sprinklefingers

Valentine fortune cookies. Recipe and (amazing) ideas coming...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:51:44 -0500

Valentine fortune cookies.
Recipe and (amazing) ideas coming soon.

For the love of cookbooks

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:09:09 -0500

Back in November of ‘09 The New Yorker ran a piece by Adam Gopnik about a/our/his/my love of cookbooks. It’s a fantastic piece of writing and does an excellent job of breaking down the equation of our love of cookbooks divided by the recipes multiplied by our actual ability to cook and then equalling the fact that recipes in books aren’t the food itself. There’s a major gap between the recipe and the end result - and the way Gopnik describes it is certainly worth reading…In fact, I insist you read it!

Here’s the paragraph that really made an impact on me:

Handed-down wisdom and worked-up information remain the double piers of a cook’s life. The recipe book always contains two things: news of how something is made, and assurance that there’s a way to make it, with the implicit belief that if I know how it is done I can show you how to do it. The premise of the recipe book is that these two things are naturally balanced; the secret of the recipe book is that they’re not. The space between learning the facts about how something is done and learning how to do it always turns out to be large, at times immense. What kids make depends on what moms know: skills, implicit knowledge, inherited craft, buried assumptions, finger know-how that no recipe can sum up. The recipe is a blueprint but also a red herring, a way to do something and a false summing up of a living process that can be handed on only by experience, a knack posing as a knowledge. We say “What’s the recipe?” when we mean “How do you do it?” And though we want the answer to be “Like this!” the honest answer is “Be me!” “What’s the recipe?” you ask the weary pro chef, and he gives you a weary-pro-chef look, since the recipe is the totality of the activity, the real work. The recipe is to spend your life cooking.

I really think this is fascinating stuff - especially when he pulls in the added layer of kids - he says, “what kids make depends on what moms know.” It’s true, isn’t it? I can pretend all I want that my own kid is developing his own sense of taste and his own love of creating food - but at the end of the day I know I’m the one making cooking fun for him. I’m the person who is developing his sense of self in the kitchen. And while we look at cookbooks (and sometimes read them as bedtime stories) often, no recipe can do what our time in the kitchen together can. The recipe is to spend your life cooking.

Fascinating indeed.

Ham & Bean soup. Or, as I like to call it, What in the Heck Do I Do With These Ham Bits? Soup.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:34:54 -0500

We cut a lot of ham at the bakery.
And, of course, I use that “we” in a completely royal sense because I actually do no cutting of ham myself. We have a meat slicer (a device, not a person) and we get these giant hams in from one of our purveyors - and really, it takes a special person to do all that cutting - and I’ll freely admit that I’m not that special person.
So, while the meat is being sliced (by a person using a device,) I’ll busy myself with other things that make me look extremely busy. Like, say, reviewing invoices. Or eating lunch.

After the ham is cut there are always scraps and odd bits left over that we affectionately (of course) refer to as ham bits. The ham bits are stuffed into bags and then stuck in the freezer (did you know you can freeze ham AND its bits? You can!) After that, the fate of the ham bits lies in the hands of our employees. Ham bits for all! I have personally taken a dozen or so bags of ham bits home from the bakery in order to turn them into something more than just scraps and odd bits - but how often does one need to incorporate ham bits into their everyday cooking? Not very often.

Until, of course, I remembered soup. SOUP! Ham loves soup and soup loves ham! So, I created a very special soup based on the abundance of ham bits I have in my life. (And, seriously, if you’re ever in the neighborhood of SW 12th & Morrison in Portland, stop in to see me - I’ll give you your very own bag of ham bits. And you can also have a cookie.)

Ham & Bean Soup
featuring ham bits!
serves 12 (yes, this makes a giant pot of soup!)

This soup requires that you soak dried beans overnight. No problem! Just rinse your beans well, put them in a giant bowl and cover them by a few inches with cold water. Then leave them on the counter overnight.

