IDEAS IN FOOD: Approach to Cooking

Cinnamon Shortbread Crust

Take your favorite pie crust recipe (ours is in both Maximum Flavor and Gluten Free Flour Power) and add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Then roll out your dough in shortbread crumbs. It's that simple. We're going to use it for the next batch of strawberry pie but it would be equally good with lemon cream pie or banana cream pie or custard pie...hmmm maybe I'll rethink that strawberry filling.

Years Past

March 23, 2018

March 23, 2017

March 23, 2016

March 23, 2015

March 23, 2012

March 23, 2010

March 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 March 23, 2019 at 05:10 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spring

It's the first strawberry pie of the season. Spring is definitely here.

Years Past

March 22, 2018

March 22, 2017

March 22, 2016

March 22, 2015

March 22, 2012

March 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 March 22, 2019 at 05:18 PM in Approach to Cooking, At the Table | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two Lime Pie

I was making a lime pie for my mother in law's birthday when Alex wandered into the kitchen. He was watching me make the filling for the baked curd and thought it looked a little bit skimpy.

Then as we debated toppings for the pie he suggested that I adapt my lemon cream pie filling and use it to top the baked lime base, essentially bringing two pies together as one. It worked beautifully with the graham cracker rolled pie crust. The bottom layer was firmer and more intense with a kiss of ginger to highlight the lime, while the top layer was ethereal and bright with a hint of vanilla.

I think my ratio was a bit off and I need a little more of the bottom layer to balance the top, but that's an easy fix. The pie was a huge success and it's making me think about ways to bring more flavor to what I put on top of a pie or a cake or whatever else I happen to be creating.

Years Past

March 21, 2018

March 21, 2017

March 21, 2016

March 21, 2015

March 21, 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 March 21, 2019 at 03:57 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kimchi and Coleslaw

A number of years ago we made creamy kimchi. It was delicious. It was great with our hot dogs. But it was not coleslaw and was not kimchi. As a hybrid and for the time it was amazing. But somehow I knew that kimchi and coleslaw were great together but would taste best still in their original forms. In our recent corned beef and cabbage feast we made reubens with both coleslaw and kimchi. The two remained separate and blended together. Bites were varied. The kimchi would dominate one bite, the coleslaw would cool another bite. And together they were a robust version of our creamy kimchi.

Years Past

March 19, 2018

March 19, 2017

March 19, 2016

March 19, 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 March 19, 2019 at 05:06 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Corned Beef and Cabbage

The tradition is corned beef and cabbage. The twist was eating in the style of areuben. We made the sandwiches with either corned beef or pastrami and added kimchi, cole slaw, Swiss cheese and mustard before grilling them into oozy, melty, crunchy goodness for St. Patty's day. And just like that, a new tradition was born.

Years Past

March 18, 2018

March 18, 2017

March 18, 2016

March 18, 2015

March 18, 2012

March 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 March 18, 2019 at 06:52 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Graham Cracker Roll

Alex is not a fan of graham cracker pie crusts and always complains when I make one. In The New Pie: Modern Techniques For The Classic American Dessert, they roll a pie crust in graham cracker crumbs to make key lime pie. When we saw it, we were both struck by the simplicity and the possibilities. It was a total a-ha! moment here. I used it to make a Two Lime Pie for someone's birthday here and we both loved the way it worked out. The crumbs added texture and flavor to the finished pie dough, making it more crunchy on the outside and seemingly more tender inside the crust. Now we are contemplating the many different kinds of crumbs we can use to make pie dough. We'll never have to deal with a crumbly crumb crust again.

Years Past

March 17, 2018

March 17, 2017

March 17, 2016

March 17, 2015

March 17, 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 March 17, 2019 at 04:01 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's Cruller Time, Our Process

We make our doughnuts in small recipes. I haven't been happy with how the recipes have scaled. So we make them in the size that makes them great. I increase efficiency by scaling all the ingredients into their steps. It also helps limit measuring errors as we can check the ingredients step by step. By getting the scaling done in one step the process of cooking becomes smooth and efficient.

