$5 MAGAZINE SALE

 

From Thanksgiving Day through December 1, Amazon will be offering a yearlong subscription to Food & Wine magazine for just $5.00.  Are such rock bottom prices perhaps a sign that yet another food magazine will soon be folding?  Open communication through the Internet has made us all magazine publishers, recipe testers, and content editors, so get your $5 subscriptions while you can.

ROASTED GARLIC

Roasted garlic sounds like a no brainer.   All too often though the result is bitter, inedible mush.  Roasting at a high temperature as you would for most vegetables just doesn’t work for garlic.  The secret is low and slow, as in temperature and time.  The result is a garlic deeply flavored and slightly sweet. 

 

Ingredients

1 head of garlic

1 tsp olive oil

 

1. Preheat the oven to 325.
2. Remove just enough off the top of the garlic so all cloves can be covered in olive oil.
3. Drizzle with half of the olive oil, let saturate, and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
4. Wrap in tin foil and cook for one hour or until garlic is golden and some of the larger cloves have popped slightly from the paper.  

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

Roasted tomatoes add depth of flavor

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 TBL olive oil

1 1/2 cups diced chopped celery

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

1 1/2 cups diced onions

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, in juice

1 28 oz. can plum tomatoes

1 1/2 TBL brown sugar

2 cups tomato juice

3 TBL honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

..

1. Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium high heat.  Add celery, carrots and onions.  Cook 3-4 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for five minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes in juice, tomato juice, honey, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, leave lid partially uncovered, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes until vegetables are tender.
3. While the soup is simmering, adjust the oven rack to the upper middle position and heat to 450.  Drain and de-seed the plum tomatoes.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place the tomatoes on the sheet in a single layer.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook until the tomatoes begin to color, about 30 minutes.
4. Combine the soup with the roasted tomatoes and leave to cool slightly.  Puree or blend until smooth.  Add the cream and adjust seasoning to taste.

COOKBOOK SWAP

Ruhlman delivers another cookbook classic.

It’s difficult to find a cookbook for less than $30.  And when you consider that at most you might try four or five recipes before putting it back on the shelf, it makes free recipes from the Internet that much more appealing.   Great cookbooks however are part art and part build your own adventure.  They can inspire, while at the same time serving as a source of reference.

Buying a cookbook can feel like a splurge, but for every cookbook addict out there, check out Swaptree.  The site lists close to 50,000 available cookbooks for trade.  List the items you have to get rid of (“have it”) and tag the items you want (“want it”).  Swaptree creates trades by matching members who have books/CDs/DVDs to get rid of with other members looking for the same items.  There are no fees and everything is free.  The only cost is shipping. 

 

My “Want it” List

The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters

Ad Hoc at Home, Thomas Keller

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Jeff Hertzberg

Baking, Dorie Greenspan

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Rose Carranini

The Elements of Cooking, Michael Ruhlman

The Gift of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis

A Handbook of Native American Herbs, Alma R. Hutchens

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, Todd Wilbur

Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World, Isa Chandra Moskowitz

FREERICE.COM

Food Through Learning

Bored at work?  Convinced that you have conquered the World Wide Web and there is no site left unvisited?  Answer trivia questions at FreeRice and feed someone in need.  Run by the United Nations World Food Program, FreeRice is a non-profit website that seeks to end hunger through advertising.  Here’s how it works:  For every trivia question answered correctly corporate sponsors will donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.  While an amount so small may not sound impressive, depending on how many you choose to answer, the program will donate up to 5,000 grains a day per person.  Coupled with the number of people worldwide accessing FreeRice and the impact becomes astounding (44 million grains in 2008).  Topics range from art, chemistry, vocabulary, math, geography, and language.

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Here are some examples of where FreeRice rice has been distributed:

• In Bangladesh, to feed 27,000 refugees from Myanmar for two weeks.
• In Cambodia, to provide take-home rations of four kilograms of rice for two months to 13,500 pregnant and nursing women.
• In Uganda, to feed 66,000 school children for a week.
• In Nepal, to feed over 108,000 Bhutanese refugees for three days.
• In Bhutan, to feed 41,000 children for 8 days.
• In Myanmar, to feed 750,000 cyclone affected people for 3 days.

HOT COALS

 

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Here’s an easy way to test that your grill is ready.  Once the coals have gone gray, remove the grill and place your palm at grill level.  You will be able to gauge if the coals are at the proper temperature by how long you are able to keep your hand above the coals.

HOT (SEARING) = 2 SECONDS

MEDIUM-HOT (GRILLING) = 3 SECONDS

MEDIUM (GRILLING) = 4 SECONDS

MEDIUM-LOW (COVERED COOKING) = 5 SECONDS

LOW (COVERED COOKING) = 6 SECONDS

 

 

On another note, I suggest checking out the photography of Peter Sutherland.  His work makes the everyday seem a bit more stylish, without the obnoxious or precious element that usually attaches itself.