You need:

4 cups mixed dried beans, soaked overnight.
- Choose from: black beans, black eyed peas, white beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans, pinto beans or gigante beans…there are a lot of dried beans in the world, so pick the ones you like - 4 cups of them, mixed - and soak them in plenty of water overnight.
3-4 cups chopped ham bits - any fatty or unsightly parts of a ham you’ve trimmed away would be perfect. (No ham bits? Use a hock!)
3 bay leaves
5 quarts water
3-4” piece of parmesan rind

Start the soup:

Put everything in the above list in your largest soup pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add to the soup:

Dice a yellow onion. Put it in a sauté pan set over medium-low heat and let it gently caramelize with a tiny glug of olive oil. Once the onion has caramelized and there are bits of brown stuck to the pan, deglaze the pan with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Remove the onions from the heat and add to the soup.
8 oz good quality tomato sauce
14 oz diced, fire roasted tomatoes
a few good grinds of black pepper
a glug of balsamic vinegar
two good pinches of kosher salt
3/4 t cumin
1/4 t Hungarian paprika
1/4 t allspice
1/8 t cloves

Once you’ve added all of the above to the soup and have stirred well, continue to simmer for 30-45 minutes until the flavors have melded and the beans are perfectly biteable. Fish out the parm rind and any strange bits of ham. Adjust the seasonings and you’re ready to enjoy.

Now you’ve got a lot of soup on your hands! I suggest refrigerating one half and freezing the other. The refrigerated half will result in at least two good dinners. And having soup in the freezer means dinner in flash when you’re short on time.

Oh, and, I’ve made this soup quite a few times, making tweaks along the way. Here are some variations that have worked splendidly:

For part of your dried bean mix, use lentils. They will basically break down completely and make the soup a great deal thicker. Yum! And comforting when it’s cold out.
When it comes time to serve the soup, place a nest of ribbon-cut raw kale in the bottom of each bowl. This pumps up the nutritional value of the soup AND adds a crunchy, zesty element to the soup.
For an even meatier dish, add cooked sausage to each bowl at serving time.

Cookies as far as the eyes can see…

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:23:00 -0500

Cookies as far as the eyes can see…

I need more popcorn in my life.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:52:40 -0500

I had completely forgotten about popcorn.

Two weeks ago I was sorting through some of the (limitless) stuff in my office (the majority of it cooking/catering related) I found a never-before-opened-new-in-the-box popcorn maker! I had apparently purchased it, tucked it away and promptly forgotten about it. The receipt craftily tapped to the top of the box told me that I had done so approximately three (!!) years ago. What the?

Anyways, I busted the machine out of the box and noted that it wasn’t an air popper (honestly, it was like I had never seen the thing before. I literally have zero recollection of buying it,) but instead it’s the type that you pour a spot of oil into a pan and then add the popping corn and then a tiny arm stirs it all up and then it starts popping. (Yes, I realize I’m describing this device as if popcorn making is a second language. But to tell you the truth to me it kind of is.)

I went out immediately and bought popping corn. Then I came home and the kid and I made popcorn. I have to admit, making popcorn (not in the microwave!) with a kid is pretty satisfying. He told me himself that no matter how many times he sees popcorn pop open from a kernel to a fluffy cloud of yummy (his words, for real), he’ll never get tired of it. “It’s just like watching magic happen. Right in your face,” he said.

Since our first batch we’ve made a lot of popcorn. This past weekend we hosted a birthday dinner party for a dear friend of ours and the kid was on hors d’oeuvres duty. I told him he could think up any pre-dinner snacks he’d like and we’d make them together. His choices? Toasted brioche, peanut butter smeared on crackers topped with salt and (of course) popcorn. “But we’ve got to fancy-it-up a little bit mom. Let’s make it special.”

To me, nothing says fancy like truffle oil and good salt. So, armed with our popcorn popper, a bottle of oil and a bowl of salt, we produced the most delicious batch of fancy pants popcorn you could ever imagine. Rich and earthy because of the special oil and salty because we broke out our stash of fancy red clay salt from the land of Hawaii. See, fancy! I told you!

