Mary Cooks Spanish Style Chicken with Saffron

The recipe I selected for Thursday's dinner was really more of a guideline. I knew I had some more chicken to cook and searched epicurious.com for ideas and found this recipe for Spanish Style Chicken. I used the same ingredients but in a different manner, making decisions as a cook to attempt to make the best meal out of the ingredients at hand. I also reduced the recipe from 8 servings to about 3. And engaged in other assorted aberrant behavior.

Mis en place

Ingrdients
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 8 serving pieces - I used two large breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped - I substituted shallot
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces - I substituted small sweet peppers, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 1/4 cups dry white wine - I cut this way back, even in my reduced proportion
1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes including juice - I used fresh cherry tomatoes which I pureed with the immersion blender
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, coarsely chopped - I used the Spanish olives Gareth gets from Wegmans


Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet (at least 2 inches deep) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken on all sides, about 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a plate.

No bones = no surprises. Chicken cooked all the way through

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet and add onion, bell pepper, and salt to taste. Cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. OK, here's where I deviated. I added the wine at this point, using it to deglazed the pan. I have always considered this an Advanced Cooking Technique, but it was actually quite easy. I turned down the heat a little and let the alcohol cook off the wine, then added the shallot and peppers as instructed. 

Even I can deglaze a pan

NOTE: I thought this was very chefy and was quite pleased with myself. When I told my counterpart of this great leap forward in my culinary skills, he looked horrified and said, "You cooked your veg in the glace from the pan?" Apparently, you should cook your veg in a separate pan and when you deglaze your meat pan, you add the glace to your sauce at the end. But, still, this is pretty far removed from the "Cut towards your chum, not towards your thumb" cooking advice I usually need.

The highly deviant technique of cooking veg in glace

Add garlic, paprika, and rice, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice, chicken broth, saffron, and bay leaf. More deviance on my part. I decided to cook the rice separately. I did add the other ingredients (except the wine, which was added in the previous step). And I did use real saffron. We have some in the house, and I used it. But just a little. Making this the most expensive meal I have ever cooked, removing the grilled brie and Gorgonzola sandwich I cooked in goat butter a few months back out of the title position.

Nestle chicken in rice, adding any juices from plate. At this point, I just added my chicken pieces.

Sauce is cooking down

Cook, covered, over low heat until chicken is cooked through, rice is tender, and most of liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. I did let it all simmer uncovered until the sauce cooked down a bit - about 7-10 minutes. I also tasted it during this time and decided it needed a dash of cumin and a little more salt.

Remove from heat and stir in peas, olives, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet and let stand 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. I did this but lost track of time. When I came back, my peas were wilted.

Spanish Style Chicken with Saffron

Overall, I got points for the light, tangy, flavorful sauce and the olives but demerits for the sad little peas. They didn't really taste quite right in the sauce. My counterpart suggests using a mix of carrot and celeriac cut into matchsticks for the veg and to serve on a small bed of cooked cabbage with bread instead of rice.

Mary Cooks Nothing

Tonight is Leftovers Night. We are reclaiming the Cashew Chicken from last night. My spouse is at the helm, and the natural order of things has been restored.

The chicken got cut off the bone into bite-sized pieces, the sauce was augmented with leek and more veg. With a fresh pot of Jasmine rice, we had a very nice dinner.

Something Hot for a Cold Month

Earlier this month, I developed a serious case of The Dropsies. Things have been slipping through my fingers, sticking to my arms as I walk by, flying out of my hands. I've been bumbling through life this month leaving a trail of debris in my wake. Food, dishes, my iPhone, and (much to my chagrin) my favorite lens have all fallen victim to my increase gravitational force. While I am relieved that nothing was actually damaged, the dropping of the lens made me particularly skittish about things, and I decided I needed some time to find my internal balance, so I scaled back on things to give myself time to breathe. I still went to work, fed the cats, watched "Glee", but all non-essential activities were put on hold so that I could regain my grip, so to speak.

And now, ten days later, I have my center back.

Just in time for my counterpart to try his had at what we call Dominican Casserole. This is because the first time we had it was when a Dominican friend of ours invited us over when his family was in town. His mother made this amazing layered dish of plantains, ground beef, green beans, and egg. So when we got a cold and blustery winter-type Saturday instead of the 70-degree early spring the weatherman promised, it seemed like a fine opportunity to try it ourselves.

First, Gareth sliced the plantain and sauteed it in olive oil.

Plantains sauteed in olive oil

While the plantain was cooking, he made what can only be described as a pepper paste. He sliced up some jalapenos and green chilis and used the mighty Cuisinart Smart Stick food processor attachment to puree them with some garlic and white onion and leek. Then he cooked it for a few minutes on the stovetop. I tried some. It was hot.

Why my kitchen smells like mace

Brian Boru exhibits his superior olfactory senses

He replaced the ground beef with some finely chopped choice strip steak. 

