welcome to my pantry

Imperfect; not for everyone.

2007-07-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to live on an organic farm and cook lunch and snacks for the crew and dinner for the farmers and their family. It was a fantastic opportunity and it might always live on in my memory as the best job I ever had.
I knew I wanted some sort of record of the things that I cooked that summer so I made a journal and clipped or photocopied the recipes that I used.
This system was imperfect and time consuming but I stuck with it. As a result, I can flip through the pages and remember every meal I ate that summer. I had never heard of blogs back then but if I had, I'm sure I would have started one. When I pull out my journal today, though, I'm glad it's hand written. I just wish it had a search function!
Because of the journal, my memories are still so vivid. In April, I picked dandelions with my rubber boots on because there wasn't much growing in the fields. My job included feeding the cows and although sometimes I resented getting up early to take care of this task before heading into the kitchen, I'm grateful that I had the chance to raise an animal that I would consume. We traded veggies for eggs from the neighbors (who just happened to be the CEO of Organic Valley) and I'd walk around Saturday market with a bag of food to trade for honey, cheese and trout.
I tried many new things that summer and came away with some favorites: homemade rhubarb schnapps, whipped cream sweetened with strawberry syrup, elderflower ice cream, the best plum pie EVER. Hmm, can you tell I like dessert? I also made asparagus soup with Parmesan custards, learned to like rutabagas, fried up homemade root vegetable chips and on the 4th of July we had fried chicken from farm raised chicken that had never been frozen. So incredibly juicy!
Possibly my favorite discovery of the summer, however, was homemade ginger beer. As many times as I flip through my journal, though, I can't find any trace of a recipe or even a mention of when we drank it. I've searched the web in hopes of finding something that resembles this elixir but have had no luck. I remember it had A LOT of ginger in it and I think it sat at room temperature for a day or so and then went into the cooler for a week. I remember this part well because I could not wait to try it. But wait I did and I was well rewarded. It was unlike anything you could buy at the store. Perfectly sweet and so spicy that it warmed the stomach. Not everyone who tried it loved it, but I sure did.
This summer, I gave up on finding that illusive recipe and decided to work with what I had. I found a super easy recipe on Instructables and gave it a go last week. In less than 24 hours, I had a tasty beverage. It was not the drink of my dreams but as I drank glass after glass, I started to fantasize about how to make it better. My imagination really took off after I read Married with Dinner's post on the Gin Gin Cooler. I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients to make their cocktail so I ended up just mixing the ginger brew with Death's Door Gin (local gin, woohoo!) and added a slice of lemon.
I was so busy thinking about how to improve the ginger beer- more ginger for sure...hmmm, some vanilla?....how about lime instead of lemon juice- that I don't think it hit me until the next day that this method of quick brewing had far reaching applications. I've brewed beer and mead and made homemade liqueur out the wazoo and while they are all delicious, none of them are easy or quick. It can be weeks or months before you get to taste anything. But put a flavor agent in a two liter bottle with a smidge of yeast and some sugar and the next day you have a delicious, fizzy beverage to enjoy. The mind boggles at the potential. With a little nudge from Shuna, I decided to start with chocolate soda.
I used Dagoba Xocolatl cocoa powder, which is slightly sweetened and has a hint of cinnamon and chilies. I admit that my concoction smells a little weird. When you get past that, it has an interesting, complex flavor. In the ginger beer, there was no hint of the yeast but in the chocolate soda, the yeast and the chocolate are making friends. I haven't had the chance to share my latest creation with anyone yet but here's the recipe for you. It may be imperfect still and the finished product may not be for everyone, but I'm still excited about the potential for this method. Try your own homemade soda and let me know what you come up with. I'm gonna try coffee soda next.

Homemade Chocolate Soda

1 empty 2 liter bottle
1/4 c. Dagoba Xocolatl cocoa powder
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. wine yeast
water

Put the cocoa, yeast and sugar in the bottle. Add water to within an inch of the top. Shake to distribute ingredients. Put on top of fridge. Approximately 24 hours later feel the bottle. If it feels like it's going to explode, put in the fridge. When its cold, drink it. If it doesn't feel like it's going to explode, let it sit at room temp until it does. DO NOT forget about it or it will explode all over your kitchen and make you very, very sad.

Beets for dessert?!

2007-07-10T06:42:00.001-07:00

Even though I have not been buying much produce lately, our fridge was starting to seem uncomfortably full. Friends who left on vacation told us to pick up their CSA box, I was the willing recipient of gifted veggies from farmers who brought too much to market, and my back porch herb garden is overflowing. I have a lot of guilt about wasting produce so I decided not to wait another day to eat some of this bounty.
What I created was an unexpected treat. I will preface this by saying this is for beet lovers only but I will add that if you try this, you might find you are a beet lover after all.

My favorite way to prepare beets is to roast them. Boiling only seems to dilute the flavors, while roasting makes them more intense. Put your unpeeled beets in an glass baking dish with a little water, oil, salt, a few bay leaves and a sprinkle of black peppercorns. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees until they are easily pierced with a fork. This could take up to an hour if you beets are big. Let them cool and their skins should slide right off. Be careful not to get any juices on you or your countertop You are now ready to use your beets in all manner of dishes.

Yesterday, I was in a hurry to make dinner and short on ingredients so I used whatever I had on hand. Luckily, I have a well-stocked pantry. I chopped the beets in bite-sized chunks,added a splash of cassis vinegar, clementine olive oil, a drizzle of honey, salt and pepper and topped it with tiny lemon verbena leaves. Oh, and while I was out picking those, I noticed that my gooseberries were ripe and since they are similar in color to the beets and I was creating a kind of fruity salad, I threw those in too. Trust me, I was a little skeptical about the results. It could have been really weird with all those different flavors. I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed more like a dessert fruit salad than anything but that's okay. I figure we are supposed to eat so many fruits and veggies that the more courses we include them in the better right?

You may not have these exact ingredients lying around and although this salad was delicious, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that you go out and buy them to make it. I would encourage you to play with your food though. Try new things. Be bold in the kitchen. The worst that could happen is that you spit something out and you never have to try it again.

