IDEAS IN FOOD: Approach to Cooking

Sake Strozapreti

Sake Strozapreti

450 grams durum flour
6 grams salt
230 grams sake

Put the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Pour the sake into the flour and use your fingers to disperse the water and bring the flour into a crumbly mass. Keep working it with your fingers, squeezing the flour into a rough and shaggy ball. Fold the mass onto itself, beginning to knead the dough. It will feel both dry and moist. Keep kneading the dough until it forms a ball and all of the flour is absorbed. Put the ball on the counter and continue to push, pull, and rotate the dough. It will resemble a rough semi-smooth pasta dough. Put the pasta dough into a vacuum bag and seal on high pressure.
When the dough is vacuum sealed it becomes fully hydrated and ready to roll.

Years Past

June 12, 2015

June 12, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

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Posted on June 12, 2019 at 04:39 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Poprocks

I coated blank poprocks with our doughnut magic shell. The magic shell coats the rocks and keeps moisture at bay. This is both a doughnut and frozen custard topping.

Years Past

Posted on June 11, 2019 at 05:45 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angel Pillows

I have spent a fair amount of time tinkering with the trimmings from our Angel Doughnuts. The babka was delicious but frying it destroyed our oil. We started rolling the trimmings into large squares, then rolling them around cannoli tubes and frying them. They were named "Holey Rollers," thanks to a bit of help on Instagram. The second day we fried them one roller came unwound and fried flat. I glazed it and topped it with crumbs and brought it to Aki. I explained what our process was. She loved the un-roller and asked why we didn't just fry them as squares and be done. I did not have a clever response. The next time we were making the Holey Rollers I decided to try Aki's idea. The Angel dough puffed into giant pillows. We glazed them and topped them with a secondary fruit glaze and doughnut crumbs. The giant angel dough pillows were incredible. They were also insanely delicious. The simplest solution is often the smartest. So holey rollers are on hold and Angel Pillows are in the rotation.

Years Past

June 10, 2015

June 10, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 10, 2019 at 06:24 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sourdough Bars

Today we started serving our sourdough bars. To make them we fold and then roll the trimmings from the sourdough doughnuts into a wide strip. We cut the strip into bars. We are still working on the bar sizing. Today they were small so in doughnutland 2 bars equaled a doughnut. We topped them with maplecomb crumbs and chocolate chip shortbread, allowing guests to mix and match flavors.

Years Past

June 9, 2015

June 9, 2012

June 9, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 09, 2019 at 05:17 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earl Grey with Strawberry Shortbread Crumbs

A year ago we introduced the Earl Grey Glazed Doughnut. When I was tasting the glaze the other day it reminded me of Fruity Pebbles. We recently brought strawberry crumbs back into the rotation. The two pieces clicked. The strawberry would amplify the fruity cereal notes of the Earl Grey. Today we unleashed the not Fruity Pebble doughnut into the world.

Years Past

June 8, 2015

June 8, 2012

June 8, 2006

June 8, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 08, 2019 at 04:52 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Masa Shortbread

I have been looking for a corn-centric topping for doughnutland. We have made a popcorn glaze and a corn chip and white chocolate crumble. Both were exciting, delicious and fun in the moment. But they didn't stick. I'm not sure if it was convincing customers that corn belongs on a doughnut or that the actual audience was too small. In reflection I wonder if we could have improved the delivery. Today we adapted Aki's home version to make masa shortbread. The masa is nutty, toasty and corny. As a shortbread it is delicious. At first I thought we should add more masa to the recipe because in doughnutland we make our toppings with a combination of white chocolate and crumbs. But then it occurred to me. We don't have to make every crumb with white chocolate. Pulverized masa shortbread is the simplest answer and most flavor forward. The answer is to eliminate the white chocolate for this topping. The shortbread stands on its own.

Years Past

June 6, 2015

June 6, 2012

June 6, 2008

June 6, 2007

June 6, 2006

June 6, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 06, 2019 at 06:50 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sourdough Waffles Revisited

We have not made sourdough waffles in years. How many years? Since we wrote our first book. But with sourdough on my mind and abundant in the kitchen it was worth revisiting. We modified our original recipe utilizing the feeding method Ken Forkish outlines in his book The Elements of Pizza. The point was not the adaptation. The point is if you are making sourdough, sourdough waffles should be in your arsenal.