Chopped steak

He then mixed the steak with the pepper paste.

Steak and pepper mixture

He transferred the plantains to a baking dish and then lightly cooked some green beans in the same pan with the remaining oil.

Green beans

He then layered the meat and green beans over the plantains.

Layers of plantain and steak with green beans in the background

For the egg layer, he used the immersion blender to combine a couple of eggs with some heavy cream, a spoonful of labne and some salt and pepper.

The egg mixture

He poured the egg over the other ingredients. 

Adding the egg

He then baked it all at 350 for about 45 minutes. It was served immediately and was delicious.

Golden and delicious

And, even though we spent twice as much on our ingredients as our Dominican friend's mother, we are still certain that hers is better, although our was still pretty darn good.

Choices

Two news items caught my attention this week, both presenting two very different approaches to weight loss and the obesity health epidemic in the United States. I'll start with what I consider the good news.

Foodista shared a story about Glee's Amber Riley (Mercedes). Lat year she gave up fast food, citing severe stomach pain. She replaced it with healthier food choices and dropped two sizes. If conventional wisdom is correct, that's about 20 pounds. And she looks better for it - not just smaller, but more healthy. And, according to her, that was the point - to get healthy. People Magazine has the full story.

The other story is about a controversial drug that was recently reviewed and re-approved by the FDA after previously being pulled off the market for an array of side effects, including heart problems and birth defects. According to NPR, the FDA reconsidered their previous ruling on Qnexa, stating that, in light of the obesity epidemic, the benefits outweigh the risks. The benefits are an estimated 3-10% loss of body weight. That means of you weigh 200 pounds, Qnexa could help you lose up to 20 pounds. Putting you at 180.

Which is what I weighed when I joined Weight Watchers in 2004. (For the record, I lost 35 pounds in three months using the Points system to keep track of my food and exercise.) As you might guess, I'm not a fan of using a drug when a lifestyle change will result in similar - and possibly permanent - results. Drugs have side-effects. As mentioned above, Qnexa is no exception.

With the re-approval of Qnexa, there are also recommendations for monitoring those taking the drug. These include limiting prescriptions to a 30-day supply and regular check-ups with a doctor. They also include regular pregnancy testing for women of child-bearing age to ensure pregnant women do not put their unborn at risk.

These are all very sensible precautions to have in place for a drug that still has some serious health concerns. But, here's the thing - if we are willing to take such extreme health risks to take a drug to lose weight, why not take the far less risky steps to just alter our eating and exercise habits? As Ms. Riley and many others have proven - it works.

What we weigh and how we feel are directly tied to how we treat our bodies. A steady diet of high-calorie food that contains additional chemicals to establish a consistent flavor that will last through deep freeze, miles of transportation, and a quick turn in the microwave cannot be good for us. If we do not know what's in our food, we do not know what we are putting into our bodies. And, if we feel lousy after we eat, we need to pay attention to that crappy feeling and make some changes. I'm with Ms. Riley. I gave up the crap and never looked back. Obesity has enough associated health risks. Why add to it with a drug that may only result in a 3% weight loss.

Nothing Says Love Like Pate

My faith strives to achieve a certain balance with nature. We cultivate a high regard for life, so when we take a life - whether plant or animal - it is imperative that we do not let anything go to waste as this shows a lack of respect for the life that was taken. My counterpart goes along with this, and as a result, I regularly get home made pate.

Pate is one of those fancy dishes that is actually easier to make than most people realize. It its simplest form, it is liver, flour, brandy, cream, fat, and seasoning. In keeping with the respectful aspects of my faith, my counterpart has expanded upon this basic theme, and now he uses a wide variety of giblets as the base, including turkey, rabbit, chicken, and anything else we have eaten recently. His choices for fat have included butter, bacon, duck grease, chicken fat skimmed off the stock pot, and rendered pig fat. He favors red onion and shallots and garlic along with salt and pepper for the seasoning.

It is also important to note that proper equipment is necessary for making pate. The main objective is to mix everything together into a paste, including the giblets. There will be casualties. Over the years, we've burnt out four immersion blenders and three food processors, and I think an ice blender in making pate. We are now on the mighty Cuisinart Smart Stick, and so far it is holding up.

First, you want to prep your veg - in this case, red onion, shallot, and garlic.

Shallot

Garlic

Red Onion

Prepped and Ready

Then, prep the giblets. To preserve the life of your kitchen gear, cut down the giblets into smaller pieces, and puree them in batches, transferring the puree to a larger container as you work.

Cut the giblets into small pieces

Puree them in small batches

And don't forget about the cat

The mighty Cuisinart Smart Stick

Add the remaining ingredients, paying close attention as you go. Pate is one of those things that is made by sight and smell, not by taste. Once you add the cognac, things will start to smell pretty good.

