sprinklefingers

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.

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:

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add a few glugs of olive oil and let it get hot.
2. 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.
3. Add the limes, chiles, cloves, peppercorns, salt and chicken carcass to the pot, then pour water over all to cover by at least 4”.
4. Increase the heat, cover the pot and then let it come to a good simmer.
5. Once simmering, reduce the heat to maintain a light simmer, then cook for 1.5 - 2 hours, depending upon your schedule.
6. 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!

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:

1. 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! 
2. slowly add the milk. whisk constantly. cook until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. remove from the heat.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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!

in preparation for tomorrow’s post, i’m here now to give you a tip for peeling peaches! fantastic! (obviously if we’re talking peach-peeling today you should be looking forward to tomorrow!)

first, let’s talk about why we peel peaches in the first place:

of course for jams & preserves you want to peel peaches, right? right. the fuzzy-textured skins won’t break down & disappear into the jam. instead you’d be left with a jar of jam that’s most likely delicious, but is riddled with weird stringy bits of previously fuzzy skin. not good.

and if you’re using your peaches for a dessert that’s a bit more high-brown than, say, a slump/cobbler/crisp or buckle, you’ll most likely want to take the skin off. a rustic dessert like a cobbler can handle the skins, but poached peaches? a delicate tart? you just don’t like peach fuzz? take the skin off, please!

here’s how you do it:

1. set a large pot of water to boil.
2. wash your peaches.
3. in the bottom of each peach, cut a 2” X.
4. drop 2-3 peaches into the boiling water at a time. let float in the boiling water for approximately 60 to 90 seconds.
5. remove the peaches from the boiling water and let cool slightly. then, starting at the area where you made the X, slip the skins off the peaches. so easy!

ps: you can also de-skin tomatoes using this handy technique!

hi everyone!

oh. my. goodness! have i ever missed you.

remember that new bakery i was working on opening? well. good news! it’s open. we opened a week and two days ago, and i’m just now (finally) adjusting to my new schedule, my new home life and 12-14 hour work days.

overall it’s been fun. really fun. i’m working with great people. we’re creating delicious treats. and while cooking all day makes dinner prep feel a bit less like fun and more like work, i can’t imagine doing anything else right now.

one of my favorite items on our new menu? brioche tarts. one of my favorite toppings for a brioche tart? olive oil marinated tomatoes.

i arrived at the ‘recipe’ for the tomatoes the hard way: we ordered cherry tomatoes from a local produce purveyor. i didn’t anticipate that we’d get as many as we did. the only thing i could think to do with them all was preserve them in olive oil. with garlic. and herbs. and balsamic vinegar. can you say delicious? i sure can!

the best part of all of this is that i just so happened to have on hand some smoked olive oil. remember that sausage making class i attended a while back? at that class i met the nicest guy - who (as luck would have it) owns a smokehouse. since our meeting at the sausage class we have been experimenting with various components of my recipes - smoking things like flour and brown sugar (over alder wood!) to produce some incredible results. on one of his last smoked flour deliveries he also dropped off some smoked olive oil, and into the tomatoes it went!

you can produce delicious tomatoes without the smoked olive oil, certainly. but if you happen upon a bottle of it, i suggest you snatch it up! even a drizzle will make you swoon…honest!

olive oil marinated cherry tomatoes
makes 4+ pints

you need:

• 4 pints cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
• 2 cups best quality olive oil (smoked if you can get it)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 t kosher salt
• 2 t pepper
• 2 t dried thyme
• 1 small bulb garlic, all cloves smashed and peeled, yet left as intact as possible
• lidded container that has room for the tomatoes but will also fit in your refrigerator

make the tomatoes:

1. in a bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and thyme.
2. place a layer of tomatoes into the lidded container then drop in a few cloves of garlic. pour a bit of the oil mixture over the top. continue layering the tomatoes, garlic and oil until you’ve used all of everything up.
3. place the lid on the container and store it in the fridge. the oil may harden, and that’s okay. it will melt into deliciousness in no time at room temperature.

now that you’ve got olive oil marinated tomatoes, you need something to do with them.
here are some ideas for your consideration:

• put them on pizza
• bake them into a tart
• mix them into eggs - scrambled? fritatta? your choice!
• use them as a salad topping
• make delicious pasta!
• mash them into a paste and use as a party spread - bruschetta anyone?

look! here are my tomatoes adorning a tart!

