Here is our slideshow from today's pannel discussion with Maxime Bilet, Cesar Vega, Anne McBride and Bill Yosses with Najat Kaanache. It was a tremendous learning experience and a pleasure to pick these inspiring brains.
Years Past
Adventures in Doughnutland.
[email protected]
© 2005-2022 Ideas in Food
Writing and Photographs by Aki Kamozawa & H. Alexander Talbot
Search
Affiliate
- All Amazon links on this website are part of an affiliate program. Ideas in Food will earn a small percentage on any purchases made by visiting Amazon through our links. Thank you for supporting Ideas in Food by making purchases through our site.
To Be Read
Martin, Melissa M.: Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou
Lee, Lara: Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen
Chauhan, Maneet: Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India: A Cookbook
McDermott, Kate: Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want
Lee, Lara: Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from my Indonesian Kitchen
Kimber, Edd: One Tin Bakes: Sweet and simple traybakes, pies, bars and buns
Clark, Letitia: Bitter Honey: Recipes and Stories from Sardinia
McDowell, Erin Jeanne: The Book on Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies
Michael Solomonov: Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story
Chris Cosentino: Offal Good: Cooking from the Heart, with Guts
Deb Perelman: Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites
Samin Nosrat: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking
Michelle Tam: Ready or Not!: 150+ Make-Ahead, Make-Over, and Make-Now Recipes by Nom Nom Paleo
Lee Brian Schrager: America's Best Breakfasts: Favorite Local Recipes from Coast to Coast
Jacqueline An: An: To Eat: Recipes and Stories from a Vietnamese Family Kitchen
Carolyn Phillips: All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China
Alexandra Stratou: Cooking with Loula: Greek Recipes from My Family to Yours
Meathead Goldwyn: Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling
« February 2012 | Main | April 2012 »
30 entries from March 2012
Hearts of Lemongrass
The toughest part about working with lemongrass is the lemongrass. Its stalks are fibrous and while aromatic not easy to digest. Unless, you start peeling the blades away and get to the center, the heart of the lemongrass. The flesh is tender with a nice crunch and no tough fibers to speak of. Sure, you end up with a bounty of outer leaves of grass, but they dry nicely and burn even better. Besides, the tender heart of lemongrass is worth it.
Years Past:
March 30, 2009
March 30, 2005
| |
|
Rosemary Blossoms
Look around and see what is there. The pieces of the puzzles will begin to fall in place as you listen to the ingredients and follow your voice.
Years Past:
| |
|
Challah-ondaise
It takes an out of focus idea right in front of you to catalyze creativity. We had just finished working on microwave hollandaise sauce and set it to the edge of the counter out of our way as it was the process we were concerned with not the actual hollandaise sauce. Of course who ever wants to waste hollandaise sauce? So we pulled our focus back to the measuring cup and were thinking of applications from ice cream to bread... and voila. Hollandaise, challah, it seemed only natural to use a sauce rich in fat and eggs to be the base for a bread rich in fat and eggs. So we set about modifying our no-knead challah recipe and within some time (no-knead and all) we had a beautiful lemon scented egg and butter enriched bread. Good things should never go to waste, it's just a matter of connecting a few dots.
Years Past:
March 28, 2009
| |
|
Grilled Cauliflower
We cleaned up the cauliflower leaving its leaves and stems attached. Then we seasoned it with olive oil, lemon zest and salt and set it in the B.G. Egg for 3 hours at 350°F. The result was the caramelized, smoky, crispy caulfower which was chewy like dried fruit and an intense nutty flavor. As we tasted it and debated what to do with it, somehow it all disapeared.
Years Past:
March 27, 2010
March 27, 2006
| |
|
Encapsulated Balsamic Vinegar
We recently revisited our gellan encapsulataion during a three day workshop. Details on the technique are in the book, but in short we use low acyl gellan to encapsulate ingredients with a delicate skin. Gellan has better flavor release and clarity then sodium alginate and the ease of use is incredible. These balsamic bites were designed to be paired with a tomato salad but have a wide versatility in our kitchen from floating in…, to sitting on top of beef carpaccio with first pickings from this season's weed patch.