Truffle Oil Popcorn with Sea Salt
makes 6 quarts popped

You need:

a device for popping corn - machine, stovetop, whatever.
2 large bowls
2/3 cup popping corn
truffle oil (a small bottle will last you forever and you will be beside yourself with joy when you start adding truffle oil to your favorite foods.)
fine sea salt

To make the popcorn:

Following the instructions for your particular machine (or on the stovetop in the smallest amount of oil,) pop the 2/3 cup of popcorn.
Once the popcorn is popped, divide it between the two large bowls and sprinkle each bowl of ‘corn with a small amount of truffle oil. Then sprinkle it with sea salt to taste.
Dig in to the first bowl with your hands and lightly toss the popcorn over and over and over until the truffle oil is evenly dispersed. Repeat with second bowl. Taste. If either bowl needs more oil or salt, add it now.
Invert one bowl of popcorn over the other so that the popcorn slides in to one bowl. Next, place the empty bowl on top of the first bowl to make a lid. Gently shake the popcorn within the two bowls to ensure that the oil is distributed - that way each and every bite will be truffley and salty. Divine!

Of course there are one million and one ways to fancy-up popcorn. From nutritional yeast to cinnamon ‘n sugar, the possibilities are seriously endless. But for now we’re sticking with fancy pants truffle oil popcorn because it goes so well with our two favorite beverages: apple juice (the kid) and champagne (me). Delicious.

Food + Math

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:58:00 -0500

Oooh! Wired recently posted a very clever and interesting and science-y piece on food. And cooking. And whether or not there are components of ingredients that make them more compatible with other ingredients. It sounds confusing coming from me, so you should just go read the article. The science guys explain it really well.

Here’s a tricky looking diagram that supposedly explains the whole thing (click on it to head to the article):

In case you missed it

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:02:29 -0500

Not to bore you or anything, but I came across another must read piece - this time a not-so-flattering look at the Zagat empire.

You know Zagat - it’s the dinosaur of customer-based restaurant reviews. Printed in actual books and only recently available on your handheld device…so quaint!

Anyways, this bit of (seriously almost) investigative journalism comes from the Washington CityPaper. And I know you’re going to find it interesting. I know I did.

Here’s the opening paragraph:

The Zagat guide turned 30 years old this year, and in honor of the occasion, I’d like to give founders Tim and Nina Zagat a hearty thanks for all their years of service to the restaurant industry. And, if I may, I’d like to offer some friendly advice, too: You can go away now.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to work where I’m putting the finishing touches on my latest scone creation - dark chocolate & cherry with coconut. Breakfast never sounded better to me!

Localbore

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:45:55 -0500

Don’t get me wrong. I completely-wholeheartedly-100% agree with trying to eat foods that were grown around here. That’s how I shop - it’s how I cook - it’s how I eat.

That said, yesterday did I buy a package of heirloom quinoa that most certainly wasn’t grown around here? I did. Do I still occasionally have ice cream shipped across the country from my favorite ice creamery in Ohio? I do. Does my sister send me tiny jars of roasted thai chile paste (I also refer to this substance as ‘crack’) from the best place for Thai food in Austin, Texas? She does. Do I feel guilty about these transgressions?

Not really.

I mean, what’s the difference between me buying ice cream from Ohio and you buying books from Amazon.com instead of your independent and local bookseller? Not much. Except a pint of ice cream tastes way better than a copy of Swamplandia! (although I just finished reading it and it really was quite good.)

We’re all in charge of our own spending. And our own supporting. Would it be ~~good~~ great to always do the right local thing? Of course it would. But if you have interests in food outside of your own town or if you just can’t bring yourself to pay higher-than-Amazon prices for books - I so totally get it.

There was this really funny piece in GQ not too long ago where the author challenged himself to eat foods from as far away as possible - he called it The FedEx Meal Plan. Do yourself a favor and read it. Not only is it a great piece of food writing, it’s also utterly endearing.