Heavy cream added before moving to a larger container

Separate the eggs as you will only need the yolk

Once things are transferred to the larger container, my counterpart switched to the immersion blender to mix the remaining ingredients. Use the blender to mix in each of the ingredients as you add them.

Mmmmmmmm cognac

Butter is our fat for today

Add a little salt

Add a little cake flour

Add a little olive oil

Add the veg

This is the right consistency

Pyrex or Corning Ware are excellent choices for baking pate. Line them with fat and bacon to help the pate release from the pan with it is done baking. We used butter and pancetta.

Lining the Pyrex

Pour the pate into the pan and bake at 350 until cooked through.

Mini-pate

To release the pate from the pan, place a plate over the top and flip it over. Set it down and let gravity work for you.

The pate is releaseing

Carefully remove the pan, shaking it gently to help the pate release. Serve with brie, chopped hard-boiled eggs, capers, and a baguette or water crackers.

Pate is served

Whoopie!!!!

IcedGems is now offering mini Whoopie pies. They are confection perfection.

Food Truck Sighting!

This week I was overjoyed to see the return of the GrrChe grilled cheese food truck to my work neighborhood. Turns out, they never really left. Neither have most of the food trucks. They have just moved further west of Central Avenue.

When I spoke with the operator of the GrrChe truck, he told a rather unfortunate tale of two groups who should be supporting each other for the greater good of the community but have a tenuous relationship at best, and sometimes downright hostility - the independent food truck operators who set up temporary shop in various neighborhoods throughout the city and the restaurant entrepreneur working to build a loyal following.

When the food truck rolls into my neighborhood, the block between of Fleet Street between Central and Exeter is prime real estate. There are two large office buildings on that block (including the one that houses my employer) full of corporate America looking for lunch. There is also one of my favorite local restaurateurs - The Bagby Restaurant Group. And it's a challenge to park on that block without ending up right in front of Bagby Pizza. If you were Mr. Bagby, what would you do? If you said "protect my investment", you're on the same page.

SouperFreak spent an abbreviated lunch hour on our block and has never returned. Last time I saw GrrChe, they were also in close proximity to the Bagby building. Now I heard this secondhand, but Mr. Bagby's alleged assertion is that the mobile food truck wins over customers - potentially his customers - without making the same financial investment in the neighborhood. Which is an interesting thought.

Which gave rise to another interesting thought. When I started considering lunch, I first visited the website for Bagby's TenTen Bistro to check the current menu and get a price check on their bison burger. When I stepped outside and saw the GrrChe truck parked on Central Ave, I made a B-line for the truck.

Did Bagby lose me as a customer? No - when I thought of lunch out, i thought of him first and will continue to do so. But why did he lose my business that day? Part of it is the food truck is a novelty. Many of them have a theme (like Haute Dog and the aforementioned SuperFreak) or an eclectic menu (The Gypsy Queen Cafe) that makes them unique. Plus they are mobile so when I see one in the neighborhood, I'm never sure when they will be back. And, with the impending snow already creeping into the air, what I really wanted was a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of tomato soup. This is not on Bagby's menu. And that's really the bottom line. GrrChe provides something the Bagby doesn't, and vice versa.

I strongly support both in their endeavors. I am also a regular patron of both types of business. I think they provide different services to the city. Their presence means a smaller market for The Cheesecake Factory and Hooters and Chipotle and other purveyors of culinary abominations. I'm sure there are loyalists in both camps, but I'm also sure there is a lot of crossover customers like  me. And, as any restaurateur can attest - people are fickle. I can change my mind in a moment. I did.

So while I continue to contemplate the state of the local food scene, feast your eyes on GrrChe's Grilled American on Sourdough with sliced tomato. It came with a piping hot cup of from-scratch tomato basil soup, a bag of Utz Kettle Crisps and the requisite deli pickle. It was, like my last GrrChe sandwich, cooked to perfection. And the gossip wasn't bad, either.

A Bento Lunch Experiment

The bento box has always appealed to me. I'm what's known as a sectional eater. If you serve me a meal of meat, veg, and starch, I'll turn my plate clockwise until the veg is closest to me and will proceed to eat one section at a time continuing clockwise around the plate. I also don't like my food to touch. This has fascinated my counterpart over the years, and he regularly prepares meals to thwart this tendency.

Given this quirk of mine, when I discovered bento boxes,  I felt like there was someone else out there who understood. The entire concept is ingenious - each item unique enough to stand on its own, placed in its own separated section of the box. If I had my way, all meals would be served in this manner.

Recently, through various food blogs, I've discovered the world of DIY bento - websites devoted to photos and ideas for turning standard lunch fare into a bento experience, extending the concept beyond Asian cuisine so that anything can become part of a bento box. This is my favorite food porn. I marvel at the creativity that goes into these lunches. The sheer artistry of the garnishes alone is breath-taking.Today I decided that it's time to give it a try.

