Cheese and Culture

I think I've discovered another good food read. Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and its Place in Western Culture by Paul Kindstedt looks right up my alley! Now, to get myself a copy...


Once I read it I'll report back here.

Mole-Inspired Meatloaf

Is it possible that I've made a truly tasty turkey meatloaf (the chocolate helps)?!? Don't get me wrong, I love roast turkey and turkey pot pie etc. However, I often find that recipes that try to substitute red meats with turkey (especially ground turkey, but chocolate helps) come out tasting rather bland. My solution has been to increase the flavour in the spicing (the chocolate helps). This is very loosely based on Mexican mole flavours (I did say 'loosely'). And in case you were wondering, the chocolate helps add depth to the flavour of the dish.

1 cup salsa
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1½ lb ground meat (turkey, beef, pork or a combination)

¾ cup bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Heat oven to 350°F. 
2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine the herbs, spices and lemon juice with the salsa. 
3. In large bowl combine the turkey, the bread crumbs, the egg and ¾ of a cup of the salsa mixture, reserving the rest to use as a topping.
4. Bake in an ungreased 9 x 5" loaf pan, shaping the meat mixture into a loaf. Spoon the remaining salsa mixture evenly over the top.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (if you have a meat thermometer you can check the internal temperature by sticking it in the middle of the loaf at 1 hour and 10 minutes and every 5 minutes after that, until the meat thermometer reads 165°F).

Popovers

(NOTE: This recipe stopped working. I posted it before I had established my testing methodology, so it's now in the recipe development blog, the Experimental Mouffette. Things are going very well, it has been improved, has passed the first testing phases, and should be updated, here, shortly).

I have recently rediscovered the joy of popovers. These were never standard fare growing up. In fact, the first time I'd had them was in my mid-twenties at a friend's country place in McDonald's Corners near Perth, Ontario. Baked in a gas oven with home-made crabapple jelly (which I'd made), they were a revelation. A few days ago, realizing that my repertoire of breakfast foods was sadly under-developed, I mixed a batch from a recipe I found in the good-old Moosewood cookbook. This time, right after taking them out of the oven, I stuffed a few squares of dark chocolate into the pastry's hollow, covered it with parchment paper and waited a few minutes. The chocolate melted beautifully and I had a gooey, chocolatey treat to eat. The recipe below is mostly from Moosewood, with a few minor alterations.

But the popover has raised some questions - can it be stuffed? Can it act as a receptacle for savory foods? Would it be good flavored with, say, fruit juice, or herbs? My investigation is just beginning.

I think I'm onto somethine, if not new, at least tasty. While searching for popover recipes on-line, I found a restaurant review for something in Amherst, MA in the U.S. called Judy's, where the signature element in many of the dishes is the humble popover.

In the meantime, here's what is, so far, my favorite popover recipe.

NOTE: put ramikins or muffin tins in oven to heat before starting your mix. This can be done at least 5 minutes before pouring in the batter.

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

½ tsp salt

2 Tbsps (28gr) butter + more for buttering the tins

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
2. Melt the butter and allow to cool a bit.
3. Warm the milk a bit (microwave for 30 secs).
4. Whisk together the butter and warm milk, add the eggs and, when uniform, add the flour and salt; continue to whisk until it's a lovely smooth consistency.
5. When the oven reaches 425°F, put a little pat of butter in each muffin tin (about 1⁄4 tsp or less) and pop in the oven. It's important that the tin be super hot when you pour in the mix.
6. Work quickly for this part; take muffin tin out of the oven and quickly swirl the now-melted butter around until the bottom 2⁄3 of the containers are covered with butter (this is less of an issue for non-stick tins). With a 1⁄4 cup measure, distribute the batter among the tins (I use a muffin tin with 12 cups) and pop back into the oven.
7. Bake for 25 minutes; then bake for another 10 minutes at 325°F. Serve immediately with butter and jam or, stuff into the middle a square of chocolate - it will melt.

Originally published Sunday, April 4, 2010

Commons Bread

When my mother introduced brown bread to the family diet, she started something. I've eaten all sorts of different kinds of breads, some baked in outdoor rustic wood-fired ovens, some baked by my grandmother in her conventional electric oven (when she baked her 'pain de ménage'), from different kinds of grains, some herbed, some sweetened, baguette, olive oil, you name it. Never, ever would I have imagined that amazing bread could be made at home with a minimum of effort. Laura Calder's recipe for what she calls Miracle Boule  and is part of the No-Knead movement is not only frighteningly easy, but quite likely some of the best bread I have ever eaten. It is, also, a strange recipe. If you decide to try it, and I recommend that you do, follow the instructions to the letter, no matter how odd or wrong they appear to be. You'll end up with a beautiful, rustic round of bread with a crisp crust and a pleasantly chewy sponge. The only down side, and in my opinion it is a minor one, is that it takes 12-24 hours to make, because the dough needs so much time to rise. The wait is well worth it!
You can also leave the dough for an additional 24 hours and it will develop a sourdough flavour.
I originally called this my Wonder Bread, but I've changed the name to Commons Bread, in honour of reclaiming the commons for the people, to live a happy, really real, sustainable life. Bread, as a basic food, is a great place to start simplifying and making available to everyone the ability to make good, sustaining, satifying and nutritious food. Vive la Révolution! :)

ADDENDUM: turns out bread is far more interesting, versatile and sensitive than I ever thought. I'm starting some experiments that may change/clarify this recipe or create brand new ones! I'll save my notes here.