Here’s the opening paragraph:

ONE SHOULD NEVER underestimate the value of having friends whose first reaction, when you tell them you need two In-N-Out burgers FedExed from Los Angeles to New York by the next morning, is to ask, “Regular or Double-Double?” These are the kind of people with whom you’d be happy to share either a foxhole or a beer, the kind you know would be willing to follow you into any drunkenly conceived, willfully contrary, possibly wrongheaded, and certainly obnoxious scheme you’d manage to dream up. I happen to have such friends (their names are Oliver and Sarah), and I happened to have had such a scheme. It was this: To get as many foods as possible, from all over the world, sent overnight via FedEx to my home in Brooklyn.

Happy reading!

Resolutions. Goals. Delicious meals.

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:32:39 -0500

Like I said before, I don’t really make resolutions.
Now that we’re in the third week of 2012, I’m mighty glad about that. Everywhere around me I’ve seen resolutions crashing and burning.

As for my goal of cutting out half & half? Well, the first week of it was really tough, but I did it. No half & half for a week. The second week I allowed myself two cups of coffee during the week that each contained one tablespoon of the ~~good~~ completely-amazing-oh-my-god-how-I-miss-it stuff. And this week I plan to treat myself to two to three tablespoons as well. How indulgent!

Something I’ve realized in all of this?
I’m really good at quitting! (I plan to add quitting to the list of things I do well. Right now that list also includes sleeping and walking.)

Quitting is easy! Especially when I have motivation. Here’s an example:

Facebook. While this may come as a shock to you, I am not on Facebook. This sentence surprises even me when I read it. I mean, I was, basically, the Queen of Facebook. If I did something even remotely interesting, I Facebooked about it. Most of my thoughts came in status updates. I found myself doing things on purpose so that they’d make a good Facebook story. I had hundreds of friends who were actually my friends, I commented on their cute kid photos, I drooled over snaps of what people were having for dinner, I laughed at all their jokes. Facebook was the first thing I checked in the morning and the last thing I checked at night. Madness!

Much like my half & half situation, I was addicted to Facebook.

But not anymore.

Here’s what I did. For two weeks I tracked how much time I spent on Facebook. Whether it was via my mobile phone or my laptop, I made a note of how much time I spent wandering aimlessly through the cyber lives of my friends. And it added up to a lot of time. Let me say that again: It added up to so much time that I started feeling guilty. Who was I to complain about my busy life if I was spending hours Facebooking? Madness indeed.

But this madness served as my motivation. Just like after seeing how many calories a day I was consuming in half & half alone, the hours I was logging on Facebook - and the thought of gaining those hours of my life back - served as my motivation.

So, I quit. I deactivated my account.

And then the withdrawals set in. At first it was like an unpleasant itch that I couldn’t scratch. Like, right under my bra strap in the middle of my back. And then it was like I was covered in poison ivy from head to toe. I missed Facebook so much. I was still thinking all my thoughts in status updates, but I didn’t have any place to put those thoughts. I felt lost. It was seriously weird.

But, the fact that I missed it so much didn’t push me back to Facebook - instead it bolstered my resolve and served as proof that I was making the right decision! Yes! You can turn off your main source of communication with your friends who are scattered worldwide and still be fine! Yes, you can miss out on the latest YouTube sensation that until now you’d only find out about on Facebook. Yes, you CAN (and I seriously mean this) go a day without reading about the political opinions of friends. And, yes, you can put your phone down and connect with your kid or your husband or your friends - face to face with no electronic device necessary.

Freedom.

So, I’m spending 2012 with less half & half and no Facebook. Unbelievable.

If Facebook was still a part of my life I would tell all my friends about this delicious dish we had for dinner a few nights ago. And everyone would have commented about how delicious it sounded. Or about how they wanted me to adopt them. Or something like that…

Sweet Potatoes & Kale in Coconut Milk
Serves 6

The stars of this dish are earthy, roasted sweet potatoes and braised kale - add in a rich (and some might say decadent) coconut broth with some slabs of pan-fried tofu and you’ve got an easy one-bowl-meal that anyone would be happy to sit down to on a blustery January night.

