IDEAS IN FOOD: 30 entries from June 2017

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30 entries from June 2017

Frozen Custard Doughnuts

We freeze our buttermilk frozen custard in silicon doughnut molds. When the custard is solid we remove it from the mold and roll it in a crumb topping. Today we rolled the custard in our strawberry streusel, which is a combination of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, white chocolate, freeze dried strawberries and salt. The combination of doughnuts and custard continue to inspire.

Years Past

June 30, 2015

June 30, 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 June 30, 2017 at 05:51 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (1)

Pizza Dough 2017

Here is the updated recipe and process that resulted from our recent bout of tinkering.

Pizza Dough 2017

700 grams all-purpose flour

150 grams smoked all-purpose flour

50 grams durum/semolina

21 grams salt

1.5 grams instant yeast

600 grams water

28 grams olive oil

Combine the all purpose flour, smoked flour, durum flour, salt, and instant yeast in a large bowl. Whisk them thoroughly to blend. Pour the water and olive oil into the bowl and mix with a a rubber spatula. It will form a shaggy mass. Use your hands to pull the dough together into a bowl, roughly kneading it into a ball. Put the dough into a covered container and let it hydrate for 20-30 minutes.

Once the dough has hydrated, use your hand to pull one corner of the outside of the dough into the center and press it lightly into the dough. Then give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the folding process. Do this 4-5 times, working around the circumference of the dough ball until all of the outside edges have been folded into the center. Flip the dough ball over and let it rise in a covered container for 4-6 hours.

Knock the dough down and repeat the folding process. After you've flipped the dough and let it rise in a covered container for 8 hours.

Knock the dough down and fold again. Let the dough rise in a covered container for another 4 hours. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter top. Divide the dough into 6 portions, 260 grams each. Use the same folding technique that you used on the dough to shape the individual dough balls. Lightly flour 2 half sheet pans and place the dough balls, seam-side down on the flour. Lightly dust the surface of the dough with more flour and cover each pan with another inverted half sheet pan. Let the dough rise 3-4 more hours, until you are ready to make pizza.

Years Past

June 29, 2015

June 29, 2012

June 29, 2010

June 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 June 29, 2017 at 06:17 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tinker With What Works

We started with our no-knead pizza recipe. Over the years we have reduced the hydration. We have increased the salt to increase flavor and texture of the dough. We use a percentage of smoked flour in the dough. We have added some durum to the flour blend to provide a bit more bite and structure to the dough. We incorporated olive oil to enhance elasticity. We removed the sugar.

Yesterday we made pizza with these adjustments. The dough was light and fluffy. It was crispy on the outside and tender and custardy on the inside. The pizzas were delicious. They were enjoyable. They were smile worthy. We like to cook our pizza at 600°F. Our pies develop more char and blister faster when there is a fresh log on the fire. I like these results.

Years Past

June 28, 2015

June 28, 2012

June 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 June 28, 2017 at 05:28 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Giant Stuffed Pillows

Stuffed rigatoni is not new. It is new to us. Even though it has been on our to do list for years we only checked it off today. The idea that stuffed rigatoni is everywhere was a deterrent to making our own. Now that its come and gone from fashion I am able to embrace the idea as a delicious and functional way to share flavorful surprises. Ravioli, actually all stuffed pastas, are presents in food form. Using an extremely large rigatoni, a scalloped paccheri die named rigatura, we were able to make oversized stuffed rigatoni. We made giant cheesy pillows for our exploratory version on the subject. We extruded the tubes and while they were still soft we filled them with a blend of ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. I pinched the ends of these elongated tubes and trimmed the edges with a fluted wheel cutter. I boiled the pillows and glazed them in sauce. I topped them with more grated Parmigiano and set about tasting. The pasta had a firm bite and the filling was tender and soft. I am now looking forward to the many options we may explore with fillings and ways to utilize these giant pillows.