I was inspired to share this after months of ignoring my blog because I was so surprised and delighted by these new flavor combinations. I have recently started selling preserves at a local farmers' market and I give out samples. It is discouraging the number of people who will turn down a free taste because of an unfamiliar ingredient or one they haven't liked in the past.

"Passion fruit. What's that like?"
"Would you like a taste?"
"No."

It could be your new favorite thing but now you'll never know...

Worth a thousand?

2007-03-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

I am unsatisfied with my attempts at capturing, with words, the wonderful experience I had in San Fransisco at the end of February. Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip which will hopefully do the job for me.
Thanks to Tea and Shuna for your your hospitality!

Bits and bites

2007-02-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some food related highlights of the past week.

1) I'm not a fan of dining out on Valentine's Day so instead I surprised Sam by whisking him off to Le Chardonnay for all you can eat Moules Frites (Mussels and Fries) on Tuesday night. We don't try new restaurants often, prefering to stick with old favorites rather than risk a disappointing meal. The restaurant is more attractive on the inside than it looks from the street. We had a cozy table for two and while the view of Johnson St. traffic wasn't that appealing, the atmosphere of the restaurant made up for it.
We started with a bottle of Vovray and I'm sad I forgot to write down the brand because I loved it. When you order the moules, you choose from 4 sauces and they arrive almost immediately, a boon for the hungry diner. It takes awhile for the crispy shoestring fries to catch up but they are worth waiting for. Sadly, the spicy harissa mayo that came with them tasted like Hellman's to me. (Many restaurants don't make their own to get around the serving raw eggs issue.) Fortunately, the fries were good enough to eat plain.
We tried all 4 sauces but our favorite was the first; the Ardennaise which had bacon, mushrooms and cream. There is a basket of crusty bread for sopping up the delicious sauces. Le Chardonnay makes 28 sauces in all and offer 4 each week. I can't wait to go back but next time I will opt out of dessert ($9 for a so so dessert when dinner was only $14.95?!) and get an extra dozen mussels.
Mussels are cheap and easy enough to make at home but when are you ever going to feel like creating 4 sauces and making homemade fries to accompany them? Go to Le Chardonnay instead, you won't be disappointed.

2. Fraboni's- This Italian Deli anchors one corner of the old Greenbush neighborhood. Greenbush was once an enclave for all things Italian within Madison but there's not much left to remind us of this historic area. Fraboni's is the kind of store that is threatened by the Whole Foods, Walmarts and Trader Joe's of the world. If you take the time to make an extra stop on your shopping itinerary, you will be richly rewarded.
I always come for one thing and leave having spent much more money and time than I had intended. They have an amazing selection of olive oils and if you are lucky, Steve, the owner, will lead you through a tasting of his favorites so that you can find your new favorite. We often go here for Italian sausages and sliced deli meats (mmm...soppresata). Their selection of artisan pasta is unparalleled. Last weekend I had Lili in tow and she found this beautiful sun pasta.We were having friends over for dinner and the menu took shape as I wandered the aisles. I picked up a three lb. tub of ricotta, shell pasta and proscuitto ends (these were in the freezer section and came in thick, meaty slices at a deep discount from what the regular proscuitto costs) I made stuffed shells, ravioli nudi (naked ravioli- I love saying this so much, I couldn't resist making them!) and rosemary foccaccia.
I made these with locally grown winter spinach from Snug Haven. The recipe called for just butter as a sauce but that seemed a little boring so I cut my proscuitto ends into little nuggets and fried them up with some sliced garlic. Perfect.

3. Sunday dinner was Mexican at M&B's. They made Venison and Chicken Tinga and Sam made Tortilla Soup. I can't be bothered to type out recipes today but leave me a comment if you are interested.4. Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday and I am going to a Chocolate Party. My friend M made gallons of gumbo and I made 16 qts. of soup and everybody else will bring their best chocolate concoction. Lucky for me, I ordered The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharfennberger and and Robert Steinberg from the library and it came just in time! I am in love with this book. It doesn't just have incredibly tempting recipes, it also tells the story of how their company came to be. This is very interesting to me as I try to get my fledgling preserve business off the ground. This is a great read for anyone who has ever thought of starting a small business. More on what chocolate treat I made for the party later...

5. Tea and Mrs. B. both tagged me for the 5 Things About Me meme so I thought I'd give it a go.

1) I don't have a t.v. except for this beauty.
It's not that I don't like t.v. I just lack the will power to turn it off. Now, of course, the computer has replaced the t.v. so I am pretty much doomed.

2) I hate shopping. I tend to be frugal and I find that the best way to save money is to never go shopping.

3) I used to be a pretty hard-core biker. For the first 6 years I lived in Madison, I only had a bike. I biked through one or two winters. I even rode my bike from Seattle to San Diego by myself. Good times!

4) I could easily retire tomorrow and never be bored. I really hate the fact that I have to work for money. I would love to volunteer full-time with groups that do things that I am interested in. I'd garden and cook and take pictures and read books and knit and bike around the world. Sigh.

5) I've wanted to be my own boss since I was very young. When I was about 8, the plan was to own a restaurant called Sizzles. My dad would cook (he always did the cooking in my family), my mom would set the tables (she collects dishes and makes killer flower arrangements), my sister would be the waitress and I would man the cash register. Perfect, right? The dream has changed a bit but it still remains.

Happy Birthday Blog!

2007-02-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the unscheduled blog vacation. It started as a simple mechanical difficulty.
I practically killed myself by tripping over my laptop cord and destroyed it in the process. It held on for a few days and I got used to reduced computer usage. I read entire books, I finished long overdue knitting projects, and I tried a recipe I've been wanting to make for about 10 years.
That's Tourte Milanese from Baking with Julia. It's homemade puff pastry stuffed with herbed scrambled eggs, spinach, swiss cheese, ham and roasted red and yellow peppers. It tasted even better than it looks!
What I really need to do though is concentrate on my business. I just found out that I have to sign up for farmers' markets by March. Gah! It all takes longer than you think and I leave for SF for the marmelade class in just a few short weeks.
Anyway, I am unfocused and slightly crazed but I couldn't miss posting today because it is my Blogiversary AND to think I missed World Nutella Day! Here's a tower of cupcakes with nutella buttercream frosting to celebrate one year of blogging and the frosting recipe for you, my faithful readers. Please leave a comment if you read this post, it would make my day!

