A refreshing hit of citrus to brighten up these chilly winter days.
Years Past
January 15, 2005
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The veal chop is first Frenched. It is cleaned up and the fat pockets are removed. The chop is pounded super thin and wide. (My hand is used to show the size.) It is floured, egged and crumbed. The pounding with the resulting size and thinness is an extreme look at a pounded veal chop. It is a beautiful foundation. With the model we can begin to look at the parts: chop, seasoning and crumbs. Is the chop smoked, brined, aged? What underlying seasonings can we use in the flour or eggs: tea, tandoori, lemon pepper? What kind of crumbs are we using: rye, garlic bread, tortilla chips?
The extreme is where the ideas grow.
Years Past
January 13, 2005
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I started the day wanting to make a pizza dough with 100 percent hydration. I whisked flour, salt and instant yeast in a bowl. I added the water and used a spatula to mix the dough together. It resembled a thick batter. After one hour I used a spatula to fold the dough over itself. I let the dough rise for 2 more hours, folded the dough and put it into an oiled Detroit style pan. I covered the pan and let the dough rise and spread in the pan. After 3 more hours I looked to stretch the dough in the pan. I did a below average job stretching the dough. To repair my work I folded the dough over itself and into a rectangle and put it back in the pan. I covered the pan and let it rise for another 4 hours to fill the pan once again. This time I let it do its own stretching. I topped the dough with cheese, sauce and more cheese. I baked the pizza for 20 minutes at 500°F. I cooked the pizza for the first 5 minutes on a baking steel then raised the pan onto a rack to finish cooking.
When the pizza was done I used an offset spatula to release the caramelized cheese from the pans edges and put the pizza onto a wire rack to rest for a few minutes before carving.
The pizza was crisp, tender, light, and totally crush-worthy.
100 Percent Hydrated Pizza
Makes one 10"-by-14" pizza
300 grams flour
6 grams salt
3 grams instant yeast
300 grams room temperature water
Whisk together the flour salt and yeast in a medium bowl. Add the water and mix with a spatula to form a wet dough, resembling a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature for 1 hours.
After 1 hour, use a rubber spatula to fold the dough. Pull one corner to the center and then give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process. Do this for a total of four folds and then flip the dough over, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, repeat the folding process and then, instead of flipping the dough in the bowl, flip it out into an oiled Detroit style pizza pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 3 hours.
After 3 hours, gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Cover the pan and let is rest at room temperature for at least 1 and up to 4 hours before adding toppings and baking the pizza.
To Bake:
Preheat oven to 500°F.
Add toppings to your pizza and bake for 20 minutes, turning the pan at least once during the process. If using a baking steel, bake on the steel for the first 5 minutes then rotate the pan and move it to a rack so the bottom of the pizza doesn't burn.
Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan to cut.
Years Past
January 7, 2009
January 7, 2007
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Heat the cast iron on medium high heat.
(Hopefully) remember to turn on the exhaust hood.
Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with salt.
Once the pan is just smoking, add the steaks.
Flip the steaks, often, every 30 seconds or so.
Marbled steaks will render enough fat to cook the steaks in.
Leaner cuts like filet mignon need the addition of a little extra fat to the pan, we use bacon fat.
When the steaks are browned, crusty and cooked almost to the desired temperature (rare, med-rare, medium, etc.) we add butter (and occasionally herbs) and baste and flip the steaks.
Let the steaks rest on plates for 5 minutes.
Indulge in a special meal.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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This year we're keeping things simple. Just a few goals for the new year.
Happy New Year Everyone! We hope to see you soon.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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The secret is in the salt sear and the bacon fat-butter basting to finish.
Happy New Year!!!
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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The more I say yes to things I would normally say no to, the more I find myself with clearer observations and so many more smiles.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Finding an ingredient, that normally takes time to be ready to use, ripe and fragrant is magical. Yesterday we picked up a flat of hachiya persimmons. They were wrinkled, ripe and ready to eat and create with. We have a running list of persimmon potential projects.
Persimmon
However, with any list there are always a few entries that take precedence. These persimmons are destined to become blended with habanero peppers to become a favorite hot sauce we have not visited for over ten years.
