. Our tradition of going to the Nutcracker was the cultural glue of the holiday season until our daughter decided we were done. Our family tradition of sending our daughter to visit her best friend every summer and vice versa came to an end when they no longer had endless summers. We share these memories.

When it comes to holiday food I seek both comfort and a different twist. “Why can’t we eat normal food like everyone else?” was a common lament. “I can’t cook that way” was my reply. Cranberry sauce is cooked with apples and Cointreau. My mother’s coffee cake is now made with dried fruit instead of the old standby candied fruit.

Each tweak to a recipe breaks tradition and shifts life’s sand. Perhaps my tradition is always to change.

Jessica’s Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from Rose’s Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Preheat oven 375°
1 1/4C All Purpose Flour
1t Baking Soda
1/8t Kosher Salt
1/2C Brown Sugar (firmly packed)
1/4C Granulated Sugar
1/2C Unsalted Butter
1C Smooth Natural Peanut Butter*
1Lg. Egg
1/2t Vanilla Extract
Raspberry, Cherry, or Strawberry Jam

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. In a medium bowl beat the butter until soft and smooth. Add sugars and beat until well mixed. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Gradually add flour. Mix until combined, don’t over mix.

Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Roll 1 inch balls in your hands and place 1 ½” apart on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Use your finger to make an indentation in each ball.

Bake 6 minutes make the indentation again in the cookies and rotate the sheet pan in the oven. Bake another 5-6 minutes or until lightly brown.

Fill the indentation with jam just before serving.

*If you are using processed peanut butter (Skippy, Jif etc.) reduce the flour to just 1Cup.

Nana Baker’s Candy Cane Cookies

Preheat oven 375°
2C Unsalted Butter
2C Powdered Sugar
2Lg Eggs
1T Almond Extract (or Orange Flower Water)
5C All Purpose Flour
2t Kosher Salt
Red Food Coloring*

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until pale and smooth. Add eggs and almond extract beat well. Add salt and beat. Gradually add flour.

When well mixed divide the dough in half. Add red food coloring to one batch and mix until the dough is uniform in color. Cover both doughs and refrigerate 1 hour or 1 day.

When ready to form, break off an equal piece of pink and white dough roll into uniform cords. Put them side by side and twist over each other to make them look like candy canes.

Cut into 4” lengths curling one end into the cane hook (or leave them straight). Place on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake 5-8 minutes or until lightly brown around the bottom edges.

*To get a good dark pink color I suggest using a professional red dye paste. Sur La Table, Decorette Shop, or sometimes JoAnn Fabrics carries it. If you use liquid dye the dough will become too moist before the color is achieved.

Diane Morgan Rocks!!

2010-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Nothing to do on Sunday night? 11/14- Watch the FOOD NETWORK CHALLENGE: Thanksgiving Family Face-Off2! Check local listings for the
time. My friend and colleague Diane Morgan is one of the judges! Also check out her numerous cookbooks as well!
!

What will You be Reading this Christmas?

2010-10-25T15:33:00.001-07:00

I don’t know about you but I take my cookbook buying very seriously. Throughout the year I scan Jessica’s Biscuits newsletter and Kitchen & Letters and shuffle books over to a cookbook folder. At Christmas, when NSSP is looking to feed my habit, I give him the list. The first few years he DIDN’T GET IT meaning that he thought he had a CHOICE from the list. No, No dear NSSP I want all that I ask for! But as you know compromises occur in any marriage. So I modified my request. There were the ABSOLUTES and the “you can pick from my surprise list”. This has been a win-win ritual. NSSP “surprises” me and I get what I want.

There is a bit of excitement-will he place the order in time? What DID he pick? Then, the arrival of the box. I stroke, shake, and dream of its contents.

Christmas day when all the presents are opened a second pot of coffee is made and I curl up with my new stack. I know I have a few hours before the kitchen turns into Christmas dinner mayhem and I am riding high on my cookbook fix.

I thought it would be fun to share the books I have accumulated through the year. Some were bought at Christmas others gathered from the “can’t live without” category.

My southern cookbook section is slim so I “requested” John Besh’s My New Orleans The Cookbook. This is a book of seasonal ingredients, celebrations, and the terrior of New Orleans through Besh’s palate. Many recipes have universal appeal and can be made anywhere but after reading about shrimping, Mardi Gras, Feast Days and Creole Tomatoes I started to understand why this iconic cuisine needed to be recorded and passed down. A note must be made to Ditte Isager the photographer and Dorothy Kalins the editor who brought the whole concept together.

I always like to get a BIG book. That means a culinary tomb written by a chef with amazing recipes oozing with creativity. Last year’s hit was MOMOFUKU by David Chang and Peter Meehan. If you haven’t heard of one of David’s restaurants-MOMOFUKU Noodle Bar, Ssam Bar, Ko, Milk Bar or Ma Peche you’ve been living under a rock. This book is flipping hot! His combinations and techniques are worth a cruise. Who knew a compound butter of Miso and sweet butter could be so sublime?

In January I continued my Asian infatuation with Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat’s Japanese Hot Pots. Harris pens The Japanese Report. A blog that features his ruminations on Japanese ingredients, chefs, techniques and travel. Through the year I have become more comfortable with Japanese recipes and it’s thanks to Harris.

I didn’t really want to take a class on Stir Fry, but I did want to check out Grace Young. She was coming to The Edge and off I trundled to her class. Boy was I wrong! There was a whole level of stir fry that I didn’t know about. I quickly grabbed her The Breath of a Wok and Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge and haven’t turned back. I have many Chinese cookbooks but what turned my head was the procedure logic in her recipes. Before I started cooking I could easily imagine the flow of the ingredients and execution. A recent dish I made was her salon stir fry. Excellent, light , and not a splash of soy sauce. I have been able to widen my Chinese repertoire and listen to the “Wok Hay”.

Another Asian Chef blew through town and I signed up for her class on Asian Dumplings (book of the same name). Andrea Nguyen is an effervescent cook passionate about anything wrapped in dough. It was hands on, not my favorite venue but how else do you learn a new technique? The dough that captivated me was made with wheat starch. It took me 3 Asian stores before I found it in a reasonable quantity. A Google search led me to businesses that sold it by the pallet load. It is library paste to some but to Asian cooks it makes supple translucent dumplings that melt in your mouth. It was worth the search!

My Italian section has been growing. For years I dismissed Italian cookbooks. I liked my repertoire and felt comfortable creating my own versions. My sights turned to Italy a few years ago when The Princess went there for Junior Year Abroad (we called it finishing school…). Lidia Bastianich came out with Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy and it flew onto my Christmas list. Her passion is felt in every recipe and the chapters start with the regions in the north at Trentino and end in Sardinia. Each region is unique and each chapter illustrates this.

Another book I picked up this year dove tailed perfectly with Lidia’s and that was Why Italians Love to Talk About Food by Elena Kostioukovitch This book focuses on the people of the regions, their differences, and relationship with food.

Cruising the aisles of Borders one day, I picked up Venezia Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros. Venice is a visual confection and walking the streets you feel like you are in a play. If you never go there buy this book! From the gold edging to the sumptuous pictures and velvet book mark, this cookbook is the next best thing to visiting Venice. The recipes are good and the chapters laid out like a meal from Cicchetti to Dolci you’ll want to share the romance.

Summer found me at the library and I checked out, Recipes from an Italian Summer published by Phaidon. I jokingly told myself I would just skim it but the mind is a devious organ. I didn’t get 10 pages into it when my post-its started dotting the pages. Half way through and I capitulated and bought it. I haven’t regretted the decision. Summer in Italy is easy to imagine with our wonderful Farmer’s Markets and this book. The recipes scream fresh, seasonal and languid meals. Always looking for another food holiday, Italian Summer didn’t let me down. I was introduced to Ferragosto an Italian feast that dates to pre-Roman times and a must celebration on August 15!

In gathering these books I’ve become humbled by all of the must have purchases. When I saw that Dorie Greenspan came out with a new book, Around My French Table I thought I could wait until Christmas, but no. A 40% off coupon at Borders coincided with a cookbook signing on The Edge. Dorie’s books aren’t for the weak wristed. Her Baking cookbook (fabulous- no need for any other baking book!) weighs 4pounds 13 ounces and the new one is 4pounds 11 ½ ounces. I was carrying 3 of them around to be signed and my shoulders were killing me. Ahh, the new book-Such gorgeous pictures by Alan Richardson and recipes that make you imagine your home is in Paris. Dorie is like a good friend whose love of France is infectious. This is about putting together good, simple, food not as a grand dinner party but as a vehicle to a casual night with good friends and conversation. I’ve done a little stroking of the book but am resisting its use until the holidays. I think Dorie’s book will be my featured holiday inspiration.

Last but not least, and in my quest for dinner table etiquette I found The Art of The Table by Suzanne Von Drachenfels. From Dining Fundamentals to Table Manners, Susan deftly covers every aspect of the table as well as upkeep and care of your items. The topic can be daunting but Suzanne keeps on track without bogging down. There is much to learn about setting the perfect table and how it sets the stage for a meal.

A few tips on buying books. I don’t just go off willy nilly and slap the plastic down as soon as I see a book I want. My three go-to sources are: www.powells.com, www.ecookbooks.com, and www.alibris.com. I compare ponder and oft times will buy a used one.

Soon the holidays will be here and I’ll slip my list under NSSP’s office door. I can’t wait for Christmas Day!! What will be under your tree?

Fall and Apples Go Hand in Hand

2010-10-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Fall is a magical time of year for apples. It feels like a true connection with my American heritage. Juice, cider, hard cider, vinegar; pies, sauces, betty’s and crumbles. A simple satisfying bite and snap of the skin as the juice dribbles into my mouth.

When I was growing up in a state that begins with an “I”,my parents would buy a gallon of apple cider and let it sit on the attic stairs to ferment, turning it into hard cider. The container had to be opened to release the gathering gasses. There had been some close calls with bulging plastic containers. My father would taste a bit to determine if it was ready. I never really liked the bubble feel on my tongue or the slightly sour flavor but it was a seasonal family drink.

Apple cider emerged again when I was living with three other women. It was an ex- tavern built in 1747. On a cold night you could feel the wind scuttering over the wide floor boards. One of my roommates was fond of hot cider with cinnamon and a healthy splash of Captain Morgan’s dark rum. Served in a large coffee mug it chased the chill away and left fond memories. I still drink my hot cider this way with a nod to the roommate.

As a young wife I discovered making applesauce. At first I dutifully peeled the apples before cooking them, rendering a pale yellow brown sauce. One day I left the peels on and strained it afterward. The sauce was a beautiful pale pink. It was added to my growing repertoire.

I also discovered a chopped apple added to cranberry sauce softened the sourness. It sits next to the canned cranberry jelly on our Thanksgiving table.

My mother wasn’t a pie person but made crumbles instead. Easy, satisfying, a crunch of cinnamon flavored oatmeal any fruit would do but apples were the best. It took me awhile and a second husband to gather up the courage to make pie dough and an apple pie. Although the first attempt was tasty the gap between top of the pie shell and the apples didn’t look right.

One of my epiphanies was in talking to a friend of mine who was a chef. We were living in a state that begins with “M”and he was from apple country. He told me to always use as many different kinds of apples as I could find thereby giving as much depth to the dish. Made sense to me and I filed it away.

Moving to a state that begins with “O”, and another recipe, I discovered perfection. It was an interesting technique. Instead of putting fresh apples into the shell etc., the night before you cut the apples, added seasonings and let them sit at room temperature. When ready to make the pie you drained the apples, poured them into the shell, thickened the drained juices and poured it over as well.By making the pie this way the apples lost their volume before baking and the pie stayed high and the juice was thick. I don’t look for apple pie recipes any more.

I’ve made beautiful duck and pork sauces with shallots, apples, apple brandy, cream and stock. The ultimate caramel apples for a catered Halloween party were also drizzled in dark and white chocolate and packed with chopped walnuts. My Thanksgiving stuffing isn’t complete without chopped apples.

Apples store well but in time they lose their crunch. The season closes but I have learned patience and wait for another fall and its apple richness.

The Ultimate Apple Pie
I found this recipe in my local newspaper in 1997 and with a few twists of my own think it is the best! The filling must be made at least 8 hours or 1 day ahead.
Try this pie dough recipe as well. I multiply the recipe 4 times using about 5 pounds of flour, making it on my bread board. Once made, I weigh out ¾ pound portions wrap in plastic wrap, label and freeze. I’m ready for pie and pasty season.

Vinegar Pastry Makes 2 8 inch or 9 inch double crust pies.
1 ¼ C Butter or Shortening (I use half butter half non-hydrogenated shortening) cut in
3C All-purpose flour
1t Kosher Salt
1 Egg (I use 1/4C Egg beaters)
1T White or Cider Vinegar
5T Ice Water
Put flour in food processor and cut the butter in chunks over the flour. Add the salt. Pulse the mixture several times until the butter is about the size of small peas.

Mix the egg, vinegar and ice water together and with the processor running slowly pour the liquid down the feed tube. As soon as the dough binds together remove it and put it on a floured board. With the heel of your hand, push the dough 3 times away from you. Gather it, divide in half, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Apple Pie Filling
9-10 Assorted Apples (about 9 cups) peeled and sliced
1/2C Granulated Sugar
1/2C Firmly packed Dark Brown Sugar
1T Ginger Preserves
1 ½ t Ground Cinnamon
1/4t Ground Nutmeg
1t Vanilla
1/4t Kosher Salt
2T Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/4C All-Purpose Flour
1T Butter
Place the sliced apples in a large bowl and add sugars, preserves, spices, vanilla, salt and lemon juice. Mix well, cover and let sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours.

To Bake
Preheat oven to 425°.
*Position the oven rack in the middle.
*Roll out one piece of pastry for the bottom crust and place in a pie pan.
*Using a strainer; drain the apples reserving the liquid and combining it with the flour.
*Mound the apples in the pie pan and pour the reserved juice evenly over them. Dot with butter.
*Roll out the second pastry and put on top. Crimp or seal the edges and pierce the top several times with a fork. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
*Bake 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350° and continue to bake 45-60 minutes or until the apples are tender when pierced.
*If the edges are getting too brown, cover them with strips of foil until the pie is done.

I'm Falling for Pumpkin Sweet Rolls!

2010-10-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Fall is a very confusing season. The last of the tomatoes vie for attention with the new crop of winter squash. The same is true of what and how to cook. Oven? Crock Pot? Grill? Soup? Roast? Salad? Broccoli and Brussels sprouts emerge pushing the zucchini out of the way. Hamburgers turn into pasty and roast chicken today is chicken soup tomorrow. I relish the change it keeps my cooking nimble. Sometimes an ingredient bought for one dish morphs through my mind into another as the weather swings. When all else fails it gets popped into the freezer until the weather settles down.
A few days ago I my eyes were flitting over recipes on the internet. I lingered, dragged, and clicked a recipe over to my folder for future experimentation. It was Saturday and there was no sweet or savory starch to go with Sunday coffee. I pulled up the internet recipe and did a quick inventory of my pantry. We were in luck! Pumpkin Sweet Rolls to the rescue!
I decided to split the recipe process into two days. I wanted hot rolls on Sunday. The recipe works perfectly and is a great fall addition to anyone’s repertoire. This makes 2 large pie pans of rolls (16-18 rolls) so it is wonderful for giving or brunches.
Pumpkin Sweet Rolls
Preheat oven-375°
Grease 2 9” pie pans or 2 9”X13” baking dishes
Dough-
1/4/C Warm Water 100°-115°
1 Pinch Sugar
1 Package Yeast or scant tablespoon
Put the water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Stir and let sit until bubbly.
1C Milk
1/2C Sugar
1/2C Unsalted Butter
In a small sauce pan heat the milk and butter. When butter is melted add the sugar. Stir until it is dissolved.
1Cn Pumpkin Puree (15 oz.)
Pour the milk mixture in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand up mixer with paddle attachment. Add the pumpkin and mix until warm (100°).
1 1/2t Kosher Salt
1t Ground Cinnamon
1/4t Ground Allspice
1/4t Ground Cloves
1/4t Ground Ginger
1/4t Ground or grated Nutmeg
5 ½-6C All-Purpose Flour
Add the salt, spices, and flour (5Cups) all at once. If the dough is too wet (like a batter not like a dough) add more flour until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If you are using a hand mixer you might have to switch to a spoon for the last bit of flour.
Cover and let rise until double in size 1-3 hours. To speed it along you can put it in the oven with a pot of boiled water. If you heat the oven it must be no hotter than 100° or you will kill the yeast before it rises.
Once raised, punch down and either cover and put in the fridge to bake later, or continue the recipe.
Filling-
1/2C Unsalted Butter
1/2C Dark Brown Sugar
1/2C Grade B Pure Maple Syrup
2t Ground Cinnamon
1/2t Ground Ginger
1/2t Ground or Grated Nutmeg
1 1/2C Chopped Nuts
1/2C Raisins or dried fruit (cherries, blueberries, chopped apples)
In a medium sauce pan melt the butter, dark brown sugar, and maple syrup. Add the rest of the ingredients. Let cool. Add the nuts and raisins.
Roll out the dough in a 12”X24” rectangle. Spread the top with the filling leaving a ½” edge all around. With the 24” side horizontal to you roll the dough making a tight tube.
Cut the tube into about 1 ½” circles. Place in the baking dishes (this is the second time that the rolls can be covered and put in the fridge for the next day or baked.)

When ready to bake let rise until double in size and place in a pre-heated oven at 375°. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the tops are light brown. Depending on your oven you might have to rotate the pans for an even bake.
Glaze-
This quantity is for a drizzle on top if you want more of an icing double the quantity.
2T Unsalted Butter
1/4C Milk
1/4C Dark Brown Sugar
1/4C Grade B Pure Maple Syrup
1 1/4C Powdered Sugar
Pinch Kosher Salt
Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan and let come to the boil stirring occasionally.
When the rolls are done let cool slightly and using a large spoon, drizzle the glaze over the top. Serve warm.

Slice and Dice on the Line and Memory Lane

2010-10-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was the food section in The Only Real Paper I Read. I wandered over to This Week in Review and paused. I know that the Op-Art section is cute, a tie in to other weighty pieces but really Choice Cuts? Asking chefs and “chefs” about their burns and cuts on the line?

I gazed at my arms and went down memory lane. My right arm is criss-crossed with various line scars. My right arm was the oven arm and there are many quiche scars and Salamander licks. Splatter burns? Yes I’m sure some of the scars are from an overzealous jerk of the pan in the heat of sauté. Little nicks from barnacles on mussels, and I remember a few times I grabbed a hot sauté pan handle that bubbled the whole hand in the heat of the action. Such is a cook’s life.

There was the time when I was new at a restaurant and doing prep for dinner service. I sliced lemons and myself. Not wanting to bring attention (I was the only female in a testosterone cesspool) I grabbed a clean side towel wrapped it around the finger and continued to slice. It was painful.

There are only slight scars where a cleaver came down on 4 joints as it missed the mark on a chunk of Parmesan. Why the heck was I slicing it during service on a Saturday night? I guess the chef told me to and we needed it. Four squirting fingers joints brought the chef and manager to my side. I was woozy and the manager promptly brought a glass of brandy. He took the first sip. I regrouped, calmed down, went back on the line and finished my shift.

This wasn’t out of old school camaraderie it was about not losing a few hours of pay. Every penny counted in the glamorous world of restaurants.

There are matching thumb scars with stitches created at different times and honestly I don’t remember when. They’re kind of cute in a perverted way.

I don’t see why the public would be interested in scars on knucklehead cooks’ arms. Paula Deen burned her forearm taking out cookies. Big Wazoo.

I think the most ridiculous was the cook who inadvertently burned his chef with splattered grease on the chefs’ pants. At the end of the service the budding chefflete found the dupe that caused the burn, put it in the deep fat fryer for 15 seconds and heroically adhered it to his forearm to replicate the pain he inflicted. He has two more hash burns he has self inflected to remind him of preventable gaffes. Wow that’s noble! Can’t wait to see him at 50!

I have never sat next to a chef drinking a smarty and jauntily asking him about the burns on his arms. Shit happens. Your timing is off some nights. What is more important is getting the food out and not getting the line in the weeds. That is the true fear that numbs the random burns and cuts makes you suck it up and keep slinging hash.

I think Marcus Samuelsson summed it up. “I have scars all over, but they’re part of my DNA as a chef.”

Chicken Fried Lady

2010-10-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

I wasn't ready to scramble to the top of the driveway this morning so I fired up Toshi(ba). There is a feed I follow with this video. Not only did I find it hilarious but it reminded me of what dirty minds food people have-I miss talking dirty to my food!

Adieu Dear Coho!! Til Next Year!

2010-10-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

It shouldn’t have been a surprise when the fish monger told me that he was cutting up the last salmon of the season. My basket was filled with squash and apples.

I cast my eyes on the sides of salmon trying to figure out which was the darkest pink. Pointing to a side closest to me I asked for a tail piece about 4 inches long. I figured (and rightly so) that it would be shy of ½ pound and perfect for NSSP and me.

But how to cook it? How to bid adieu to the mighty Coho from The Edge? Time was running out for our meal. NSSP was leaving for a sojourn in the quad cities (a grandiose description of 4 measly cities in the mid-west) then onto his epic 40 HS reunion.

I kept it simple with one of my favorite “recipes”.

Pre-heat broiler
1.Spray an oven proof baking dish with vegetable spray
2.Splash the dish with white wine
3.Thinly slice or chop a shallot, add ½ to baking dish, sprinkle of herbs (I used dried dill but when I want a French spin I use fresh tarragon)
4.Skin the fish, check for bones, cut a few diagonal slices in the top of the fish, lay on top of the shallots
5.Push some of the shallots into the diagonal slices as well as some more dill
6.A sprinkle of Kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper
7.Broil until firm to the touch

The beauty of this recipe is that the wine on the bottom keeps the fish moist as the top broils

Sometimes I coat the top with Dijon mustard, other times soy sauce and slices of ginger and garlic. It is fail safe and a good way to be creative.

I served it with butter and chive noodles tossed with zucchini and patty pan squash and a bowl of first crop Bartlett pears. I guess I am ready for fall!

Mexican Inspired Chicken, Corn, Black Bean Soup

2010-09-25T16:36:00.001-07:00

When most people look at a leftover roast chicken carcass they think yuck, when is garbage day? I look at leftover chicken and can’t wait to turn it into another meal!
Enter the carcass, overbought corn, and a bevy of Hispanic ingredients and voila! (or the Spanish equivalent) a hearty soup.

I’m going to try a different way of writing a recipe. It is more the way I cook than a straight forward ingredient/procedure recipe. See if you like it and have comments.

Roast Chicken Carcass
2 Ribs Celery
¼ Yellow Onion
1 QT Chicken Broth

Break the chicken into pieces and put in a pot large enough to hold it. Cut the celery and onion in medium dice add to the chicken, pour in the broth and cover. Cook at a medium boil for about 15-20 minutes.

½ Red, Yellow, Green Pepper
1 Pasilla Pepper

Seed the red, yellow, & green pepper. If you have a gas stove turn it on high and very patiently hold the different peppers over the flame to char them. If you have an electric stove put the peppers in a non-nonstick pan and dry sauté. The more blistered the peppers, the easier it is to remove the skin. Rub the skin off under cold water and pat dry. Cut into strips and then dice the size of the corn. Put in a medium size mixing bowl.

2 Ears of Corn

Cut the kernels off the corn. Put half of the corn in the pepper bowl. Put the other half in a food processor or using an immersion blender or regular blender grind until medium grind. Let it hang.