Encapsulated Balsamic Vinegar
1500 grams water
7.5 grams low acyl gellan
0.75 grams sodium hexametaphosphate
130 grams balsamic vinegar
30 grams maple vinegar
70 grams maple syrup
6 grams soy sauce
100 grams water
1.7 grams salt
3.4 grams calcium glucontae
0.7 grams xanthan gum
250 grams olive oil
1 gram of lemon oil
Put the water in a blender and turn it on low. Increase the speed until a vortex forms in the water and sprinkle in the gellan and sodium hexametaphosphate. Increase the speed to medium high and shear the mixture for 1 minute. Turn the blender off and pour the gellan thickened water into a 9x5 inch baking pan. Let the gellan bath set for 30 minutes to allow the air bubbles to dissipate or put the loaf pan into a chamber vacuum machine and draw a vacuum on the mixture to extract the air bubbles. Put the balsamic vinegar, maple vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce, water, salt and calcium gluconate into a blender and turn it on low. Increase the speed till a vortex forms in the liquid. Sprinkle the xanthan gum into the vinegar mixture and increase the speed to high to disperse and shear the xanthan gum into the vinegar. Blend the mixture for 30 seconds and then turn the blender off. Pour the vinegar mixture into a 9x5 inch loaf pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Put the loaf pan into a chamber vacuum machine and draw a vacuum on the mixture to extract the air bubbles. Pour the balsamic vinegar into hemisphere molds and freeze them.
Remove the half spheres from the molds and put 1/3 of them into the gellan bath and let them sit for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the encapsulated balsamic from the gellan bath and put them into a bowl with clean water to rinse them off. Put the olive oil and lemon oil into a storage container. Remove the encapsulated balsamic from the rinsing bath and pat them dry and put them into the olive oil. Repeat with the remaining frozen balsamic hemispheres.
Years Past:
| |
|
Egg Toasts
We were inspired to revist our no-knead brioche after tasting a no-knead brioche that Francisco made using 50% butter (bakers weight). We were smitten with the texture and set about adapting the no-knead brioche recipe from our book, We were working with rib eye in a workshop, so we made the bread beef-centric by changing the amount of butter in our recipe to 400 grams and adding an additional 330 grams of smoked, rendered beef tallow to the mix.
Once the brioche had risen we refrigerated it for several hours to make it easier to handle. Then we portioned the dough into 80-gram roundss and put them in muffin tins to proof and bake. The finished brioche is incredible, rich and aromatic of smoked beef. Toad in the hole had been a recent topic of conversation and seeing the brioche made (second) breakfast a no-brainer. We cut the top third off of the rolls and scooped out an indentation in the base. We then went 'ino-style on the brioche, adding an egg yolk, topping it with cheese and cooking them in the toaster oven. Breakfast of champions.
Years Past:
| |
|
Charred Lemon Noodles
We have brought our Meyer lemon charcoal to our pasta extruder. Yesterday we created a charred lemon noodle dough, which we then extruded into three different shapes: bucatini, rigatoni and amori. The addition of the baking soda in the dough creates a chewier noodle that also stands up to both the cooking and saucing while retaining their precise shapes. In the days before we added baking soda to our noodles we had trouble with the bucatini collapsing on itself. That is no longer the case.
Charred Lemon Noodles
2000 grams semolina flour
35 grams sifted lemon charcoal
13 grams baking soda
600 grams (30%) water
1 gram lemon oil
Put the flour, charcoal and baking soda into the pasta machine and mix to distribute in the hopper. Mix the water and lemon oil together. With the machine running, drizzle the water into the machine. Mix the dough for 6-7 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough after four minutes. It should begin to resemble course streusel. Squeeze the dough together in your hand. Break the dough apart. If it breaks cleanly the dough has enough water. If it crumbles, add additional water in 20-gram increments. Once the dough is the right consistency let it knead in the machine for a few minutes. If you are in a hurry you could begin extruding immediately but it's better to let it rest for in the machine for 10 minutes for ideal hydration.