Nutella Buttercream Frosting
(based on Classic Egg White Buttercream from Rose Levy Bernbaum's The Cake Bible)

4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 c. butter, slightly softened
1 jar nutella (I don't know the size I used but I think it would be condsidered "medium")

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form and then begin adding butter by the Tbsp. If the mixture begins to curdle, increase the speed and beat until smooth. If this doesn't happen, all is not lost. I just added the rest of the butter and then added the nutella. I was a little afraid I was wasting all that precious nutella but buttercream magic prevailed and it all came together in the end. This is a really easy buttercream. If you've wanted to get away from store bought frosting and want to try your hand at "real" buttercream (this is in a whole different league than frosting with confectioner's sugar) then this is the frosting for you.

I won't be posting very often this month but if you still want to check in with me I have started a photoblog as a side project. ( I know! I have way to many hobbies to be an entrepreneur!) I got tired of posting crappy pictures to my food blog so decided that I wanted to become a better photographer. See how it's going...

Pamplemousse @ My Expressions

A day late and a dollar short.

2007-01-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

I'm not good with deadlines. Especially when it's for something that I consider a hobby. I really wanted to participate in two recent blog events, SFH #27 Chocolate by Brand and Waiter, there's something in my...Stew but I failed to make it happen. The sad part is, I made the food and took the photos but when it was time to write it up, the pull of Sam snuggled under two down comforters was too strong. These recipes deserve to be shared, though , so here they are.
Hedonistic Fudgies -
Once you've had these, you will be able to retire all other chocolate cookie recipes. I fed these to several coworkers and friends and comments ranged from "awesome cookies", "all the best parts of brownies" and "those are the richest cookies ever".

2 c. chocolate chips
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 c. butter
4 eggs
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. chocolate chips

Melt chocolate and butter together. Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla until just combined. Stir together dry ingredients. When chocolate is melted, stir in egg mixture. Add dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop onto cookie sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Timing is important here. This batter cannot really sit or you will not get the pretty crackly crust you see in the picture. If you only have one cookie sheet, you might want to halve the recipe so you can bake them all at the same time recipe. I used a commercial oven and large sheet trays for these. As for baking, do not overcook these. The edges should be set but they should be pretty soft in the middle when you take them out of the oven. They will set quite a bit upon cooling and you definitely do not want to miss out on biting into the perfect mix of crisp edge and squigy middle with melted chips. Have a big glass of milk at the ready and a plan for how you are to dispose of the extras. I ate one in the car on my way to work and then gave the rest away. They are too dangerous to have around!

Clamizo Stew- I hardly ever make up recipes and when I do, they are rarely worth repeating. This stew is an exception and a good example of how sometimes simple is best.

2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-4 leeks, chopped (white parts only)
Spanish Chorizo, chopped in small dice (I used 1/2 of a U-shaped link)
6 medium potatoes (I used the purple vikings and I thought the potatoes would just bulk it up but they were actually my favorite part)
51 0z. can chopped clams
28 oz. can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted tomatoes (diced)

Saute leeks in oil. Add the chorizo and fry until starting to crisp (3 minutes) Add the potatoes, clams and tomatoes and cook on medium until the potatoes are tender. Serve with warm, crusty bread. I know this may sound like a weird combo of ingredients but it just works. The smokiness of the chorizo is echoed in the fire-roasted tomatoes and the whole is definitely equal to more than the sum of its parts.

Don't read food blogs in the morning...

2007-01-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

or you might end up eating oatmeal with passionfruit caramel, a drizzle of buttermilk and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt. Delicious, but next time I'll save this for dessert!

Top Ten

2007-01-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

I have tons to blog about but I'm obviously spending (wasting) my time doing other things so I thought I'd do a little round-up of things that have turned my crank this week.

10. By far the cutest croissant-
With a quarter for scale! These delicious apple pastries with cinnamon glaze were made by L'Etoile for the Friends of the Market breakfast last weekend. The breakfasts are mainly staffed by volunteers and use products sold at the market to support the market and you get a tasty breakfast. Sounds like a win/win to me. If you haven't been-GO!

9. Madison is getting its own restaurant week.
Read more here.
I'll hopefully be going to Harvest since I have a gift certificate.

8. Purple Viking potatoes.

I used to deliver produce to Chicago area restaurants. It was mostly organic and many chefs balked at paying what we charged for potatoes. They claimed that they needed to allocate their dollars toward produce that their customers would really notice. How much better could an organic potato taste, really? I delivered brown paper bags full of sample potatoes from Butter Mountain that shone like jewels and maybe changed a few minds. Sadly, I don't have a picture of John with his lovely potatoes but here is one from a tasting he did at the Willy St. Coop. (Lisa-be sure to check this link!) He is clearly passionate about his potatoes, as well he should be!
Tonight for dinner we had my favorites, Purple Vikings.
They are streaked with purple and pink on the outside, creamy white on the inside and taste like a potato dreams it should. You may not be able to find these particular potatoes but there is a larger point here. I've been reading a lot of articles lately about when buying organic or local is important and when it isn't. I submit that organic food sometimes tastes unexpectedly better. I buy local not beacause I'm hoping to save the planet but because these people are my friends. Get to know a farmer today- you won't regret it!

7. Key Lime marmelade-
I have have been in a marmelade making frenzy and have been pretty happy with the results so far. This one tasted a tiny bit bitter to me so I let some friends sample it. Yup, too bitter. I could have viewed this as a negative (Crap! I'm going to have to eat all 20 jars myself!) but instead I viewed it as a call to action. I had recently noticed that one of June Taylor's Marmelade classes had openings but I was waffling about whether I could justify the expense of flying out to California just to take a preserving class. This convinced me that I NEEDED to take the class. So SF readers, I'll be in your town Feb. 23rd throught the 26th- do you want to go to the Ferry Plaza Market with me?