Years Past

June 27, 2015

June 27, 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 June 27, 2017 at 06:11 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Breakfast Taco

Leftover lobster salad, smashed avocado, and corn tortillas--warmed up in a saute pan. Gotta love good leftovers.

Years Past

June 26, 2015

June 26, 2012

June 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 June 26, 2017 at 06:17 PM in Approach to Cooking, At the Table | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lobster and Long Hots

We were fortunate to come into a windfall of lobster claw meat. Aki is happy to eat chilled chunks of lobster, smelling the sea breeze that magically appears when the lobster is in hand. I prefer to mess with her perfect moments. Tonight I divided and conquered. I reserved a bowl of pristine lobster meat for Aki to indulge in. I took the rest and added our current kitchen staple, charred long hots and onions, to the lobster meat. I added some Sir Kensington mayonnaise and torn lovage leaves. The lobster salad needed something else. I reached for our bottle of I Love You With My Hot Sauce and generously dosed the lobster salad. Magically, I smelled my own sea breeze.

Years Past

June 25, 2015

June 25, 2012

June 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 June 25, 2017 at 06:48 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eating At Your Favorite Takeout Restaurant

Everybody has a restaurant or two, or ten--if you happen to live in a big city, where you like to order in for delivery or take out. I practically grew up on these kinds of meals. Aunt Marie got home late and didn't love to cook, so she either picked something up or we had something delivered 3-5 times a week. In my new neighborhood it's more of a pick-up area. There are a few places that deliver but it takes a long time and the food is barely warm by the time it gets here, so Alex prefers to pick it up. After swimming today Amaya and I went out to lunch. I wanted to take her to a Japanese restaurant that I've been wanting to try but it didn't open until noon. She was starving when class ended at eleven so I let her pick the place. She chose our favorite Chinese take-out restaurant.

Perhaps unsurprisingly it was empty. While there was a steady of stream of customers picking up food to go, the man at the front couldn't quite conceal his surprise that we wanted to eat our lunch on premise. It's an actual restaurant with tables and booths. They do a reasonable business in the evenings, but clearly Saturday afternoon is not peak time for table service. The food was undeniably better fresh from the kitchen. The portions were larger and everything was nicely cooked and very tasty. Unfortunately I was quite unable to ignore the food on the wall beside our booth and the less than squeaky clean table. The menu was gritty with salt or sugar. Amaya stuck her head underneath the table and was shocked to report that there were wads of chewed bubble gum stuck underneath the top. But she was quickly distracted by the music and the conversation. Thankfully she remained mostly oblivious to my discomfort.

It was a bit of a lesson for me. I often tease Alex about his fastidiousness. Gone are the days when he would happily eat tongue tacos or fried clams at some hole in the wall joint. Sanitation has become a major priority as the years have gone by and I can can understand that, while still lamenting our more adventurous culinary forays. But as I sat there determinedly ignoring the bits of food liberally speckling the wall beside me, I thought that maybe there was something to be said for not eating in at your favorite take out restaurants.

Years Past

June 24, 2015

June 24, 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 June 24, 2017 at 02:46 PM in At the Table, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anne Lamott: 12 truths I learned from life and writing

"Try not to compare your insides to other people's outsides."

Anne Lamott via TED.

Years Past

June 23, 2015

June 23, 2012

June 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 June 23, 2017 at 04:18 PM in INSPIRATIONS, Videos | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ridged Paccheri

Mixed dough ready to extrude. It looks like beautiful streusel. Any wetter and the dough clumps into a ball in the machine.

Starting to extrude. The dough comes together and the die warms up improving the shape and texture of the noodle.

Ready to cut. We use a knife and cut straight down. Practice allows us to get the timing right.

Paccheri are cut and standing on edge, air drying for an hour before putting into zip top bags and refrigerating.

Years Past

June 22, 2015

June 22, 2012

June 22, 2006

June 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 June 22, 2017 at 03:42 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seasoned With Blue Cheese

Blue cheese and tomatoes has been a staple in our flavor files. Many years ago we were introduced to freezing blue cheese and grating it over salads. It is a Todd English technique that we have applied to everything from foie gras, before it was made famous, to peppers, to anchovies.

