Surrendering to the challenge...

Sometimes the challenge is in finding the ingredients (or the implements)...

Sometimes the challenge is in a new technique, like pastry crust...

Or a scary one, like caramelizing sugar...

This month the ingredients were simple ones: flour, salt, water and yeast. And the recipe... the recipe was what our hostess called Julia's 18-page love letter to French bread, a treatise on combining simple ingredients into bakery-worthy bread. What I love about Julia is that her recipes and her techniques are accessible to the home cook. She takes something you're convinced you'll never master, walks you through the process, at the end of which you've done it. You've beaten boeuf bourguignon and bouillabaisse, conquered cassoulet and coq a vin.

In February, the challenge for me wasn't about the ingredients or the technique. It was about carving out the time. And I regret that between professional and personal commitments, I wasn't able to fit it in this month. So you'll have to check out the Daring Baker Blogroll to see how my brothers and sisters in pastry fared with this month's challenge.

I'm sorry Mary. I'm sorry Sara. Know that I was with you in spirit. And that when I *do* make the time to work through this recipe (and I *will*) , it will be in the spirit of the challenge the two of you presented...

Technorati Tags: Daring Bakers

Better with Butter (Healthier with Whole Wheat)

When Ashley of Eat Me, Delicious announced that this week's Dorie recipe would be Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits, I had mixed reactions.

On the positive side, I was looking forward to a sabbatical from sweets, and traditional breakfast fare would fit well into my Saturday routine -- the only open space in a busy week and weekend. On the downside, I've had my share of challenges with the butter-flour combination, and (admitting that my childhood experience with them centers around the Pillsbury Dough Boy) biscuits aren't high on my list of favorite foods.

But these challenges are about stretching my skills and reaching outside of my comfort zone. And it was kind of appropriate that this breakfast would fuel my first session with my new personal tormentor trainer. What better pre-workout treat than homemade biscuits?

Like last week I strayed slightly from the published recipe, incorporating a half cup of whole wheat pastry flour and opting out of the pecans, which aren't a favorite in my household. The result? Yum! Move aside Pillsbury...I've found a biscuit I can get excited about and a recipe I'll definitely return to.

Check out fifty-some other experiences with this recipe at the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll.

Technorati Tags: Food | Breakfast | Tuesdays with Dorie

Click! Flour!

I've watched from the sidelines as you interpreted the image of the incredible, edible egg. Negotiated the art of the noodle and the nut. And captured the motion of liquid love in megapixels. In awe of your creative genius.

My little point and shoot camera and I are simply not worthy.

But when flour was announced as February's photographic focus, I knew I wanted a part of the action. Don't get me wrong... my photography's still not prize-winning material. But it's something I'm proud of and wanted to share.

I took these photographs last summer when I tried my hand at the very first Daring Baker challenge: the soft pretzel. I was mostly playing with the settings on my camera and not expecting a lot... but I love the "before, during and after" theme I inadvertently captured here. I hope you like it too.

Technorati Tags: Food | Food Blog Event | Click!

Pesto? Caprese?

I got this one from Glenna...

Mindless and amusing... just what I needed on a rainy Wednesday evening.

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

Glorious Gateau

Today my lean six sigma team launches the customer survey that will define our project's scope and direction...

I've spent the last two weeks suspended in survey questions, tweaking and testing and tweaking some more to ensure we're exploring every avenue, asking the right things the right way...

I managed to make my Lemon Meringue Tarts within days of the January Daring Baker challenge post date, but it's taken me three weeks to get the post up...

I've got outlines and drafts galore, but less than two months in I'm several weeks behind at the whole Blog 365 thing...

Yeah, this is the PERFECT time to take on yet another challenge in the kitchen.

But I've been drooling over other people's posts for far too long now. Tuesday's with Dorie, here I come...

Dorie belongs to the 'three D' club in my kitchen... I discovered her (and David Lebovitz and Donna Hay) with a little help from my ever-expanding blog network. (And they each own at least partial responsibility for my ever-increasing waistline).

Brought to us by Nikki over at Crazy Delicious, today's challenge is an "Almost Fudge" Gateau. "Almost Fudge" indeed.

In a belated tribute to Valentine's Day, I baked these in the small heart shaped springforms I purchased for last summer's award winning "Peabody". One recipe filled four little pans and each heart-shaped treat serves four without leaving anyone deprived or overwhelmed. Guilt-free indulgence, my favorite kind!

