It was overcast today, and cool, after weeks of sunny days. I have a new kitchen I’m trying to sort out, and making my favorite tried-n-true recipes is an excellent way of figuring out the oven. A friend is coming over tomorrow so I can sharpen her knives, and it would be nice to have some treats in the house. My giant cast iron pan really really needs reseasoning, and if I’m going to heat the oven up anyway….
So many reasons to bake brownies. (Like I needed more than 1.)
I have a fairly large collection of books about food, and part of that includes old gems like the 365 Days of Crisco (It’s Digestible!) and Into the Freezer (and Out!) and Diet in Disease. I was thrilled to receive this link to a large digitized collection of pamphlets, housed at the University of Iowa: http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/szathmary/
jaq
So, you’re looking for something to nuke that’s tasty, sweet, and substantial? Something that isn’t microwave popcorn, but smells good enough to drive your co-workers around the twist? How about a personal chocolate cake, baked in a large mug?
Round up:
1 large mug (straight-sided seems better than tapered)
2 or 3 packets of hot chocolate mix (you need about 7 tbsps)
4 tbsps white flour
a pinch of salt
3 tbsps oil (or melted butter)
one egg
3 tbsps water
Put all the dry ingredients in the mug, stir to mix. Pour in the oil/melted butter, egg, and water. Stir vigorously until very well blended. Nuke on high power for 3 minutes. Depending on the size of your mug, the batter might flow over the top, so put a plate under it. Turn finished cake out of the mug onto a plate, let cool for a minute and eat.
Some other substitutions and additions that might work, but also might not:
Yogurt, for part of the water and oil (makes it moister, but also gummier)
Those little mayonnaise packets (the real stuff, not Miracle Whip) for the egg and oil (you’ll probably need 6 packets, approx. 5 tbsps)
Coffee instead of water
Chocolate (or butterscotch or peanut butter) chips
Smashed up Almond Joy to make german chocolate cake-like frosting (smash onto plate and put the hot cake on top of it for melty goodness)
Thanks to aldo cowpat for the original recipe (which features 4 tbsps sugar, 2 tbsps cocoa, and 3 tbsps milk instead of the hot chocolate mix and water).
Jaq
I recently got a copy of Elizabeth David’s Summer Cooking, and have read it cover to cover. Her style suits me, and her recipes suggest delights and enjoyment of simple fresh food beyond measure. Her recipes are also for the more advanced and adventurous cook, because they do assume a certain knowledge and because they are not precise. She expects a cook to be a person who loves food, who loves to taste and think about flavor and texture, a person who makes use of the senses with intelligence.
I went to the market yesterday for milk, butter, eggs, etc and stopped at the butcher who makes my favorite lamb/garlic/pine nut sausages. As he wrapped those up, I noticed a container labeled “young fresh chicken livers, $1.99/lb”. I’d been debating buying a chunk of paté from the cheese shop around the corner (they carry the standard Marcel & Henri brand), but thought well why not try making some?
When I saw this recipe on Bitten, I knew I had to try it: I love eggplant, and now is the time for savory cold salads. But when I started making it up today, my eggplant all cubed and salted and draining, I realized I’d made all the soy sauce in the house up into kecap manis a few weeks before. Since Bittman’s recipe called for both soy and sugar, I substituted 2 tbsp of kecap manis for the soy, skipped the sugar and mixed in 2 tbsp of lemon juice for the dressing. Instead of just white sesame seeds, I used a mix of 2/3 white and 1/3 black dry toasted and because I really like the toasted sesame flavor, I added a few drops of toasted sesame oil to the dressing as well.
First taste says “Oh my YES, will make this again!”
jaq
First, roast a chicken. You can do this several days in advance. Get a nice 5 pound or so bird, pasture-raised if possible. Rinse it inside and out and dry it thoroughly (paper towels or a hair dryer, or leave it uncovered overnight in the fridge. Set in a shallow roasting pan breast-side up (put it on a rack if you want, I don’t generally use one), and sprinkle generously with thyme and lightly with cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Let it sit while the oven heats up to 450 deg F.
Over the past week, I’ve had the opportunity to eat in 3 different museums: at Puck’s in the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), the Eiteljorg Museum’s Sky Cafe, and Taste at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). Circumstantially, all 3 museums had also finished extensive renovations in the past 2 years, with the restaurants all being part of the work.
Today’s tip: Get rid of the smell of garlic or onions from your hands by rubbing them on wet stainless steel. A pan, the sink, the faucet, the knife blade (carefully). I don’t know why it works, but it does. Some fancy kitchen place actually sells a block of stainless to keep at the sink; no need to spend $ on that, just fondle a utensil.
Tip for today: Whether it’s mushrooms you want to saute, cabbage you want to stir-fry, steak you want to sear, or potatoes you’re deep-frying, dry it as thoroughly as possible before you fry it. Reasons: Spattering will be reduced. When there’s moisture on the surface, it will boil into steam and insulate the surface of your food from the oil. (If your steaks and stew beef end up more gray than carmelized brown, this is probably why.)
It’s also a good idea to let the food come to room temperature if possible. Moisture condenses more readily on the surface of cold things, the lower differential temperature between the food and the oil means faster cooking, and since you are going to be cooking it at a high temperature, surface bacteria will be destroyed. A bad idea for any ground meat though, unless you are going to cook it very thoroughly.
A few months ago, I read Twinkie, Deconstructed, in which the author investigates every ingredient listed on Hostess Twinkies, explaining what each does, where it comes from, and why it’s used. I found the story of baking soda very interesting, since I hadn’t known it was mined (I only knew about the original process of refining it from ashes), and the reliance of the US food chain on supplements and additives from China frightening, since the information came to me just a few weeks after the poisoned pet food fiasco (and the subsequent lead in toddler toys fiasco).
I was reminded of the book today when I came across this list of food additives on Cooking for Engineers.
Is that....PIE? 