IDEAS IN FOOD: 31 entries from January 2015

« December 2014 | Main | February 2015 »

31 entries from January 2015

Warming Up

Pasta dies need to warm up. The cold die produces a coarse noodle with excessive irregularities. As the die warms up through the extrusion process the dough comes together more cohesively. The irregular noodles are simply broken up and fed back into the hopper, mixed into the dough, crumbled, and extruded as new noodles. While the machine continues to work, the pasta gains a visual smoothness, still retaining the signature rough texture from the bronze die. It's a subtle difference that can only be discerned with experience. I have a theory that the warming of the die helps with the hydration of the flour, thus producing the smoother textured noodle. It's yet another case where patience will yield exponentially better results.

Years Past

January 31, 2007 (2)

January 31, 2006

January 31, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 31, 2015 at 05:11 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Simplify the Set Up

Last December Peg was here for a visit and she made her famous fried eggplant. We were hanging out with her in the kitchen while she cooked and noticed that she floured all of her eggplant slices before getting her eggs and breadcrumbs ready. Then she left them in a stack on the cutting board while she assembled her abbreviated breading station. By flouring all the eggplant first she made the entire system more efficient. You don't have to worry about getting confused about which hand to use or crossing hands over pans. You have two hands and two stations: eggs and crumbs. If you're pressed for time, you can even flour the slices, leave them to rest for a couple of hours, and then finish breading and frying later on. Thanks to Aunt Peg for the whack on the side of the head.

Years Past

January 30, 2005 (2)

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 30, 2015 at 05:14 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Japanese Soul Cooking

I love this book. Japanese Soul Cooking, Ramen, Tonkatsu, Tempura, and More from The Streets and Kitchens OF Tokyo and Beyond by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat became one of my favorite books almost the moment I opened it. It has many of my favorite Japanese dishes from my childhood, consumed in NYC and in Japan. As a I kid I loved to go out to Japanese restaurants, not for sushi but for gyoza and udon. As a child, Mom and I would share platters of fried dumplings with their crispy bottoms and luscious tender tops filled with pork and vegetables snuggled alongside tiny plates of vinegary soy dipping sauce. I always ordered negimaki, thin strips of beef wrapped around sweet, tender green onions and brushed with sweet dark sauce. Then she would have sushi and I would have nabeyaki udon. Udon are the other Japanese noodles, almost forgotten in the midst of the current ramen craze. They are thick and chewy, usually swimming in a clear, flavorful broth served with vegetables, sliced fish cake, some tempura, and an egg. They are totally different from ramen and equally delicious. I didn't develop a taste for sushi until I became a teenager but udon was always there for me.

Udon, tempura, and gyoza are all in this book along with curry rice, another childhood favorite. Curry was one of the only dishes my mother would make and it was always delicious. She usually made it with chicken or shrimp, shrimp was my favorite version of the dish. Aunt Marie would track down giant jumbo shrimp and Mom would simmer them in the sweet and spicy curry. It was filled with root vegetables, potatoes, carrots, onions, and daikon, cut into large chunks that were soft and sweet. They almost seemed to dissolve against my tongue as I chewed them, leaving behind the fragrant spice of Japanese curry. The shrimp were tender and flaked apart between my teeth, redolent with spice and their own natural savory flavor. Curry was always served with fresh steamed rice and the leftovers never lasted for more than a day or two.

Soba noodles were a summertime offering. These buckwheat noodles were served chilled, with a few ice cubes beneath them to keep them cool. Sprinkled with flakes of roasted nori and an equally cold, soy dipping sauce they were earthy and sweet. A perfect dish to fill you up without weighing you down in the heat of the summer. I never tried warm soba until many years later at Honmura-An where I discovered that hot soba was just as delicious and savory as the cold version. Japanese Soul Cooking has a whole chapter on soba, with recipes to suit whatever the weather.

Tonkatsu is a fried pork cutlet served with a thick sweet sauce, sort of a cross between Wocestershire sauce and BBQ sauce. The cutlets are thin and coated with panko, so that they fry up crisp and light. My favorite way to eat them, in restaurant that knows what it's doing, is as katsudon. Katsudon is a rice bowl filled with lightly sweetened, seasoned rice, with vegetables-usually onions and cabbage, and sliced tonkatsu with an egg beaten and fried into it or simply served alongside the meat. The book contains a recipe for classic tonkatsu with a few variations and for katsudon with several other interesting rice bowls.