6. Saveur 100-
I will probably (hopefully) write a complete post on this soon, but for now just let me mention my that I love the January issue of Saveur because it caontains their top 100 food inspirations of the past year. Some would even argue this is where I stole the idea from for this post. (Note to Saveur- online access to the list would be mighty nice. Thanks!)

5. Cocktails-
Thanks to Kevin (my boss), the Saveur 100 (#30- Classic Cocktails), and even perhaps the latest 007 flick, I have broken out the cocktail shaker and have been enjoying an occasional tipple. Here's Sam trying our new fav the Kir Noir.
I was surprised by the lack of Google hits for Kir Noir. It's supposed to be a Kir made with red wine and cassis. I used wine, cassis syrup from Ikea and Absolut Kurrant vodka. A twist of lemon is awfully nice. When you first taste this it's kind of like homemade sangria but the it gets more complex the longer it sits.

4. Food Podcasts-
This one also links to the Saveur 100 because my 2 favorite podcasts related to food were mentioned ( #64 Eat feed, #81 Good Food- KCRW). There is a strange feeling of six degrees of seperation here too. I have been asked to Fuel Eat Feed and that is my main reason for trying to get the website running.

3. Bucatini all'Amatriciana-
Awhile back I bought a smoked pork jowl from the farmers' market and declared I would make this dish. I finally got around to it and I wasn't sorry. Sam declared it "pretty much the best thing ever" when I asked him if he was sick of it after eating it for 2 meals a day several days in a row. He even used the sauce for a gourmet meat lovers pizza which had smoked jowl, sopressata, and pepperoni. Sam doesn't even really like noodles (I KNOW!!!!) but bucatini has become a new favorite. They are essentially hollow spaghetti and they have a special alluring chewiness from their lack of middle (does this make any sense?).

2. Citrus alert!
Okay, this doesn't turn my crank at all. I ran out and bought a bunch of citrus in anticipation of prices going up. I feel bad for my California farming friends. They had such a hard Spring and now this. Do we need to get used to this freaky weather? I just got used to the idea that I could buy Meyer lemons in the store and now they all froze to death while it's 70 degrees in NYC. What's next? Who knows but it's certainly encouraging me to live in the moment.

1. Beef Stew for a cold day-

We finally have snow on the ground here, and the lakes are threatening to freeze so I thought it was time for winter classic- Beef Stew. The recipe was swiped from The Meat Club Cookbook [Girl's only] by Vanessa Dina, Kristina Fuller, and Gemma DePalma. I picked it beacause it called for Guinness (Mmmm....) and juniper berries and allspice; two unappreciated spices that inhabit my spice cabinet. I fully intended to reprint the recipe but I am beyond tired ( and drinking my third cocktail) so here is the abbreviated version. Find a beef stew recipe. replace the liquid with beer (I actually ended up using Furthermore Three Feet Deep) Add 1 tsp. ground allspice and 1 tsp. ground juniper berry. When I tasted this while cooking, I thought the spices were too dominant. By the end though, it achieved savory cohesiveness that was a pleasure to eat on a cold January day with a bottle of Valpolicella Ripassa.

Bonus. I have a logo!
Thanks for everything Sam.

Byproducts- Part I

2007-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

I am happy that I have chosen an industry (preserving) in which the bypropucts can be as useful and tasty as the preserves themselves. Although it is possible that head cheese would taste better if I made it myself I'm surely never going to find out.

Recently I made grafefruit jelly that called for using the zest of only one of the grapefruits. I couldn't bare to throw all that beautiful peel away so instead, I candied it.
Now I know you've read a million times that you don't want to eat the bitter white pith that lies just below citrus peels but when you are candying the peel, you are going to use the white part. That's how you end up with thick, succulent candied peel. The way to get around the bitterness is to boil the peels in fresh water for 5 minutes three seperate times. You end up with flaccid, mellowed out peels that are then ready for a final dip in sugar syrup before laying out to dry. You don't really need a recipe, just know that the sugar syrup should be a ratio of 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. It shoulld cover the peels in the pan and you should slowly boil the peels until they are translucent (about 30 minutes if memory serves). These keep indefinitely and can be used in all manner of baked goods (candied orange peel and craisin scones anyone?) And if you were wondering, once candied, you can't really taste the difference between candied orange and candied grafefruit.

I used my peel to make stollen. Last year was the first time I'd ever had stollen and I quickly fell for this not to sweet bread full of nuts, candied fruit nuggets and a marzipan surprise. "I come from German heritage!" I thought. Where has this bread been my whole life? I vowed to make it this year for Christmas. That didn't happen but I did have the candied peel waiting patiently for me so here I am in January, baking stollen.
I found one recipe for it on Epicurious and as with other traditional recipes, the comments were full of tips and edicts about how to make real, traditional, authentic stollen. I am as big a fan of authenticity as the next girl but in my kitchen, I am American and I do what I want! Besides, what are the chances that I'd create an authentic version of a bread that I had only ever tried once and not in it's native surroundings? So I give you:

Rainbow Bread- aka Stollen My Way (based on a recipe from Epicurious)

I call this Rainbow Bread because I chose red cranberries, orange candied peel, yellow candied citron, green pistachios and purple dried Black currants. Feel free to use your own favored mix of dried fruits.

Note: This bread takes almost 7 hours from start to finish. With dumb luck I managed to work this around making preserves all day and going to a movie but you might want to plan better than I did!

Sponge:
1 1/3 c plus 1 1/2 tsp. lukewarm milk
1 1/2 tsp. lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 fresh yeast cake
2 2/3 c. flour

Dough:
3 1/2 c. plus 3 Tbsp. flour
1 c. golden raisins
1/3 c. candied citron
1/3 c. candied grapefruit peel
1/3 c. mixed dried cherries, cranberries and black currants
2/3 c. pistachios
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. rum
1 Tbsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tube marzipan

For sponge:
Stir together the 1 1/2 tsp. milk, water and sugar. Add the yeast cake and mix until smooth. Let sit until foamy (note: It will not be as foamy as dry yeast). Add flour and and 1 1/3 c. milk and mix well. Cover and let rise for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

For dough:
Mix the fruit and nuts together in a bowl. Stir in the 3 Tbsp. flour. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, rum, spices, vanilla and salt. Add the sponge and mix well. Stir in the fruits and nuts. Start mixing in the flour 1 c. at a time until a slightly sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Put in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise for 2 1/2 hours.