My bento lunch is going to have a nice, wintery, Northern European feel. I'm making mini sandwiches that I'm going to pair with a fresh slaw. And I'm going to add a fruit section of tiny Mandarin orange sections. I'll use parchment paper between each section.

Mini Sandwiches

Nothing fancy here - just French baguette and kohlrabi, both sliced thin; mustard; brie; and Braunschweiger made into small, bite-sized sandwiches.

Slaw

My knife skills are not what they should be for this task, so I am using the not-very-chefy technique of the food processor. The slaw consists of apple, kohlrabi greens, carrot and a little shallot, tossed with some sushi vinegar and a little sugar. It's a little bitter from the greens and the shallot, but the apple and sugar cut this a bit.

Assembly

This was more challenging than I thought. I wanted to use the parchment paper to create individual compartments inside my Snapware but couldn't figure out how to do this. Once my counterpart realized what I was up to, he was so impressed with the creativity of this venture that he gladly lent an origami-skilled hand.

He made little boxes out of the parchment paper that will keep everything separate and even added little sheets of paper between each sandwich. Here's the finished product.

I can see that I have quite a way to go. While all the flavors should work well together, it's visually out of balance. And I didn't even attempt a garnish. But I did have fun, so I'll keep at it. For some real bento lunches, visit Gamene's photostream on Flickr and check Foodista for a weekly Bento Love posting.

What a Modern Scientific Age We Live In

I grew up during the glory days of the US space program. Born just a few years after we landed on the moon and coming of age during the heady heyday of the shuttle program, my childhood was marked by the changes to everyday life brought on by the technological advanced achieved as a result of our drive into space. My youth saw the an increased popularity of such scientific wonders as Tootsie rolls, Tang, and Teflon simply because they were associated with the astronauts. While Tootsie rolls have remained a unique feature in the US candy market, Tang launched a revolution in the beverage industry, giving rise to a whole subcategory of powdered drink mixes and opening the door for everything from Kool-Aid to Crystal Light. But it has been Teflon that has had the greatest impact, starting a chemical revolution and altering our home lives in ways we never could have predicted.

Teflon was trademarked in 1945 by a couple of chemists and was initially used to coat valves and bearings and seals where friction needed to be reduced. NASA used it on their heat shields and space suits, raising the profile of the product and its corporate owner DuPont. Since then, it has been used on a variety of common household items, most notably water-proof fabrics (like Gore-Tex), stain resistant carpeting and non-stick cookware.

The increasing presence of Teflon in our modern lives has had an unexpected consequence that has been making the news in recent weeks. It turns out that prolonged exposure to the chemical components in that non-stick coating result in an impaired immune system that does not respond to viral inoculations. The research that discovered this connection also discovered that these chemicals are now so widespread in our atmosphere that they can be found in the blood of polar bears. So, how does this happen?

For items like carpeting, every time you walk across the carpeted floor, you weaken the fibers and allow tiny particles to become airborne. You breathe them in, and they enter your bloodstream.

For items like non-stick cookware, the chemicals enter our system through our food. Here's something most people don't know - if you let your non-stick pans get too hot, the lining starts to break down, and the chemicals are leeched into the food you're cooking. Even worse is when you use metal utensils or stack your non-stick pans - you are scratching the finish and allowing particles to break off and enter your food.

So how did non-stick pans end up on the market anyway if they present this health risk? Here's another thing most people don't realize - they come with instructions. I am a fan of the stuff. I think there is a place for Teflon in the kitchen - think omelets, crepes, French toast. These are all items that should be cooked over fairly low heat and under close monitoring - perfect for a non-stick pan that will allow your food to slide nicely onto the plate. If you read the instructions on your non-stick cookware, the manufacturer has let you know that your pan should not be used for high-heat cooking. There's a different pan for that - cast iron or anodized aluminum.

Instructions on Wegman's non-stick frying pans

If you use non-stick bakeware, stop. There's little control over how hot it gets once it's in that oven. If you don't want to grease your bakeware, use parchment paper.

Even if you are cooking at home, the best way to stay healthy is to know and understand what's in your kitchen - the ingredients you buy as well as the tools you use.

Not All Carrot Cake is Created Equal

I have never met a carrot cake I could refuse (see here and here and here). I am also an unapologetic cupcake lover. You may remember my cupcake fixation of last summer and the regular Friday visits to the IcedGems cupcake truck that parks outside my office (see here and  here and here). Part of this weekly habit included lengthy discussions with the IcedGems employee within about the merits of carrot cake. Even though I gave up the cupcake habit several months ago, I walked out to the truck last week with a colleague. And, even though I didn't buy anything, I did pitch my weekly appeal for carrot cake.

This week, my efforts paid off. As I strolled past the truck during my lunchtime outing, I spotted on the menu the long awaited carrot cake.

A few moments and about $3 later (the price was recently increased), I had my IcedGems carrot cake in hand. The guy in the truck let me know that my persistance was one of the reasons for the carrot cake addition. He says that the owners of IcedGems take their customers' options very seriously and value their high regard. I have to admit I find this to be a sound business practice, especially since they decided to agree with me.