Japanese Soul Cooking is more than just recipes. It is full of stories and information. It is a cookbook to be read and enjoyed. It is a book to stir your hunger and bring you into the kitchen.

Years Past

January 29, 2006

January 29, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 29, 2015 at 07:53 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (1)

Powdered Sugar Lamination

We developed a Kouign-Amann recipe for our upcoming book Gluten Free Flour Power. We use a no-knead buttermilk brioche (made with one of our gluten free flour blends) and then laminate it with layers of powdered sugar. The powdered sugar allows us to create layers throughout the dough without adding a butter block.

As we continue to explore in our kitchen we took that idea and mashed it with a few others that were bouncing around my head. We started with the doughnut dough from Maximum Flavor. Then we substituted 50% sprouted spelt flour. During the mixing process, we stirred all the melted butter into the dry mixture first, to coat the flour, followed by the liquid ingredients: milk, eggs, and water. After the dough proofed we chilled it and dusted powdered sugar over the dough between folds. The dusting and folding created multiple layers in the butter rich dough, just like in our gluten free approach.

We baked the kouign-amann in muffin tins. The results were crispy and crunchy on top, tender inside, with a clear butter flavor and a great nuttiness from the spelt flour. This is a seriously delicious beginning to something good.

Years Past

January 28, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 28, 2015 at 04:48 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sweet Vermouth Vinegar

We've taken to using spent bourbon bottles to mix and bubble our vinegars. Today we started sweet vermouth vinegar. We blended 1000 grams of sweet vermouth and 800 grams of our Everywine Vinegar in the bottle. Then we put the tube from an aquarium bubbler into the bottle. We plugged in the bubbler and now we wait. Only we will not be waiting for weeks. The constant aeration should help the acetobactors consume the alcohol and convert it into vinegar. By week's end we should be tasting finished sweet vermouth vinegar. From there we will explore where to take it.

Years Past

January 27, 2007 (2)

January 27, 2006

January 27, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 27, 2015 at 08:55 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (5)

Snow Day Crumb Cake

Tomorrow is definitely going to be a snow day for most of the northeast. What better time to make cake for breakfast? This crumb cake is easy, most ingredients are probably in your pantry right now, and, most importantly, it is delicious. Tender vanilla cake covered with a sandy cinnamon crumb. What could be better with coffee or hot chocolate as you watch the snow flakes coming down?

Crumb Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake

2 cups / 300 grams all purpose flour

1 cup / 200 grams sugar

3/4 teaspoon / 4.5 grams fine sea salt

10 tablespoons / 140 grams cold, unsalted butter, diced

1 teaspoon / 6 grams baking powder

1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 grams baking soda

3/4 cup / 180 grams buttermilk, room temperature

1 teaspoon / 4 grams vanilla paste or extract

1 large egg, room temperature

2/3 cup / 140 grams packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon / 2 grams ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F. (180°C.)

Butter and flour a 9-inch spring form cake pan and set aside.

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is thoroughly cut into the flour and it forms a uniform sandy, mixture. Remove 1 cup of the flour mixture and set aside in a small bowl for the streusel. Add the baking powder and baking soda to the remaining flour mixture in the food processor and pulse 2-3 times to blend. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and egg and process until smooth. The mixture will form a thick batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and spread it evenly with a spoon or small offset spatula.

Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to the reserved flour mixture and use your fingers to mix and squeeze everything together until it comes together and forms sandy crumbs. Scatter all of the brown sugar crumbs over the top of the cake batter. Set the cake pan on a sheet pan and bake it for 45-50 minutes, until the cake is firm to the touch and a cake tester comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack and let it cool for10 minutes. Gently remove the outer ring of the spring form pan and cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Years Past

January 26, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 26, 2015 at 05:16 PM in Approach to Cooking, Recipes | Permalink | Comments (2)

Croutons in a Box

Potential in plain sight, cheating, shark jumping. How comfortable are you in your own skin?

Years Past

January 25, 2009

January 25, 2008 (2)

January 25, 2007

January 25, 2006

January 25, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 25, 2015 at 04:54 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Love is...

Taking the time to cut out hearts,

Brush the dough,

And sugar coat

Just to make someone smile.