The recipe calls for dividing the dough in half but next time, I would divide it into quarters. The marzipan surprise was sort of lost in such a large loaf (it's the whitish circle toward the top of the photo). So, divide dough in 4 equal parts. Shape each piece into a rectangle. Divide marzipan into 4 parts and roll into a rope the same length as tha bread is wide. Lay the marzipan across and swaddle it with the dough. It will look like this:

Cover and let rise for two hours. (Perfect amount of time to go to a movie Woohoo!)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until brown, about 50 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar. I prefer mine with orange passionfruit marmelade. There will be plenty to share and people will appreciate that you are not trying to give them head cheese.

Preserving year round.

2007-01-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

People sometimes ask how I got into making preserves and I don't have a very good answer. I can't remember the first time I made homemade preserves. It was probably strawberry freezer jam with mom when I was a kid. My mom didn't really cook. She would sometimes bake, and there was a little bit of canning going on, but for the most part my dad was the cook in my family. I don't have memories of my grandmothers making preserves either. When I started canning on my own, I made that same strawberry freezer jam and the family recipe for bread and butter pickles. For several years, that's all I did.
Then one day, I was out running after a big storm and I noticed that a huge tree branch a neighbor had dragged to the curb was covered in plums. I couldn't believe someone would throw out that bounty! I ran back home and got a bag, picked all the fruit and took it to the neighborhood store to get it weighed. I knew if I was going to make jam, I'd have to know how much fruit I had. A clerk at the store asked where I'd gotten the fruit and upon hearing the story asked if his friend could interview me for a newspaper article about urban gleaning. (If you have never seen the movie The Gleaners and I by Agnes Varda, go right now and rent it. It is one of my all time favorites.)
Those plums were a turning point, I think, or maybe just one of several factors that led to a deeper interest in preserves. At the time I was working at a stand at the Saturday Farmer's market and delivering produce for a collective of organic farms to Chicago restaurants. I only worked 3 days a week which left ample time to play in the kitchen and I had access to the best that Wisconsin had to offer. I had a cute little pantry off my kitchen that had built in wooden shelves. The shelves didn't quite reach the ceiling so I began stacking my jars of jewel toned preserves on top. Just looking at them made me happy.

The real turning point was the summer I lived on the farm. I was in charge of making lunch and dinner for the farm crew but I took it upon myself to preserve the farm bounty. I made everything from pickled broccoli (there's a reason you can't buy this at the store!) to triple currant jam to a hundred quarts of canned tomatoes in one day (that's the last time I'll ever do that unless I borrow someone's Italian family). I went a little crazy. Traditionally, the point of preserving was to make enough to get you through the winter until fresh produce became available again. I kind of lost sight of that goal. That was 3 years ago and I bet they still have shelves full of my preserves at the farm because I made more than a neighborhood of families could eat in a year.
I remember one night after dinner, sitting out back enjoying the cool evening air before heading back into the steamy kitchen for another round of jamming, musing that maybe I should make preserves for a living. If I loved it enough to be doing it on my own time after being in the kitchen all day, maybe I could make it a business.
When I left the farm, I already had tentative plans to buy the food cart. I thought I could do both. Ha! I convinced several people to sign up for my fledgling value-added CSA. Instead of produce, they would get canned goods. I scrapped this plan pretty quickly when I realized that I would essentially be canning the same amount as I always had but at the end of the summer, I'd have none left for me. The little bit of money I'd asked for didn't seem worth it. I gave the money back and concentrated on the food cart instead.

But all the while, I've been squirreling preserves away in my basement. I used to bring friends down to show them the beautiful rows of jams, jellies, pickles and chutneys. I was still making them faster than I could eat them.
Around this time I heard about Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. This book changed my preserving life. I have collected preserving books for years but this was something new and amazing. The old-fashioned books were full of boring combinations and WAY to much sugar. Christine Ferber doesn't use commercial pectin to set her preserves. This allows them to have a softer, more pleasing jell and it allows the true flavor of the fruit to shine. I rarely use pectin anymore. She also has exciting flavor combinations and figured out how to make chocolate preserves. She makes preserves for Pierre Herme for pete's sake!

Around the same time that I found out that I was losing the kitchen space that I used for the food cart, I had a lead on another kitchen that I could use for preserves. It felt awful at the time but now when I look back, I think that the timing was perfect. Maybe everything does happen for a reason, you just can't see it at the time. And that, my friends, is how Pamplemousse Preserves came to be.

I've been having so much fun in the kitchen lately. Usually, by the end of the summer I am burnt out on making preserves and I take the winter off. Not this year. For the first time I have my own commercial kitchen to use so I have been trying many new things. Orange Passionfruit Marmelade, Dolgo Crabapple Jelly, Key Lime Marmelade, Chocolate, Orange Banana Preserves...

Bye Bye Chinese take-out!

2007-01-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

I made only one real resolution this year. The rest are still in my head because if I wrote them down I'd actually have to follow through and what fun would that be?
This year, Sam and I made a joint resolution to eat out no more than twice a month(this includes take-out). There have been times when we really couldn't afford to eat out but now that we have a little wiggle room, it's all too tempting to take the easy way out when I'm tired and hungry at the end of the day. Since eating out is one of our favorite activities, we are bad influences on each other and as soon as one of us brings up the idea, the other has a coat on and is heading out the door.
I need some easy recipes. I have no problem spending hours in the kitchen, making elaborate dishes from scratch but I'm not very good at the throw-dinner-together-in-20-minutes-or-else- we're-going-out type fare. This recipe for Kung Pao shrimp is my new best friend.