Back at my desk, I lapsed into another "bad" habit and promptly wipped out the iPhone to take some photos, and my apologies for the poor quality. It's unfortunate that my current life prohibits me from taking the Canon 7D everywhere. Believe me, I would if I could.

The cupcake was much smaller than usual, but the exterior looked as appealing and promising as always. It was crowned with a perfect dollop of icing and an attractive garnish. I liked that they substituted sprinkles for the more traditional icing carrot, too, for the whimsical aesthetic it presents - very much in keeping with their overall image.

The promise of impending satisfaction

Now, after months of customer devotion to these guys, and a consistent level of satisfaction, my expectations were pretty high. I was braced for a little disappointment when the guy in the truck warned me of the raisins at the time of purchase. Even so, I was not prepared for the sheet volume of raisins - both regular and golden - that filled the cupcake. That, combined with a very coarse grate of carrot, made for a less than satisfying carrot cake experience for several reasons:

1. All that fruit weighs down the cake batter and prevents the normal leavening that occurs during the baking process. You end up with a short, squat cake that is missing that delectable golden mound of cake rising up out of the cupcake paper. If it's the best part of the muffin, it's certainly the best part of the cupcake.
2. It also interferes with the texture of the cake and weakens the crumb. Usually when I get a cupcake, I break off the top. This is partly to test the texture of the cake, and partly because it makes it easier to eat. A good cupcake should have a nice separation point just below the mark left by the paper cup, leaving two complete halves. Some crumb is nice, but a crumble is a sign of a dry cake. The IcedGems carrot cake did not want to separate. It took great care on my part to remove the crown without destroying it altogether. This is what too much stuff can do to a cake. 
3. It mutes the wonderful flavor of what is usually a very nice cake. Similar to the CakeLove carrot cake, the IcedGems carrot cake was just plain overstuffed. Which is unfortunate because they really do make the best cake in town. And the actual cake part of their carrot cake was excellent. It was spicy with nutmeg and cinnamon and what tasted like a hint of ginger and was the most perfectly-spiced carrot cake I've ever had.

There's more raisin than cake

The icing was also spot-on - dense and tangy with cream cheese that coated the inside of my mouth and clung to my teeth as they cried out in agony. This slightly-tart, supremely-sweet icing was the perfect complement to their wonderfully-earthy, perfectly-spiced cake.

IcedGems is still my favorite guilty pleasure. I will continue to bring my coworkers out to their truck on Friday afternoons. As I recover from the endless January flu, I'll probably break a couple of Resolutions and resume my Friday habit.

I'm also quite happy that they presented me with a carrot cake option today. There are few things as valuable as a business that listens to their customers. IcedGems is not only a superlative bakery, but a contientious business and a vital component of the Baltimore food scene.

Winter Roots: Kohlrabi

I remember as a child growing up in Green Bay going to the farmer's market and spending my allowance on any number of things. Thus typically included a kohlrabi that I ate on the walk home, skin and all. One of the neighborhood moms would peel it, slice it, and serve it to us with a little salt and pepper. Given its prominence in my formative years, I was surprised when my counterpart had never tried it.

Kohlrabi is one of those nice starchy, peppery root vegetables similar to a turnip. The name is German and loosely translates to "cabbage turnip". This is fitting as it tastes like the perfect blend of the two. It belongs to the same coniferous family as cabbage, cauliflower, and - my personal favorite - Brussel sprouts. It can be used in a similar manner in soups and sides.

It's also fairly versatile. It is more tender and less bitter than turnips, and not as forward as radishes, making it a nice choice for salads. If you want that crunchy peppery radish quality in your salad but without the pungency, kohlrabi is a good choice. The greens are also edible and provide an interesting note. A note, though, that the greens are similar to other vegetables in this family - kale, turnip, and collard greens. While not as bitter as these, there is a similar flavor and texture, so mixing with other more mild greens is recommended.

When cooked, kohlrabi has a wide range of flavors and textures, depending on how long you cook it. A quick saute slightly mutes the raw flavor, but a longer fry or oven roast brings out an unexpected sweetness. If you are using it as a side dish, having a mix of kohlrabi in various stages of the cooking process will yield a flavorful medley. It also mixes well with other roots like celeriac, turnip, and carrot.

If you're into root veggies during the cold dark winter days (and many of us seasonal eaters are), add this veg into the mix. Here are some recipe suggestions from Simply Recipes.

Homemade Pasta

One of the easiest things to make from scratch at home is pasta. The ingredient list is similar to pie crust - flour, fat and a little liquid - but unlike pie crust, pasta is forgiving, which gives you a lot of room to play around. And fresh pasta is infinitely superior to the dried stuff in the cardboard box, but also quite a step up from the stuff in the dairy case.