Years Past

March 16, 2018

M arch 16, 2017

March 16, 2016

March 16, 2015

March 16, 2014

March 16, 2013

March 16, 2012

March 16, 2011

March 16, 2011 (2)

March 16, 2011 (3)

March 16, 2010

March 16, 2009

March 16, 2009 (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 March 16, 2019 at 07:03 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Motivation

Clearly I need the doughnut version of this shirt. To go along with the pizza. And a noodle version as well. We have plenty of ideas and they are what motivates us.

Years Past

March 15, 2018

March 15, 2017

March 15, 2016

March 15, 2015

March 15, 2014

March 15, 2013

March 15, 2012

March 15, 2011

March 15, 2005

March 15, 2005 (2)

March 15, 2005 (3)

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 March 15, 2019 at 05:42 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kimchi in Progress

Salted Cabbage: Seasoning, Tenderizing and Kickstarting Fermentation

Rinsed Cabbage and Scallions

Added Kimchi Marinade

Vacuum Sealed For Dispersion and Simple Fermentation

Years Past

March 12, 2018

March 12, 2017

March 12, 2016

March 12, 2015

March 12, 2014

March 12, 2013

March 12, 2012

March 12, 2011

March 12, 2010

March 12, 2009

March 12, 2008

March 12, 2008 (2)

March 12,2007

March 12, 2007 (2)

March 12, 2006

March 12, 2005

March 12, 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 March 12, 2019 at 03:39 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (3)

Shrimp Rice

Sometimes you stumble across some shrimp that are so beautiful that you know that you have to use every part of them. So, I took the shells and made a stock infuse with ginger, garlic, tamari, and sake. We began with the idea of shrimp and artichokes. Then I made the stock and rice seemed like a natural accompaniment. In the end we used most of the stock to make the rice and took the remainder to make buerre monte to poach the shrimp and artichokes. We finished the stew with fresh parsley and scallions. I wish I could show you the final results but we took advantage of the moment and simply enjoyed them. Think of this as a very loose recipe, my favorite kind, because you take the ideas and run with whatever you have in your own kitchen.

Years Past

March 11, 2018

March 11, 2017

March 11, 2016

March 11, 2015

March 11, 2012

March 11, 2006

March 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 March 11, 2019 at 04:04 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Potato Twists

When we introduced the potato doughnut to the shop we were faced with potato doughnut cuttings. To utilize the trim we stacked the dough into a ball and let it rest overnight. The following day we roll it into a six inch wide strip. We cut the strip into sticks and then cut the strip three quarters of the way through. We twist the pieces together and then press the ends together. We fry the twists and glaze them with our vanilla-buttermilk glaze. Most recently we topped the twists with strawberry crumbs though we have a number of other twists up our sleeves for the coming weeks.

Years Past

March 10, 2018

March 10, 2017

March 10, 2016

March 10, 2015

March 10, 2012

March 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 March 10, 2019 at 06:10 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fried Angel Hair Parm

There are certain meals that are, by necessity, a solitary pleasure. This is one of them. It requires leftover angel hair pasta in red sauce. This no easy feat in our house because Amaya loves her angel hair and usually has dibs on any leftovers. In this case, Alex went to bed early so there was an extra portion in the pot that I was able to hide away in the corner of the fridge. The next day the pasta was seared in a non-stick saute pan, flipped, covered with mozzarella cheese and broiled until it was browned and bubbly. The leftover noodles have a certain bouncy resiliency, in spite of their softness. This is interspersed with crunchy bits, gooey cheesey goodness, and the occasional spark from a red pepper flake. It is comfort food of the highest order and not often indulged in. That may be part of what makes it taste so good.

Years Past

March 9, 2015

March 9, 2012

March 9, 2009

March 9, 2006 (2)

March 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 March 09, 2019 at 09:18 AM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Understand the Basics

Years Past

March 8, 2018

March 8, 2017

March 8, 2016

March 8, 2015

March 8, 2014

March 8, 2013

March 8, 2012

March 8, 2011

March 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 March 08, 2019 at 05:12 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pan Pizza

Bar pizza is my current fetish. It started a number of years ago when I ate at The Colony Grill. Their thin crust pizza with abundant toppings and fantastic caramelization was an instant addition to to my pizza lexicon. It took me several years to find a pan I wanted to make the pizza in. I finally chose the 13 inch cutter pan from Lloyd's. (The same producer of our favorite Detroit Style Pizza Pans.)

