Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen

Chilaquiles

2012-01-31T12:24:00.000-06:00

Rose may be gone to L.A. but the cooking she did during her months at home lingers on with us, making memories bright and mouths water.

Here's a delicious one that actually would be a good make-ahead recipe for Super Bowl Sunday, now that I think of it.

CHILAQUILES
Adapted from “Tortilla Pie with Chorizo” in Mexican (page 140)

Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 lb ground pork
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
12 corn tortillas
3 cups Monterey Jack, grated
1 1/4 cups creme fraiche
2 cups tomatillos
4 tbsp stock or water
2 fresh serrano chiles, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
Small bunch of cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the pork and garlic. Stir over medium heat until the meat has browned, then stir in the oregano, chili powder, cloves, and pepper. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, stirring constantly, then add the sherry, sugar, and salt. Stir for 3-4 minutes, until all the flavors are blended, then remove the pan from heat.

Cut the tortillas into 3/4 inch strips. Pour oil into a frying pan to a depth of 3/4 inch and heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the tortilla strips in batches until crisp and golden brown all over.

Spread half the pork mixture in a baking dish. Top with half the tortilla strips and grated cheese, then add dollops of creme fraiche. Repeat the layers. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling.

To make the tomatillo sauce, put tomatillos, stock or water, serrano chiles, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor or blender. Reserve a little cilantro for sprinkling. Process until smooth. Scrape into a saucepan, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir the sour cream into the sauce, with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture on top and serve immediately, sprinkled with cilantro.

Variation: Substitute cinnamon for chili powder.

Lemon Grass Pork

2011-12-20T13:55:00.000-06:00

This is another knock out that Rose made from one of her international cookbooks. It's an absolutely delicious stir-fry which was wonderful over rice noodles though we agreed that we would have it with rice the next time.

LEMON GRASS PORK

1-1/2 lb boneless pork loin
2 lemon grass stalks, finely chopped
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
12 black peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh red chilies, seeded and chopped
1 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
Salt and pepper

Trim excess fat from pork. Cut meat into 1/4 inch slices and then 1/4 inch strips. Put pork in bowl with lemon grass, green onions, salt, and crushed peppercorns. Mix well. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat wok, add oil and swirl around. Add pork mixture and stir-fry over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until browned all over.

Add garlic, chilies and stir-fry 5-8 minutes over medium heat until pork is cooked through.

Add sugar, fish sauce, and chopped peanuts. Toss to mix and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice noodles or vermicelli pasta.

Christmas Baking

2011-12-19T08:53:00.001-06:00

Just to show that everything old is new again ... or something like that ... I was going to write about Christmas baking. Found this in last year's archives and the order is almost the same, except that as the last week before Christmas comes into view I am rather behind in the baking. But we always pull it off one way or another.

Anyway, I'm reposting this holiday goodness for anyone who cares to try the recipes.

I kicked off the baking season, as I always do, with a batch of Amaretti. Those little almond meringue cookies that are so easy to make and even easier to eat.

Next were Date Crumb Bars ... think homemade "Fig Newton" for these.

Then I stalled out ... luckily Rose came home and with everyone at work has time enough to take up the slack.

She began with some Chocolate Chunk Biscotti, which are so much easier to make than most people would ever credit.

Next up were Chocolate Mint Filled Cookies. This recipe basically is a chocolate sandwich cookie with a chocolate mint patty as filling. I had some Andes' chocolate mint chip-ish bits and she used those for the filling instead of the thin mint patty. They are good enough but not minty enough and next year we will go back to the standard way.

Of course, we can't forget Mexican Wedding Cakes, which are amazingly, buttery, nutty bits of goodness with just the slight sweetness that comes from a powdered sugar coating.

Peanut Butter Bears (which I can't believe I never shared here ... must fix that soon). They are a delicious, crisp peanut butter cookie that has a texture reminiscent of shortbread somehow. This year we figured the girls are finally old enough not to care about making bears of the dough and Rose added chocolate chips and rolled them into balls which she flattened with her hand. Delicious!

Last up will be sugar cookies, cut into various Christmas shapes, of course, and then frosted in a Christmas Eve family decorating marathon. I am still searching for that holy grail of sugar cookie recipes so tend to try a different one every year in my quest for perfection.

That isn't all the baking though.

Last weekend I made Mashed Potato Dinner Rolls and put them in the freezer awaiting thawing for their Christmas dinner debut.

On Christmas Eve I will make Pecan Rolls, which was our family's traditional Christmas morning breakfast all through my youth. There is nothing like eating those rolls and ripping open gifts while the paper sticks to your hands because of the cinnamony syrup. Mmmm, mmmm. I never realized until now that I have neglected to share it with y'all. Enjoy!

It's only potatoes, you say. No. It isn't. [UPDATED]

2011-12-15T12:51:00.002-06:00

And my sis has the whole story why at her blog, The Guideline.

Guess what?

I already was planning on making those potatoes. Haven't had them for years but they are "on my palate" whenever I think of the roast pork I am planning.

Our family is definitely on the same page.

UPDATE
The recipe is freestyle. Check comments for Lisa's version and for mine.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

2011-12-14T10:49:00.000-06:00

More of Rose's weeknight culinary delights. This one is from Cooking Up a Storm (recipes requested and restored to the Louisiana folks that lost them during Hurricane Katrina). Tom gave it to me for Christmas but I never got around to making anything from it. Which is clearly nuts, given how good this was.

CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA
Cooking Up a Storm, page 197

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1-1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 lb smoked sausage (andouille, kielbasa), sliced 1/4 inch thick
1-1/2 cups yellow onions, chopped
1 cup green bell peppers, chopped
3 cups water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp green onions, chopped
1-1/2 cups long-grain rice

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Season the chicken pieces generously with Cajun seasoning. Add the chicken to the pot and cook, stirring, over medium heat until evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the onions and peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft and golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the water, tomato paste, parsley, and green onions. Stir and bring to a boil.

Add the rice, cover the pot, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid, 15 to 20 minutes. Do not stir. Fluff the mixture with a fork before serving.

All I Want for Christmas is an Old Fashioned Pork Roast

2011-12-14T10:45:00.000-06:00

The kind with moist, tender roast pork and crackling fat. Yes, I said it.

Kind of like this one I found on Leite's Culinaria.

Or the fresh Roasted Pork Leg from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.

Obviously, I'm ready to relive the days of my past when all pork wasn't dry and lean.

Rigatoni with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Blue Cheese

2011-12-07T09:56:00.000-06:00

Here's another dish Rose chose that never would have appealed to my mental palate in a million years. But it worked beautifully. In fact, Tom said that it was like something you'd get in an Italian restaurant and wonder what they did to make it so delicious. High praise indeed, as he is not averse to blue cheese, but he's also not its biggest fan.

I believe this came from one of my Cooking Light cookbooks. Rose cooked it for one of our meatless Friday dishes. It was no penance at all, I assure you!

RIGATONI WITH SPINACH, TOMATOES, AND BLUE CHEESE

Cooking oil
1 cup onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp flour
6 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 1/2 cup tomato, chopped
1 lb rigatoni pasta, cooked
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Saute onions until golden brown. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Whisk flour into chicken broth. Add chicken broth, spinach, and tomato to pan. Cook until spinach has released liquid. Bring to boil and simmer until sauce thickens. Add more flour if needed. Pour sauce over pasta . Add blue cheese and toss until cheese has melted.

Vietnamese Coffee

2011-11-30T08:43:00.003-06:00

This one's for Jenny who read my favorable comments about In the Vietnamese Kitchen and asked if there were a recipe for coffee.

I haven't tried it, but it looks like a danged good excuse to open a can of condensed milk! For that matter, it's a good reason to pick up a can of Cafe du Monde coffee, which I'm lucky enough to have stores carrying. (One of the perks of being this close to East Texas.)

Coffee and Condensed Milk

An opened can of sweetened condensed milk is a great excuse to indulge in Vietnamese coffee, called ca-phe sua. To create this jolting beverage, brew an inky-strong cup of coffee. Any full-bodied, dark roast will work, although a perennial favorite of Vietnamese Americans is Cafe Du Monde from New Orleans, which contains chicory. Regardless of the coffee, brew it in a regular electric coffeemaker or a stove-top espresso maker. (The small Vietnamese stainless-steel presses are slow and often don't work well.) If you are starting from beans, grind them extrafine to extract the maximum flavor.

Now, put about 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk in a cup. Add about 3/4 cup of your hot, heady brew and stir to combine. Taste and adjust with more milk to your liking, then drink hot as is or pour into an ice-filled glass for a cold version.

Chinese Pork with Eggplant and Rice Sticks

2011-11-29T12:04:00.001-06:00

Turn Rose loose with a lot of eggplant from our CSA and a recommendation that my Cooking Light cookbooks usually include lots of vegetables in main dishes ... and certainly get a really delicious result for dinner.

She made this a few weeks ago. I loved it so much that I ate leftovers for breakfast ... three days running.

The one change I might make would be to use either thicker pasta or serve it over rice. The rice sticks we had were of angel-hair pasta consistency and didn't mix gracefully with the mixture.

CHINESE PORK WITH EGGPLANT AND RICE STICKS
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2000 (November, pg 278)

1/2 lb boneless pork loin roast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Vegetable oil
4 cups eggplant, 1/2 inch cubes (8 oz)
2 cups onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Trim fat from pork; cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Combine salt, pepper, and ground red pepper. Sprinkle pork with pepper mixture.

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add eggplant and stir-fry until tender. Remove from pan. Add pork, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add onion; stir-fry until translucent. Add garlic and crushed red pepper, and stir-fry 1 minute. Add broth, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce; bring to a boil, and cook 2 minutes. Return eggplant to pan and cook until thoroughly heated.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro. Serve over rice sticks, angel hair pasta, or sticky rice.

Burgers with Blue Cheese Mayo and Grilled Onions

2011-11-21T09:40:00.002-06:00

I made this this weekend and, since I was using the torn out page from the magazine, thought it was from Fine Cooking. That's how good it was. Imagine my surprise at getting ready to share the recipe here and finding it was from Cooking Light!

These blue cheese burgers with the somewhat charred grilled onion rings were simply fantastic. I actually can't wait to make them again.

I have to admit I used the recipe as inspiration rather than following it to the letter. Although what I did was pretty close. Looking it over, the most variations were to the onions. The recipe was sent in by a reader and you can see it in its entirety at Cooking Light.

I used:

Chuck instead of sirloin
Hellman's regular mayonnaise instead of a canola version (for all I know it may be made with canola)
Dried thyme (have you seen the price of fresh thyme?)
Regular onions (if your CSA farmer continually kept bringing onions for weeks, you'd ignore buying special onions too ... plus I'm not that big a sweet onion fan)
Onion rings instead of keeping the slices intact. I like my onions fully cooked or fully raw and the idea of those slices just seemed too much in-between ... which would have grossed me out.
No marinade of sherry vinegar and fresh thyme for onion slices ... since I wasn't using slices. That might have been a good addition but the rings were charred enough that I was worried they might dissolve a bit.
No arugula (I didn't read the recipe carefully enough ... I'm leaving that in because arugula or even a good leaf lettuce would probably have been a fantastic addition)

So here is our version, though I encourage you to click through above to see the real deal.

Burgers with Blue Cheese Mayo and Grilled Onions

Ingredients

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1 pound ground chuck
Pepper
Salt
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 medium to large onion, cut into fairly thick slices and then turned into rings
4 burger buns
2 cups loosely packed arugula, washed and dried

Preparation

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Combine 1/2 cup blue cheese, mayonnaise, thyme, and Tabasco in a small bowl; stir well.
Divide beef into 4 equal portions, shaping each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Sprinkle burgers with salt and pepper.
Toss onion rings with oil and some pepper.
Place the patties and onions on grill rack. (We use a vegetable rack for onions.) Grill burgers to taste and onions until fairly well cooked and browned on the edges.
Spread cut sides of buns evenly with mayonnaise mixture. Arrange 1/2 cup arugula on bottom half of each bun.
Put a burger on the arugula and top with crispy onion rings.

Rose - The Cook of the House

2011-11-21T09:20:00.000-06:00

About three weeks ago, completely frazzled from our huge annual project which takes all waking hours, I assigned Rose the dinner duties for weekdays. She's home for a bit between graduation and heading off to L.A. to seek her fortune in film editing. Other than training the dogs to do tricks (three now know "down", two also know "shake" and all are gradually coming to grips with "fetch), she's been whiling her time away reading Middlemarch and working on screenplay ideas.

She likes to cook but hadn't been expecting this, which began with a phone call (as she reminded me the other day), "Check the freezer for things to use, but you've got to make dinner tonight. And the rest of the week."

Rose rose nobly to the challenge. I don't remember what she pulled together for that evening, but she has been planning weekly meals that reminded me of the joy that can be had preparing and consuming meals when you go beyond the same old thing.

I have to admit that "same old thing" is what I'd been doing for too long. I believe that most people who are responsible for daily meals every day of the week will know what I'm talking about.

Rose, however, faced different problems when in college. She had little time, little money, and few people to consume what she was interested in making. She has had all those deficits filled in our family where I give her my debit card, add my weekend cooking items to her grocery list, and where all four of us either appreciatively enjoy the meal OR laugh together over the failure of the recipe. I hasten to add that in each case the failure has definitely been in the recipe writing or testing, not in Rose's skill in cooking.

The biggest change for me is that Rose's fearlessness in trying whatever looks interesting has rekindled my interest in cooking is returning to enjoying the process and experimenting more. It is becoming more of a joy than a chore.

Also, I painlessly lost three pounds because Rose incorporates so many vegetables in every meal and I'm not tasting while cooking all the time. Something to take note of for my full-time return to the kitchen!

I will be sharing some of the recipes that I've been trying and my favorites of those that Rose has served.

Cherie

2011-10-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

I had to go restock the liquor cabinet (imagine that!) and picked up Cherry Brandy and Coffee Brandy. It seemed as if I saw tons of recipes calling for these and I was tired of skipping all of them. Plus, I like cherry and coffee flavors.

Naturally, I got home, sat down with Mr. Boston's Official Bartender's Guide and had a heckuva a time finding any of those cocktails.

Eventually, after due diligence, I dug up some interesting prospects.

The first we tried was Cherie which was quite delicious. And it had a maraschino cherry. Which was perfect because we were watching Some Like It Hot.

Don't see the connection? Pick up the movie and watch for Tony Curtis on the train.

Cherie
1 oz. Lime Juice
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1 oz. Light Rum
1/2 oz. Cherry-flavored Brandy

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add a maraschino cherry.

Zombie

2011-10-19T10:48:00.023-05:00

Can you have Halloween cocktails and not include the Zombie? I'm pretty sure that's against the rules. Somewhere.

These are, in a word, delicious. In another word, tangy. In a third word (or two), potential lethal.

As a side note: I'd never tasted passion fruit syrup before. It is like a curious combination of pineapple, orange, and mango on the tongue. Quite good.

We now return to the Zombie ... it never does to take one's eyes off of a zombie for too long, after all.

Do not overindulge. Or you will become that thing we all dread. A zombie.

But one Zombie won't hurt. At least we all came out alive. And since we were testing these while watching last weekend's Cowboys game, we needed something to dull the pain.

Zombie
1 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 oz. Lemon Juice
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Passion Fruit Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 oz. Gold Rum
1 oz. 151-proof Rum
1 oz. White Rum

Dissolve brown sugar in juices. Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, and pour into chilled Collins glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Satan's Whiskers

2011-10-18T10:46:00.001-05:00

It's interesting to me that Hannah and Rose both seem to choose cocktails to try based on the name. We have discovered some delicious cocktails that way, to be sure, but it is it so different from my method of scanning the ingredients to see if my mind's palate thinks it would be a good drink.