The basic recipe that my counterpart uses is the egg noddle recipe that came with the pasta attachment to our Kitchen-Aid mixer. He's committed it to memory, so he no longer bothers with the recipe. Or the Kitchen-Aid for that matter.

Start with a couple of handfuls of flour and a couple of eggs and mix vigorously by hand on a large cutting board. Incidentally, he uses the same board for pasta that I use for pie crust. Basic all-purpose flour is a good choice. You can add a little of another variety for a different texture. My counterpart has included whole wheat, buckwheat and oat at various times.






Add some oil, a little at a time, and continue kneading the dough.









You should have a little water nearby. Add the water until the dough is firm yet elastic and not sticky. At this point, you can also add some herbs and seasoning.














Roll it into a ball and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then roll and cut.



Now here's a secret. You don't really need any fancy equipment. You can roll it out on your cutting board and cut it with your chef's knife.






My counterpart was making orzo to go with my birthday venison on this occasion. The device he is using below is another quality find from Warehouse Restaurant Equipment in Green Bay.




Remove from the cutting board and boil.




Note that the fresh pasta will cook quicker that the dried stuff in the cardboard box. It will also hold a sauce better. If you have leftovers, you need to eat them within a couple of days.

Diva Deen's Diabetic Decision

I admit, I am not a fan of Paula Deen's style of butter-laden down-home cooking. I have always watched her show from the safety of the high horse of the treadmill, getting a perverse motivation out of watching her take too-big bites of heart-stopping culinary messes to run harder, faster, longer. I am most definitely not her target audience. Yet, even from that comfortable distance, I noticed a change in her.

In December, her program featured clips from previous shows to showcase her favorite holiday recipes. And the differences over the years was remarkable. Just a few years ago, she was a pleasantly plump Southern matron with a sparkle in her eye. As each season's recipe was aired, I watched as she got progressively bigger. But I also noticed heavier makeup as the ruddiness in her cheeks diminished, and that twinkle in her eye dimming. So, I was not surprised by her announcement that she has Type 2 diabetes.

I am surprised by her decision to medicate and to not alter her trademark lifestyle. Type 2 diabetes is directly related to lifestyle and can very often be treated (and eliminated) through some basic lifestyle changes. She has built a reputation and a following on dietary excess, and there's probably a percentage of her fanbase that finds themselves in her same condition. This places her in a prime position to perform a much-needed public service.

Paula Deen is unarguably a kitchen diva. Whether you cringe at her food like I do, or swear by her recipes, she is engaging and entertaining. And trusted. I believe she has something unique to offer in the growing arena of down-home cooking with a healthy make-over. Watching her restore her health through updating her favorite recipes for our obesity-prone era would make for interesting viewing, too.

But, she has chosen to partner with Novo Nordisk and has become a spokesperson for their diabetes medication. Granted, these medications are a godsend for many who are unable to reduce their weight and reverse the damage that has already been done. And maybe Paula Deen falls into this camp. Maybe it will take a decade of lifestyle changes for her to get healthy. Even so, the two approaches are not mutually exclusive.

Diabetes can have some debilitating consequences. My thoughts and prayers are with Paula Deen, her family, and her staff as she starts down the long road of healing. I'll be tuning in to her show - probably a little more often - to see how she's doing. Hopefully she will address her lifestyle. Both her and her fans would benefit.

Some Notes on Food Photography

I dedicated considerable time this long holiday weekend to improving my photography skills. The new camera provides an opportunity to cultivate new habits. Plus the differences between the old and the new have made it necessary.

So, first some notes on the upgrade. I have a Canon 10D. It's served me well for the better part of a decade in the realm of nature photography, out in the open where there is plenty of good, bright, natural lighting. Until the New Year's Even posting, it was not used in conjunction with this blog. In its day, it was a high-end prosumer product - better than the Rebel but not as good as the low-end professional gear. It had the same ability to manually set the camera, but the menuing was arcane. The professional photographer who taught the mini-course I took at the Y last spring was even baffled. Given the lack of understanding about my camera, I relied heavily on the "training wheels" - the settings familiar to many of us:

The Canon 10D - complete with training wheels

Enter the 7D. This is a step (or maybe two) up from the 10D as Canon no longer makes an equivalent. The 60D is the closest approximation, but after doing a little research, it's actually much closer to the Rebel than it is to the 10D. So, we seriously upgraded. Gone are the training wheels, but in exchange I have a menuing system that I understand and can actually use:

The Canon 7D - a whole lot of auto settings eliminated

So that got me moving in the right direction. The first thing I found was the white balance. Then I started manually setting my aperture and f-stop. All of this improved the quality of my food shots. The red influence from our halogen track lighting was diminished, and the shots started looking a bit sharper.

Poor white balance - default setting

Better white balance - set for Tungsten lighting in my halogen-lit kitchen

The next step was the introduction of the tripod. I've always been a hand-held photographer, believing I'll get that perfect shot only if I have the freedom to capture the subject from all possible angles as quickly as possible. While this may work for shooting flowers and butterflies, it does not work for shooting food.