(And the caramel apple pie surrounding the heart doesn't hurt the cause.)

Years Past

January 24, 2007 (2)

January 24, 2006

January 24, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 24, 2015 at 05:16 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just Clip It

Just clip it.

Years Past

January 23, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 23, 2015 at 05:32 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Need Ideas

We always start somewhere.

Start somewhere.

Start.

Years Past

January 22, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 22, 2015 at 07:09 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (5)

Mushroom Maldon

We wanted a crunchy, salty seasoning for our mushroom dish. Instead of reaching for the usual go-to, Maldon salt, we created one of our own. (Our hand was played because Justin was out of Maldon salt. Necessity is the mother of invention.) We thinly sliced king trumpet mushroom ends and fried them, beginning in cold oil. When the mushrooms were crispy and just shy of foxy brown we transferred them to a plate lined with paper towels, and seasoned them heavily with fine sea salt. When they were cool we put them into a bowl and broke them into fine fragments, about the size of Maldon salt flakes. The mushrooms had an intense, nutty, earthy flavor. The aggressive salting transformed the mushrooms into "mushroom salt," resembling a kicked up Malden salt to finish our mushroom dish. It's a great new application and that first dish is just the beginning.

Years Past

January 21, 2008 (2)

January 21, 2007

January 21, 2006

January 21, 2006 (2)

January 21, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 21, 2015 at 01:33 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (4)

Dinner at Ardent

A Dinner and a Workshop with Justin Carlisle and his team culminated in an exciting evening of improvisation and experimentation in the kitchen.

We started the evening with Ranch powder dusted trout skins topped with their roe and fried rice paper with a celery root and blood and tongue sausage remoulade.

The first dish was chilled king trumpet mushrooms (resembling sliced scallops) with a carrot-apple-ginger-lemon vinaigrette, frozen buttermilk, pistachio oil and mushroom Maldon.

We moved into black toro (mimicking the famous black cod in marinade with sorghum and squid ink added as mid-western audibles) on a salad of dried and marinated cuttlefish and braised pig skin. The dish was finished with an intense porky dashi and a sesame heavy furikake.

We brought our Ramenized risotto to the table. We enriched it with Parmigiano Reggiano and broiled unagi. We finished the dish with powdered nori.

We followed the risotto with a cranberry bean soup enriched with Pepperoni XO. The carrots, and salsify were glazed and roasted with the XO sauce. A crunchy pesto topped the vegetables.

Smoked duck fat roasted Brussels sprouts were topped with blood orange and brown butter vinaigrette, caramelized coconut milk, and a spaghetti squash tuile.

We brought our vision of pork and beans to fruition. We wrapped bean curd skins around Mexican 'Nduja to make a ravioli. We glazed the ravioli and seared ring bologna in baked bean sauce. To cut through the richness we added a touch of seaweed mustard.

Korean rice cakes were seared in a caraway infused bacon fat-brown butter mixture. They were folded into kimchi and bacon bolognese sauce. We lay them in a pool of smoked molten mozzarella.

Leg of lamb was served with a sunchoke and vadouvan puree. Crispy sunchoke skins and shaved lamb prosciutto accented the meat. Parsley stems added brightness and an espresso lamb jus piqued the elements.

Dessert began with a crushable coffee drenched yeast cake with crispy meringue, coffee mascarpone ice cream sticks, coffee pate bomb and white chocolate-coffee shortbread.

Cannele's were willingly sacrificed to make cannele bread pudding. We served it with cream cheese ice cream and rum caramel.

Mignardise were cookies and cream, pretzels and chocolate, and an oatmeal rum raisin ice cream sandwich.

We enjoyed a successful dinner and an inspirational weekend.

Years Past

January 20, 2006 (2)

January 20, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 20, 2015 at 06:01 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Frosty Thoughts

Winter in New Hampshire is different from what we've experienced before. Having lived in Maine, Vermont, and Colorado we are no strangers to long snowy seasons. Every state feels different and our new home is no exception. This has been the winter of ice, building up on trees and roads, coating the world in beauty and treachery that sparkles in the light. It's easy to forget the power of cold until you see branches bending to the ground under the weight of heavy snow or shattering in a grip of a deep freeze. We are cooking to keep the cold at bay. We're learning to better cook from our pantry. Icy roads are not meant to be messed with. We are re-discovering the pleasures of working with staples. Discovering extraordinary dishes hidden in plain sight.