Turn the chicken stock off and strain into a bowl. Chill the bones and meat. Save the stock.

1 Large Carrot

Peel and cut into corn sized dice add to bowl. (I cut the tip end off, leave the leafy end and cut the carrot horizontally. I give it a quarter turn and do it again if the carrot is very thick I keep making incisions to make smaller dice. When done I chop it up. The dice won’t be cooking school perfect but it works.)

1 Medium Zucchini

Cut both ends off and cut 4 horizontal pieces leaving the seeds. Cut into smaller strips and dice corn size. Add to bowl.

½ White Onion

Cut onion into corn dice, add to bowl.

3 Cloves Garlic

Peeled, mashed and finely chopped. Off to the bowl!

Remove the cooled chicken from the fridge and painstakingly remove all meat. Put in a separate bowl. Throw bones and cooking vegetables away.

4 Tomatillos

Remove skin, rinse and cut into corn dice. To the bowl.

1T Olive Oil

Put a large soup pot on medium heat and add oil and pepper bowl. Cook and stir about 5 minutes. Add and turn on low.

1t Dried Oregano
1t Dried Marjoram
1 Bay Leaf
1t Ground Cumin

Stir

2 Large Tomatoes

Fill a pot, large enough to hold the tomatoes, with water. Core the tomatoes and put an X on the bottom. When the water comes to a boil lower the tomatoes into the water and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove and shock in a bowl with ice water. Remove and peel. Cut in ½ and squeeze out the seeds. You don’t have to get rid of all of the seeds. I squeeze into a strainer over the soup and pick out the chunks letting the juice go in the soup.

Pureed Corn
1/2C White Wine
1 Can Black Beans

Rinse the black bean very well and put in soup pot. Add the chicken broth, white wine, chicken and pureed corn.

1 piece Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce (or to taste)

Finely chop add to soup

Sprinkle once around the top:

Onion Powder
Garlic Powder

Taste, add salt and simmer.

To Garnish:
Combine-

½ Juice of Lime
3T Sour Cream
1/4t Salt

Chop a bit of

Cilantro
Cut some fresh corn tortillas into strips and pan fry in ¼” oil until lightly brown and dust with Kosher Salt.
To serve-

Soup + Sour Cream + Cilantro + Tortilla Strips = Full and Happy Tummy!

Corn Pudding/ Souffle or Souffl/Pud

2010-09-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

When I bought corn a week ago I was planning on NSSP working his grill magic a few more days. The weather changed all of my meal plans. Ground beef turned into meatballs for spaghetti instead of hamburgers. Halibut was sautéed and served with a beurre blanc instead of grilled with a shallot and mustard glaze. The corn lurked.

Yesterday NSSP was going stir crazy and grabbing his jock bag ran off to a spin class. I opened the refrigerator for a glass of wine and there they were, 4 ears of end of the season corn waiting for my creativity.

My mind flipped through its mental index cards of recipes. Corn chowder? Don’t want such a heavy dish. Grandma’s Corn fritters? Made some potato rosti recently. Soufflé? Too much, Corn Pudding? To heavy. I needed some expert guidance so I trundled down to my library and dug up my go-to vegetable author, Marian Morash.

The Victory Garden Cookbook, by Marian Morash, is a marvelous book that follows on the heels of The Victory Garden a popular PBS show in the 1970’s-1980’s. Both Marian and her husband Russell were integral parts of the early Julia Child shows. Judith Jones came on board to edit and guide. It is well worth seeking out and adding to your library.

The book is laid out alphabetically from Asparagus to Turnips and Rutabagas. Each vegetable is introduced in Marian’s voice with a section on Special Information containing yields, storage & preserving and hints. The best part? The recipes!

I turned to the Corn chapter and found my answer. Corn Pudding, Light Corn Custard, and Corn and Chive Soufflé there was a little bit of each recipe that I wanted to incorporate in my own recipe. I was looking for an entrée not as fluffy and big as a soufflé, not as heavy as a pudding, but just right.

I give you my Souffl-Pud.

A hybrid mixture easy to make and delicious! To complete the meal we had end of the season chopped Tomatoes and first of the season Honey Crisp Apples.

Preheat Oven 375°
Place a 4 Cup baking dish in the oven to heat.
2 Ears (or 2Cups) Scraped Corn
1/2C Egg Substitute (or 2 large Eggs well beaten)
1/4C Heavy Cream
1/4C Grated Cheese (sharp Cheddar is great)
1/4C Snipped Chives
2T All-Purpose Flour
1t Dijon Mustard
1t Granulated Sugar
1t Baking Powder
1/2t Kosher Salt
Tabasco Sauce (to taste)
Freshly Grated Black Pepper
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
2 Egg Whites
Pinch Kosher Salt
2 Slices Bacon chopped into little bits
1t Olive Oil
1T Grated Parmesan Cheese

Put the ingredients from corn to nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir until well blended.
In another medium bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm peaks. To test, take a washed egg and set it on top of a mound of whipped egg whites. If it settles down 1/4-1/2 inch it is good. If it sinks keep beating a little more and test again.

Add a spoonful of whipped egg whites to the corn mixture. Stir in to lighten the base. Add the rest of the egg whites on top and gently fold in.

In a small sauté pan put the olive oil and the chopped bacon. Cook on a low heat to render as much of the bacon fat as possible. Remove the bacon bits and pour the fat (there should be about 2t) into the baking dish that is warming in the oven. Swirl around to coat the bottom and sides.

Quickly pour the corn batter into the dish, scatter the bacon and parmesan cheese and bake about 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out hot and clean from the middle of the dish.

Serves 2 as an entrée or 4 as a first course.

The Food Industry Let Us Down

2010-09-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve been pondering our relationship with the Food Industry lately. All the scares, junk food hype, obesity, basically the whole ball of wax.

I thought back to my carefree ‘50’s childhood when food was the good guy. We trusted that our parents would fill our bellies. There were times when we hated what was put in front of us. There was no choice but to suck it up. Eat the lima bean hot with the family or cold by yourself. Don’t forget to clean your plate, your father worked hard to put the food on the table.

Restaurants, because they fell under the food satisfying umbrella, were never challenged for being unhealthy. If it tasted good it was good for you. Chances were you could count on one hand how many fancy restaurant meals you ate in a year. These were events punctuated by Shirley Temples and everyone eating something different at the same time.

Drive-thrus emerged as a fun cheap family outing. Eating in the car was a challenging experience. There were no cup holders or pull out trays. But chomp we did in communal bliss. It was a treat not a weekly occurrence.

We had the Colonel selling chicken, little Wendy and her burgers, Big Boy showing us how happy we would be eating in his restaurants. No one thought that any of the food served was bad. Even the frozen dinners eaten when our parents went out were considered healthy. Mom was ecstatic that she could run away from the kitchen one night and our bellies would be full.

Science entered the equation figuring out that cholesterol was bad and pointing at all of the food that contained it. Salt became the bad ingredient. Quantities were analyzed by age and sex. We all knew we needed food to live but the unconditional joy was being removed.

Restaurants had to work harder to bring the joy back with bigger portions, richer ingredients, and more reasons not to eat at home.

Grocery stores were also vying for the satisfying buck. The frozen food aisle bulged with dishes to entice easy replaced economical. Quick replaced from scratch.

Food slowly fell into 2 categories. Healthy, which we discovered annually in January, and the rest that we ate the other eleven months. Cooking magazines reminded us of when to change gears cutting time and variety of ingredients.

The food industry tripped over itself inventing new dishes always seeking the elusive comfort factor. They pushed the flavor profile to the absurd.

Agribusiness quietly imploded with dire consequences to our country’s health and psyche.

The Food Industry has become bloated with bad products and the consumer is left with indigestion.

I’m mad at the callous lack of respect for the public. Healthy, good food should be a priority not an unattainable dream.

Roquette Anyone?

2010-09-08T16:33:00.000-07:00

We’re very simple cocktail drinkers, a gin and tonic here a Cointreau on ice there. I leave the vodka infused smoothies to more adventuresome friends. So it surprised me when my eyes lit on “The Roquette” in Bon Appetit’s September issue.

“NSSP! I found a cocktail we must try-we have all the ingredients!” Slipping on his reading glasses he read the simple recipe. “We have the limes.”

“Details! We haven’t had Hendrick’s gin in awhile and I’ll pick up the other items in time for Labor Day weekend and The Princess’s arrival.” Thoughts of swigging a tony drink on the back deck were fueling me into frenzy.

The next few days I gathered the rest of the ingredients. I could hardly wait for The Princess to unpack. “Guess what! I have a cocktail for us to try!”She looked at the recipe and said, “Let’s wait for NSSP to come home, and he can make it for us.” I wasn’t deterred and agreed. Since he was the Bloody Mary King we should let him have another notch in his drinks belt. I cooled my jets.

Days slipped by, until NSSP and I was alone on the deck on Labor Day. “What about a gin and tonic? It’s a holiday, we’re not going anywhere.” NSSP was getting ready for a little buzz in the afternoon.

“How about The Roquette? I’ll get everything ready for you.”

I sat outside listening to the muddle action, the shaking, and then a drink was put in front of me. It had a pale green tinge and was garnished with arugula. Served in a martini glass filled with ice it was a decadent concoction. The taste? Wow! My palate was punched with so many herbal essences from the distinctive Hendricks gin to the unique and aromatic arugula slightly sweetened by dark blue agave it was great.

We toasted, slurped and settled in to jazz and reading. It was perfect. Maybe next time we’ll let The Princess have one.

The Recipe-
Bon Appétit attributes the recipe to Matthew Biancaniello from Roosevelt’s Library Bar in Hollywood.
1C Baby Arugula (taste first for strength)
4 1/2t Dark Agave Nectar
4 1/2t Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
1/2C Hendrick’s Gin
Ice Cubes
In a cocktail shaker combine arugula, agave nectar, lime juice and a few ice cubes. Using a muddler or thick handled rolling pin or wooden spoon mash until the arugula is wilted. Add gin and fill the shaker with more ice. Cover, shake to chill and strain into glasses with ice. Garnish with a leaf of arugula.

Follow Your Creativity Not the Recipe!

2010-08-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

I found a recipe by Mark Bittman in the NYT that got me thinking. The article heading was, “For Moister Chicken, Tuck the Flavor Inside”. There were three easy techniques he used, an herb compound butter stuffed under the skin of a bone-in skin-on chicken breast. A boneless skinless chicken breast smeared with a tapenade lookalike and folded over and finally a Japanese inspired chicken breast wrapped around a scallion and cooked.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/dining/18mini.html?emc=eta1

It was Sunday and I wasn’t ready for a Japanese meal but I still wanted to wrap my chicken around a scallion. I stared into the fridge, willing an ingredient to jump into my mind. I settled on an appetizer spread we had eaten the previous night. It was a goat cheese, lemon, artichoke goop that was flavorful and would fit the bill. I lay the chicken breast out and cut it into thick slices and pounded them thin.Next I cut them into pieces about 3” long and spread them with the cheese mixture. A sprinkle of S&P topped a slice of scallion and they were ready to be rolled and tooth picked.

Now I had a dilemma. These were not neat and clean rolls, the cheese mixture had an ooze factor not found in the original recipe. So I did the next best thing and rolled them in flour, egg, and Panko. As you can see the “recipe” had taken a big morph.

Frying up these morsels took no time. They were juicy and fun to eat. I served them with chopped red and yellow tomatoes splashed with balsamic and chiffonade basil, haricot verts tossed with sautéed shallots and butter and a dessert of fresh peaches and almond flavored whipped cream.

Next time I really must follow Bittman’s Japanese version but until then I’ll be playing with this scallion wrapped chicken idea.

I was Bitten at The Bite

2010-08-15T15:46:00.001-07:00

The Edge has many culinary events. Some to beef up the food bank, others as fund raisers for worthy causes. This past weekend it was The Bite; a food, wine, and beer extravaganza helping to raise money for the Special Olympics. We woke to a gorgeous day with a perfect al fresco temperature. Through the years this event has added “Iron Chef” competitions, culinary demonstrations and a good selection of haute and junk food.

After grabbing (and donating $) a glass of wine we surveyed the crowd. It’s never a dull moment on The Edge. Humans sporting flip flops and tattoos were rubbing elbows with their Birkenstock elders. Each clothed in their own fashion statement. The common denominator was the abundance of porcelain hued skin, even in August.

It wasn’t that we were hungry but why else should one go to a food event but to eat? NSSP wanted the haute. I wanted to bottom feed. His haute was sold out so we stumbled to a cheese steak booth. Next door cheese fries were giving me the come hither. We split up only to find that NSSP’s cheese steak line was moving faster than the fries. With sandwich in hand NSSP turned to me and consoled me with, “You really don’t need them.” He didn’t see the tear of disappointment nor read my mind that was screaming, “I want to gorge on cheese fries!” I trudged behind NSSP to a table to split our sandwich. I made a mental note in the future not to bring him to a grazing extravaganza unless he was ready for some serious chow.

Once slightly sated we ambled around the event, I had brought my camera (its first public excursion) to play with my new found photographic knowledge. It’s not hard to entertain me at food events I am a junkie for watching people cook. There was the giant paella pan, a bubbling flat cauldron of colors and smells.

Skewers of shrimp, the usual Edge bento. My heart stopped. Tucked away, off to the side was a PB&J booth.

I have worked many restaurant lines and watched even more, but this one with its efficiency and simplicity of product grabbed me. I started taking pictures of the finished product when Photo Lesson 101 tapped my shoulder. “You need action! You need human involvement. Take pictures of people making the food!”

“But what if the pictures aren’t good? I can’t control their movement or the composition!”

“That’s why you have a digital camera stupid! Look, like, save, or delete.”

I snapped, and snapped and was having a great time, honestly I had no idea how the pictures would come out but I was working on the process.

I looked up and realized NSSP was on the other side of the booth.

I sidled over and was captivated by the owner’s sandwich savvy. A squirt of peanut butter a smear of jam, topping of bread and off the grill station for a toast up. I was salivating and damning the beef whiz sandwich we had just ingested.

NSSP turned on his charm and The Peanut Butter Guy was spilling his story. Eyes ever watching his crew and deftly executing his creations we learned that he and his partner came from Nevada seeking a better lifestyle and finding it on The Edge. They set up a PB&J food cart and are fulfilling a dream. Life can be so simple when you’re in your 30’s.

I mentioned that I am an open faced PB&J gal and The Peanut Butter Guy’s eyes lit up as he tempted me with a sandwich he was creating for a special such passion and love for a food product. Note to self do lunch at their cart before the rains descend.

How to Take your Watermelon for a Walk

2010-08-07T12:05:00.001-07:00

I love the Japanese! their sense of beauty and view of the world is unique. Who else could create Hello Kitty,Kabuki, and Samurai Swords?

Now those Amazing Asians have solved the problem of taking your watermelon to a party!

Hope your all are enjoying the summer!

http://tinyurl.com/36tqgpp

Me and my Virgin Oven

2010-08-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

I’m sure my reading public (big joke) all knew that it wouldn’t take me long to break my resolve and fire up my Electrolux oven. She gave me the come hither look every time I nuked something in her poor cousin. I was horny for pizza and not the mediocre On the Edge kind. I wanted Queen ArtoEat’s version. I went to grab my pizza book…Only to remember that it was packed away with my Joy of Cooking collection. Rats! Not to be detoured I hoofed it downstairs to my used to be office that NSSP has commandeered.

Stroking the Italian section I found a Pizza cookbook by Rosario Buonassisi. The book had not made it up to the kitchen counter because it was more historical-“From its Italian origins to the modern table”. It would have to do. Perusing the recipe I had a sneaky suspicion that it was a bad translation. It just wasn’t right. Too much water, not enough oil, salt, and not a mention of Semolina 00 flour; no problem, I would remedy that.

I used to make my pizza dough in Vickie Viking but have recently opted for the manual method. Yes, it takes a bit longer but hey! It’s fun. Mounding the flour and making a hole I added the proofed yeast, water/oil/salt mixture and grabbed my fork to blend it in. I like the challenge of incorporating the liquid w/out breaking through the wall of flour encircling the liquid. It is the same technique when making pasta but this time the liquid has yeast added.

I couldn’t wait to fondle the dough and was soon trying to knead the mass. The problem was that the recipe called for more liquid than I am used to using so it was looser. Undeterred and with dinner looming I alternated with the addition of semolina flour and all purpose flour until it was a consistency I could knead w/a minimum of dough sticking to my hands. A smart tea towel protected the dough from the elements until it had risen.

I turned my attention to The Virgin Oven. What secrets did she hold? Would she bend to my wishes? Well first there was the humbling task of yet another locked keyboard, light swearing, and a fumble for the instant read card. The next challenge was that I wanted to remove one of the swank rolling shelves and add my less than pristine pizza stone (would that be o.k. w/ The Virgin Oven or a violation?)

NSSP wandered into the kitchen and seeing me in a compromising position fondling the rolling racks whispered, “When is dinner?” Surprised at the interruption, I nodded to the Card of Knowledge and he backed away mumbling that he would get a beer in the Man Cave.

Now my dough was pregnantly plump and ready to become my first offering to The Virgin Oven. I stretched, cooed, and ended up w/ a shell that would max out my peel and stone. Along the way I realized the dough was supple, forgiving and ready to hold my simple toppings of drained balsamic basil marinated tomatoes, chiffonade basil and fresh mozzarella. But how would The Virgin Oven perform? And the dough! I decided to invoke Julia Child’s mantra, play dumb and act like the pizza was just the way I wanted it to come out.

The surprise was- It was just what I fantasized!! Halfway through the cooking I looked at the puffy crust (like Angelina Jolie’s lips) and knew I had entered into a new level of pizza perfection! Then The Virgin Oven showed me her chops- Not only could I cook at 500° but her sliding rack gave me an aerial view of the pizza! I was humbled and psyched.

To hell with selling The Edge and keeping an antiseptic home! I want the Virgin Oven and me to rastle up some amazing grub and do the cooking dance that only a Chef and tool can execute. She’s mine and I love her!

How the Language of Food Has Changed

2010-07-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

I just read an article by Simon Schama from his newly published book Scribble,Scribble,Scribble. The article, The Language of Food is well crafted beginning with his lingophobia (aversion to eating tongue) through the history of discussing what we eat, the demise of gastronomie for fooding and finally the eloquence of M.F.K. Fisher’s prose.

It’s a long article and on the computer it forces one to read the same sentence a few times to follow his logic but Simon’s many points are worth thinking about.

“The best writers embed their cookery-and their recipes-in remembered experience; part memoir, part re-enactment…(the recipes are)made to disappear inside the text of the essay.” A light bulb went off in my head. This is why the food memoir genre has taken off like gangbusters. We all have food memories that swirl around our conscious as we eat. The key to good food writing is to bring the reader along on your culinary trip.

Simon mentioned that Elizabeth David lit his culinary fire. I was drawn in by the old Gourmet’s with their recipes written in paragraph form. My imagination followed every word with the ingredients and measurements punctuating the story.

If you have time, follow the link and enjoy the article! There’s lots to ponder about and maybe post!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c692ccb0-9b61-11df-8239-00144feab49a,_i_email=y.html

Frozen Food Experiment or How to Ruin Dinnertime

2010-07-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Apologies to the anonymous public, I have been side swiped by life~in a good way~ and my food obsessed blog has taken a back seat. In a nut shell the Château is on the market and we are to hitch our horses and move back to The Other Edge and to The Smallest State in our country.

I’ve been boxing up my life, turning our home into a product that the most generic of customers would love. Doing the mundane turns me introspective. Boxing up my table cloth collection was humbling and overwhelming. There wasn’t one cloth I wanted to move on and the junkie in me still wants to buy more. I released my vases from their plastic and displayed them with color coded pride in the pantry jostling with packaged and canned food. The silver? I was more hard core and nixed the catering trays and their memories. My hammered aluminum was scrutinized and thinned; the choicest pieces nestled in a packing box.

A box labeled “A Box of Joy and Bread” holds a small selection of Joy of Cooking and bread books that lived on our kitchen counter. They were replaced with one book-an autographed copy of The Way To Cook by Julia Child, to inspire. Decorative clusters of red Hall pieces add pop. Vickie Viking anchors another counter with the evil black Robot Coupe. No more dish drains or offensive dish soap for me! All are hidden away as if it’s natural to have a kitchen without them.

Along the way I realized to keep up the façade of a “gourmet” kitchen I couldn’t cook in it. I was far too messy. An idea came to me-what about exploring the world of diet frozen dinners? We just installed a snazzy microwave for the future owners and this would be a perfect excuse to “go where no Chef had gone before”.

It was so easy! I cruised an alien aisle filled with colorful boxes and enticing pictures. It was like a boxed menu! I rifled and dug until I decided on 7 meals from Smart Ones Morning Express Breakfast Quesadilla to Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese. This was going to be fun! There was Healthy Choice spicy Caribbean Chicken and Michelina’s Lean Gourmet Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans. For fro-comfort food I bought Healthy Choice Golden Roasted Turkey Breast and a fancy Smart Ones Artisan Creation of Grilled Flatbread Savory Steak & Ranch. Yahoo!!

This was going to be fun!! The first night it was Snackies for the boys at 5pm. I rummaged through my new stash and opened Lean Cuisine Linguini Carbonara. I was psyched! The directions called for a combination of high nuke level and an on and off wrap. The total cooking time was less than 5 minutes so that meant I would be eating at 5:15. Not good. My internal dialog suggested that I make a salad or SOMETHING else to go with it but my rational sided intervened. NO MESS! Chastised I read my newspaper, computer and waited until 7pm.

This was the first time I looked that the front of the microwave. It’s quite the machine. There are 15 pre- settings from Kids Meals (it asked what kind) to baked potato. How hard could it be? Opening the microwave I lovingly put my dinner inside punched buttons…

What was this? The control panel said “Child Lock”! I’ll be damned! Wasn’t the microwave made for idiots and children? I pushed another sequence to no avail. Rats! I had to humble myself and read the manual. I unlocked the flipping thing and it commenced to cook. The dish spun happily around in its lighted splendor. Just as I sat down the discreet bell sounded and I jumped up to peel off the top wrap.

Well it wasn’t my idea of Linguini Carbonara. The pasta looked like spaghetti from when I was a kid and a stir confirmed it was overcooked. Microscopic bits of salty brown (bacon?) and green peppers diced by midgets added to the “flavor profile”. As I stared I had a sinking feeling.

Was this a good decision? How could I eat something at home that I hadn’t interacted with? It was so, so sterile and sad. I grabbed my microwave plane and covered the top in parmesan snow. It wasn’t worth setting a table for so Toshi(ba) and I ate.
I came close to bursting into tears on the first bite. It was gluey, tasteless, and ugly. Worst of all there was no satisfaction in eating it. I drank some wine to “cleanse my palate” and grabbed a spoon for a quick peanut butter and jam uplift.

Dinnertime, a time I used to look forward to, became a minefield of depression and unfulfilled meals.

The next night it was Smart Ones Artisan Southwestern Style Chicken Fiesta. Not much better. Midget cubes of meat and vegetables in a “roasted red bell pepper sauce”. I put my happy face on and stared at the flat disc that looked like bad pizza. Ah, but there was technique in cooking! The disc was cooked on a magic disc and could be baked soft or hard. When done it was folded in half!! I was thrilled until I bit into the crispy Velveeta textured sauce. I added Rainer cherries to my wine and peanut butter uplift.

This was not going the way I had planned! I was starting to question Joe public and their palettes. How could anyone eat this stuff on a regular basis? Push back from the table and say, “Wow that was a swell meal! I’m so physically full and satisfied I can’t think of putting another thing in my mouth!”

