Food Porn - Nooks and crannies

The Popular Culture Dinner

Oh my.  I've been so horribly bad about updating.

No..  truth be told, I've been horribly bad about actually cooking or baking or doing anything that would be blogworthy here.

Any news on the culinary side for me?  Not a ton.  But a few things.

I've discovered that the Pacific North West, or at least the Seattle area has discovered New Mexico Hatch green chile.  Yum. :-)   It doesn't tend to run as hot as I can get it back home, but at least I don't need to get it shipped in anymore if I'm just craving the good ol' flavor.  :-)

I found a nice 9-cup KitchenAid food processor on clearance recently, and am happy to finally have a better way to make things like pesto and what not. :-)  I've used my little 1-cup chopper to do things in the past, but it's a pain in the butt.  This instead is relatively compact and gives me what I need.  I recently used it to shred up some zucchini to make some bread, and also sliced other squash and things for dinner.  I'm enjoying it a lot and trying to make good use of it.

Another thing that has finally made it on my radar is the interesting fun of gluten-free cooking and baking.  So far, I'm less than impressed on the whole from the foodie perspective, but I do appreciate that it is possible to make reasonably tasting goods without gluten.  I've decided that given the variety I've both tried and had, that for one, there is no universal flour mix for everything.  Some things definitely work better than others.  But I think it will be an interesting challenge to see what does work out, and to maybe design certain combinations for specific things. Not as convenient as a do-it-all mix, but I'm all about taste here, so I think I'll forego the convenience in the name of flavor and texture.

As to Pop Culture Dinner Hour?  I'm a huge movie fan, and it has come up more than once recently that it would be interesting to make various dishes talked about on movies or perhaps certain TV series as well.  As such, I've been making a list.

Dilled Veal Balls with Squash Fritters finished with Tansy cakes with Peppermint Cream.  (though tansy being toxic, I'm less inclined to include it in the final recipe.) - A Knights Tale

Cinnamon Chicken - a la Almanzo Wilder via Little House in the Prarie

Liver and Fava Beans - chicken, I'm thinking. :-)   - The Silence of the Lambs

There will be lots more.  There are lots of interesting options.  And from Julie and Julia, just because we're talking about Julia Childs of course, there will be some boeuf bourguignon. :-)

I'll report back as I go.  We'll see what other interesting options I can come up with as well.  Should be good fun. :-)

Perhaps I'd call them Eggs Cumberbatch. :-)

In the history of my kitchen learning, it seems the basic sauces have been last to come around. Not for lack of particular interest or fear or anything like that. Mostly that I just haven't come to them yet.

Recently, I opted to try Hollandaise sauce in response to a fantastic Eggs Benedict I tried at the Flat Iron Grill here in Issaquah.  They make a crab-cake Benedict with an ancho hollandaise sauce, and it was to die for!  I decided that I had to have a go at it, and made a worthy replica.

The basics to a Hollandaise aren't too difficult, though there seems to be a few permutations that vary how the final product will turn out.

The basic idea is that you're building an emulsion between the egg yolk and the butter, which involves low heat, and a lot of whisking.

Even the butter is up for debate.  Some choosing cubed butter in the hot yolk/water mixture and others prefer either whole melted butter or clarified butter.  The melted butter, one way or another seems easiest, and whole versus clarified seemed to produce a richer flavor.

The big things to keep in mind are that if the eggs overheat, you'll scramble them.  And if you don't whisk well, your emulsion will break.  Remember to keep whisking through the entire process. It not only keeps the emulsion going, but it adds in air, which makes it light and wonderful.

I was craving eggs Benedict this morning, and opted to tweak it a little.  My love isn't fond of soft eggs, so I opted to fry hers over-hard.  I love a good runny yolk, but rather than break out the saucepan to poach mine, I just fried mine over-easy.  I suppose I could have just overcooked hers while I poached mine.  I may try that next time.

Ham wasn't really what I had in mind, so I picked up some smoked salmon to lay under my eggs.  The saltiness is just what the doctor ordered, and the only thing, in hindsight, I forgot to add was a sprinkle of capers.  The beauty of thinking beyond your current dish is that not only can you plan to fix your mistakes, but you can also think of new permutations of flavors and tweaks to the existing flavors.

With those thoughts in mind, I think I'll call it Eggs Cumberbatch.  Much like regular eggs Benedict, but with a little bit more class. :-)

Some berries and cream!

Hand-whipped Cream.