The recipe may seem long, but I have given you some tips for do-ahead work. If you do some of it ahead the whole thing will come together quicker than you can imagine on the night you plan to eat it - I promise.

You need:

1 lb firm tofu, drained
4 medium sweet potatoes, washed/unpeeled and cut into 6 wedges each
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 bunch of kale, washed/toughest part of stems removed and then cut into ribbons
2 T premium quality red curry paste
2 cans (not light) coconut milk, shaken well
8 oz chicken broth (you’ll use half for the kale and half for the coconut broth)
1 14.5 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
fish sauce
brown sugar
1 lime, zested & juiced
steamed rice (we like Bhutanese red rice, but brown rice will work)
sliced green onions

Prep the tofu:

You can prep the tofu (drain it and dry it out) a day or two in advance. Just be sure to refrigerate it until you’re ready to fry it. Drying the tofu out in a few layers of paper towels helps when it comes time to cook it - less moisture ups your chance for achieving a delicious golden crust on your slabs - the texture is a great match for the sweet potatoes and kale.

Wrap the already drained tofu in a thick layer of paper towels.
Set the paper-wrapped tofu on a plate and then invert another plate on top.
Set something heavy on the top plate - say a can of beans or a bottle of salsa.
Let the tofu sit this way for around 20 minutes.
Unwrap the tofu and slice into slabs that are about 1/2” thick.
Heat a small bit of oil (your choice) in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Add the slabs of tofu and let cook until golden. Flip and fry the other side of the slab in the same manner.
Set aside.

Roast the sweet potatoes:

Much like the tofu, you can prep the sweet potatoes in advance. I usually roast them on my day off for dinner a few nights later. I simply refrigerate them until I need them and then reheat them until hot in a 400 degree oven. Easy!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Toss the sweet potatoes in 2 T of olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Roast approximately 25 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft enough to yield to a bite, but not falling apart or about to become mashed sweet potatoes.
Set aside.

Prep the kale:

Since the kale will soon be swimming in a delicious pool of coconut broth, I take it easy on the seasonings here and simply braise it in broth then lightly season with salt & pepper.

Set a pan over medium-high heat and bring 4 oz of the chicken broth to a simmer.
Add the kale and let braise in the chicken stock until dark and soft.
Season with salt and pepper then set aside.

Make the coconut broth:

Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add 2 T of the curry paste. Let the curry paste heat up until fragrant.
Once fragrant, add both cans of coconut milk to the curry paste and stir until the paste incorporates into the milk.
Add the remaining 4 oz of chicken broth.
Add the fire roasted tomatoes and stir well.
Add 1-2 T of fish sauce. I like more fish sauce than less, but you should adjust to your own liking.
Add 2-3 T of brown sugar, again, the amount depends upon your taste.
Squeeze in the juice of the lime and stir.
Let the mixture sit over the heat until hot.
Taste and adjust seasonings - adding more fish sauce, brown sugar or even salt and pepper if desired.

Assemble your bowls:

Place a serving of rice in a deep bowl. Place a few wedges of sweet potatoes on the side of the rice, then a few slabs of tofu and finally pile in some kale.
Ladle the hot coconut broth over all and garnish with the sliced green onions.

I like to make extra rice to keep in the fridge and - wait for it - I reheat the rice with some leftover coconut broth for breakfast! A great way to start the day.

Goodbye, Facebook! Hello delicious meals!

Recipes. What makes you want to try them?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:13:54 -0500

There was an interesting bit in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend detailing the “rules of attraction” where recipes are involved. What makes a home cook want to try a recipe? Is it a short list of ingredients? Is there zero prep? Are there easy-to-obtain-yet-somewhat-exotic-ingredients involved? What about the way the food is described? Does the language of the recipe make you want to lick the pages of your cookbook?

The piece is written by cookbook author Rozanne Gold and it’s quite fascinating. Check it out by clicking on the image below.

Bon Appétit on Bacon

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:09:53 -0500

Found on the Bon Appétit blogs - the 4 most common mistakes made when cooking bacon. I thought you’d like to know…

click on the photo to learn all about it…

And then, for your continued reading-about-bacon pleasure, a supermarket bacon taste-off also courtesy of the fine folks at Bon Appétit! Just click below to read all about it.

