IDEAS IN FOOD: 31 entries from August 2018

« July 2018 | Main | September 2018 »

31 entries from August 2018

Chasing Texture

I was pleased and proud of the flavorful crunchiness we created in our tiger crunch doughnut. I have been bouncing ideas of other textural elements we could embed in our doughnuts pre-frying. The other day I reached for puffed rice. The rice stuck and fried nicely in the dough. It added a lighter crunch than the cornflakes. The downside of the puffed rice is the aesthetic. The rice needs to be hidden so it loses its grub-like appearance. A thicker glaze is in order to make the puffed rice truly pop.

Years Past

August 31, 2015

August 31, 2011

August 31, 2010

August 31, 2009

August 31, 2008

August 31, 2007

August 31, 2006

August 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 August 31, 2018 at 06:18 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (2)

Blending Chips For The Win

We have steadily been tweaking our chocolate chip cookie game. The most noticeable improvement has been to use a blend of assorted chips and other inclusions. We use white, milk, dark and semi sweet chocolate. We add toffee pieces and occasionally Butterfinger shards. The blending and mixing of chips creates variety and delightful textural differences in the cookies. The flavors make me pay attention to each bite.

It turns out our friend Stella Parks of BraveTart fame is an equal fan of blending chips to improve the cookie experience. She writes about it in her book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts. If you don't have it yet, it's a worthwhile addition to any culinary library.

Years Past

August 30, 2015

August 30, 2012

August 30, 2011

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 August 30, 2018 at 06:01 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Piri Piri Pasta

A good friend of ours, Anthony Goncalves, makes an incredible piri piri sauce. His secret is Frank's Red Hot sauce. I have long been smitten with the sauce and wanted to transform it into noodles. Today I combined Frank's with a chili powder blend. I used the mixture as the liquid for hydrating the durum flour. The result was a spicy, aromatic piri piri noodle.

Years Past

August 29, 2015

August 29, 2012

August 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 August 29, 2018 at 06:09 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dill Pickles

In many ways this has been the summer of the dill pickle at our house. Amaya discovered how much she loves pickles at the beginning of the summer and we have tried many, many different kinds of pickles over the course of the season. We've eaten them plain: whole, sliced and speared, put them in grilled sandwiches of every flavor, tried them deep fried in restaurants, layered them on burgers, and explored the many variations from mild to hot. The clear winner at the end of the day is the classic Dietz & Watson dill pickle. It's not organic or artisan or fancy (although the brand originated in Philly so it's kind of local), what it is, is a darned good pickle.

Years Past

August 28, 2015

August 28, 2012

August 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 August 28, 2018 at 03:08 PM in At the Table | Permalink | Comments (0)

How Do You Get Lucky?

A little inspiration for the beginning of the week from Tina Seelig via TED.

Years Past

August 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 August 27, 2018 at 05:34 PM in INSPIRATIONS, Videos | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interchangeable Inspiration

We rely on solid building blocks, from recipes to people. Recently we added a new member to our team at Curiosity Doughnuts. I wanted a chocolate ring doughnut with chocolate crumbs. She was able to understand the essence of our doughnuts and create the result with an improved style. When you are able to assemble to right pieces, creativity thrives.

Years Past

August 26, 2012

August 26, 2011

August 26, 2008

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 August 26, 2018 at 05:34 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moo Shu-catini

Too often we let leftover moo shu rot in our refrigerator. We are usually not up for wrapping it up in pancakes again. I've tried the moo shu omelette and fried rice. But even those delights lose their luster when repeated enough. This time around Aki suggested using the moo shu as a pasta sauce, in the style of lo mein. I was game, but was not in the mood for spaghetti. I reached for my favorite go to noodle, bucatini. I heated the leftovers in the pan and boiled the noodles. I brought the two together and the three of us were crushing a delicious bowl of noodles. The bucatini's thicker side was a delightful counterpart to the rich, umami-heavy moo shu. I'm now intrigued with the idea of the cross pollination of Italian noodles with Chinese dishes.