Years Past:
| |
|
Stefon Harris (TED)
"Every "mistake is an opportunity" in jazz."
Every mistake is an opportunity period.
Years Past
March 23, 2010
March 23, 2005
| |
|
Fried Croissant
We were fortunate enought to benefit from the twitter exchange between Francis Lam and Francisco Migoya. The question was posed about the whether croissants could and should be fried. Francisco quickly took the ball and ran with it and now serves these incredible fried croissants with vanilla sugar at The Apple Pie Bakery at the CIA. From idea to execution in a flash, with a little help from playing together in the same sandbox. And how did we benefit? We crushed too many of these to count along with pretty much everything else in the pastry case while we were speaking at the CIA earlier this week. So really this is a heart felt thanks to Francis and Francisco. Keep on tweeting!!! (As if there is any question, we do have plans to start deep frying pigs in blanket.)
Years Past:
March 22, 2005
| |
|
Cultured Coconut
It starts with toasted coconut flakes that are infused into heavy cream. Once it absorbs the coconut flavor we add cultured buttermilk and let it ferment to make toasted coconut creme fraiche. We can use it as it is or we can use it to make toasted coconut butter and its by-product, toasted coconut buttermilk. We use the fresh toasted coconut buttermilk to culture coconut milk to create a thicker, richer and more coconut-centric buttermilk. Then we let it ripen and thicken at room temperature. FInally we drain off the whey that separates out to produce coconut cream cheese. Now we can cook with the coconut whey and use some of the leftover buttermilk to culture a new batch of coconut milk, coconut cream, or toasted coconut milk (where we've infused toasted coconut flakes into coconut milk for a truly intense flavor) and begin the cycle again.
This initial foray into cultured coconut has revealed new paths to explore: coconut ricotta, a coconut version of an English posset, and testing the culture process with other "milks." We have begun thinking about the applications of all these coconut offshoots beginning with coconut butter spread on a baguette and spiraling outwards through coconut buttermilk scones, coconut butter laminations, coconut cream cheese frosting, the possibilities are endless. The process we've employed is not new, but the application of dairy cultures to coconut milk is to us. We are excited about the new world of ideas that has opened up and can't wait to test the theory with other nut and seed milks.
Years Past:
| |
|
Lobster & Rice
The dish has four components: lobster filaments, black garlic chips, seaweed salsa verde and steamed haiga rice.The rice is cooked and chilled and then dressed with a few spoonfulls of the salsa verde. The lobster filaments are left naked, because our process of brining and cooking highlights their natural flavor and lets it stand out. The black garlic chips add a sweet allium crispness, tinged with a touch of bitterness. With this latest preparation, we are begining to get closer to the complex clarity we have been searching for in our food.
Years Past:
| |
|
Process
Our lobster process includes using the bodies to make a stock for a soup and sauce. In looking at the cleaned bodies we saw another opportunity. They reminded us of ribs of meat and fish. Aki is incredible at picking the meat out of the lobster and in these two pound beauties we realized their potential. We reserved two of the cleaned bodies for stock, which yielded plenty for our applications. The rest of the bodies we trimmed up into lobster "ribs". We marinated the "ribs" in Sriracha, soy sauce and maple syrup overnight and then grilled them on the Egg. When we flipped them over we topped them with coconut pesto and let it melt in. The ribs were then pulled from the grill and allowed to rest, just not for long.
Years Past:
| |
|
Thick Cut
Getting your meat cut thick allows for more wiggle room to cook with and even more to eat with.
Years Past:
| |
|
Blue Cheese Cured
In Heston Blumenthal's book In Search Of Perfection, the chapter on rib steaks calls for making a blue cheese infused butter to top the finished steak to add the aroma of aged meat. This idea has stuck with me ever since the book was published. I even remember emailing Chris Young about perhaps putting blue cheese into the low oven during the cooking of the steak, an idea they had not explored. Well, we never got around to putting blue cheese into the oven or even making the aromatic butter.