Years Past

January 19, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 19, 2015 at 06:49 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Imperfects Counter

If perfection is an unattainable goal then the trick is reveling in the imperfections and appreciating what the flaws bring to the table. Being open to working with imperfect items allows us to discover new ideas, and occasionally even save some money along the way.

Years Past

January 18, 2009

January 18, 2007 (2)

January 18, 2006

January 18, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 18, 2015 at 08:55 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pork and Beans

I am in Milwaukee, Wisconsin visiting with chef Justin Carlisle and his team at Ardent restaurant. Our dinner and a workshop combination allows chefs to bring us to them. They take advantage of some continuing education for themselves and their staff, and we have some fun in the kitchen. The inspiration for the dishes for the guest chef dinner begins early on. Stories and ideas are shared. They help shape my perspective of the kitchen and dictate the tenor of the interactions. For this dinner we are busting on Matt Haase of Ardent, who believes hot dogs should only be served in a bun. We are stretching the idea of hot dogs and beans to include ring bologna and bean curd. The bean curd will be braised in baked bean sauce. The ring bologna will be scored and seared like foie gras. And mustard will, of course, make an appearance. Letting the environment catalyze creative thoughts allows for great discoveries in the kitchen and anywhere else.

Years Past

January 17, 2008 (2)

January 17, 2007

January 17, 2006

January 17, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 17, 2015 at 04:24 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Rice Krispie Cookies

Because every so often a little indulgence is a good thing.

Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Rice Krispie Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

4 ounces / 113 grams unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup / 125 grams creamy peanut butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon / 6 grams fine sea salt

1 teaspoons / 5 grams baking soda

1/2 cup / 106 grams light brown sugar

1 cup / 213 grams dark brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon / 4 grams vanilla paste or extract

1 cup / 90 grams oat flour

1 1/4 cups / 188 grams all purpose flour

1 cup / 170 grams bittersweet chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli)

1 1/2 cups rice krispie treats, small dice

Cream together the butter, peanut butter, salt and baking soda at medium speed in a stand mixer with the paddle until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and begin adding the brown sugars, 1/4 cup at a time, letting each addition become fully absorbed before adding the next, until all of the sugar has been added. Add the eggs one at a time, letting the first egg become fully absorbed into the batter before adding the next and scraping down the bowl as needed. Once the eggs have been absorbed add the vanilla and mix well, Stop the mixer and add the oat and all purpose flours. Mix on low speed until they are mostly incorporated. Stop the mixer and add the chocolate chips. Mix on low until the chips are well distributed, about 10 seconds. Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the krispie treats by hand (they will stay in bigger pieces that way). Cookie can be dough can be used immediately or scooped and refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C

Line a sheet pan with parchment use a 0.75 ounce ice cream scoop to portion the dough or spoon heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pan leaving 2-inches of space between each cookie. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and just set. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before eating.

Years Past

January 16, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 16, 2015 at 02:49 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Recipes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chicken Pot Pie Noodles

We started with our yeast noodles. There savoriness has a very toasted bread-like flavor and aroma that was quite similar to the buttery pie dough we use in our chicken pot pie. Amaya has a thing for broth so we've been making pressure cooked stocks from leftover meat and bones on a regular basis. This made it easy for Aki to put together a rendition of our base pot pie filling, keeping it on the looser side. She opted to use smoked flour instead of tapioca and cornstarch to add flavor while thickening the base. When the pot pie filling was ready we boiled the yeast flavored rigatoni, mixed the them together, and topped our bowls with a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano. We were eating chicken pot pie, as noodles, and nobody missed a thing

Years Past

January 15, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 15, 2015 at 07:07 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Brown Butter, Pretzel, Butterfinger Rice Krispie Treats

Inspired by Jeff Mahin, via his Twitter feed we dove into back into the Rice Krispie Treat arena. He was making Rice Krispie treat studded cookies. We saw that and asked how he was doing it. He responded, "a little think called by hand ;) we cut them and place them into cookie then re-bake for 5 more min! So good." This inspiration sparked a flurry of thoughts. On our end we came up with brown butter, pretzel, butterfinger rice krispie treats. Jeff continued to evolve, last I heard fresh mint and Oreo's were being Krispiefied into crunchy, gooey goodness.