Except for the downsizing, I followed the recipe as published, and dressed it up with the last remnants of of Tierra's Strawberry Chipotle Jam. The result: a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, rich and creamy chocolate love.

Thanks Dorie! Thanks Nikki! Thanks Laurie! Can't wait to try next week's recipe...

Technorati Tags: Food | Dessert | Food Blogging Event | Tuesdays With Dorie | Key Ingredient: Chocolate

A rose by any other name...

When Nicole paired me with Steph over at the Cupcake Project for Taste & Create VI, it took no time at all to decide which of her recipes I would try.

Those of you who've been reading for a while are already aware of my slightly incestuous love affair with Nutella. If Nutella represents a smooth and rich older cousin of sorts, the Ferrero Rocher is my sweet and sassy niece. Born in 1982 she grew up one of the most popular kids in her class.

And Steph makes a divine cupcake inspired by the chocolate hazelnut goodness of the Ferrero Rocher. I made a couple of modifications to her recipe -- some worked really well and others came back to bite me in the (_]_). I started by substituting half of the white flour for hazelnut flour, which gave my cupcakes a bit more hazelnut punch and a nice hearty texture. Then, since the European version of this chocolate delight carries a bit of an alcoholic punch, I spiked my gooey filling with a splash of Frangelico... enough to cause my tasters to take notice without impairing their ability to drive.

The one place where I wish I'd followed the recipe more carefully was in filling the cupcake foils. Steph is very clear... fill them half way as the cakes will rise. But since she said the recipe makes twelve cupcakes and I thought perhaps the hazelnut flour would calm them down a bit (yeah, and because I was too lazy to reach up into the cupboard for a second cupcake tin), I got a bit overzealous in the filling... and my cupcakes runneth over. Fortunately the deep rich chocolate ganache hides a world of sins. So while they may not be as pretty as Steph's, they taste quite nice.

Next time I make these (and there *will* be a next time), I'm going to try them in mini-muffin tins, so they more closely resemble their confectionery cousin.

Oh, and Steph? That's pronounced feh-REH-roh roh-CHAY...

Technorati Tags: Food | Food Blog Event | Cupcake | Key Ingredient: Hazelnut

Lots of lemon leftovers

Hey... it's FULL of Vitamin C!!

From the archives: a year ago today, I introduced the Ciolinos and their sensational syrah.

When life gives you lemons...

...heat their juice and a bit of zest gently with egg yolk, sugar and cornstarch until you have a nice custard. Fold that custard into miniature butter-crumbly pastry shells. And top them with a fluffy egg white meringue. Then post your story alongside 400-some others for the January edition of the Daring Baker challenge. Just don't follow my lead and post it three weeks LATE. (Lucky for me that powers of the internets and blogger allow me to post-date my story).

Jen of The Canadian Baker was our hostess this month, and proclaimed January the month of the lemon (and the egg white). I actually made the little lemon tarts within days of the official post date (a few days late because I didn't want to infect my tasters with the sniffles). But a week of training followed sickness... and more tasks than time to complete them followed training. So here we are in mid-February (despite the fact that the date up there is January 28). The lemon tarts are long gone, living on in photography alone.

By now you've already read hundreds of accounts of weeping meringue and soupy curd. Where did I struggle? Ironically, with neither of those components. What gave me fits was the crust. That's right, the crust. What came out of my food processor resembled clumpy flour, not smooth and supple dough. I was devastated... if I couldn't make the one component everyone else succeeded with, what hope did I have to achieve the *hard* stuff? Lucky for me my guy is a whiz on the internet as well as in the kitchen. He found me this, and helped me roll out some sensational tart shells. Tragedy narrowly averted.

We ended up with six mini tarts (because I have six mini tart shells), a dozen shortbread crust cookies, and a *ton* of leftover curd and meringue. Stay tuned to see what we did with that...

Overall, it was a great challenge. I'm not a fan of the commercial lemon meringue pie on dessert carousels at diners across the country, but the mini-tart approach was quite pleasing.

Want to try it yourself? Jen has the recipe posted here.

From the archives: A year ago today I explored my culinary genealogy.

Technorati Tags: Food | Dessert | Daring Bakers | Key Ingredient: Lemon

Muahahaha

Using this model, perhaps raising and lowering the wine glass counts as lifting weights?

Healthy, Fresh & Fast

A recipe that boasts being healthy, quick to cook, and features market fresh yet easily obtainable ingredients is a *perfect* candidate for January's first Magazine Monday. And it's even better when the final product tastes even better than it looks. Bon Appetit!