Years Past

August 25, 2015

August 25, 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 August 25, 2018 at 06:40 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Start With A Strong Core

"We are looking for hard working people with a “can do” attitude and believe in our core values to help build an extra-ordinary company. If you are looking for an exciting career in one of the fastest growing food concepts in Texas, please fill out the application below.

OUR CORE VALUES (PEACE):

Persistence:

Our ability to overcome adversity

Effort:

Work ethic. Effort is measured by how hard you try when you don’t want to.

Attitude:

Your life experience is shaped by your attitude about your situation and the people around you.

Communication:

Communication is the foundation for a healthy relationship, and is the key for a positive environment.

Empathy:

We perform our best when we know that our actions will yield positive results for someone we love and care about."

We're always looking for ways to help us define what we want our business to be. Arvin is visiting us and he showed us this website because he was so impressed by the way they were able to define their core values. We appreciated their description so much that we had to share it.

Years Past

August 24, 2012

August 24, 2011

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 August 24, 2018 at 04:50 PM in Balancing Tastes, Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Work With an Edge

We have a focused art collection, primarily with large prints from Hugh Macleod of Gapingvoid. They inspire and fuel our creativity.

Years Past

August 23, 2015

August 23, 2012

August 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 August 23, 2018 at 06:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Go For the Combo

I wanted fried calamari. Aki wanted belly clams and fried shrimp. Amaya wanted clam strips and fried calamari. We debated our wants and explored the menu. We could get a combo platter with most of what we all wanted. Or we could each get our own fried seafood basket. Experience has taught me to be a bit cautious with unknown, or new to us, restaurants. But we were on a mini vacation. We chose as individuals and agreed to share. I learned my lesson again. First of all, it was way too much seafood for the three of us. Second, at least one of the three selections was under fried. The second was debatable. It may have been influenced by my realization that I've lost my love for belly clams.

The combo would have limited our losses. It would have added fries to the mix. It would have allowed us to experience more and give us the opportunity to double down if we weren't already excessively full. Next time, it's the combination platter all the way, one, to share.

Years Past

August 22, 2016

August 22, 2015

August 22, 2014

August 22, 2013

August 22, 2012

August 22, 2011

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 August 22, 2018 at 06:47 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Grease Fire Burgers

I made a bunch of thin burgers. I was going to cook them on the grill, layer cheese between the patties off the heat and let the juices and cheese mingle and melt. Then I started cooking the burgers on the vacation house grill. The first few burgers were fine. But, as I cooked and the fat dripped through the grill, it ignited the residual grease underneath and it turned into a fire box. I used the not-quite a spatula that came with the house to move, flip and adjust the burgers. I tried to make sure that neither the burgers nor myself turned into charcoal. I still proceeded with my plan of layering burgers and cheese, though I ended up pulling the burgers a bit early. I put the burgers into a 375°F oven for 5 minutes once they were all rescued from the grill. The cheese melted fully and encased the meat. Remarkably, the resulting burger experience was one of the most delicious I have had in a long time. Perhaps I need a bit more fire on the front side and the gentle-ish heated finish and rest to make a better burger. Working with the extremes seems to deliver the greatest results.

Years Past

August 21, 2015

August 21, 2011

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 August 21, 2018 at 02:09 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Liquid Marshmallow

We went to Ashley's ice cream shop in Madison, CT. I was thrilled to see liquid marshmallow as a topping. I was even more excited to watch Amaya create a dessert of black raspberry, liquid marshmallow and cookie crumbs. She is a marshmallow fanatic and jumped at the opportunity to pair it with the fragrant ice cream. It had me wondering where all the liquid marshmallow has gone and why the heck I'm not finding a way to make my own and integrate it into doughnutland and beyond.

Years Past

August 20, 2015

August 20, 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 August 20, 2018 at 08:23 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everything Ripens Eventually

Blueberry picking is all about the search for the perfect berry. For Amaya that meant the bluest berry, for her cousins that meant the "best" (an entirely subjective standard) or the largest berries. They ripen unevenly so you can find a range of berries within the same cluster. This is the perfect activity for small fingers and sharp eyes. It's the thrill of the hunt that makes berry picking so much fun.