Brown Butter, Pretzel, Butterfinger Rice Krispy Treats

113 grams unsalted butter, sliced

750 grams marshmallows

350 grams Rice Krispies

300 grams hand crushed pretzels (we used Snyders mini pretzels)

160 grams (6 bars) Butterfinger, hand chopped

Put the butter in a large deep sided pot set over medium heat. Use the butter paper to butter the inside of a 13x9-inch pyrex baking pan. Melt the butter completely and then cook, stirring, until the milk solids brown and the butter gives off a warm, nutty aroma, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the marshmallows and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, until the marshmallows melt and absorb the brown butter. Add the rice krispies and pretzels and stir them in. Add the chopped butterfingers and fold them in. Transfer the marshmallow mixture to the prepared pyrex container and use your spatula to press it flat in the pan. Let the Krispies cool if you can. Slice and devour. If you happen to have some cookie dough around, take on Jeff's brilliant idea by baking them into the top of your favorite cookie.

*These were on the crunchy side of the Krispie treat spectrum, if you prefer something a little more gooey you can increase the marshmallows to 1000 grams.

Years Past

January 14, 2007 (2)

January 14, 2006

January 14, 2005

Posted on January 14, 2015 at 01:27 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microwave Your Plates

This is one of those restaurant tricks that can make a difference at home, especially in the wintertime. Amaya has a thing about hot food and putting warm food on a cold plate means it chills down that much more quickly. Of course we don't always have an oven going at dinner time so when we got a tip from Rich about microwaving the plates it was like a light bulb went off in our heads. One minute in the microwave on high and we had perfectly warm plates for dinner. It's the little things that make all the difference.

Years Past

January 13, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 13, 2015 at 01:27 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sprouted Spelt Bucatini

We've been playing around with sprouted flours lately, just to get a feel for what they're all about. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of flavor in this sprouted spelt flour and felt that while the flavor of the grain was pronounced, it lacked the bitter edge that sometimes appears in whole grain flours. All in all it got us fired up to find some more sprouted flours to work with. The noodles pictured were made with 50% sprouted spelt flour and 50% semolina. The cooked pasta was supple and elastic, with a nice chewy texture. The flavor was earthy and sweet with a hint of nuttiness from the spelt. We tried them with pepperoni bolognese, they'd be equally good with spicy lobster or crab.

Years Past

January 12, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 12, 2015 at 02:36 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Roasted Yeast Noodles

We started with our pressure toasted yeast. We put it into a Vitamix and pulverized it into a fine flour.

We combined 100 grams of the roasted yeast flour with 900 grams semolina flour. We put the two into the hopper of the Arcobaleno AEX 18. We added 300 grams water for 30% hydration. After mixing for 8-ish minutes we extruded thick walled rigatoni, die #80 1.2mm thick.

The flavor of the yeast added a dynamic savory flavor to the noodles. It diminished a bit after boiling. It was not lost, it became an accent rather than the focus.

Years Past

January 11, 2011

January 11, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 11, 2015 at 06:50 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avocado Toast

We revisited the idea of mosaics. Visually I suppose these are closer in appearance to stone: marble, granite, quartz. Since the idea of avocado on toast has somehow taken the world by storm, we felt we could play with it too. We started with an avocado mosaic. We cut the avocado into pieces and sealed them in a vacuum bag. Then we flattened the avocado inside the bag into a thin layer and froze it. While the avocado was in the freezer we brushed phyllo dough with brown butter seasoned with smoked paprika and sprinkled each layer with Parmigiano Reggiano. We made our phyllo six layers thick and then baked it between to silpats. We put the golden brown phyllo onto a cutting board and cut it into planks. We cut the frozen avocado into identical planks. We removed the plastic from the avocado and placed it on top of the phyllo. We let the avocado thaw. Just before serving we seasoned it with lime zest, lemon olive oil, Maldon salt and Espelette pepper. It was a delicious test run on the idea. Now we can build upon it.