We made our fail-safe pizza dough to test the pans out for the first time. I cut the dough into 300 gram balls and put them on the lightly oiled pans. I covered the dough with plastic wrap and let the dough do its final proof on the pans.

When it was time to cook, we all stretched the dough on the pans and topped the pizzas with both our favorite stand-bys and some new exploratory toppings. We baked the pizzas on our baking steel in the oven until the bottoms browned and the toppings were toasty.

We used our go to pizza cutter, scissors, to slice the pizzas and allow us all to pick and choose amongst the evenings' five variations.

Years Past

March 7, 2018

March 7, 2017

March 7, 2016

March 7, 2015

March 7, 2012

March 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 March 07, 2019 at 05:29 PM in Approach to Cooking, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chocolate Cloud Cake

Sometimes you feel the need for chocolate and whipped cream. At those times, there's nothing better than a Chocolate Cloud Cake.

It's an easy recipe and as long as you use good butter and chocolate, it yields something rich and luxurious, with multiple textures, to be enjoyed in small bites. I added 1/3 teaspoon of fine sea salt to the sugar that I added to the whole eggs, and I used cookie crumbs on top instead of chocolate shavings. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. It comes from Richard Sax's book, Classic Home Desserts, which is wonderful. If you like to bake, it is a book worth checking out. It's been a staple in our library for years, one that I return to again and again.

Years Past

March 3, 2018

March 3, 2017

March 3, 2016

March 3, 2015

March 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 March 03, 2019 at 05:10 PM in Approach to Cooking, Bakers Dozen, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Persimmon Hot Sauce

Persimmon Hot Sauce

4000 grams ripe persimmons

1000 grams water

400 grams habanero peppers

100 grams salt

I pureed all the ingredients together and then put them in a large cambro and pressed plastic wrap on the surface of the persimmon mash. I covered the cambro with another piece of plastic and let the persimmon mash ferment for about 4 days at room temperature, until bubbles formed in the persimmons and the color first darkened and then returned to its original orange.

The persimmon mash had become slightly acidic. The acidity brought the fragrant heat and sweetness of the hot sauce together. I put the persimmon hot sauce in the refrigerator, covered, for another month. The top oxidized slightly during the aging process. When it was ready to go, I scraped the oxidized surface layer off the hot sauce, stirred the mash together and bottled it up. I have it stored it in the refrigerator ready to be called into action.

Years Past

March 2, 2018

March 2, 2017

March 2, 2016

March 2, 2015

March 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 March 02, 2019 at 06:32 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ric-Cottage Cheese

Adding the cottage cheese to the ricotta creates a richer product with a complex texture. The two together become an exceptional ingredient.

Years Past

March 1, 2018

March 1, 2017

March 1, 2016

March 1, 2015

March 1, 2014

March 1, 2013

March 1, 2012

March 1, 2011

March 1, 2010

March 1, 2009

March 1, 2008

March 1, 2008 (2)

March 1, 2007

March 1, 2006

March 1, 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 March 01, 2019 at 06:18 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Potato Doughnuts

The upcoming Fastnacht Day re-kindled my desire to make a potato doughnut. People were very disappointed to hear that we aren't going to be open, but the idea of the potato doughnuts proved to be irresistible. The inquiries about whether or not we were going to produce them provided the creative kick in the ass I needed to make it happen. Our potato doughnuts utilize instant mashed potatoes. The potatoes add a softness to the dough and allow us to increase the amount of moisture. We use the dehydrated potatoes for both consistency and efficiency.

The doughnuts have a pillow-y texture with a gentle chew and an alluring moistness. The creative catalyst was Fastnacht Day. But now that we have the doughnuts dialed in, they will become a staple at Curiosity Doughnuts.

Years Past

February 28, 2018

February 28, 2017

February 28 2016

February 28, 2015

February 28, 2014

February 28, 2013

February 28, 2012

February 28, 2011

February 28, 2010

February 28, 2009

February 28, 2008

Febraury 28, 2007

February 28, 2006

February 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 February 28, 2019 at 04:31 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pounding and Breading

I was reading through Rich Table by Sarah & Evan Rich when I came across a tip for using a rolling pin to pound out pork chops. It was a great idea because everybody has a rolling pin in their kitchen. We tried it out and it works beautifully and it's fast. We utilized our quarter sheet pans for our breading station. They are the perfect size for the large pieces of meat. It made the whole process feel streamlined. It's the small modifications that make a process flow.