A new flavor for chicken stock

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:33:00 -0500

My kid wants to cook. All the time. ALL THE TIME.

Here’s an example: the kid and the husband are in the playroom staging a major ‘battle’ inspired by Star Wars. I walk into the kitchen and rattle a pot or a pan and the kid comes running - I WANT TO HELP YOU MAKE DINNER! Folks, when they start ignoring Star Wars battles in favor of learning to supreme an orange, I think that means you have a mini-cook on your hands.

I have Sundays off each week, and this past Sunday the kid told me he wanted to learn to make chicken stock. Earlier in the week we had roast chicken for dinner and he was so curious as to why I would save the carcass. At the time I told him it was to use in making chicken stock - a fact he quickly remembered on Sunday morning. Of course cooking isn’t exactly the thing I want to spend my day off doing (I literally begged him to watch a movie with me - but he flat our refused), but who am I to deny his budding culinary talents? I mean, the kid can already out-cook his 38 year old father…might as well keep him at it!

So, we made chicken stock. The kid told me he wanted it to taste like Thai food, so we added a healthy amount of ginger and garlic and lemongrass and shallots and lime. The result? A super delicious chicken stock full of flavor - perfect for soup. Or curry. Or for sipping on a cold day (which we’ve had plenty of lately.) We thought you’d like to make it yourself…

Gingery-lemongrassy-garlicky Chicken Stock

You need:

olive oil
2 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves removed, bottom 6” cut into 3 pieces
hand-sized knob of fresh ginger, sliced into 1/2” pieces
3 cloves garlic, smashed (no need to peel)
3 shallots, halved (no need to peel)
4 carrots, cut into quarters
3 green onions, chopped
2 limes, halved
2 dried red chiles
6 cloves
1 T black peppercorns
2 t salt
1 leftover chicken carcass, picked over

To make the stock:

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add a few glugs of olive oil and let it get hot.
Once the olive oil is hot, add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots, carrots and green onions. Let cook until everything is fragrant and could be beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the limes, chiles, cloves, peppercorns, salt and chicken carcass to the pot, then pour water over all to cover by at least 4”.
Increase the heat, cover the pot and then let it come to a good simmer.
Once simmering, reduce the heat to maintain a light simmer, then cook for 1.5 - 2 hours, depending upon your schedule.
Let your stock cool, skim off the fat and then ladle into storage containers for refrigeration or freezing. The stock will keep in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for 6+ months.

We have enjoyed this stock so many times in the last week (it’s seriously delicious with coconut milk). Of course, I’ll tell you all about it - soon!

HOW many calories a day?!?!

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:27:24 -0500

I’m not addicted to coffee.

I am, however, addicted to coffee mixed with that magical elixir known as half & half. Sometimes, when falling asleep at night, I’m already thinking about my first cup of coffee in the morning. Usually it’s not the coffee I’m looking most forward to, but the half & half. Kind of sick, huh?

Working as an early morning baker, it’s easy for me to have 7 or more (and usually more) cups of coffee in a single day. And each of these cups contains a very generous dose of half & half. How generous? Well, when I measured out a sample dose, I nearly fell over. It ranged from between 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup, depending upon the size of the mug. Holy s*$t! Holy s*$t, indeed!

I took it a step further (and I’m not really sure why) by calculating the total number of calories in each cup of my coffee - and, wow. What was I thinking? That’s a l o t of calories. Especially when you factor in the fact that I also eat like 4 cookies a day and always cook with butter. Dear god! Someone do something!

Naturally, I’ve cut out half & half. And taking half & half out of my coffee equation has made me not like coffee as much. Is that a win-win? Or a sad-sad? I guess you could say it’s a win-win. It’s like going on a diet without being on a diet. Sigh. And grrr.