Years Past

January 10, 2007

January 10, 2006 (2)

January 10, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 10, 2015 at 04:35 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whole Wheat and (Processed) Cheese Tortellini

We started with our egg yolk pasta dough. We substituted 50% whole wheat flour. It adds a great nutty flavor to the pasta and by limiting the quantity of whole wheat flour, the dough retains its elasticity. For the filling we blended ricotta and queijo flamengo limiano, a Portuguese cheese. I had never had this cheese before. It is soft and slightly tangy, with a nice creaminess. It is sort of like a marriage between American processed cheese and the Flemish Edam. We blended 3 parts ricotta with 1 part of the queijo flamengo limiano and 0.5% salt based on the weight of only the ricotta--the Portuguese cheese was well seasoned on its own. We put large dollops of the cheese mixture into the center of the thin disks of pasta dough. We folded and and then pinched the dough together, making large tortellini. We boiled the tortellini and dressed them in brown butter seasoned with a pinch of smoked paprika. The queijo flamengo limiano melted into the ricotta creating a molten smooth ricotta filling. They seemed to explode in my mouth, oozing rich creamy flavor, balanced by the slightly earthy pasta casing. We built the dish based on the flavor of the cheese rather than focusing on its origins and that made all the difference. And begs the question, is an American cheese based ravioli too far of a stretch?

Years Past

January 9, 2012

January 9, 2008

January 9, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 09, 2015 at 10:39 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oysters on the Half Shell

There's nothing better than a chilly, fresh oyster on the half shell, preferably shucked by someone who knows what they're doing. The ones pictured above were Pemaquids shucked at Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland, ME, where they know how to treat an oyster. In spite the array of condiments on offer, I chose to eat mine au naturel because a good oyster needs no accompaniment. They are chilly and briny, soft and sweet, they taste of the ocean, and they wake up all of my senses in ways I just can't explain. It's the kind of food that makes the world disappear for just a few seconds as you savor the flavors and textures on your tongue. We used to live and work out near Pemaquid Point so these oysters were a staple back in the day. Our oyster guy, Jeff, would deliver them to the back door of the restaurant and we always felt lucky to a have an easy supply of such goodness on hand. The ones I had last week were just as delicious as the ones I remember. It takes a long time to get comfortable in a new place. It's nice knowing there's somewhere (relatively) nearby where I can go to satisfy that particular craving.

Years Past

January 8, 2012

January 8, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 08, 2015 at 07:48 PM in At the Table, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cheese Club

Anyone who knows us knows that we love cheese. Most nights Alex would be perfectly content to eat cheese and salumi for dinner but, thankfully, we do have other people at the table to consider, so there is a usually a vegetable or two and some bread alongside the cheese and charcuterie. One of the great things about our new location is that I can order cheese from Jasper Hill Farm and, because we live in New England, it ships for free. Last fall when they sent out an email saying they were starting a cheese club and I could get a discount if I signed up immediately, it was a no-brainer. I signed up. It was just in time for some holiday entertaining.

It's a bitter cold day and I was feeling a little droopy. Then the doorbell rang and it was UPS with my cheese delivery. Such a cool surprise (though most people are probably more organized about receiving perishables), it made my day. Every package comes with three cheeses and some literature describing them. You never know exactly what will arrive but I always know it will be something good. It's the little things that make each special. Today my favorite thing is cheese.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. We've never met anyone from Jasper Hill and we will not receive anything if you order from them or sign up for the club. We just love their cheese.

Years Past

January 7, 2012

January 7, 2009

January 7, 2007

January 7, 2006 (2)

January 7, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 07, 2015 at 02:45 PM in Approach to Cooking, At the Table | Permalink | Comments (0)

Barley Miso Noodles

We revisited our miso pasta dough from Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work. We substituted barley miso for the white miso we usually use. The noodles took on a dark color and rich aroma. The barley miso changed the perception experience of the noodles from light and delicate to full bodied and hearty. Even in their evolution, the noodles remained subtley intense. The flavors and aromas build as you savor them, one bite at a time. The barley pasta is better suited to the frigid weather we were experiencing. It will stand up nicely to a variety of braised meats and roasted vegetable sauces, enhancing their flavor while still retaining their own character in the dish.

Years Past

January 6, 2012

January 6, 2006 (2)

January 6, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 06, 2015 at 11:51 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (3)

Potato Chip Polenta

We were having lobsters. Aki wanted baked stuffed lobsters for her birthday. Specifically stuffed with the potato chip and shrimp filling I made on the fly years ago. With baked stuffed lobsters comes the mess of shells and the process of picking and digging out the meat at the table. Given that we had both younger and older at the table, this did not seem like a practical approach. Instead we took the potato chip stuffing in another direction.