Years Past

June 5, 2015

June 5, 2012

June 5, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 05, 2019 at 07:41 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sourdough Pan Pizzas

I was certainly overzealous with the toppings. The dough held up to my heavy handed approach. The bottoms and sides were crispy. The interior was light and fluffy. The tops were, as I noted and can be seen, over the top.

Years Past

June 4, 2018

June 4, 2017

June 4, 2016

June 4, 2015

June 4, 2012

June 4, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 04, 2019 at 05:06 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sourdough Squared

I opted to use our 100% hydrated pizza dough as the framework for a sourdough square pie. I have been using the feeding model for sourdough that is outlined in of Ken Forkish's brilliant book, The Elements Pizza. I doubled our pizza recipe, mostly, cutting the water by 100 grams. I added 500 grams of sourdough base to the dough. I hand mixed the dough and let it rise throughout the day, folding occasionally. I shaped the dough 4 hours before cooking and let it rise to fill the pans. I baked the dough on a baking steel for 10 minutes and raised it off the steel for 5 minutes. I topped the par-baked pizzas and finished them under the broiler for 5 minutes. My achilles heel is too many toppings. I was overly generous on these pizzas. They did not deflate. They dough with its delicate network of bubbles supported my toppings. The pizzas were delicious, messy and over the top. The sourdough added character to the dough and enhanced the pizza experience. Now I need to show some restraint as we tinker through the variations in search of dough nirvana.

Years Past

June 3, 2018

June 3, 2017

June 3, 2016

June 3, 2015

June 3, 2012

June 3, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 03, 2019 at 06:37 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (0)

Starter Projects

Pizza and Pasta

Waffles and Pancakes

Batter for Frying

Cakes and Pastry

Crepes and Popovers

...

Years Past

June 2, 2018

June 2, 2017

June 2, 2016

June 2, 2015

June 2, 2012

June 2, 2008

June 2, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on June 02, 2019 at 05:13 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beginning to Understand the Skewer

It has taken me too many years to appreciate and begin to understand the skewer. It has allowed us to increase surface area, create bite size pieces, decrease cooking time and allow for more flavor coverage. We should have been skewering for years. Thankfully we are open to daily learning and realizing that what we don't know is a vast playground for ideas.

Years Past

June 1, 2018

June 1, 2017

June 1, 2016

June 1, 2015

June 1, 2012

June 1, 2006

June 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 June 01, 2019 at 05:42 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Maplecomb

The honeycomb crumbs sparked my need for maplecomb crumbs. We substituted maple syrup for honey in our honeycomb recipe. The candy foamed and aerated. I took the delicate crunchy sweet and pulverized it with white chocolate and vanilla shortbread. The result was a toasty, malty, maple crumb with a hint or caramelized pretzel flavor. Today we used the crumbs on some of our sourdough-nuts. The two played very well together.

Years Past

May 30 2018

May 30, 2017

May 30, 2016

May 30, 2015

May 30, 2014

May 30, 2013

May 30, 2012

May 30, 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 May 30, 2019 at 05:31 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hot Dog Situation

The dogs are butter basted in the style of Nick's Nest. The buns are slices of bread griddled in butter. The situation is all good here.

Years Past

May 29, 2018

May 29, 2017

May 29, 2016

May 29, 2015

May 29, 2012

May 29, 2006

May 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 May 29, 2019 at 06:33 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morel Mania

When I was in San Francisco I had time for a few meals. One such meal was dinner at Cotogna. I was there for pasta. The question was which ones? When I heard the cordonetti described, I knew I had to have it. When it arrived it didn't disappoint. The hand cut whole wheat noodles had a solid bite and a deep wheat flavor. The morels were earthy, mushroomy and buttery. They were the reason I ordered the dish. The morels were the stars and they were abundant. Too often dishes with seasonally luxurious ingredients are all about the name dropping, with very little in the dish. My beautiful bowl of pasta was all about spreading morel mania.

Years Past

May 28, 2018

May 28, 2017

May 28, 2016

May 28, 2015

May 28, 2012

May 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 May 28, 2019 at 08:22 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lime Pickle Ribs

I took the second rack of ribs and seasoned them with lime pickle powder, from The Cultured Pickle Shop, mixed with our meat seasoning. The funky acidic spice blended with the sweet salty heat of the meat seasoning. The ribs had tang and a crunchy crust. These ribs too, need to be tinkered with. But we have a starting point and some exciting possibilities.