—-

it’s great to be back. see you tomorrow.

i’m not one to get caught up on my age. i’ve lived a varied life with lots of eventful events happening and i really don’t feel like i’ve wasted a minute. but there are people out there who get so caught up with the whole age thing - and one of those people is turning another year older this weekend - my husband!

now, he’s only turning 38, but because i know age bothers him, i keep asking him if he’s ready to enter his forties. he doesn’t think i’m funny. not one bit. but for some reason i keep doing it.

to add insult to injury, my birthday isn’t until late july. and for nearly two entire months, i am three entire years younger than him. and i like to remind him of this fact nearly every day of the two months. i don’t know how he can stand me.

because we’re opening our new bakery in two and a half weeks, this year his birthday has been a bit overshadowed by lots and lots of work. and it’s not that i don’t know it’s his birthday or appreciate his existence - it’s just that when i get home from work after a full day of answering 3,000 questions and trying to make sense of my recipe notes, i really can’t muster the energy to be all, ‘it’s your birthday week! whoo!’ poor guy.

add to that the fact that he wants some kind of manly meal in celebration of his big day and it all equals trouble.

until i remind myself i have a slow cooker.

while i am perfectly aware that a slow cooker can’t replicate hours of smoking and tending and whatnot that traditional barbeque requires, i have to say that slow cooking a pork shoulder and turning it into barbeque pulled pork was so easy to fit into my jam-packed work life, yet will be so delicious that the birthday boy will feel super special. forgive me for saying so, but that’s a win-win.

this recipe is as easy as letting a hunk of meat marinate overnight then plopping it into the slow cooker the next morning. so easy. and perfect for birthdays.

slow cooker bbq pulled pork
from slow cooker: the best cookbook ever by diane phillips
serves 10-12

you need:

• 1/2 cup canola oil (recipe called for vegetable, i used canola)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (recipe called for red wine, but i like apple cider)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, whatever you’ve got)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (i used low sodium)
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 T worcestershire sauce
• 5 lb boneless pork shoulder roast (i got a shoulder that was around 5 1/3 lb and it worked perfectly)

you’ll also need:

• barbeque sauce for serving
• soft, delicious buns
• cole slaw (recipe to follow)

make the pork:

1. combine the canola oil through worcestershire sauce in a bowl. whisk like crazy. 
2. put your pork shoulder in a non-reactive bowl large enough to hold the pork itself and the above marinade. pour the marinade over and cover tightly with plastic wrap. refrigerate overnight.
3. the next morning, pour the marinade into a slow cooker and plop in your hunk of meat. do your best to slosh some of the sauce up onto the meat so that it’s a bit slathered.
4. cover the slow cooker and set it to cook on LOW for 10 hours.
5. after 10 hours the pork will be fork-tender. you can either shred it using two forks while it’s still in the slow cooker, or you can remove it from the slow cooker, shred it on a platter and then mix the meat back into the saucy stuff - your choice. (for the record, i shredded it inside the slow cooker.)
6. your pork is ready to eat!

now, when i slow cook something i usually always put a sign on top of the cooker instructing curious folks to NOT open the lid to peak inside. one curious little hand lifting the lid will require you to add 30 full minutes of cooking time to your pork.

this pork can be refrigerated for five full days. alternatively (and like i did,) it can be frozen for up to two months. just put it in a glass freezer-safe container, label and freeze. then thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to enjoy it again.

here’s a photo.
that’s a mustard-based bbq sauce on the pork. a sauce which i did not make because i instead got it from a great bbq place in portland called podnah’s. there’s no possible way i could recreate it’s deliciousness at home, so i don’t try.

our pork is on a brioche bun. and that’s a side of yogurt slaw - a recipe i’ll be sharing tomorrow.

happy birthday, mhc!

it seems like time is just slipping through my fingertips these days. i get to work and it’s already time to leave. i spend precious minutes commuting. i get home with 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. it’s like a game that’s not very fun and is neverending. sigh.

because of my lack of time i’ve been trying to figure out ways to cook meals faster with less dishes to wash (because if there are fewer dishes i can get to the laundry faster. and if i get to the laundry faster i can get to my bed faster.)

so far, this is my favorite:

tofu & vegetables with noodles and peanut sauce
serves 4

you need:

• 15 oz firm tofu
• seasonings for tofu: salt, pepper, curry powder - anything you like
• canola oil for drizzling
• fresh green beans, enough for 4 people, trimmed
• 2 zucchini - cut into half moons
• 1 bunch green onions - white parts and 1” green parts thinly sliced
• 2 carrots