Sometimes it takes time for an inspiration to reach fruition. What we finally did was wrap a portion of the center section of a rib eye with cheese cloth and then smeared the outside with gorgonzola dolce. Then we wrapped the entire thing in plastic wrap, vacuum sealed it, and let it cure in the fridge for two days. When we opened it up and discarded the blue cheese coated cloth, the aroma of the steak was incredible and truly reminiscent of aged meat. We seasoned the meat with salt, cooked it in a CVap drawer for 2 hours at 52.5°C and then finished it on the grill. The result was some incredibly delicious meat and we are excited to apply this approach to other cuts of beef and varieties of meat.
(Unfortunately there are no pictures of the cooked meat because we ate it all.)
Years Past:
| |
|
Lobster Combs
The odd bits of an ingredient, to me, are the parts that aren't as easily accessible or obviously delicious. For example, the tips of the lobster claws are usually overcooked pieces of not quite meat that end up being dry and somewhat salty. Frankly I usually remove and discard them because they just aren't worth the calories, few as they may be. Today we looked at them in a new light. Yesterday we made several noodle shapes with our Sriracha pasta dough. One of them was cresta de gallo, or cocks combs. With the shape bouncing around our heads and with lobsters in front of us we made the natural leap from cocks comb to lobster comb. The piece of the claw that is normally discarded or overlooked is very similar in texture and shape to a cocks comb. And so the association was made and we realized that it was possible to make it into something better than it had ever been before. Imagine that you separated the tips from the meat of the claws and cooked them gently to retain their naturally silky texture and let their sweet flavor shine through. That's exactly what we did. Here they are paired with the meat from the smallest legs to show how even the oddest bits of the lobster can be turned into something beautiful and delicious. A little bit of Siracha pasta and fresh grilled parsley helped accentuate their innate qualities and create a dish to remember.
Years Past
March 15, 2011
| |
|
Sriracha Spaghetti
It was only a matter of time before we would stop putting sriracha on our noodles and just put it in them. In fact, the idea of seasoning our noodle dough with sriracha was so simple and straightforward that we almost felt silly doing it. Yeah right, this was a moment that we could not ignore and we couldn't believe that it had taken us so long to get here. We used 75 grams of sriracha in the noodle dough, substituting it for 75 grams of water in our base recipe. Interestingly, we noticed a slight ammonia aroma coming off of the noodles as they extruded out of the machine. We believe this was from the reaction of the slight acidity in the sriracha to the baking soda we put in the noodles. As the noodles rested and cooled off (they extrude warm) the aroma dissipated and when we cooked them the ammonia had disappeared leaving only slightly sweet and spicy goodness. We will definitely be making more, soon.
Years Past:
| |
|
Les Petits Macarons
There's no denying that this past year has been the year of the macaron. They appeared everywhere in various forms and they are quite expensive little treats when you buy them retail. Of course we adore them, Amaya especially so. While many would have you think that they are difficult to make, much like the souffle, their notoriety gives them cache. If they were perceived as easy to make we would balk at how expensive they are in stores. Much like chocolate, a fine macaron is a work of art. When they are beautiful and flavorful they are the perfect little indulgence. Crisp and creamy, chewy and melting on the palate, they encompass a range of textures that manage to create a complete dining experience in one small bite.
Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections To Make At Home is a jewel of a book written by Kathryn Gordon and Anne E. McBride. We've worked with Anne through the Experimental Cuisine Collective and greatly respect her work. Checking out the book was a no-brainer and since Kathryn Gordon is an instructor at ICE we were expecting great things. We were not disappointed. There is a wide range of flavors and expressions in these pages. Savory and sweet, classic and modern, there are macarons for every palate. Years ago someone asked us to locate a recipe for Sarah Bernhardts, which we did with some difficulty. I was so pleased to a recipe for them in this book and earmarked it for future explorations. It falls in a small section at the end of the book for "less than perfect" macarons, which has some wonderful confections although I always thought the less than perfect ones were for eating in the kitchen. This take them to the next level.