Years Past

May 27, 2016

May 27, 2012

May 27, 2006

May 27, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 27, 2019 at 05:22 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everything Crusted Ribs

We crusted a St. Louis rack of pork ribs with everything spice blend. We cooked the ribs on a rack for 3 hours at 300°F. We let the ribs rest for 15 minutes and then carved them. The crust browned and became a crunchy exterior for the juicy ribs. The seasoning was tasty. It was not perfect. It shows promise. It needs refinement, perhaps some finer grinding. It needs some spice and acid. A brushing of a mustard-habanero hot sauce would provide the balance and a glue for the seasoning. The first run shows the path. The tinkering is where delicious is discovered.

Years Past

May 26, 2018

May 26, 2017

May 26, 2016

May 26, 2015

May 26, 2012

May 26, 2010

May 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 May 26, 2019 at 07:30 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Free Marshmallows

When I was in San Francisco I visited Dandelion Chocolate. I ordered a hot chocolate and a tiramisu. To the right of the counter was the coffee and hot chocolate accompaniments. There was a container of homemade marshmallows, free for the taking. In every other place I have been, marshmallows are an additional charge, usually a substantial one in comparison to the cost of the drink. I added one to my chocolate beverage and let it happily melt into it. I would not have bothered to buy a marshmallow for my beverage, but because I could it add it guilt free I did. I wonder what else could benefit from this idea of free?

Years Past

May 25, 2018

May 25, 2017

May 25, 2016

May 25, 2015

May 25, 2012

May 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 May 25, 2019 at 05:38 PM in Approach to Cooking, Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bubble Over Pie

No matter how long the recipe says to cook, if the pie is not bubbling over it is not done. If the crust and crumb appears to be getting dark before the fruit bursts and bubbles use an aluminum foil shield to extend the cooking time. If the pie is not bubbling, it is not done.

Years Past

May 24, 2018

May 24, 2017

May 24, 2016

May 24, 2015

May 24, 2012

May 24, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 24, 2019 at 07:00 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sourdough-Nuts

When we wrote Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work we had no vision of having a doughnut shop. Fast forward 10 years and it seemed only appropriate to revisit the Sourdough Doughnut recipe to integrate into the line up at Curiosity Doughnuts. Like the original recipe, our retooled formulation, relies on a commercial yeast assist to leaven the doughnuts. Hopefully as this new starter gains strength and life we will be able to dial back the additional yeast. For now the doughnut is light with a sourdough chew. It is our most robust doughnut. It will be fun to explore its place among our daily doughs.

Years Past

May 21, 2018

May 21, 2017

May 21, 2016

May 21, 2015

May 21, 2012

May 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 May 21, 2019 at 10:22 PM in Approach to Cooking, Bakers Dozen, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Braised Greens Grilled Cheese

I have never had a grilled cheese loaded with braised and tender greens. The bread was buttery and crisp. The cheese was melty, almost like a bechamel. The greens were tender and spiked with herbs. Sure, we have made kimchi reubens. But straight up tender cooked greens pressed in the sandwich have somehow escaped us. The sandwich was consumed hungrily at the bar at Tartine Manufactory. As I ate I wondered how many braised greens and cheese combinations we could begin exploring. The first, the iconic, broccoli and cheddar.

Years Past

May 20, 2018

May 20, 2017

May 20, 2016

May 20, 2015

May 20, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 20, 2019 at 08:02 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (4)

Skewered Shrimp

Grilling individual shrimp is inconvenient. We finally picked up some skewers and have reaped the benefits. We loaded pairs of skewers with shrimp. We were able to grill them easily and consistently. We brushed them with Luchito butter, which found its way into the many nooks and crannies in them. They were sweet and tender, kissed with smoke and spice, and quickly devoured by all.

Years Past

May 19, 2018

May 19, 2017

May 19, 2016

May 19, 2015

May 19, 2012

May 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 May 19, 2019 at 05:42 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Luchito Butter

It took a delicious dinner out at Charcoal BYOB, where we had Luchito butter brushed shrimp and grits, to kick us into gear to make our own Luchito butter. We made ours with melted butter, soy sauce and Luchito. The result was well worth stealing the idea.