With the summer heat and tomatoes emerging it made sense to revisit our past influences. I dressed small tomatoes with lemon oil, maple vinegar and salt. I grated frozen St. Agur over the top. The end result was a bright, refreshing, aromatic salad. A delicious opening volley into the beginning of summer.

Years Past

June 21, 2015

June 21, 2012

June 21, 2006

June 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 June 21, 2017 at 04:44 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Buttermilk Brownies

The lack of liquid in brownies has always bothered me. I've made some pretty delicious brownies in my day but I was convinced that a little more hydration would make them even better.

I just wanted to add a splash of liquid, not enough to turn them into cake. I had to preserve that dense, fudgy, chewy texture that makes them such a pleasure to eat. But cocoa powder and flour, in this case--oat flour (my favorite choice for brownies and blondies), are better with a little bit of dairy.

So I riffed off of Alice Medrich's cocoa brownies, from which every cocoa brownie I've ever made was inspired, and made it into the brownie of my dreams.

Buttermilk Brownies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup natural cocoa powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 cold large eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup whole grain oat flour
1 cup mixed chocolate chips/chunks: milk, caramel, bittersweet

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Butter a brownie pan. I swear by my 11-x-7" Granite Wear rectangular baking pan but you can use a 8"-by-8" square if that's what you have in your arsenal.

Slice the butter and put it into a medium pot. Set over medium heat and melt the butter, stirring continuously. Cook until the butter turns golden brown and has a rich, nutty aroma. Immediately remove from heat--the butter will continue to brown in the pan and add the sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Mix well with a heatproof spatula to dissolve all of the sugar. Cool slightly, 5-10 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time and mix with a spatula until the batter is smooth, shiny and homogenous. Add the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well to blend. Add oat flour and vigorously mix the batter until it is smooth and shiny, about 50 strokes. This is a thick better, reminiscent of molasses. Stir in the chocolate. It's nice to use different sized chips and chunks because they give texture to the brownies. I used a combination of Callebaut milk chocolate chips, Guittard bittersweet chips, and Valrhona’s Caramélia Pour/scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Shake pan to evenly distribute the batter. Do not use a spatula to spread the batter in the pan if you want a crackly top. Bake for 30-35 minutes until just set. Press the center of the brownie gently with your fingertip and if it feels firm you are fully cooked.

Cool completely before serving.

Years Past

June 20, 2015

June 20, 2012

June 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 June 20, 2017 at 07:11 PM in Approach to Cooking, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS, Recipes | Permalink | Comments (2)

Shrimp and Nduja Chili

We took the shrimp and nduja in an unexpected direction. It was an obvious direction that we did not see at first. We made quick chili. I sweat the mixture in olive oil. I added canned beans and lentils and crushed tomatoes. I added some smoked soy sauce and let it simmer slowly on the stove to come together. The obvious is only obvious when you pay attention to it.

Years Past

June 19, 2015

June 19, 2012

June 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 June 19, 2017 at 05:53 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Father's Day!

This year we are celebrating with lobster and lovage.

And butter toasted split top rolls.

To create one of Alex's favorite summer meals.

We hope you're eating well wherever you are and celebrating the men who make your world a better place.

Happy Father's Day!

Years Past

June 18, 2015

June 18, 2012

June 18, 2006

June 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 June 18, 2017 at 12:22 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Blank Canvas

Tomatoes are starting to pop in the markets. Paired with fresh buffalo mozzarella, they are a canvas for any number of flavors. While classic Italian pairings are lovely, we've also been known to go Asian (pickled ginger brine, togarishi and toasted nori or kimchi juice and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil) or Indian (chilis, cumin, lime, cilantor and mustard oil)) with our seasonings.