Dread followed me when I opened the freezer. It looked like the selection was growing. Could breakfast be as bad? A morning quesadilla answered that question. Looking at the serving size they said 1 piece. It was packed 2/package. Insidious. I ate one. I don’t know where the egg whites were lurking, but chez whiz was coating everything. There was an ooze factor that gave the illusion of “oh, my how gooey!!”

I hit my wall last night, mess be damned! I had to make something for myself. By this time the vegetable bin was brimming w/ rotten vegetables and I still was emphatic about not making a mess. There had to be something…Pasta, frozen pre-cooked sausage, frozen tomato sauce, I added a splash of red wine, basil, marjoram and oregano. I felt like I was cooking in college. This was hardly fancy but I was playing with my food and it calmed my soul. I defiantly ate my pasta, wine, watched Julie & Julia on Netflix and didn’t need a PBJ uplift.

My Affair w/ Bernard or How I Learned to Bake Bread

2010-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

NSSP has been on a rampage. The only bread that doesn’t go moldy in 2 days is the kind-of, sort-of, processed stuff. This morning was no different. Salivating about Sunday breakfast of sunny side up eggs, bacon and toast; he hit his carbohydrate wall.

“Look at this!” He exploded, “I’m tired of paying $4 for a loaf of bread to have it go moldy in a day! I don’t know why bread is so expensive it’s ridiculous!! ” He rummaged around in our bread basket and found some 3 week old pumpernickel. “See, this is good bread! Look at this! There’s nothing wrong with it!” He gloated and shoved some bread into the toaster oven.

I buried my head in the newspaper and took a swig of coffee. I found several things wrong with his rant. So I became the NSSP and had an inner dialogue. “There he goes again. As usual he doesn’t know that I pay $3 for the loaves or less. He never buys the bread. This is a prime example of why I keep him away from grocery stores. And anyway the artisanal bread is 3 days old and I’m working on my own reason for its hasty moldem. Is it from the starter? If I use bags that previously held moldy bread does it transfer to a new loaf? How can he possibly think 3 week old bread is good for you when it has calcium propionate as a preservative? Note to self nix the packaged stuff.”

I looked outside and noticed yet another grey day. “You’re in luck NSSP, Garrison Keillor and I will make bread today.” (Go play golf and you can quit whining!)

Truth be told, I like making bread. When we moved to The Edge I found the winter and spring months perfect for bread baking. Our triangular family would go through a loaf a week (unless NSSP was on a bread-gasm) so I could experiment.

Grabbing my 1973 edition of The Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton Jr., I slowly worked my way through the book and learned his baking logic. Our Brittany Buzz gave me The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz his note to me inside said “Zees reminded me of my home country, Brittany.” This book was tougher going with various times to add the poolish, refreshments, and finally a dough to bake. I played with the book, and did master Ciabatta. I learned how the texture changed when adding old dough to new. I felt artisanal and lusted after a wood burning oven.

What about the world of Flatbreads? Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid came to the rescue w/ 1995, Flatbread & Flavors. I toured the world w/ Jeffrey and Naomi we shared Bulgur Bread with three Kurdish men; we skipped to India, Egypt, Norway, and beloved Italy. I had a great time! We crouched over fires w/ flat pans and bare feet. We gladly burned our fingers when we flipped the bread.

Rose Levy Beranbaum came knocking at my kitchen with another one of her epically researched cookbooks, The Bread Bible. This one was tough to wrap my bread head around. Up until now it was fun. The kneading was nurturing and I was getting wow ratings from the other 2/3rds. Rose brought Ed Nye the Science Guy into my kitchen. I told myself I should get more serious about my quest for the holy loaf but she deflated my dough. She wrote about weights and liquid percentages that Bernard breezily mentioned. I felt daunted and depressed. Kissing Rose goodbye I renewed my affair w/Bernard.

Lovers are fickle and affairs are meant to ebb and flow. I wanted to add a healthier note to family bread and embraced Tiffany Haugen with The Power of Flour-Cooking w/ Non-Traditional Flour. She bounced into the kitchen w/ rosy cheeks and blond hair the color of wheat. Not only did she use Amaranth, Coconut, and Green Pea Flour she did it with a tasty flourish. I was smitten and sure weight would fall, blood pressure drop and cholesterol would be a thing of the past. I also fantasized about being 10 years younger. None of that happened, silly me.

In the end I took up with Bernard once again and we made-

~Sister Virginia’s Daily Loaf~ with adaptations-

Makes 2 loaves

2 1/2t dry yeast (1 package)
1/4C warm water (105°-115°)
1 pinch sugar
1C milk, scalded
1/8C sugar
2t kosher salt
4T unsalted butter
3C bread flour
3C all purpose flour
When ready to bake, pre-heat oven 400°

In a small bowl mix the yeast, water, and pinch of sugar. Let stand to proof.

In a small sauce pan add milk, sugar, salt, and butter heat until you see small bubbles. Remove from heat and let cool to 115°.

Add 3 cups of flour to a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Slowly add the cooled milk. Add the yeast and 1-2more cups of flour. Knead for 2-3 minutes. The dough will be very tight and hardly sticky.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured work surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. It will be very stiff. When you poke the dough the impression will quickly bounce back. This means you have developed a lot of gluten.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl large enough for it to double in size. Cover w/ saran wrap and put in a warm spot until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the dough from the bowl back on your floured work surface and deflate and knead for 1 minute.

Place back in the oiled bowl and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Oil 2 bread pans. Put the dough on the counter knead briefly to deflate any big bubbles.

Cut it in ½ with a sharp knife. Shape into balls and let rest 5 minutes.
Form one ball into a flat oval roughly the length of the baking pan. Fold in half and pinch the edges together. Turn the loaf seam side down and fit into the pan. Repeat w/ second ball.

Cover and let rise until the bread has risen ½-1” above the pans. This should take about 50 minutes.

Bake the bread until they are crusty and brown. Tip onto a cooling rack. Test for doneness by tapping the bottom crust with your fingers if you hear a hollow sound it is done. If not put it back in the pan and bake a few more minutes.

When done remove the bread from its pans onto a metal cooling rack and let them cool on their sides.

What I Learned from the Soup Sloth

2010-05-17T11:52:00.001-07:00

The last time I went to the Farmer’s Market I bought 3 huge bunches of asparagus. One thick and the other two pencil thin. My imaginary eye saw NSSP grilling the fat ones to go with steak and I making a rich creamy chilled asparagus soup to be eaten al fresco with pollo tonnato and pinot grigio.

It’s been cold and rainy. We did eat the grilled steak and asparagus. But al fresco was in my dreams. Still the asparagus lurked in the fridge. Last night was soup night. I stared at the ingredients wishing they could conjure up a summer’s night.

Enough, it would be hot asparagus soup and pinot noir. As I cut the ingredients I thought of my soup evolution. Growing up, my mother made a mean beef and barley soup. This was augmented with Campbell’s best on school days.

Newly married to NSSP#1 I discovered turkey soup. Making stock from the Thanksgiving bones the soup took on huge proportions with the addition of barley. Who knew those little nuggets grew to three times their size? It was like a Lucy and Vivian moment. Every time I turned to the pot I had to grab a larger one dumping the contents and adding more water. We slurped, ate, drank, and froze the stuff. Finally we threw out the last remnants before we moved.

Soup took on bigger proportions when I worked as a prep cook in my first restaurant. 4AM found me in the kitchen bowels drinking coffee, listening to rock and roll, and slicing 50# of onions for French Onion Soup. Handfuls of seasoning went into the vats that I left for the night crew to finish and serve.

Each restaurant I moved through had different soup requirements but none with the volume of my first job. It was the era of Vichyssoise, Gazpacho, and Le Puys Lentil Soups. I was mesmerized by the variety.

Then I met the Soup Sloth. I landed a job in a French restaurant I had been lusting after (more the chef than the restaurant). The lusted chef was going to the Cape and I was to co-chef w/The Sloth. I had several restaurants under my belt, had built up line speed, and was ready to do the demi-dance and nap my plates w/beurre blanc.

Dupes came in and I was ready. Except- The Sloth had installed himself near the stove leaving me in cold station Antarctica. I was not happy especially when I watched his line dance. For a thin guy he moved like a lumbering well, Sloth. Sub-consciously he would nod with every sauce addition until his dish was finished. My salad plates had gone out, come back empty and he was still laboring over his emulsion. I realized it was going to be a long and ugly summer.

The next day with my happy face in place I came into the kitchen to prep for dinner. The Sloth was standing over a cauldron of that night’s soup. Sipping, nodding, sipping, nodding he inched along. I stood next to him and stuck a finger in the soup. Then after a few more additions I did it again. He was subtly changing the profile of the soup. This process took forever and obviously used all of his brain cells, but once complete, I hated to admit it, but the soup was perfect.

My tour of duty was short lived thank God and I too went to spend the summer cooking my brains out at a hotel. I did learn how to season a soup from The Sloth.

What’s the secret you ask? When I start a soup I have a flavor goal. Matzo ball soup is all about the best chicken broth, always from scratch and not rushed. Lentil soup? The balance between a piece of salty pork and sweetness of carrots and lentils. You need to focus on what is the standout flavor in your soup. If making a stock add a few pinches of salt. You don’t want it to taste like the finished product, just a nudge in the right direction. As the soup cooks and you add other ingredients another pinch or grind of pepper. Never be shy of salt, pepper,or lemon.

When the soup is done it is now time to gather the final ingredients. Perhaps some fresh cut herbs to be stirred in at the last moment, cheese or cream. White pepper for heat, black pepper for flavor, salt, and lemon juice are my arsenal. I guess you could say I go into Sloth mode… I empty my tongue of any flavors and focus on the taste. I think about what I want the end product to taste like and how I’m going to nail it. Taste and think, taste and think, I reach a point where salt isn’t bringing out the flavor I want and I squeeze lemon juice into the pot. The lemon opens up the flavor and gives brightness to the soup. Now for some pepper and another pinch of salt. I come back to the land of the living with a perfect offering for my family.

A Small Batch of Cream of Asparagus Soup

1bu Asparagus, trim ends & cut into 1" pieces- save tips
1huge Russet Potato, peeled and chopped
2 Leeks, chopped and well rinsed
2ribs Celery, peeled and chopped
1/2 lg Onion, chopped
1T Olive Oil
1qt Chicken Broth, nothing fancy
2T Roasted Garlic (very optional, found hiding in the fridge)
Heavy Cream (another shy and optional ingredient)
Kosher Salt, White Pepper, Fresh Lemon

Blanch asparagus tips in salted water until crisp tender save for garnish.

Saute asparagus,potato,leeks, celery, and onion in olive oil until soft but not brown. Add broth and roasted garlic. Cook until the potatoes are soft. Puree w/ blender,food processor, or emulsion blender. Adjust seasonings with cream, salt, pepper and lemon.

This Week's Slap Down~Chef vs. Critic

2010-05-13T17:09:00.000-07:00

Tweets,rants,and opinions were fast and furious this week from a journal entry by Ron Lieber in the NYT Dining Journal www.TinyURL.com/2fszs3z

In a nut graph- he went to a posh restaurant, heard the chef screaming at one of his staff, Lieber went into the kitchen and countered the chef only to be thrown out of the restaurant with his friends. Of course when you read the article it is more fleshed out, more pros and cons, with Lieber on the side of the right.

Then there is the Marc Forgione rebuttal in Grub Street www.TinyURL.com/2dn95j9 .For you oldsters Marc is the son of Larry Forgione chef of An American Place Restaurant fame. Marc plays the put upon chef trying to turn out decent meals only to be thwarted by a testosterone fueled culinary knucklehead who fires the apps before the amuse bouche and has the nerve to lip off to the chef; hence the raised voices over the soothing Muzak.

Bad boy Gordon Ramsey and his colorful vocabulary were alluded to as perhaps Marc’s idol. And an über chef’s ego suggested for kicking out said wienie critic.

So what’s all the rants and hoopla? Where was the GM when this was playing out? His job was to smooth the feathers both front and back. Both sides made major faux pas. Marc should not have yelled loud enough for the front of the house to hear. Ron should not have entered the kitchen to voice his 2 cents. Period. Shake hands and walk away.

But no this is the Age of Opinions! Both sides were equally represented on the internet in a verbal slugfest.

I was heartened to learn that things hadn’t changed in back of the house shenanigans from when I was a budding cheflette. Part of your kitchen scars are from verbal abuse. It’s not for the thin skinned. A kitchen is not a touchy feely good place. Heat, moisture, sharp knives, and dupes can make or break you.

A slap here or there is part kitchen life. Ron, stay out of the kitchen Marc yank the jerk into the walk in and scream to high heaven.

Bon Appetit!

Zheng Bao Steamed Fried Dumplings

2010-05-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Potatoes w/ your peas?

2010-04-26T10:37:00.001-07:00

2010 04 18_0193.NEF
Originally uploaded by queen artoeat

Second try-

Fresh Peas

2010-04-26T10:34:00.001-07:00

2010 04 18_0191.NEF
Originally uploaded by queen artoeat

Fresh Peas from my new camera via flickr. It's taken my awhile to focus and figure this out now I'm on an official roll to add pictures to my site again.

Flickr

2010-04-26T10:21:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Radical Housewives or Life from Hell?

2010-04-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Living on The Edge means that we either start trends or are the last to embrace them. You can still see Volkswagen Bugs and Wagons with original owners and there are many 60 yr. olds with long grey ponytails and Berkinstocks. So I guess it isn’t such a stretch for our Daily Edge Paper’s food section to run a front page article on-“Radical Homemaking”.

Before I even started to read the article, my eyes landed on the center picture of a young barefoot mother replete w/ apron, big mixing bowl, and her son trying to stuff a wooden spoon full of ? into his cute mouth. He was also barefoot. The “distressed” kitchen cabinets were without doors and the shelves were filled w/ mis-matched dishes and bags of bulk food.

A smaller picture above was of a hearty woman carrying just split wood to her stove and below was another apron garbed brick of a gal with chickens in her yard. All three were joyously happy shunning money. They were young, educated, and white…

In the old days (o.k. I’m showing my age), these gals would have been hippies and a newspaper written for the general public would never have spent the time of day describing their lifestyle. But this is The Edge and we are talking about “Radical Homemakers” of today.

Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers:Reclaiming domesticity from a Consumer Culture coined the term. These nuevo hippies are sprouting up all over the country (or so she says) and the book validates their exciting new lifestyle.“Most radical homemakers around the country live at about 200% of the federal poverty level. One or two people can do it on $20,000/year. For every additional person you need another $10,000."

Why would anyone want to dumb down to that level? Money means choices and quality of life. I don’t mean acquiring the latest and the greatest each year. I do mean having clean clothes, a healthy meal and regular doctor visits instead of the emergency ward. Maybe even braces or hip replacement. Gee, you could save for college!

“Before when I had only a couple of vegetable left in the bin and money in the pocket, I used to say, ‘I’ll go to the store.’ Now I say, “I’ll use the cabbage’.”
I’m not seeing poor ethnically challenged women in dirty apartments joyfully pedaling their 3 year old to school on the back of their bike. (Cars? Heck no! Let’s donate it to NPR!!) Or rolling up their sleeves to wrestle 50# of flour into wholesome loaves of bread or killing chickens on the ghetto street or soaking beans.

Taking knowledge to the extreme it is becoming popular w/ the Radical Homemakers to home school. Home schooling? I can’t imagine anything worse than having kidlits underfoot 24/7. I guess that’s why, “…homemaking isn’t about keeping a pretty house.” Yes I wanted my child to have the same view of the world as I did but my job was to filter the world she explored and help her understand what she was entering into, not protect her from the boogie man. The Princess has become a liberal after my own heart. She went to public school, University. Today she is earning a living and paying back her student loans. A fete that isn’t accomplished on a marginal income.

I am from the, “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out”, Timothy Leary generation. We were the first to wear long hair, live in groups, become vegetarians and dream of trekking to Ithaca, NY to eat at Moosewood. Short of that we owned their book and dreamed.

In time we cleaned up, and assimilated ourselves into society. We discovered that once the parental dole was cut off, it was time to cut our hair and earn a living.Our experimentation and different lifestyles have changed society.Our music lives on and food has gone from haute to food carts. Creased blue jeans and shirts have replaced suits and ties in trendy restaurants. We grew hair, this generation sprouts tattoos.

We would not have Apple if Bill Gates stayed on the farm and throttled chickens. Alice Waters wouldn’t be able to fly all over the US expounding a healthy way to eat if she didn’t have a lucrative restaurant behind her.

Let’s face it money ain’t all that bad. In fact when there is healthy ebb and flow it makes the world go round. It’s what you do with it that counts and can make a positive impact.

Thanks for the Memories

2010-04-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Michael Ruhlman had an interesting blog today admitting that although he is a heavy hitting foodie/gourmet/writer he had a humble culinary beginning. Recently, his wife reminded him that they indulged and enjoyed Knorr Fettuccine Alfredo, Ruhlman winced.

After justifying his packaged food past he noted that even if he had been given the right recipe, the right ingredients weren’t readily available. Gourmet times in the ‘60’s.

When you are young, hungry, and want to eat, you open the fridge and throw things together. It has nothing to do with a recipe or technique. You eat what you like in whatever fashion you desire. It's a big hit or miss.

I remember going to a friend’s house. No parent around and the older sister making lunch. What a revelation! Elbow macaroni, ground beef, and ketchup. I had died and gone to heaven! Why hadn’t my mother been feeding us this great meal?

Later in the cooking section of Home Economics class we were taught how to take tubes of Pillsbury dough, flatten the discs, and top them with butter (probably margarine) and cinnamon sugar. I can’t tell you how many of those ambrosia tasting discs I “made” for my family.

I was given a childrens Betty Crocker cookbook with a cake that amazed me! Using box cake mix, a square and round pan, you could make a heart shape cake to be decorated with icing. I loved the how it was done part.

I had a boyfriend who loved Rice A Roni and I did too. I read recipes on the backs of cans and gathered the processed ingredients to make sublime sodium laden creations. There was a wonderful stewed tomato recipe on the back of a can of diced tomatoes that taught me how to make sugar coated croutons and layer them with the tomatoes, sautéed onions and dried basil. It was delicious.

Would I make it again? Yes, to go down memory lane and either love it again or say goodbye. That is how our palates grow up.

The bottom line is that with all of the bumbling and experimenting I was gaining confidence in the kitchen and feeding myself and friends. Gourmet was another revelation. When I first saw the august magazine ingredients were embedded in the method. It read like food porn. Notebook at hand I would laboriously copy out the ingredients and transcribe the recipe to make some sense to me. More often than not I didn’t make the dish, but the process of understanding a recipe started to take hold.

Following in my mother’s footsteps, I became a recipe snipper from any newspaper or magazine around. Mounds of snippets were divided into food categories. I stroked them and fantasized about dishing them up. Notebooks,3X5 cards,files they have grown and grown.

I can’t tell you what was my first cookbook-I do know that one time I asked my mother to buy me a Joy of Cooking only to find a Betty Crocker under the Christmas tree. I soon bought my own JOC copy. My copy wasn’t as magical as my mothers. It wasn’t food stained and I didn’t know where the magical family recipes lurked.

When I first started to put regular meals on the table, I was anxious to please my first husband. We had many differences but there were times when he was spot on. At one particular meal that I wasn’t happy with, he told me that in the course of a year we eat a bit more than 1,000 meals. There is no way they can all be perfect. A few stumbles and stellar meals are to be expected.

With that thought resonating in my mind I rise each day to confront my ingredients and trick them into memorable meals. We’ll see where the pendulum swings- hit or miss-and don’t forget to open a can or box and go down memory lane. That's what eating and food is all about.

Michael Ruhlman’s article and recipe-
http://tinyurl.com/yyq5pvm
The real deal a la Ruhlman
Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe

National Double Down Day!

2010-04-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I have been following the launch of this "new" sandwich with fascination. We have Jamie Oliver jumping the pond to save America for obesity and we have our own restaurants undermining our health. The Colonel must be spinning in his grave.
Below is a "review".

April 12, 2010, 1:34 pm
On Ingesting KFC’s New Product, the “Double Down”
By SAM SIFTON
KFC

KFC, the fast-food company based in Louisville, Ky., introduced its newest product on Monday, a chicken, cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise sandwich called the “Double Down.”

Diner’s Journal went out to try it, sacrificing its Monday morning good mood in the service of the reader.

The sandwich contains no bread save the breading on the chicken, which is fried and comes in two bread-like slabs. Between these a KFC worker places a slice of white American-style cheese, a piece of crisp-fired bacon, and a splat of “Colonel’s sauce,” a kind of mayonnaise. The sandwich, KFC says in its advertising materials, “is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun.”

Stunt food has been a part of restaurant life probably since the first time a chef put a napkin over a customer’s head in order to serve him a whole, rare, roasted ortolan. There have been deep-fried candy bars, and General Tso’s chicken heroes. There have been steaks so large that they’re free if you can finish them. Some of these are redeemable in both their excess and flavor.

The “Double Down,” however, arrives at a new low: a greasy entree dish of chicken with bacon and cheese on it, slathered in sauce, that the company asks customers to eat with their hands. The chicken is watery within its soft casing of “crust,” the cheese familiar to anyone who has eaten food prepared by the United States government, the bacon chemical in its smokiness, the mayonnaise sauce tangy, salty, and sweet, all at once.

At the KFC on Broadway and 33rd Street on Monday morning, dour, slow-moving workers were selling the sandwich beneath fluorescent lights for $5.49. There was no sign for that option on the placard above the cash registers, however. The only “Double Down” on the menu was part of a combination deal selling for $7.99: the sandwich, a small order of fries, and a medium cup of iced Pepsi. At 11:45 a.m., there was a line of 7 people. All in it ordered the combination special.

The fries weren’t bad: steak-fry shaped numbers with a lot of salt on them. The Pepsi was, as Pepsi is, more sweet than Coke, more syrupy. And there was the chicken product, consumed on a seat on Broadway just north of Greeley Square, as geek paparazzi lurked anonymously in the bushes to watch and document the tasting: a slimy and unnaturally moist thing, with flavor ginned up in a lab.

It is, in all, a disgusting meal, a must-to-avoid.

You Say Burrata I say Food~ Gasm

2010-04-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

A Twist on West Side Story

TONY
(spoken)
Burrata…
(sings)
The most beautiful cheese I ever ate:
Burrata,Burrata,Burrata,Burrata . . .
All the beautiful tastes of the world in a single bite. . .
Burrata,Burrata,Burrata,Burrata
Burrata!
I just ate a cheese named Burrata,
And suddenly fromage
Will never be the same
To me.
I've just gorged on a cheese named Burrata,
And suddenly I've found
How wonderful a cheese
Can be!
Burrata!
Gorge yourself and there's music playing,
Take a nibble and it's almost like praying.
Burrata
I'll never stop saying Burrata!
The most beautiful cheese I ever ate.
Burrata.

Maria wouldn’t have had a chance if Tony found Burrata first.

Let me start at the beginning. Just before Easter our favorite wine store sent an email blast enticing us to purchase Burrata cheese. This was an opportunity not to be missed.

NSSP picked up the 1# container and Easter morning we opened it. I stared at the white mass. It undulated in the container like a loose poached egg. My spoon hit a bit of resistance before it sank into the creamy center. I had read that Italians either eat it as the white in basil, tomato, and cheese plate or with marinated fruit.