Years Past

May 18, 2018

May 18, 2017

May 18, 2016

May 18, 2015

May 18, 2012

May 18, 2006

May 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 May 18, 2019 at 06:15 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (2)

Nitrogen Frozen

Liquid nitrogen is a functional ingredient. What is functional is defined by the doer.

Years Past

May 17, 2018

May 17, 2017

May 17, 2016

May 17, 2015

May 17, 2012

May 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 May 17, 2019 at 06:18 PM in Approach to Cooking, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angel Biscuit Babka

We layer the cuttings of our Angel biscuits and roll them into a sheet. We tri-fold the sheet and let the dough rest overnight. We roll the dough into a sheet, cover it with chocolate crumbs and and roll it into a log. We cut the log almost entirely in half and then twist the two pieces together. We roll the dough into a roulade and refrigerate it overnight. We unwrap the dough and slice it into babka biscuits. We let the dough rise at room temperature for 30 minutes and then fry the pieces. The result is the babka biscuit as a doughnut. It is moist, buttery, delicately crispy and piqued with chocolate. The trimmings have never tasted so good.

Years Past

May 16, 2018

May 16, 2017

May 16, 2016

May 16, 2015

May 16, 2012

May 16, 2009

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

Truffello Mosaic

We have been playing with the delicious cheeses from MouCo Cheese Company. We decided to revisit the idea of the cheese mosaic with there Truffello cheese. The mosaic is a fantastic base to build upon. It also is a great way to manipulate cheese for evenly layering on toast or perhaps a grilled steak.

Years Past

May 15, 2015

May 15, 2012

May 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 May 15, 2019 at 07:28 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Importance of Sous Vide

Sous vide cooking brought awareness to the details in cooking. Sure we can dismiss sous vide as soul less and set it and forget it bag cookery. But that, like most monumental ideas, would be missing its impact on the evolution of cooking. Sous vide changed how we cook, really how we observer. Now we look at the impact of temperature and time, actual specifics in the process. Guess-tamations are no longer acceptable. Sous vide cooking initially required expensive equipment. This expense sparked innovation. Cooks developed many work arounds and alternative methods to observe and control temperatures to allow for consistent results. Cooks learned to take better notes. Cooks learned to ask questions. Cooks learned to share ideas and results.

Years Past

May 13, 2012

May 13, 2009

May 13, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 13, 2019 at 05:07 PM in Approach to Cooking, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mozzarella Tots

I actually don't eat many tater tots. But I am inspired by the idea of tots. We have made latka tots and corned beef hash tots. Last night we were having breakfast for dinner. I decided to totify the meal. As I looked at the tots I wondered why we hadn't made mozzarella stick tots. So I have a project to work on now.

Years Past

May 12, 2018

May 12, 2017

May 12, 2016

May 12, 2015

May 12, 2012

May 12, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 12, 2019 at 06:02 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Gooey Butter Cake v2

I tinker a lot. Today we put our new flexipans to work, making our newest version of our gooey doughnut butter cake. I pulled out some sugar and added buttermilk in its place. The confection is delicious. And it is sweet. Is a doughnut dessert that screams for a cup of coffee and a lake view. If you don't have a lake view the coffee and the cake will suffice.

Years Past

May 11, 2018

May 11, 2017

May 11, 2016

May 11, 2015

May 11, 2012

May 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 May 11, 2019 at 07:15 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cheeseburger Quesadilla

Last night I had the brilliant idea of making cheeseburger quesadillas. We cooked tortilla size burgers and put them inside corn and flour tortillas with cheese. We served them with salsa, guacamole, ketchup and mustard. They were delicious and I was thrilled with my creation.

At four am this morning I was pumping gas and looked up.

Years Past

May 10, 2015

May 10, 2012

May 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 May 10, 2019 at 06:49 PM in Approach to Cooking, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Potential in Crumbs

Crumb toppings allow for multiple textures. I wonder why we have not thought of blending crumb toppings to deliver a variety of flavors? Imagine a blueberry pie topped with a blend of sweet cream crumbs, maple syrup crumbs and freeze dried blueberry crumbs. Each flavor is impactful on its own and when they are blended the pie topping evolves.