As much as I loved this book, I must admit I found the arrangement of the basic recipes a little bit confusing. There are tips and tricks in the beginning, followed by the four masters recipes, through the macaronner stage, followed by piping and baking for all, with a trouble shooting section at the very end of the book. There's a bit of flipping pages back and forth while you're making them. I must confess that I had trouble with the baking method, which called for starting in a low oven and increasing the heat partway through the cooking time. The problem may be with my older electric oven not heating up quickly enough. Her basic recipes (Italian and Easiest French) worked beautifully using my normal baking method so I simply made the adaptation and continued on my way. I do love the thought and science that went into her Easiest French Macaron method. As someone who believes in the power of innovation I appreciate the fact that she was willing to play with a classic recipe and turn it on its head. The real glory here is in the information and the variations. After all there are a million recipes for basic macaron in books and on the internet but where else can you find Violet macaron shells, Pumpkin Bourbon Buttercream, Popcorn Pastry Cream, Chile-Pineapple-Kumquat Marmalade or even a Key Lime Macaron that look like a little tiny pie in one place? Of course many of these fillings and flavors will have uses far beyond the macaron. All it takes is a little imagination.
There is a companion website for Petits Macarons. The video is definitely worth watching if you've never made them before. While not a step by step view, it shows you the key visuals for beating, mixing and slamming the pans on the countertop. And Kathryn and Anne are charming. It will make you want to get into your kitchen and bake.
This week we are giving away a signed copy of Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections To Make At Home. To enter to win please leave comment below (with an email address so we can contact you if you win) telling us why you love macarons. Comments are moderated and will not appear immediately. One entry per person please. Winner will be picked on Friday, March 16, 2012 at 9am EST. This giveaway is now closed. Our winner has been notified via email. Thanks for all your comments.
Years Past
March 13, 2009
| |
|
Sorghum Starter
We took equal parts water and sorghum "flour" and combined them in a deli container and left it loosely covered in the workshop. After a day we were generating beautiful bubbles and signs of fermentation. We let it continue to feed until the next day and then discarded half of it and fed it more sorghum and water. We are now at day four with our sorghum starter and are anxiously looking to begin exploring its possibilities in our kitchen.
Years Past
March 12, 2011
| |
|
Quick Tips
Some of these may be very familiar but some of them may be new to you and a good tip is worth its weight in gold in the kitchen.
*Pan release isn't just for cake pans. Spray it on your roasting racks to make clean up much, much easier.
*Speaking of clean up, don't run water into greasy pans. put soap on your sponge and coat the pan with it before adding water. Dish washing liquid is designed to cut through grease and it works better when applied directly to the problem area.
*Cheesy pans benefit from cold water. It solidifies the melted cheese and then you can easily scrape it off the surface.
*Old school custard baking has you line the pan with a towel before adding hot water, a silicone sheet (Silpat) works even better, forming a nice even heat layer underneath your ramekins to facilitate even cooking in the water bath.
*Cook sugar gently over lower heat. This allows for more even cooking and less crystallization, especially when dealing with dry caramels.
*As long as your heat soucre is slow and steady, probe thermometers are great for candymaking. Set it for a temperature a few degrees below what your aiming for and you'll be there in plenty of time to take care of any additions and/or pull it off the heat.
*Calibrate your thermometers. Even the digital ones need some love on a regular basis.
*Check your oven temperatures too. Appliances, like people, change with age. Just because it was perfectly accurate six months ago doesn't mean it still is today.
*Bitters are your friend. Those bottle tucked away in your liquor cabinet can do great things in the kitchen. Try a few dashes in soups, sauces, marinades, brines, vinagrettes, doughs and cake batters. They add a small background note that amplifies your overall flavor profile. The new fangled, artisan ones are especially potent. We're big fans of Bokers Bitters, Aphrodite Bitters, and many of the fruit flavors by the Fee Brothers, notably the rhubarb bitters.
Just a few words to the wise from our recent forays in the kitchen. Feel free to share your best tips in the comments below. We're all looking to improve our time in the kitchen.