Speaking of diets, last year at this time I showed you a quinoa salad that’s just delicious. It’s perfect if you’re on a new diet for the new year - or if you need something delicious to take your mind off of all that half & half you’re missing (maybe that’s just me…).

Make this salad. Pack it into your lunch. Eat it for dinner. Cold or warm, it’s delicious!

portland, portland, portland.

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:24:00 -0500

we break this string of silent days to bring you this: important information about a (super awesome) food festival happening in my drizzly town of portland, oregon.

Feast is portland’s first ever actual big deal food festival - and it’s about time! this town is overflowing with food talent like you wouldn’t believe…and Feast is going to cram it all in to three days in September 2012. i am so excited.

Follow Feast on the facebook or the twitter to keep yourself abreast of all the deliciousness. I, for one, cannot wait for the Sandwich Invitational. amen.

Hello! Hello!

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:52:30 -0500

it’s certainly been a while!

i thought you, my loyal readers, might like to know that you can find me blogging here - some work stuff, some personal stuff - i think you might like it! follow me if you can, i’d love to have you along for the ride.

oh, and, you can also find me here…indulging my love of Mr. Steve Martin.

happy holidays and happy reading!

what's going on?

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:53:25 -0400

we interrupt this string of blogless days with an update AND a suggested reading list. how lucky!

actually, let’s start with the reading list:

first. the new york times’ most recent review of thomas keller’s per se. it’s no secret i love the man. it’s also no secret that i was lucky enough to dine at per se last year. this review puts into words so perfectly the per se experience. it’s more than a meal - much, much more.

second. mark bittman’s take on apples. get yourself to the market!

third. eric ripert is not a jerk.

fourth. getting back to basics with chef-types.

fifth. let’s check in with lawrence/julie & julia, shall we?

sixth. i spent eleven hours yesterday shooting an episode of this.

and, finally, a real life update.
i’m working. a lot. developing delicious recipes and doing plain ol’ bakery production. in the past few weeks i’ve put some pretty yummy stuff in our pastry case: roasted apple & oat scones, scratch hot chocolate with caramel marshmallows, pear bars scented with ginger, cardamom and cinnamon - all really comforting treats for these first few weeks of fall.

at home i’m obsessing over kindergarten (which, yes, doesn’t start until next september.) i’ve been touring various schools and have been SHOCKED to find that quite a few of them have reduced their lunch times to FIFTEEN MINUTES. on top of that, schools are requiring lunches that are convenient - meaning, the children should not have to ask for help from a teacher in opening containers or bottles. so, basically, kids have fifteen minutes to eat. which is good because they are required to bring easy-open food - which, more often than not, means processed foods that come in kid-friendly packaging. LOVELY.

but then, then! i found it. lunchtime paradise at a local school featuring a japanese language immersion program. not only do the kids have time for a morning snack AND lunch, but lunch itself is catered three days a week by chef naoko - portland’s own organic (and delicious) bento spot! in addition to the bento, the school also invites parent volunteers to prepare pizza for the kids each monday. screw academics and whatever else is important about choosing a school! we’re picking one based on food and food alone! just kidding. kind of.

shoes fit for a king

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:31:51 -0400

when i watch documentaries i always pay attention to small details. if it’s a documentary about nature, i’m always curious to see if i can spot the shadow of the helicopter responsible for the amazing aerial shots. if it’s about people, i always look for signs that the person in the documentary is just like me - from what’s on the kitchen counter to their thoughts on life - i’m curious. when it comes to food documentaries, i always (ALWAYS) look to see what kind of shoes the chef is wearing. see, i’m obsessed with finding just the right shoes for working on my feet 12+ hours a day. i’ve cycled through too many pairs of what start out as the ‘perfect’ shoes and end up being the last damn things i want near my feet.

upon viewing this recent piece on thomas keller, i was quick to check out his shoes. it was hard to tell, but they basically looked like clogs to me. soon i was googling all sorts of strange combinations of words - thomas keller clogs, clogs keller, what clogs keller kitchen, kitchen clogs thomas keller. you name it, i thought it up and googled it. and then, THEN, i came across this piece from the ny times. THIS LADY SAYS SHE FIT THOMAS KELLER FOR CLOGS! sign me up!