Years Past

May 9, 2018

May 9, 2017

May 9, 2016

May 9, 2015

May 9, 2012

May 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 May 09, 2019 at 04:44 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Right Pan for the Job

I have been looking to make our doughnut gooey butter cake in individual forms. I finally found the right flexipan at JB Prince. The mold is a 4 inches in diameter and 3/4 of an inch deep. It looks to be the perfect size for us to produce the decadent confection. Years Past

May 8, 2018

May 8, 2017

May 8, 2016

May 8, 2015

May 8, 2012

May 8, 2007

May 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 May 08, 2019 at 05:30 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Panko Crusted Porterhouse

I mostly liberated the pork porterhouse from its T-bone. I used a rolling pin to pound the meat. I should have pounded the meat thinner. We breaded the chops with a traditional procedure. I regret that we did not smoke the panko first. We sauteed them in sunflower seed oil and topped them with a chopped salad: romaine, tomatoes, spicy olives, canned artichoke hearts, quick balsamic vinaigrette.

The salad made the chops. The t-bone kept the chops together and allowed us to cook porterhouses. But I'm not sure leaving the bone in place made the cooking better. The bone inhibited the shallow frying. I let the idea outweigh the results. Next time we will have a more informed process to follow.

Years Past

May 7, 2018

May 7, 2017

May 7, 2016

May 7, 2015

May 7, 2012

May 7, 2010

May 7, 2006

May 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 May 07, 2019 at 05:01 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Magic Shell

We started with our cookie magic shell as the model. Instead of cookies I used slow roasted day old doughnuts. The result was, as hoped, an intense fluid doughnut. I dipped a few strawberries in the mixture to see how it coated and set up.

Strawberries coated in doughnuts are delicious. The goal was not to be able to coat strawberries, but the potential is exciting. Doughnut magic shell is destined for the return of our frozen custard. In the short term, to balance my impatience, I have a few other ideas in the works to get it into peoples hands and mouths.

Years Past

May 6, 2018

May 6, 2017

May 6, 2016

May 6, 2015

May 6, 2012

May 6, 2010

May 6, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 06, 2019 at 05:14 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angel Doughnuts and Honeycomb Crumbs

The pieces have come together. It took the iconic combination to allow us to create our own iconic doughnut creation. The Angel Doughnut is caramelized and lightly crisp on the outside. The interior is buttery and fluffy. The crumbs are honey and butter in sprinkle form. I'm sure we will develop a few more combinations with this doughnut base. But for today we are happily indulging in the results of tinkering.

Years Past

May 5, 2016

May 5, 2012

May 5, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 05, 2019 at 06:12 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Honeycomb Crumbs

Last year we explored setting honeycomb in white chocolate. The light airy comb was surrounded by white chocolate. It looked like nougat. We ended up chopping the blocks into pieces to sprinkle on doughnuts. The introduction of the Angel Doughnut reawakened my interest in honey as a doughnut topping. We pondered honey glaze and honey butter. It took me longer than I care to say to come back around to honeycomb. In practice the honeycomb-white chocolate was not functional. But if we processed the mixture, or the idea of the mixture, further and included shortbread we might be able to create an intensely flavorful and easily sprinkled crumb.

I combined equal parts honeycomb, white chocolate and shortbread in the food processor. I added 0.3% salt and pulverized the mixture into a fine crumb. The result was better than I hoped for. The honey flavor remained intense and was supported by the white chocolate and shortbread. While the crumb was designed for the Angel Doughnut, I believe it will find many new homes in doughnutland.

Years Past

May 4, 2018

May 4, 2017

May 4, 2016

May 4, 2015

May 4, 2012

May 4, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 04, 2019 at 05:46 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Parts and Pieces

Doughnut Parts

Angel (biscuit) Doughnut, Spiral, New Fashioned Apple Cider

Not Quite Vegan, Chocolate Yeasted, Super Cake

Curiosity Cruller, Vanilla Yeasted, PA Classic Potato

Doughnut Pieces

Doughnut Bread Pudding, Thumbprint, Cinnamon-Cider Stick, Potato Twist

Marble Yeasted, Beignets

Years Past

May 3, 2018

May 3, 2017

May 3, 2016

May 3, 2015

May 3, 2012

May 3, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on May 03, 2019 at 04:50 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Biscuit Beignets

When making doughnuts there are always trimmings. We fold the angel biscuit pieces together to roll and cut them into beignets. Biscuit beignets may be better than our originals. Hopefully we can get them paired with some fried chicken soon.