Kung Pao Shrimp

from The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman

1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 lbs. peeled raw shrimp
3 Tbsp. oil
5 small dried chiles
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 c. roasted peanuts, chopped

Mix together the cornstarch and wine. Marinate the shrimp in this mixture while you prepare the other ingredients. Heat oil in a wok. Add the chiles and stir until they begin to blacken. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink. Add the sugar and soy sauce and cook for 5 minutes, until the sauce has cooked down a little and the shrimp are evenly coated. Turn off the heat and stir in the soy sauce. Serve with rice and garnish with scallion and peanuts. We had this with an eggplant-edamame dish but it would be great with simple wilted spinach with sesame oil, tamari and toasted seeds.

In sickness and in health.

2007-01-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

I've spent the better part of this new year curled up on the couch, gut churning, moaning quietly. I blame Sam. I rarely get sick but since we've been together, the pattern has been set. He catches something and then a few days later I get a less virulent strain of whatever he had. He was sick with a stomach bug all day Saturday and then we rallied for New Years Eve but when I awoke before dawn on January 1st, I knew my stomach wasn't protesting from too much drink. The good thing is, this year can only improve from here. Still, it'd be hard to top 2006.
Happy New Year y'all!

Food related X-mas haul.

2006-12-28T07:31:00.000-08:00

Along with an All-Clad food mill, a lovely ceramic pie plate and a Japanese manga book about bread baking, I also received this letter just in time for Christmas. After 3 years on the waiting list, I now have a spot a the Dane County Farmer's Market. Yeehaw! I got on the list without actually having a plan about what I'd sell. I knew it took 3 years to get a spot and that seemed like plenty of time to think about it.
It seems like perfect timing with the fruition of my preserving business right? There's only one small problem. The rules of the market are such that in order to sell my preserves there, I would need to grow the produce that went into them. Seems a bit overly strict, no? I do appreciate the theory behind the rule. Our market is a growers-only market. Everything sold there is grown in Wisconsin and the person who grew it must also be there to sell it. This makes the market special. I really can't say enough about how amazing this market is.
The thing is, I buy my produce from local farmers. I would be willing to sell preserves made with ONLY Wisconsin produce. This isn't good enough, though. Instead, I will have to sell baked goods. When the market first started in the 70's, the bakers actually grew their own wheat. Over the years the rules for farmers and bakers have diverged and now bakers don't even have to use local fruit in their pies. There are fantastic baked goods already at the market but I am hoping there's a niche left for me. Any ideas?

Tradition.

2006-12-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm not big on tradition. Especially when it comes to food. There are so many things I've never made before, why stick myself in a rut by making the same old thing for theholidays every year? This year, I offered to make the Christmas Eve feast for my husbands family because my mother in-law recently underwent surgery and wasn't feeling up to it.
I chose Italian (hmm, maybe I'm already in a rut with the Italian thing!) and spent a lot of time contemplating menu choices. The main course wasn't hard. Both Sam and I read Heat by Bill Buford and became intrigued by his description of a beef stew called Peposo Notturno. Just throw some beef in a pot with a bottle of Chianti, a head of garlic, salt and 4 Tbsp. of coarsely ground black pepper and bake it overnight at 200 degrees. In the AM we seperated the meat from the sauce and cooked the sauce down to thicken it up and concentrate the flavors. After another hour in the oven to reheat the stew, the meat is rich and spicy but not overwhelmingly peppery. It is unlike any other beef stew I have ever had and so easy! For photos of the entire meal, check out my flickr page.
What I really want to talk about is dessert. I thought about making many things but in the end, I went with tradition. Many years ago my Dad discovered the ultimate flourless chocolate cake. I know, we've all been beaten over the head with hundreds of flourless molten lava decadence cakes by now but this was BEFORE all of that. The recipe comes from Julia Child and the original name has way too many words. We just call it Gateau. We usually serve it with a basic raspberry sauce and a pillow of whipped cream but I knew when I wrote the post about syllabub not too long ago that this might well be the ideal accompaniment to my favorite chocolate cake. I was right.
I will share the recipe here for selfish reasons. We were packing up the seemingly endless boxes of food to bring to the festivities when I realized that my notebook with the gateau recipe was at the new kitchen and there was no time to go pick it up. What did I do? I called my parents, of course. It's actually become something of a joke in my family that I can NEVER find the recipes for our few family favorites when I need them. This cake is so good, that even though my parents are retired and traveling around in an RV, they still had the recipe with them. From now on, as long as I am near a computer, the recipe will be at my fingertips. Try it this New Year's Eve and maybe it will become a Holiday tradition for you too.

Gateau- based on a recipe from Julia Child

1 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
4 Tbsp. water ( I usually just use espresso)
4 Tbsp. rum (or try Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Kahlua, etc.)
14 semi sweet chocolate
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (or use 1 lb. bittersweet)
6 eggs (warmed in a bowl of hot water)
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. heavy cream, whipped

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate with the espresso and rum. Be sure to add the liquids before you start melting the chocolate so that the chocolate does not seize. If you have only one Kitchenaid bowl, whip the cream first and store it in the fridge while the chocolate melts. Clean the bowl and add the warmed eggs and begin beating on low. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla then whip on high until eggs have tripled in volume. This could take 8-10 minutes and is the secret to this recipe so don't give up too soon!
When the chocolate is melted and the eggs are whipped, fold 1/4 of the egg mixture in the chocolate to lighten it. This makes it easier to combine it with the rest of the eggs. Fold the lightened chocolate back into the rest of the eggs and fold gently until homogenized. Now fold in the whipped cream. Pour into a lightly greased 9 inch square pan and bake in a water bath at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, until the center is slightly springy to the touch. You can underbake this cake if a molten center is what you are looking for . I don't recommend it though because this cake firms up overnight and is almost a new and different cake the next day. If there's any left, I can never resist having a few bites with my morning coffee.
One more thing, this cake is not for slicing. Just scoop it out and garnish attractively. Beauty isn't everything, you know.

Too busy to blog.