Grilled Tilapia with Smoked Paprika and Parmesan Polenta
adapted from Cooking Light, January/February 2008, p. 168

2 cups lowfat (1%) milk
2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
4 6-ounce fillets tilapia

Bring milk and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

While milk comes to a boil, combine oil, paprika, garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a small bowl, whisking to create paste. Rub both sides of fish evenly with spiced oil (I used a pastry brush here and it worked quite nicely, although it may now carry a permanent orange tinge from the paprika). Set fish aside.

When milk/water comes to a boil, gradually add polenta, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes or until thick, continuing to stir constantly. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Remove from heat and stir in grated cheese. Cover to keep warm.

Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan. Cook 4 minutes per side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Magazine Monday | Key Ingredient: Tilapia

Almost like shopping with Grandma...

Grocery shopping with my grandmother remains one of my fondest childhood memories. Those of you who've been reading for a while know that growing up, we spent summers visiting our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Illinois. My paternal grandparents made the journey from Italy to America as small children. Both families settled in small mining towns southwest of Chicago. Summers in the villages of Ladd, Cherry, Chicago Heights and Steger Illinois taught me a lot about life, love and community in small town America. And one of the best things about small town America to me when I was growing up was time spent in what Grandpa called the marts of trade.

Unlike today's mega-marts and warehouse-style outlets, grocery shopping with my grandmother was only partially about stocking the pantry and the refrigerator. It was also a chance to greet neighbors, relatives, friends. And to get advice from food purveyors on what was good today, what was fresh, and how to prepare it. Grandma Kate knew Dominic the butcher, his wife, his son and daughter, his new baby grandson. And Dominic knew how much my grandfather loved a tender pork roast, a rare beefsteak. And he always had a scrap slice of mortadella or salami to delight my brother and me. Similar scenarios played out in the bakery, the green grocer, the fish counter and even the four check-out counters at the front of the store. Grocery shopping with my grandmother was part financial transaction, part social interaction, part educational experience, and a great adventure.

The only thing that came close to this in my 21st century adult life was the farmer's markets -- at least until Lunardi's opened in Danville. It's taken the space of Andronicos, an upscale grocery chain from Berkeley. And with artisan meats and cheeses, and in-store bakery and a Peet's Coffee, it hasn't abandoned the upscale market.

But what makes Lundardi's special for me is the people. The fact that during precious days before Christmas, when he's got a line of people a mile long, Joe behind the butcher counter asks me what I'm doing with three pounds of pork tenderloin. And when I tell him we're serving it stuffed for dinner on Christmas Eve, he takes the time to butterfly it for me. And tosses in a length of butcher's twine to hold it together. That Ann and Arnold at the registers do more than make occasional eye contact with their customers... they converse with us. They remember names, and where customers' kids go to school.

It's almost like shopping with Grandma...

Lunardi's Market| 345 Railroad Ave., Danville, CA | 925.855.8920

Technorati Tags: Food

Rachel Ray, eat your heart out...

I don't have a lot of words lately. But I'm eating some wonderful meals, and I've got the pictures to prove it.

One recent meal featured leftover mustard glazed salmon crumbled over mache greens and avocado dressed with lemon juice. With five minutes of prep time, it took more effort to clean up *after* dinner.

Technorati Tags: Food

A *good* case of the blues...

A small tub of blue cheese crumbles leftover from last month's Christmas Eve festivities.

A bunch of spinach and a pair of pears in this week's CSA box.

A pound of Rosie organic chicken breasts.

Fifteen minutes with Firefox and Google.

What's for dinner tonight? Whole Foods' Baked Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Pears and Blue Cheese.

Bon Appetit!

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Key Ingredient: Chicken

Always a bridesmaid...

Those of you who've been following along this month know that I haven't had a lot of luck with recipes from my chosen focus cookbook this month: Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. A used bookstore bargain-bin find, it's been occupying space on my cookbook shelf for several years. The inside front cover's inscribed with wedding shower wishes from a group of the bride's girlfriends. I've often wondered what became of Kim and Mark, married in early 1997. Now that I've tried some of the recipes, I'm understanding why regardless of how their marriage fared, Kim was willing to sever her relationship with Moosewood. After a lackluster seafood dish and an equally bland experiment with garlic soup, it's only a recipe or two away from eviction from *my* kitchen. Double-dog dumped.

Tonight my mission is to use up some CSA cucumbers that are on their last legs. I think Moosewood's got a simple cucumber salad recipe. Sure enough, there on page 233: Cucumbers Vinaigrette. All I need is two cukes and a handful of pantry staples.