Years Past

June 17, 2015

June 17, 2012

June 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 June 17, 2017 at 07:06 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shrimp and Nduja

The initial idea was instant XO sauce. If we combined Nduja, shrimp, jalapeno, white wine and minced it together and cooked it down slowly it would closely resemble the more complex XO sauce. As I thought through the cooking process I wondered why we don't stop cooking XO sauce much earlier in order to create a blonde XO. We could even look at different points in the cooking process as we do with soffrito. At that point I realized our XO sauce could be used uncooked as a sausage or dumpling filling. Alternatively we could bring some Activa into the mix and make an XO style salumi, like our shrimp chorizo.

Today we are letting the mixture marinate in its minced form. Tomorrow we will take it where it wants to go.

Years Past

June 16, 2015

June 16, 2007

June 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 June 16, 2017 at 06:53 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Popcorn and Chocolate

This is so easy it's ridiculous, Make or buy some popcorn (cool it completely before coating for maximum crunch), melt some chocolate, drizzle it over the top, add a little bit of salt for the chocolate, chill for 10-15 minutes in the fridge, and eat. I like bittersweet chocolate and Amaya prefers the milk chocolate for this application. The trick is to make sure the chocolate is runny and then use a small, flat silicone spatula or spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the corn. You need way less chocolate than you would think and it permeates the popcorn so that every bite is crunchy, creamy, sweet, and salty. It's perfect for movies at home. All your indulgence in one delicious bite.

Years Past

June 15, 2015

June 15, 2012

June 15, 2006

June 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 June 15, 2017 at 02:02 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (1)

Miso Spaghetti with Yoghurt Ricotta

When we generate ideas we do not always have immediate plans for there usage. It turns our miso spaghetti, done in the style of cacio pepe is balanced and enriched when accompanied by yoghurt ricotta.

Years Past

June 14, 2015

June 14, 2012

June 14, 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 June 14, 2017 at 10:04 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yoghurt Ricotta

I have been wanting to blend ricotta and whole milk yoghurt for too long and I finally made it happen. I was looking for a ricotta with a developed tang and smooth fattiness. I have read about adding cream to ricotta to moisten and smooth it out. When I tried it, it was good but not exactly what I was looking for. Using yoghurt (siggi's whole milk skyr, to be precise) instead of the cream gives more substance to the combination. The result was a tangy and silky ricotta with a full lactic flavor and a soft, fluid body. I suppose using creme fraiche or sour cream would provide a similar outcome. The combination adds a hint of creaminess and acidity to any number of things from marinated fruits and vegetables to roasted potatoes. I can see a wide range of uses for this mixture, especially in our hot weather kitchen.

Years Past

June 13, 2015

June 13, 2012

June 13, 2008

June 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 June 13, 2017 at 12:09 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Barley Miso Spaghetti

About a year ago we revisited our miso noodles and made blonde miso extruded noodles. Today I had a hankering for a darker, richer miso noodle made, not by hand, but in the extruder. I started with 3 year old barley miso. I pureed it with eggs and some water. I strained the mixture and added it to semolina blended with 0.25% baking soda, by weight.

I am constantly torn between making something new and improving on an existing formula. Too often we know the answer to my questions and I choose to run into the wall instead of revisiting our previous successes. Choosing not to go back to our notes ensures that we get to go through the experience of developing a similar recipe in a new way. The use of egg made a denser, tackier dough. I will most likely go back to using water and miso, omitting the egg in the future. The blend of miso and egg does not have nearly as much free water to hydrate the semolina. By tinkering and then revisiting our previous observations after the fact, we get a fresh look at things and can make combinations we would not have otherwise come up with or observed.

Today's Barley Miso Noodles

500 grams semolina

1.25 grams baking soda

150 grams/ 3 large eggs

100 grams barley miso

30 grams water

Put the semolina and baking soda in the extruder and mix to blend. Whisk together the eggs, miso and water and then strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the liquid to form a crumbly dough. Turn off the machine and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to hydrate. Extrude the pasta into the desired shape.