Years Past
March 11, 2006
| |
|
Oh Fudge
Sometimes when you're working flat out the obvious things escape your notice. It's been a chaotic week filled with travel and minor illness, looming deadlines and small successes. We're on that seemingly endless final stretch to the finish line, where you're trying to pace yourself but the slightest edge of panic in the back of your mind is urging you to run faster, faster, faster even though you know it's a bad idea.
I was candy making in the weeks before we left for Hawaii and I had one recipe for fudge still hanging when we got back. I made the first batch and it was too soft. Instant frustration because it tasted amazing but the texture was off. My first thought was that I mixed up my numbers, somehow transposing Fahrenheit and Celsius, our digital thermometers can show either one, and leaving me with undercooked candy. TIme to start over. As I was heading back to the stove Alex piped up with a few suggestions for changing the ingredients. I disagreed. He discussed. I disagreed again. He persisted. Finally I grudgingly made the changes just so I could get started. The next batch came out almost exactly the same as the first one except it wasn't as delicious. Frustration again, ramped up several notches. Alex tasted it with me and after some thought mentioned that we might want to go back to my original recipe. Hmmph, you think? The more pressing concern for me was the still soft texture of the candy because this time I knew I had cooked it to the right temperature. I did a little research to make sure that I hadn't been cooking it at too low a temperature but no, mine seemed to be spot on. It was almost perfect fudge and I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out what the problem was. I had used two different digital thermometers to eliminate any issues with...argh. I got out a bowl of ice water to check my thermometers. Both of them were off, one by 3 degrees and one by 5 degrees. Trying to figure out how to calibrate the darned things took another 20 minutes, mentally smacking myself upside the head the entire time. And then I took a deep breath or three and realized how silly I was being. The stress of the deadline was getting to me . Usually I like deadlines. I need that sense of urgency to keep me motivated and on track. That's why I always enjoyed the rush of working a busy service. That edge is what makes things interesting. On the other hand, I'm not a miss the deadline kind of person, in fact I pride myself on getting things done on time. For this book we have extended our deadline into the grace period, with our editor's knowledge and consent, and still I was letting it make me crazy. Even worse, it was slowing me down.
It's funny how technology can make you complacent. My first thought was to look for my own errors before checking the accuracy of my equipment. How often to do we calibrate our digital scales and thermometers? How often do we even think it will be necessary? Back in the day, when I was attending culinary school, they reminded us to calibrate our thermometers on a regular basis. But when the world went digital there were rarely directions on how to calibrate the new tools and we stopped thinking about it. That fudge was a good reminder that past lessons can and should be applied to new technology and new situations. The way we measure ourselves is only as good as the standard we use. If we start with something slightly off it will be almost impossible to get the results we want. I was quietly frantic because in my head the deadline had passed and we were already late and falling further and further behind. In reality we have a new deadline and although it will be tight, I know we can make it if I settle down and remember to breathe. The recipes are taking longer than we anticipated to finish but they are so much better than anything we've done before. It's worth the extra time and effort that we are putting into them and I need to remember that. After calibrating both of my thermometers, I made the candy for the third time and it was perfect, we're talking can't stop eating it deliciousness. Accurate measurements made all the difference. Now it's time to go write it up for the manuscript.
Years Past
March 9, 2009
| |
|
Black Garlic Chips
We have written about black garlic in the past. It is sweet and earthy, with a roast garlic meets molasses overtone. Our biggest difficulty in working with black garlic was quietly integrating it into a dish, until now. These black garlic chips have all the sweet intense flavor of the garlic in a light and delicate chip. If you look closely at the picture you can see through the chip laying flat to the pedestal below it. The delicate texture combined with the balanced flavor make these a wonderful addition to our kitchen.
| |
|
Small But Mighty
Good tools make a big difference in our daily explorations in the kitchen. Sometimes it's the inexpensive tools that see the most use. Take the Forschner 10-inch serrated knife. It's price has slowly risen over the years. It's up to almost $29 on Amazon and still worth every penny of the asking price. It's a workshorse, almost every cook I know has one or something like it. It's sharp when you first buy it and holds its edge surprisingly well through the course of a busy workload. Because it's relatively inexpensive you don't cry when you have to use it to chop chocolate or carve melons. Paired with the little red paring knife (just over $8 as I write this) and a good peeler ($11 for two) you have almost all of your daily cutting needs covered with plenty of money left to put towards that expensive chefs knife, where it actually makes sense to make a major investment.