But wait, behind the cucumbers there's a quarter of a red onion and a wedge of jicama... What the heck... the more the merrier. So I slice the vegetables, whisk together the vinaigrette toss it all in tupperware and the tupperware back in the 'fridge so that the salad can macerate and absorb the vinegary goodness.

The result? Not bad. Not bad at all. But not much of a recipe either. Moosewood's still going to have to try a bit harder to maintain its spot on my bookshelf...

Cucumbers (and other crunchy vegetables) Vinaigrette
Adapted from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

2 medium cucumbers, peeled (since mine came from the CSA and had no wax, I didn't bother)
1/2 jicama, peeled and julienned
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground dried mustard
ground black pepper to taste.

Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/4-inch rounds. Toss with jicama and onion.

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and mustard in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to dissolve sugar and salt. Toss with vegetables. Refrigerate for 20-60 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Season with ground pepper to taste.

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Salad | Key Ingredient: Cucumber | Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

Hay, Hay, Let's Play (with pizza)

Okay, so this probably isn't the most attractive edible to emerge from my oven. But DAMN did it taste good! And it's my humble contribution to January's Hay Hay, it's Donna Day, where we're celebrating pizza.

I started with the basic Donna Hay Pizza Dough, straying only slightly from the recipe as Joey posted it. I substituted whole wheat for one of the two cups of all purpose flour, hoping to increase the final product's nutritional value at least incrementally. I figured if I was going to pile it with pork fat, I'd better add nutrition somewhere. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The pizza dough came together quickly and easily, and the twenty minute rise gave me the time to hone my knife skills prepping the toppings. I'd selected primarily locally-sourced toppings: a rapidly ripening pear from my CSA, some pancetta piana (dry-cured, skin-on pork belly that is seasoned with black pepper and rosemary most commonly found in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna) from the Boccalone box, and a hunk of Point Reyes Blue I found blooming in the back of the cheese drawer. Over the toppings I drizzled a couple of tablespoons of a lemon and ginger infused cream honey I found at one of the farmers' markets last summer.

Fifteen minutes at 425 and... oh. my. gaaawd. Just the right combination of sweet and salty, tart and tangy. Leftovers are going to make *great* lunches for the next several days. Thank you Joey, for allowing me to play a bit with pizza toppings, and reminding me how often all of the ingredients for a fresh satisfying dinner are hiding in my pantry and refrigerator, waiting me to drop the takeout menu and unleash my creativity on them. I encourage you to go and check out the roundup at 80 Breakfasts later this month... you're bound to find additional inspiration (and far better photography) there.

Technorati Tags: Food | Food Blog Events | Hay Hay, it's Donna Day (HHDD) | Pizza

Carbonara alla Cosentino

Back in early December, our bi-weekly "piglet" sachetto of tasty salted pig parts came with a nice chunk of Guanciale (a salt-cured pork jowl, mostly found in the region of Emilia-Romagna) which the newsletter proclaimed is the traditional cured meat used to make the famous dishes Amatriciana and carbonara. They provided a recipe for the former. And we've been after the guys at Boccalone for Chris' recipe for carbonara ever since.

We got it a week or so ago.

And it was wa-aaaa-ay worth the wait.

I can't comment on the ease of preparation or lack thereof on this one; my contributions included stopping at Whole Foods for cheese, then boiling and draining the pasta. Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate the fact that John knows his way around the kitchen?

I can, however, comment on the taste. Rich. Unctuous. And quite authentic, if what came out of my grandmother's and great-aunts' kitchens are any indication. A little of this goes a long way (which is good because it's pretty calorically dense). Next time (and there will be a next time) we're going to scrap the oak-y California chardonnay (which was open) in favor of a crisper pinot grigio in the recipe -- that should play better against the dish's richness. And we're going to take a piece of John's go-to carbonara recipe and add a bit of Boccalone's spicy Italian sausage to the mix. Because one can never have too many tasty salted pig parts...

Technorati Tags: Food | Italian | Key Ingredient: Pasta

Like father, like daughter...

A month or so ago ago, Meryl at My Bit of Earth posed a question that's been haunting me (in a good way) ever since. She asks What is a good habit that you have that's like your parents or grandparents? A bad one? A funny one? She opens up a fascinating discussion in the comments, but rather than write an essay there, I decided to discuss it in greater detail here...