We first tried it with a fresh baguette. Scooping a mounded tablespoon onto the bread then eating it. The Burrata had almost a pudding quality. As it slid down my throat I was left with the bread to chew. Next we paired it with sugared fresh strawberries and we were on a roll. Like any good junkie I couldn’t get enough and was very glad there were no caloric notes on the container to feel guilty about. Part mozzarella, part heavy cream this was as sexy as sevruga caviar or scrambled eggs with truffles.

Googling around I discovered that Burrata is a relatively new cheese invented in Southern Italy mostly in the Aupulia, Campania, and Basilicata regions. It was made with buffalo milk but now usually with cow’s milk. “Burro” is butter in Italian and refers to the buttery texture of the center.

A piece of mozzarella paste is stretched into a rectangle to form the outer shell. It is filled with fresh cream and soft shredded pieces of mozzarella and tied shut. The various subtle layers of texture tease your mouth into orgasmic submission.

Next time there is a Burrata offering I won’t forget the Prosecco. To hell with the fruit I think a good honey is in order and a romp in the hay!!

Seek and Enjoy!!

You can't make a Chef out of a Dumb Cook

2010-03-31T19:27:00.000-07:00

“I read the news today oh, boy…” showing my age with a Beatles quote but it hits the culinary spot. I read an article about the deluge of chef’s memoir. More to the point they are more like exposes about bad boys in hot kitchens a lá Bourdain.

Yes, I have read Bourdain and watched him single handedly elevate the cooking drones to worshipful status. I have watched him develop his “humble” stature with the likes of Eric and Thomas. He has done a lot to expose the underbelly of the cooking industry. Now he eats and barfs on T.V. Great shtick.

I was one of those aspiring female cooks who came in contact with the likes of Bourdain. In fact we danced in and out of one of the same restaurants never to meet. It was a flipping tough gig. Male or female if you didn’t have the cohones you were dead meat on the line, produce or die. As a woman, there was extra scrutiny of your tits, your wiggle, and whose bones you jumped, rumors ran rampant.

Anyone who has ventured into a “professional” kitchen and has survived has scars and stories they could tell. I have always felt these shouldn’t be shared with the white cloth public. A 9-5 business man or tennis wife can’t understand why dueling soft shell crabs and crayfish can turn into a betting super bowl or the need to make a stock of work boots for the morning shift to find is crucial to leaving.

They don’t understand the vice grip a cook is put in when management wants you to wash the fish and sell it as a special when you wouldn’t eat it yourself. For many of us it is the twisted creativity and pressure that rocks us. It’s a hard nut profession.

These stories are only for the workers down below. They are for late night rants over beer, wine, and whatever numbs you. Not even to be shared with lovers or mates. They are the stories that bind restaurant workers together in a scarred and bloody brotherhood.

I never shared my stories w/ NSSP and when Bourdain wrote his book I felt violated. He wrote with bravado about my darkest culinary secrets. He crossed the line to make a buck. Sure drones kiss his feet and thank him for legitimizing their “profession”. I feel upstairs should never be told the truth.

This tell all kitchen memoir has become quite popular and now the ultimate irony~ a “chef” in England decided to write his tell all while still working at said restaurant exposing his exploits (the usual suspects-sex, drugs, and rip offs) only to be fired when the boss read the book!

Cooks beware! Owners can read!!

Original Article Below- Enjoy!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/mar/31/chefs-macho-memoirs

What are you eating for Passover or Easter?

2010-03-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

This week I spent my creative juices on nailing the menus for the next 2 holidays. After playing with Mediterranean recipes for an article, I couldn’t wrap my head around a brisket event. Joyce Goldstein said come hither and I went.

There will only be 3 of us for Passover so it will be a simple affair. We’ll start with an appetizer of Latkes topped with sour cream, smoked salmon, and dill. After the service there will be golden matzo ball soup, a salad of watercress and butter lettuce with a dill vinaigrette.

Keeping with the golden color, our chicken will be roasted with lemon, orange, and ginger. Sides? Rice with pine nuts and saffron and spinach gratin.
Dessert will be a lime scented angel food cake garnished with pistachios and raspberries.

Mark Bittman suggested I make my own variation of matzos. The jury is still out on that one.

Easter is going to be a grander affair starting with devilled eggs a whole lamb gam perhaps roasted outside with either rosemary & garlic or a mild fresh mint shallot sauce (I do have a week to figure this out). Sides? Scalloped potatoes swimming in heavy cream, rimmed with sautéed mushrooms and local asparagus with lemon zest.

There might be another appetizer or salad depending on the final guest count.

Dessert? I gearing up to make a 9 layer cake I saw in the NYT awhile ago.

The real challenge is what are we eating before and around the holidays?

Suggestions dear readers?

The Tupperware Chippendale's

2010-03-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

There was an article in the Sunday NYT called, “Using the Kitchen as a Happy Place Where Couples Bond”. I have no trouble with that. There are many pictures of happy couples/families in gorgeous kitchens having a blast chopping, dicing, and swilling wine.

The picture going with the article has a happy family replete with smiling blond boy putting green beans in a plastic container and smiling dad watching. Blond mom is patting the family’s golden retriever (is there anything more American?). The whole picture centers around the back of a produce laden farm truck.

Centered at the top of the picture is the word TUPPERWARE. This catches my attention. The article says that Tupperware is staging a media event with a male jock and movie star where they are taught how to cook a meal with “only food, Tupperware products, and a microwave oven”. Now that’s gourmet!!

What’s the deal? The answer is; “…to catch a moose, you have to first catch moose bait. And if you want to target women, the best way is to also go after men.” I don’t think any woman would like to be mentioned in the same paragraph as with moose, other than perhaps the previous governor of Alaska.

So now we know what the advertising gurus are up to! By adding sex to Tupperware, and teaching men to cook, other than slabs of meat on the grill, sales will go through the roof. Not so fast Sherlock. It’s not about teaching the hubby to cook it’s about tempting the little woman to buy products with sexy men.

It also seems that the new Tupperware catalog features Stuart O’Keefe (another Food Network find “starring” in Private Chefs of Beverly Hills-yikes!) to add the testosterone touch to their product. He’s the eye candy for the little woman. “Women want to see sexy guys”. Could this be he become the Chippendale of plastic?

Where do you stuff the money?

Now all they need are hunks manning the mall kiosks and leading the Tupperware parties in the home. Maybe they could pair up with the lingerie home parties for a swinging event!

Junk food the Pied Piper of the Poor

2010-03-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the NYT ran the story: “The south Bronx, Plagued by Obesity, tops a Hunger Survey”. The nut graph was that “the hungriest people in America today, statistically speaking, may well be not sickly skinny, but excessively fat”. The article calls hunger and obesity the “flip sides of the same malnutrition coin”.

Dutifully the article plodded on with statistics, examples, surveys, and the usual reality that fresh produce and ingredients are hard to come by in a ghetto. “When you’re just trying to get your calorie intake, you’re going to get what fills your belly,” said Mr. Berg & NYT.

He’s getting closer. The one ingredient that wasn’t mentioned in the article was what impact does living below the poverty line have on daily personal satisfaction? We all want to be happy, fulfilled, and satisfied with our lives. What happens to a person who at every turn comes up against a wall that mentally shoots them down?

The do-gooders point their fingers at drugs and alcohol as evil. As the little note from our Surgeon General whispers on the back of a wine bottle, “Alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery and may cause health problems”. Isn’t that the purpose? For a few hours of a day to be numb to the grinding fear in the pit of your stomach and mind? It is not right to abandon your responsibilities but when life year after year stays in the abyss who can tell what is right or wrong.

With no happiness around or even the will to laugh, junk food kills the hunger and provides a food high. It is the only thing that a poor person can justify spending dwindling resources on. For a brief moment a person can go into a clean place with happy colors, music, and hide from a rat infested apartment, or worse.

“Bloomberg administration officials see hunger and obesity as linked problems that can be addressed in part by making healthful food more affordable.” That’s part of it as well as, “income supports, increasing healthy options and encouraging nutritious behavior”. All well and good but you need show people that they can feel mentally satisfied with a nutritious meal and not look at it as second fiddle to Micky D’s $1 special.

Time cooking is constantly discussed with the violins playing the 2 jobs, 4 children, no time song. I don’t disagree but before junk food there were tenements and overworked sweat shop families who must have survived. Some of us are from their stock. I don’t romance poverty in any generation but ours is a generation with an insidious food pied piper.

As a society we need to address how we nourish our bodies. Teach by example and lead nation on a healthy path. Unhealthy food will become an indulgence not a temporary happy fix.

The original article-
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/nyregion/14hunger.html?emc=eta1

Tacky is Only in the Eyes of the Beholder!!

2010-03-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

I discovered this site back in December (ancient history!) and thought of it today. This guy Charles Phoenix is the king of kitsch. Maybe it was because I grew up in the '50's and I was hard wired for tacky I don't know but I just love faux taste and sometimes I have to share.

So this is where the "work" comes in. Thanks to my stupidity I can't figure out how to imbed the links to the Turducken of pies. You have to go to his site www.charlesphoenix.com then click on test kitchen and away you go to a mind numbing creation. If you have time check out the next entry on the Astro Weenie Christmas Tree.They make me want to put on a poodle skirt and tease my hair!

If you are also a king or queen of kitsch sign up for his weekly snapshot into the past.

While your at it drop me a line on your own kitsch items!

Ideas In Food

2010-03-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

I'm fired up! Not too long ago I stumbled on www.ideasinfood.com. Big surprise yet another food centric website. What nudged this horse out of the pack was it's simple daily prose and gorgeous photographs!

I opened my blog and cruised the pics. Absolutely nothing memorable. Then poof! a BOB(burst of brilliance) can I? could I? do I want to try? The answer dear readers is affirmative.

I am as excited as I was when I cracked open La Technique and La Methode by Jacques Pepin. I'm researching cameras, stepped into the Adobe fold, looking at light sources and trying out the lingo.

I will soon be posting more pictures to entice and lure you into your kitchen!

Why do YOU cook?

2010-03-10T10:56:00.001-08:00

I recently read an article by Michael Ruhlman and then followed it up with a talk he gave on why we cook or should cook. His first reasons were of the passionate nature.

“—I want my family to have great food all the time that’s tasty and good for their body and brains.
—I cook because it relaxes me after long motionless hours at the computer.
—I cook because I love to eat.
—I cook to make my family and friends happy.
—I cook so Donna doesn’t have to.
—I cook because life better is when I do.”

It got me thinking about my relationship with food. NSSP and I are climbing out of a bad twist of fate that has been gripping many Americans these days. Unemployment is a mind numbing desert to travail. You hope there is an end before the water runs out. Each day is the same beginning with a niggling nausea that either stays in check, or becomes a mind spinning sickness that only sleep calms.

Through this, life goes on. I kept my sanity by planning, shopping, and cooking dinner. At 5pm the boys were fed snackies, I poured myself a glass of wine, turned on the classical station and started my dinner dance.

I could feel the anxiety tension recede as I stared into the fridge and gathered ingredients. Laying down my chopping board and sharpening the knife du jour sent me into cooking mode. My ears picked up gentle strains of tafelmusik and my mind was set free to create.

Until~NSSP would come into the kitchen, shattering my fragile wall against reality. Trudging up from his self imposed cell downstairs, he would chat, rattle the newspaper, or turn on Toshi(ba). I couldn’t concentrate; my sanity was violated until I insisted he go into the living room because “it was more comfortable”.

Regaining my composure I would start my dance again. As I chopped and diced thoughts of flavors stretched in front of my palate. By the time I was plating our meal I became a dancing dervish spinning and mumbling in the kitchen chaos.

Turning off the classical and moving on to jazz, lighting the dinner candles and placing our meal on the table; I was able to give NSSP a part of myself. It was my small offering of support and a reward for yet another dismal day.

Life has moved on, we are off the dole and I am still making dinner. Our meals together are nightly celebrations of reaching the oasis and seeing a rosy glow on the horizon. On occasion I don’t mind NSSP in the kitchen I have loosened my territorial hold and enjoy the interaction. I can cook, think, and talk at the same time.

I would like to add “I cook to create and for grounding” to Michael’s list.

Please go to the attachments to read and listen to his thoughts.
Why I Cook
Why I Cook, Part II<br/>The Cooking Imperative

Mini Cheese Burgers with Waffle Bread

2010-03-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

Mini-Cheeseburgers With Waffled White Bread (click to view)

I hate cute. Animals, food, slippers, and the cooing sound that goes along with the cute acknowledgment. But~sometimes it is the perfect word to describe what your seeing and in this case it was "Mini Cheeseburgers with Waffled White Bread". I saw, I cooed and wished I was catering again so I could sell the heck out of these little morsels.

My mind spun with twists. Maybe just one big sliced mushroom. A crumble of bleu and finely chopped toasty walnuts. Or perhaps a perfect pringle with a nod to Flaygo's Burger Palace.

I guess the only way I can satisfy my mini mojo is to have a party and serve them. Wait that means picking the day, inviting guests, shopping cooking and then the odious job of cleaning the house. On second thought a slider plate might be perfect for Friday night in the Man Cave...

What would you do?

2010-03-02T08:45:00.001-08:00

Attention Readers!

I have one shot at enticing a young lady into the addictive world of cooking. She is very well traveled, sophisticated and knows her way around restaurant ordering. No, unfortunately it isn't The Princess but a sorority sister of hers. I'm wracking my brain to come up with the perfect meal.

Tasty, pretty, easy, with some technique but something she would make on her own.

Ideas? Get back to me soon!!

Salade Nicoise Anyone?

2010-02-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I'm more than ready for some alfresco dining! I was going through my pictures and found these shots of salade nicoise. What is your favorite alfresco meal?

Before~

After~

Ruth Reichl Rules!

2010-02-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have always loved Ruth Reichl’s writing. Her NYT restaurant reviews always made me feel as if we were dining together and she was leaning over the table to whisper her observations. Now I follow Ruth Reichl on twitter. Her 140 symbol haiku's are sensual food images that put me in a food fairy land. I feel as if she has opened the door and whisked me into her culinary realm.

A few tweets from the master food tweeter~

Avocados - soft, gentle, butter-rich. Scatter of onion, tiny dice of jalapeno, lashings of lime and shower of salt. Seductive little lunch.

Winter night. Fire roaring. Snow plow on the way. C-food dinner: Chipotle chili , cornbread and cranberry upside down cake.

Made the spongecake. Ancient flavor.No fat. Great texture. Subtle. Barely sweet. Must have been SO difficult without electricy. Easy now.

Snow falling; fat flakes. Think I'm stuck here on the mountain for a while. I'll survive on banana bread (filled with rum-soaked apricots).

Poached araucana eggs. Bright blue shells, whites swirl around marigold yolks. Toasted bread, sweet butter. Apricot jam. Fresh orange juice.

Peeling oranges on this post-storm morning. Snow sparkling off the mountains, sun pouring through the windows, fingers scented with citrus.

Cold sake-steamed chicken, straight from the refrigerator. Pearly flesh smooth as satin. Cats twine hopefully around my ankles. Think not.

Wow! she is some writing dame to aspire to. She makes my tweet day!

Dear Readers-I thought I would leave my editorial comments about the haiku's off to highlight Ruth's prose. Would you have enjoyed my comments? or enough said?

What's all this about nutrition and food labels?

2010-02-20T10:43:00.001-08:00

I’ve been pondering the food labeling conundrum recently and the proposed band aids suggested to right the wrong. I agree the food labels are a whisper of information printed a bit too small with portions contrived to make the food fall within the healthy realm.

You can’t base all of your food choices on those descriptions but when a pouch of Lloyd’s Pork BBQ in an 18oz. (510 g) tub tells you a serving size is 1/4C (56g) @ 80 calories there should be a tingle-ling in your little grey cells. Who is only going to eat 1/4 C of Q? You’re telling me there are 4 ½ servings including sauce in that tub?

Once you start double dipping the nutritional facts get skewed as well, 360mg of sodium (our new culinary hate word) bumps up to 720mg a sizable chunk of the old daily intake (1500mg or less for women, 2300mg or less for men).

To eat this glop responsibly is to measure out your portion and walk away. It’s tough and not satisfying. The easy thing to do (and that’s what these glop tubs are all about in the meat department) is to eat the whole damn thing, forget the salad (too messy) and pay the piper. Oops! High blood pressure? A niggle of diabetes? How did that happen? Not even good genes can fight this easy food onslaught.

Back to labeling- I do think it’s cheeky to sell a bag of chips near the premade sandwiches and state it serves 1 ½ people. Where are the nutritionists who are trained in the knowledge of what our body needs on a daily basis? They are the ones who should be setting the portion sizes not the various powers that be.

Quite honestly I’m a bit concerned that the food industry is going to make the portion sizes more in line with how we really eat the stuff. I don’t think we need to be told that a portion size Pork Q is now 3/4C or the same size has turned into a single serving. Eek!

Eating processed food is not a good gig for the Bod. With that said we know we will continue to do it. Think first, put it at the top of the pyramid with fats, sweets, and splurges not at the bottom with the grains, veggies, and fruit.

Oh, and watch those labels!

2010 James Beard Semifinalists!

2010-02-18T11:12:00.001-08:00

This is a link to a Washington Post article with the list of James Beard nominees- FYI http://bit.ly/cSo37Q

Martha, Eric, & Tony- The Coq au Vin Battle

2010-02-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

I should have mentioned this yesterday but my cold is clogging my brain. I watched Martha Stewart, I hate to admit it but it was purely for a gander at Chef Eric Ripert he has teamed up with a culinary side kick Anthony Bourdain to push their new radio show on Martha's Sirius channel Thursdays 7-8 ET.

It was interesting to watch Tony the man who speaks in colorful paragraphs be muzzled by the masterful Martha as she coyly flipped her hair from one side to another pitting chef against "chef".

In the cooking segment she asked Tony if he brought his own knives and he shook his head answering no, that he just grabbed one. Then putting her full Martha wattage on Eric she asked him the same.

His answer? " Yes, I always bring my knives." BINGO!! right answer.

Poor Tony did more smiling and tongue biting than I have ever seen. Eric laid on the French charm and deftly taught and cooked the coq au vin to perfection. There was a food porn moment when Martha the All Knowing taught Eric how to use the Kitchen Aid pasta roller he was giddy with delight stroking the machine.

Once the sheets were rolled she flipped them unceremoniously to Tony for a final cut. Watching his technique. Then full wattage back to Eric.

Of course the dish was deemed a stomach growling success with Martha reigning supreme.

A Mantra for Food in Your Life

2010-02-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

I love www.seriouseats.com it's a site that gives me a daily infusion of food for thought, recipes, books, and random food centric videos (9 year old in Atlanta throwing pizza anyone?).

Today there was a snippet about a new book, Salt to Taste by Marco Canora a NYC restaurant chef with good creds. It's on my radar to buy but in the mean time I think I will follow his 6 rules to eating well.
Food
1.Buy it with thought
2.Cook it with care
3.Serve just enough
4.Save what will keep
5.Eat what would spoil

Don't Waste It!!

It feels like a slow food prayer. A clean distillation of how to approach your relationship with the food you eat.

1.Buy it with thought~ Can be taken several ways. Don't break the bank, buy what makes sense in your household, organic? local? Just think before it lands in your cart.

2.Cook it with care~ Respect what you bought and give it the best recipe and skill you have. Whether it's tournedos Rossini, or grilled filet mignon make it the best you can.

3.Serve just enough~This is easy- no gorging, eat responsibly. If you have followed #1 you will have made a tasty meal. Enjoy the right portion size.

4.Save what will keep~This is something I need to work on. I'll go to the grocery store, buy several meat and fish entrees, then come home and have a hankering for the one item that will stay fresh the longest fore going the more perishable fish or chicken.

5.Eat what would spoil~Linked to #4

6.Home grown is best~I like this thought because it pushes aside the the organic furor. Yes, I do eat organic as much as possible but if the zucchini is locally grown and the organic asparagus is from Mexico...Closer is better, fresher, and keeps the local farmers planting.

Finally,
Don't waste it. I bet we are all guilty of this, a little nudge reminder is a good don't you think?

Valentines? Chinese New Year?

2010-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

This looks to be an even bigger weekend than last weeks! We have Valentine's Day, a day that NSSP says boys don't like and Chinese New Years! Year of the Tiger.

My culinary yearnings are in a snit. Out to a romantic dinner or slurping noodles? NSSP's Sky High Souffle or my Veal Marsala? I know I will be wasting many brain cells on this conundrum. And you dear reader? Any thoughts, menus or traditions for the day of red?

Don't be shy lets brainstorm! Talk amongst ourselves and leave a comment.

Crispy Winter Salmon

2010-02-06T09:51:00.001-08:00

Winter is a grim time to buy fish On The Edge. Usually our fish glistens with freshness that peaks my imagination into creativity. Winter brings frozen at sea to the market. Intellectually I know it is a superior product but the texture isn’t the same. It doesn’t say come hither and cook me.

So I outsmart myself, giving it some heft with a crust. I buy a little piece, between 1/4-1/3# of fish, (the poundage is my unit for all main course proteins). Instead of using a summertime marinade or doing my poach/broil technique, I skin, pluck any wayward bones out, and dust it with salt and pepper seasoned Wondra.

A glisten of olive oil in a medium hot pan and it’s time to sauté. I love the crispy texture that Wondra gives food. It’s not panko crackly. It gives a smooth crust that seals in moisture and doesn’t get gummy the way regular flour can.

In the meantime I boil potatoes for mashed and snap and boil green beans.

A squeeze of lemon on the fish and green beans completes the plate. It’s a meal that is toothsome and doesn’t say ho-hum winter fish.

Hamm & Buble

2010-02-02T13:40:00.001-08:00

I couldn't figure out how to link this post but if you are a fan of John Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael Buble you'll love this SNL skit. Go to www.hulu.com type in Hamm Buble and sit back and smile. Food related? Heck yes! there's a restaurant involved.

Woody Allen: Udder Madness: newyorker.com

2010-02-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

Woody Allen: Udder Madness: newyorker.com I am a New Yorker junkie, even though I wish it's plug was pulled instead of Gourmet. If you love Woody Allen's knife like humor you'll like his skewering himself in this short story.
I guess the post is about food- there are animals involved!

Andoh morphs with Bittman and Vongrichten

2010-01-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have a recipe that niggles at your pea brain whispering “make me”, “eat me”; “make me” “eat me”? You see dear readers where I’m going.

I’ve been delving into Japanese cuisine this month stretching my Asian techniques and adding different flavor profiles to my palate. Washoku by Elizabeth Andoh has been my culinary backbone on this trip. On first perusal the book looks too good to cook from. Large, glossy paper, beautiful pictures, a coffee table gal. Once cracked open Elizabeth brings me into her kitchen and we cook.

Oyako Domburi, Chicken Omelet over Rice grabbed me. It certainly wasn’t the initial English translation which lacked enticement but the real translation of Parent and Child that hooked me. The parent, being pieces of chicken, and the child being scrambled eggs are cooked together and served over hot rice. Parent & Egg how… Japanese!

I found myself watching a quick video of Mark Bittman making a riff on Jean-Georges Ginger Fried Rice (Video at www.nytimes.com dining/wine then the video window 1.27.2010). I felt the continental plates collide when I thought about the two simple dishes together.

That night I gathered the simple ingredients and started. The hardest part was cutting the fresh ginger into minuscule cubes other than that it was a Rheine de Saba.

Results? Wow! Comfort meets unctuous oink! I couldn’t keep from moaning with delight on each bite. I kept looking over at NSSP to see if it was as good for him as it was for me.
True to form we used Japanese chopsticks next time I’ll use a shovel.