Years Past
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Tempura shumai are purely brilliant. Sure, we have eaten shumai before. We have eaten shrimp tempura before. But battering and frying shumai, I had never seen it, heard of it or tried it. Today that changed. I experienced shumai tempura at Terakawa Ramen in Princeton. They were delicious with a light crispy exterior and the soft juicy dumpling beneath. Of course this then leads me to a number of paths. What other dumplings, gnocchi or small meat(or fish)balls should we be battering and frying?
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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We were preparing breakfast. I opted to slow down. I sliced onions thinly. I soaked them in cold water to rinse off some of their astringent bite. We patted them dry and dressed the onions with olive oil and salt. Aki asked Amaya if we could add some black pepper. Amaya responded, "Nope, but we can use the fresh red pepper flakes." Amaya does not like the taste or aroma of black pepper and its heat source piperine. She has become a fan of chili peppers and the heat from capsaicin. The small adjustment from black to red was one I would not have explored on my own. I would have just gone without the spice. Amaya's openness to interchangeable parts reminded me that finding the right component can work better than simple eliminations.
Years Past
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Finding well marbled thick cut steaks is a magical experience. It also means I'm setting off the smoke detectors, especially in winter. I recommend opening a few windows and turning your vent on high before salt searing your steaks.
Years Past
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We take pictures as reminders. Too often we do not go back and look at what we needed to remember. Today I looked back at what I deemed photo-worthy.
Years Past
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The outside is silky. The inside is chewy. The noodles are slurp-able and elastic. Three thumbs up for tonight. We are making progress. We ate these in a sauce of broth, butter and soy sauce.
Udon Noodles v3
100 grams AP flour
100 grams durum flour
100 grams water
3 grams salt
0.5 grams baking soda
Dissolve salt and baking soda in water.
Combine the flours in a medium bowl. Add the water. Knead the flour and water together in a bowl into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.
Unwrap and knead for 1-2 minutes until the dough is silky. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes.
Unwrap and knead for another 1-2 minutes. Wrap the dough and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, about an hour. Roll the dough through a pasta sheeter or by hand until it is 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch strips.
Boil the noodles for 7 minutes until they are cooked through and chewy.
Years Past
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The list of noodle ideas and flavors is long. It can feel dauntingly large. I often procrastinate, intimidated by the amount of work and the lack of a consuming audience. It's a form of writers block, one where I create the plan and then choose not to put it into action because no one besides us will eat it. The "why bother?" sentiment tends to scream loudly in my ear. It is in these moments when I realize that in order to create, to get things done, to explore--it is necessary to silence that voice. It is the process and practice of making that allows us to improve, discover, and be delighted.
Today I looked at the flavor list in our American Noodles outline and picked a few to begin working on. The first was green curry. I started with a prepared green curry paste and mixed it with some water to make a flavorful liquid to hydrate pasta. I strained the mixture in order to remove any solids that could clog the pasta die. I mixed the green curry liquid with semolina in the pasta machine. I chose campanelle because I enjoy alliterations. I extruded the pasta and the campanelle curled into aromatic trumpets. I let the pasta air dry for half an hour before I put it into zip top bags in the refrigerator, reserving it for cooking later.
The aroma of the curry is intense. The raw dough captures the essence of the flavor. The cooking will show that the infused flavor will stand up to the dilution of boiling and saucing. For a first version we are on the right path. I believe it's important to force myself to take the steps forward and not just think about where I want to go.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I ended up not tying our pork shoulder. I put it in a roasting pan with about an inch of white wine and a bit of chicken stock and cooked it at 250°F with convection for 10 hours and 15 minutes. I cooked it until it reached 192°F internal temperature. I was shocked that it took that long to cook. Somehow I thought that a pork shoulder would cook in about 6-7 hours. Fortunately we started early. Once it was cooked I let it rest for an hour before carving.