With Halloween coming up, Rose is at it again. Hence, Satan's Whiskers, which filled me with dread because of the double vermouth whammy ... which my mind's palate was nudging me in the ribs about (too much vermouth is not something I adore). Also orange juice. Which none of us are very fond of.

Based on my fears, we made sure we had ingredients for Zombies on hand also. There was no need as it turned out.

Satan's Whiskers was a lovely orange cocktail with no one ingredient overwhelming the others. A rich, deep flavor is the only way I can think of to describe it. Delicious. You'll just have to try it for yourself and see what you think. (More about the Zombies later.)

Satan's Whiskers
3/4 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier (our house orange liqueur is Cointreau so we used that)
1 dash Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Chocolate Marshmallows

2011-10-12T12:06:00.010-05:00

I have read marshmallow recipes for many years but never tried any, although I always was rather curious about what they'd be like. I am not very fond of marshmallows, as a matter of fact, and my curiosity was never great enough to move me to experiment.

Rose had a friend from Chicago visit last weekend, however, and tried out this recipe from the current Cooking Light. Other than mentioning that sampling cocktails before working with boiling sugar syrup seemed an unnecessary risk (one they took seriously enough to postpone cocktails, by the way), I didn't participate at all.

As we have come to expect from Cooking Light, Rose said the recipe worked exactly as written and was very easy. Everyone loved the soft texture and slight chocolate flavor. I did sample one and as marshmallows go it was good enough.

Next time Rose may try more cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavor. It also seems to me that a mint version would be good, perhaps with a touch of green or pink food coloring.

Chocolate Marshmallows

For a more pronounced chocolate flavor, increase the cocoa powder in marshmallows.

1 cup water, divided
3 (1/4-ounce) packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light-colored corn syrup
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa
Cooking spray
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Preparation

1. Pour 1/2 cup water into a small microwave-safe bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin.

2. Combine remaining 1/2 cup water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 250°. Pour sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer; let stand until a candy thermometer registers 210°.

3. Microwave gelatin mixture at HIGH for 20 seconds or until gelatin melts, stirring after 10 seconds. With mixer on low speed, beat sugar mixture using a whip attachment; gradually pour gelatin mixture in a thin stream into sugar mixture. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Increase speed to high; whip mixture at high speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Reduce mixer to medium speed, and gradually add 1/4 cup cocoa; beat until combined. Using a spatula coated with cooking spray, scrape mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; smooth top. Let stand 2 hours.

4. Sift together powdered sugar, cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons cocoa into a jelly-roll pan. Using an offset spatula coated with cooking spray, remove marshmallow from pan; place in sugar mixture. Using scissors well coated with powdered sugar mixture, cut marshmallows into 78 (1-inch) squares. Dust with powdered sugar mixture; shake to remove excess sugar mixture.

5. Arrange marshmallows on a cooling rack placed on a rimmed baking sheet. Place bittersweet chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until melted, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over marshmallows; let stand until chocolate is set.

55 Great Global Food Blogs

2011-10-07T10:12:00.000-05:00

Writing around here has been scarce on the ground. I have been cooking but somehow, with one exception which I will tell you about soon, none of it has been particularly interesting or noteworthy (aside from keeping us fed, of course).

So, you may be interested in Saveur's list of 55 Great Global Food Blogs. I know I was. There is some great stuff out there and this is a perfect way to explore it.

Spicy Cajun Shrimp

2011-09-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Tom got me Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans for Christmas last year. Although I enjoyed reading through it, I hadn't picked it up to make anything from it. Not sure why. That sort of thing happens when you've got stacks of cookbooks everywhere.

I finally cracked it open for actual use when I picked up some shrimp a couple of weeks ago and wanted to make something besides the same old thing. (Although I see that the shrimp scampi I usually favor isn't here ... I must share that soon!)

Who cooks shrimp better than someone from Louisiana? Probably no one.

This was a huge hit. I'm a wimp so I used less than the minimum amounts of cayenne and red pepper. In retrospect the minimums probably would have been fine. There is a wide latitude for spicy food, of course, so take your best guess!

Spicy Cajun Shrimp

Makes 2-3 servings
(It served 4 of us with leftovers)

2 dozen large shrimp, or 1 pound medium shrimp, fresh or frozen, thawed if frozen, peeled, and deveined
1/4 teaspoon - 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed (optional)
1/3 cup butter
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup beer, at room temperature (this didn't seem to do much except dilute the recipe some ... I'm going to skip it next time)
Hot cooked rice for serving (optional)

Rinse the cleaned shrimp under cold running water. Drain well, then set aside. In a small bowl combine the cayenne, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, and herbs.

Combine the butter, garlic, Worcestershire, and the pepper-herb mixture in a large skillet over high heat. When the butter is melted, add the tomatoes, and then the shrimp. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add the beer, cover, and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Serve over rice, if desired. (Which we did!)

Time to Revive Home Ec

2011-09-07T13:14:00.001-05:00

A year later, my father’s job took our family to Wales, where I attended, for a few months, a large school in a mid-size industrial city. There, students brought ingredients from home and learned to follow recipes, some simple and some not-so-simple, eventually making vegetable soups and meat and potato pies from scratch. It was the first time I had ever really cooked anything. I remember that it was fun, and with an instructor standing by, it wasn’t hard. Those were deeply empowering lessons, ones that stuck with me when I first started cooking for myself in earnest after college.

I knew a lot about cooking when I took Home Ec back in the 9th grade. But I didn't know anything about sewing, budgeting, planning a project, or the many other things that I learned in that class. I look at my children's friends and almost all of them don't know a thing about cooking. Or a lot of those other things.

This New York Times article focuses more than I'd like on obesity as a reason to revive Home Ec, although it is not without reason. I'm just sayin' there are a lot of other reasons to bring it back.

Cooks, Gluttons, and Gourmets

2011-08-18T10:11:00.000-05:00

Cooks, Gluttons and Gourmets by Betty Wason

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a charming history of cooking. I was interested to see from the introduction that the author went to considerable trouble back in 1962 to unearth much of the information in the book ... including finding a Chinese translator to read a 14th century Chinese cooking text. She writes in a personable way that makes you feel as if you have found a new friend.

FINAL
This is a fairly comprehensive overview of the history of cooking from cavemen to Asia to Europe to New Orleans to 1962 ... and much more. A lifetime of reading food writing and history (especially the Time Life Foods of the World series) meant that little of the information was actually new to me. However, Wason tended to focus upon personalities to carry her histories forward and that is whence issued much of the book's charm. Many of the little anecdotes on the way were new and I very much enjoyed reading the history overall because of them.

The Go-To Snacks of Literary Greats

2011-08-03T14:45:00.001-05:00

Wendy MacNaughton loves to snack on garlic croutons when working and began wondering about what the literary greats snacked on.

Walt Whitman began the day with oysters and meat, while Gustave Flaubert started off with what passed for a light breakfast in his day: eggs, vegetables, cheese or fruit, and a cup of cold chocolate. The novelist Vendela Vida told me she swears by pistachios, and Mark Kurlansky, the author of “Salt” and “Cod,” likes to write under the influence of espresso, “as black as possible.”

Luckily for us, she did a charming sketch of some of the great writers' favorite snacks. Check it out at the New York Times.

Via Scott Danielson on Google+

CSA Story: Potatoes, Basil, and Creativity

2011-07-19T13:51:00.000-05:00

There's a certain sense of accomplishment I feel when I am getting dinner ready, realizing that somehow I should be working in disparate ingredients from the CSA cooler. It's like being on one of those cooking shows, handed a box of odd ingredients and told to make dinner with it.

Certainly it pushes me out of my comfort zone and into inspiration. And sometimes ... every so often ... it pushes me into a place where my family is delighted with the inspiration.

Yesterday, for example, I was making Baked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce. I had picked up some fresh green beans at the store last weekend but was wondering what starch to have with the meal. Then I remembered the red potatoes from the CSA, some of them were fairly small. I could have potatoes and green beans.

Super simple in first boiling a pot of water, then putting in the potatoes, and toward the last 10 minutes or so dropping in the tailed green beans. (If the potatoes are different sizes, I just pull the smaller ones when they are done and pop them back in to warm up right before I drain the whole thing.

When I opened the fridge to get the beans out, I smelled the fresh basil that the farmer also brought last weekend. Basil. When was I ever going to use that? Pasta was my usual use for basil and that wasn't in my sights until way after that basil went bad.

And then I remembered. An Italian region makes green beans, potatoes, and pesto. Or at least it seemed as if I had read something about that. But I had no time to look up recipes and, truth be told, no inclination.

I pulled the basil, washed and dried it, threw it in the food processor along with a pinch of salt, a clove of garlic, and a small handful of walnuts. I whirred it until everything looked as small as it was going to get (pretty grainy, not smooth) and then I glugged in some olive oil until it was less solid but not really runny. Then I threw in a couple handfuls of grated Parmesan and whirred again. Done.

Yes, all of this was off the cuff so those are the best descriptions you're gonna get. Blame Nigel Slater and my ongoing reading of Tender.

When the potatoes and beans were tender (should've snapped those beans in half, but there's always next time), I tossed them with the impromptu pesto.

And nervously put it in a dish in front of Tom.

Who tentatively tried it, said, "This is really good!" and reached for more.

It was really good.

The chances would have been slim of me actually looking that up in the cookbook and deliberately getting the ingredients to put that dish together.

But thanks to the mystery box each week from the CSA, we got a delicious, semi-authentic Italian dish and I had a sense of creativity that is all too rare.

Aperol, St. Germaine, and Mrs. 404

2011-07-11T11:52:00.020-05:00

Some time ago the Wall Street Journal ran an article featuring cocktails made with Aperol and St. Germaine.

What was interesting about this article is that both Tom and I read it. Our usual practice is to bring up articles, discover that the other person never read it and then to fill each other in. Was it because it was about cocktails? Was it because the Aperol just could not possibly be that vivid orange color? Was it because we both think of "Your Mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries*" when we see the word elderflowers (prime ingredient in St. Germaine)?

We will probably never know.

What we do know is that at the end of our discussion we had gotten interested enough to go out and buy a bottle of each. Frustratingly, though I remembered having seen Aperol as a mystery ingredient of practically every other recipe in our Mr. Boston: Official Bartender's Guide, now I could find none of them.

The Aperol is vividly orange both in color and flavor, but with an underlying bitter anchor of rhubarb. St. Germaine liqueur tastes, as the liquor store stockboy surprisingly and eloquently told Tom, "Fresh." Fresh as a spring day, one might say, with the full realization that such a description is not at all evocative on the mind's palate.

At any rate, eventually we made an Aperol Spritz and an Aperol Sour, both of which I will supply recipes for in the future.

Rose discovered the Mr. 404 because she chooses cocktails for their names. It is a Vodka cocktail containing both Aperol and St. Germaine. Tasty enough, but I do not favor Vodka, feeling that I enjoy flavor from my alcohol as well as a buzz.

Therefore, I took the creative license of substituting Gin for the Vodka and, in the age-old cocktail tradition, renaming the drink somewhat after myself.

Thus was the Mrs. 404 born. And there was great rejoicing.* We all preferred it to the original and it has become a mainstay among our weekend cocktail choices.

Try it and see what you think.

Mrs. 404

1-1/2 ounces Gin
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce St. Germaine
1/2 ounce Aperol
1/2 ounce simple syrup**

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

**Simple Syrup
Equal parts water and granulated sugar, heated over a flame, and then cooled and stored in refrigerator until needed. Keeps indefinitely refrigerated in a scrupulously clean container.

*Monty Python and the Holy Grail

How to Kill E. coli on Vegetables

2011-06-28T12:26:00.001-05:00

Monica Reinagle, The Nutrition Diva, has the answer and it is not the one that I thought I knew. Everyone ought to get this information and be sure you listen to it all.

I wondered whether these very toxic strains of E. coli might be especially hard to kill. It turns out that they’re not really that invincible—they’ve just developed some very clever survival tactics. “If these E. coli bacteria were just floating around in a bucket of water, a little bleach or even some vinegar would kill them right away,” Dr. Brackett explains. “But once the bacteria have attached themselves to the surface of a vegetable, they become much harder to kill.”

You may read or listen to her information at the link, which I heard on her podcast.

What I'm Reading: Tender by Nigel Slater (UPDATED)

2011-06-21T10:03:00.004-05:00

Tender: Volume I: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch by Nigel Slater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nigel Slater transformed his back yard into a garden. Not a fantastic, provide everything he eats garden ... but the sort of garden that someone who doesn't mind some failure does. And, of course, someone who likes to cook and eat. So we reap the benefit of his observations about gardening overall and then specifically about all sorts of vegetables. With recipes.

I like Slater's informal style and also his honesty about personal quirks. For example, he is determined to be organic and yet frustrated by slugs. One of the most charming stories is about how he loves to see the little family of urban foxes that lives next door but is simultaneously driven crazy by the fact that he knows they will eat some of his most treasured plants when his back is turned ... and the fact that the cubs love to lie right next to the keep-foxes-away speakers he bought.

This is one of those books that I will read through in order while flipping around to find recipes for produce received in my CSA cooler (what Slater calls his "organic box"). For example, I just have to go pick up some bell peppers and then am going to roast them with the tomatoes I got ... and some anchovies ... or mozarella ... or black olives. Mmmmm ...

UPDATE
I also meant to praise the book itself. It is printed on good quality paper, with cloth binding, has a bound-in ribbon marker, and contains some of the most beautiful photography I have ever seen in a cookbook. If you have Kitchen Diaries, the photography and layout style is very similar, which makes it an aesthetic pleasure to pick up and read as well as to cook from.

View my Goodreads reviews

Texas Enchilada Casserole

2011-06-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

This year Rose didn't want to go out for her birthday dinner. She had just gotten home from Chicago and she wanted homestyle cooking ... Tex-Mex style. She wanted Texas Enchiladas.

For the uninitiated, that means cheese enchiladas in a red sauce with some chopped onion on top.

Once again, as so many times before, I have been making a simple, yet flavorful, version of this from one of Matt Martinez's cookbooks.

To make it even easier, I stack the enchiladas instead of rolling them. I've been told that this is how they do it in New Mexico, but we'll keep it simple and just call this a casserole.

Enchilada Sauce

Step 1:
1/4    cup lard, shortening or vegetable oil
1/4    cup flour

In a large skillet, heat lard to medium hot. Stir in flour and continue stirring until it turns a very light brown (3-4 minutes.)

Step 2:
1/2    teaspoon pepper
    1    teaspoon salt
    2    cloves minced garlic
    2    teaspoons ground cumin
    2    tablespoons chili powder
1/2    teaspoon oregano

Add all and continue to cook for 1 minute. Constantly stirring and blending ingredients.

Step 3:
    3    cups water or chicken broth

Add and stir until sauce thickens slightly, 1-2 minutes. Turn heat low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep sauce very thin.

Texas Enchiladas

Step 1:
        Vegetable oil
    8    corn tortillas

Lightly brush tortillas on both sides with oil and heat briefly on a griddle until soft and flexible, stacking on a plate as you work.

Step 2:
    2    cups (8 ounces) grated mild cheddar
1/2    cup finely chopped white onions
    1    batch Enchilada Sauce, warm

Mix cheese and onions and set aside. Dip tortillas into sauce, fill with cheese, roll tightly and arrange in an oven-proof dish. Spread remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes at 350° until cheese is completely melted. Serve immediately.

Casserole: instead of filling tortillas with cheese and rolling them, just dip them in the sauce, lay down a layer across the bottom of a baking dish, and sprinkle with some of the cheese/onion mixture. Continue making the layers (3 or 4 depending on the size of the dish), topping with a sprinkling of cheese. Bake as above and cut in squares to serve.

The Amazing Chocolate Pie

2011-05-26T13:29:00.000-05:00

For my birthday, I had a hankering for chocolate pie. Specifically, I was curious about the technique mentioned in the most recent Cooking Light which combines some melted chocolate with the chocolate crumbs for the crust.