Years Past

June 12, 2015

June 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 June 12, 2017 at 05:15 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Easiest Sandwich Ever

Good bread with salted, smashed avocado and some hot Italian giardiniera relish. It's cool, creamy, tangy, spicy, crunchy goodness in less than five minutes. Because a quick lunch still needs to be delicious, a good pantry is always your best weapon.

Years Past

June 11, 2015

June 10, 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 June 11, 2017 at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Polenta Seamless Ravioli v1

I am back on a seamless ravioli (otherwise known as gnudi) kick. I want to form a visible skin on the surface of each dumpling, encasing the filling in a seamless exterior layer of dough. In order to facilitate the skin formation we first roll our filling in flour and then bury the dumplings in it. We refrigerate the buried filling overnight and then unearth them. Then we dip them in water and roll them again in the flour and bury them for another night to develop a slightly thicker skin.

This week we started working on a polenta version. We scooped cooled cheddar polenta and then rolled it and buried it in all purpose flour. The following day I casually unearthed the dumplings, dipped them in water, and repeated the process for a second day in the flour. After the second night in the refrigerator I uncovered the seamless ravioli and dusted them off. They cooked up nicely. The secondary dip created a full ravioli-like skin around the polenta. But when we bit into some of them we discovered a hard, chalky layer of un-hydrated flour in some of the skins. This was caused by my less than meticulous attention to detail during the dipping and re-rolling process. If I pay more attention to the details of the process I will be able to eliminate the flaw and create the perfectly encased polenta ravioli I was looking for.

Years Past

June 10, 2015

June 10, 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 June 10, 2017 at 12:23 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Clamped

I have been frustrated with the clamping system on our pasta machine. It only fits certain counter tops, it is not very friendly to the bottom of the counter/table and it is slow to put in place. It took way to many years for me to look into the arena of woodworking to find a better clamp. These quick release, single handed clamps are easy to use and, because they are padded, do no damage to the counter. I was able to angle the clamps outwards to facilitate my full range of motion for the pasta machine crank. I am no longer inhibited by how to keep our pasta machine in place. That means more pasta more often in our world.

Years Past

June 9, 2015

June 9, 2012

June 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 June 09, 2017 at 01:14 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Affogato

An affogato is a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a shot or two of espresso. We do not serve coffee proper or its espresso related cousins at Curiosity Doughnuts. But, being doughnut-centric, we still want to have coffee available, we simply need to integrate it into our world. In the beginning we served a coffee glazed doughnut with a doughnut streusel, making a coffee cake. Since opening, we have had our coffee caramel to top our custard. In the beginning days I playfully topped custard for myself with the coffee caramel, indulging in and smiling at my frozen affogato. But keeping the idea to myself meant it was soon forgotten and not shared as an option for our customers. Thankfully over the weekend I had a craving for my favorite affogato custard combination. It was a "How could I have forgotten this?" reminder to share the idea and present this option to everyone who asks us for coffee.

Years Past

June 8, 2015

June 8, 2012

June 8, 2006

June 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 June 08, 2017 at 01:41 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Refinement in Repetition

The introduction of the Super Cake Doughnut at Curiosity Doughnuts has pushed us forward. Its hybrid nature has us continuing to look at how light and moist we can make the cake doughnut. Because we use a doughnut depositor it enables a rounder and more uniform shape. Our quest for perfecting imperfection in our doughnuts has allowed us to look at the Super Cakes with fresh eyes. They demand a polished, precise, imperfection. After roughly two months of tinkering we are finally becoming in tune with the doughnut. The repetition is allowing us to create a style all to their own.

Pictured here are four from this past weekend: Cinnamon Cardamom Sugar, Vanilla Glazed with White Chocolate Pretzel Crumbs, Vanilla Glazed with Milk Chocolate Cocoa Pebbles, Vanilla Glazed with Passion Fruit

Years Past

June 7, 2015

June 7, 2012

June 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 June 07, 2017 at 07:25 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sharing Inspiration

It's a tremendous day when someone shares a bit of inspiration. It is thrilling when it arrives from an employee, observing the world and becoming inspired. Danny, who works for us at Curiosity Doughnuts, captured this inspirational quote and sent us the pic. Looks like I'll be searching for some new wall art.