The roast carved cleanly and was tender. The sausage and meat became one. My critical side has me looking at keeping the meat juicier. The sausage can use some refinement, first off less salt. But as a first run it a delicious start to refining our complete pork shoulder.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I was in LA last week and was fortunate to make a trip to Sidecar Doughnuts. I was intrigued by their Doughnut Benedict. They wrapped a poached egg in doughnut dough, deep fried it. They stuffed the filled doughnut with hollandaise sauce and topped it with fresh basil. I am intrigued by the savory breakfast in a doughnut. Now I need to figure out how to wrap my head and dough around the idea and see if we can integrate savory into our Doughnutland.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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We have been asked, on occasion, for jelly doughnuts. We used to make thumbprints. But as a whole we have found jelly doughnuts don't sell. Today, we brought jelly doughnuts back. I figured they would fly off the shelf because recently there have been lots of jelly requests. It turns out there were not as many requests as it seemed. There were a few loud requests. The jellies found a few happy homes. They did not grow wings and fly out the door. We will continue down the jelly path and see if the loud voices are joined by other, softer, voices leading to greater consumption.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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Last night I had the pleasure to eat at. The details were impressively striking. The last one that caught me by surprise and brought a smile to my face was the wallpaper in the bathroom. It was a cooks notebook, blown up on a massive scale. It turns out it is Adam Perry Lang's pastry notes from when he was a young cook. The use of a notebook as decor was brilliant and engaging. I'm now interested in trying out a few of the recipes.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Our friends at Blis just came out with an apple cider vinegar aged in rye barrels. They sent us a bottle as a gift and it was so good we had to share the news. The vinegar is surprisingly light and delicate, well rounded with delicate floral notes from the apple and a nice roundness from the barrel aging. It's a fun ingredient and we can't wait to put it to good use in our kitchen.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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The quality of the spice rub you buy is reliant on the quality of the spices, the blend, and the age. Recently we went Kondo on our spice cabinet. The result was a tidy space with no resources when I wanted to assemble a few rubs for our Thanksgiving pork shoulder and half-cocked turkeys. Instead of restocking our spice drawer at the 11th hour I opted to pick up some fun sounding spice blends.
Since I had already pre-salted the shoulder and the bird I searched out spice blends with little or no salt. I found two that were interesting and rolled the dice. When I got to our kitchen I opened them up. I tasted the blends. Both mixes had some pluses and minuses. They were not horrible (see my opening line), I know a glowing endorsement, and I needed to get these massive hunks of meat seasoned. I picked one for the shoulder and one for half the cocked turkey. The second half I figured I'd season with a bit of maple-soy sauce.
Since the meat was pre-salted and air dried I opted to steal the sake seasoning technique to adhere the spices. I doused the shoulder and the turkey with the sake and liberally applied the spice rubs. I brushed the other half of turkey with the maple-soy sauce and returned the bounty to the refrigerator overnight.
What I learned is that if you are going to start from scratch you must actually start. And if you are going to rely on the work of others you must be able to rely on them. I believe our shoulder and birds will be delicious and open my relatively closed mind to new blends and combinations that I might not have explored on own. It is the absence of choice that forced my hand to try something new.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I thought it was pretty smart to package both the sweet and hot sausages together. Too often we end up having to either buy one or the other or, when we buy both, we end up with an excess. Having both together makes the decision easy and we can actually use all of what we buy.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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We cooked the (pre-salted) steaks sous vide, from frozen, for 3 hours. I pulled them from the bags and stood them up, fat side down in a medium hot cast iron skillet. The fat slowly rendered and the fat caramelized. When the edge was richly browned I flipped the steaks in the rendered fat to quickly brown the surfaces. The steaks provide the fat and become more flavorfully cooked in the process.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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The pleasure of books can be summed up in the random discovery of joy. We picked up Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong by Matt Abergel. The super clean pictures of butchering and the assembling of skewers is complimented by an instinctual and inviting prose describing insights on the cooking process. The obsession with the process is apparent from the first flip and I am certainly eager to dive into the process of yakitori as well as stealing the techniques for other preparations.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I was brought a couple of slices of pizza from L'industrie Pizzeria. What I felt was exceptional was the post cooking addition of burrata and basil. The pepperoni was cupped and caramelized. The burrata was cool, creamy and elastic. The basil was bright and refreshing. The pizza itself was crisp, foldable, airy and cheese crusted. The balance in flavors, textures and temperatures showed me fresh insight into the combination and addition of ingredients.