Rose volunteered to make the pie and was astonished by how easily it went together. She and a friend had a little pie business during their freshman year of college and Rose made many a chocolate pie during that time. She says that she never had a pie recipe work so well or be so quick as this.

This was an amazing pie. A deep, rich chocolate flavor; perfect texture with no lumps; just firm enough. Truly a superior dessert experience.

We did take two liberties with the recipe. We had whole milk and so used that instead of 1% milk. And we used real whipped cream instead of fat-free Cool Whip. Also, I didn't have any raspberries. They would have looked pretty but they weren't missed.

Cooking Light named this Rich Chocolate Pudding Pie. We call it ...

The Amazing Chocolate Pie

YIELD: 10 servings (serving size: 1 pie slice, about 1 tablespoon berries, and 1 tablespoon whipped topping)
HANDS-ON: 20 MINUTES
TOTAL: 4 HOURS, 45 MINUTES

Ingredients

CRUST
30 chocolate wafers (such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon canola oil

FILLING
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided (we used whole milk)
2 large egg yolks
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon white rum
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
10 tablespoon fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed (we used whipped cream*)

Preparation
1. To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; process until finely ground. Add 3 ounces melted chocolate and oil; process until blended. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze the 15 minutes or until set.

2. To prepare the filling, combine sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in a large saucepan; stir with a whisk. Add half of milk and 2 yolks; stir with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 4 ounces chocolate, and stir until smooth. Stir in rum. Pour filling into prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap; chill 4 hours or until set. Serve with raspberries and whipped topping.

* To whip cream, we poured about a cup of heavy cream into a bowl, sprinkled in a spoonful or so of powdered sugar, picked up a whisk and whisked it all together briskly until the cream held its shape. Easy as ... wait for it ... pie!

When You Can't Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (Or Taste It Either): Reviewing "Season to Taste" by Molly Birnbaum

2011-05-21T08:07:00.000-05:00

Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having been admitted to the Amazon Vine Program I was eager to find a book to try that I would not normally come across. This one, in which Molly Birnbaum relates her loss of smell due to a head injury and intersperses her story with delving into the science of smell, filled the bill. What makes Birnbaum's loss of smell, and subsequent almost complete loss of the ability to taste, all the more painful is that she was set to go to the Culinary Institute of America to begin training as a chef. Watching her learn to deal with her unexpectedly debilitating infirmity is fascinating and is making me more aware of all the scents that make the pattern of my life.

Birnbaum is an unexpectedly good writer. Possibly because she had to focus on the visual and textural aspects of food and the world around her after losing her sense of smell, she describes her environment and experiences in a way that takes the reader into her world. This can be unexpectedly jarring when she points out aspects of scent that affect us daily in ways that we never thought about. For example, if one isn't smelling pine or mint or some other vivid fragrance, can we remember what it is like? It was rather disturbing to realize that I couldn't actually do so in the way that I can recall a flavor. These experiences enhance our appreciation for what Birnbaum and others deprived of scent go through. The science of the book was interesting and I appreciated the fact that it was interwoven with the personal story. This added gravity to Birnbaum's story and lightened the science enough to take it all in. Her quest takes her to science labs, Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, perfume experts, and a chef who managed to keep cooking despite developing tongue cancer. One of the most fascinating sections of the book was when the author went to perfume training school in France in an attempt to give her olfactory neurons additional stimulus and herself extra training to help her recognition of scents.

My one negative feeling about the book was that Birnbaum kept on worrying about how much of her sense of smell would return, even after much of it had come back. While understandable on one hand, and probably an accurate accounting of her feelings, the overall effect was to make the book was to become tedious and whiny seeming at times.

I did wonder, as the book went on and time seemed to be passing year by year, was how Birnbaum was supporting herself. A job or two is mentioned but only ever as a method of helping to cope with or try to train her limited sense of smell. At other times, she clearly is not employed and I wondered how she was able to afford living in New York City or traveling to France to attend perfume school. It didn't detract from the story but it did occur to me forcibly from time to time.

Overall, I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in cooking, taste, perfume, and the science of scent. Oh, and an interesting story well told.

View all my reviews

The Package That Can Put a Big Smile on Your Face

2011-04-25T12:46:00.002-05:00

That's probably only if really true if you're a certain age.

Because this is the original packaging.

But when I found it at Krogers this weekend it made me smile and not only because this is Hannah's favorite flavor which can be hard to find.

Tom, helping me unload groceries, held up the bag with a broad grin, "Hey! This is classic!"

And so it is.

Both on the inside and the outside.

Evidently these are available for a limited time. Why limited! We want them always!

Food in Science Fiction and Fantasy

2011-04-11T13:38:00.001-05:00

That is the latest topic under discussion at SFFaudio where Scott and Jesse welcome guest Luke Burrage. I can't wait to listen to this one. Two of my favorite topics being discussed by three of my favorite people!

Religion & Food: Lenten Food

2011-03-09T08:38:00.001-06:00

Simple vegetarian soups are traditional throughout Lent, and each nationality has developed its own Lenten specialty. Consider slurping any -- or all -- of the following for the next forty days:
Eastern Europe: Vegetable-based split soups.
France: Onion soup, of course! Call it Zuppa Magna di Cipolle and you can claim its Italian.
Greece: Tomato soup.
Italy: Brodo Magro di Digiuno is made with leeks, onions, carrots, cabbage, and lentils; flavored with sage and bay left. Strained, it's a rich broth for other soups or to use with rice or pasta. Pureed, it's a hearty soup.
Russia: Borscht (beet soup) with mushrooms or barley. Sauerkraut and mushroom soup. Cabbage, potato, carrot, and barley soup.

Eastern Orthodox Church adherents still observe relatively strict fasting -- relative to what most Roman Rite Catholics do -- during Lent. Check out this site to see what rigorous fasting looks like ... if you decide to go the complete vegetarian route for the next forty days, check out Mollie Katzen's The Moosewood Cookbook. Published over two decades ago, it's still one of the best resources for vegetarian recipes and especially wonderful soups.

Strange but true: The pretzel is the oldest, traditional, authentically Christian Lenten bread. Some food historians trace its origin back to Roman Christians of the fifth century. Others insist that monks in southern France, or maybe it was northern Italy, cooked this egg- and butter-free snack up in A.D. 610. The former called them bracellae, Latin for "little arms"; the latter called them pretiola, latin for "little reward.

In either account, the dough configuration represents arms folded in prayer and the three holes represent the Trinity. thus you may eat these with impunity, but not gluttony, throughout Lent ...

So where does "pretzel" come from? Germans, who called these breads bretzel ("little bread") ... Palatine Germans, who would become known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, imported pretzels to the United States in 1710.
The Catholic Home by Meredith Gould

Shrove Tuesday and Pancakes

2011-03-08T07:33:00.000-06:00

Reposted for your Mardi Gras enjoyment.

Weeks of food antics peak on the last day of pre-Lent, Shrove Tuesday (a.k.a. Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Fasten's Eve, or Fastnacht). The name "Shrove" derives from the customary pre-Lenten "shrift" (confession), but it's mostly known for gluttony.

By now we're supposed to have had our last deluxe bacon-cheeseburger for the duration. In the old days, eggs, butter, fat, milk, and cheese were also considered verboten during Lent, so Shrove Tuesday was devoted to emptying the larder. For old times' sake, you might consider following this tradition, which also happens to be a healthier way of eating...

Flipping out over pancakes is so universal on Shrove Tuesday that the holiday is sometimes called "Pancake Tuesday" ... In England, Pancake Day is celebrated with races at which women over the age of sixteen, frying pans in hand, trot over 415 yards while tossing pancakes over at least three times...

In New Orleans, one of the less over-the-top Mardi Gras customs involves baking King's Cake, a yeasty, buttery confection flavored with lemon zest, cinnamon, and nutmeg decorated with purple, yellow, and green icing -- and these aren't even it's most distinguishing characteristics.

A tiny doll of the baby Jesus is baked inside the cake, which, when done, is doled out in huge slices. Whoever gets the slice with the doll provides the King's Cake the following year ... For an authentic King's Cake recipe check out the one at www.theholidayspot.com/mardigras.
The Catholic Home : Celebrations and Traditions for
Holidays, Feast Days, and Every Day
by Meredith Gould

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) precedes Ash Wednesday and the period of Lenten fasting. Pancakes were eaten to use up proscribed foods, and it is claimed that their ingredients have special Lenten symbolism: flour is the staff of life; milk is innocence and purity; salt is incorruptibility; and eggs symbolize creation.
Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany by Ben Schott

Here's my favorite recipe for pancakes. Enjoy!

Oatmeal with more sugar than a Snickers. Brought to you by ... McDonald's.

2011-02-25T10:40:00.001-06:00

Others will argue that the McDonald’s version is more “convenient.” This is nonsense; in the time it takes to go into a McDonald’s, stand in line, order, wait, pay and leave, you could make oatmeal for four while taking your vitamins, brushing your teeth and half-unloading the dishwasher. (If you’re too busy to eat it before you leave the house, you could throw it in a container and microwave it at work. If you prefer so-called instant, flavored oatmeal, see this link, which will describe how to make your own).

If you don’t want to bother with the stove at all, you could put some rolled oats (instant not necessary) in a glass or bowl, along with a teeny pinch of salt, sugar or maple syrup or honey, maybe some dried fruit. Add milk and let stand for a minute (or 10). Eat. Eat while you’re walking around getting dressed. And then talk to me about convenience.

The aspect one cannot argue is nutrition: Incredibly, the McDonald’s product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. (Even without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.)

You know, aside from the fact that the fruit they show raining down on the oatmeal in their commercials looks ... just wrong somehow to go on oatmeal ... I figured they were messing it up. Mark Bittman tells us all about it.

I, myself, am intrigued by his no-stove version of oatmeal. I always have a supply of homemade granola around but this sounds ... interesting. I'm going to try to remember it this weekend. And I'll report back.

UPDATE
I remembered later that, as Salome Ellen points out in the comments box, that this raw oatmeal soaked in milk is muesli. This made me even more curious to try it.

Saturday morning ... I did just that. I obviously am not a muesli person. The oats were so raw and floury tasting that to me it seemed perfect for anyone who loves eating raw oatmeal cookie dough. I, personally, found it disgusting. Though the sweet milk was good.

However, I would be happy to point everyone to Overnight Oatmeal which can be made in a slow cooker with a minimum of trouble and very little expense.

Learning to Cook

2011-02-24T14:08:00.002-06:00

This one's for Margaret who wished I would blog from the kitchen more.

I actually have a couple of little tidbits about cooking lately, but no time to commit them to pixels at the moment (no wonder this poor little place is so neglected).

So here are a couple of cookies to tide you over till dinnertime. Enjoy!

Learning to Cook

from the comic genius that is xkcd

The Art of Eating In

2011-02-11T14:15:00.001-06:00

Cathy Erway needed an interesting subject for the food blog she was considering beginning. She decided to give up eating out, though that would be difficult for a young twenty-something in New York City, and begin cooking her meals at home. What began as an interesting experiment became something of an obsession. As Cathy's blog, Not Eating Out In New York, grew in popularity, she threw herself into the project with an increasing passion that lasted two years.

The Art of Eating In chronicles that two year period. The book isn't composed of blog entries but is a memoir with recipes of Cathy's journey of discovering the wide world of cooking and the myriad forms it can take on in New York City. This leads to her participation in such adventures as cook-offs, underground supper clubs, urban foraging, and joining a freegan group for some evening foraging (dumpster diving, etc.).

For our next stop on the tour, we walked a few blocks south to a small upscale grocery store. The store was closed, its dim lights exposing the aisles of gourmet food inside. The store was closed, its dim lights exposing the aisles of gourmet food inside. At the curb in front lay our target—a disheveled heap of black garbage bags.

The group began tearing into the bags with a careful, yet determined dexterity that must have come from much experience. They would feel around the outsides first, then untie the top and take a peek in. I helped open one bag, which was filled with a variety of produce. Hands reached in from all directions around me, and one by one, fruits and vegetables were removed. Finally, I stepped back and surveyed what had come out of the group of bags so far. Along the sidewalk, the group had lined up a cluster of several decent-looking apples, some with bruises here and there. Many more spotted bananas were recovered, some good-looking pears, and several tomatoes, which looked wet on their surfaces, probably from condensation and being squashed beside something else, but otherwise fine. I was amazed to see bag after bag of prewashed mixed salad greens emerge from the garbage as well. The bags were sealed shut, and through the clear plastic, the greens still looked perfectly crisp. But the telltale expiration dates on their packages were one or two days past. Chatter floated around about what to set aside for the freegan group dinner the next evening. ...

I enjoyed reading about Erway's more unconventional adventures such as the quest to find a good theme for a supper club. I found it amusing when reading about her friends' dedication to truly test menudo's fabled qualities as a hangover cure (they went out the night before and got well and truly drunk so they were hung over the next day). Erway's research into subjects like the history of restaurants seemed sound as did her other forays into discussing food history.

The personal improvement into a confident cook was less interesting because anyone who has read much food writing has encountered this sort of story often. They generally follow the same developmental track and Erway is not unique in her story. It is not badly written; it is simply not that unusual. The story sparkles much more when reading about the investigation of the different ways New Yorkers express themselves through food (the supper clubs, foraging, etc.)

Erway also relates her personal dating life, evenings spent drinking, various hook-ups, and other such details of her life. These I could have done without. The cooking and other food related activities were plenty interesting without having to slog through the loss of her boyfriend and dating adventures. They weren't that unusual and didn't add anything to the overall story. It is too bad the editor didn't use a firmer hand in directing the book's focus. However, these are not difficult parts to skim over and the book is interesting despite them.

Note: This was a review book. I'd have said the same either way.

Brisket Tacos Are A Dallas Specialty?

2011-01-27T12:28:00.000-06:00

I thought they were something that just suddenly showed up at my favorite local Tex-Mex spot.

A delicious something. Something that someone ought to get an award for. Possibly something I'd give to the Holy Father if he were on his way through Dallas but stopping off for lunch on the way.

Now I see that Homesick Texan has done a little more thinking about this than I have, which is not surprising. Me, I just order them. Reading her description, you can see why.

Brisket tacos, if you’ve never had them in Dallas, are soft tortillas stuffed with succulent strands of brisket, pulled from a roast that has been braised overnight. The brisket isn’t smoky nor is it fiery—instead it’s tender and juicy, with a rich depth of flavor that can only come from cooking the meat low and slow.

Another hallmark of Dallas’s brisket tacos is that there’s always melted Monterey Jack on the tortillas, and each taco is topped with strips of sautéed onions and poblano chiles. Some places also include a small bowl of the pan juices, turning the brisket taco into a Tex-Mex beef sandwich au jus.

Yeah, my mouth is watering too. Especially since my favorite spot doesn't include the sauteed onion and chiles. I believe this may be something I'm going to have to whip up at home soon. So I can have those sauteed onions and chiles with it.

Luckily, there's a recipe so no matter where you are you can also have some delicious brisket tacos ... Dallas style. Get it (and read more about this delicious specialty) at Homesick Texan.

If the Pope were to ask where he could get the best stack of pancakes in Dallas ...

2011-01-24T12:58:00.002-06:00

... I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Cinn-a-Stack from IHOP?"*

Last Thursday was a sad day. Rose returned to Chicago, the skies were gray, the weather freezing. She and I had planned to have brunch in the hour before we had to hit the road for the airport. Yet, my mind went completely blank. I couldn't think of a local place that Rose and her friends hadn't already over-visited in their get togethers over the last month. (I know, I completely forgot Cindi's and am still kicking myself.)

It is an ill wind that blows no good though because we wound up at IHOP. Loving cinnamon rolls the way that I do, I couldn't resist the Cinn-a-stack. The pancakes were layered with cinnamon roll style filling and had a bit of cream cheese icing on top. To my surprise, they were not too sweet, with just the right amount of cinnamon and, of course, the buttermilk pancakes were delicious.