But not all tripods are created equal. Stability is important, even if you are on level ground inside the house and everyone else is in bed asleep. The earth has energy, and, if you're using a crap tripod or an unstable setup, subtle vibrations will throw your image right out of focus. you should be able to see into the view finder without standing on tip-toe. Once the focal point, aperture and f-stop are set to your liking, it's hands-off except to click the shutter and take the shot.

Poor tripod setup

Stable tripod setup

With a good tripod and a better understanding of aperture priority, I was able to alter the f-stop and play around with the focal points of my shots, moving away from the pin-point focus and fuzzy background to a more evenly-focused image.

That lighting remains an issue, though. Unless you can block off all natural light, things are going to change throughout the course of a shoot. My pie crust posting is a perfect example. During the 30 minutes that my dough was resting, something happened to the ambient sunlight. And, here's another lesson - because I was multi-tasking, I was more focused on the pie crust than on the photography and did not fully appreciate the depreciated lighting until I downloaded my images.

Beginning of shoot - approximately 3:30 PM

About 45 minutes later - much of the natural light is gone but I am too busy baking to notice

End of shoot - about 5:30 PM, no natural light left but no change to white balance settings either

I still have a long way to go. Looking at the work of others, it seems that white balance, aperture, f-stop, and stability are not enough. The best food photos have diffused light. A Fervent Foodie post last week provides instruction on creating a home lighting kit. I think that's my next task.

Easy as Pie?

There are some who would say the term "easy as pie" comes from the ease at which one can make a pie crust from scratch. The simplest recipe I know comes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook Sixth Edition (circa 1986) and contains all of three ingredients: flour, shortening and a little ice water. Simple, but deceptively so. One wrong move spells disaster. I once made this pie crust with the wrong flour and was doomed. I was on a white whole wheat kick and had been getting really nice results with breads and other baked goods. In pie crust, however, the results I got could have been used to patch the roof.

So, when making pie crust from scratch, it is important to follow the recipe, especially if you are new to this. After a little practice, you get a feel for what the tolerances are, and you can deviate all you like. My counterpart puts egg in his crust.

Also many people fear the home made pie crust due to the potential mess. With the right  equipment, the clean up is a snap.

And, it really is worth the effort. The pre-made frozen crusts are a convenience, but once you fill one of them with a nice, made from scratch filling, all those additives in the crust really stand out. A few years ago, I was a judge for a holiday bake-off at work. All entries were to be made from scratch. One woman entered a really lovely chocolate silk pie that she did indeed make from scratch. Except for the crust. Next to her superior filling, the phony crust was obvious.

For this afternoon's pie, I turned to another reliable standby, The Joy of Cooking Cookbook (1997 edition) and made the Deluxe Butter Flaky Pastry Dough.

First, the tools:

In addition to my measuring cups and flour sifter, I have a pastry blender, a silicon rolling pin, a large plastic cutting board, and a pie mat. These are basics in making a pie crust without making a mess.

Next, lightly mix together:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (unless the recipe states otherwise, this is the flour to use)

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

Then add 2 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter. I cut mine into smaller pieces as it makes the next step easier.

There are a couple of approaches to blending the cold, hard butter into the flour mixture. You can use a butter knife, but this will take a good bit of time and is a bit of a pain in the ass. Or, you can use the pastry blender. A poor one will not make much difference. A good one will make all the difference in the world. If you're serious about baking and doing things from scratch, this is a sound investment.

The concept is to break up the butter into small pieces that are coated with flour without softening the butter too much. A chopping motion is very effective. You should end up with pieces about the size of peas.

You should have 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice-cold water nearby. Drizzle the 1/3 cup into the dough. At this point, I prefer to work it by hand, which I readily admit is a tad messy. Keep it in the bowl and the mess is contained. Also do not do a full-on knead like you're making bread. The objective is to just get things to stick together - any heavier working changes the composition of the flour, and your crust will be nothing better than subflooring material.

Once you can form a ball with the dough, you're done. Clumps of butter are desirable here.

Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes before rolling it out. You can set it right in the refrigerator, or wrap it in plastic wrap first. While it is resting, prepare your filling.

A big help in rolling out a pie crust (or any other dough) are a silicon rolling pin and a pie mat. The dough won't stick to them the way it will to other surfaces, and these items are easier to clean that a wooden rolling pin and your countertop. Plus, the pie mat has circles that correspond to common sizes of pie plates.

So, ideally, your ball of dough will roll out into a perfect fit for your pie plate.

Even if you have superior tools like these, you will still need some flour. My preferred method is to drop a small handful of flour on top, flatten the ball slightly, flip it over, and repeat. This covers the surface area of the dough and the mat. Roll the dough out from the center to the edges until you have enough to cover the surface of your pie plate.