Another favorite of ours comes from Williams-Sonoma. This pair of mini silicone spatulas costs $12.95, and the silicone tops are removable for cleaning and good at temperatures up to 800°F. Of course the wooden handles will long have been charred into ash but for candymaking purposes they work admirably well. Their small size allows them to easily reach the cracks and crevices in blenders and food processors and they are perfect for stirring small saucepots or scraping across the top of a ramekin. Although we've long since lost the line cook's habit of sticking spoons in our back pocket I have to say that these would both fit into one of mine and can be easily labeled to prevent "misplacement" in a professional or home kitchen.
Years Past
March 6, 2005
| |
|
Service with a Smile
The Hilo Bay Cafe, suggested to us via Twitter, was a surprising standout. We had a very good lunch there one day and sent others there who were equally pleased by the experience. The emphasis on local, organic ingredients and cheerful service were a winning combination and the perfect ending to a long drive along the coast. On the flip side, ramen at an outdoor food court convinced me that mandating hats and hairnets in the kitchen is a good thing, much as I may have chafed at them in my youth. Unfortunately we hit Hilo on a Tuesday, and although the farmers market is open six days a week, the days to shop are Wednesday and Saturday. All I can say is don't judge it until you see it on one of those two days because the difference is immense, or so I'm told. My favorite farmers market was on Saturday in Waimea. It was a great blend of produce and prepared foods with beautiful flowers and flavorful sea salt to round out the mix. The malasadas were amazing and the we were able to pick up a variety of avocados to play with in our kitchen. There were friendly locals, some transplanted from the mainland, and a variety of dogs, some even boasting a Westminster pedigree.
Alex was lucky enough to make it over to the Four Seasons Hualalai to meet chefs Ludo Lefebvre, Josiah Citrin, Nancy Silverton, Matt Molina and Lucy Lean. He was invited to stay for dinner and it was, by his description, epic and beautiful. The cooks went diving in the morning for the slipper and spiny lobsters that were served at the meal. It simply doesn't get fresher than that. He was also gifted with some local butter that he shared with the rest of us and it was amazingly delicious.
We are back at home now and hard at work on the book. We are racing towards the finish line and excited that we will be able to include the What Iif Flour as part of our biscuits and gravy recipe alongside Batch 2 pound cake and many other exciting recipes that it is killing us not to share. The release date was pushed back to the end of August 2013, not because of us, but it will be worth the wait.
Years Past
| |
|
Connecting the Dots
These are some lists, stories, photographs, manifestos and designs that have inspired us this week. It is always fun gathering the pieces and connecting the dots.
Mark Twain's A Little Bill of Fare: A wish list of edibles for after a long journey
Penny De Los Santos Tedx Talk: An Incredible Storyteller
A Life Worth Eatings 25 Courses at Saison: Follow the Rabbit Down the Hole
Crossroads Dispatches Devliving into Spring with Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
Inside the Noma Lab: Construction without Carpenters
Years Past:
March 4, 2006
| |
|
Batch 2 Flour
We had incredible success with our What IiF Flour and it is slowly trickling into kitchens where cooks and chefs are putting it through its paces. We've seen variations on the theme, notably Mark Pensa of Acquerello, who substituted combinations of sweet sorghum flour and millet flour for the brown and white rice flours to make Italian pasta. Our original gluten free What Iif Flour works like all purpose flour for baking and as a thickener in sauces. The only catch is that it has both corn starch and xanthan gum. These corn products have come under close scrutiny due the the prevalence of corn allergies and intolerances. To solve this problem we went back to the drawing board and came up with Batch 2 Flour. It uses the original flour blend as a model. We replaced the cornstarch with a blend of arrowroot and sorghum flour, which adds a nice nutty flavor. Instead of xanthan gum we use guar gum. We have quietly sent this recipe out to a few kitchens, and the returning results have been wonderful. Particularly the feedback with pictures we got from chef Chris Spear of Perfect Little Bites. In fact, the Batch 2 Flour is even more flavorful than than the What Iif Flour, similar to the difference between all purpose and white whole wheat flours. We are thrilled to share another star in our pantry.