4lg Eggs, 2 broken
1C Chicken Broth
2T Soy Sauce
1T Saké (or Sherry)
1t Sugar
1sm Onion (or ½ medium) Medium Diced
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (1/2# Meat)
2T Finely Diced Ginger
2T Finely Chopped Ginger
1T Sesame Oil
3T Corn Oil (it will be divided)
3C Cooked White Rice
1 Scallion Sliced on the Diagonal for Garnish

Break 2 eggs in a bowl. Break the yolk and stir briefly. Keep streaky.

In another bowl mix the broth, soy sauce, saké, & sugar. Stir to combine.

Cut up the chicken into small pieces. Remove any fat, silver skin or tough pieces. Set aside.
Slice the scallion, set aside.

Finely dice garlic and ginger. Put 1T corn oil and 1T sesame oil in a small pan. Once hot add ginger and garlic. Cook until golden brown. Strain, saving the oil, and place the cubes on a paper towel to dry and crisp. They cook quickly! Give them all of your attention!

Chop onion and put in a large pan or wok with 2T corn oil. Cook on medium heat until the onions are soft. Raise the heat to high and crumble the rice over the onions and fry. Add the left over oil from the garlic and ginger. Stir fry. The onions will turn toasty brown. The rice will dry out and become a little crispy.

Heat the broth in a medium sized pan. When small bubbles form around the edge, add the chicken and poach until firm.

Strain out the chicken and put it in a bowl, pour the broth back in the pan and reduce for about a minute until it is reduced by a generous ½.

Add the stirred eggs and swirl them in the pan to cook when almost done break the other 2 eggs into the pan and put a lid on to poach. Add the cooked chicken to re-heat.

To serve, put the rice in individual bowls or on one big platter, gently scoop out the poached eggs placing them on top. Scatter the chicken and pour the sauce.

Garnish w/ the toasted garlic,ginger and scallions.

Serve with fruit.

A Little Loaf Letter

2010-01-25T17:29:00.001-08:00

I received a request from Bub (AKA The Princess's BFF) wanting suggestions for a surprise birthday party. Knowing $,Time and Technical ability are in short supply I thought the basic loaf would fit the bill.This is what I sent- What are your variations?

Meat Loaf with Options-
Preheat oven to the universal 350°

4# Ground Beef (or 3#beef and 1# spicy sausage) 10% fat less fat less ooze a bit more $. If you buy a tube of beef (5#) use it all and jack the quantities a bit.

3C Finely Chopped Onion (or 1 large)

4CL. Garlic, minced

2C Bread Crumbs (I grind fresh edges and all if you use store bought dry the soak in a bit of beef broth or milk to moisten)

3LG Eggs Slightly Beaten

2-3t Kosher Salt

Generous Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper

Optional flavorings-

2t Worcestershire Sauce (or Soy Sauce)

Generous Sprinkle of Onion Powder & Garlic Powder over the top of mixture

1/3-1/2C Chopped Parsley (or make it Mexican w/ Cilantro) Serve w/ Salsa instead of Ketchup

1C Sautéed Sliced Mushrooms

2/3C Ketchup (Mixed in or a stripe down the top) definitely served with

Put the ingredients in a big bowl and mix it up.

Since this is a large quantity (more than 1 loaf pan) I suggest a couple of baking ideas. If you have a large rectangular pan spread it “brownie” style the cut same.
If you have a rimmed cookie sheet (line w/ foil first for easy cleaning!) you can make football shaped individual loafs.
It’s only meatloaf in name- I would make them dense so they don’t look like burgers.
I would figure about 45min-1hr. depending on density.

Baked potatoes take about 1 hr. (hence the convenience!) If you want to do head-you can make twice baked potatoes and just reheat.
I would go the salad route-again can be made ahead w/ moist paper towel over it and seran wrap or enlist a helper.
Wish I was there to play w/ you!
I got a cookbook this Christmas that highlighted the prime ingredients like this and liked it-what do you think?
Love,
Mums#2

I'm in Love with Baby De(longhi)

2010-01-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Full Frontal Baby De(longhi)

What can I say? I’m in love! There’s nothing like a new Toaster Oven that works to make me weak in the knees. Now that I have your attention- a bit of back story.

This past year has been rough on ol’ NSSP and me. That’s what unemployment will do. Throughout the year, when we could fantasize about a more normal future, we would tempt each other with quality of life (QOL) purchases that would make us happy. Finish the kitchen, new rugs, hell, a new house in a different state! Golf clubs, a trip to see The Princess the list got bigger when we felt our reality slipping.

The first QOL promise that held our marriage together was to purchase a new Toaster Oven when the world righted itself. I don’t know how I failed the family with the last 2 /Toaster Ovens; I became greedy for upgrades, bells, and whistles. After our old Black & Decker died I discovered a toaster oven with a removable Teflon insert making it a dream to clean. No cheese burned foil, just slip out the insert and wipe clean. Too bad it gave bad toast. I was heartbroken. The next “upgraded” Toaster Oven sent The Princess into a morning rage. It was a stealth toaster. You see it would lay in wait. After you spun the dial to brown, it would refuse to do anything. Then when you put the dial on dark its coils would glow with glee and change the bread into charcoal. There was no avoiding burnt bread. I wondered if it could make the charcoal into diamonds, I'm sure he would fail at that as well.

I didn’t tell the Toaster Oven that his days were numbered. Sometimes I thought it would follow me to the grave. The God’s prevailed and I got the best text message ever. “U can buy a tstr oven.” It brought tears to my eyes and a flutter to my heart. Good toast! I had sweaty palms thinking about it! At first I wanted to dash to the nearest Bed Bath & Beyond. If I did, I knew I would make yet another debacle in the Toaster Oven purchasing department. I cooled my jets.

The next day I gloated when I looked at Toaster Oven. I gave it my last toast “Do your best! Your hours are numbered!” It ignored me and proceeded to turn out a mottled unsatisfying charred crust. I charged to Bed Bath & Beyond. I was so focused that I ignored the last dregs of the Christmas sales and the various shouting T.V.’s hawking infomercials. I stopped and stared, the Toaster Oven Aisle! So many! I calmed myself and started stroking. Then I became confused. These new gadgets did so much, and they were big. They rotisseried, convected, some even had nuke abilities. I didn’t need a sumo wrestler when an average joe would suffice. All I wanted was good toast, brown bagel, and an occasional hot pizza slice.

I spied a little man making displays.

“Can I help you?” he queried. I was impressed that he saw me. Up until now I had been ignored.

I decided to challenge and taunt. “Yes you can help me, I want a Toaster Oven, I want it to give good toast my last two failed. Money is no object, its quality I’m after. I don’t need fancy pants gizmos. What would you suggest?”

He led me directly to Baby De(longhi).

Baby's Right Side

Baby's Left Side

“Are you sure? He’s so small and reasonably priced…I don’t need anything more expensive?” I looked at the lurking Cuisi’s, KitchiAid’s ,and bulked up Blacky Decks.

“His bigger brother Mr. De(longhi) has a stellar rep in Small Appliance Land. Amazon is gaga about the De(longhi) family. We are the only ones carrying Baby De(longhi). Trust me lady, the Baby gives good toast.” I pretended to play hard to get and when he went back to his displays I counted to 10 and grabbed Baby De(longhi).

Once home, I ripped Toaster Oven’s electrical cord from its socket. “You’ve burnt your last bread Toaster Oven!”

NSSP emerged from his Bat Cave and eyed the scene. “Do you think we should keep Toaster Oven in the garage just in case? Or should we give him to Good Will?”
“Are you crazy??” I shouted, “You want to torture unsuspecting poor people with Toaster Oven? No, NO I never want him to darken bread again!” I raced out and hurled Toaster Oven in the trash.

The Moment of Truth had arrived. I lovingly removed Baby De(longhi) and put him on the counter. He snuggled in next to the bread basket. “Shall we take him for a spin?” NSSP looked with wonder. NSSP had become a proud new Toaster Father.

We plugged Baby in and set his clock. Removing his Instructional Bible written in 4 languages we read his liturgy with reverence. Like giddy new parents we put a piece of bread in and set the timer to T-3 and waited with bated breath. Once done Baby let out 3 loud “Come and get it” bleats. Opening the door together we let out a collective sigh of love at first Toast.

Baby's First Toast!

A few days later I came home to NSSP all aglow. “Hey, I just tried the Baby’s Broiler!”

“How did he do?”

“He’s a little champ that Baby De(longhi)! He aced broiling 101 with flying colors.”

That night as I turned out the kitchen light I whispered to Baby. “Sleep tight! Tomorrow we’ll make cheese bread on T-4.”

His clock blinked that another minute had passed.

Dining with Louis- A Repast from Past to Present

2010-01-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

A banquet for Louis XIV, recreated at the Palace of Versailles
Twenty or more not-so-dainty dishes would have been a typical evening repast for Louis XIV of France. To celebrate a show of the Sun King's art collection at the Palace of Versailles, one chef worked for a year to stage a recreation of a royal belt-buster.

www.telegraph.co.uk
By Lee C Wallick. Photographs by Tim Richmond
Published: 6:55AM GMT 21 Jan 2010

FIRST SERVICE

Les Hors d’œuvre

Matching wine and food with Gary Rhodes

Royal ballotine of pheasant

Petit pâté en croûte à la bourgeoise

Fresh deep-sea oysters

Lobster aspic chaud-froid

Les Potages

Beef madrilène with gold leaf spangles

Pureed chestnut soup with truffles from the Court of Italy

Bisque of shellfish from our coasts with a boletus infusion

Pumpkin soup, fresh from the royal vegetable garden

SECOND SERVICE

Les Rôts

Scallops with oyster liquor

Wild duck cromesquis à la Villeroy

Hare stew

Roast beef, carrots and smoked eel

Wild salmon au sel

THIRD SERVICE

Les Entremets

Green and fresh herb salad in gold leaf

Rice salad à la royale

Morel soufflé

Iced cheese

Hard-boiled egg

LAST SERVICE

Fruit

Edible candle

Hosting a historic meal for 40 is one thing, holding it in France’s most prized palace is another. 'We decided to recreate the Sun King’s Table at Versailles as a tribute to the cultural heritage that witnessed the birth of both champagne and luxury,’ said Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave – the chief winemaker – of the champagne house Dom Pérignon. 'This is the first time anything like this has happened, and it probably won’t happen again.’

Moët Hennessy, which owns Dom Pérignon, is sponsoring an exhibition at Versailles – 'Louis XIV: The Man and the King’ – showing more than 300 of the lavish works of art he commissioned during his 72-year reign, some of which have not been seen since the 1789 Revolution. As a testament to Louis’s appetite for luxury, Dom Pérignon (the winemaker Louis most favoured), with the aid of the Michelin-starred chef Jean-François Piège, has spent more than a year working on a modern-day reinterpretation of a typical Louis XIV dinner. 'We wanted to bring back the soul of the cuisine, and its extravagance,’ said Piège, who developed the menu with the aid of Geoffroy and a range of historic publications.

Versailles is a fully functioning museum, and every inch of it is guarded in the name of preservation, so no real candles, no touching and certainly no spilling is allowed. And creating a meal that was historically accurate was a logistical nightmare, as there is no kitchen near Louis XIV’s antechamber, the room where he usually took his meals from 1684 until his death in 1715 (four days before his 77th birthday). France’s most popular king loved extravagance but was also a stickler for ritual, routine and ceremony. His daily schedule was no exception. Every moment was structured, from the valet de chambre’s wake-up call at 7.30am to the King’s dinner, or Grand Couvert. At 10pm each evening his guests would squeeze into the antechamber to attend the Grand Couvert, an important court ceremony, which was also open to the public. The King’s chair would be placed at the centre of a rectangular table, on the longer side, with its back to the fireplace. The guests would be seated on the shorter sides, with the other longer side remaining empty to facilitate the service and keep the line of sight clear. Facing Louis was a platform where musicians might play.

Opulence and ritual were of key importance during the Ancien Régime, and so the meals were divided into several services: hors d’œuvre, soups, main dishes, go-betweens and fruit. Within each service (except for the fruit course) there were between two and eight dishes. By the time Louis retired at 11.30pm, he would have eaten some 20 to 30 dishes, after which he would then pocket the candied fruit and nibble on a boiled egg as he made his way to bed.

Because of the extreme restrictions put in place by the palace, Piège, 39, a protégé of Alain Ducasse, best known for revitalising the Hôtel de Crillon’s Les Ambassadeurs restaurant in Paris, had to prepare each of the painstakingly researched dishes 300 metres away, before they were wheeled through several corridors and galleries on blanketed trolleys.

Louis loved performances, some of which would last for days, and so as the guests assembled in the richly decorated Oeil-de-Boeuf Salon (which takes its name from its bull’s-eye window) the dinner began with chamber music. 'Barley grain’ conical glass flutes, based on glasses from the Louis XIV period, had been specially reproduced, and each filled with Dom Pérignon Oenothèque 1976. The protocol of the time dictated that glasses were not set on the table, but presented by servers on silver trays. Each guest would have to finish their drink in its entirety before setting the glass back on the tray.

The First Service, or hors d’oeuvre – pheasant, pâté in a crust, shellfish and crustaceans – once brought out, remained on the table until the end of the meal. As each successive platter arrived, it was laid on the table (traditionally, it would have been presented to Louis first and then down through the ranks) in a strict 'symmetrical, repeated and practical pattern’ – a diamond, square or circle. The larger main dishes formed central points, with the smaller ones filling in the pattern, so that guests would be able to serve themselves throughout the meal.

Each course provided an insight into the Sun King’s life. The first dish, the pheasant, was a tribute to the Bourbons’ love of hunting, and its feathers were often used to decorate the dishes. The seafood illustrated the 'chasse-marées’ system, whereby sellers brought fish from the coast to the cities. Oysters principally came from St Malo and Cancale, while lobsters came from Normandy and reached Paris at about 4am. The purveyor then had to deliver the supplies to the palace by 5am (a system so stressful that one chef, François Vatel, impaled himself after a late delivery).

'All our ingredients were sourced locally from the gardens of Versailles, Paris and nearby regions, just as they were at the time of Louis XIV,’ Piège said. The soups (les Potages) included Beef madrilène with gold leaf spangles, puréed chestnut soup with truffles from the Court of Italy, a bisque of shellfish with a boletus mushroom infusion and a pumpkin soup, fresh from the vegetable garden at Versailles. Between 1678 and 1683, Louis’s gardener, Jean-Baptiste de la Quintinie, a former lawyer, established a vegetable garden that quickly became the pride of Versailles. Quintinie was adept at producing vegetables well in advance of the season and extending yields through the use of heated greenhouses and glass cloches, the creation of microclimates, pruning trees to maximise the exposure of fruit to sunlight, and selecting varieties through grafting.

One of the main courses (les Rôts), wild duck cromesquis à la Villeroy (breaded foie gras with rice), was a reference to the trend in the 17th century for dishes bearing the names of the aristocracy. Often served 'medianoche’, or after midnight, the cromesquis was also a creative way of circumventing the Church-sanctioned meatless days – Fridays, Lent and so on.

Other main courses included scallops with oyster liquor, hare stew, some exquisite roast beef and carrots with horseradish, and wild salmon au sel, the salmon served on a fish-shaped block of salt. 'Salmon were known as “royal fish”,’ Piège said. 'The salt that accompanied it was also highly valued, and so heavily taxed that it represented six per cent of the royal revenues. Not only did it enhance the flavour of food, it made it possible to preserve it.’ The third service, or 'Go-betweens’ (entremets), served between the main dishes featured a herb salad sprinkled with gold leaf, violet and borage flowers, a rice salad with langoustines and truffles, and a heavenly morel soufflé. In 1718 Louis XIV’s sister-in-law, Princess Palatine, wrote, 'He could eat four plates of soup, a whole pheasant, a partridge, a large plate of salad, two slices of ham, mutton au jus with garlic, a plate of pastry, all followed by fruit and hard-boiled eggs.’

Finally, as the guests were invited to retire to the Oeil-de-Boeuf Salon with a glass of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2000, the last service of the evening arrived. And while there was glazed fruit or what Louis would have called 'dry jam’, it was Piège’s contemporary take on chocolate that marked the end of an extraordinary evening: chocolate truffle 'edible candles’ in candelabras, a tribute to both the fashion for cocoa during Louis IV’s reign and the extreme restrictions Piège and Geoffroy encountered – Versailles were never going to allow the 96 or so candles that would have illuminated the Sun King’s Table at that time.

Unleashing my Inner Moosewood

2010-01-16T16:17:00.000-08:00

I’m putting the finishing touches on a dinner party tonight. I gathered the gals to help me. Julia Child offered forth her beef boogie, Madeline Kamman suggested spaetzle as an accompaniment, and Molly Kazan whispered her honey poppy seed dressing for my salad of butter lettuce, avocado, grapefruit, and splashed with diced red and yellow peppers. I didn’t think twice about cracking open Mastering and In Madeline’s Kitchen we chat quite often. It was Moosewood that sent me sailing down memory lane.

I bought the book in 1980 as noted inside with my reacquired last name. It was during my culinary hay day. Careening across Boston working 2 jobs and still not making ends meet. I was learning my profession and loving the challenge. I marveled at the simplicity of the book. Hand drawn pictures and random asides garnishing the pages. My book was in good shape but I remember several restaurants where I had worked that Moosewood was go to cookbook. I must have made Tempura Vegetables because the page has food ooze on it. Marinated Vegetables also got some use. This was the bible for Hummus, Baba Ganouj, and Tabouli. It was the cookbook for the Age of Aquarius, Vietnam War, and budding vegetarians.

It was a time to shed the constraints of Joy and dip into Whole Wheat Macaroni-Russian Style. We learned about tamari, filo dough, polenta and nut butters other than peanut. Chopsticks were infiltrating the silverware drawer. Beans were soaking and seeds were sprouting. We were young and vibrant.

A few years ago I went to Ithaca on a college viewing extravaganza with The Princess. There it was! The Moosewood of my youth! We HAD to eat there! As with most things it wasn’t what I had thought. The spare menu stated “fine international cuisine”. The menu topped at $6.50 for lunch entrées. An area was set aside for aging hippies to buy memorabilia (I bought a sweat shirt). It was~O.K.

I wonder how I can explain the magic of the time and memories that the Moosewood Cookbook unleashed, to a younger generation. Maybe it’s not worth it and I should call up old friends and go down memory lane with them instead…They would understand…

Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs!!

2010-01-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

Donald Goerke the inventor of the SpaghettiO concept died 1.10.2010 of heart failure at 83. He was the marketing manager for Franco-American and was asked to supervise the development of a canned pasta for children. The "O" fit the bill. easy to pick up on a spoon, strong enough to be reheated, and relatively neat to eat.
FYI-150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold each year!!

Learning Japanese~

2010-01-13T15:59:00.001-08:00

I’ve been meaning to write about my 2010 obsession. For years I have hated the idea of a January diet. Not only is it a glum month but a glum project as well. Last year NSSP gave me Elizabeth Andoh’s Washoku cookbook. On first perusal it looks like a coffee table cookbook on recipes from the Japanese home kitchen. I thumbed through it, tried a recipe and went back to pasta and polenta. This year is different. As I savored holiday fare I secretly plotted my first of the year quest.

First I skimmed through the whole book to get a rhythm of the dishes. Next I made an extensive list of pantry and perishable foods I would need. I cleaned out my Asian shelf in the pantry pushing Chinese and Indian ingredients to the far side. I checked all expiration dates (always humbling), and did the old heave-ho. I made notes of items I had and checked them against the book.

Trundling off to Uwajimaya, our local fabulous mega Japanese/Asian store, I slowly went up and down each aisle checking ingredients against the book and recipes I might want to try. If the ingredient was only in Japanese on the container I took out a magic marker and wrote the English translation on the container.

Once home, I lovingly started to take out the new ingredients. I couldn’t bear to have them canoodling with the other Asian counterparts so I put them on a rolling cart. When I was ready to cook, out rolled the cart from pantry to kitchen. What a dream!

I am the first to admit I am a recipe skimmer. I get the gist and start cooking from the hip. Not this time. I had to think about each ingredient, cooking process, and assembly. I was determined to charge ahead. Our first Japanese meal was Eggplant stuffed with ground chicken, carrots and asparagus in a creamy tofu sauce, pickled rokkyo bulbs (which I bought), rice, and Clementine’s. Thank God NSSP isn’t a 5pm dinner kind of guy!

The Japanese eggplant was cut in half then the half was sliced but not all the way through. I used 4oz for 4 “sandwiches” so the eggplant was flavored with the chicken but not stuffed by American standards. The pieces were fried skin side down so it stayed purple and got very crispy. The carrots w/ creamy tofu sauce were o.k. NSSP liked them I thought so-so needs work. I was all over the rokkyo bulbs and NSSP was not. They are similar to little scallion bulbs that are pickled in a sweet slightly sour marinade. Poor NSSP they will be on the table again!

I have moved on to curried chicken, gingery seared pork, Shabu-Shabu (from Japanese Cooking Now by Joan Itoh). There was a recipe for asparagus with black sesame seeds that I tackled even though the description mentioned the sesame seed sauce consistency to be like soft sand…flavor great black paste out of my comfort zone.

I do slip off the culinary wagon. Two days ago it was hanger steak, mashed potatoes and kale. Tonight I might slip off to Italy. All in all I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with Japanese food and its flavor components. By setting a block of time aside to delve into the cuisine I’m internalizing the recipes and widening my repertoire.

Below are some other cookbooks I have used. I like to go to www.alibris.com, www.powellsbooks.com, or www.ecookbooks.com to buy them.
Food of Japan by Shirley Booth Excellent descriptions of ingredients, uses, other names- good resource!

Japanese Cooking by Jon Spayde

The Decorative Art of Japanese Food Carving by Hiroshi Nagashima sharpen your knives and have some fun!

Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen wallow in the world of tasty Gyōza, Spring Rolls & Samosas

Takashi’s Noodles by Harris Salat

Japanese Hot Pots by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat

Where shall I go next year?
Read, Eat, Enjoy!

What dogs can do!

2010-01-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

What does a grey poodle with pink bows in its ears who speaks English, a little Japanese lady who speaks Japanese as an "assistant" and www.youtube.com have in common?
Cooking with Dog! Move over Ray, Flay, and Bam! Francis the poodle has you licked!
Type in youtube, then in the search engine cooking with dog you'll be amazed!

RIP Pez Man

2010-01-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

I’m not an ambulance chaser, relisher of doom or much of an obituary reader but life is ebb and flow we all play a part in the circle of life. I read that Curtis Allina, 87 died. Who was this pivotal person in our lives?

A gentleman born in Prague, raised in Vienna and the only one of his family to survive several concentration camps. After the war he went to New York and worked in the food industry until…He joined the Pez-Hass US branch in 1953.

Are you having a gotcha moment? He was the man behind the Pez-Head! The candy itself was invented in 1927 by Eduard Haas III. Its name reflected the original flavor of mint (pfefferminz- a German word for peppermint) it was marketed to adults as an alternative to smoking. Originally it was sold in tins then later in thin dispensers made to mirror the shape of a lighter.

Allina persuaded Pez-Haas to market the candy to children with the flip top heads. The first 2 character dispensers were Santa Claus and Space Trooper. The rest is history with every conceivable head around. While I don’t remember the first 2 dispensers, Pez was part of growing up in the 50’s & 60’s. I never liked the candy but how could you refuse a flip top head spitting out a small rectangular sweet? There also was the challenge of filling them by pushing down the little spring to insert the candy. It was a true technical space age invention in those innocent years of Ike.

Thanks to this gentleman’s chutzpa and BOB (Burst Of Brilliance),there are Pez museums, international conferences, web sites, and a 2006 documentary-“PEZheads: The Movie”. May we all leave a small legacy to future generations!

