Culinary Fool

Simple Spritz

11-Dec-2007

A quick and easy recipe yields a simple yet luscious cookie. There are tons of recipes out there but this one is pretty much the one I use. This year I flavored one batch with the traditional almond flavoring and another with orange flower water. But more than anything the taste and feel of butter is what comes through.

Holiday Baking is in Full Swing

24-Nov-2007

Made these two loaves of bread for Thanksgiving. They are already gone – one eaten Thanksgiving morning, the other tucked away in my Dad’s freezer. They mark the official opening of the holiday baking season!

Cranberry Vinaigrette

24-Nov-2007

I first made this dressing and gave it as part of my annual cookie basket (filled with more than just cookies) for my family several years ago. This year my Dad asked if I’d make it for our Thanksgiving dinner. So I made up a couple batches – enough for dinner with "leftovers" to leave with my Dad and my sister who was also at T-day dinner.

This recipe is from a really great cookbook (you’ll love all the recipes!), Dishing with Kathy Casey: Food, Fun, and Cocktails from Seattle’s Culinary Diva. If you are looking for a holiday gift for someone who loves to cook this is a good option!!

Cranberry Vinaigrette

2/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar or distilled vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup orange juice*
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Place cranberries, sugar and vinegar in small saucepan and heat over medium heat until cranberries pop, 5 – 10 minutes.

Let cranberries cool slightly and then transfer to a blender. Puree (being careful to make sure the top doesn’t pop off if they are still warm) the mixture until fairly smooth – there will still be pieces of bright red skin. Add the mustard and orange juice and lightly mix.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Slowly, slowly add the oil while continuously whisking until all oil has been incorporated and the mixture is emulsified.

Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

* Use any sort of orange-flavored citrus you have on hand. For this most recent batch I used tangerine juice and it was great!

Shopping Online this Holiday Season?

16-Nov-2007

If you are an online shopper here is a site you may want to check out: Non-Profit Shopping Mall

The way this site works is that you choose a charity (there are over 70 including America’s Second Harvest and Share our Strength) and then you shop from a selection of 125 retailers. A portion of each sale goes to the charity you’ve chosen. You still pay the same price as you would if you went directly to the site and right up front it tells you what percentage of your purchase goes to the charity. The lowest percentage I saw was .5% and the highest 10%, with most being in the 2% -5% range. While those percentages may not sound like much, even .5% can add up to a significant amount with enough sales.

It’s up to you to do your homework to check out the non-profits to determine "worthiness" and up to you to decide if you think the retailer’s deal is something you want to participate in. But if you are spending the money anyway…..

Citrus Season

14-Nov-2007

Fall also heralds the beginning of citrus season. Yes, in our current world economy we can get citrus nearly year round. And no, citrus is not grown locally here in the Pacific Northwest (at least not commercially) but I still consider this time of year the local citrus season as the juicy and flavorful fruits from Florida and California become more abundant.

And with that the big ‘ol bags of grapefruit are back at Costco! Fresh juice every morning now!

Flavorful Fall Foods

12-Nov-2007

While I always look forward to those first, fresh tastes of spring that eventually turn to the full-flavored summer fruits and vegetable I am especially fond of fall food. It comes with built in memories and the feelings of home, comfort and cozy dinners.

While many of the foods I love are found at Farmers’ Markets or, even better, in your own garden many of them are just one step removed from the producer. These are things that local food artisans have incorporated into their offerings. Essential Baking Company has some breads that are specifically found in fall and winter. One of my favorites is the Sweet Perrin made with pears (obviously), figs and hazelnuts.

It lends itself to many variations – sliced and popped directly into the mouth!, toasted with a little sweet butter, covered with a thin layer of cream cheese and thinly sliced pears – the opportunities are endless.

Yesterday I decided it would be great as French Toast – and it was!!! I just used a basic egg/milk combination and added a bit of vanilla. I thought about also adding cinnamon or nutmeg but decided against it, although I think it would be a good idea!

Once cooked I topped it with warm maple syrup and some chopped dry-roasted hazelnuts for a delicious breakfast.

Macarons

26-Oct-2007

I’ve been home from my France trip for quite some time but I managed to hold on to one little taste of France all this time! I had purchased a box of macarons in St Emilion in Bordeaux and just finished the last few a couple days ago.

The macarons found in Bordeaux are quite different than those you find in Pars (and we we generally find in French bakeries here in the US). The Bordelaise macarons are small, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and almond flavored. They sort of remind me a a Snickerdoodle but almond flavored instead of cinnamon.

The macarons made in Paris are much fluffier and are always assembled as a sandwich. They run the gamut for colors and flavors and they would never have lasted this long without going bad or at least degrading a bit – at least I don’t think they would.

Dine Around Seattle Press Release

23-Oct-2007

Sometimes it’s nice to just cut and paste….

NEW WEBSITE FOR DINE AROUND SEATTLE (FORMERLY 25 for $25)

PROMOTIONAL DETAILS AVAILABLE FOR CITY’S POPULAR DINING EVENT AT WWW.DINEAROUNDSEATTLE.ORG

(Seattle, WA.) Dine Around Seattle (formerly 25 for $25) is pleased to launch their new website, accessible at www.dinearoundseattle.org Visitors to the site will be able to view restaurant menus for the month-long promotion and find detailed, at-a-glance restaurant information including: address, telephone number, payment options and parking availability. In addition, viewers will find a featured recipe from each chef, as well as reviews from the ever-popular Secret Diner, who anonymously dines in each of the restaurants and posts comments following their meal.