Years Past

May 2, 2018

May 2, 2017

May 2, 2016

May 2, 2015

May 2, 2014

May 2, 2013

May 2, 2012

May 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 May 02, 2019 at 03:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dogma Doughuts

When we began tinkering with angel biscuits for doughnutland I wanted to find a distinct name to differentiate the doughnut. Sure, Angel biscuits is distinctive. But biscuits at a doughnut shop? I was stuck on the angel. Angel quickly led me to pop culture and the Kevin Smith film Dogma. I am always up for an alliteration. I thought who wouldn't become hooked on the name dogma doughnuts. I ran my story by a few colleagues. The quick consensus was who the hell would get my connectivity created concoction. Call them Angel doughnuts and be done. The name dogma doughnuts didn't last long. But the story was well worth the mental meandering.

Years Past

May 1, 2018

May 1, 2017

May 1, 2016

May 1, 2015

May 1, 2012

May 1, 2006

May 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 May 01, 2019 at 03:39 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Angel Biscuits

Angel biscuits have been on my to do list for years. I finally made the time to begin tinkering with them. What has interested me is that angel biscuits are leavened with baking powder and soda as well as with yeast. The potential for flavor development in the biscuit excites me. I also like the idea of adding layers to the leavened biscuit. If the tinkering progresses in the direction I am hoping, I look forward to seeing how Angels like being deep fried.

Years Past

April 30, 2012

April 30, 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 April 30, 2019 at 03:39 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (1)

Boston Cream Returns

It took way longer than I thought. We use our thumbprint style doughnut as the shell. We dress the shell with our vanilla-buttermilk glaze and a coating of chocolate glaze. We sprinkle our white chocolate pretzel crumbs over the top. The filling has evolved. Now we make a rich custard and lighten it with whipped cream. The filling crests the top of the doughnut, revealing a glimpse of the decadent indulgence.

Years Past

April 29, 2018

April 29, 2017

April 29, 2016

April 29, 2015

April 29, 2012

April 29, 2007

April 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 April 29, 2019 at 04:27 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vanilla and Chocolate Shortbread

While we still use roasted doughnuts for there own doughnut crumb, my shortbread fetish has bubbled over into doughnutland. We now use a base vanilla and chocolate shortbread for many of our other crumb toppings for the doughnuts. The shortbread is decadent and crunchy. It is flavorful canvas.

Years Past

April 28, 2018

April 28, 2017

April 28, 2016

April 28, 2015

April 28, 2012

April 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 April 28, 2019 at 04:46 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Reality of Pressure Cooking

We have been pressure cooker fanatics for years. We have stood on soap boxes promoting there efficiency and necessity in the kitchen. In Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work, we had the chapter on pressure cooking cut out. Thankfully Aki was able to weave much of the material back into the book. Most of the material she integrated revolved around using the pressure cooker for cooking broths. In Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change The Way You Cook we dove back into pressure cooking. A few examples of its functionality, at the time, were our pork belly and beans and sunflower seed risotto.

But as I have looked at pressure cooking and the results I noticed a pattern. A pattern that made the reasoning for utilizing it in a broth chapter and where foods cooked together could mask the final results. Pressure cooking allows for the great extraction of flavor. Yes, it allows for the tenderization of meats, vegetables, grains and more. But as a whole it is detrimental to cook meats as a fast braise in the cooker. The meats become tender and for the most part flavorless. Even utilizing the idea of a double boiler the end result is a concentrated meat extract, not a better braised meat.

Today our pressure cooker is now our broth maker.

Years Past

April 27, 2015

April 27, 2012

April 27, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on April 27, 2019 at 04:18 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Beef Seasoning

Resources are only useful when put to use. I often forget that point. Years ago, when we were writing Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work, we created our beef seasoning. It was inspired by the Iron Chef Battle where Peter Kelly seasoned his beef with brown sugar and salt. Our beef seasoning has been in our tool chest for years. But we rarely bring it out, especially in its measured proportions. Today I dove into our book and followed the recipe. I seasoned up 2 steaks and will cook them later. I am eager with anticipation, because the beef seasoning is magical. It elevates whatever it is put in contact with.

The beef seasoning is a simple arrangement of ingredients. But its impact is monumental. It, like most of our work, is useful when combined with something else.