A Seasonal Guide to Fruit

JANUARY: blood oranges, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, kumquats, mandarins, oranges, pears, quinces, tamarind, and tangerines

FEBRUARY: avocados, blood oranges, grapefruit, oranges, pears, tamarind, and tangerines

MARCH: avocados, blood oranges, grapefruit, guava, oranges, and tamarind

APRIL: avocados, grapefruit, oranges, papayas, rhubarb, and tamarind

MAY: apricots, avocados, blueberries, cherries, mangoes, oranges, papayas, peaches, raspberries, rhubarb, and tamarind

JUNE: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cherries, lychees, mangoes, melons, nectarines, passion fruit, peaches, papayas, raspberries, and strawberries

JULY: apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, currents, lychees, mangoes, melons, nectarines, peaches, raspberries, and strawberries

AUGUST: blackberries, blueberries, cherries, currents, figs, gooseberries, huckleberries, lychees, mangoes, melons, nectarines, peaches, plums, raspberries, and strawberries

SEPTEMBER: apples, dates, figs, gooseberries, grapes, huckleberries, mangoes, melons, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries

OCTOBER: apples, cranberries, dates, figs, gooseberries, grapes, kumquats, pears, persimmons, plums, pomegranates, quince, raspberries, and star fruits

NOVEMBER: apples, clementines, dates, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, kumquats, mandarins, oranges, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, quince, star fruits, tamarind, and tangerines

DECEMBER: blood oranges, clementines, dates, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, kumquats, oranges, pears, persimmons, pomegranates, prickly pear, star fruits, tamarind, and tangerines

VERJUICE

 

Maggie Beer: Australia's Alice Waters

Verjuice; Verjus: An acidic, slightly sour liquid made from unripe grapes, though less commonly from apples.  The origin is French (vert jus), for green juice, and takes its name from the green grapes that were thinned from the vine before ripening, resulting in a high-acid and low-sugar grape.  Similar to lemon juice or vinegar, verjuice is used in the preparation of sauces, salad dressings, with mustards to boost flavor, and as a deglazer.  A staple of the Middle Ages, it has recently made a comeback.  The Australian cook Maggie Beer has popularized it more recently, making it a rather common ingredient in Australian restaurants. Known as ab-ghooreh in Persian cusine, it is still popular in Northern Iranian and Azerbaijani cuisine, as well as in Syria where it’s Arabic name is husroum.  Verjuice can be refrigerated for up to three months.

 

Cooking Contests

I have found two great sources for anyone interested in entering a cooking contest.  

Foodreference.com & Contest Cook

BAKED TORTILLA CHIPS

Ingredients

6 white corn tortillas

olive oil

sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Brush both sides of each tortilla with olive oil.
3. Stack and cut into 8 pieces.
4. Spread on a baking sheet and season with sea salt.
5. Cook for 15 minutes.

WHITE BEANS IN OLIVE OIL

 

 

Just as you would dip bread into olive oil, this dish is meant to be enjoyed in the same way.

 

Ingredients

15 oz. can of cannellini beans

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 shallot, diced

2 small carrots, diced (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup radishes or beets, diced

Zest of 1 lemon

1-2 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1. Drain, wash and dry the beans.
   
2. Combine all and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

 

ONE MAN’S TRASH….

TRASH DONKEY BY KRISTINA JUG

While people love to talk about the importance of where our food comes from, where our food goes seems to have been somewhat ignored.  The New York Times has an article on America’s self-indulgent relationship with food.  It will probably blow your mind, befuddle, and enrage you all at once to know the amount of food that Americans throw out in a single year.  Oh, I’ll just tell you – 27% of all food available for consumption ends up as waste.  And before you scream that there are starving people in Africa who would gladly take that food, hold up, the news gets worse.  Due to lack of technology and infrastructure, some parts of Africa see 25% or more of their usable crops go to waste before they even have a chance to be eaten.  It’s a great article.  Depressing, but great.  Read it.  

However, there’s always a silver lining and that silver lining is Jonathan Bloom.  He has decided to devote his attention to the topic at wastedfood.  Described as part blog and part call to action, his website came about in 2005 after volunteering at D.C Central Kitchen.  There’s a wonderful section with tips on how to reduce one’s waste and, in turn, consumption.

Actually, forget trash being the depressing topic.   Check out the hooves on that donkey.

HOMEMADE PANEER

 

Bad art. Good cheese.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon whole milk

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Cheesecloth

 1/2 TBL salt

Optional 1/2 TBL flour

1. Dampen the cheesecloth and place over a colander.  The colander should be placed in a bowl big enough to catch the excess whey (for a later use).
2. Pour the milk into a stainless steal pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often to keep the milk from burning on the bottom of the pan.
3. Once the milk is at a boil, turn off the burner and add the lemon juice.
4. Stir until the curds form and the whey is a greenish color (30-40 stirs in the same direction should do it).
5. Drain into the colander.
6. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth around a long spoon.  That spoon will then be placed in something that will allow the cheese to hang and catch the excess liquid that is drawn out. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
7. Place the cheese in a bowl and knead until smooth. Don’t worry if it crumbles because it will come together.  Actually, if you plan on adding the salt or flour, this is the time to do it.
8. Transfer the cheese ball to a flat surface and flatten it out as thick or thin as you want.
9. Now you want to weigh it down for 30-60 minutes.  You can put a plate over it with some cans.  Evenly distributed weight is the key.
10. Cut into squares and enjoy.
11. Can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week in water (think tofu).