They were truly heavenly and worthy of the Holy Father, should he ever come to town for breakfast.

It was still a sad day when we finished. Yet, when you are full of pancakes and cinnamon, it leaves less room for the sad feelings. Perhaps that is why we wound up animatedly talking about Rose's idea for a Western movie all the way to the airport. And our sad feelings were forgotten until we got to the gate.

*With apologies to Roger Ebert, whose writing was the genesis of the phrase above. (If the Pope were to ask where he could get a good plate of spaghetti in America, I would reply, "Your Holiness, have you tried the Chili Mac or the Chili 3-Ways?")

Champagne Cocktail Discovery: The Korbel Poinsettia

2010-12-31T14:13:00.000-06:00

Tom was sent one of those promotional pdfs from Korbel, the kind with recipes. He sent it on to me and, although I was too frenzied at the time to take interest in the food ideas, I did pick up this champagne cocktail idea for Hannah and Rose to try at Christmas. They loved it and so did we, even though champagne does not need any enhancement for us to enjoy it.

It makes a lovely pink drink and we always have cranberry juice and triple sec on hand so it is easy also. We didn't float any berries in the top of the drink as in this Korbel photo, but obviously that is a nice touch.

Korbel Poinsettia

Korbel Champagne
1/4 oz triple sec
Splash Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice or Cranberry Juice Drink

Put triple sec and cranberry juice in a champagne flute and top with Korbel.

Pecan Rolls

2010-12-22T10:53:00.000-06:00

Our family's traditional Christmas breakfast, these Pecan Rolls are probably actually Schnecken from Germany. However, as pecans are native to America, these have been Americanized.

We have one pan on Christmas morning and I freeze the other to thaw and warm for New Year's breakfast. A sweet start to the new year, right?

These are simple and the result is impressive. The only thing you need to have plenty of is time as the recipe is a fairly forgiving one.

It originally came from the Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking which was my mother's go-to book for many recipes that became family favorites ... such as the Tuna Puff Log. Yes, it sounds strange but it was a brioche loaf which one baked and then cut off the lid to in order to hollow out and fill with a delicious creamed tuna (fairly stiff but with walnuts and a dash of nutmeg). It made a surprisingly sophisticated dish which I seem to recall my parents serving to company ... who would eat seconds.

I have adapted the dough recipe for this somewhat to modernize it and I divided it into steps to make it easier to follow. I also simplified it as I am used to kneading yeast breads, etc. But the rest is pure Meta Given.

Pecan Rolls

Step 1:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup warm milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast (or 1 package yeast)
1/2 teaspoon malt powder (optional, I get it from King Arthur flour, not in the original recipe)
4 cups flour

Combine and knead as usual for yeast dough. Let rise. Punch down dough, turn out on a lightly floured counter and let rest 10 minutes.

Step 2:
1-1/3 cups moist light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup white corn syrup
Pecan halves or pieces

Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup until smooth and spread in the bottom of two 9” cake pans. Place pecan halves (upside down) in circles covering pan spread. If using pieces, press enough cover thoroughly firmly into mixture. Set pans aside until after rolls have been made.

Step 3:
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Roll half of dough into a 8x10” rectangle, about 1/3” thick. Spread with butter and sprinkle with sugar mixed with cinnamon. Starting on wide side, roll up snugly. Cut into twelve 1” slices. Place into one pan in circles, with rolls not quite touching. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover lightly and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven; let stand 2-3 minutes, then loosen edges with a knife and turn upside down onto serving plate. Hold pan over rolls a minute for syrup to drain out on rolls. Serve warm nut-side-up.
These freeze well. Dough can be used for any sweet rolls.

Let It Dough

2010-12-20T13:46:00.001-06:00

Creation of many things ... amusingly illustrated using cookie dough and sprinkles ... from the NY Times. Brilliant!

Many thanks to Mom for the heads up on this one!

Salsa Mac 'N' Cheese

2010-12-08T10:09:00.001-06:00

When I did a little lagniappe episode featuring Velveeta on my podcast, Forgotten Classics, I promised to link to this recipe. Only to discover I never shared it.

Not surprisingly, this recipe came from the Pace Picante Sauce website. It is one our family's favorite dishes. Easy, quick, and tasty. Though, you must like Velveeta. Which we do!

Salsa Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Step 1:
    1    pound extra-lean ground beef
Brown beef; drain.

Step 2:
    1    16-ounce jar Pace Picante (chunky salsa)
    2    cups water
    7    ounces dried elbow macaroni
Stir in all. Simmer, covered 10-15 minutes until macaroni is tender.

Step 3:
    12    ounces Velveeta, cut up
Add and stir till melted.

We Can't Never Get Enuff o' Turkey Bone Gumbo

2010-12-06T12:33:00.004-06:00

Made the broth using the turkey bones and skin on Thanksgiving weekend. Froze it along with enough turkey to make it.

Thawed the whole buncha it out and made Turkey Bone Gumbo yesterday.

Yes, you've heard about it before, but it's good enough to take another look. Once again, my thanks to Sara Roahen for graciously taking the initiative to send me that recipe. I love it so much that I'll make a turkey just to have the gumbo later.

Though I'm considering saving up roasted chicken carcasses during the year so we can have some Chicken Bone Gumbo.

Second Verse, Same as the First: Thanksgiving Cooking

2010-11-24T07:21:00.000-06:00

I'm rerunning this because Thanksgiving means much loved favorites that only get trotted out once a year. This year both girls will be home for Thanksgiving and that is a reason for much rejoicing ... as well as feasting!

These dishes, for us, represent the perfect versions of their oeuvre.

Our day-after-Thanksgiving meal also is mandated by tradition. Chef salad featuring turkey (of course), blue cheese dressing and crumbled bacon (the real thing please!) on top. Mmmmmm, crumbled bacon ... except that since we do meatless Fridays, this feast actually comes on a Saturday.

Here are a few links to recipes I've posted before.

Herbed Thanksgiving Stuffing
This is the best stuffing ever and cooks in a slow cooker. I have made this five times now and never been disappointed. It really frees up the oven for other things and, if you happen to have a problem with sticking your hand up a turkey (no problemo here) then you're set free from that as well.

Skillet Cornbread
If you happen to like cornbread stuffing (which I do not), you may want to make this for your base. I've never found a better recipe.

Sweet Potatoes Baked in Cane Syrup
The funny bone in the menu is the sweet potato selection which in the past I have always played around with. However, I now believe I have found the perfect way to enjoy sweet potatoes so that may be set in stone also. Only time, and many Thanksgivings will tell!

Cranberry Ginger Relish
I also used to change up the cranberry recipe from year to year. No longer. This relish is practically perfect in every way!

Perfect Piecrust
This is not a misnomer. Very easy and very delicious. It is long but that is because of the detailed directions. You can't go wrong with this.

Pecan Pie
This is non-negotiable. Gotta have it.

Pumpkin Pie
Are you allowed to have Thanksgiving without this? Or watch the Cowboys play without having some? Nope.

AND Afterward ...
What do you do with the turkey carcass? I used to toss it, until being given a fantastic recipe for Turkey Bone Gumbo.

It is fantastically simple, especially if you fear not the roux which has been given a bad rap as far as I can tell. It does take some time but I do it in steps here and there so that on Sunday we have a delicious bowl of gumbo that hasn't been much trouble at all.

Which Bars Make the Grade When You Request Something Off-Menu? Not the Ones Who Advertise Their Drinks Most.

2010-11-15T09:02:00.009-06:00

Since our newest hobby of sampling cocktails has begun we have been surprised at the places which cannot come up with a decent cocktail. Namely, these are often places which pride themselves in promoting their cocktails.

On the other hand, we have often been surprised and pleased at the unexpected places which work hard and get a cocktail juuuuuust right.

Our test?

Not difficult. We simply ask for a cocktail we enjoy, provide the recipe when invariably no one has heard of it (along with glassware and ice requirements), and sample the results.

Here is our list, admittedly short, of places that pass ... and fail.

STRAIGHT A
The key is not that hard. Willingness to please the customer and using the ingredients called for. Too bad it is such a rare combination.

Dino's Steak and Clawhouse in Grapevine, Texas.
We asked for a Chelsea Sidecar. The waiter was intrigued, friendly, and happy to pass on the recipe, which he was not too proud to jot down. The result was double the usual amount and absolutely delicious. (The food was fantastic also ... pricey but fantastic.) Visited Feb. 2010.
Riad Mediterranean Cuisine in Springfield, Missouri.
As with the best places, the server was interested and willing to see what the bartender knew, and then to take back the recipe when a Chelsea Sidecar was unknown to them. Again the portions were doubled. Is there anywhere in America that just doesn't want to pour liquor down your throat in gigantic quantities? At any rate, they did a stellar job, fresh lemon juice and all, when we were there on two different occasions. (The food? Authentic and wonderful.) Visited Oct. 2009.
Arris Pizza in Springfield, Missouri.
This is a unique sort of pizza place, featuring Greek pizza and with a side room that is a small cocktail lounge worthy of the name. Again, the excellent service of willing servers and bartenders provided me with a delicious Chelsea Sidecar. Also, this pizza is to die for. Visited Oct. 2009.

FLUNKED OUT
"What did I do to deserve this flat, flavorless Manhattan?"* If you think a cocktail can't be flat and flavorless then you've never sampled one off-menu in the below locations. Here's a tip guys. If you're bragging about your cocktails then at least have the goodness to use fresh citrus juice in it when called for.

Ozona Grill & Bar in Dallas, Texas.
Although they tout a "tantalizingly good selection of drinks" (which is what I assume they mean to say on their website), Hannah discovered last weekend that what they meant was "order off our menu or face the consequences." She gave the White Spider recipe to which the waitress responded in a surly fashion. Hannah didn't think to specify it shaken with ice and served in a cocktail glass and the waitress certainly didn't ask, so it was served in an old fashioned glass with ice cubes. Made without fresh lemon juice, this was truly a disappointment and certainly a contrast with the solicitous service received by a friend who arrived later, ordered from the menu, and was peppered with questions about what sort of gin to serve in her cocktail. For shame, Ozona. Visited Oct. 2010.
The Porch in Dallas, Texas
Our hopes were high as we'd read good reviews and seen the boast on their website: The 45' bar features hand crafted cocktails including retro classics and neo-classics with house made syrups, infusions and fresh juices. Not only did the waiter not bother to write down the recipe, in which I did specify "shaken with ice and served in a cocktail glass," but he scornfully told me that the old fashioned glass I received (with drink on the rocks) was a "cocktail glass" and I should have said, "martini glass."

Thank you for that education.

I am not sure if it was his lack of detail or the bartenders who were responsible for slipping sour mix into the Chelsea sidecar which I eventually received in a cocktail glass (warm) but the result was truly flat and flavorless. (On a side note, the food was very good but the huge silverware and booths made me feel as if I were in the land of the giants. There was also high noise level as everything had a hard surface. Those weren't deal breakers but considering the service and cocktail we won't be returning.) Visited May 2010.

* The Simpsons

Rum-ish Goodness: Captain's Blood and Jade

2010-10-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

It's pretty obvious that I haven't been cooking much lately. And what I've been cookin' ain't been new stuff.

However, we have been trying new cocktails.

What a hobby. Simply pour a few ingredients together in a different way and you can sample a brand new taste sensation with relatively little effort.

So here are our latest discoveries.

Captain's Blood
Sounds tailor-made for Halloween, even if it isn't orange. Though it is almost black. Almost.

1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1/4 ounce lime juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add lots of ice, shake up well, and pour into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with a spiral of lemon peel.

Jade
You wouldn't think that adding such small quantities of the other ingredients would change the rum so much. But they do. And it's also a lovely greenish color.

1-1/2 ounces light rum
1/2 teaspooon creme de menthe, green
1/2 teaspoon Triple Sec
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add lots of ice, shake up well, and pour into chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with a slice of lime.

When Is a Bagel Not Really a Bagel? When It's an Obwarzanek Krakowski .

2010-10-13T13:39:00.000-05:00

It's round, has a big hole in the center and is made of thick, chewy dough.

But don't call it a bagel.

Read it all at the WSJ.

Okra, Three Ways: Pickled, Stir-Fried, and Gumbo-ed

2010-09-08T10:48:00.004-05:00

Something else that flourishes in hot, dry weather is okra. Though looking out my window at the moment all I see is rain and gray clouds, courtesy of tropical storm Hermine, I will pass on these delicious sounding recipes that our CSA farmer sent out.

PICKLED OKRA

3 CUPS WATER
3 CUPS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
6 TABLESPOONS SALT (PREFERABLY SEA SALT)

THE ABOVE MIXTURE ARE TO BE HEATED TO A BOIL JUST BEFORE POURING OVER THE OKRA AND SPICES

1/2 TEASPOON DILL WEED PER JAR OF OKRA
1 WHOLE JALAPENO PEPPER PER JAR
1 CLOVE OF GARLIC PER JAR (SLICE GARLIC IN HALF)
1/2 TEASPOON OF MUSTARD SEED PER JAR

3 POUNDS OF OKRA

PACK SPICES IN BOTTOM OF JAR
PACK WHOLE OKRA IN JAR
BOIL WATER, VINEGAR, AND SALT MIXTURE
POUR OVER OKRA AND SPICES (FILL TO 1/2 INCH FROM TOP OF JAR
CAP EACH JAR WITH THE CANNING LIDS AND PROCESS SEALED JARS IN BOILING WATER FOR 5 MINUTES
LET JARS COOL AND REMOVE AND ALLOW OKRA TO MARINATE FOR ABOUT 4-6 WEEKS BEFORE EATING

FRESH OKRA GUMBO

4-6 SLICES OF BACON ( YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE BACON---YOU CAN USE OLIVE OIL OR COCONUT OIL IN PLACE OF BACON GREASE TO MAKE THE ROUX)
4 TBSP UNBLEACHED FLOUR
5 CUPS SLICE OKRA
3/4 CUP CHOPPED ONION
3 CLOVES GARLIC, CHOPPED
3 CUPS PEELED, CHOPPED TOMATOES (FRESH IS BEST BUT CANNED WILL DO. YOU CAN ALSO USE 1 CAN OF ROTEL TOMATOES IF YOU LIKE SPICY!)
1/2 TSP SALT
1/2 TSP BLACK PEPPER
HOT COOKED RICE

COOK BACON IN LARGE SKILLET OVER MEDIUM HEAT UNTIL CRISP. REMOVE FROM HEAT AND CRUMBLE BACON IN A SEPARATE BOWL-----SET ASIDE. RESERVE 6-8 TABLESPOONS OF BACON DRIPPINGS IN SKILLET.

STIR FLOUR INTO DRIPPINGS AND COOK OVER MEDIUM HEAT STIRRING CONSTANTLY UNTIL THE ROUX IS CARAMEL COLORED (ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES). ADD ONION AND GARLIC AND SAUTE FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. ADD OKRA AND COOK FOR ABOUT 5 MORE MINUTES, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. STIR IN TOMATOES AND SPICES. COVER AND SIMMER 20-30 MINUTES, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY. SERVE OVER RICE AND SPRINKLE WITH THE CRUMBLED BACON.

FRESH OKRA STIR FRY

4 -- 6 CUPS CHOPPED OKRA
1 LARGE POBLANO PEPPER, CHOPPED
3 - 4 TBSP OLIVE OIL OR COCONUT OIL
2 CLOVES GARLIC, CHOPPED
1 MEDIUM ONION, CHOPPED
1/3 TO 1/2 CUP SESAME SEEDS (OPTIONAL)
1/3 TO 1/2 CUP PEANUTS INSTEAD OF SESAME SEEDS (OPTIONAL)
HOT COOKED RICE

HEAT OIL IN LARGE SKILLET. ADD ONION AND GARLIC AND SAUTE FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES. THEN ADD THE CHOPPED POBLANO PEPPER AND SAUTE FOR ABOUT 8 - 10 MINUTES. THEN ADD OKRA AND SAUTE 15 - 20 MINUTES. ADD SESAME SEEDS OR PEANUTS AND SERVE OVER RICE. SEASON TO TASTE WITH SOY SAUCE.

Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps

2010-09-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

Our current eggplant glut reminded me of this recipe from Cooking Light 2000. In fact, in looking through my four Cooking Light cookbooks' indexes for this one, I realized that there are tons of eggplant and okra recipes in these books which include everything from the magazine for each year.

This one is simply delicious.

Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise [didn't have any, used regular]
1 (3/4 pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 24 slices
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 12 crackers) [I didn't have any ... used breadcrumbs]
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan
Cooking spray

Combine crackers and cheese in a shallow dish.

Spread about 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise over both sides of eggplant slices, using a rubber spatula. As you spread the mayonnaise on a side, dredge it in the cracker-cheese mixture.

Place eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; chill 2 hours [I never remember to do this early enough to chill it ... it is great anyway].

Preheat oven to 425°.

Bake eggplant for 15 minutes; turn slices over; and bake an additional 5 minutes or until crisp. Yield: 4 servings.

Freezing Eggplant

2010-08-26T12:40:00.003-05:00

One of the plants that thrives in hot, dry weather such as we've been having lately (105° anyone?), is eggplant.

We have been getting generous portions from our CSA.

Here is a link that we were given that has freezing instructions.

Looking at that, I was inspired by the idea of baked or grilled eggplant ready to pull from the freezer.

I preheated the oven to 450°, sliced the eggplant 1/2" thick, placed them in lightly oiled jellyroll pans, brushed them with olive oil and put them in to bake for 10 minutes per side (20 minutes total).

When done, they were beautifully browned on one side and soft when poked with a fork. I layered them with waxed paper and put them in 1-pound batches into the freezer.

This is especially handy in dealing with a glut since I love eggplant but have yet to persuade the rest of the family to share my delight. Tom doesn't mind it but no one else is very happy to see it show up.

The Unseen Heroes: Organic Farmers

2010-08-26T12:35:00.003-05:00

Our CSA farmer has suffered greatly this year from terrible weather (too cold, then floods, then drought, then more floods ...), too few bees because of that cold weather, and now from squash beetles. Hearing about their struggles makes me appreciate the accomplishment it is to get in a good organic crop. Nature is out to get those plants before we do. Here is a sample from a recent update:

As we told some of you at last Saturday's delivery we had to sacrifice the second crop of yellow squash, zucchini, and patty pan because the plague of squash bugs had gotten so bad after working so many hours manually killing them and removing the eggs. The nasty bugs were just about to migrate to the second crop of cantaloupe and watermelons. We could not allow that to happen as the cantaloupes and watermelons look good. The squash bugs ruined our cantaloupe and watermelons one year as we didn't think they would be affected by squash bugs, but found out they will destroy them as well as squash. So we used our propane burner tractor attachment and destroyed them all along with the eggs and nymphs. It took quite a long time and used a full 58 gallon tank of propane, but hopefully we have "stayed the plague" and saved our cantaloupe and watermelons. This is part of growing organic. We could have provided some beautiful squash if we were using conventional methods---just spray them with harmful pesticides, kill all of the bugs, and have squash. However, we are committed to organic only and will continue growing produce accordingly. We will plant a third crop of yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan, butternut, and acorn squash tomorrow. I am sure we didn't kill every squash bug, but I believe 98% of them so hopefully the third crop of all the squash will produce abundantly in the fall.

I must say, though, that the crops we do receive have been the freshest and highest quality I have ever had since my parents' big gardening days. It is definitely worth the trouble.

This Chips Bag May Break the Sound Barrier

2010-08-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

Frito-Lay makes a lot of noise marketing its Sun Chips snacks as "green." They are cooked with steam from solar energy, the message goes.

But its latest effort—making the bags out of biodegradable plant material instead of plastic—is creating a different kind of racket. Chip eaters are griping about the loud crackling sounds the new bag makes. Some have compared it to a "revving motorcycle" and "glass breaking."

It is louder than "the cockpit of my jet," said J. Scot Heathman, an Air Force pilot, in a video probing the issue that he posted on his blog under the headline "Potato Chip Technology That Destroys Your Hearing." Mr. Heathman tested the loudness using a RadioShack sound meter. He squeezed the bag and recorded a 95 decibel level. A bag of Tostitos Scoops chips (another Frito-Lay brand, in bags made from plastic) measured 77.

There was a certain amount of validation (and amusement) in reading this Wall Street Journal article. I kid you not, you really can't hear yourself think when you are rustling around in this chips bag. Tom immediately began laughing and saying that some poor person at Frito Lay was going nuts now trying to dampen the sound. Looks as if he was right!

Linguine with Broccoli

2010-07-29T13:18:00.001-05:00

This originally came from one of Craig Claiborne's series of cookbooks which were compilations of his NY Times columns. It was Ed Giobbi's creation. Somehow I misplaced the recipe and was pleased to find it again in the library's copy of Eat Right, Eat Well, The Italian Way. The recipe is brilliantly and simply conceived. In brief, one cooks the pasta and the broccoli at the same time ... without having to use a big pot of water.

Linguine with Broccoli
Step 1
    1    bunch fresh broccoli

Cut off flowerets and peel stems. Cut flowerets into 2-inch lengths, slicing large ones in halves or quarters. Wash and set aside.

Step 2
    4    tablespoons olive oil
    2    tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
        Hot pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Put oils, garlic, and hot pepper in a large pot. Turn up heat and add broccoli.

Step 3
    2-1/2    cups water (approximately. I sometimes use almost twice as much, depending on the pasta)
    1/2    pound linguine or spaghettini, broken into 2” lengths
        Salt and pepper to taste

When oil is hot, 1 cup of water and pasta. Stir thoroughly. If pasta is not well mixed at the beginning, it will stick together.

Add salt and pepper, stir, and cover. Cook over medium heat, stirring very often, taking care that pasta doesn’t stick together or to pan. Add water gradually as needed.

Cook pasta to al dente. Takes about 10 minutes.

Something I Really Like - Pupcakes!

2010-07-23T13:23:00.002-05:00

Hannah had a gift certificate to Target and came home with Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? which she promptly proceeded to use. Luckily, she was provided with the perfect event as the vet where she works is having a goodbye party today for two vet techs who are going away to college.

These were amazingly easy. Plus, they will taste as good as they look as Hannah eschewed the authors' cake mix and canned frosting suggestions and baked from scratch chocolate cupcakes to adorn with real buttercream frosting. Now that's how you do it!

Fruit Crisp

2010-06-30T12:36:00.000-05:00

I cobbled this together after experimenting with two different pie recipes in James Beard's American Cookery. It leaves a nice leeway for playing with various fruits and spices. I have used it for various fruit crisps featuring in turn, apples, peaches, and blueberries.

Fruit Crisp

Fruit Filling:
4-5 cups of apples, peaches, berries, or other fruit, peeled and diced if necessary
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or other spice to coordinate with crisp topping)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients and pile into a buttered pie pan.

Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup butter (melt)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or other spices

Combine all ingredients together well and crumble over top of fruit filling.

Bake 30-40 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. (Note: be prepared to test fruit to see if it needs to bake longer. Apples, obviously, will take longer than soft fruit like peaches. You may need to bake as long as an hour to be sure the fruit in the middle is cooked.

Something I Really Like* - Tasty

2010-06-22T12:30:00.002-05:00

Truly a delicious potato chip, worth the extra money. Just enough salt, zipped (or is it zapped?) with just enough pepper on hand-made potato chips. One bag per week for the household makes sure we appreciate these savory bits.

If you have a few extra bucks, then it is worth picking up a package of their most recent limited edition.

Hoochey mama, that's a zesty chip! You can read the story behind the flavor here.

Thank you Zapp's!

*Something I really like is one of Dr. Gemma's regular segments on her podcast, which I thought I'd try to adapt as I have so much I'd like to share that I never can get to it. One bite at a time ... maybe I can do it.

Reviewing Dallas Food: Fireside Pies and Tiramisu from Cheesecake Royale Bakery

2010-05-26T11:14:00.005-05:00

Pulled from my birthday celebration post for those who don't read my main blog:

Tiramisu from Cheesecake Royale
Tom came home half an hour early, having left work an hour early to drive to the other side of White Rock Lake to Cheesecake Royale where, which despite what you might expect from the bakery's name, he was picking up "the best tiramisu in Dallas."

You might think they would mention this on their website, but no. They are evidently hoping that the fact they even produce tiramisu will also be the best kept secret in Dallas. Anyway, it is truly amazing as is evidenced by the fact that we had it over ten years ago at an acquaintance's home who I no longer even recall by name. Wow. This bakery uses all fresh ingredients and starts from scratch each day. It shows. Delicious, creamy, not too sweet, and dripping a bit of fresh espresso from the lady fingers. So very good. So very much also as they sell it in a large plastic pan that is about 9x13".

Fireside Pies
Then we grabbed Kirsten (a college friend of Hannah's who is staying with us for a few weeks as she has begun working after graduating but needs to save up some deposit/rent money) and went to Fireside Pies on Henderson. I'd been curious about the quality of their pizza since they mention a wood burning oven and hand stretched dough.

Hoochy mama, that's good pizza! They definitely encourage communal dining as diners are advised that pizzas are good to share between two to three people, as are the salads (which are gigantic). We tried Jimmy's Spicy Italian Sausage Pizza (with Scamorza & Roasted Red Onions) and the Peta Pie (Sonoma Goat Cheese, Balsamic Mustard Portobellas, Arugula, Roasted Red Peppers, Roasted Pinon Nuts & Charred Tomato Vinaigrette). Both were delicious with thin, oven baked crust and perfectly balanced flavor. The sausage pizza was definitely spicy while the Peta Pizza almost seemed as if it came with salad atop it which made it a bit difficult to eat but the balsamic element shone through and made the trouble worth it. We were all full with four pieces total left over. Tom and I indulged in an Italian beer on tap which was a flavorful lager that complemented the pizza perfectly.

Truly Amazing Use of Flash ... And Food

2010-05-26T10:03:00.003-05:00

And then there was salsa is something that you really need to see at the home site to appreciate. It's short. Enjoy this land of luscious tomato trees, spicy jalapeño cacti and canopies of fresh cilantro where anything is possible.

The Triple Threat: White Lady, White Spider, and Chelsea Sidecar

2010-05-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

It's all about the proportions and never more so than when making cocktails evidently. Perhaps as there are relatively few ingredients, one can taste the differences better.

You may recall that, making good use of our Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide, Tom and I were enjoying the difference that a cocktail can make on the weekends. One of our favorites is the Chelsea Sidecar, which recipe I will repeat below for the sake of simple comparison. It has also become our favorite way to ~~tease~~ test bartenders. We have not yet come across one who knew the recipe or, even more sadly, even had a Mr. Boston book to look it up in. I have written the proportions down on a card to carry in my purse as inevitably I must give the waiter the recipe. At which time, it becomes a test of the waiter's ability to convey the information.

Chelsea Sidecar
1/2 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. Triple Sec (we use Cointreau)
3/4 oz. gin

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

===================

Last Saturday, Tom came across the White Lady recipe and wondered if it wouldn't taste very similar as the ingredients are identical. Not so. It has much more of an "adult" flavor, if I might use that term. The gin is more prominent and it has a bit more bite. It was refreshing and very enjoyable. It might be my favorite of the three.

White Lady
2 oz. gin
1 oz. Triple Sec (we use Cointreau)
1/2 oz. lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

====================

With that successful experiment in mind, I made us a White Spider on Sunday. Notes showed we had made it before but neither of us could call it to mind. Again the same three ingredients, but with a bit of additional sugar to counter the large quantities of lemon juice. This was almost like a Gin Sour and Tom declared it to be the best of all.

White Spider
1 oz. gin
1 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Triple Sec (we use Cointreau)
1 tsp. Superfine Sugar or Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

===================

There you have it. Three ingredients mixed three different ways for three completely different taste sensations. The triple threat.

Now Serving Hot Links ...

2010-05-13T07:38:00.000-05:00

... from around the interwebs.

Lemon Cake

2010-05-11T08:31:00.000-05:00

This cake is from Betty Crocker's Cake Decorating. Following the tradition from when we were little, I got this book so the girls could choose whatever cake they wanted for their birthdays. Yes, I even made a Dinosaur Cake one year. It didn't look half bad either.

The great thing about Betty Crocker cookbooks is that they really have been tested well so the recipes are foolproof. This cake is the Spring Flower Cake which has Yellow Layer Cake with Lemon Butter Frosting. Between the layers I used Lemon Filling from the Umbrella Shower Cake, which was similar to a lemon pie filling and quite deliciously tart. (Quite meaning "very" in the American sense, not the British usage ... which I found out a while back when listening to CraftLit means "so so." Language use is so interesting, isn't it?)

Anyway, back to the recipe. All the above use of pieces from here and there was because I dislike White Mountain Frosting (a 7-minute boiled frosting that is similar to ... maybe melted marshmallows? ick!) which is what was called for in the Lemon Allegretti Cake that Tom chose. Also, it would have white cake layers which are all right, I suppose, but yellow are just as good and I didn't feel like separating eggs. Not a big deal, but just felt fiddly to me.

So, there you are. All that considering took me several enjoyable days as I thought about options. I knew that Tom wouldn't care as long as he had a lemon cake.

The verdict?

Absolutely delicious and very lemony.

Tom said that the lemon filling was too tart on the first day but felt it had calmed down by the second day. I didn't notice any calming down but loved the tartness on both days. Perhaps his expectations were different on the second day?

The filling was rather loose and I would have added a bit more cornstarch or a bit less lemon juice perhaps so it was firmer between the layers. No matter what, make it the day before so it is cooled down in the fridge and as firm as possible.

I must also admit that I completely missed the part where I was to split the cake layers so that the cake had four layers total. I think that would have made the cake more elegant and also spread the lemon "hit" more effectively throughout the cake. Ah, well. There's always next time.

Am I right? Of course I am!

Yellow Layer Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 round 9" cake pans. Beat all ingredients in large bowl on medium speed, scraping bowl constantly, until blended, about 30 seconds. Beat on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 3 minutes. Divide batter between pans.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely.

Lemon Filling
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 drops yellow food color (I didn't use this)

Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. Stir in water gradually. cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add lemon peel and butter. Stir in lemon juice and food color; cool. If filing is too soft, refrigerate until set.

Lemon Butter Frosting
6 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
1/4 cup lemon juice

Beat all ingredients on high speed until frosting is smooth and spreading consistency. If necessary, stir in additional lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Note: I downsized this since the recipe is to also fill a cake. I used 4 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup butter, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. If you plan on decorating cake then you may want to make the entire amount.

To Assemble
Split cake to make 4 layers.

Fill layers with Lemon Filling.

Frost cake with Lemon Butter Frosting. If decorating, put extra frosting into cake decorating tube and swirl away!

Listen My Children and You Shall Hear of a Colonial Drink That Brings Good Cheer: Raspberry Rum Shrub

2010-04-29T09:04:00.004-05:00

Shrub?

Isn't that a bush?

Yes, unless you are talking about a refreshing drink from before sodas were the order of the day.

Slow Food USA tells us:

Shrub is a colonial-day drink whose name is derived from the Arabic word sharab, to drink. It is a concentrated syrup made from fruit, vinegar, and sugar that is traditionally mixed with water to create a refreshing drink that is simultaneously tart and sweet. In the nineteenth-century, the drink was often spiked brandy or rum. Ubiquitous in colonial times, the use of shrubs as a flavoring for tonic and sodas subsided with increasing industrial production of foods.

Reading Eric Felton's entertaining and informative book, How's Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well, I came across his recipe for a Raspberry Rum Shrub. I remembered having seen similar recipes as curiosities in old cookbooks and the vinegar was offputting to my mental palate. Until, that is, I remembered lemonade with its sweet-tart combination that was diluted by water and ice to make a refreshing summer drink.