***Apologies. As Chuck and Tina pointed out below, barley flour is not gluten free, and we changed it to sorghum in both the post and recipe. Major mistake on our part but even with the change it is still great flour.
Batch 2 Gluten Free Flour
350 grams arrowroot
350 grams sorghum flour
450 grams tapioca starch
450 grams white rice flour (optional millet flour substitution)
200 grams brown rice flour (optional sorghum flour substitution)
200 grams non-fat milk powder
20 grams guar gum
Put the arrowroot, sorghum flour tapioca starch, white rice flour, brown rice flour, milk powder and guar gum into a large bowl and whisk together. Put the blended powders into a blender in small batches and turn the blender on low and increase the speed to high. Use the blender to pulverize the powders and uniformly grind them. After each batch of powder is pulverized put it into a large bowl. This will take 6-8 times if using a large commercial blender. Once the powders are all finely ground stir them together one last time in the bowl and then put the “flour” into zip top bags for storage.
Years Past:
| |
|
Mango Sap
At first I thought it was a bug bite. Then I looked a little more closely and it resembled poision ivy. This was a very bad thing because I am extremely allergic to poison ivy. But I didn't remember seeing any on our walks. So I Googled poison ivy on Hawaii. There is no poison ivy on Hawaii. What is on the islands are plenty of mango trees with mango sap. Mango sap contains the chemical urushiol, the very same one found in poison ivy and poison oak. Now I am hoping that with the help of some generously slathered on cortizone cream that this allergic reaction does not turn into a full blown itch-fest with swollen closed eyes and oozing sores. Especially since we leave tomorrow and it's not a short trip. So fair warning, if you are allergic to poison ivy and oak, wash your hands well after handling fresh mangos straight from the tree. Better yet, have someone else handle them for you.
Years Past
March 2,2005
| |
|
The Right Way
As we work at improving and refining our cooking, writing, photography and methodology we keep running into the wall otherwise known as doing things the right way. We are always searching for the best way to cook something so that it comes out the way we enjoy it most. This is not an uncommon goal and the internet abounds with recipes that claim to be the best or use the perfect technique. As everyone looks for the right way to do something we begin to all look and sound alike. Funny thing is, what works best for us may not be the perfect technique for you. If we stop thinking that there is a right or wrong way to cook anything, we set the stage for incredible growth and discovery. Sure, there will be mistakes and mis-steps and occasionally we will take the long road to the most delicious results, but in the end we will see the world in an ever-changing light rather that reminds us that there is room for everyone in the kitchen.
Years Past
March 1, 2011
March 1, 2009
March 1, 2007
March 1, 2005
| |
|
Categories
- American Noodles
- Approach to Cooking
- At the Table
- Bakers Dozen
- Balancing Tastes
- Beyond the Kitchen Doors
- Books
- Can You Believe It
- Cookie Counter
- Cooking Classes
- Culinary Conversations
- CULINARY EVOLUTIONS
- Culinary Introduction
- CULINARY REFERENCES
- Curiosity Doughnuts
- DISCOVERIES
- Food and Drink
- Food For Thoughts
- FOOD SCIENCE
- For the Bookshelves
- Fried Chicken Project
- From the Bookshelves
- Icons and Alliterations
- Impromptu Pizza
- Indulgence
- Ingredients
- INSPIRATIONS
- Just Before the Bin
- Katsu Dogs
- Kitchen Tools
- LIBATIONS
- Listen to This
- Magical Mistakes
- Meditations From the Kitchen
- Menus
- Music
- Not Food Related
- Notebooks
- Picture This
- Recipes
- Salumi Sessions
- Someone Else's Kitchen
- Staples We Cannot Live Without
- The 10 Condiments
- The Alchemy of Flavor
- The Art of Improvisation
- Videos
- WELCOME
- What We Learned