Years Past

February 26, 2018

February 26, 2017

February 26, 2016

February 26, 2015

February 26, 2014

February 26, 2013

February 26, 2012

February 26, 2011

February 26, 2010

February 26, 2009

February 26, 2008

February 26, 2007

February 26, 2006

February 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 February 26, 2019 at 03:40 PM in Approach to Cooking, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Art

Today we started playing with converting pictures into paintings. I discovered BeCasso, an app that allows me to filter, modify and create painting-esque images out of our photographs. I've been wanting to make a series of our doughnut images into wall, and potentially book, art. Now I have the tool to take the next step.

Years Past

February 25, 2018

February 25, 2017

February 25, 2016

February 25, 2015

February 25, 2014

February 25, 2013

February 25, 2012

February 25, 2011

February 25, 2011 (2)

February 25, 2010

February 25, 2009

February 25, 2008

February 25, 2007

February 25, 2006

February 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 February 25, 2019 at 06:23 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cupcakes

We've made a point of letting Amaya set her own pace in the kitchen. She loves food and has a good palate, but, aside from a few special dishes, she's not really embraced cooking yet. And that's fine. We want her to find her way into the kitchen so she can make her own place when she gets there. Today she surprised me by announcing that she wanted to make cupcakes by herself. I pulled out some cookbooks and pointed her in the direction of cupcakes.

A funny thing happened when we started looking at the books, I realized that I didn't have very many books with cupcake recipes. This is surprising when you consider the sheer size of our library. Finally I told her to decide what kind of cupcakes she wanted to make and we would retro fit a recipe. She chose lemon-raspberry cupcakes with meringue frosting. I found a lemon cupcake recipe for to follow online and showed her how to make raspberry coulis to swirl into the batter. Finally she made an Italian meringue frosting with a touch of vanilla.

Alex arrived home in time to help with the frosting. It was the only help she would accept throughout the process and she went back and "fixed" a few his cupcakes when they were done. Amaya made sure there was something for everyone and each cupcake has its own personality. I love them. We'll see what she wants to do next.

Years Past

February 23, 2018

February 23, 2017

February 23, 2016

February 23, 2015

February 23, 2014

February 23, 2013

February 23, 2012

February 23, 2011

February 23, 2010

February 23, 2009

February 23, 2008

February 23, 2007

February 23, 2006

February 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 February 23, 2019 at 03:56 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Solving and Learning

I have become fascinated by the Rubik's cube. The spark came from Daniel, one of our employees at the shop. He taught himself to solve the cube with YouTube videos. Now his top speed is 14 seconds. He entertained customers on Christmas Eve with his prowess. I have spent the past several months fumbling with the cube. I tried learning from the videos. I could not follow along. Finally I reached out to Daniel. He pointed me to the website The Cubicle, which has a beginners how to cube video.

At first I stumbled through the video. Then I realized I needed to pay better attention and actually take notes. I used note cards and broke the process into steps. These cards gave me points I could return to if I forgot and stumbled. I forgot how useful note cards can be. I used the cards to help me solve the cube. I can now solve the cube pretty regularly without the cards, as long as my mind does not wander. I've learned the process. Now a much bigger task presents itself, how to learn the cube?

Years Past

February 22, 2018

February 22, 2017

February 22, 2016

February 22, 2015

February 22, 2014

February 22, 2013

February 22, 2012

February 22, 2011

February 22, 2010

February 22, 2009

February 22, 2008

February 22, 2007

February 22, 2006

February 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 February 22, 2019 at 05:32 PM in Approach to Cooking, Beyond the Kitchen Doors, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tinkering

Version 2.

Years Past

February 21, 2018

February 21, 2017

February 21, 2016

February 21, 2015

February 21, 2014

February 21, 2013

February 21, 2012

February 21, 2011

February 21, 2010

February 21, 2009

February 21, 2008

February 21, 2007

February 21, 2006

February 21, 2006 (2)

February 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 February 21, 2019 at 07:06 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Danish With A Hole

I think I may be playing one long game of "Can we fry this?" I wondered how our no-knead Danish dough, from Maximum Flavor, would behave when deep fried. I finally made the time to try it out. I modified the dough slightly for doughnutland. I added some vanilla and increased the sugar a bit. After the dough was rolled, folded and rolled again we cut the dough into strips and created danish spirals with a hole in the center.