I got my dough just about evenly rolled to the corresponding circle for my pie plate. Just to make sure, this is also a good visual technique.

There is also a trick to getting it from the pie mat into the pie plate. I do not have photos as I was working solo. Basically, you place parchment paper over the rolled out crust. Then, place the large plastic cutting board over the parchment paper. Placing one hand on top of the cutting board, gently lift the mat off the counter top and flip the whole thing over so that the map is on the top. Place everything back on the counter top and peel the mat off of the dough. Gently flip it over again onto your pie plate with the cutting board now on top. Remove the board and the parchment paper, and the hard part is over. And you will notice that most of the flour is either on the crust or on the mat, not all over the counter or the floor or you.

Use your fingers to shape the dough into the plate, filling in any gaps. Then, trim the overhang with a knife and press the edges into the rim of the plate. And, you can do what my mother always used to do with the trimmings: lay them on a metal cookie sheet, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, and bake until golden. These are a nice treat and a good preview of your crust before you serve it to others.

You can either pre-bake your crust or fill it right away. If you pre-bake it, you'll need to add weight to it to prevent it from bubbling up. You can buy pie weights if you like. These are just metal balls that fill a pie plate. Or, you can take another hint from my mom and just use a cup or so of dried  beans. Note that once the beans are used for this purpose, they can't really be used for anything else. Store them in a container with your other baking supplies until needed.

I made the filling and crumb topping from the Apple Sour Cream Pie recipe in my good old Betty Crocker Cookbook and baked as instructed.

Happy Long Weekend!

How to Bind Meat

I am admittedly a bit of a tourist in the kitchen. I wander around with my camera and take pictures of all the pretty sights but usually leave for more familiar terrain pretty quickly. My counterpart over at Very Chefy is a full-time resident and probably the Grand Marshall. He is responsible for the majority of food seen here and on my Facebook page.

With the acquisition of the mighty Canon 7D and my excitement to get familiar with it, we embarked on a joint venture this evening. We picked up a couple of Porterhouse steaks during last night's grocery shopping and decided to work on our meat binding and photography skills together.

Mis en Place

First, Gareth made a filling out of leek, shallot, blue cheese, and butter. The idea is that as the meat roasts, the filling melts and provides additional flavor to the meat. He used a rubber spatula to cream everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Then he cut the steak off the bones, taking care to ensure he had several large pieces of meat.

He layered the meat and the filling together until he had a pile of meaty-shalloty-cheesy goodness.

Then, using kitchen twine, he very carefully bound it all together for cooking. If this process looks a bit like macrame or crochet, it is similar. The trick is to create loops and to loop back on yourself, creating a large-weave, custom-knit netting around your meat.

Once bound, he seasoned it with a little salt and pepper.

With a nice pan-searing in olive oil, it was ready for a quick 10-minute roast in a hot oven. He placed the meat on a small rack inside a heavy pan for the roasting as with the rabbit and Frenched rack of lamb.

When the meat was roasted to his satisfaction, he removed it from the oven and transferred it to a ceramic plate to cool for a few minutes. Using kitchen shears and tongs, he carefully cut and removed the twine.

The meat was sliced and served with mashed potatoes seasoned with goat butter, leek, and shallot.

During this whole process, I took about a jillion photos. I'll post a gallery of my favorites in my Picasa gallery. Look for the link on my Facebook page.

Know What You're Eating: Italian Soda

I really like the Archer Farms Italian soda at Target. My week-long battle with the flu included several bottles of the Blood Orange variety. One look at the list of ingredients and it appears to be a fairly rational choice. It also gave me the impression that all Italian soda was made this way.

Italian soda from Target

Wow, I know what all the ingredients are

So last night we were doing the weekly shopping at Wegman's. I am still totally parched most of the time as the virus stages its last hurrah, and I decided I needed a beverage for the drive home. In the convenience cooler at the check-out, I found Blood Orange Italian soda and grabbed a bottle.

It tasted quite different. When we got home, I checked the label and found a very different list of ingredients.

Italian soda from Wegman's

WTF????

That's a lot of crap! Why do you need stabilizers in soda? And what is Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin?

This is one of those ingredients that some clever marketer should have renamed by now. It's also challenging to find any real information as to what it actually is. While Wikipedia lists a high number of beverages that contain it, it only states that it is used as an emulsifier. Which sounds innocuous enough, but why would you need that in soda?

AnswerBag has a listing of what it is made from, albeit very scientifically. Basically, it appears to be pine rosin harvested from the stumps of trees. If this calls to mind such household items as turpentine, it isn't exactly the same. But, according to AnswerBag, it is a common component of things like floor wax. Even if it is a different grade of the stuff, I'm not entirely comfortable with the cross-over of cleaning products into food products. 

I'm also not sure why the Wegman's product needs a stabilizer and the Target product does not. If it's not needed, why add it? And, even if you trust the source, always read those food labels.