Brandon, the chef of Curiosity Doughnuts in Tyson's Corner VA, made a small adjustment in drying doughnut biscotti. He put them on racks. The small step shortened the drying time and made the overall drying more consistent. A brilliant adjustment.
Years Past
January 21, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Years Past
January 18, 2009
January 18, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Upgrading an icon.
Years Past
January 18, 2009
January 18, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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I do not have a ton of sauces on hand. And frankly, since I do not have a pasta project, currently, I tinker when time allows. Our newly developed ricotta dumplings are special. Their full body and lightness make them crushworthy. But I did not want to leave them alone to my laziness and eating them with a browned butter sauce.
I took the dumplings down to our friends at Charcoal BYOB. They have an insane pasta program and plenty of sauces to play with. On the drive I started thinking more about our dumplings. I figured their texture would easily allow for me to stuff them. This was a thought I most likely would not have tripped over had I not had time to ponder during the drive.
When I arrived we started cooking the dumplings and I set to stuffing a few with a delicious nduja. The dumplings behaved wonderfully and perfectly resealed around the filling. We ate the stuffed dumplings with a coarse red sauce. The other tests, beautiful plates of pasta, were equally delicious, thanks to the synergy of the sauce and the dumplings.
Years Past
January 17, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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I love looking for delicious outlets for doughnuts. This week I have been tinkering with biscotti and using them as a vehicle for unsold doughnuts. The biscotti incorporates the doughnuts and captures their flavor. And they go great with a cup of coffee.
Years Past
January 16, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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What is sweet Hawaiian style? Is there a technique to sweet Hawaiian something? Is there a sweet Hawaiian extract? And how do you sweet Hawaiian a flaky biscuit?
Years Past
January 13, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Most ricotta gnocchi are so light they have no structure. I wanted to create a ricotta based dough that had structure and some substance. In my mind and in my mouth I needed to differentiate what we were making. I blended ricotta, cream cheese, non-fat milk powder, flour and salt into a wet dough. I scooped the dough and rolled the scoops in flour to create a presentable shape.
The dumplings cook in 3 minutes. The have a light spring and a tender bight. They are not clouds. They are ricotta dumplings.
Years Past
January 12, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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How we make the repairs is where we like to explore.
Years Past
January 10, 2007
January 10, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Cookies are vehicles for mix ins. Knowing that, I don't think enough about the layering of flavors in the inclusions in cookies. I rely on the dump it all in there mentality. Aki was making biscotti. She was being thoughtful as she was creating new flavors. She started with a lemon scented dough. She added milk chocolate, pistachios and white chocolate to humor me. She was concerned and aware of how the cookies would come together. It's remarkable what we pay attention to and what we gloss over. Watching someone else's process is enlightening.
Years Past
January 9, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Years ago, for our book Maximum Flavor, we created a BBQ potato chip gnocchi, built on the foundation of pate choux. We used the same model for our smoked masa gnocchi with oat mole. In recent years my connection to pate choux has been tied to our insanely delicious Curiosity Cruller.
What we learned from these experiences is that pate choux is a fantastic model that consistently can be built upon. Today we revisited our pate choux gnocchi, using semolina as the flour. I borrowed the idea of piping the gnocchi onto a sheet of parchment paper sprayed with pan release as we do in the doughnut shop. I chilled the strips of dough and cut them into gnocchi. I then went to our cream cooking crutch and cream seared the gnocchi, finishing them with some stock at the end to enrich the glaze.
Years Past
January 8, 2005
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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We have been smoking burrata for years. Today I came across smoked burrata for sale. What I found interesting is the burrata is drained and not stored in brine. The exterior is firm and not nearly as delicate as traditional burrata. The draining has me intrigued on the manipulation of the burrata and how perhaps some draining and drying may improve the burrata eating experience. I had never thought of draining the burrata. Seeing a different way creates potential.
Years Past
January 7, 2009
January 7, 2007
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
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We cooked thin flattened burger patties in stages and assembled them in a pan that had an elevated sloping center. The burgers rested there as we completed the cooking. Juices drained away from the burgers and were captured in the trough. This resulted in burgers that did not soggify the buns.
Years Past
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
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I have been craving braised chicken wings. I wanted to cook the wings in chicken broth to amplify their flavor. I quickly modified my initial straightforwardness. I added ginger, garlic, onion and soy sauce to the pot. With the aromatic base building I thought of adding sesame. Except the only sesame seeds I had were in the form of everything bagel mix. I don't think I would have initially reached for the everything seasoning had I not drifted onto an Asian profiled flavor spectrum. But once I needed sesame and all that was available was the mix it became a greater idea I wish I had thought of. Instead I happily accepted dumb luck. I finished the braising liquid with some crushed red pepper flakes. I cooked the wings on the stove at a low simmer until they were tender, about 45 minutes. The broth and the wings were both savory and satisfying.