1 c   heavy cream
2 tblsp    sugar
1/4 tsp    vanilla

Pre-chill bowl and whisk in the freezer.

Beat cream until soft peaks form.  Add sugar and vanilla.  Continue beating until stiffens.  Go slow so as not to make butter.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for several days (what leftovers??)

Enjoy!

Going Green

So it's been a busy bit of the year.  Lots of things going on, and unfortunately, I've spent less time in the kitchen than usual.  But it seems to be coming around.

It is the edge of Fall, and back home in New Mexico, this means it is green chile harvest time.   All the stores get piles of green chile, most from the big chile farms in Hatch, NM, and you'll see roasters all over the place.

Roasters?  Well.. yes.  You can buy chile by the bushel, and often, they will roast it for you on the spot.

But why would you roast green chile, you might ask?   Unlike many other peppers, the green chile comes with a thick waxy skin that really isn't edible, and at best is very difficult to chew.  So by roasting them quickly over high heat, the skin blisters and separates from the flesh of the pod, and you can peel it and then do what you want with it.

Fortunately for me, New Mexico Hatch green chile has become somewhat of a phenomenon in the United States, and you can find it out and about.  Whole Foods here in the Seattle area has begun carrying it fresh, and local artisans have already started taking advantage, including some delicious green chile cheddar cheese I've found.  Wonderful stuff.

So I think my next few entries will focus on this wonderful pepper and its place in my life.

Product Review: Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Liner

Though my holiday baking this year left a little to be desired both in quality and quantity, one of the best parts of it was using my Silpats.  I have been drooling over these for years and finally decided they were worth the expense.

Silpats are silicone covered woven fiberglass fabric that are able to transmit heat, but also create a non-stick surface similar to coated baking parchment paper.  Almost nothing sticks, and cleaning them is a breeze.

One of my failures this year was my Palmiers, which just didn't taste the way I like them.  It is something I will continue to work through this year, and see if I can figure out where I went wrong.  But baking them presented the same problem it always does.  The sugars melt out of the cookies, and caramelize on the pans.  Left on unlined pans, it is extremely difficult to remove, and Mom's sheets were always thickly coated as a result, which ultimately destroys the sheet pans.

I've used parchment paper in the past, and it works well enough, but I really dislike the idea of using disposable things when I can help it.  Silpats resolve that problem.  They sell different sizes for different pans.  And you just lay them in the bottom, and bake as usual.  The only caveats for using them is that you can't cut on them or do anything to damage the silicone because it will release the glass fibers into your baked goods.  But they rinse off pretty easily, and even the sticky caramel from my Palmiers popped right off.

I'd highly recommend them and say they are totally worth the investment.  They don't seem to affect baking in any way, and I don't feel like I'm having to continually buy products to get the performance I want.  If you've been on the fence, go for it.  If you don't know about them, hit up your kitchen store and check them out!

Drunken Fresh Ginger Molasses Cookies

When your family decides that the favorite Christmas treat you should make is fresh ginger molasses cookies, you keep hunting for better and better cookie recipes.  And so it was with me this year.

I stumbled on this recipe, http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/recipe/recipe-drunken-molasses-cookies-with-ginger-160363 which adds a little rum to the usual mix.  I made the recipe as listed, and decided that both the dough was too wet, and the cookies just lacked something...

The cookies can be scooped, but they are gloppy and won't really form balls.  I like my dough a little stiffer not just for forming, but because I like to roll them in a little turbinado sugar just for fun.  If you aren't rolling them in sugar, you can chill the dough for a while and it will firm up enough to portion.

Looking at past recipes of other attempts, and just comparing spices and such, I realized I needed to add something, and also, I decided to thicken up the dough a little bit with extra flour.

I added 3/4 tsp of Cinnamon, which as the only spice addition really improved how the rest of the flavors came together.  I also added almost an additional cup of flour.  I added it in increments as I stirred, and I would say to do the same until you get the consistency that feels right.

Once I got the dough where I wanted it, I used a cookie scoop to measure out balls, and rolled them in turbinado before hitting the cookie sheet.

When they baked, the melted turbinado created this wonderful crisp crust, and the cookie inside was moist and tender.   I don't know that the rum added so much, but I used Bicardi Gold.  I might try some Captain Morgan's just to see what benefit a spiced rum would give.  Overall, I think it was a successful batch, and the family seemed to enjoy them quite a bit.

I still may play with it a little, but I think I have a good place to start.