Now in its sixth year, Seattle’s successful, bi-annual dining promotion (March and November) has become so woven into the culinary culture of our area that it is eagerly awaited by locals, as well as visitors, many of whom make their trip to Seattle to coincide with the month-long event. From November 1^st through November 29^th, Sundays through Thursdays, Dine Around Seattle offers diners a chance to enjoy prix-fixe dinners for $30 and prix-fixe lunches for $15.00 at some of Seattle’s most delicious fine-dining establishments. This price will not include beverage, tax or gratuity and menus will not be available on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 22nd. Each restaurant will decide whether they will offer lunch, dinner or both, but all meals will offer 3 courses with choice selection among appetizers, entrées and desserts.

FEATURED RESTAURANTS (new additions in bold type): Andaluca, Barolo Ristorante, Barking Frog, BOKA Kitchen + Bar, Brasa, Campagne, Cascadia Restaurant, Earth & Ocean, Etta’s, Eva Restaurant, Fish Club, Flying Fish, Market Street, Mixtura, Nell’s Restaurant, Nishino, Ponti Seafood Grill, Ray’s Boathouse, Restaurant Zoë, Sazerac, Serafina, Six Seven, SZMANIA’S, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, The Third Floor Fish Café, 35^th Street Bistro, Tulio, Veil, Wild Ginger, Yarrow Bay Grill and Beach Café

Cafe Campagne Offers Take Out Cassoulet

21-Oct-2007

I offer this announcement as a public service…. I have many friends who love cassoulet but it does take a time commitment to pull it all together so here’s your "easy" answer! From a PR release for Cafe Campagne:

Love cassoulet but lack the time-literally days-to prepare it? Beginning in early October, Seattle foodies and Francophiles can get this ultimate comfort food available for take out. Place the order by 5 p.m. and it will be ready for pick-up at 11 a.m. the next day. All that remains is to sprinkle the dish with breadcrumbs, which are provided in the simple instructions in the to-go packet, and bake. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for dark, dreary winter evening, to take on a ski weekend or take to a holiday dinner. This signature dish of Café Campagne’s chef Daisley Gordon combines many elements. From soaking the beans, roasting the pork, cooking the lamb, preparing the duck confit, and simmering the broth, to bringing the ingredients together; each facet imparts its seasoned richness to the rest of the dish, creating a whole of rounded flavors and comforting country peasant fare. Toss a mixed-green salad, buy a loaf of crusty bread, open a full-bodied red wine with dark fruit and mineral notes and VOILA! Dinner is ready. Call the cassoulet haute line (206) 728-2233 or via email at cassoulet@campagnerestaurant.com The cost per order is $19.

Did you catch the reference to the cassoulet "haute" line. Ha!

I’ve Almost Got it!

21-Oct-2007

For the last few years I’ve been trying to make a cookie that my paternal Grandmother used to make every year during the holidays. It’s a very traditional German cookie called springerle. And in fact you’ll find it in several European countries in addition to Germany; for instance it’s also common in the Scandinavian countries.

I’ve had varied success over the last few years. The cookie is very interesting because the only liquid comes from 4 eggs, yet about 8 cups of dry ingredients get mixed into the eggs. So it’s super important to beat the eggs thoroughly to get them very light and full of air so that all the dry ingredients can be incorporated (something I’ve learned through trial and error). Since my grandmother passed away over 30 years ago I haven’t been able to seek her advice as what the proper techniques are and the recipe instructions are pretty sparse so there have been lots of fits and starts. There are "newer" recipes for this traditional cookie available and I’m sure they are much easier as they incorporate milk and butter but I’ve really been wanting to master my Grandmother’s recipe.

The other challenge with these cookies has been the tools needed. They are a molded cookie and my Grandmother had plaques (or stamps or blocks), pieces of wood cut with traditional designs that were pressed into the dough to create designs on the top of the cookies. I don’t know who got her plaques when she died and I have a feeling I’ll never be able to track them down which is very disappointing. I had the bright idea when I started this project to see if anyone happened to be selling some on eBay or online. Little did I know that they have become collector’s items over the years and the prices are pretty amazing.

So I have resigned myself to buying newer versions – normally replicas of the old wooden blocks – that are made from a composite material or some are faced with aluminum, but most of them do not have as deep of a design as my Grandmother’s did. Since the dough is very stiff getting the design firmly and cleanly imprinted has been a bit challenging at times, too.

Well, in preparation for my upcoming baking frenzy I decided to do a test run this weekend, partially motivated by a new mold I bought on Friday. And I am very excited as I think I just about have it mastered!!

Two things I need to try for my next batch: I think the dough should be rolled a little bit thinner and I still need to work on getting better imprints, although I have a new idea that I think will be just the ticket! As I was, uhm, "testing" them this morning I started thinking that these cookies are probably sort of an acquired taste. They are flavored with lemon peel and anise but the texture is crunchy on the outside and dense and chewy on the inside. They are sort of a dry cookie, meant to be consumed with tea or coffee, but in today’s world of big, soft, barely-baked cookies I’m not sure people new to them would really understand my dedication to them. Oh well, that just means more for me!