Years Past
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
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We rollled our snickerdoodles first in granulated sugar and then in powdered sugar. It creates a beautiful crinkle effect on the cookie. The first run was simple. I am looking forward to exploring the idea from flavoring the cookie, the sugar and the powdered sugar to create an array of delicious crinkle-ized creations.
Years Past
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
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Blueberry doughnuts have been on our to do list for about a year. We finally put it to the top of our list and have it ready to debut this weekend.
Years Past
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
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I love slap noodles. But the seemingly essential last minute slap, stretch and cook and assembly process has had me avoiding them. The other day I saw a picture or slap noodles stretched and arranged on a sheet pan. The noodles were prepared in advance. Today I tried it out. Having the noodles stretched and ready to go allowed me to have the slap noodle experience on demand. I was not struggling to slap stretch and cook. The fresh noodles were still precarious to work with. They needed to be dropped into the water one noodle at a time. The noodles ate wonderfully. Though, I really need to work on my slap noodle sauce game. One step at a time.
Years Past
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Ice cream is an excellent canvas for creativity. I came across Apple Cider Donut ice cream at Millie's in Pittsburgh. Seeing the name of the ice cream I became flooded with my own experiences of apple cider doughnuts from making them to eating them in apple orchards. The idea of an apple cider doughnut is transferred to the ice cream. If we are able connect with an experience and change its form we have the potential to create something remarkable.
Years Past
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
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I was hoping All Gone! was a cleverly delicious ice cream flavor. I tried to order it. Unfortunately is was not a flavor, yet.
Years Past
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
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We seasoned a thick cut rib eye with salt and put it in a 200 degree oven. We inserted a thermometer into the meat. When the steak reached 100°F we removed it from the oven. We put our cast iron pan on the stove and added a layer of cream. We put the steak into the pan and turned the heat onto medium high.
We cooked the steak flipping it every 30 seconds or so. The cream eventually boiled off and cooked into fat and milk solids. We continued to cook and brown the steak. When the steak was evenly browned we removed it from the heat. We let it rest for 10 minutes and sliced it. The steak was medium rare. The outside was browned and flavored with bits of toasted milk solids.
The ongoing joke in our kitchen now is making sure the refrigerator has a full container of cream.
Years Past
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
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I am confused. There are tons of BBQ sauces available. But, if you listen to any diehard BBQ fanatic the sauce is unnecessary. The sauce supposedly detracts from the long slow smoking and the flavor developed. But these same fans make and create an array of custom sauces to be served with the meats.
To sauce or not to sauce, that is the question.
Years Past
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
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As I get older, have experiences and acquire knowledge the phrase I Don't Know becomes more difficult to use. But it is those three words that enabled me to search out experiences and look for learning.
It is not always the fear of saying I don't know. What is harder is realizing that I do know and am too afraid to look at what I find.
Years Past
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
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We needed a quick and hearty breakfast. I found some leftover elbows in the refrigerator. I put heavy cream in the pan, added the elbows, a pinch of salt and a heavy sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano. I cracked two eggs on top and turned the heat onto medium. The cream boiled and eventually broke apart into fat and milk solids. The eggs steamed and the pasta browned along with the egg whites that trickled through the noodles. It was a beautiful decadent and simple breakfast. Caramelized cream cooking strikes again.
Years Past
December 5, 2004: when it all began
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Duck, particularly the legs, have a sweet spot in my mind. While they fill my mind with joy I do not go out of my way to source and cook duck. Part of that is laziness. Part of that is duck is not always on my mind. But when I stopped by Inferno the other day and they were preparing duck legs for braising I made a point to stop, inhale and reflect on the pleasures of rich and succulent duck. I realized it is time to start cooking more duck.
Years Past
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
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We have found that the paddle attachment rather than the dough hook mixes and kneads dough more efficiently and more consistently. That is all.
Years Past
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
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We learn to see with practice. We see the successes and failures. We see what works and what doesn't. Practice is a time to try, test and explore. It is the place where failure opens doors.
As we practice questions emerge. The biggest challenge I face daily is how to practice better? Are there steps I could be taking? Are there motions I could be eliminating? Are there questions I should be asking?
And as I looked to understand practice I came across these words:
"You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail." -- Charlie Parker (1920-1955) Jazz musician
I think we often forget the first step. The learning. In order to excel, we must be willing to learn. Basics become great through our practice.