Ah ha!

Suddenly a shrub beverage was recategorized mentally and I was interested. Especially when considering it as something that would stand up to dark rum.

This was an easy recipe and yielded a lot of syrup. Felten points out, for those who do not want to make the syrup or who want different flavors, that Tait Farm Foods provides ready made shrub syrups in many flavors. They also have recipe booklets I noticed when stopping by their website which may come in handy when trying to figure out what to do with all this Raspberry Shrub syrup. Although, honestly, I like its flavor so well I can dip it out on a spoon. Mmmmm....

I might add here that the Raspberry Rum Shrub, which we made with ginger ale, got two thumbs up.

Here's the recipe for those who want to give it a try.

Raspberry Rum Shrub
1 ounce raspberry shrub syrup
2 ounces dark rum
4 ounces ginger ale or soda water

Build with ice in a stemmed goblet (I used wine glasses), and stir. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Shrub Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 pints raspberries
2 cups white wine vinegar

Whisk water and sugar together at a boil. Reduce heat for a few minutes and add raspberries, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add vinegar and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Strain, cool, and bottle. Keep refrigerated (even if the Founding Shrubbers didn't).

(Recipe courtesy of Walter Staib, Chef of Philadelphia's City Taverns.)

Lomo de Cerdo en Chile Verde (Loin of Pork in Green Chile Sauce)

2010-04-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

My mother had been asking if I had Dad's green pork recipe copied down. Sadly no, but I am sure it's genesis was in Elisabeth Ortiz's original The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking. This is from waaay back in the day ... wait for it ... 1967. Yet it is fascinating to look at how authentic the results were that Ortiz communicated in her recipes using canned tomatillos and jalapenos. In fact, looking up the recipe, I was seized with the desire for green pork and also seized with curiosity about making it old-school Ortiz style.

I remembered when I was in the store and saw a pork roast on sale. Then I ran all over the store picking up the ingredients. Turns out this is not actually the recipe my parents favored. (They used the recipe under this one which I may actually get around to sharing one of these days.) They never had access to nopalitos. I actually saw some and threw them in. Not that I could see any difference ... but I was in an experimental mood and going for matching the recipe's requirements.

This was absolutely delicious. We scooped it into flour tortillas. Mmmmm ...

These days pork is not what it was then and I'd use a pork shoulder, though my roast did very well. Also, my ... ahem ... handful of cilantro is actually an entire bunch. What can I say? I'm a fan.

Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz did update her book (The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking) and making this recipe made me curious as I am sure she now uses fresh tomatillos and the like. I have requested it from the library.

Lomo de Cerdo en Chile Verde
Loin of Pork in Green Chile Sauce

2 tablespoons lard or oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 pounds boneless loin of pork, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 10-ounce cans Mexican green tomatoes [tomatillos]
Handful of fresh coriander [cilantro], chopped
3 canned mild jalapeno chiles, cut into strips
1 8-ounce can nopalitos (cactus pieces), rinsed well
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Heat the lard or oil in a skillet, and saute the onion and garlic until limp. Drain, and place in the bottom of a heavy, flame-proof casserole that has a cover. Add the pork, tomatoes with all their liquid, coriander, chiles, and the nopalitos. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; and simmer over a low heat until the pork can be pierced easily with a fork, or about 2 hours. Serves 6.

Now Serving ...

2010-03-31T14:09:00.000-05:00

... hot links from around the interwebs.

Cream Filled Oat Bars

2010-03-25T12:29:00.002-05:00

I really can't believe I never shared this cookie recipe before now. What brought it to mind was reading The Pioneer Woman's recipe for the same things. Hers have a different name and the recipe is slightly different but I'd bet they taste the same. They sure look the same. I'd show you her photo but I know she worked hard on photographing these and the process. Click through and see.

I wasn't sure where I got this recipe, but I see the exact match from Betty Crocker.

So simple and if you love lemon, you're gonna love these.

Cream Filled Oat Bars

Step 1: Filling
14 ounces condensed milk
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix until thickened. Reserve.

Step 2: Crust
1-1/4 cups flour
1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Mix until crumbly. Press half in greased 8” square pan. Bake 10 minutes at 375°.

Spread filling over baked layer. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top. Press gently into filling.

Bake 20 minutes until center is set but soft. Cool completely. 20 bars.

I say, "Oo." You say, "long."

2010-03-18T12:21:00.000-05:00

Music for tea lovers ... it made me laugh ... and crave a nice cuppa.

Via Dust & Corruption.

CSA! CSA!

2010-03-03T12:55:00.006-06:00

(That's Community Supported Agriculture to you and me.)

I still remember the first time I read about CSAs many years ago. The idea of purchasing a share or subscription of a farm's produce and in return receiving a box of seasonal, locally grown produce each week throughout the growing season was so appealing.

I looked in vain, off and on, for such a set up in the Dallas area until a few weeks ago when I happened across a notice on the Dallas Morning News food blog pointing me to this notice that a local farmer was looking for subscribers for a CSA he was beginning.

Exciting? Oh yeah! They are even providing blueberries. Blueberries!

You will receive 6-15 different fruits and vegetables each week. All fruit and vegetables will be grown here on our farm (we may have to supplement our certified organic blueberries by picking from another blueberry farm close to us where absolutely no pesticides are used. Our blueberry bushes are still only 4 years old.) This supply will include 2 pints of blueberries each week plus one full flat (12 pints) during blueberry season. We will be planting peach, pear, plum, and apple trees for future fruit harvest.

I wasted no time but signed up online and sent in my check that very day. I later received notice that I was in. Woohoo!

I just got an email that sets up the pick up schedule and talks about the effects of our wacky weather on the planting. Somehow I didn't stop to think about the fact that I now will feel more connected to our weather just because I now know it will have a direct effect on the farm which I am now helping support. I like that though. Reading the email suddenly took me back to the days when my parents had a gigantic vegetable garden (GIGANTIC) that we weeded all summer long.

... have been so busy trying to finish all the spring transplanting from the small plug trays into the 2 inch cups, finishing onion planting in the fields "on mud beds", planting eggplant seeds, the 8 varieties of pepper seeds (5 heirloom varieties) and tomato seeds (one heirloom variety) in the small plug trays on warmer beds in the greenhouses. It is already time to begin planting squash, cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe, Israel melon, and zucchini seeds in the greenhouses.

Yep, we're going to have a connection to nature that I haven't experienced in some time, even though it will be vicarious. As well, I am going to be forced to vary our diet and try new varieties of fruit and vegetables ... also all to the good. I'm excited about this.

Photos of our future produce pickups (fingers crossed for good weather).

Now Serving Hot Links ...

2010-02-24T12:49:00.001-06:00

... from around the interwebs.

Blog Aid for Haiti Cookbook

2010-02-11T13:06:00.003-06:00

Bringing together some of the webs most luscious food bloggers, the book offers incredible recipes and photographs, making it a must-have cookbook for your pantry collection. ...

100% of the Blog Aid for Haiti proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders and the American Red Cross.

Better yet? Both West Canadian Graphics AND Blurb.com are matching the dollar amount of proceeds raised up to $10,000. And, until February 12th, the Canadian government will match those funds. So, every dollar you spend will be matched and quadrupled. Great, holy mccoy.

I have to say that most people giving money to help Haitians are not going to walk away with anything like this great looking cookbook. Read all about it here. I was vaguely aware of this but never stopped long enough to really take it in. Thanks to Bridget for bringing it into my full consciousness!

Delicious and Wheat Free

2010-02-02T07:46:00.001-06:00

A good friend of mine has just discovered that her intolerance to wheat products is what has been making her continually ill ... for years. Poor thing!

Here are a few recipes that may be of interest that don't include wheat ... or that you may just enjoy for their own merits. Which is what we do!

And I've gotten into a cooking rut lately. I'm going to go through this list for our meals also.

Easy Smoked Brisket

2010-01-20T11:32:00.000-06:00

This is one of Matt Martinez's shortcuts to achieving authentic flavor with less than usual work. I know that when I have used this technique it is universally acclaimed as delicious. It could hardly be any easier. I can't remember which of Martinez's cookbooks this came from at the moment but they are all very good.

Smoked Brisket
8-12 pound short, fat beef brisket
Wood chips soaked for 1 hour

Season untrimmed brisket if desired.

Prepare charcoal grill so that charcoal is ash white. Place wood chips on coals. Grill until dark and crusty on both sides, 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Expect flare-ups, but allow meat to char.

Bake in oven on a rack, covered, at 300° or 350° for 30-45 minutes per pound.

$10 Wine Hall of Fame

2010-01-18T07:57:00.001-06:00

For those who were intrigued by my review of The Wine Trials 2010 which focuses on inexpensive but delicious wines ... my friend Web has a heads-up to The Wine Curmudgeon's 2010 $10 Hall of Fame. Looks intriguing.

Nil By Mouth

2010-01-12T14:57:00.000-06:00

When Roger Ebert underwent surgery for his thyroid cancer, no one mentioned the possible side effects ... such as not being able to eat, drink, or speak. Most of us are aware that he can't speak but not so many knew about him being able to take no sustenance by mouth. He writes interestingly and also movingly here about not being able to eat or drink.

When it comes to food, I don't have a gourmet's memory. I remember the kinds of foods I was raised to love. Chaz and I stayed once at Les Pres d'Eugenie, the inn of the famous Michel Guerard in Eugénie-les-Bains. We had certainly the best meal I have ever been served. I remember that, the room, the people at the other tables and our view in the photo, but I can no longer remember what I ate. It isn't hard-wired into my memory.

Yet I could if I wanted to right now close my eyes and re-experience an entire meal at Steak 'n Shake, bite by bite in proper sequence, because I always ordered the same items and ate them according to the same ritual. It is there for me.

Why We Serve Champagne Year-Round: Reviewing "The Wine Trials 2010"

2010-01-12T08:21:00.003-06:00

Several years ago one of my sisters-in-law introduced me to Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut. It tasted delicious but, amazingly, cost only about $7.00 at that time. I began stocking it regularly since I'm a firm believer that champagne goes with everything and that everyone likes champagne. Plus it is so very festive and makes people feel extra special. This is a win-win. Gradually the price has risen to about $9 (less on sale) but there is no denying that it remains a fantastic deal and a delicious bottle of sparkling wine.

Hence, you can understand my glee and the necessity of reading Tom the first three paragraphs of the latest review book I received, The Wine Trials 2010: The World's Bestselling Guide to Inexpensive Wines, with the 150 Winning Wines Under $15 from the Latest Vintages. (Yes, a long title, but you are never left in doubt as to what the book offers.)

Dom Perignon, a $150 Champagne from France, and Domaine St. Michelle Cuvee Brut, a $12 sparkling wine from Washington State, are both made in the traditional Champagne method. Both wines are widely available at wine stores, liquor stores, and restaurants. Both are dry, with high acidity. The two bottle are more or less the same size and shape. So why are consumers willing to pay more than 12 times more for one than for the other?

The most obvious explanation would be that, to most wine drinkers. the liquid inside the bottle of Dom Perignon tastes better than the liquid inside the bottle of Domaine St. Michelle -- if not 12 times better, then at least somewhat better. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. Between fall 2007 and spring 2008, we conducted an experiment serving these two sparkling wines head-to-head in five different blind tastings, with the bottles hidden inside brown paper bags. And 41 of 62 tasters -- about two thirds -- preferred the Domaine St. Michelle.

In October 2009, we replicated the experiment on a smaller scale with newer releases of the two sparkling wines. This time, we served them to a group of professional chefs, certified sommeliers, and food writers, of which more than 70% preferred the humble $12 bottle to the famous $150 one. this time, we also threw in Veuve Clicquot, a popular $40 Champagne from the same luxury products group -- LVMH -- that makes Dom Perignon. More than 85% of the tasters preferred the Domaine Ste. Michelle to the Veuve.

Of course, I feel even more justified than before. Add in the fact that I feel I am splurging if I spend $15 on a bottle of wine and you can see that The Wine Trials is clearly a book to which I was receptive.

The first few chapters talk about wine critics, marketing, actual cost versus perceived values and such things. I was much more interested in the last part of the book which contains the 150 wines under $15 that beat bottles costing over $50 in brown-bag blind testings. Each has its own page, complete with a photo of the bottle, which discusses:

cost
type (Old World or New World, white or red, heavy or light)
country
vintage tasted
grapes
drink with (what foods it accompanies best)
website for the producer
commentary: this is sometimes about the type of wine or grapes, sometimes about the winery, and then always segues into the wine itself
nose (always in understandable terms)
mouth (again always in understandable terms)
design: a critique of the label and/or bottle. This is the iffy part to me, especially when you consider that sometimes a vineyard that has several bottles featured in the book will receive scathing remarks in one review for something which is completely glossed over or even called "cute" in the very next review. I think that a simple comment when the label is goofy is enough and they were pretty picky about labels. That is coming from someone who is pretty picky herself about graphic design ... so lighten up gang.

I definitely got a good feel from reading the reviews as to which wines I was interested in looking for and which would probably not appeal to my taste. This is an excellent resource and I recommend it to anyone who is more interested in good wine value and taste rather than impressing others by conspicuous consumption based solely on how much is spent on a bottle of wine.

Note: as I mentioned this is a review book. I'd recommend it even if I bought it myself.

Taking the Domino's Pizza Test

2010-01-10T20:27:00.000-06:00

I've seen those ads saying that Domino's Pizza has reformulated crust, sauce, everything because of customer response. Good move. I have to say that I rarely have had a worse pizza than the times I've been subjected to one from Domino's.

I wondered just how much the reformulation helped and here comes Coffee Klatch who saw those ads also and took them up on their offer:

... Their commercials are advertising two-topping medium pizzas for $5.99. I decided to test them out, so we bought two pizzas for our family of five. One was pepperoni and onion, the other was sausage and green pepper. They were both EXCELLENT! ...

So it may be worth trying after all ...

Oh, Gosh!

2010-01-09T08:08:00.000-06:00

While you're snuggled up reading on these very cold winter nights that are overtaking us, you might enjoy sipping this delicious sour which Hannah picked out to try over Christmas vacation. It is a close relation to our other favorite, the Chelsea Sidecar, as it uses the same relationship for the measurements. Think of it as a Rum Margarita. That's the impression we were left with and it was definitely enjoyed by all who tried it.

Notes:

We used Cointreau which is our favorite orange liqueur.
We treat the recipe below as a double (which we then split). If you check the Chelsea Sidecar recipe you'll see that those amounts are halved and we find them perfectly adequate for one cocktail.

Oh, Gosh!
1-1/2 ounces light rum
1-1/2 ounces Triple Sec
1 ounce lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Mouth Wide Open ... for Bagna Cauda

2009-12-17T07:53:00.001-06:00

A little something about a traditional Italian peasant dish that is perfect for cold weather ... from John Thorne's Mouth Wide Open at Forgotten Classics podcast.

As well as a couple of Christmas podcast highlights.

Enjoy!

Granola

2009-12-11T08:38:00.002-06:00

From The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, this is the simplest and most delicious granola I have ever made, or indeed, eaten. It has wowed those who have sampled it. The kicker is that it is fairly inexpensive to make. Unlike those store-bought granolas!

If you don't have easy access to mixed flakes, just use regular rolled oats (don't use quick oats though).

I have changed the flavoring around in various ways. The nutmeg seemed too perfumey to me so I switched to cinnamon. Equal parts of ginger and cinnamon have been quite tasty.

I always add the nuts with the flakes, just making sure to stir enough so they don't burn and they haven't yet. I've tried almonds, walnuts, and pecans. Almonds are my favorite nuts for this granola.