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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Pistachio stock was the revelation that brought our mortadella, cabbage and pistachio ragout together. I blended salt roasted pistachios, water and soy sauce together. I strained the mixture and the result was a rich and creamy stock. It had an intense pistachio flavor and was the liquid I needed for our sauce. It carried the element of pistachios throughout the ingredients with a saucy fullness.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I love the flavor of prosciutto and speck in cooked dishes. What I do not love is the way the ham dehydrates and gets super salty during the cooking process. In order to eliminate this problem, tonight I laid slices of speck on the bottom of the roasting pan and then added my artichokes and chick peas over the meat. Finally I arranged the chicken thighs in the center and roasted the whole thing. The speck gave a gentle seasoning to all of the other ingredients and remained soft and supple enough to be scooped up with the vegetables. We'll definitely be using this approach again.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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By seasoning the shells we have the opportunity to let flavors mingle. The seasoning concentrates and changes as we grill the oysters. When we pick up the oysters and slurp them the seasoning compliments and does not overpower the shellfish.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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What better way is there to celebrate the end of the month than adopting a puppy? Everest is the newest addition to our small family. We got her from Wags Rescue, the same place that we got WIllow. She is settling into her new home very nicely. The next nine months or so will be challenging, and totally worth the effort.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I am not sure why it never crossed my mind to season the jalapenos before cooking with them, specifically in oil. I wonder why we don't pre-salt a lot of vegetables before cooking? It makes plenty of sense now that I'm thinking about it.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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We have used shrimp as base for salumi style preparations from sausage to chorizo. Recently we circled back on the idea. In this revisit we adjusted the flavors to replicate pepperoni. I'm not sure why it took so long for us to do this, but I am sure glad we did.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table
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There is heat. There is humidity. There is lots and lots of walking. There is a need for cool and comforting refreshments. Insert Dole Whip, the must have pineapple soft serve sorbet featured in Disney World. Bon Appetit has a solid recap of Dole Whip and its popularity growth from cult following to must consume thanks largely in part to social media. We consumed Dole Whip strait up, swirled and as a float. Like many experiences, our first was amazing and the second was good but not otherworldly. That could be a function of the heat, the humidity and the miles walked. It could also be related to the mind and how we sort of knew what was coming. When you know the surprise, it's no longer surprising.
Of course when we get back to reality I have plans for visiting with soft serve sorbet, (you will see its uprising) and particularly swirled and included in combination with ice cream as ripples, swirls and shattered pieces.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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The shaved ice is good on its own. The addition of the the sweetened condensed milk makes it magical. The milk becomes thicker and chewy. It becomes milk taffy for a moment and then melts away into sweet cream. The condensed milk has a light caramel note due to its cooking and reducing, but it is not caramel sauce. The cooked flavor adds depth to the milk, a sweet side umami characteristic.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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How you see and what you expect can shape your creativity.
Years Past
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I searched for the origin of the Stay Silly quote in the poster. I stumbled across a collection of Dr. Seuss Quotes. They brightened up my day. They made me wonder and want to explore. They put gas in my creative think tank.
Years Past
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The inspiration comes from the imagination.
Years Past
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The milkshake is the canvas. The obsession is in the details. In the case of our simple chocolate milk shake the decadent chocolate whipped cream and chocolate sauce made it crushworthy. The whip cream was as flavorful, rich and thick as the shake. The shake was thick and still sippable. But it was the whip cream that caught my attention. It was chocolaty, super thick and not really meltable. It was dream cream. It raised the bar for what whip cream can and should be.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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We are off to Orlando tomorrow. It's our first official family vacation, just the three of us. It's also the first vacation Alex has taken since before we opened Curiosity Doughnuts. It's been a long time coming, we had to postpone it twice. So for the next nine days we'll be changing things up. We're clearly incapable of leaving Ideas In Food entirely so we'll be posting snapshots from our vacation. These will be short and sweet because--vacation.
Years Past
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A little inspiration for the beginning of the week from Tina Seelig via TED.