Years Past

June 6, 2015

June 6, 2012

June 6, 2008

June 6, 2007

June 6, 2006

June 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 June 06, 2017 at 07:01 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Finishing Touches

These days some of the biggest mental obstacles holding me back in the kitchen are the ideas of approachability and accessibility in creating new dishes. Today it dawned on me that if we keep the more obscure elements separate and add them at the end, we can customize delicious. Amaya is thrilled to eat a bowl of cheddar polenta topped with garlic roasted carrots. I like the addition of herbs, spice, acidity and bitterness. Tonight, just before serving, we dressed some of the roasted carrots with lovage, olives, and yuzu kosho. I kept Amaya's separate. Aki and I enjoyed the additional layers of flavor in the dish. These finishing touches allow us to personalize each plate to enhance the experience for everyone at the table.

Years Past

June 5, 2015

June 5, 2012

June 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 June 05, 2017 at 06:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Long Hots and Vidalia Onions

Grill them, chop them, add salt and a splash of acid, and you have the perfect relish. Sweet, smoky, earthy, spicy, and so good. They go with anything else you cook on the grill.

Years Past

June 4, 2016

June 4, 2015

June 4, 2012

June 4, 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 June 04, 2017 at 05:07 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Coleslaw Upgrade

We were fortunate to receive a bottle of I Love You With My Hot Sauce from our friend and barrel aging genius Steve Stallard of BLiS. The sauce is a complex blend of flavors with a mellowed habanero heat and nuance and a malty backbone from the stout. I opened the bottle and tasted the sauce. It is addictive. We were in the process of having a dog day dinner and I quickly upgraded our creamy and child friendly coleslaw with the hot sauce. I now understand the name of this hot sauce. Because I do love it with everything. It is an upgrade in a bottle.

P.S. Happy Anniversary to Us, 17 years of marriage, in case you were interested.

Years Past

June 3, 2016

June 3, 2015

June 3, 2012

June 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 June 03, 2017 at 07:38 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy Doughnut Day!

To celebrate Doughnut Day, Alex was over at Good Morning Hunterdon talking about life, doughnuts, and the pursuit of happiness. Catch it here.

Years Past

June 2, 2016

June 2, 2015

June 2, 2012

June 2, 2008

June 2, 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 June 02, 2017 at 05:00 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peanut Butter And Banana

When I was pregnant and in my second trimester, I ate peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast every single day. I have no idea why or where the craving came from. It was very specific. I ate Jif Natural Creamy peanut butter on Martin's whole wheat potato bread. Nothing else would do. Oddly, considering the amount of peanut butter I consumed during her gestation, Amaya is not a huge fan of peanut butter. She will occasionally eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream. In any other situation, for her, peanut butter is a pass.

Times have changed. Now I buy the organic no-stir peanut butter, that still separates most of the time. To this end I keep it in the refrigerator, which keeps it creamy but also makes it hard to spread. I haven't had a peanut butter sandwich in years, somehow it's not my thing anymore. It's as though I maxed out on them during my pregnancy and can no longer eat them at all. Instead I eat peanut butter by the spoonful or if I'm feeling particularly peckish, I spread it on sliced bananas. This is the perfect sweet-creamy-salty-sticky afternoon snack. There's enough acid and astringency hidden in the fruit and nuts to ensure that it hits every point on my taste buds and lingers on my palate. It's a quick hit of energy that stays with me for a few hours--I tend to be generous with the peanut butter. It's the perfect afternoon snack. Everything evolves with age and, in a perfect world, it all just keeps getting better.

Years Past

June 1, 2016

June 1, 2015

June 1, 2012

June 1, 2006