A full obit can be found in NYT obituaries 1.5.10 Curtis Allina

Gougere by any other name is tasty-

2010-01-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

I’m all about changing, experimenting and tweaking a recipe but there are times when a recipe for reasons only it knows becomes imbedded in my repertoire, not to be manipulated. Thus it was a surprise that I even considered a shift in the cheese profile of gougére.

Gougére and I go way back. It was a recipe that a cooking teacher in Boston taught with regularity while I assisted. His recipe came from the Madeline Kamman, a culinary beacon on the Boston horizon. P.R. made the gougére with 3 cheeses; Swiss, Emmentaler, and Gruyére. I thought it was perfection, nutty, unctuous, and rich. Hot from the oven, cheese bound dough oozing buttery goodness.

Gougére and my booze laden chicken liver pâté are my “most requested” dishes. Nouveau Beaujolais is not the same without them. This year we didn’t celebrate Nouveau Beaujolais with a large party and by the time New Year’s rolled around I realized I hadn’t had my gougére fix.

My eyes passed by a recipe for cheddar chive gougére. I was intrigued but hesitant. Would it be as good? I would hate to waste the calories on a gougére wannabe. I emailed our New Year’s couple and floated the change by them. The response was go for it!

With the chive/cheddar mantra ringing in my head I pondered the world of cheddar. At first all I wanted was a robust Vermont aged. Then I stroked some artisanal cheddars. Moving up and down the cheese aisle I moved from country to country. Goat to cow, American to---British Cotswold and Double Gloucester! Now you’re talking!

I couldn’t abandon dear Madeline so I went down to my library and retrieved The Making of a Cook 1971 edition. Smoothing out the book to page 526, I said a silent apology to “Burgundy Gougére” for using British cheese. I was sure on some level the recipe would fail in a culinary clash.

There were a couple of tweaks I did make to ramp up the cheddar experience. I omitted the nutmeg and added a teaspoon of mustard. I also formed it in a bread epi stile instead of the Burgundian Crown.

The results? Wow! The 4 of us had no problem finishing off the full recipe and although it wasn’t voiced I know we all would have eaten more.

Gougére is dough made with the choux paste technique. Butter and liquid boil together. Flour is added and cooked for a bit, forming a paste. Eggs are added and emulsified. Seasonings and cheese folded into the paste. it is then formed,baked and eaten hot. The dough can be made a day ahead but must be baked and eaten at once.

Cheddar or Swiss it will become one of your most requested dishes!

~Burgundy Gougére~

Preheat Oven 400°

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper, silplat, or butter

1C Chicken Broth
7T Unsalted Butter, diced
1/4t grated fresh Nutmeg (if using cheddar omit and sub 1t prepared mustard)
Healthy pinch of Cayenne
1/2t Kosher Salt
Several grinds of Black Pepper
3/4C All Purpose Flour
4 Large Eggs
1-1 1/2C Cheese (the big three Swiss or Cheddar) - I am not shy in the fromage department and add as much as I think the dough can hold.
1 Egg yolk (optional see #8)
3T Milk (optional see #8)
More Cheese!!
1. Combine stock, butter, nutmeg (or not) cayenne. Bring to a boil.
2. Grate cheeses and set aside.
3. Turn off the heat and add all of the flour at once beat with a whisk, spatula, wooden spoon until a smooth paste.
4. Turn a burner on medium and “cook” the paste. STIR CONSTANTLY! And cook until you see a slight buttery sheen. If you move the pan on and off the heat you will notice steam evaporating. This takes about 5 minutes.
5. Add the eggs 1 at a time beating well in-between if you have an electric hand mixer it works well otherwise exercise those biceps!
6. Back to the whisk, spatula, or wooden spoon, add salt, black pepper and cheese (also mustard if cheddar).
7. Drop large spoonfuls in a circle or blobs that touch like heels of a foot with toes pointed outward.
8. This is not necessary. Mix egg yolk and milk together and paint the creation. Top the dough with more cheese.
9. Bake for about 34-40 minutes. It will puff slightly (weighted down by pounds of cheese!) and be a beautiful melty golden cheesy brown.
10. Slice into wedges and serve immediately!

If this is going to be your entree, all you need is a simple salad and fruit.

Read! Eat! and Always Enjoy!

2010 And Beyond

2010-01-01T00:55:00.000-08:00

To all culinary questers a most stomach filled and happy new year. Go forth and explore food, life, and art enjoy for that is what its all about. Celebrate 2010!

Netflix Anyone?

2009-12-30T17:37:00.000-08:00

I was cruising one of my food sites and they mentioned a British TV series called Pie In the Sky- it was on from 1994-1997 about a detective whose real passion is cooking. He "retires", opens a restaurant and (big surprise) has to solve mysteries as well. You can find the series on Netflix!! It's been moved up the queue for the New Year.
I'm ready for 2010!

February in NYC Why Not?

2009-12-28T14:46:00.001-08:00

- February 12-14, The Roger Smith Food Writers’ Conference, New York. Two days of workshops flank Saturday's day of panels with some of the best food writers in America.
Check out this link to an all star food writing orgy sounds so good I might have to cash in my free ticket from edge to edge!
http://rsfoodwriters.posterous.com/

What did You have for Christmas Dinner?

2009-12-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share with you my menu for Christmas dinner. At the request of The Princess we had ham. I made a glaze of mustard, brown sugar, maple syrup,cognac,lemon and black pepper.It was napped it with a hazelnut mustard cream sauce garnished w/ snipped chives.

The Princess honed her mandoline slicing skills and made scalloped potatoes w/ fresh herbs, shallots, and beef bouillon. Clean flavors and nice contrast to the ham.

Green beans w/ shallots and mushrooms had sauteed garlic and roasted garlic.

Saurkraut for that vinegar jolt, a really pretty red and green jelly (did not make) NSSP even had seconds in the jelly dept. I was shocked. Sweet potato biscuits and~~~

My newly created and recipe nailed, Pumpkin Pie in a toasted walnut crust w/ lemon curd and whipped cream. Not to shabby!

Food Porn for the Holiday's

2009-12-24T15:35:00.001-08:00

I just viewed this on www.seriouseats.com and found it too good to be true! Why am I cooking this year!
Happy Holiday's!

WoW! was it worth it!

2009-12-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

I usually don't look forward to leftovers but tonight I am ready for an encore!!

I Was Wooed by the Eggplant Parmesan, and it Won My Heart

2009-12-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

Enticing smells and watching food porn rarely illicit a stomach grumble or lust to eat. Last night was different. NSSP and I were down in the Man Cave channel clicking between burly sports shows, a couple from Salt Lake City lusting after Mexican property, and the eternal Food Network.

We settled on Bob.Flayman was at his smack down again careening around NYC and surging with testosterone. The show settled on an NYC Italian Deli on Arthur St. The challenge? Eggplant Parmesan.

Cameras pan to the little 2nd generation Italian his round face and eyes. I started getting interested by the guy's passion and pride for his parm. I also started to go down my own eggplant parm memory lane. Efficient waitresses with dishes up their arms slinging them on the table. A bubbling metal oven dish with breadcrumb encrusted eggplant, fried, dipped and doused in tomato sauce. Thick slabs of mozzarella slightly brown with a rich unctuous come hither and burn your tongue texture. Next the waitress dealt out a round of spaghetti w/ red sauce as a side dish. Then came the challenge. How to remove the parm in one piece onto the waiting plate. Sometimes the waitress took pity and would deftly scrape the mass in one pass onto the plate. Other times I was left to my own devices. A dust of nebulous grated "parm" completed the plate.

Pan back to the little Italian. Bobby does his talk to the camera (taking us aside and confiding in us how he was going to ramp up the parm-)NSSP and I were certain the Flay Master was going to use his signature jalapenos or chili flakes for fire. He woosed out with regular peppers. BUT it was going to be different and wup the Wop.

The next shot sealed the deal for the Italian (sorry to give away such a riveting plot!) He peeled the eggplant, cut it uniform and thin the long way on a slicer and after a seasoned dredge in breadcrumbs he deep fat fried the eggplant shingles, dunked in sauce and lovingly laid them in a sauce doused baking dish topped with moz.

By this time I had no interest in Flaygo's unpeeled rounds of pan fried eggplant. I was all over the real deal. I caste a sideways look at NSSP and saw he was also in rapt attention.

Bobby was fascinated by the peel and slice "technique". Granted I had always left the skin on but pondering about it, I never liked the tough texture of the skin. Next time nix the skin. Bob Master also though it was rocket science to slice the eggplant thin on a slicer. Wake up and smell the deli! You have a gazillion eggplant to slice you think there's a mandeline around? Fuggetaboutit.

"I need to make that!" I said.

"Yes, make it tomorrow!" NSSP replied.

The contest was held at the deli and it looked like every Italian in a 10 mile radius turned up. There was a high concentration of old craggy women with big noses and young innocent doe eyed children. Wow! you could feel the tension---

There were 2 judges of no consequence. The outcome was based on execution of a traditional dish (guess who the judges would lean toward on that one...), and presentation (sorry folks but that is a real stretch with eggplant parm unless Giada is sprinkling parsley and smiling and stroking the dish).

The crowd held their breath with anticipation, Bobs gave the camera his cheesy "I know what I doing" look and the little Italian had sweaty palms.

So to re-cap, the Italian won,Flaygo was still amazed at the peel and slice routine and I was mentally making a grocery list for tomorrow's dinner.

Asta La Pasta! Vitello Tonnato!

The Official 2009 Christmas Cookie Selection!

2009-12-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

There~done! And I'm stoked! Great selection, execution and tasty finished product. I need another cookie holiday in the year!

How to Win the Annual Cookie War

2009-12-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

I’ve just finished phase one of the annual Cookie War 2009 on the edge. I want to share my divide and conquer strategies for surviving the surge and making several batches without going stark raving mad.

1. Pick the cookie menu-granted that isn’t rocket science. You will have family or your favorites, to nut or not, to roll, cut and ice or just squeeze from a spritz. The key is to have a balance of color, textures, and flavors. Don’t do all white, vanilla flavored; powder sugar coated balls even if they are flavored with different nuts. My go to book is Rose’s Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She has a good take on any type of cookie you need. I like to pick the cookies early in December and mull over the variety and execution. Our family’s favorites are peanut butter thumb prints filled with jam and candy canes. A few years ago, when Gourmet was alive…they did a cookie issue. I found a recipe for a cocoa/bittersweet chocolate cookie. Dense, intense, and outrageous, a new must eat. When I was a little girl growing up in Iowa my mom made spritz cookies. They were an easily decorated white cookie. This year they have been omitted for an orange/cointreau flavored roll out that will be tripped up with royal icing. Another cookie that has been replaced is the ginger thin from the Joy of Cooking. Heidi Swanson offered a recipe for a triple ginger cookie that rocked my socks. I omitted the star anise (can’t stand it). Replaced the crystallized ginger with ginger preserves and a jack more flour. If you are into a SPICE cookie these will burst your buds! (RECIPES UPON REQUEST)

2. Make sure you have ALL of the ingredients! Double check the extract shelf, top off the spices, and buy butter, butter, butter (it freezes). Do you need chain saw to break the brown sugar? Deal with it early so it’s ready. Just because you have a jar of food coloring doesn’t mean it weathered the year.

3. The Day of Dough- I break up my cookie manufacturing into at least two days. Day one is the doughage, day two or in increments is the baking. I happen to have a ludicrously large kitchen and can use one of the counters for assembling ingredients and another counter for doughage. If you have limited space I still would suggest assembling all of the raw ingredients in one area. The kitchen table? Or a tray on the stove top (which you will not be using.) You get the picture. I mean everything. Remember Julia Child used to put a tray in front of her before she started cooking w/everything on it that she needed for the dish. Trust me this is key. Also gather your spoons, spatulas, measuring utensils, next to your mixer.

4. Recipes organized from white to dark cookie variety start the dough dance. Why? Because you are not going to fumigate in between each dough. Starting light means there won’t be color cross contamination. I started with the roll outs, then candy cane, peanut butter, ginger, and chocolate. After each cookie I smashed (formed) the dough into a disk and wrapped it in saran wrap. I rinse the utensils and bowls after each use but don’t use the full soap deal until I am completely done with the dough’s then the whole mess of utensils goes in the dishwasher (or bubbly soapy sink) to remove the sugar/flour/butter coating.

5. DON’T FORGET TO LABEL THE DOUGHS!!!! In a few days your eggnog induced memory will become fuzzy and the only way to remember what do is what will be to taste a nugget (not such a bad idea but it eats-bad pun-into the stash to give.

6. I’m exhausted and my kitchen is a mess. But the dough’s are done and ready for the oven.

7. When ready to bake. Pick a generic temperature or if one of your cookies takes an extreme temperature do the low one first or high temperature last. Otherwise its 350° all the way. Have at least 2 cookie sheets that are the same and use a baking sheet or if you’re old fashioned like me parchment paper. Don’t do the old butter the pan unless you want to scrub your fingers to a nub in-between each dough. Life’s too short.

8. Follow the white to dark order again. Saves on parchment paper.

9. Make sure you set up a designated cookie cooking area and have adequate cooling racks. A few years ago I bought from King Arthur Flour (www.kingarthurflour.com) a really neat cooling rack that lays flat but pops up to hold 4 trays at once. Granted it isn’t a must have for every cook but the once a year that I need it is a trés fabu tool. Also think ahead to container for the millions of little sugary treats you have created.

10. Plod through the baking process As soon as they are cooled pop the cooks into labeled containers otherwise the elves in the house will arrive and start eating the stash with abandon. Ideally if you have a cavernous freezer, use it. Otherwise I’m partial to the garage or basement. Somewhere that makes you think before you munch and cooler than the main living area.

11. Decorating. If these are ice jobs or to be decorated après baking gather a gaggle of gals, your piping bags (don’t be lured into the RR plastic bag routine~ you’ll be sorry I’ll know if your naughty or nice) sprinkles, icing dyes and go to town. Now you can sit down and depending on the day and volume lean toward coffee or cocktails. Go wild.

So what do you do with a mountain of cookies? Aside from gorging yourself and sending the family into sugar shock I find them a wonderful economical (ooh I hate the word cheap!) seasonal gift. They are a present of love and celebration.
Fa-La-La!!

Breakfasts of Yore or Fleeting thoughts at 2:30am

2009-12-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

I woke up way too early-2:30 to be exact. Grabbing my glasses, socks, and bathrobe I padded quietly down stairs so as not to awaken the tsunami of male animals on the bed. Of course there is always one that follows, tonight the cat. Sometimes when I have these nocturnal jolts I pad to another bedroom seeking a different quiet or temperature. There are times when my book is whispering come hither. Tonight my Toshi was calling. I felt the need to tap on his keys and stare at his 17” screen.

I yearned for coffee but noise echoes in the house. I wanted to write some recipes and transcribe some notes I had made for said blog but left the notebook in the bedroom. To re-enter might disturb the NSSP. So I went to plan B. Cleaning up e-mails, puzzles and wasting time. I grabbed my camera, filled with pictures of a future crab dish and as I went to plug it in a niggling thought occurred.

Breakfast-
Specifically an east coast early morning diner breakfast, no- my memory delved deeper and I was 20 something again on a different coast eating salami and eggs with potato pancakes and apple sauce at the now defunct Deli Haus, a German greasy spoon in Kenmore Square. It was an amazing place with a huge menu, huge portions, and dark stained wood, perfection.

Then my memory was on to the breakfasts at IHOP in Brookline. For a whopping $3.49! “3 Farm fresh eggs, any style, 3 links of sausage, & 3 pancakes”. Don’t forget the endless pot of generic coffee and the speed rack of syrups (my favorite was the now extinct apricot syrup).

My mind did flit back to NJ diner breakfasts. These were the end of the night variety. A quick infusion of sobering food before bed. Served by a bored waitress to a carousing crowd of kids. Ah, and what about dunkin’ doughnuts with coffee “regular”- sugar and ½ & 1/2 added for you. There’s a snack to set you jangling!

The smart scones and granola of the ‘70’s hold a small memory candle to the marvelous and timeless breakfasts of my past but the Coffee Connection with its intense Harvard Square cliental and the avant-garde French Press pots remind me of splurging on a Sunday NYT to fit in.

Enough!
Its 4:30 and I can’t wait any longer for my coffee noise be damned!

Beef and Pork minus the Barley Soup

2009-12-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

On my quest to make different winter soups I did a twist on my mother’s Beef Barley Soup.

Remember soups are all about what you have on hand. Originally I was going to use barley but I had some cooked Israeli cous cous lurking in the back of the fridge so out went the barley idea and in went the cous cous. There also were some leeks on the edge so I omitted onions and used leeks. I wanted to add a bit of heat so I used hot Spanish paprika and Old Bay Seasoning. For meat I used a beef shank and a pork sirloin chop both on the bone. I like the two meat combo- This will be a keeper!

The Recipe~
1 ½# Beef Center Cut Shank (or short ribs)
1# Pork Sirloin Chop
1C Celery
1C Carrots
1 1/2C Leeks (or medium onion)
3cl Garlic
1qt Beef Broth
1-1/2C Red Wine
1C Diced Tomatoes (or 1sm can)
1 1/2C Cooked Israeli Cous Cous (or 1 1/2C diced potatoes or
1/2C pearl barley)
1 Herb Bouquet w/ fresh thyme, sage, marjoram, & parsley
2T Olive Oil -DIVIDED-
1/2t Old Bay Seasoning
1/2t Hot Spanish Paprika
Kosher Salt & Black Pepper

1. Chop celery, onions, carrots, and leeks (or onions) in medium dice (1/2”), peel and chop garlic, in a large thick bottomed soup pot sauté vegetables in 1T olive oil until leeks are translucent and carrots and celery is tender crisp. Remove the vegetables from the soup pot.

2. Heavily salt and pepper one side of the pork and beef. Add 1T olive oil to the soup pot and heat the pan until the oil is almost smoking. If the pan is large enough put both pieces of meat in the pan at the same time if not cook them one at a time. After you put the seasoned side down in the pan, season the top side. Cook the meat until nicely browned on both sides.

You may continue making the soup in this pot or continue in a crock pot.

3. Remove the browned meat and deglaze the pot with red wine. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom and into the wine. Add meat, vegetables, broth, tomatoes, herb bouquet, Old Bay & Paprika. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook on medium to low heat. Test the meat with a knife. The knife should go into the meat easily. Add the cous cous (or potatoes or pearl barley). If using potatoes or barley continue to cook until they are done. Adjust seasonings. Remove the meat and cut into small pieces. I keep the bones in the soup pot for future re-heating.

Serve with fresh cut apples, garlic bread or my previous recipe- Sweet Potato Biscuits!

FOR CROCK POT-

Heat the crock pot with hot water while doing step 1&2. Once hot turn the pot on HI and add the sautéed vegetables & seared meat. After the soup pot has been deglazed with wine,add the wine to the crock pot and the rest of the ingredients in #3 including potatoes or barley. If using cooked cous cous add it toward the end to heat through.

Read! Eat! Enjoy!

A Must See for the Food Inclined

2009-12-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled on The Way We Cooked on youtube. It is a BBC series tracing the food phenom in Britain. Fanny Cradock makes Julia Child look "normal". A must see!

Cook to Bang or Different Strokes for Different Folks

2009-12-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm the first one to admit that I have a dirty mind and mouth. I love talking dirty to my food. Carrots with 2 legs, green peppers with drooping protruding growths give me the giggles.

So it isn't surprising that I would find a website called www.cooktobang.com. Each day a recipe is sent with a suggestive title and loads of pictures to help the hesitant cook. The surprising thing is that the recipes are good, simple, and with all of the pictures easy to follow. I especially like the picture of the gathered ingredients. Boxes of this and bottles of that give an inkling of what to look for at the grocery store.

I was really excited by the website and thought it would entice The Princess into the mysterious kitchen but I got a slap down and was told she wasn't interested in cooking from the web. What's a Queen to do?

Book Review of Cleaving by Julie Powell. Review by Christine Muhlke in NYT 12.6.09

2009-12-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

Done well, memoirs about love and food go together like steak and martinis. Meals are a perfect application for the “show, don’t tell” directive, from proposal soufflé to break-up pastina. These foodoirs have become a successful subset, one part chick lit mixed with one part chicken lit.

Julie Powell water-skied to notoriety on Julia Child’s apron, following every recipe in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” for a blog she called The Julie/Julia Project. The blog became a memoir, “Julie & Julia,” which in turn became a movie, the momentum of which whipped both Child’s and Powell’s books to the heights of the best-seller lists.

The publishers of Powell’s second memoir wisely waited until December to release it, lest they freak out book-buying admirers of “Julie & Julia’s” plucky co-star. “Cleaving” promises marriage, meat and obsession, but the object of said obsession is not a standing rib roast. It’s a man she calls D, who likes trussing our anti-heroine and covering her in bruises before sending her home to cook for her husband. The woman who came across as simply whiny and self-absorbed in the film reveals a dark, damaged persona. Nora Ephron won’t be touching this one with a 20-foot baguette.

Powell and her “long-suffering husband,” Eric, are really suffering now. Unsatisfied by her new career, the author (“just call me Julie ‘Steamroller’ Powell”) — whose motto is “Want. Take. Have.” — has a two-year affair with D. His forceful wanting/taking/having of her instills the confidence that being played by Amy Adams in the movie apparently did not. “It was when he smilingly roughed me up that I finally felt fierce, strong — emancipated,” she writes of his first smack.

But wait. It gets more abject. Eric knows. So he has an affair, too. Powell relishes punishing him with kindness. “Have fun,” she texts him. “Come home whenever you like.” After D ends things (“You know it’s over when he’d rather show you ‘Team America’ than his penis,” he had warned her months before flipping open his laptop in bed on the fateful day), she resorts to cyberstalking. Powell’s not kidding about the “obsession” part: she pathetically texts and e-mails into the ether for almost a year, then fleshes her longing into a book that doesn’t spare the reader a single full-frontal flashback.

Eventually, she seeks a numbing distraction, something to reroute her self-destructive, addictive tendencies. How about butchering? Butchers are hot, Powell reasons, ahead of the current craze for men with cleavers. They are “more certain of meat than I’ve ever been about anything.” She apprentices at Fleisher’s, a cult butcher shop in Kingston, N.Y. (where I shop), and learns how to take things apart in the hope of putting her life back together. Or not. Rather than assuage her pathologically adoring husband, she wills her BlackBerry to buzz after sending D texts like: “Just had the worst sex in the world with a total stranger to try to get you out of my head. It didn’t work.”

Meaty bits over, she still can’t take the cleaver to her miserable marriage. She travels to Argentina, Ukraine and Tanzania, a 100-page exercise in self-indulgent writing, in which she dwells on how attractive the locals find her and how much Malbec, Cognac or goat’s blood she can drink. It makes the reader miss the circus of Fleisher’s. More meat, less obsession, please. Sorry, Hollywood: there’s no happy-ending resolution with longer-suffering Eric, either.

Despite all this, Powell can be an engaging writer. Fast, funny and observant — though too busy steamrolling to Google facts — she’s your mean best friend sending instant messages that make you snort at your desk. Her reliance on snark and pop-cultural references is cheap, but her sincere interest in butchery and love for the Fleisher’s crew bring the book’s slasher scenes to life. If you don’t know how to break down a side of beef or debone a turkey, you might be able to figure it out after working your way through “Cleaving.” The squeamish — morally and otherwise — should read elsewhere. In her acknowledgments, Powell thanks her editor for reminding her that there is such a thing as too much information. And how.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

2009-12-02T15:36:00.000-08:00

20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America Revealed :: Hotel News Resource

I receive a daily food service email. Usually I just glance at the headlines and delete away. Today was different. There was an article about the 20 worst restaurant foods in America. As I read and clicked through the dishes I became embarrassed to think of myself as a food professional. I became incensed that an industry would knowingly create and serve dishes that came in at over 2,000 calories.