As much as my father loved to entertain, he rather disliked cleaning up afterwards. After a party, you'd find spatulas, spoons and other utensils scattered around the kitchen counter, abandoned wherever he'd last used them. Dishes would pile in and around the sink. With two kids and a wife to pick up behind him, it wasn't often much of an issue. Since I have neither a wife nor kids to look after me, I need to get better about picking up behind me. Because it's a drag to have to spend thirty minutes locating that measuring spoon (and washing it) before I can get started with a new recipe...

Technorati Tags: Meme

Think Garlic! Spanish Potato Garlic Soup

First, apologies in advance for the crappy cell phone picture. My camera's in John's car.

I wanted to love this, my second selection from my focus cookbook of the month: Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. It has all of the components for bringing warm and flavorful comfort on a cold rainy winter day. Long a lover soups with 'cream of' in the title but trying to watch my waistline, I'm slowly making peace with soups with chunks. And with a broth containing 20 roasted and pulverized cloves, it was the *perfect* contribution to Sunita's Think Spice - Think Garlic event.

Sadly, despite the sweet spicy garlic, a pungent CSA onion and smoky paprika, it failed to deliver the flavor. I'm really wondering if this is another case of operator error. Others have enjoyed it. But for me, it wasn't even the sum of its parts. Sorry Sunita. I tried.

I'll finish it, but I won't try it again. And unless the next couple of experiments with Moosewood are phenomenal, I'm going to clear a space on my bookshelf, offering this one as a donation in the next library fund-raiser.

Spanish Potato Garlic Soup
from Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites

For the Garlic Broth:
1 large head of garlic (about 2o cloves)
1/4 cup white miso
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable stock

For the Soup:
1 large onion, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 large potatoes, thinly sliced (I used russets and left the skin on)
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat oven (or toaster oven) to 400.

Separate and peel garlic cloves. Place on dry pie plate and roast for 15-20 minutes (until golden but not browned).

While the garlic's roasting, slice the onion and potatoes, and chop the tomato.

Puree garlic in a blender with miso and water. Add to vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Saute onions, potatoes and paprika 5-7 minutes, until onions are tender but not brown. Add tomatoes and thyme and simmer 5 minutes, until most of tomato liquid is absorbed/evaporated.

Add potato mixture to broth and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Serve with crusty sour dough bread.

Others who've tried this recipe:
Conrad at Green Edmonton gives us a local/organic/sustainable riff on this recipe.
Skona of Skona Life recommends this for warding off the winter chill.

Technorati Tags: Food | Recipe | Food Blog Event | Think Garlic!

Dining out in Dayton - Jay's Seafood

On our last drizzly evening in Dayton we took the advice of colleagues and friends and ventured back into the historical Oregon District. Our destination: Jay's Seafood Restaurant. Our biggest challenge turned out to be finding the restaurant; despite state-of-the art navigation toys, one-way streets and oddly shaped blocks conspired to confound us. But we persisted, and soon found ourselves seated in an elegantly appointed dining room dominated by a 32-food mirrored mahogany bar... a scene I found reminiscent of the 1940's films my father adored.

K was a little concerned when our waiter pondered her inquiry about "gluten free" as if she was speaking a foreign language, and we both breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that the chef understood her dietary restrictions... and that our waiter was pleased to have learned something new. She chose the seared tuna, and I selected the local "Lake Erie" Walleye in a pecan butter sauce. THIS is my memory of solid, Midwestern food: simple, gut-sticking preparations that seek to satisfy, not impress. A great way to end a long week.

Jay's Seafood Restaurant | 225 E. Sixth Street, Dayton, OH | 937.222.2892

Technorati Tags: Food | Restaurant | Seafood

Dining Around Dayton: Brio

If it's Wednesday, it's team dinner night.

"Team Dinner Night" struck fear in the hearts of most of my colleagues, given our experience with the lunch offerings so far...

So when the powers that be announced Brio Italian Grille would be our destination for the evening, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yes it's a chain. But given the number of Arby's I've seen in the last two days, they could have chosen *far* worse in the chain department. I glanced at the online menu and knew I could make some relatively healthy choices. And my gluten-free colleague could eat, period.

I chose the Wood-Grilled Salmon Salad with a glass of Sketchbook Cabernet Sauvignon, and while Pacchia certainly remains the best meal I've had in Dayton, I didn't walk away disappointed or hungry.

One more day...

Brio Tuscan Grille | 4459 Cedar Park Drive, Beaver Creek, OH | 937.429.7792

They Dayton Daily News reviews Brio.

Technorati Tags: Food | Restaurants | Italian