Years Past

April 26, 2018

April 26, 2017

April 26, 2016

April 26, 2015

April 26, 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 April 26, 2019 at 04:23 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Draft Day Doughnuts 2019

The only way to really celebrate the official beginning of football season is with doughnuts. Draft day doughnuts are our own special holiday.

Years Past

April 25, 2018

April 25, 2017

April 25, 2016

April 25, 2015

April 25, 2014

April 25, 2013

April 25, 2012

April 25, 2011

April 25, 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 April 25, 2019 at 07:21 AM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, Curiosity Doughnuts, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chocolate Chess Pie

"I think you've made the perfect pie." Rare words from my husband, especially when we're discussing a chocolate pie. I know he meant them because this pie was gone in just a couple of days. I can't even take credit for the recipe. I was researching chocolate chess pies and I came across this Double Chocolate Chess Pie from Virginia Willis. It was one of the only recipes that didn't use evaporated milk. I kept reading recipes that called for 3-4 tablespoons of cocoa and I just knew they couldn't possibly have enough chocolate flavor. This one adds 1.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips and that was the difference I was looking for.

I used my own all butter pie crust (in Maximum Flavor & Gluten Free Flour Power) and blind baked it at 350°F for 40 minutes before using her filling. The only change I made was upping the salt to 1/3 teaspoon of fine sea salt and that pie was delicious. This was not surprising because Virginia Willis is a class act, but it was unusual because I am a compulsive tinkerer. There was a delicate brownie-like crust on top of a creamy chocolate filling and a crisp pie crust underneath. We served it with lightly sweetened whipped cream and nothing more was needed.

Years Past

April 17, 2018

April 17, 2017

April 17, 2016

April 17, 2015

April 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 April 17, 2019 at 03:48 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chili Pizza

Since chili topped spaghetti is a thing, we figured we might as well test out its viability on a pizza. Turns our it too should be a thing.

Years Past

April 8, 2018

April 8, 2017

April 8, 2016

April 8, 2015

April 8, 2012

April 8, 2005

April 8, 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 April 08, 2019 at 06:46 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Impromptu Pizza | Permalink | Comments (1)

Brown Butter Cacio Pepe

Whenever we are teaching pasta workshops and demonstrating the benefits of a pasta extruder we make cacio pepe. It is a dish with just a few ingredients and that means we need to pay attention when we cook it. It took a moment of inattention, letting the butter brown in the olive oil as we toasted the pepper to create browned butter cacio pepe. The additional nuttiness and richness from the toasted milk solids added a deep complexity to the sauce. It has me thinking in a few directions. The first is revisiting brown butter stock, simplifying it by pureeing toasted milk solids and pasta water, to make a foundation. The other is leaving well enough alone and enjoying the simplicity of browning the butter and making the sauce. Both paths have merit and are worth traveling. The choice will depend on where we want to go with the bowl of noodles.

Years Past

April 7, 2018

April 7, 2017

April 7, 2016

April 7, 2015

April 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 April 07, 2019 at 05:15 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Motivation v2

It started here.

Which led directly to our interpretation, thanks to the super talented Airlie Anderson.

Years Past

April 6, 2018

April 6, 2017

April 6, 2016

April 6, 2015

April 6, 2012

April 6, 2006

April 6, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on April 06, 2019 at 06:17 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Accidentally Over The Top

Life is full of happy accidents. Like putting white chocolate chips into a slowly baked shortbread recipe and having them caramelize resulting in over the top, super delicious cookies.

Years Past

March 5, 2018

April 5, 2017

April 5, 2016

April 5, 2015

April 5, 2012

April 5, 2006

April 5, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

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

Posted on April 05, 2019 at 06:35 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (1)

Lemon Filled v1

We have occasionally served a filled doughnut. We have always added the filling to the doughnut, like most doughnut shops, after the frying. I am fixated on changing that. I want to fry a filled doughnut. Today we accomplished that. We filled the doughnut with lemon custard and closed it like a calzone or an empanada. We discovered that frying a filled doughnut takes a much longer time to cook the interior dough. The long fry time gives me some hesitation. It adds an element of inefficiency to my already inefficient doughnut chaos. But the result is delicious. We shall continue to tinker with and produce small amounts at the shop. As we practice our process, hopefully we will gain some efficiency.

Years Past

April 4, 2015

April 4 2012