The dough fried up wonderfully. It was crispy on the outside and unrolled in a tender spiral. The danish with a hole is now looking to make a full time appearance at Curiosity Doughnuts. Tinkering and time will see where we take it.

*As of this posting, the kindle version of Maximum Flavor is selling for $3.49 on Amazon.

Years Past

February 19, 2018

February 19, 2017

February 19, 2016

February 19, 2015

February 19, 2014

February 19, 2013

February 19, 2012

February 19, 2011

February 19, 2010

February 19, 2009

February 19, 2008

February 19, 2007

February 19, 2006

February 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 February 19, 2019 at 06:49 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Milk and Cookies: a doughnut

We started with our yeasted doughnut. We added a base coat of our vanilla buttermilk glaze. We topped the doughnut with an abstract ring of our milk glaze and sprinkled our chocolate chip cookie crumbs over the top. It is a doughnut with a milk and cookies makeover.

Years Past

February 18, 2018

February 18, 2017

February 18, 2016

February 18, 2015

February 18, 2014

February 18, 2013

February 18, 2012

February 18, 2011

February 18, 2010

February 18, 2009

February 18, 2008

February 18, 2007

February 18, 2006

February 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 February 18, 2019 at 06:43 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spiced Sugar Wash

I've used a sandy sugar wash for years to create a crisp, crunchy, sugary crust on cakes and pies. This week I was making rugelach and instead of using egg wash and spiced sugar to finish the cookies, I decided to make a spiced sugar wash. Mine has cane sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and water to make the sugar into a wet sandy paste. I like the texture of the finish better and I hoped that by hydrating the spices before baking I might get a more intense flavor out of them. The rugelach bake for about 30 minutes and they emerged with a beautiful crust on the outside that added a delicate crunch and spicy flavor to each tender bite of cookie.

Years Past

February 17, 2018

February 17, 2017

February 17, 2016

February 17, 2015

February 17, 2014

February 17, 2013

February 17, 2012

February 17, 2011

February 17, 2010

February 17, 2009

February 17, 2008

February 17, 2007

February 17, 2007 (2)

February 17, 2006

February 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 February 17, 2019 at 06:03 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Crumbs

The idea was chocolate chip cookie dough butter. We were looking to encompass the flavor of cookie dough in the form of a cookie butter. We combined roasted sandwich cookies, brown butter, powdered sugar, malt powder, vanilla paste and salt in the food processor. Unfortunately when we went to roll it into a thin sheet the almost cookie butter became sandy. Thankfully inspiration struck. We allowed the butter to remain sandy and folded miniature chocolate chips into the crumbs. The crumbs eat like decadent brown butter chocolate chip cookies. One failure led to a delicious creation and a new direction to improve the cookie dough butter.

Years Past

February 16, 2018

February 16, 2017

February 16, 2016

February 16, 2015

February 16, 2014

February 16, 2013

February 16, 2012

February 16, 2011

February 16, 2010

February 16, 2009

February 16, 2008

February 16, 2007

February 16, 2006

February 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 February 16, 2019 at 05:19 PM in Approach to Cooking, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Half-Seared Onions

Because sometimes you can't decide if you prefer cooked or raw onions on your burgers. I pressed these onions into the burgers just before flipping them so they cooked into the meat. They were crisp-tender, bathed in beefy juices, and they didn't slide off the burger when you bit into it.

Years Past

February 15, 2018

February 15, 2017

February 15, 2016

February 15, 2015

February 15, 2014

February 15, 2013

February 15, 2012

February 15, 2011

February 15, 2010

February 15, 2009

February 15, 2008

February 15, 2007

February 15, 2006

February 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 February 15, 2019 at 04:20 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Magic Of Udon

Truly good udon is a rare and wonderful thing. It has a wonderful texture, a bouncy, sink your teeth into it texture that is almost as rare as a unicorn. We tried a few frozen brands of udon and Alex quickly came to the conclusion that we have to make our own. He has been testing udon noodle recipes on and off for about two years now and he's still not satisfied. Amaya and I love udon noodles, so he cannot give up the quest. Here's the thing, even average udon noodles can still be very good. If you have a rich, flavorful broth, tasty garnishes, and well cooked noodles, it may not be perfect but it can still be is a satisfying bowl of soup. We order it in restaurants all the time and he just shakes his head and furrows his brow when he tastes it. There's an ideal noodle out there and he is determined to nail it. In the meantime, we enjoy his experiments and do our best to keep him on the path to noodle greatness.