Years Past
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I wanted fried calamari. Aki wanted belly clams and fried shrimp. Amaya wanted clam strips and fried calamari. We debated our wants and explored the menu. We could get a combo platter with most of what we all wanted. Or we could each get our own fried seafood basket. Experience has taught me to be a bit cautious with unknown, or new to us, restaurants. But we were on a mini vacation. We chose as individuals and agreed to share. I learned my lesson again. First of all, it was way too much seafood for the three of us. Second, at least one of the three selections was under fried. The second was debatable. It may have been influenced by my realization that I've lost my love for belly clams.
The combo would have limited our losses. It would have added fries to the mix. It would have allowed us to experience more and give us the opportunity to double down if we weren't already excessively full. Next time, it's the combination platter all the way, one, to share.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I made a bunch of thin burgers. I was going to cook them on the grill, layer cheese between the patties off the heat and let the juices and cheese mingle and melt. Then I started cooking the burgers on the vacation house grill. The first few burgers were fine. But, as I cooked and the fat dripped through the grill, it ignited the residual grease underneath and it turned into a fire box. I used the not-quite a spatula that came with the house to move, flip and adjust the burgers. I tried to make sure that neither the burgers nor myself turned into charcoal. I still proceeded with my plan of layering burgers and cheese, though I ended up pulling the burgers a bit early. I put the burgers into a 375°F oven for 5 minutes once they were all rescued from the grill. The cheese melted fully and encased the meat. Remarkably, the resulting burger experience was one of the most delicious I have had in a long time. Perhaps I need a bit more fire on the front side and the gentle-ish heated finish and rest to make a better burger. Working with the extremes seems to deliver the greatest results.
Years Past
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Bacon, Egg, Avocado, Tomato on Toast
Summer provides the relaxed framework to make anything into dinner. Summer is the excuse to cook and not cook what makes you happy. Summer inspires a mindset that is worth taking beyond the season. It's worth making summertime cooking a style that we can use all year long.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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Ideas, like fruits and vegetables, benefit from maceration.
Years Past
August 11, 2008
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I am in search of the nostalgic and delicious Ice cream experience. R&D is hard work. Someday we will capture that lightning in a bottle.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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I have spent years trying to succinctly explain what science is. A few years ago I was able to piece together the answer.
Science is the continuous quest to verify observations.
Recently I came across another elegant and eloquent solution to my question. The question was asked and answered well before my time.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
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We found this in the aisles of Whole Foods. Niman Ranch Steak House Bacon is an extra thick, extra tender, flavorful slab of pork belly. Its thickness provides a decadent eating pleasure. It also increases the cooking time, something which requires a bit more planning for bacon cravings.
The feature of the thick bacon is also its flaw. It remains rich, fatty and meaty, a plus for many though the extra thick fat causes a few grumbles at the table.
The bacon is tremendous in breakfast sandwiches and now seasonal BLT. It makes bacon a central theme rather than something served on the side.
Years Past
Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook
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After creating we discover hidden beauty.
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 allowed the process of book writing to kill my creativity. I am still able to harness the energy for others. But writing our first and subsequent books squashed the risk taking and slowed the drive. We were constantly asked to create for a home audience, an audience that for the most part we never knew and who did not know us. We have had our creative platform, this blog, for 14 plus years. But as we wrote books I became distracted and frustrated by the need to create for an audience rather than for myself. Occasionally over the years we have broken free of the shackles. But more often that freedom has come working with others, as we help connect their dots and create with them.
The reality is that most of my ideas don't translate into the everyday. Sure, I cook everyday. But the ideas, dishes and elements I want to make take time, energy and a ton of dishes. I am always looking for a broader outlet. I was able to take this approach with Curiosity Doughnuts. It has allowed us to take doughnuts to the extreme.
I am wrestling with the creative process and with bringing the ideas to light. I am looking to move our thoughts and processes out of the shadows. Too often I edit before creating, wondering if something would be repeatable and able to be made for a book rather than enjoying the process of creativity.
I still need an outlet for the results of the our tinkering. But realizing what has been hindering me is the first step in getting new ideas into action.
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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Aki continues to hone her dumpling skills. She enjoys the process. Her deliberate folding and pinching is highlighted in the results. It means Amaya and I are treated to ever improving dumplings. It also means she is able to bust them out when we have nothing planned. Dumplings in a pinch.
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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