Granola
(about 5 cups)

4 cups mixed flakes (oats, rye, barley, wheat, rice)
Salt to taste (I never use any)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Put the flakes in a large bowl and sprinkle with a little salt and the nutmeg. In a small bowl, stir the honey into the butter and blend well. Pour the honey syrup over the flakes and toss until they are well coated.

Spread the mixture on foil in a single layer on a baking sheet with edges. (I don't bother with the foil.) Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until the flakes begin to look golden, turning the cereal every 10 minutes with a spatula or spoon. Be careful not to over bake. The flakes will seem a little sticky when done, but they will crisp up as they cool. (I stir occasionally while it is cooling to keep it from sticking.) Store in plastic bags or an airtight container. Use within a month or store in the freezer.

A Happy Hour Duo: Garnet and X.Y.Z. Cocktails

2009-12-10T08:31:00.001-06:00

Actually we had these separately. The Garnet cocktail was tried out last Saturday with Hannah and a friend who came home to attend a wedding. The X.Y.Z. Cocktail was the one thing about watching the Cowboys' game last Sunday that we found enjoyable.

The Garnet lived up to its name as pomegranate juice lent it a ruddy hue. It was one of those drinks that you have to be careful about. The alcohol is not very obvious perhaps until one has had one too many.

The X.Y.Z. is a classic seeming "sour" cocktail and, as such, would naturally be one that Tom and I would really enjoy.

Garnet

1-1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce pomegranate juice
1 ounce grapefruit juice

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

X.Y.Z. Cocktail

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1 ounce light rum

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Amarcord: Marcella Remembers ... the good, the boring, and the bad

2009-12-01T08:57:00.008-06:00

It is really too bad that Ms. Hazan didn't have a talented grandnephew to write Amarcord as did Julia Child in her fantastic memoir, My Life in France. As with Child's memoir, when Hazan focuses on the big picture, not just the food, it is very interesting. I didn't expect Hazan's many fascinating memories of survival in Italy during World War II, first from Allied bombings and then from authorities who suspected them of assisting the resistance. Hazan's reminiscence of school and her mother's survival cooking took us to a different world than now exists. Likewise, after Hazan has married her American-born husband and moves to New York City as a non-English speaker, we are still interested in her immigrant experience.

The bad news is that once Hazan has a food-oriented career, the big picture melts away and only food becomes the focus. As well, she tends to focus on the celebrities she has met and I found most of those stories to be fairly boring. I was especially put off by the way she justified her final break with Knopf by entering her book that compiled old recipes into an awards program designed to honor new books over the publisher's protests. She seemed to think that the fact that her cookbook won was justification enough when all it proved was that her celebrity made others overlook what the publisher very properly recognized: it was an old cookbook in new format. This perhaps typifies my biggest problem with the last half to third of the book which is that Hazan takes on a slightly complaining tone about most things which I found annoying.

This is not to say that Marcella Hazan fans will not love the book, and she does indeed have many fans. To be fair, I did not come to this book with strong feelings one way or the other about Marcella Hazan. I have her Essentials of Italian Cooking as who does not who was buying cookbooks in the 1990s. It never inspired me to do much Italian cooking although the recipes I used from it were uniformly excellent. I like a bit more personality with my cookbooks and I think that is part of my problem with this book. Hazan didn't have the advantage of a talented writer to back her up as I mentioned earlier that Julia Child did. It is hard to fault her for not being a riveting autobiography writer. However, as we can see from the beginning of the book, it is possible for her to write interestingly when she has the material. Perhaps the fault here is in the eyes of the editors who did not redirect Hazan so that her reflections about her career were not as myopic as they seemed to me.

Recommended with the caveat that one is a Marcella Hazan fan.

If one is not a Hazen fan, I can definitely recommend the first half of the book. As for the second half, that depends upon the taste of each reader, I have a feeling.

This review was made after reading a copy provided by the publisher.

Rum Daisy

2009-11-30T07:31:00.002-06:00

Another addition to the very pleasant surprise from the first sip category ... the Rum Daisy. The grenadine makes this a gorgeous pink which would be a nice offering for a holiday drink now that I think of it!

The only thing I changed was that Daisy drinks are traditionally served in a beer mug or metal cup. I couldn't bear to do that so went with a traditional cocktail glass. And without the ice cube.

Rum Daisy
1/2 ounce lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar or simple syrup
1 teaspoon grenadine
2 ounces light rum

Shake with ice and strain into chilled beer mug or metal cup. Add one large ice cube and garnish with fruit.

Bee's Kiss Cocktail

2009-11-23T09:40:00.002-06:00

Something else to be thankful for ... perhaps when sipping it as an after dinner drink? Simply delicious and very simple.

It is creamy, rich and powerful with a feel possibly reminiscent of Bailey's Irish Cream or a well-dosed eggnog.

Bee's Kiss

1-1/2 ounce White Rum
1 ounce heavy cream
3/4 ounce Honey Syrup*

Shake and strain into a champagne flute. (which I chilled quickly in the freezer while assembling)

* To make Honey Syrup: Mix equal part of honey and warm water. Stir well until dissolved, and then chill.

Looking Good Enough to Eat

2009-11-14T07:04:00.001-06:00

Black Grapes
By James Neil Hollingsworth

Best. Canned. Tuna. Ever.

2009-10-14T13:57:00.004-05:00

I am not kidding.

As my family knows, I am darned picky about tuna. Years ago, there was a brand usually sold to restaurants that I was able to get over the internet.

Mothers routinely would call or corner me and ask what I did to make tuna salad that their kids loved and mentioned to their mothers. "Easy," I said. "Just use albacore and real mayonnaise."

You would not believe how many faces of disgust I saw at the mention of real mayo. Our country is so messed up.

However, I digress. My beloved tuna was discontinued, at least for public purchase. Sadness ensued. Accompanied by a quest to replace it.

I have been able to do so to varying degrees, finally settling for a kind sold at the Central Market. For $6 per can.

It was worth it. Just believe me. Not equal to my restaurant tuna but close enough. Then, of course, The Central Market discontinued carrying it in favor of their own brand which, you should excuse me, is something my cat would enjoy but not something I care to eat myself.

Yes, HEB, just take it. Your tuna is not all that.

Back to the internet I went. Where I found Lazio tuna ... which I completely bought myself. (Hark! Can you hear the angels singing?) Oh. my. goodness.

I didn't know canned tuna could taste so very, very good.

I bought the oil-pack ... just to be an anti-politically-correct-American. As I said, the angels sang.

A canned filet with none of that weird stuff in the bottom of the can. A flavor where you can tell it actually came from a tuna ... while still being distinctively canned tuna. Delicately salted but enough that you can tell there is salt. And packed in oil. Like when I was a kid! Although that wasn't olive oil when I was a kid. I think it was ... soybean oil? However, I digress again. Just believe me that this is a glorious products.

Go get yourself a sample.

Lemon Ginger Muffins

2009-10-07T09:08:00.006-05:00

This recipe, originally Bridge Creek Fresh Ginger Muffins, is from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. I served these for a book club meeting and was greeted with cries of delight mingled with demands for the recipe. Indeed, one friend's mother loved them so that she is being applied to daily for the recipe, where is that recipe!

Now that surely warms the cockles of any baker's heart.

Rather than type it in, which I have been trying to find time to do since that meeting three weeks ago, I found it at Williams Sonoma where it looks as if they slightly adapted it for one of their cookbooks, such as more than doubling the amount of ginger called for. I changed it back to Cunningham's amount. You can find a wonderful photo of the muffins here.

Update: I now have had a chance to compare Cunningham's original recipe with that from Williams-Sonoma and they tinkered with more than the ginger amount. I have restored the recipe to its original state.

These are fresh tasting and I agree with Cunningham who comments in the recipe that you can hardly ever have too much fresh ginger. My two-ounce measure went over the 1/4 cup measure mentioned below so I didn't worry.

Bridge Creek Fresh Ginger Muffins
(sixteen muffins)

1 2-ounce piece unpeeled fresh ginger

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar [divided use]

2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2 lemons), with some white pith

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
======================
Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Grease muffin tins.

Cut the unpeeled ginger into large chunks. If you have a food processor, process the ginger until it is in tiny pieces; or hand chop into fine pieces. (You should have about 1/4 cup. It is better to have too much ginger than too little.)

Put the ginger and 1/4 cup sugar in a small skillet or pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture is hot. Don't walk away from the pan -- this cooking takes only a couple of minutes. Remove from the stove and let the ginger mixture cool [which also happens fairly quickly].

Put the lemon zest and 3 tablespoons sugar in the food processor and process until the lemon peel is in small bits; or chop the lemon zest and pith by hand and then add the sugar. Add the lemon mixture to the ginger mixture. Stir and set aside.

Put the butter in a mixing bowl and beat a second or two, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and beat until smooth.

Add the eggs and beat well.

Add the buttermilk and mix until blended.

Add the flour, salt and baking soda. Beat until smooth.

Add the ginger-lemon mixture and mix well.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins so that each cup is three-quarters full. Bake 15-20 minutes [until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean]. Serve warm. [I served them a day old and they were delicious.]

Looking Good Enough to Eat

2009-10-06T12:27:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, these are each 150 sheets of note paper, though the stem is made with a real twig. They are detailed right down to the seeds, as you can see below. As you may well imagine they are very expensive. (Via The Food Section)

Recipe for a Happy Hour ... Heck, For a Couple of Happy Hours!

2009-09-28T12:18:00.004-05:00

Tom and I suddenly found that we have slid into having our very own little happy hour every Saturday and Sunday evening before dinner.

This began when Hannah turned 21, became enamored with cocktails, and I bought her a Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide. I liked it so much that I bought one for us also.

We've never been cocktail drinkers before but how boring things would be if we always did the same thing all the time. About 5:00 or 5:30 in the afternoon, we settle down with a new cocktail to sample, listening to music and either reading, knitting (yes, that would be me), or just chatting. Without meaning to, it has become a routine that we have realized we both anticipate with pleasure. Just a little time to stop the day, slow down, and mark the progression into the evening.

We tend to play jazz or other music that could be classified, perhaps, as happy hour music. For those who are not sure what that would be, do go over to The Happy Hour Lounge where Andrew and Jeremy host a delightful podcast that gives wonderful samples of that musical category.

(I must confess that, although we confine ourselves to a single cocktail each, I am a real lightweight. I have begun planning evening meals that are largely done ahead or don't require much work afterward when I've got a little buzz going. Although I am sure the lighthearted singing along with the music forms a delightful background to the rest of the household. I repeat: I am sure of it!)

Enjoying experimenting with different ingredients and recipes, thus far we have found that we are the biggest fans of that category of drink known as "sours." Considering that our favorite cocktail before now has always been the margarita, this is no surprise.

Thus far our favorites have been the Chelsea Sidecar and the Daiquiri, which I realized that I'd never had as a plain drink without a lot of strawberries in it. Coming in third has been the Maiden's Blush. Great name isn't it? And it is a pretty shade of pink as one would expect.

The recipes for all three follow ... and may all your hours, be happy hours!

(For the uninitiated, as we were, a cocktail glass is what most people call a martini glass.)

Daiquiri
1 oz. lime juice
1 tsp. superfine sugar or simple syrup*
1-1/2 oz. light rum

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Chelsea Sidecar
1/2 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. Triple Sec (we have Cointreau on hand and use that)
3/4 oz. gin

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Maiden's Blush Cocktail
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Triple Sec
1 tsp. Grenadine
1-1/2 oz. gin

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

*Simple Syrup
Equal parts water and granulated sugar, heated over a flame, and then cooled and stored in refrigerator until needed. Keeps indefinitely refrigerated in a scrupulously clean container.

Tartes aux Fraises (Fresh Strawberry Tarts)

2009-09-15T08:54:00.002-05:00

This is what I made for my birthday ... yes, waaaay back in May. I began typing in the recipe waaay back then also, but you can see that I got sidetracked and never got back to it until now. (That's a heckuva sidetrack!)

At any rate, this was a staple of my teenage years at home each spring, once my parents got the Time-Life Foods of the World: The Cooking of Provincial France.

It is not difficult at all and can be done in steps.

I make a 10" shell with 2" inch sides, using a spring-form pan since I don't have a tart pan.

Also, I have added the step of beating up an egg white and lightly brushing the inside of the shell with it, letting it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes, and then baking. That greatly helps to preventing the custard from softening the shell if on assembles it ahead of time as I am wont to do.

Tartes aux Fraises
(Fresh Strawberry Tarts)

To serve 6

6 individual 3- to 4-inch pate brisee tart shells or 9- to 10-inch pate brisee (I use Perfect Piecrust for this)

1 egg plus 1 extra egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot milk
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400 and bake the pastry shells (or shell) as described in the recipe (linked above), adding another 7 to 10 minutes to the final baking to brown the shell lightly and cook it fully. Unmold the shells (or shell) and slip it onto wire cake rack to cool.

In a heavy 2- to 3- quart saucepan -- off the heat -- beat the egg, the extra egg yolk and the sugar with a wire whisk, rotary or electric beater until the mixture thickens and turns a pale yellow. add the flour and salt, and beat until well blended.

Beat in the powdered gelatin and vanilla; then slowly pour in the hot milk in a thin stream, beating constantly.

Cook over moderate heat, stirring with a whisk, until smooth and thick. Do not allow the custard to boil; it if seems to begetting too hot, life the pan off the heat a few seconds to cool it. If the custard gets lumpy, beat it with a whisk or rotary beater until smooth. pour the custard into a large mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator to cool.

When the custard is cold and has begun to solidify slightly, whip the cream until it holds soft peaks. fold it thoroughly into the custard with a rubber spatula and beat gently if there are any lumps. At once, pour or spoon the custard into the pastry shells (even if finishing later!).

Currant Glaze
1 cup red currant jelly
1 tablespoon hot water
1 tablespoon kirsch

1 to 1-1/2 quarts large ripe strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
Powdered sugar

Make the glaze: in a small saucepan, warm the red currant jelly and water over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to froth and thicken. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the kirsch and let the glaze cool a bit.

(My note: I always have a problem with this glaze as it seems to slightly liquify the custard ... I may try this in the future with no water. The other answer is to have it only on the berries, which is a difficult proposition but may be possible with care.)

Meanwhile, arrange the strawberries on the custard, stem side down -- and in concentric circles if the tart is a large one -- until the top of each tart is completely covered with berries. Spoon the warm glaze over the berries. Refrigerate the tarts for at least 2 hours or until the custard is firm. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar before serving.

Let me just explain something to the Full Plate bloggers ...

2009-09-12T08:28:00.002-05:00

... or more probably to their marketing person ... whose missteps make it sound as if the blog culture is something they just heard of (what is this new creature we discover in the Amazonian jungle?).

Here's a sterling example from the email I just received:

Each author will do one blog a week, and The Full Plate Diet staff will do two weekly blogs a week.

Dang! Really?

Because I'll clue you in. "Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen" is a blog. What you are reading right now is a "post." Amateur mistake. Which, if one is getting any sort of advice at all from informed sources, one would know. Forgivable in individuals, just plain clueless from a probably professional writer.

Also, having a disclaimer that one must agree to before one reads the blog? No. Period. If the info is that sensitive or likely to be misused then don't put it on a blog people. Far better to have an overall disclaimer as part of the main layout ... or at the bottom of each post. Or something like that. Pretentious.

So the overall effect out of the box? Clueless and pretentious. I hate that because the book has much worthwhile info and probably the blog does too.

Why did it annoy me enough to post about it? Just lucky I guess. I see these errors constantly from people and companies who I know were advised by professionals ... who aren't on top of their game. It irks me.

For examples of how to do it right, including disclaimers, check out the Quick and Dirty Tips gang, especially Nutrition Diva and House Call Doctor.

Food, Glorious Food (Photos)

2009-09-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

Pasta
taken by Donna Turner Ruhlman

Is this not an absolutely gorgeous photo? Truly beautiful.