• 1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

• peanut sauce
• lime

make dinner:

1. preheat oven to 425.
2. on one large sheet tray place the trimmed green beans, the zucchini half moons and the sliced green onions. sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with canola oil. give them a quick mix with your hands and then scoot them to one side of the sheet tray.
3. on the other side of the sheet tray place a small cooling rack.
4. next, cut the tofu into manageable cubes then place the cubes in a bowl. season how you’d like then drizzle with oil. mix with your hands then place the cubes of seasoned tofu on the cooling rack you’ve placed on the sheet tray.
5. slide the entire tray into the oven and let roast 18 minutes or so - stirring the bean mixture often and watching so that nothing is burning.
6. while the beans & tofu are cooking, shred your carrots: using a vegetable peeler, start at the top of the carrot and pull the peeler all the way down - creating a carrot ribbon. set your carrot ribbons aside.
7. prepare your peanut sauce. i always advocate homemade peanut sauce over bottled - it’s going to be way more delicious - but i understand if you just had to grab a bottle to make things easier on yourself. (although if you make the sauce ahead and store it in your fridge you’ll always have delicious peanut sauce on hand!)
8. boil your spaghetti noodles to your desired doneness. when they’ve finished cooking, reserve a few tablespoons of cooking water and then drain the noodles. mix the drained noodles with the pasta water and a bit of peanut sauce. set aside.
9. when the vegetables and tofu have finished cooking (the tofu will be slightly dry and the vegetables will have some browning in places,) remove the veggies from the sheet tray and put them in a mixing bowl. add the carrots and stir gently. leave the tofu where it is until you’re assembling your dishes.
10. to serve: mound some noodles in a bowl, top with the vegetable mixture and a few pieces of tofu. drizzle peanut sauce all over the top and squeeze on a bit of lime juice.

my kid and my husband ate this. without me forcing them. honest.

this week i posted a great essay by mark bittman in which he describes his journey to the helm of the stove. he has some great insights and i fell even deeper under his spell after reading it.

my internet friend ronnie fein was also touched by bittman’s essay and had this to say about it:

This is a beautiful article. There were two points that seemed especially relevant to me.

First, that Mom doesn’t have to teach you how to cook. Just lead by example, and the kids will catch on if they’re interested. 

 Second, that cooking, along with child rearing, can give you “a sense of competence that I’d never had before.”

Bravo Bittman.  Your authenticity is a standout.

i couldn’t have said it better myself, ronnie.

and then this morning, while enjoying my first cup of coffee while the house is still quiet, i came across this piece about the man i want to be friends with - hugh fearnley-whittingstall. it’s a description of his version of a ‘take your kids to work’ day - and it’s just so perfect. he actually gives up the reins of his column to his children. who are 14, 12 and 8.

my favorite bit:

So when I invite the children to take over my column, saying they can each suggest a recipe and that I’ll stick with whatever they choose, a glint appears in their eyes. “Rabbit brains on toast,” says Oscar, 12. “Squirrels’ testicles dipped in chocolate,” says Freddie, eight. “Try to be original,” says my wife. “That’s the kind of thing he usually does.”

and then they all stop laughing and the kids come up with some pretty good ideas for their dishes. and hugh puts them in the column.

i just love it.

and speaking of involving kids in work, my kid is four yet he’s been involved in the opening of our new bakery every step of the way. he has contributed names for two menu items, wrote the slogan we’re having printed on the back of our staff t-shirts AND has tasted every single item on the new menu. when he says he doesn’t ‘care for’ something (yes, he really does use that phrase,) i seriously consider it and usually head back into the test kitchen for more adjustments.

even at four he takes all of this to heart. you can see how proud he is when i tell him that we’ve been working on the t-shirt design or that i made a batch of ‘bonbonbunbuns’ that afternoon. he’s fully invested in the project.

and we did it by actually involving him. almost like magic.

well. it’s been salad for dinner around here for far too long. even though i’m testing recipes at work and eating far too many baked goods concocted of brioche dough and extra butter, i’m still sick of salads when dinner rolls around.

[oh! dinner rolls! how i miss you!]

to combat all the greenery on the dinner table, i’ve made the one thing i know for certain isn’t a salad: breakfast for dinner. one of my favorite meals. of course i have trusted go-to pancake recipes, but this time i opted for a new recipe. for plain old buttermilk pancakes. no fruit, no flavorings - just buttermilk pancakes. (because adding fruit would be too salad-like. who’s with me?)

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