Years Past

August 19, 2015

August 19, 2012

August 19, 2011

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 August 19, 2018 at 05:07 PM in Balancing Tastes, Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pepperoni and Cheddar Cheese Toast

The key is the sesame seeds.

Years Past

August 18, 2015

August 18, 2012

August 18, 2011

August 18, 2010

August 18, 2009

August 18, 2008

August 18, 2007

August 18 2006

August 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 August 18, 2018 at 05:53 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scoop or Scale?

We use an ice cream scoop to portion our cookies at home. The results are close but not identical. A scale shows us how big a cookie actually is. It enables consistency. If crushing cookies is the desired result a scoop or teaspoon is perfect for portioning. If there are dollars on the line its best to weigh your dough.

Years Past

August 17, 2015

August 17, 2012

August 17, 2011

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 August 17, 2018 at 04:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Insanity of Recipes

We write recipes. We expect people to read the recipe, procure the ingredients, follow the recipe, and get the desired result; the very first time.

We don't account for variables in equipment, ingredients, skills and free will--the necessity for the cook to change the recipe because they know better.

I'm pretty sure musicians take time to learn new pieces. They are allowed to make mistakes and improve.

But with music, if you don't get the notes right, you still get dinner. With cooking the mistakes are a bit riskier and costly.

So what is the solution? The first is to write better recipes. The second is to encourage trial and reward failure. Sounds great when I write it. But the follow through is a little more difficult.

Does it start with techniques? Does it start with practice? Are the recipes even being cooked?

Years Past

August 16, 2015

August 16, 2012

August 16, 2011

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 August 16, 2018 at 06:07 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (2)

Beignets

We make our beignets at Curiosity Doughnuts with our not quite vegan doughnut dough. (Actually these beignets and the doughnuts are vegan but we use the same fryer and oil for all of our doughnuts so they become vegan-ish.) The beignets are made from the cuttings from the doughnut rings and clusters. We gather the trimmings into a rough rectangle and wrap them in plastic wrap. We refrigerate the dough overnight. The following day we roll it into a 1/8 inch thick sheet. We use an expandable wheel pasta cutter to shape the beignets into not quite perfect squares. We fry the squares and dust them in the required powdered sugar. The beignets have a cult-like following that seems to be growing in size. I may have to expand production to use first cut dough to keep up with demand.

Years Past

August 15, 2015

August 15, 2012

August 15, 2011

August 15, 2010

August 15, 2009

August 15, 2008

August 15, 2007

August 15, 2006

August 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 August 15, 2018 at 05:55 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

15 Minute Ribs

Aki salted a rack of ribs and let it air dry on a rack overnight in the refrigerator. I cut the rack into ribs and put them in a pressure cooker with soffrito, tomato sauce, soy sauce and water. I cooked the ribs for 15 minutes at high pressure. I let the pressure dissipate naturally. The ribs are fork tender while still nicely clinging to the bone. The sauce gains a richness from the meat. In this version we certainly went Italianesque. But if we altered a few ingredients the end result can become an entirely different dish.

Years Past

August 14, 2015

August 14, 2011

August 14, 2010

August 14, 2009

August 14, 2008

August 14, 2007

August 14, 2006

August 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 August 14, 2018 at 06:46 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interior View

Because what you can't see is just as important as what you can.

Years Past

August 13, 2012

August 13, 2011

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 August 13, 2018 at 05:41 PM in Approach to Cooking, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beat it

Bacon, Egg, Avocado, Tomato on Toast

Summer provides the relaxed framework to make anything into dinner. Summer is the excuse to cook and not cook what makes you happy. Summer inspires a mindset that is worth taking beyond the season. It's worth making summertime cooking a style that we can use all year long.

Years Past

August 12, 2015

August 12, 2011

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 August 12, 2018 at 07:14 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Letting Ideas Macerate

Ideas, like fruits and vegetables, benefit from maceration.

Years Past

August 11, 2011

August 11, 2008

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 August 11, 2018 at 05:54 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Triple Chocolate Remix

Amaya was in the mood to bake today. She wanted something chocolate so I pulled up one of our recipes for her. Instead of using pistachios and chocolate chips in our Triple Chocolate Pistachio Cookies, tonight she went with white and milk chocolate peanut butter cups. An older recipe is new once more.