Years Past
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
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We need to create moments. Lots of them. Then we step back and see what we can connect.
Years Past
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
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It is wonderful to indulge in the obsessions of others.
Years Past
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
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Making it simpler allows us to enjoy more.
Years Past
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
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We are revisiting doughnut crumb streusel at Curiosity Doughnuts. We have made a few versions of it over the years. It is built on the model of our cake crumb streusel from Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook. The streusel combines cake crumbs, in our case doughnut crumbs, with a base streusel formula. We chill the streusel down and then bake it until it is toasty and crunchy. Then, we pulverize the streusel into a fine crumb for topping doughnuts. We have let this topping fall out of fashion. Thankfully I am always happy to dig into our archives in search of ideas that need to be revisited.
Years Past
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
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I derive great pleasure in the results of our product utilization at Curiosity Doughnuts. After rolling and shaping all of our 11 doughs and 10 varietals we end up with a piece of trim the size of a golf ball. It is the only dough that we end up throwing away. Today it dawned on me. We can and should fry that piece of dough and use it in our doughnut bread pudding or our doughnut crumbs.
Years Past
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
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It's taken forever but I finally found good rice seasoning without msg. It's ironic, msg is everywhere now because it's "safe" and tasty. "Asian people everywhere have been eating it for years." Funny thing though, if you talk to older Asian people, many of them have developed msg sensitivities. They know when they've eaten it, even if it's not on the ingredient list. Harmless is in the eye of the eater.
Years Past
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
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As Thanksgiving approaches, it's time to re-visit one of our tried and true, and most popular recipes: The Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie. It's still one of our favorite pies.
Years Past
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
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A very smart woman (Peg) taught me to cover the range with foil when I'm frying or searing in one pan. After searing steaks, I take that foil, fold it in half to cover the greasy parts, and use it loosely cover the meat as it rests. Double duty and easy clean up. What more could you ask for?
Years Past
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
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From Stockton, NJ to Spring House, PA and, now, a second location in Tyson's Corner, VA. We're spreading the doughnut love to the very best of our ability.
Years Past
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I know, I know, it's an overused title. But it's a cliche for a reason. Food is comforting. When done well, it makes us feel good. I know we promised a pasta sauce with the leftover pork but I went in another direction. Alex is away so Amaya and I can indulge in foods he doesn't particularly care for. Case in point, simple boiled potatoes. Peeled, cut and boiled in salty water. I return them to the pan to dry them out and add a little more salt before putting them bowls. Amaya likes her meat and gravy on side so she can butter the potatoes, I like the everything on top so it soaks into the spuds. Either way it was delicious, comforting dinner. It's a good reminder of why leftovers are so important.
Years Past
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The form changes the results when the ingredients remain the same. Rigatura, from Arcobaleno, is a shape in the style of rigatoni with wider sloping ridges. We tested this smaller diameter rigatura. It's diameter is more like a ziti or penne. The wider ridges allow for sauce to flow and larger inclusions like soffrito to be captured in them. I think of it as a more delicate, in appearance, version of a rigatoni. We made these noodles with our recent adjustments: eliminating baking soda and using 0.5% salt. These noodles also cooked in 60 seconds for our ideal version of al dente.
Years Past
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
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Sometimes you just need breakfast cake, especially when organic raspberries just happen to be on sale.
*Adapted from this recipe. I used buttermilk, upped the salt to 1/2 teaspoon and added 1 teaspoon vanilla paste to the cake and a a pinch of salt and a pinch of cardamom to the topping.
Years Past
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
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Pasta is my distraction.
I am fascinated with the shapes we can extrude, the textures we can create and the flavors that we can transform all within a noodle. Today I was working with die 72-02, a new shape in the Arcobaleno catalog. It resembles a star with rounded edges. I modified our base pasta recipe, omitting baking soda and using 0.5% salt. Salt, in contolled amounts, has wonderfully beneficial attributes on the texture of noodles. The noodles formed beautifully and retained their shape through the cooking process. The stars cooked in one minute. The increased salt in the dough seemed to give the dough more resiliency with an excellent bite and chew.
Years Past
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
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As we prepare to open our new shop it occurred to me that in order to do better I must be better. I am not the easiest to deal with, because I am straightforward and wear my emotions on my sleeve, all of them. At the new space we whipped up a batch of Aki's chocolate chip cookies in order to deliver the warm cookie experience. We gave away the warm chocolate chip cookies to say thank you to those around us for being kind, helpful, and extremely patient.
Years Past
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
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