I removed the lobster and shrimp (key stuffing element) from their shells and then cooked them in salted butter right before serving. I was inspired by Amaya's love of polenta and an alliteration presented itself. I decided to cook polenta in the pressure cooker (with a little water of course) and fold in potato chips at the end. We have been exploring longer cooking times, so I cooked the polenta for 45 minutes. When it was done and the pressure had dissipated, we stirred in potato chips and a large amount of cheddar cheese. The polenta attained its signature creamy texture accented with the toasty, nutty flavor of the potato chips. The cheddar cheese added salt, creaminess, and acidity to cut through this rich porridge. Finally we spooned buttery crustaceans and sauce over a bed of potato chip polenta and roasted asparagus. A delicious evolution for 2015.

...And look for pretzel polenta coming soon.

Years Past

January 5, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 05, 2015 at 02:51 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Flexibility

Living in a slightly out of the way location has reinforced the value of flexibility. Going shopping with a menu set in stone almost never works. We can hardly ever source everything we want, at the quality we need, at the time that we want it. So we improvise. It's a good thing everyone likes pasta. Some days we can go from store to store and not find what we need, on the other hand, some days we wander into a supermarket as they're butchering their steaks and hit the mother-load. They may not be prime but they are nicely marbled and cut to our specifications. Oh and they cost significantly less money than prime meat. We brought them home, seasoned them well and let them dry overnight. Then into the freezer for the next big steak night. It's all about building a pantry.

Years Past

January 4, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 04, 2015 at 05:41 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (2)

Choices

Some days it seems impossible to settle on just one choice.

FInd a way to make that work for you.

Years Past

January 3, 2012

January 3, 2006 (2)

January 3, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 03, 2015 at 03:04 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eggplant Parmigiana

This is a dish that needs no explanation. Layers of fried eggplant, sauce and cheese--I like a blend of mozzarella and ricotta, baked together into a gooey, delicious casserole.

It's also a dish that benefits from being made at home. Peel and thinly slice your eggplant, I like to use my Chinese mandoline, and soak it in cold salted water. All the bitter juices will be drawn out, generally I change the water once but if I've stumbled across older eggplant I might need to change it twice. Flour, egg, and breadcrumb coating, spiked with parmesan and garlic. The beauty of home cooking is that you get to eat a few hot out of the fryer before using the rest for another dish.

After frying the first few rounds I let my eggplant rest on paper towels or on a rack set over a sheet pan and I start building the layers as I continue to fry. Make sure you've got an hour or so before dinner so everything has time to come together in the oven. Homemade sauce is wonderful but in a pinch Rao's with a little bit of water does the trick nicely. It costs a little more but it's worth having in the pantry.

Fresh eggplant parmigiana, that hasn't rested overnight in the fridge, is pretty special stuff. The eggplant layers are soft and silky and you can really taste the flavor of the vegetable. The ricotta adds sweetness and a little creamy texture to balance out the rich sauce and oozing mozz. It's a pretty wonderful dish. All you need is good bread and a salad to serve alongside. The leftovers are nothing to sneeze at either, but after a night in the fridge everything melds together and you lose a bit of the individual textures and flavors. Still tasty but not necessarily better than your favorite Italian restaurant. Go for the gusto, try this one at home. It's a great way to start the new year.

Years Past

January 2, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on January 02, 2015 at 07:19 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (4)

Starting with Flavor

Rather than diluting we are amplifying. We infuse and flavor many ingredients from vinegar to bourbon. We even flavor our lemonade with fruits, herbs and spices. Somehow it never crossed our mind to cold brew tea in lemonade. Instead of diluting both elements, as in a half and half (or an Arnold Palmer if you're a golf fan), we build with them. Taking the idea to the table we put two Earl Grey tea bags and one Chamomile-Lemongrass tea bag in a bottle of lemonade. We will let them steep in the refrigerator overnight. Tomorrow we will taste. We should have the full strength of the lemonade balanced by the full strength of the tea. Not everything needs to be more difficult. Not everything needs to take twice as long. That said, everything must be as delicious as we can make it.

Years Past

January 1, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table