2006-12-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

My preserve business hasn't even launched yet and I'm already having a hard time keeping up. This past weekend I had an open house at the kitchen. Cookies were baked and eaten, nog was spiked and drunk and I sold many jars of preserves to friends looking for last minute Christmas gifts.
We had gingerbread men, Mexican wedding cookies, dream bars, brownies with dried cherries, pfeffernusse, jam thumprints and these jam cutouts filled with my apricot vanilla butter, plum jam and black currant preserves.
With many of my favorites depleted, I am scrambling to make more preserves. I'm working on more Pears Belle-Helene, baby agro-dolce cipollini onions, crabapple jelly and pink grapefruit jelly. I guess everybody is getting preserves for Christmas again this year after all!
Yeehaw! This year Menu for Hope 3 has already doubled the amount raised last year. You have two more days left to figure out which prize you want to bid on so don't dilly dally!

Giving Back- Menu For Hope III

2006-12-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

It's easy this time of year, while we plan celebratory parties and shop for presents and gorge ourselves on sweets, to forget that we are very, very lucky. Many people around the world are hungry (oops! can I still call it that?) I for one am happy that Pim is once again harnessing the power of food bloggers to give something back.
Last year, a Menu for Hope II raised 17,000 dollars for Unicef. This year we are raising money for the United Nations World Food Program. To sweeten the deal, for every $10 you give, you have a chance to win some amazing prizes. From incredible dining experinces, to cook books (some signed) to photography lessons to naughty tours of Paris, there's something for everyone. I can't do justice to the prizes here so check out Pim's blog for the whole list.

Or check the blogs listed below for the regoinal roundups which include in-depth descriptions of the prizes:

US West Coast: Becks and Posh
US East Coast: The Amateur Gourmet (new prizes added)
US (the rest): Kalyn's Kitchen
Canada: Cardamom Addict
Europe and UK: Davidlebovitz.com (new prizes added)
Asia Pacific/Australia/New Zealand: Grab Your Fork

I am personally donating a Trio of Chocolate Preserves to the cause. Do not let the quality of the photo fool you into questioning the deliciousness of these preserves. They are all based on recipes from Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber, the jam goddess from France. Included is an 8 oz. jar each of Chocolate Raspberry, Chocolate Banana and Pears Belle-Helene (pear chocolate). These preserves are divine on ice cream, waffles, crepes or just spooned directly into your mouth. The code you will need to bid on my prize is UC11. U.S. residents only please!

Here's what you have to do to donate:

(We are still in the process of adding prizes. Check back frequently for updates!)

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope.

2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhopeIII and make a donation.

3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code—for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 for EU02. (Please use the double-digits, not EU1, but EU01.)

4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.

5. Please allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 for the results of the raffle.

Thank you!

Two weeks until Christmas...

2006-12-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

...and I'm already exhausted. I tend to lean toward hand-made gifts for the holidays. I've already done preserves, homemade liqueurs and homemade hard cider so this year I planned to branch out and make knitted gifts. I am not a quick knitter, though, and what with the posting every day in November thing, I am way behind.
I'm already backed up several posts because I couldn't see my blog over the weekend for some unknown reason. So today I have some photos and a recipe and then I'm going to call it a day so I can get back to the knitting.

I was invited to a brunch on Sunday and when I offered to bring a baked good, the hostess said she was going to make a pear-mincemeat tart. Strangely enough, I had been thinking about making a tart with a jar of mincemeat I had lying around so I offered to make it for her.

The Making of a Tart

This recipe would take a lot more work if you don't have a jar of mince lying around so feel free to buy some from the store or make the mince ahead of time. It will be fine in the fridge for up to a week. I served it with whipped cream with a little Mandarine Napoleon (orange liqueur) mixed in and to glaze it I used homemade apple spice jelly. Unfortunately, I don't know who to credit for this recipe. If you do, please let me know and I will add it.

All the fruit in this tart was sourced locally.

Pear Mincemeat Tart

2 firm pears, such a bosc
¼ cup raisins
1/3 firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup dry white wine
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
2/ tablespoons butter
1/ tablespoon brandy

Pastry
1 ¼ cups flour
1/ teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ pound cold unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cold water

4 to 5 firm pears, such as bosc
½ lemon
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup strained ginger preserves or apple jelly for glaze
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon brandy

Nutmeg for sprinkling

Preparation: FOR THE PEAR MINCEMEAT: Peel, core, and chop pears. In a saucepan combine pears, raisins, brown sugar and wine. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, until pears are tender and liquid is reduced by half, about 40 minutes. Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, butter and brandy. Cook 5 more minutes. Mincemeat can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for at least 5 days.

FOR THE PASTRY: Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter or work with your hands until mixture is the consistency of meal with some pieces of butter still the size of peas. Sprinkle in the cold water and stir until dough just begins to clump together in the bowl. Turn into a mass, using plastic wrap and your hand to help gather dry parts of dough and press them into moistened dough. Wrap dough in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes.

Peel and core pears and cut lengthwise into ¼ to ½ slices. Squeeze lemon juice over slices and toss.

On a floured work surface roll out pastry. Fit dough into a 10 – inch tart pan with a removable bottom and chill 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of tart shell thoroughly and spread mincemeat over it. Arrange pear slices in concentric circles, starting from outside edge and overlapping slightly to form 2 or 3 rings of pear slices, using smaller slices toward center. Sprinkle with 1 ½ tablespoons sugar.

Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown and pears are tender, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool.

Melt ginger preserves or apple jelly and brush over cooled tart. Whip cream with remaining 1 ½ teaspoons sugar and brandy until it holds soft peaks. Refrigerate cream if not using right away.

SERVING: Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with nutmeg.

P.S.- If there are any graphic designers/web designers out there who want to help me create labels and a website for Pamplemousse Preserves, please contact me.

Victory!

2006-12-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

As of today, my kitchen is certified and I am licensed by the state to make preserves. YeeHaw!! Here is a virtual tour:

Oh, and the name is Pamplemousse Preserves. Soon there will be a website where you can order your very own.

I'm a fool for syllabub.