Years Past

February 13, 2018

February 13, 2017

February 13, 2016

February 13, 2015

February 13, 2014

February 13, 2013

February 13, 2012

February 13, 2011

February 13, 2010

February 13, 2009

February 13, 2008

February 13, 2008 (2)

February 13, 2007

February 13, 2006

February 13, 2005

February 13, 2005 (2)

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Posted on February 13, 2019 at 06:05 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (3)

Caramelized Cream Eggs

If it worked with carrots, why not eggs? I put heavy cream in the bottom of a non-stick pan. I sprinkled the cream with salt and added the eggs. I turned the heat on medium high and started cooking the eggs. The cream boiled and eventually caramelized on the edges. I used a spatula to see if the eggs were sticking to the sides. They were not. When the eggs were almost done and the cream had mostly become butter and butter solids I removed the pan from the heat and covered it for a minutes. The covered cooking finished setting the whites, specifically in the center of the pan.

I removed the eggs from the pan and served up breakfast. The bottom was caramelized. The whites were tender and cream coated. The yolk was firm and runny. The eggs were evenly seasoned. I now have a new way to cook delicious eggs and a path to explore adding flavors.

Years Past

February 12, 2018

February 12, 2017

February 12, 2016

February 12, 2015

February 12, 2014

February 12, 2013

February 12, 2012

February 12, 2011

February 12, 2010

February 12, 2009

February 12, 2008

February 12, 2007

February 12, 2006

February 12, 2005

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Posted on February 12, 2019 at 12:16 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (2)

Caramelized Cream Carrots

The question today was what if we cooked carrots in a touch of cream? They should first steam and then caramelize in the cream as it transfoms into brown butter. We would eliminate a par cooking step and keep all the flavor in the vegetable. It turns out that the idea works like a charm. I put the carrots, cream and salt into a pan. I covered the pan and cooked the carrots on medium high. When I heard sizzling I removed the lid and stirred the carrots in the reduced and almost broken cream. I continued to cook the carrots turning them in the fat and coating them in the caramelizing milk solids. The cream became a flavorful browned butter. The carrots are tender with a light bite. The caramelized milk solids add a richness.

The next questions we ask: what can be the carrots and what flavors can we add to our cream?

Years Past

February 11, 2018

February 11, 2017

February 11, 2016

February 11, 2015

February 11, 2014

February 11, 2013

February 11, 2012

February 11, 2011

February 11, 2010

February 11, 2009

February 11, 2008

February 11, 2007

February 11, 2007 (2)

February 11, 2006

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Posted on February 11, 2019 at 05:51 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Buffalo Roasted Chicken

This solves the problem of dry wings. We brush the roast chicken with buffalo sauce about twenty minutes before it's done and once more at ten minutes. Then we serve the roasted chicken with extra sauce on the side. It moist and juicy, with crisp skin and everyone can get their favorite parts. Why stick with wings when you can have the whole bird?

Years Past

February 8, 2005

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Posted on February 08, 2019 at 04:03 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

100 Percent Hydrated Pizza v3

Our 100 percent hydrated pizza dough is delicate. In order to capture its delicacy and super light crumb we changed our baking procedure. I bake the pizzas for 10 minutes in on our baking steel, then move them up a rack, and cook them for another 5 minutes. I remove the pizzas from the oven and add the toppings. While I add the toppings I turn the broiler on. I put the pizzas on the middle rack and broil the pizzas for 5-10 minutes depending on the toppings. I remove the pizzas from the oven and use an offset spatula to remove the pizzas from their pans onto a cooling rack, where they for 5 minutes before serving.

