sprinklefingers

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.

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: 

1. Put everything in the above list in your largest soup pot. 
2. 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.

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:

1. Following the instructions for your particular machine (or on the stovetop in the smallest amount of oil,) pop the 2/3 cup of popcorn.
2. 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. 
3. 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.
4. 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.

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):


 

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!

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!

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.

1. Wrap the already drained tofu in a thick layer of paper towels. 
2. Set the paper-wrapped tofu on a plate and then invert another plate on top. 
3. Set something heavy on the top plate - say a can of beans or a bottle of salsa. 
4. Let the tofu sit this way for around 20 minutes.
5. Unwrap the tofu and slice into slabs that are about 1/2” thick.
6. Heat a small bit of oil (your choice) in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
7. Add the slabs of tofu and let cook until golden. Flip and fry the other side of the slab in the same manner.
8. 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!

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Toss the sweet potatoes in 2 T of olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. 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. 
4. 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.

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

Make the coconut broth:

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

Assemble your bowls:

1. 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.
2. 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!

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.

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.