but wait. you can’t sign me up. clogmaster (for real, that’s what she’s called) is located in los angeles and doesn’t ship clogs unless you’ve had a fitting for them. big sigh.

but, never being one to take no for an answer, i re-turned to google and found clogmaster’s website. and guess what? GUESS WHAT? she relocated to PORTLAND! WHERE I LIVE! her shop is literally TWO BLOCKS from my bakery!

the very next day i had my fitting. i’m waiting (without patience) for a phone call telling me that my custom-fit clogs are ready for pick up. hooray.

must see tv

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:02:22 -0400

thomas keller: uncorked.

thirty minutes of television that will make you wish thomas keller was your boss. or your uncle. or your best friend. or all three…

speaking of figs...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:44:27 -0400

in yesterday’s post i mentioned a fig & bacon compote i’ve been using at work. we’re also turning out a delicious fig bar with a maple & sea salt glaze. figs figs figs. everywhere!

even here:

thank you Yotam Ottolenghi (and the guardian) for this delicious sounding sweet potato & fig concoction! click on the photo for more…

roasted shallot & green chile mac & cheese...with bacon.

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:20:00 -0400

i kinda feel like i have a lot of balls talking (or typing) all that talk about salads and then - then - posting about mac & cheese. because, let’s be honest here, the last thing i need right now is a bowl of white noodles covered in cheese sauce.

but never mind all that. i committed long ago to not ever (ever) letting food make me feel guilty - that’s what parenthood and the in-laws are for!

getting on with it: it’s green chile season. if you are lucky enough to know someone with new mexican ties, you ought to beg that person to get a hold of some freshly roasted hatch chiles for you. if you aren’t that lucky in the friend department, you might want to see if your local specialty market is carrying hatch chiles. they don’t last long, so you should grab them if you see them!

since freshly roasted green chiles started showing up at my market, i’ve been celebrating their deliciousness like you wouldn’t believe. it’s like i’m organizing my own chile festival over here, i swear.

my latest incarnation of chile celebration is mac & cheese. this mac & cheese is unlike any other because it makes use of another of my current obsessions - roasted shallots. add in a bit of bacon and you’ve got a veritable parade of deliciousness on your hands. (if you played an instrument in high school like - say - the trumpet, you should dig it out the night you make this mac & cheese and call your family to the dinner table by performing a one-man (or woman!) parade around the table. sure, they’ll think you’re crazy for a minute, but when they taste this mac & cheese they’ll change their tune. ha! i said tune!)

anyways, enough of my lack-of-sleep-induced rambling. let’s get to the food!

roasted shallot & green chile mac & cheese with bacon
makes two 9x13” pans

you need:

1/2 c butter
2/3 c flour
6 c milk
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t granulated garlic

8 oz jack cheese, shredded
20 oz beecher’s flagship cheese, shredded

24 oz macaroni noodles

24 roasted shallots, chopped
5 roasted chiles, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked & chopped

make the mac & cheese:

melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour. cook while whisking for 2-4 minutes. you’re not looking for the butter to brown at all, you simply want to make sure the flour & the butter combine and cook together a bit. guess what? you just made a roux! magic!
slowly add the milk. whisk constantly. cook until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. remove from the heat.
add the cheeses, salt and garlic powder. stir and stir until all the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated. this is your cheese sauce. set it aside until your noodles are ready.
speaking of noodles, boil your macaroni. you’ll want to cook it a minute or two less than the package instructions suggest. drain the noodles and then pour them back into the pot you boiled them in.
over the cooked noodles, pour the cheese sauce. once the cheese sauce is on, add the chopped shallots, chopped chiles and bacon. mix the entire thing together very well so that all of the ingredients are combined.
divide the macaroni between two 9x13” pans and bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes. if you’re not feeding an army, you can freeze one entire pan for later. perfect.

ps: why, yes, this recipe does look a lot like the one i posted ages ago for plain ol’ macaroni & cheese!