ADDADDENDUM: I have been making this bread in a much simpler format. Turns out that water temperature is a major factor, and it's possible to have same-day results within 4 hours instead of 24. This quicker version is available here.

3 cups flour (450gr)
¼ tsp instant yeast (yes, really, that's all!)
1¼ tsps salt (12gr)

1½ cups water (300 to 350gr) (for 4hr bread, must be at 125 to 130° F)
Your Options: Cornmeal, wheat bran, or extra flour, as needed

1. Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water to blend (see NOTE). What you’ll have is wet, shaggy, sticky dough, but not so wet as to be batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12, and up to 24, hours. It’s ready for the next step when the surface is dotted with bubbles. It is crucial that the dough be kept warm, otherwise the little bit of yeast won't be able to proliferate in your dough - if you don't have a warm place, put in the cold oven and turn on the light; this should keep it plenty warm to rise.
2. Flour a work surface and dump the bread out onto it. Sprinkle over a little more flour and fold it once or twice. Upturn the bowl it was rising in over it and let rest 15 minutes.
3. Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, shape the dough into a ball. Sprinkle some flour onto a piece of parchment paper, and lay the dough on it, seam side down, and dust with more flour. Cover again with the upturned bowl and let rise, again being mindful of the temperature it's in, for about 2 hours. When ready, the dough will be more than double in size.
4. Heat the oven to 450°F\230°C. Put an 8-quart/2-litre cast iron pot or Dutch oven (cocotte) inside to heat. When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven, turn the dough into it, seam-side up (The parchment paper makes this pretty easy). Shake the pan to settle the bread evenly. Cover with the lid, and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is nicely browned. Cool on a rack.

NOTE: When I mix my dough, I add 1 cup of water and blend that in, then start to add water averaging about a half cup. We live at sea-level next to the ocean in a temperate rain forest, and when the humidity is high, I needs up to a quarter of a cup less water - my marker that I have enough water is simply when all the flour has been taken up into the dough.

Originally published Monday, April 5, 2010

The beginning of a sauce obsession - Caraway and Cream Sauce

Cook's Illustrated has an awesome Web site with amazing recipes. It's turned me on to sauces in a big way. I figure it would be great for a bistro - cooking the chicken ahead of time, a quick fry in a pan to liven it up, plate it, and drizzle with sauce. The following is a sauce inspired by one of theirs. I have made it to use with the recipe for Chicken Cutlets, but it could just as easily be made for a whole chicken cut into pieces and grilled as below.

For the chicken

2 to 3 Tbsps vegetable oil

1 whole chicken cut into pieces (either 4 or 8)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Pat chicken thighs dry.
3. Add chicken pieces to the skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5-7 minutes without moving, and then turn over when the chicken easily releases from the pan on its own. Cook until the juices run clear, an additional 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken piece.
4. Set the chicken aside and keep warm.
5. Remove all but 1 Tbsp of oil and immediately start to cook the shallot as per below.

For the sauce

1 Tbsp oil
2 medium shallots, minced

OPTIONAL: 1 Belgian endive or 5 large Romaine lettuce leaves, cut cross-wise, in thin strips

2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar

1 tsp caraway seeds

½ cup beef stock

½ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Set the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots (and leaves if using) and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the caraway seeds and continue cooking until the shallots are lightly browned, an extra 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add the cider vinegar and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon (remember, browned bits = flavor!).
3. Add the stock and cream; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to a generous ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Dijon mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spoon over the sauce and cook together another 5 minutes or until internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. .
4. OR: Spoon the sauce over chicken cutlets and serve immediately.

 Originally published Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Conversion help

Most of my recipes are in some way Frankensteined, in that I look up a whole bunch of recipes and pick from one to add to another before I start testing my combination of recipes; I know, very Post Modern of me. This means that I look at many sources, some of which use different measuring criteria than how I've decided to standardize my own recipes. These are the sources I've used to help me convert other measurement systems:

Automatic Conversion Chart

From Ounces to Cups

French At A Touch

Specific Ingredient Conversion (Butter, sugar, etc)

Dry Beans