 

Tip: For paneer used in frying or skewering, add 1/2 TBL flour for every 1/2 gallon of milk and knead in with salt before shaping.

Tip: Do not use meyer lemons.  What little I’ve learned seems to point to the fact that they do not have enough acid.

Tip: The thinnest layer of water at the bottom of the pan will prevent the milk from scorching.

NOTHING IS WRONG WITH YOUR EYES

Hideous, yet somehow captivating. I must own it.

Order your very own buddy big boy snacks and sweets server from reclaim2fame.  The company has been around for over 15 years salvaging materials and turning them into bizarre and lovable creature-servers.  Oh, and if that’s not enough, he’s also wearing wingtip oxfords.

MESQUITE SILVER DOLLAR PANCAKES WITH BROWN BUTTER

You deserve a pancake breakfast.

Dry Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup mesquite flour

3 TBL packed brown sugar

1 3/4 TBL baking powder

1 tsp salt

 

Wet Ingredients

1 1/2 cups milk

3 TBL brown butter (from 6 TBL butter)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients.  Be careful not to over mix.  You want the ingredients to just come together.  It is ok if there are still pockets of dry ingredients that are not wet.
3. Ladle 1 TBL of batter onto a heated, nonstick pan (30 seconds on each side for silver dollar pancakes).
4. Transfer to the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.
5. Drizzle any remaining brown butter over the pancakes.

• Important Tips for Consistent Pancakes:
• Do not overbeat, mixing only enough to incorporate the wet into the dry.
• If possible, let the batter rest, refrigerated, for 3-6 hours.      
• Because variations in moisture content with flour, make a test pancake.  You can always add more flour or water.
•  If you are using a nonstick surface, there is no need to add butter.
•  Test the pan by dropping a little water onto the surface.  The pan is ready when the water turns into little bubbles, jumps around, and quickly evaporates. 

*** I found mesquite flour at Erewon on Beverly in LA.  Call around to local health food stores or visit Casa de Fruta to order it online.

*** Chowhound has a great visual on the perfect brown butter.   

FOOD FACTS: THE HUMBLE EGG

 

 

 

Here chickee chickee

• The US produces roughly 75 billion eggs a year with the help of some 280 million birds.
• The average bird can lay 250 – 300 eggs a year.
• If a recipe does not specify what size egg is needed, go with the large egg, as all baking recipes are based on their use.
• The chef’s hat, or toque, is said to have as many pleats as there are uses for eggs.
• The modern henhouse has controlled lighting, triggering the hens to lay an egg every 24 – 26 hours, with a half hour rest before starting the process over again.  Incidentally, most eggs are laid between 7 and 11 a.m.
• There is no relation between the size of the egg and the grade of the egg.  Size is determined by the weight of an egg per dozen eggs, while grade is a measure of quality of shell, white, yolk and the size of the air cell.  Also, laying eggs doesn’t get easier with practice.  The younger the hen, the smaller the egg; the older the hen, the larger the egg.
• A refrigerated egg left in its carton will last up to three weeks after bought from the store.  You can tell a bad egg when it has dried up on the inside.
• The yolk and whites of an egg will yield 3 tablespoons.  If you want to separate them out, the yolk will give you 1 tablespoon and the white 2 tablespoons.

 

For more facts, visit the American egg board website by clicking on the photo above.

 

 

 

30 MINUTES OR LESS

moo

If we can have our pizza delivered in less than 30 minutes, why can’t the food we eat come from farms just as near?  Epicurious has a neat list of about ten chefs and their restaurants who have made a commitment to sourcing local fruits and vegetables. Click on the photo above for the full article.

I WANT!

COLLAPSIBLE COLANDER

BOYE ESTERMANN

The bonus you get out of compact storage and colorful design more than make up for the hefty price tag of $65.00.  Visit MOMA online for more great kitchen equipment.

 

 

TZATZIKI

 

"You got it backwards, Dill," said Jem. "Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them."

Ingredients

8 oz. container of Greek style yogurt

1/2 TBL extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp salt

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup grated cucumber

1 tsp fresh dill

 

Mix all ingredients together

Tips

• I used a micro-plane/rasp to mince the garlic.
• It is very important to wring out all of the water from the cucumber, and then wring it out again.  And again.  Cucumber has a high water content and you do not want it diluting the taste of your tzatziki.
• It is best if let to settle in the fridge for at least a few hours – even make it a day ahead.
• Greek style yogurt can now be found in most supermarkets.  Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods also carry various brands.

* The quote is To Kill A Mockingbird

‘TIS THE SEASON (FOR COOKIES)

The New York Times has a very interesting article on butter and how it can make or break a cookie.  Consider it required reading for any novice baker.