Years Past

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Posted on February 07, 2019 at 03:06 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Breakfast Love

Amaya was a little droopy this morning so Alex made heart-shaped Toad in the Holes for breakfast. It didn't cure her instantly but it did bring a smile to her face. Any meal can be an opportunity to show someone that you love them

Years Past

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Posted on February 06, 2019 at 03:09 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Miso Meat Sauce

I mixed miso into ground beef and let it sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. I made a soffrito with red onions, garlic and grated carrots. I added the miso marinated meat and red pepper flakes and browned it in the soffrito. When the meat was lightly browned I added several additions of red wine, reducing after each addition. I added a can of plum tomatoes and a dose of salt. I let the sauce simmer and cook down to thicken and allow the flavors to blend.

I thought that adding the miso to the meat before cooking and giving the two time to come together would allow for a more flavorful sauce. After using the technique, I am not sure the extra step is actually necessary. I believe adding the miso to the sauce as it cooks is improvement enough. Either way, it adds a savory depth to your tomato sauce that will make your pasta that much more delicious.

Years Past

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Posted on February 05, 2019 at 04:53 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Air Frying

Clearly this has a lot of potential.

In case you were curious, there's nothing but salt on these wings. They were incredibly crispy but slightly dry. Some tweaking will need to be done in future experiments. We're late to the party when it comes to air-frying and I can see that we will be here for a while to figure things out. I'm already wondering about roasted potatoes, not french fries, but those super crispy, butter basted, roasted potatoes that hold their crunch until morning in the fridge. I'm not exactly sure how they would translate in the air fryer. Some rapid testing is definitely in order.

Years Past

February 4, 2006 (2)

February 4, 2005

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Posted on February 04, 2019 at 12:02 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do You Think Anyone WIll Notice?

I just couldn't wait to take a bite.

Cookies are a work in progress, based on Alison Roman's famous cookies with a twist or two.

Recipe to come.

Years Past

February 3, 2008 (2)

February 3, 2007

February 3, 2007 (2)

February 3, 2006

February 3, 2005

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Posted on February 03, 2019 at 03:52 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (1)

Doughnut Bread Pudding Doughnut

It has taken years and many iterations to get to the doughnut bread pudding doughnut. Actually it took a leap of faith in hoping the doughnut molds from JB Prince would be the right size for baking our bread pudding. They were perfect and now we can serve doughnuts in a new way. Some breading and frying may be seen in the eventual future, but for now, we are quite happy with these individual puddings just as they are.

Years Past

February 2, 2005

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Posted on February 02, 2019 at 05:59 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Black and White

Wouldn't be nice if every choice was this easy? Chocolate or vanilla? Either answer is a win. How often can you say that in life?

Years Past

February 1, 2008 (2)

February 1, 2007

February 1, 2006

February 1, 2005

February 1, 2005 (2)

February 1, 2005 (3)

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

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Posted on February 01, 2019 at 03:23 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lemon Meringue-ish

We were talking lemon meringue at the shop. I wondered why we hadn't tried adding aromas and flavors to meringues on demand (marshmallows) before. I dressed the miniature marshmallows with lemon oil and the quickly absorbed the aroma. A bit of citric acid would complete the transformation.

Years Past

January 31, 2007 (2)

January 31, 2006

January 31, 2005

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Posted on January 31, 2019 at 07:13 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cooked Fresh Coppa

The fresh coppa, often labeled the pork collar, is a cut we have used in the past. It is mostly seen in restaurants This is the first time we carved it out of a fresh pork shoulder to play with at home. We cooked the coppa from our pork shoulder for 24 hours at 57°C. The meat remained juicy and the connective tissue broke down and converted into gelatin.

The next day we sliced it, seared it, and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

Years Past

January 30, 2005 (2)

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Posted on January 30, 2019 at 03:42 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cake Frosted Cake

We have a love for starch pastes. We have used them in doughnuts, pasta, pie fillings and breads. A while back I tried making frosting with vanilla pudding. It was good but not special. As Aki was reading Marbled, Swirled, and Layered by Irvin Lin, discussing ermine frosting and this sparked the idea of using cake trimmings as a thickening substrate and flavor base for frosting.

We happened to have some freshly baked chocolate cake on hand for me to play with. How often does that magically happen? Since Aki was planning on making cookies there was soft butter on the counter. I was able to steal her butter and use it for my frosting inspiration. I pureed cake pieces, butter, powdered sugar and salt together to make a rich, creamy, decadent frosting. Now the cake scraps always have a home and our frosting gets a delicious upgrade.