Where is their responsibility to the customers? The food industry started to look a lot like the smoking industry in its blind eye approach to food. I then pondered the agriculture industry and realized they too are oft times turning a blind eye to producing good products.

The great unwashed public has been subliminally enticed into an addiction for unhealthy food. Its sad how a simple act that sustains us can become so twisted and a harrowing experience.

The food industry doesn’t want to be policed by the government. If so then they should step up to the plate and scales and do their own policing and monitoring.

The tide is slowly turning with smaller farms and restaurants addressing the caloric issue but for the dearth and girth of America these are mists against a rain storm.

Read! Eat Responsibly! and always Enjoy!
(Click on the topic at the top to see the 20 worst)

The Queen has spoken~

Awkward Family Story: The Thanksgiving Letter

2009-11-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

I found this trolling around on AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com and thought it perfect for Tday!

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney
Submitted by Kara at http://californiakara.blogspot.com)

Sweet Potato Biscuits!

2009-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

In the December 2009 Food and Wine Magazine there is a two part recipe. The first part is for Vegetable Potpies the second part is Sweet Potato Biscuits. The picture of the roasted vegetables poking out of a petite Le Creuset coccote was too much! I have made a note to my self to purchase some soon!

Instead I made the Sweet Potato Biscuits. They turned out delicate,light, and very delicious! I think it would be fun to play around with different sweet or savory additions.

The Recipe~
Preheat oven 400°
3/4 C Cooked Sweet Potato (1/2# raw potato)
1 3/4C All-Purpose Flour
1T Light Brown Sugar
2 1/2t Baking Powder
1/2t Baking Soda
1t Kosher Salt
7T Unsalted Butter (I used 1/2 butter 1/2 non-hydrogenated vegetable
stick)
1/3C Skim Milk (F&W called for buttermilk-not a staple for us)

Bake off the sweet potato until a knife enters easily. Remove and let cool to the touch.

Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor and give it a spin.

Add cut up butter and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed and in a fine sand like consistency. Add milk and 3/4C cooked sweet potato. Pulse just until the dough comes together.

Turn the dough out on a heavily flour dusted work surface and knead 2-3 times.

Roll out to your desired thickness 1/4-1/2" and cut out desired shape.

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet until golden brown.

Serve Hot!

TANJOOBERRYMUTTS.....or The Mysteries of the English Language

2009-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

'TANJOOBERRYMUTTS.....!'

The following is a telephonic exchange between a hotel guest and room-service in a hotel..

Room Service : "Morrin. Roon sirbees."

Guest : "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service."

Room Service: " Rye . Roon sirbees...morrin! Joowish to oddor sunteen???"

Guest: "Uh..... Yes, I'd like to order bacon and eggs."

Room Service: "Ow ulai den?"

Guest: ".....What??"

Room Service: "Ow ulai den?!?... Pryed, boyud, pochd?"

Guest: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry.. Scrambled, please."

Room Service: "Ow ulai dee bayken ? Creepse?"

Guest: "Crisp will be fine."

Room Service: "Hokay. An sahn toes?"

Guest: "What?"

Room Service: "An toes. ulai sahn toes?"

Guest: "I.... Don't think so.."

RoomService: "No? Udo wan sahn toes???"

Guest: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'udo wan sahn toes' means."

RoomService: "Toes! Toes!...Why Uoo don wan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin we botter?"

Guest: "Oh, English muffin! !! I've got it! You were saying 'toast'... Fine...Yes, an English muffin will be fine."

RoomService: "We botter?"

Guest: "No, just put the botter on the side."

RoomService: "Wad?!?"

Guest: "I mean butter... Just put the butter on the side."

RoomService: "Copy?"

Guest: "Excuse me?"

RoomService: "Copy...tea.. meel?"

Guest: "Yes. Coffee, please... And that's everything."

RoomService: "One Minnie. Scramah egg, creepse bayken , Anglish moppin, we botter on sigh and copy ... Rye ??"

Guest: "Whatever you say."

RoomService: "Tanjooberrymutts."

Guest: "You're welcome"

Roughed Up Potatoes

2009-11-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

I made a couple of dishes this past weekend I thought my imaginary readers would like to see.

The first, so simple and perfect from November-December Cook’s Illustrated it solved my age old problem of perfectly baked potato crisps.

In a nutshell-
Pre-heat oven 400°-450°. Place a rimmed baking pan (I use ½ sheet pan) in the oven to heat up.

Slice potatoes- they suggest Yukon Gold- I settled for Russets-into ½” slices and par-boil in salted water for 5 minutes. You don’t want them to be soft on the inside just a bit soft on the outside.

Drain, pat dry and toss w/ 2T olive oil &1/2t salt toss well with a spatula, repeat with 1T olive oil and 1/4t salt. The recipe calls for 2T 2t twice I use Kosher salt and found them a bit too salty for me.

Put 1-2T olive oil on hot baking pan and pour the potatoes onto the pan in one layer. Cook 15-20 minutes turning and rotating in the pan to a toasty brown.

The end result is a crisp outside and creamy inside potato.

Read! Eat! Enjoy!

Pictures and More

2009-11-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

Go to www.idahopotato.com/fspro for a picture of the potato ravioli and more recipes.

Thank you Idaho Potato Commission & Jimmy Schmidt!

2009-11-14T15:03:00.001-08:00

I WAS CRUISING MY WEEKLY PROFESSIONAL RESTAURANT MAG. AND MY EYES LIT ON THESE OINK SANDWICHES. THIN SLICES OF CRISPED POTATO TOPPED WITH MASHED POTATO, SHORT RIBS,AND SALSA. TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE!

Potato Ravioli with Chile Beef Short Rib
Chef Jimmy Schmidt, Rattlesnake Club, Palm Springs, California
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
Spice Blend

* 3 T New Mexican Chiles, ground
* 1 tsp Chipotle Chile, dried
* 1 T Black Tellicherry Pepper, freshly ground

Ravioli

* 1 Boneless Beef Short Rib, about 12 ounces, trimmed
* 1/4 C Olive Oil
* 3 Large Idaho Russet Potatoes
* 6 T Butter, unsalted

To Taste:

* Smoked Salt
* Vegetable Stock or water
* Oil to fry in

Chile Chimichurri Salsa

* 1T Chile Oil
* 1C Baby Bell Sweet Peppers, multi-colored, sliced into rounds
* 2T Red Wine Vinegar
* 1T Honey
* 1/2C Fresh Chives, snipped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Short Ribs

1. In a small bowl combine the seasoning blend. Use half of the seasoning to thoroughly coat the short rib. Reserve under refrigeration.
2. In a small skillet heat the 1/4 cup of oil and the remaining seasoning blend, for about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. In a deep small skillet heat a few drops of oil. Place the seasoned short rib into the pan, cooking until well seared on all sides, about 5 minutes. Cover with the vegetable stock, season with salt to taste. Bring to a simmer. Cover the surface with foil and seal with a lid. Transfer to the oven, cooking until tender, about 1 3/4 hours.
3. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the short rib from the liquid. Cut the short rib into 16 square nuggets about 1-inch by 1-inch by 1/4-inch thick. Cover with the braising liquid to keep warm.

4. Potato Slices-
Filling and Garnish. With a mandoline or mechanical slicer cut the potato paper thin, width-wise, into large round slices. Select 32 of the best slices. In a skillet of salted boiling water blanch the potato slices until al dente, firm to the bite, but not falling apart. Transfer individually to a buttered parchment lined sheet pan. Reserve.

5. Take half of the remaining potato slices and cut into fine julienne strips, frying until crisp. Transfer to bowl lined with paper towel to hold. Season with a little of the spice blend and sea salt. Take the remaining potato slices and cook in boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove to a colander and drain. Transfer to a ricer and press into a mixer.

6. Whip the potatoes with 4 tablespoons of butter, seasoning with the smoked salt to taste. Reserve warm.

Potato Ravioli
Spoon a little potato puree in the center of 16 prepared potato slices. Position a portion of shredded short rib atop the potato purée. Cover with another prepared potato slice to make 16 ravioli, 4 per serving. Brush the top potato slice with melted butter and season with smoked salt. Reserve until ready to serve.

Chile Chimichurri Salsa
Heat chile oil over medium heat in a non stick pan. Add the sweet peppers cooking until al dente. Remove from the heat. Season with the vinegar, honey, smoked salt and half of the chives. Reserve at room temperature.

To Serve
Place the potato ravioli in the middle rack of the oven cooking until heated through, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Using a small spatula to transfer, artistically arrange 4 ravioli per large serving coupe. Drizzle a little of the remaining chile oil around the ravioli. Spoon a little Chile Chimichurri Salsa atop each ravioli. Position the crispy julienne potatoes and sliced baby bell peppers atop the ravioli. Sprinkle with remaining chives and serve.

Decadent finale? or Ugh?

2009-11-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

This time of year there is a bonus for all of you coupon clippers! Companies are also publishing recipes using their products in oh, so wonderful ways! Long ago when candy bars were 5 cents classic recipes were born. Chex Mix to go with martinis and the classic green bean casserole with frozen green beans,Cambell's mushroom soup and French's fried onions.

Today the intrepid cook can find recipes for Johnsonville Apple Breakfast Bundt using sausage links, apple pie filling, and thawed frozen cinnamon rolls. In this recipe you spend more time dinking with the pre-made ingredients than if you rolled up your sleeves and made it yourself. Either way I think it would be nicer to serve everything separately with a side of scrambled eggs!

Autumn Apple Salad weighs in with Crisco canola oil, Hungry Jack Syrup, mayonnaise ( guess you can go wild on what kind)vinegar, sugar,bag lettuce, red delicious apples (nothing with character or texture) dried cranberries and walnuts. This sounds like a ramped up Waldorf, hold the celery and gourmetize with dried cranberries.

My favorite for the Ugh! Hall of Culinary Fame?
Decadent Peanut Butter Pie
from the J.M. Smucker's Company
1 C Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (2T divided-o.k. this is hard- 1T & 1T)
1 8oz package cream cheese softened
1/2C sugar
1 12 oz container frozen whipped topping thawed and divided (it's a secret- we don't know how it's divided)
1 prepared chocolate pie crust (graham cracker crust won't do- wrong color)
1 jar Smucker's Hot Fudge Spoonable Ice Cream Topping divided (yet again?)

Then we get to the technique part-I will paraphrase.

Beat peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar and 3 cups whipped topping into submission.

Spoon and smear peanut glop over pie shell.

Grab a zip lock and place 2T fudge topping in the corner of the bag and set aside.Do the same with the 2T peanut butter.

Nuke the rest of the fudge topping, smear on top of peanut glop and chill until firm and bouncy.

Smear the top with the rest of the thawed whipped topping "being careful not to mix the two layers".

Now we get to decorate!
Snip a little hole in the zippies and pretend they are pastry bags with pretty tips and squeeze the fudge and peanut butter in opposite directions to form a cross hatch.

Don't forget to wash a slice down with another J.M. Smucker's product- Folger's coffee and more of that fabulous whipped topping!

Now if you like this one-"For more great tasting recipes, visit Smuckers.com and Jif.com" Definitely go-to websites for holiday cooking.

What are your suggestions for the Ugh! Hall of Fame?

The Golden Touch was Fool's Gold

2009-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

The Golden Touch Restaurant has all of the trappings of being a Greek diner except- it’s not on the East coast but on the Edge.

I still try it but each time my hopes are dashed and I leave with a sad memory instead of warm fuzzies. Today I was delusional and fell into the trap. There were cars parked in the lot! For any kind of eating establishment that is a good sign! Food moving out not rotting in the walk-in but there was deception.

This wannabe diner was huge, built in the two sided style with “fine dining” across the back and counter/banquets across the front. The color scheme was in the ‘60’s style with yellow tinted glass “chandeliers”, brown Naugahyde seats held together with clear tape and an empty rotating pie stand.

A glaring “Wait to be seated” sign was the friendly greeting. There was no one around to guide me to a seat. I looked around and saw the parking lot had lied the place was empty other than a few solitary people. The counter, a hub in any successful diner stretched 40’ decorated with coffee cups, napkins, and silverware waiting for the non-existent rush. A waitress materialized and flung her hands toward the multitude of empty seats. Nodding I picked a banquet for 6 and slid in. The waitress trudged over and flipped a menu at me as she poured water.
“Anything else to drink?”

I pondered briefly and answered,” Yes, a large tomato juice with lemon.”

Looking up I was greeted by a gal- dressed in a black shirt, black pants, glittery reading glasses, a generous artistically drawn make-up job, and short white grey hair that had been tipped in black. I was sure she had stuck her French tipped nails in an electrical socket to create the effect. She whisked away the coffee mug.

I had made up my mind before I arrived: a Greek salad minus the black olives, substituting tuna for the sliced eggs. Comfort food comes in many guises.

Order pad in hand, the waitress walked over. “Are you ready to order?”
I closed the menu, smiled sweetly and recited my order.

Her pen hovered over the pad as she mentally processed my order. “If I take off the black olives there’s nothing left!”

This wasn’t going as planned. I wanted cheerful- sounds great! Would you like crackers as well? Instead I felt like I was in the movie 5 Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson and his famous egg sandwich. I surveyed the tuna salad on a bed of greens and wondered if I could order that and add the other Greek garnishes.

“Is the lettuce the same with the tuna salad as with the Greek salad?"

She spun on her heels and walked up to the cook. “Do we have any Romaine?” she sneered just loud enough for me to hear her batting 100 for her customer.

“Nahh” was the also audible reply.

“I’ll give you more time.” She went off bussing tables.

I was abandoned with a huge menu, a gazillion offerings, and my hopes dashed for my Greek salad no black olives, no eggs, and tuna substitute. I was crushed. Looking at the table I saw my über tron had left the tomato juice now I really couldn't slip out. There was no escape I had to find something to eat. I mentally crossed off items all the while lingering on the Greek salad lettering, still trying to figure a way to phrase my request.

A comfort meal was quickly turning into a heartless fuel fest.

Decision #2 was made and eye contact sealed the deal. This time the gal tried to meet me half way. “I’ll have the feta tomato omelet with egg beaters, no toast, no potatoes and a small salad with Italian dressing.” This time there was nary a rebuke. Her pen flew over the pad and the order was complete. We both said thank you and she put the dupe in.

A final olive branch was offered in the guise of the newspaper. “Do you want something to read? No? Well o.k.” We had worked out our differences. I was left to my own thoughts.

The omelet arrived and my heart lurched in dismay. There was a cold nugget of feta on top and 2 chunks of pale hard tomato. The omelet was so thin I doubted there were any more tomatoes or feta within. No orange slice, no parsley just a flaccid omelet. There was no joy on the plate.

The salad, served in its separate bowl was iceberg with a couple of strands of red cabbage, croutons the size of children’s teeth, and frozen defrosted peas. A heavy pouring of Kraft’s Italian best soaked into the salad.The peas were the only cheerful bright green in the salad but flavor wise they didn’t make the profile. I wasn’t surprised by the salad, it delivered crunch.

I took the pepper shaker and decorated my omelet with black flecks. Tucking in I found that there were more tomatoes and feta chunklets inside the omelet.

I looked over at the kitchen and saw the problem. It was the cook. A tall, pasty, light brown haired man wearing a 10” paper chef’s toque (a chef's toque in a diner?). Instead of a long chef’s coat he had a short sleeved white shirt of a pantry guy. There were no piercings or tattoos, a sign of good food out here on the edge. I looked into his face and saw no food love I looked down at my plate and saw the results of a listless cook.

I choked down the food, gave my usual 20%, and high tailed it out. I will never seek comfort again from the Golden Touch…

A Little Recipe

2009-10-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

I think I found this on Serious Eats but it could have been Saveur mea culpa. The directions are mine however.
Preheat oven 350°
1/2 # Fresh Salmon (or other fish)
Black Sesame Seeds (or white)
Sesame Oil
Make some diagonal slices in the fish. Not all the way through and place in a baking dish. Pour a little bit of sauce in the slices and pat black sesame seeds into fish drizzle with sesame oil.

Sauce:
1/2 Lime juiced
3T Mirin
2T Soy Sauce
2t Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2t Wasabi Powder or to taste
Combine. Set aside.

Bake until firm to the touch-10 Minutes-

I served it with sautéed bok choy and Chinese noodles tossed with Tom Douglas’s Rub with Love Triple Garlic Teriyaki Sauce. This sauce has a nicely balanced flavor. Not your usual teriyaki goop. I’d make this again!

Shoot I Missed It!

2009-10-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Bloody Mary had its 75th anniversary on October 5th. Geeze I hate to miss a reason for a party! It was created at the King Cole Room in the St. Regis in NYC. Serge Obolensky asked Fernand Petiot to recreate a cocktail he had in Paris.

It was named after the Catholic English Queen Mary and included salt, pepper, lemon and Worcestershire sauce. Polite society found the name a bit offensive so the St. Regis rechristened it the Red Snapper. Either way it is my drink of celebratory choice on a slow Sunday or before Thanksgiving festivities.

Below is a recipe adapted from Hip Sips by Lucy Brennan and Carolyn Burleigh that we use. It takes a bit of forethought (2 days)but once the vodka has macerated it's good for a pitcher of Red Snappers!

2 days head

1/4 each yellow,red,orange peppers, sliced
1/2 sm jalapeno pepper
1 lg garlic clove
4 basil leaves
1 bottle potato vodka ie-Monopolowa (save bottle)
Combine all ing. in a wide mouthed jar and store in fridge or cool dark spot for 2 days. Strain and pour back into vodka bottle.

The Drink-

3 oz tomato juice
2 oz Bloody Mary Vodka
5-6 dashes worcestershire sauce
2t horseradish sauce
Garnish du jour
Embibe!

Tuna Casserole #2

2009-10-26T09:53:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon this today in my Saveur email update. With the addition of mustard and a white sauce (instead of mushroom soup) it would have more of a rarebit taste and look at the work! Mom would never make this!
SERVES 6

This stalwart of American cooking is often topped with a crunchy layer of crushed potato chips instead of bread crumbs and traditionally made with a can or two of cream of mushroom soup. Our "from scratch" version is respectfully updated.

10 tbsp. butter
Salt
4 1⁄2 cups (about 10 oz.) flat egg noodles
5 scallions, chopped
3 tbsp. flour
1 1⁄2 tsp. dry mustard
3 1⁄3 cups milk
Freshly ground black pepper
1 12-oz. can tuna packed in oil, drained and broken into
small chunks
1 1⁄2 cups homemade fresh white bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Rub the inside of a 2 1⁄2-quart casserole dish with 1 tbsp. of the butter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add noodles and cook until al dente, 5–7 minutes. Drain and transfer noodles to a large bowl.

2. Melt 4 tbsp. of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add half the scallions and cook until softened, 1–2 minutes. Add flour and mustard and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Gradually pour in milk, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Cook sauce, stirring frequently, until smooth and thickened, 16–18 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer sauce to the bowl with the noodles. Add tuna and stir gently to combine. Transfer tuna–noodle mixture to prepared dish.

3. Melt remaining 5 tbsp. butter and toss with remaining scallions, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Scatter seasoned bread crumbs over tuna–noodle mixture and bake until golden brown and bubbling, 20–25 minutes. Let casserole cool slightly before serving.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #98

Tuna Casserole

2009-10-23T17:49:00.001-07:00

I’ve just finished an unmemorable book. It was chick lit with mid-life crisis characters set in contemporary England. There were some sterling insightful observations and quick repartee. In no time at all I will forget it and move on. Since the title was Cloe Zhivago’s Recipe for Marriage and Mischief by Olivia Lichtenstien; she felt she had to weave recipes throughout. At the beginning of most chapters there was a recipe with a hint of tying it into the chapter with a noted character.

One recipe and chapter gave me pause. It was a recipe from the ‘50’s- a bit more gourmetized than I remembered. It was offered by the mother/mother-in-law/grandmother. She was a woman that made you cringe just reading about her. True to form she made a dish that everyone either gagged on or quickly left the table. Of course the characters had to hate the meal the woman was vile.

When I looked at the recipe I had a different feeling. Take the peas away and it was Tuna Casserole! As a child it was a delight! A casserole with potato chips as one of the 4 ingredients was culinary utopia. For my mother it was bliss from can to table in 20 minutes and no complaints. “Lick your plate clean!” “No problem!”

When the characters gagged and rolled their eyes I felt like shaking them!
“Don’t you understand how good that casserole is? Where else is there a recipe that has potato chips as part of the square meal? Usually they were parceled out but in this dish they could be eaten with orgasmic abandon. Toasty on top and drenched in cream of mushroom soup it didn’t get any better back in the fine cuisine era of the late '50's.

I will not go down culinary lane and recreate the dish. My memories are strong and I don’t want to mar them with the reality of a mediocre meal. A tear will be shed over the memory.

Cranberry Apple Sauce w/ Japanese Pickled Ginger

2009-10-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and so are the first apples and cranberries. Last week I bought some heirloom apples. They had a lovely taste and snow white interior but the texture reminded me of Delicious apples in March. So I ignored them and ate with glee and delight the Honey Crisps. Slowly the heirlooms made their way to the front of the fridge reminding me that something had to be done with them. A cruise of the fresh produce aisle solved my apple dilemma. Grabbing a bag of fresh cranberries I was ready to cook!
This is a loose recipe based on what you want to get rid of and how much is on hand.
2 Apples quartered, peeled, seeded
1 bag Fresh Cranberries rinsed, and picked through
1/4C Water
1t Japanese Pickled Ginger, julienne into thin strips (ginger preserves can be
substituted)
1pinch Kosher salt
Sugar-to taste
1 Squeeze fresh Lemon Juice

Put all of the ingredients minus the sugar in a thick bottomed pot. Cook at medium heat until the apples are mushy and the cranberries have popped. While still hot add the sugar to taste. Stir vigorously to combine ingredients. Let cool and serve.

D-Day For Moles! or Part 2

2009-10-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

It was a dark and stormy day…Well not actually- it was an “everything” day as I like to call a cloudy-rainy-sunny-day. The only precipitation we were missing was hail.

Things did not bode well for Mole City. After an invigorating walk with Bz.Lt.Yr, NSSP was back. His jaw was set in one of those classic male poses- determined, resolute, and gunning for a confrontation.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit wet for The Super Gasser?” I had started to feel a wee bit sorry for the little blind web-footed invaders.

“You can’t stop me woman! Today is the day! I will rule my turf!” his eyes had turned a steely blue and I thought I had been dropped into a grade B movie. Instead of Bill Murray I was faced with John Wayne, The Lone Ranger and Clint Eastwood rolled into one. “I don’t need your help! This is a MAN’S JOB.”

As he gathered his manly tools I quietly pocketed my camera to record the battle. NSSP emerged from the shed with such technical tools as a 3 pronged hand rake, ergonomic serrated scoop, dandelion poker, a rake that has followed us across the USA and his WMD. Long strides quickly brought him to the mound. We both stared fantasizing the upcoming battle. In one quick movement NSSP was on the ground leveling the mound. I refrained from mentioning that Bz.Lt.Yr. could dig faster and more efficiently but I realized that would spoil fun #1 playing in the mud.