I have long admired the food photography over at Michael Ruhlman's blog. (For those who do not do much food reading, I have admired Michael Ruhlman's work since reading the definitive work, The Making of a Chef. His other writing is just as wonderful and following his inquiring mind via his blog has been a real pleasure.)

I simply never wanted to go through the trouble to write requesting permission to feature the photography (yes, I'm lazy too...). You can, therefore, imagine my delight at reading his announcement that his photographer is his wife who is now setting up shop. She says on her blog:

I landed my first staff photographer position in 1982 and have been shooting since, everything from news editorial to fine art. Over the past couple of years, having become involved with Michael’s work, his books, his blog, I’ve turned my focus to food. I’ve initiated this blog to connect with readers and other photographers interested in discussing issues of the craft. I’ve also put up my own site to display my food work. Here, you can browse color and black-and-white food images, purchase prints or high resolution files and get medium resolution files for free. Thanks for landing here and I hope you’ll be back often to discuss photography here or food on Michael’s page.

You may find her photography site here. I think she is particularly savvy to give up-front permission to bloggers to use her photos as long as there is attribution and links. It merely widens the field of exposure to find those who are looking for photography to purchase. Believe me, there is a need.

Do go browse.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

2009-09-03T13:57:00.004-05:00

I've been so very lazy about cooking. However, when one has a large group of people coming over for a meeting and is providing the dessert, well, then one must bestir oneself. I made my favorite Chocolate Buttermilk Cake but was bored with all the usual ways I frost it (Chocolate Malt or plain but oh, so good Buttercream ...). So I started digging through The Cake Mix Doctor* where I found a copied page from ... well another of her cookbooks that I picked up from the library (can't remember which, maybe her chocolate cake cookbook?).

At any rate, the chocolate cake paired with this intense coffee frosting was a huge hit.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting
Makes 3-1/2 cups, enough to frost a 2- or 3-layer cake

1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
8 tablespoons (1 stick butter), at room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus additional if needed

Pour the milk into a small glass bowl andheat in the microwave oven on high power for 30 seconds, or until very hot. Stir in the coffee granules until they dissolve. Set the mixture aside.

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds. Alternating, add the coffee mixture and the rest of the sugar, beating on low speed until smooth. Add more sugar if the frosting seems thin. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until lightened, 1 to 2 minutes more.

*The Cake Mix Doctor. There is not a bad frosting recipe in this book. They are all homemade as opposed to the cake recipes which fix up cake mixes. I don't use the cake recipes from this, preferring the texture of home made cake, but I do use it for inspirations on cake/frosting pairings.

Sorry Wilma ...

2009-09-03T13:56:00.000-05:00

... my weekend got away from me, but NEXT weekend I definitely plan on making that Lentil Soup I was telling you about. So check back!

Fine Art Friday

2009-08-21T08:07:00.004-05:00

Peeled Clementine
by the extremely talented Duane Keiser

In which we travel the wide world seeking rice and also find adventure.

2009-08-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

More lagniappe at Forgotten Classics.

The Food of a Younger Land

2009-08-06T12:02:00.000-05:00

I reviewed the book a while back and now offer a bit of lagniappe from it over at Forgotten Classics.

Do People Still Cook? Michael Pollan's Answer Raises Hackles But I Think He is Right.

2009-08-05T13:14:00.006-05:00

The movie Julie & Julia, due out soon ... or possibly out now for all I know ... has raised a lot of food chatter and contemplation of the state of cooking in American kitchens.

Perhaps none has raised hackles more, and for me more unexpectedly, than Michael Pollan's article for The New York Times, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch. It is a long article but well worth it as Pollan considers why we have gone from cooking food to watching others cook it on The Food Network.

But here’s what I don’t get: How is it that we are so eager to watch other people browning beef cubes on screen but so much less eager to brown them ourselves? For the rise of Julia Child as a figure of cultural consequence — along with Alice Waters and Mario Batali and Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse and whoever is crowned the next Food Network star — has, paradoxically, coincided with the rise of fast food, home-meal replacements and the decline and fall of everyday home cooking.

That decline has several causes: women working outside the home; food companies persuading Americans to let them do the cooking; and advances in technology that made it easier for them to do so. Cooking is no longer obligatory, and for many people, women especially, that has been a blessing. But perhaps a mixed blessing, to judge by the culture’s continuing, if not deepening, fascination with the subject. It has been easier for us to give up cooking than it has been to give up talking about it — and watching it.

As an aside to the main point of this post, I also was struck by Pollan's point that we now have routine access to luxury foods that we wouldn't go to the trouble to make often for ourselves if there were no other choice. I'm not talking about truffles and foie gras here. I'm talking about french fries and fried chicken. I don't know why this struck me with such force here. Possibly because of the forceful advice of a someone that Pollan interviews who says:

“Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It’s short, and it’s simple. Here’s my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That’s it. Eat anything you want — just as long as you’re willing to cook it yourself.”

I would certainly have fewer french fries, less ice cream, and no soda. However, I digress.

Pollan is usually the darling of the food writing/reading/cooking world for his repeated calls to sanity in eating and food production. Now, however, he has been accused of no less than insulting women as a whole. Barbara at Tigers & Strawberries covers this as well as various other problems and reactions to the article. There are some good links there.

I didn't pick up on the anti-woman theme, however, I must also admit I had a different thought in mind when reading the article.

I read it right after spending the weekend putting on a marriage enrichment retreat. Hence, our down time often consisted of hanging out with the other couples working on the retreat.

It was during one of these times when I mentioned cooking to a guy who I like and respect a great deal. His response dumbfounded me. As best I can remember, he said,

Cooking. I don't know. Making a meal just takes time we could use for something else.

I got the distinct impression that an hour was something valuable, not worth squandering on dinner prep. (Ironically, he was one of the couple in charge of food for the weekend.)

I didn't know what to say. It was as if he was stringing together words that I knew individually but that didn't make sense in the order he pronounced them.

I simply had never come across that particular attitude before.

I finally said, "Well, in my family food was close to religion. Heck, it was our religion. I figure we've all got to eat so we might as well eat something worthwhile."

I think I might have dumbfounded him in return.

There was a silence while we both smiled at each other.

Finally, I said, "It's a very French attitude." My husband laughed and said, "Yes, it is very French, the way her family feels about food."

We moved on to other things but that surprised me so much that it kept surfacing. I wondered if his wife never, ever cooked. How does one do that? Restaurants, take-out, and frozen food? The fact that I was so mystified at the mechanics of how someone would exist that way goes to show that the concept simply never occurred to me.

At any rate, that is all a long way of saying that, whatever else one ascribes to Pollan's article, he was absolutely right that many people, in fact I would venture to say most people, just don't cook any more. I have seen food people refuting this hotly but from my other experiences in regular America, encounters with my friend aside, this is what I have seen to varying degrees.

Read it and weep.

Whole Foods Plans Return to Natural Food Roots ...

2009-08-05T07:57:00.001-05:00

... as we can see here.

Dr. Boli helps us see the strength of their argument!

Stir-Fried Spinach

2009-07-16T08:50:00.001-05:00

In my brief flirtation with a local produce co-op (one morning constitutes "brief" doesn't it?), I received a lot of fresh produce that I normally don't get. I did like that part of it.

It made me cook fresh green beans and discover that all those people who always assured me in recipes that frozen green beans are "just as good" were lying. Lying.

Those fresh beans, even though limp and characterless when I washed, topped, and tailed them, turned somehow silky, toothsome, and subtly flavored.

Emboldened and needing to produce some space in my refrigerator, I pulled out the two pounds of fresh spinach and my go-to vegetable cookbook, Irene Kuos' The Key to Chinese Cooking. I saw that probably about 20 years ago I had noted it "great" and "great" it remained. Rose took enough for two small bites and then quickly took a much larger helping. Tom had seconds.

Again, I had been a victim of those cookbook authors who have been assuring me that frozen spinach is just as good as fresh. This was soft, shiny, vividly green, and had a silky texture (somehow different from that of the beans) and was a mild, nutty flavor thanks to the sesame oil.

Here's how you can make it for yourself. The brief parboiling helps prevent it from turning watery but be sure to really squeeze the water out of it afterward. A little sugar is added to remove that puckery aftertaste that spinach can have. It isn't sweet and does the trick nicely. A good deal of oil is needed to give it luster and a smooth texture. Don't reduce it until you've tried this one as written.

Stir-Fried Spinach

2 pounds spinach
4 tablespoons oil
2 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Wash the spinach well (mine took 7 washes). If it has roots, sepaarate them and cut into 2 or 4 pieces -- they are extremely sweet and succulent. Chop stems if long.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the spinach, and stir to submerge it. When the water begins to boil again, in about a minute, pour the spinach into a colander and spray with cold water to stop the cooking. press down lightly to extract excess water.

Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot; add the oil, swirl, and heat bout 30 seconds til hot. Toss the garlic cloves and press them again the pan a few times. Add the spinach and poke and shake to separate the mass; then stir in fast turning motions to coat it with oil. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar and stir briskly for about 1 minute. Add the sesame oil, give a few fast turns, and pour into a hot serving dish, discarding the garlic.

4th of July Pie

2009-07-03T08:46:00.002-05:00

A friend, knowing of Rose's predilection for pie making, emailed me the link to this photo.

It fired up Rose's imagination sure enough. We will be attempting this with blueberries and raspberries. Photos and recipe to follow ... if it works. If it doesn't, we'll just eat the evidence.

Rice Culture: Up Close and Personal

2009-06-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

Seductions of Rice

Long ago, when I was living in Sri Lanka, I had a roommate who was rom the Netherlands. He was the most courageous traveler I had ever met, having no fear of wild animals or snakes or the jungle, all the things I will never get accustomed to. From where we lived outside the town of Kandy, he would deliberately take a route into town that took him through the jungle, while I would always walk safely on the road. He'd routinely encounter snakes, and if it was one he'd never seen before, I would hear about it at length that night over dinner. Lucky for me, he was as good a storyteller as he was courageous.

[...]

And Kaziranga National Park was everything my roommate had promised it would be. We went into the park each day by elephant, and we got right up close to one-horned rhinos, wild buffalo, wild deer. In the late afternoon we'd hand out with the mahouts (the elephant keepers) as they'd wash down the elephants. Sometimes in the morning while we were riding on the elephant, the mahout would take the kids up with him on the elephant's neck and teach them how to steer using their toes to touch behind the elephant's ears. One time I dropped a lens cap from my camera and it fell into the tall wild grass below, but the mahout simply spoke to the elephant and the elephant stopped, dropped her enormous trunk down into the tall grass, and then swooped her trunk back up and over at me, handing me my tiny lens cap. Once our elephant stopped in her tracks, lowered her head, and moaned several times, sniffing with the delicate tip of her trunk at a pile of scattered broken bones on the ground. "Elephant graveyard," said the mahout. We were there a long silent moment, then she set off again through the grass. ...

Rereading this book, I marvel again at Jeffrey Alford's and Naomi Duguid's skill in communicating a sense of place. As with all of Alford's and Duguid's books, they combine outstanding photography, personal stories, simple recipes, and extensive background materials. The result is that the reader almost feels as if they have visited a country or also followed on the track of a single food around the world (such as rice or flatbreads). Best of all, the recipes are easy to understand and every single one I have ever tried has worked, deliciously. (Give this Beef Sauced Hot Lettuce Salad a try and you'll see what I mean.)

Every so often I begin a rereading trek on these authors' trail. It looks as if I'm off again ... finishing up the rice trail for now. If you haven't tried any of these authors' books do go try your library. You will get both a virtual vacation and tasty meals.

I always wondered what liquid smoke was ...

2009-06-23T13:54:00.001-05:00

... and now, whether we want to know or not, here is the answer.

What is liquid smoke?
Liquid smoke is very simply smoke in water. Smoke usually comes as a vapor, but there are ways to condense it and turn it into liquid and that liquid can then be carried in water.

How is it different from regular smoke?
Regular smoke is a vapor, and it is difficult to store.

SlashFood has all the scoop on liquid smoke.

A Taste of Heaven for Body and Soul

2009-06-23T11:46:00.004-05:00

A Taste of Heaven: A Guide to Food and Drink Made by Monks and Nuns

Mount Saint Mary's Abbey
Near Wrentham, Massachusetts

Tourists in New England expect to see lobsters. The crustaceans appear on menus, license plates, and store shingles. There are lobster candies, cookie cutters, and key chains. Of course, real New Englanders know to go down to the dock for live lobsters, fresh from the trap. What neither tourists nor natives expect to see here is a creature who looks like he was headed for the Inca ruins of Peru but ended up at an abbey closer to Boston: a llama named Oblio. Llamas are sometimes called "camels of the clouds" for their ability to haul mountain loads, yet Oblio looks like he's dressed for a dinner party in a snowy white tux with black tails. Visitors who buy the abbey's wool blankets can thank Oblio for protecting the sheep from coyotes.

In addition to a llama, this monastery is home to some of New England's best candy. Mount Saint Mary's Abbey was founded in 1949 by nuns from Saint Mary's Abbey in Glencairn, Ireland; it was the first American monastery founded by Cistercian nuns. The abbey church is austere in a way that reflects Trappist traditions; its stark white walls and low ceiling make the space feel humble and intimate. However, one's eye is drawn to a detail that is as unexpected here as a llama in Massachusetts: the Salve Regina window, which was made for the nuns by a monk from Holy Spirit Monastery in Georgia. It is so colorful that it looks as though the glass had been fused with celestial fire. The nuns agree that it's unusual, but like the way its light capture the tone of each prayer throughout the day.

Candy lovers in New England fondly remember Crand's Candy Castle in Enfield, Connecticut. Its owner was a Greek immigrant named John Crand who taught the nuns how to make candy He insisted on using the best ingredients regardless of cost and that's the way the nuns make candy to this day. ...

Although it is difficult to communicate it without including an entire chapter here, this book covers much more than indicated by the subhead "A Guide to Food and Drink Made by Nuns and Monks."

On one level, this is a guidebook to finding delicious viands made the really old fashioned way in the U.S. and Europe, by techniques honed over hundreds of years in some cases. Not only do we find foods to purchase but recipes have been included which either use featured items as ingredients or which duplicate fare one would likely eat while visiting.

On the other hand, it is a tour guide of interesting, historical monasteries, abbeys, and convents to visit. Scherb gives a good sense of place for each site, some of the area or order's history, and tips from food authorities. For example, in the Holy Cheese section, tips are featured from master cheesemonger Steve Jenkins for selecting and buying the best monastery cheese. Additionally, the author is thoughtful enough to include suggested itineraries for areas that have a lot of sites one might want to visit.

The greatest treasure in the book, however, from my point of view is that Scherb doesn't look at these places simply as purveyors of excellent food and drink. She is careful to consider each place as a whole, for not only what they can offer our bodies but also our souls. Necessarily this includes Catholicism as that is the basis for the religious life in these places. However, Scherb does an excellent job of providing each person with food for thought no matter their religious leanings. Consider this from the introduction.

Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from the example of monks and nuns is that a life lived simply can be both rewarding and sustainable. Monks and nuns don't live to work, they live to pray. They work only as much as they need to, but they give it their best effort every day. They work whether they are young or old according to their abilities (an octogenarian nun was recently spotted making chocolates at Bonneval, while monks of a similar age staff the reception desk at Gethsemani).

More specifically, this example from the entry about Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Oregon shows that periods of quiet and contemplation away from the busy world benefit us all.

Dawn is the perfect time of day to read and contemplate. One can sit in a rocking chair in one's room and gaze out at the pond and forest while reading from J.R.R. Tolkein, Thomas Merton, or Thich Nhat Hahn (all are available in the bookstore). Or one can read Saint Therese of Lisieux (whose photo hangs in the monastery's book bindery) and contemplate just how different the world might be if everyone who visits a monastery were to practice a thousand little acts of kindness when they go home. ...

There are many benefits for both body and soul through A Taste of Heaven.

(This book is not yet published and will be released on August 6.)