Years Past

August 10, 2015

August 10, 2012

August 10, 2011

August 10, 2009

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 August 10, 2018 at 05:14 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Cool Pasta VIdeo

This pasta video is insanely inspiring and informative. It's a must watch if you dig noodles.

Years Past

August 9, 2015

August 9, 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 August 09, 2018 at 06:19 PM in Approach to Cooking, Videos | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ice Cream Indulgence

I am in search of the nostalgic and delicious Ice cream experience. R&D is hard work. Someday we will capture that lightning in a bottle.

Years Past

August 8, 2015

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 August 08, 2018 at 06:55 PM in INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

What is Science?

I have spent years trying to succinctly explain what science is. A few years ago I was able to piece together the answer.

Science is the continuous quest to verify observations.

Recently I came across another elegant and eloquent solution to my question. The question was asked and answered well before my time.

Years Past

August 7, 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 August 07, 2018 at 06:12 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our New Favorite Bacon

We found this in the aisles of Whole Foods. Niman Ranch Steak House Bacon is an extra thick, extra tender, flavorful slab of pork belly. Its thickness provides a decadent eating pleasure. It also increases the cooking time, something which requires a bit more planning for bacon cravings.

The feature of the thick bacon is also its flaw. It remains rich, fatty and meaty, a plus for many though the extra thick fat causes a few grumbles at the table.

The bacon is tremendous in breakfast sandwiches and now seasonal BLT. It makes bacon a central theme rather than something served on the side.

Years Past

August 6, 2015

August 6, 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 August 06, 2018 at 06:43 PM in Approach to Cooking, Ingredients, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blank Slate

When we moved into our house it was full of shiny stainless steel appliances. Unfortunately they were all reaching the five year mark when we moved in. Two years later we've had issues with both the refrigerator and the stove. The repairmen just shrug and say, "It's about that time." Then they let us know what will be breaking down next--they are almost always correct, collect our money, and mosey out the door.

Most recently our freezer has been leaking floods of water every other day. Mind you, we just had the ice maker repaired a few months ago. There was something about a valve and ice and drainage involved. The repairman spent about an 12 minutes working on it. Then he informed us that the problem was fixed but the repair wouldn't actually take until we could let the unit defrost for a full twenty four hours. "If you have to call me back in, I'll know you didn't defrost it long enough. Don't try to give yourself a short cut and turn it back on after twenty three hours or the repair won't work." Humph.

It took us a few weeks but we finally emptied out both the fridge and freezer. We got rid of a lot of over age condiments that we had forgotten were in there, hidden in the back of the top shelf. Here's hoping the defrost cycle works and it's actually fixed at this time tomorrow. Then we get to enjoy the process of filling it back up.

Years Past

August 5, 2015

August 5, 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 August 05, 2018 at 06:26 PM in Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (3)

Found Art

After creating we discover hidden beauty.

Years Past

August 4, 2015

August 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 August 04, 2018 at 04:58 PM in Beyond the Kitchen Doors, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Circus Art

Drawing by Amaya

In our house, it's all about the food.

Years Past

August 3, 2015

August 3, 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 August 03, 2018 at 03:18 PM in Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mac and Cheese

We have made provolone crisps before. Today I took that idea further by adding pasta to the browning cheese. The blanched rings became embedded, really bonded, into the cheese. I was able to trim the crisp cheese so that each tube had its own lacy cheese cap. Time to explore its potential.

Years Past

August 2, 2015

August 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 August 02, 2018 at 05:21 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bonding Egg Noodles

I separated the eggs. I made egg yolk and egg white noodles. Of course I needed to bring them back together. I rolled the egg yolk noodles and the egg white noodles into thin sheets. I layered the sheets and rolled them back into a thin transparent sheet.

I cut the sheet into pappardelle. Is a bonded egg noodle a better noodle? That is still to be decided. If whimsy and intrigue are allowed a vote alongside delicious, it would seem like a landslide victory.