After leveling the mound came fun#2 poking the hole with the dandelion poker. Plunge, poke, wiggle, then thrust again and repeat. NSSP was like a mad scientist getting ready for the big bang. NSSP emitted a satisfied grunt. “Ah…I found it!” He sat back on his haunches and stroked The Super Gasser. I knew better than to interrupt or break his concentration.

NSSP whipped out a lighter and lit the fuse. We stared at it as if it was a stick of dynamite and would explode. Instead it started smoking. Thrusting The Super Destroyer into the hole NSSP quickly filled the hole and we looked at the ground as if there would be a horde of little moles clamoring to the top. Instead we saw smoke wisps puffing out of the grass.

Fun#3 commenced with a tarantella stomp/dance where ever we saw smoke escaping.
“We can’t let the smoke escape or it won’t follow the tunnel!” my expert in mole destruction exclaimed.

It was time for fun#4 finding more holes to smoke out. Must use up the sticks! Bill Murray was back poking, stuffing, and stomping in the front yard. When he got too close to the house I pulled the fun cord and called an end to the experiment.

Only time will tell if the moles met their match with NSSP but he did have a great time and vowed to buy more Gasser/Destroyers…I can’t wait...

WMD~Weapons of Mole Destruction! Part 1

2009-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Living on the edge can turn the mildest milk toast professor into a whirling dervish when confronted with moles, voles, and Norwegian rats. I have witnessed this transition in NSSP (Not So Silent Partner). He has never been a milk toast professor but does have a kind heart toward dogs, cats, and children. I have heard that on the golf course a darker side comes out but it never crosses our domestic thresh hold until…

He came back from walking the dog. Slamming the door shut he screamed, “That’s it! This is war!”

I put on my ‘concerned spouse what is it this time dear look’ and gently said, “What’s wrong?”

His eyes had an other- worldly glaze as he ominously whispered, “It’s the moles! there is a huge mound of dirt in our front yard! I’m going to kill them this is it! This is WAR! You just try walking on the yard! Your feet sink into the tunnels! The yard is riddled with tunnels!”

I did my June Cleaver smile and patted his chest, “Now dear it can’t be all that bad.” I was already losing interest in this yard violation but I dutifully opened the front door and peeked out. I hate to admit it but the mound was rather large, it looked like big brown erupted zit on the green grass cheek of our tamed yard. “Did Bz.Lt.yr. Pee on the zit -err- mound?” it was an urban edge legend that pee- human or dog- would chase moles away.

“No he did not! We need to start patrolling more! The rains are coming and this problem needs to be dealt with! They must die!”

By this time I had heard enough of NSSP’s blather and scuttled downstairs to my office cave. Thinking the best way to deal with the problem was to ignore it. A few hours later NSSP had calmed down (I thought he had taken my approach to the problem) and said he was off to a spin class at the club. I inwardly sighed thinking the world had righted itself and started dinner.

Coming home to a bubbling crock pot of split pea soup (this is the meager food entry), I saw a slightly manic sparkle to NSSP’s eyes. Thinking it was just an elevated heart rate from exercise I gathered the rest of the meal and we sat down to dinner.

“I stopped at Lowe’s on my way to the club.” He said casually, “I talked to a young man about OUR PROBLEM and he had the perfect solution!”

“You spoke to a minimum wage teenage employee and he had the perfect answer to our mole city?” the world was starting to shift slightly.

“Yes! You won’t believe it! There are no chemicals, vibrating sticks or traps!” NSSP’s eyes were in full manic glow. I hadn’t seen him this excited since last Sunday when he had a sports trifecta with the Yankees, Giants, and American’s winning in golf.

“ Soooo- how does it work?”

“I’m going to smoke them out!!”

That was when I noticed a change in NSSP. As I watched him describe how he bought the perfect rodent smoke bombs, perfectly safe around children and dogs, I watched him turn into Bill Murray from Caddy shack fame. Before my eyes there he was in a dirty ragged tee shirt, squashed hat, slurring his words out of the side of his mouth, wobbling his head, and leering at me. The world was definitely tilting and I was slipping off the edge.

I looked at the wine bottle and knew I couldn’t blame this on our consumption. I had to calm the beast before he became a menace to society.

“Can I see what you bought?” NSSP snapped back to my mate with a shy smile.

“Do you really want to see it?”

“Yes!” I feigned interest. “Where are these smoke bombs?”

“They’re in the garage!” He leapt up and brought back the package placing it on the table.

To say I burst into laughter is an understatement. I howled! “Look at this packaging! This was designed only for men! What sane woman would be attracted to this? “The Super Gasser? The Giant Destroyer? The effective gas killer? This product has been used successfully for many years for rodent control?”

I looked up and saw a glimmer of realization that this might not be the final answer for NSSP but would be one hell of a good time. Like poking a worm to death or stepping on a slug.

NSSP reverently held his super gasser package and lovingly put it back in the garage.

Tomorrow…

Shrimp Chips with Lobster Pics!

2009-10-11T10:41:00.001-07:00

This is my last nod to 10/10/09 until next year. I won't regale you with the frozen dim sum extravaganza we ate watching "The Chinese Feast" except to point out these psychedelic fried discs you should try. They are Chinese shrimp toasts. Flat discs you fry in oil that turn in to crispy pillows. They take only seconds to cook and I suggest only cooking what you will eat in one sitting. You can buy them all white but why? The colors are a blast! They have a nice shrimp flavor and I have served them before with a crab dip.

Family Dinner Part 2

2009-10-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

There was a disturbing article in MY Sunday paper (NYT) with the title,“The Guilt-Trip Casserole” by Jan Hoffman. The nut graph was that a study by CASA (Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse) at Columbia University found that teenagers who ate less than 3 times a week were more likely to turn to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs than those who dined with their families 5 times a week (Dined? Obviously the fact gatherers haven’t eaten with a monosyllabic teenager or an obnoxious 10 year old).Families are stretched thin and time is on the short side. Cooking has been getting the short sheet for many years. Pierre Franey wrote a couple of cookbooks for the 60 minute gourmet back in prehistoric cooking times of the '70's. Today RR is doing it in 30 minutes and there is a series of cookbooks using only 3-5 ingredients to make a tasty? meal.I won’t even mention another Julia Child wannabe who rips open bags of prepackaged stuff and finishes her show with a vodka slurpy. Food has been delegated to fuel (energy bars, drinks, fast food in the car) void of its leisure and mentally nurturing qualities.

How can we put quality back into eating if we are ripping open packages of pre-cut vegetables or bagged cooked rice and zapping them?It’s not that we have to eat like the Romans and recline on pillows but like a nightly bedtime story it should be a time of staring at each other and brushing up on the technique of speaking to a person not a cel phone.We have to be reminded that we are a family unit and not just individuals careening around with head sets and lap tops. The family unit grew out of the love (or mistake) of two people and their commitment to the future. Children need to see how their parents or elders interact for better or for worse. It is the subconscious template for their future relationships.

When a job is hard to do and the rewards seem elusive we try to work around the elephant in the kitchen. This is what has happened to many parents today. Feeding a family sucks and it is a 365 day responsibility. It can be grueling and mind numbing. Keeping track of everyone’s likes and dislikes, or worse yet allergies, taxes even the most organized executive. Then we have the nonexistent “rave reviews” or thank yous. I’m not saying my generation was the golden age of family meals but it was a dictatorship in the kitchen. There also wasn’t the proliferation of restaurants on every corner. You ate at home, period.

To learn any skill there is a logic one must learn. Sewing? Knitting? Carpentry? Cooking? These all require a commitment to get to the next level. Cookbooks are written today to sell and tease most aren’t meant to help build a repertoire. Unless you have the culinary fire in your belly you won’t be the next Féran Adria but a few simple meals could turn you into a nurturing person.

I wish I had some concrete answers. My heart goes out to the cooking challenged it’s a hard road.

Think Fast! and Use Wondra!

2009-10-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

I had all intensions of making the perfect unctuous macaroni and cheese but even the best plans can go awry. I should have gone downstairs and retrieved my Betty Crocker (this is the only recipe I have ever used her for) but no, I was cock sure. I foraged in our meat/cheese drawer and found a plethora of “fromage du jour”. There was also bacon lurking, waiting to adhere its fat to my hips. No problem! I’m the gal!

The first big hurdle was the shape of the pasta. I take this very seriously. What does it look like? How will it soak up the sauce? Is it a shape I want to eat tonight? Swirling questions as I groped pasta in my pantry and there it was! Culinary Circle Authentic Bronze-Cut Trottole shaped pasta (on sale at Albertson’s) I knew the bronze cut would be the secret ingredient to my pasta absorbing cheese concoction.

I proceeded down my mental mac&chez checklist until….I looked at the finished sauce and realized it was cheese oil slurry lacking the emulsion qualities I wanted. I stepped back and said “flip”... I’m not about to make a separate roux to jack the white sauce. In a B.O.B. (Burst of Brilliance) I reached for my Wondra! A couple of T’s later and we were on smooth sailing. A pop in the oven with a dusting of toasted breadcrumbs and I put Kraft M&C to shame!
The Bailed Out Recipe: oven @350°
2 strips bacon, minced
¼-1/3C onion, finely diced
1 cl garlic, minced
2T olive oil
2T flour
2C milk
31/2C fromage du jour, grated- hats off to the food processor!
grates of nutmeg
1/2T mustard
1/2C additional milk (oops!)
2T Wondra flour
squeeze of lemon
sel e poive
toasted, buttered breadcrumbs (thank you freezer)
heavy cream to lubricate (o.k. any milk will do)
Directions: Put large pot of salted (like the sea) water on to boil. Cook pasta while the rest of the circus is going on. When done, drain and let hang until needed.

Sauté bacon, onion, garlic, olive oil until the onions are translucent and bacon has started to brown. Add flour and cook (yikes! A culinary term! It morphs into a roux!) Add milk and cook until thickened (here dear friends is the faux pas- not enough roux for the~ second culinary term~ white sauce) this will slightly coat the spoon not a heavy pudding coat which would be nice.

Add cheese, nutmeg and mustard. Check the damage. You can charge through and ignore the less than perfect M&C texture or bail out with Wondra. Adjust seasonings add black pepper, lemon and salt “to taste”.

By now the pasta has solidified- rinse in hot water and SHAKE VIGOROUSLY less is more in the water department.

Combine sauce and pasta in oil laced casserole- is there anything other than Corning Ware to use? Cook until bubbly (this culinary term has to be from the ‘50’s!) If you peer in and see it is not as creamy as you would like add a splash of heavy cream around the edges (o.k. I have this h.c. that I’m trying to use up).
Did I forget to mention enjoy? M&C in any variation is always a perfect meal.
Bon Appetit!

Family Dinner Part 1

2009-10-05T17:09:00.001-07:00

Family Dinner. Why do those two words conjure up so many different emotions? It used to be simple. At 5pm in Iowa (6pm for us there were cocktails first) we sat down for dinner, period. There was no dialog about what to have, where to sit or more importantly what to eat. We ate what was put in front of us either hot as served or lukewarm to cold if we decided to resist the lima beans. I don’t remember pithy conversations, jokes, or stories. I do remember a lot of boredom, waiting to be dismissed to dash outside, in the summer or just away in the winter. Dismissal was at my father’s whim. Dinner attendance was expected. Only on sleepovers when you changed dinner tables was there variety. Dinner was the last family ritual to be performed before individual homework, baths, and bed. In those days there was a touch of black and white T.V., also controlled by Dad.

Fast forward. When The Princess was a tyke, I fed her first for many reasons. Firstly, she just wasn’t fun to eat with. She was happy eating the same thing all the time and I wasn’t happy making the same thing all the time for me to eat. Secondly, I didn’t even think about dinner until 5-6pm. During school I would bang out something for her but in the summer it was oft times when food wasn’t ready until 8-9pm. When she did become old enough to be tolerated at the table there were manners to be taught- elbows off, milk finished, napkin in the lap, silverware placement, and most importantly shoulders up! No slouching. We did make a stab at conversation but most of the stories had been told already. I did find it a great time for a family meeting, a time for us all to be updated on future plans and obligations. I didn’t make her wait until the last scrap was eaten by all and there were times when we did eat in front of the T.V. but mostly there was dinner music and candles not in a hoity toity way but a benchmark for civility and respect.

My job was to feed. My NSSP and The Princess’s job was to eat without complaint. There were a few years when I almost hated to put food in front of the other 2/3’s of the house. “Can’t you make anything plain?” she lamented. “Why does it always have to be fancy or gourmet?” she would push food around her plate as if it was a hated substance. I didn’t have an answer that she would understand but in defense I would have gone stark raving mad if I had to cook from Betty Crocker every day. I needed to be creative in my kitchen.

What goes around comes around. I find The Princess a success now. She can work her way around a menu at the fanciest of restaurants and is a joy to eat with next to NSSP. She hasn’t learned to cook (I was never a touchy feely stir the pudding mom- more of the go get your homework done and I’ll meet you at the dinner table kind of gal) but her palate is developed and she will try almost anything. She has a cook’s logic and on the few times she’s called me for recipes whipping down the aisles at Gristedes Market or the Fairway her questions are insightful.

She also is fearless. Last Thanksgiving she and her best friend made turkey pot pie with dough made from scratch. I do get nervous when she says she has nothing in the fridge (this prompts me to send pasta, sauce and peanut butter) I have to release. She will find her way.

These days with an empty nest, Family Dinner is for either one or two. Candles are still lit and jazz replaces the classical cooking music. It is an interlude between two parts of the day and a time to wind down. I wouldn’t give it up for anything!

The Celebrity Cooking Circuit or The Three Stooges are Back!

2009-10-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

I read far too many food related articles, blogs, and other people’s ruminations. I ponder each gem wondering if this is the next craze, chef, or food to note. There are times however when I step back and reflect on what is being said. A subconscious knee jerk occurs as I push back from the rising tide of culinary sensationalism.

In an article titled “Rock Star Chefs” by Katy McLaughlin in www.onlinewsg.com 10.2.09; she explores the rock star status that chefs are attaining today. This isn’t rocket science. We’ve seen this rolling tsunami, flood the culinary scene with chefs turn celebrity, chef market food; wannabes reach chef stardom, and random failed restaurants. What has this done to elevate truly excellent cooking and passion in the masses?

RR in her own way ( and believe me I hate to give a nod to her slap dash in your face recipes and sloppy presentations and verbiage) we find her at least careening around a kitchen and squatting in front of a ridiculous oven to yank out broiled food. She doesn’t try to hob knob with the likes of Chef Eric Ripert and when she was on an Iron Chef Cook-off a few years ago seemed quite humbled and realistically out of her depth.

There was a quote in the article from used to be chef, and now resident culinary journalist Mr. Anthony Bourdain mentioning that he did 25 live appearances and will up it to 40 next year because the majority of his do$ re$ mi$ comes from these dog and pony shows. He did one last year here in my fair city on the edge and some close friends of mine went. When queried, they said his one man show was good when he was reciting his shtick but when the show was opened to questions from the masses it fell like a deflated soufflé. Everyone wanted to have a little one-on-one even if the question had been asked before or wasn’t relevant.

Hurling bras on the stage? (Guy Fieri) “Garnishing” a bald headed person in the audience with whipped cream and licking it off? (Paula Deen) What the flying wazoo has happened to cooking demonstrations?

Today “Bam!” is so innocent with everyone jamming food in their faces, ooze dripping down, and orgasmic grunting sounds.

My eyes welled when I saw that Chef Jacques Pepin, Chef Eric Ripert, and Mr.Tony Bourdain were going to do a three act celebrity chefs series in Miami.What is the world coming to? The last 3 act I remember was the 3 Stooges on black and white t.v.

I have seen Chef Pepin do several demonstrations alone and with Julia Child in his prime I thought of him as a human cuisinart in precision. The minimum of movement for maximum results exuded what it is to be a truly efficient chef. His La Technique and La Methode were seminal books that enticed me to pursue a culinary career.

I watched a Chef Ripert demonstration when he was on the cusp of “stardom” and felt the same reverence for his craft. I ate at his restaurant and although I am not stupid enough to think that he was dipping his finger in each sauce before it went out I felt his exactitude conveyed to the staff both front of the house and back of the house. His cookbooks exude a love for ingredients and a masterful execution of dishes. He's a pro!

Mr. Bourdain? His Kitchen Confidential was an Upton Sinclair for the restaurant industry. His stories were far too true and made me wince remembering the wild west days of the restaurant industry. These were stories I never even shared with my NSSP and here they were in print for the masses. He was a bad boy chef who worked hard and bailed out. He still has this fantasy that he is part of the trenches but this image can only be seen through rose colored glasses and a softened memory bank. His prose are acerbic and spot on but he’s strayed. New books have been shelved for live appearances. How many bugs and offal can he eat with the natives? Even that gets old.

I haven’t even mentioned the groupies who follow these people around and eat food prepared by more wannabe cooking school cheflets using the “God’s “ recipes. Kind of like buying a print of Picasso when he's in the room.

Call me old fashioned but I want to be inspired and learn from a cooking demonstration or show. It’s not good enough to see someone washing their hands 5 times and opening packages. How about some interesting technique with a properly set table and a plate with a reasonable portion?

I guess it’s time to throw in a Julia Child DVD and go down memory lane.
Bon Appetit!

A Soup to Warm Your Bones

2009-09-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

One look at the upcoming weather sent visions of chicken soup to my mind’s eye. I couldn’t wait for the happy sun to disappear under a blanket of grey clouds. First I had to start my broth base. I save as many random chicken bones and pieces as I can in the freezer to start my broth. I throw the frozen mess into a large le creuset pot along with a mirepoix, (large pieces of celery, onion, and carrot) thyme, parsley, garlic and boxed chicken broth. I like to use the boxed broth-it jump starts the flavor. After cooking the base until the chicken meat falls off the bones and the neck bones crumble with a pinch, I chill it overnight so the fat rises and can be skimmed off.

Call me a sissy but I hate to fondle cold meat. Squishing ground meat for meatloaf makes my fingers ache just thinking about it. The same is true with cold slimy chicken. After skimming the fat I warm the base until it is comfortable to plunge my digits in and commence to separate the meat from the bones and vegetables. It’s tedious but the happy wag from our dog’s docked tail keeps me filling the bowl for his breakfast.

Strained and golden, the broth is ready to turn into a soup. Originally I was going to do the usual; chicken vegetable with a medley of summer’s end vegetables undulating in the crock pot. This morning is another day and looking over at the pyramid of tomatoes cascading across the counter I realized I should branch out. Scurrying downstairs to my study I grabbed Splendid Soups by James Peterson Bantam Books CO 1993.

Page 394 held the answer to my soup du jour dilemma, Chicken Soup with Garlic, Saffron, Basil, & Tomatoes. I skimmed the ingredients and found I was only missing 3; leeks (a mixture of shallots and mild onions will suffice), turnips (no problem I’m not wild about them) and crusty French bread (everything bagels from Yom Kippur would step in). In a nod to France I grabbed some flageolets to substitute for cannellini and some chanterelles to ramp up the mushroom category. Then I stopped short. The recipe was for 4-8!I didn’t want that much sitting around for us. I used a little trick that works for me when making soups. I grab the size pot that will hold enough soup for us and use it for measurement. When it is full of all of the ingredients (in rough proportions to the recipe) the amount of soup made has been contained to a reasonable amount and I haven’t made vats. I fiddled and fondled until perfection was achieved!

I must say this turned out to be a sterling soup! Mixing in a portion of the saffron garlic added a creamy element and fresh garlic flavor. The basil cream gave a fresh herb flavor. All in all this would be a great entertaining dish or after skiing soup. All I need now are a few more friends or lessons in skiing!

I will give you the list of ingredients but you will have to mold the soup around your palate and larder. Have fun & Happy Eating!
Fennel
Leek
Carrot
Turnip
Mushrooms
Bouquet garni
Chicken broth
Tomatoes
Chicken
Basil
Olive oil
Heavy cream
Cannellini beans
Spinach
S&P
Saffron & Garlic Mayonnaise
French bread
Soup is made from leeks, carrots, turnips, mushrooms, bouquet garni, and chicken broth. Poach chicken in this, shred. Add peeled and seeded tomatoes make green sauce with basil olive oil and heavy cream. Make saffron & garlic mayonnaise stir some in soup save some for garnish add rest of ingredients sans bread. Put bread on the bottom soup on top with saffron garlic mayo and basil cream.

Fall is Crashing In

2009-09-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

September and October on the edge are a couple of months of perfect weather and fresh produce strawberries, raspberries plums and peaches are in profusion but quietly being nudged out by honey crisp, braeburn and granny smiths. Tomato plants haven’t given up and are still in frenzied production. Winter squash is squatting next to purple majesty and German butter potatoes.

Each day I switch between summer grilling and oven cooking. I wonder when we eat outside if it will be the last of the season. It takes longer for the house to warm up- we just put on another layer.

Last night it was summer and we made ribs. Not the slow cook kind but a somewhat quicker version. I patted the ribs with a dry rub and wrapped them in foil letting them “marinate” for a couple of hours in the fridge.

When ready the NSSP fired up the grill and cooked them covered for a little over an hour. He then took them out of the foil and slathered them with bbq sauce and finished them on a slow flame to crisp and caramelize. It wasn’t fall off the bone perfection but darn good Friday night vittles. I whipped up some classic cole slaw channeling my mother-in-law’s recipe and of course our daily intake of tomatoes.

Why Do I Think Of These Labor Intensive Tasks?

2009-09-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last year I held a Bastille Day celebration and thought the only way to serve raspberries was to stuff them with melted chocolate. It was a decadent end to the evening and a perfect marriage but gee wiz what a gooey nightmare!

This year as an additional appetizer to the salmon mousse below I dreamed up these tasty morsels. Who in their right mind is going to hollow out cherry tomatoes (these babies were miniature plums from our garden) pat them dry, minuscule mince chives and uber chiffonade basil alternating on top and below with red dragon mustard cheese and mozzeralla pearls?

All I could think about was that it was only for 4 and I wasn't doing the deed on 1/2 sheet pans for the masses.

They were cute,and tasty and yes I will do them again.

The Little Things You Learn On The Cusp Of Your 25th Anniversary

2009-09-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

On the cusp of our 25th Anniversary I thought I pretty much knew my NSSP's likes and dislikes. I mean lets face it I cook and he eats. It's a pretty easy division of duties. That fateful night it was a simple meal of large tube pasta, herbs, garlic, and chopped tomatoes.The tomatoes turned warm after the addition of the hot cooked pasta. It was a pleasant meal with the usual candles,jazz, and wine. We chatted as couples do about nothing profound in fact I am certain we were talking about our animals and wayward daughter probably in that order.

My plate was licked clean it was delicious and uncomplicated. I looked over at his plate and found herbs and pasta gone and a neat pile of chopped tomatoes to the side.

"Was there something wrong with the pasta?" I queried knowing full well that I had made yet another perfect meal.

"No I don't like warm tomatoes." he sheepishly admitted.

"Wait a minute! You like raw tomatoes, tomato sauce, ketchup, salsa and you don't like fresh slightly warm tomatoes in a sauce?" My voice started to squeak.

"You know I don't like those broiled tomatoes." he mumbled.

"Who does? Their gummy, burnt and soggy all at the same time. Slightly warm tomatoes fall into the same category?" I looked at those innocent red flavorful chunks that had been cast off as inedible and were cooling their jets as we argued.

"Is there anything else I should know about your likes and dislikes?" I pondered creating a form for him to fill out.

"No...Not really," the NSSP gave me his most winning smile trying get the dinner back on track and perhaps into a romantic culmination of the evening.

I'll let you finish the story as you feel fit...