2006-12-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

I served this at the end of a Morrocan feast but I think it would be a great way to finish Christmas dinner. I've made flavored whipped cream before but there is so much liquid in this recipe that I couldn't believe the cream would still whip.
As you can see by the picture, I did not end up with a soupy mess. (I read that the traditional way to serve this is to let it sit in the fridge overnight so it seperates a little and then you drink it.) This dessert defies description. I've been sitting here way to long trying to think of a clever way to describe the texture and flavor (like whipped cream but DIFFERENT and BETTER! Like the best creamsicle ever!). You can see my problem. I'm just going to leave it at this: I have never made something this easy that tasted this good. It has to be tried to be believed.

Turkish Delight Syllabub from Nigella Bites

3/4 c. Mandarine Napoleon (or other orange liqueur)
juice of 2 lemons
8 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. orange flower water
2 Tbsp. rosewater (optional- I forgot to bring it but didn't miss it)
2 Tbsp. shelled pistachios, finely chopped

In the bowl of a Kitchenaid mixer, combine the liqueur, lemon juice, and sugar. Begin mixing on low and slowly add the cream. As it begins to thicken turn it up to medium speed. It will take much longer to whip than regular whipped cream. When the cream is thick enough to hold its shape, add the orange flower water. Continue mixing until the cream holds soft peaks. Serve in decorative glasses with pistachios sprinkled on top. An Anna's orange cookie on the side makes an ideal vehicle for scooping this into your mouth.

Check out these syllabubs from other bloggers:
Lemon Raspberry from The Domestic Goddess
Lime from Habeas Brulee

Winter Market Report II- Metaphoric vegetables.

2006-12-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

Find Part I here.

Elephant trunk burdock root.

Michelin man crosnes.
Firecracker tatsoi.
Watermelon radish (oh yeah, that's it's name!)
We also got some normal veggies.
And some eggs and pears for more Pears Belle-Helene!

Cannibal Pigs

2006-11-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the end of NaBloPoMo, Sam and I went out for ribs. Smoky Jon's is our favorite and has the added advantage of being one of the few restaurants worth patronizing near our house. Sam loves Smoky Jon's graphics. In the picture below the pig appears to be pouring BBQ sauce on his own belly while he lounges in the fire. In the photo above, he is salivating at the thought of chomping on some ribs. This is not a vegetarian friendly joint. After a thorough exploration of their offerings over the years, I've decided to just stick with the ribs. It is what they do best. Whatever you do, do not get the burrito. I don't know what I was thinking when I ordered this but this leftover meat wrapped in the saddest excuse for a tortilla I've ever seen will never pass my lips again. But the ribs, oh the ribs!Smoky Jon has won numerous national awards for his BBQ (and Emilio Estevez and Paula Abdul have eaten here, woohoo!) and though I've never been to Kansas City or Memphis, I think these ribs could compete with the best of them. His sauce sauce has that perfect balance of sweet and tang. The meat falls off the bone as you pick them up and has that pink tinge characteristic of well-smoked meat.
The only disappointment is the sides. I've thought about getting take-out ribs and coming home to eat them with my own baked beans and tasty coleslaw but instead I'm lazy and opt for the fries and usually the corn which has enough "butter" and black pepper to make it stangely tasty.
And now here's a picture of me because The Amateur Gourmet claims I can boost my readership by putting my picture on my blog. Hey, Amateur Gourmet are you looking?! I changed my masthead too! (Thanks to Sam for the html help.) I'm still in my hat and reserved-for-the-coldest-days-of-the-year-down-jacket because today it is COLD here. Yesterday, it was 40 degrees, today 16 degrees. Gotta love Wisconsin in the winter!

Whew! It's over! I don't quite know what I'll do with myself now that a good portion of every day is not spent cooking so that I have something to write about, taking pictures of food and reading what everyone else is writing about. Hmm...Maybe I'll finally get the preserving business off the ground? Stay tuned, the health dept. inspection is coming up.

Thanks to everyone who visited my blog this month. Special thanks to those who keep coming back. Witout you, I'd be nothing. And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

F**k, I only have 9 minutes left to post!

2006-11-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

I admit it, the time stamp at the end of my posts is wrong. I figured I'd change it after NaBloPoMo in case I got in trouble with this challenge. I was only late once this month and it was by 1 minute. So today, I am not ready to blog about the no-knead bread so here is a photo essay of the Pears Belle-Helene (pear chocolate preserves) I started making today.

P.S.- Are my pictures getting better or is it just me? I got a photograghy book out of the library. I LOVE the library!

No need to knead.

2006-11-28T21:16:00.000-08:00

Looks good doesn't it? The only problem- I FORGOT THE SALT! I know those crazy Tuscans like their bread without salt but to me bread without salt is like eating without tastebuds. Anyway, I didn't plan to post about this today but now I have spent so much time reading the exhaustive coverage of this bread phenomena that I had no other choice. A new salted batch is underway and I will post about it tomorrow with all the tips I've gleaned along the way. I can already say that everyone needs to try this bread. Thanks Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman!

Bibimbop and Bulgogi.

2006-11-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

Don't ya want to eat Korean food just for the names? Last night we went to Molly and Brent's for dinner. I said we'd bring the fixings for Bibimbop and they countered with Bulgogi. They didn't even know that I'd been wanting to try this dish for years. You know what's better than making a dish you've wanted to try for years? Having someone else make it for you! Thanks guys.The first time I made BibimbopI was cooking at a farm for the summer. Some of the people I fed were real meat and potatoes types and they weren't thrilled with lunch that day (they preferred the cows tongue salad I made on a different day to this!). Part of the problem is that they wouldn't eat anything hot AT ALL and we all know that the success of a bowl of bibimbop lies with a liberal dose of Rooster sauce. I don't blame them, really, I wouldn't get excited about a bowl of rice with spinach, cucumbers, carrots and mushrooms with an egg on top either. It's the hot sauce that ties it all together and makes it special. I got the recipe from Cooking Light.
Brent made the bulgogi recipe from an amalgamation of online sources. It seems like a pretty basic marinade so maybe what made it so delicious was the grated pear? I don't know but I can't wait to have it again. And then I'm going to try this bulgogi burger.