PS: Marbled, Swirled, and Layered is a fabulous book. It is smart, creative, and well written, all the things we love in a cookbook combined with recipes that will make you want to get into the kitchen. If you like to bake you should definitely check it out!

Years Past

January 29, 2006

January 29, 2005

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Posted on January 29, 2019 at 03:31 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pork Shoulder Parts

We have been looking at the useful parts of a pork shoulder. Of course useful to me is not useful to everyone. Recently we cleaned up the cap of the shoulder which resembles a skate wing. We trimmed up the muscle used for coppa. The rest of the shoulder we reserved for making chili. (This time.) We vacuum sealed the pieces and cooked them sous vide at 57°C for 12 and 24 hours respectively. This initial cooking allows us to tenderize the meat in preparation for dishes to be determined.

Years Past

January 26, 2005

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Posted on January 26, 2019 at 06:45 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Racked Bacon

We have found that bacon, particularly thick cut bacon, cooks more consistently and uniformly flat on a rack. The fat drips and renders off the strips and allows the bacon to cook cleanly, becoming brown and crisp. It's a small adjustment, a reminder really, that cleaning the rack is worth the effort because the bacon tastes better.

Years Past

January 25, 2009

January 25, 2008 (2)

January 25, 2007

January 25, 2006

January 25, 2005

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Posted on January 25, 2019 at 05:44 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tinker, Tinker, Tinker

Every time I think we are done, I realize we are beginning again. I want to get to a place where there is no more room for improvement. At least, sometimes I do. For a brief moment I want to sit back and be happy with the results. Occasionally this happens. But, from what I have seen, learned and been taught, there is no such thing as perfection, there is only continual development. Resting on my laurels will never get me where I want to go. But today was a good day and these Super Cakes were worth the efforts.

Years Past

January 24, 2007 (2)

January 24, 2006

January 24, 2005

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Posted on January 24, 2019 at 02:20 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Carrot Cake Doughnuts

The idea of a carrot cake doughnut has been on our to doughnut list for several years. We finally put the pieces together to make it happen. We make our glaze with reduced carrot juice. We make the crumbs with roasted doughnuts, white chocolate and carrot cake spices. For our first incarnation we used our vanilla yeasted doughnut as the base.

Years Past

January 21, 2008 (2)

January 21, 2007

January 21, 2006

January 21, 2006 (2)

January 21, 2005

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Posted on January 21, 2019 at 06:46 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canned Corn Polenta

What do you do when you open the pantry and discover that you don't have quite enough polenta left to make for dinner? You pull out a couple of cans of canned corn and puree them in the blender. Then you use them for the liquid in your polenta and suddenly "not enough" becomes plenty of delicious, sweet, creamy (without cream) polenta. This technique was born of necessity but we will continue to play with it because it's delicious.

Years Past

January 20, 2006 (2)

January 20, 2005

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Posted on January 20, 2019 at 04:53 PM in Approach to Cooking, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

French Fry Philosophy

I was standing in line at BJ's and there was a display of books right next to me. Of course I went for the only cookbook in the group. It was Craft Burgers and Crazy Shakes from Black Tap by Joe Isidori. I've never been there (it's in NYC) but now I'm intrigued. I started reading the essay pictured above and I got sucked right into the book. Oddly I had just been talking about how good frozen fries are so much better than bad hand cut fries, so I was in exactly the right mindset to receive this. If you like it too, go check out the book. Good writing should always be appreciated.

Years Past

January 18, 2009

January 18, 2007 (2)

January 18, 2006

January 18, 2005

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Posted on January 19, 2019 at 02:02 PM in Approach to Cooking, Books | Permalink | Comments (2)

Original

In order to be original you must be confident in your ability to copy.

Years Past

January 18, 2009

January 18, 2007 (2)

January 18, 2006

January 18, 2005

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Posted on January 18, 2019 at 06:33 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rugelach Unrolled

Okay, technically this is not rugelach. It's shortbread trimmings, rolled thin, and then covered with things that I would use in rugelach. In this case I've spread half the dough with home made cranberry-meyer lemon marmalade and then sprinkled it all with bittersweet and milk chocolate chips and chopped pistachios--roasted and salted, of course. After I baked the dough, we cut it with a bench scraper while it was still warm. Hence we had a 100% yield on our shortbread dough and a small variety of yummy cookies.

Years Past

January 17, 2008 (2)