Spring (Easter) Entertaining
Posted on 5 April 2010 | No responses
Alright, back to business. Funny thing about small home projects… they add up quickly. So much so that my birthday, which was somehow woven in, was almost entirely devoted to various wiring improvements. Ah well.
While I have a few minutes, I did want to share my thoughts/tips on Easter entertaining; entertaining in general, really.
Maybe it is just my luck, but I usually have at least one or two people who end up running late. I suppose it is just the way life is. The problem for crazy pseudo-aspiring chefs like myself is when you have a meal planned either like a restaurant or your resident family or friends; you know where they will be and they know to expect food.
So how do you deal with numerous party-goers that may show up an hour on either side of your intended start? As with everything, balance is key. You need food and alcohol (for adults, that is), but all in balance. You don’t want to take away from your “real” meal, but you don’t want to lose the interest of your guests.
My solution is to balance the flavors and textures of your “pre-meal” foods, but keep them light overall. Fresh vegetables are good, even paired with a reasonable amount of light flavored dip. Avoid “heavy” veggies or veggies that have gastro-intestinal effects like broccoli. Protein is also good, but again, nothing too heavy (steak bites, though delicious, overdo it just a touch). Don’t go too crazy, but salt is your friend here.
Pair these things with a delicious, slightly tart libation. Slightly bitter flavors will encourage your guest’s tastebuds. Keeping the alcohol level light will also keep the energy going and help avoid the overly loud attendees or the afternoon nappers.
Hopefully, your holiday weekends were wonderful. I was blessed to have my family over for Easter for Wild Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup, Sauteed Hericot Verts, Spinach “Traverse City”-style salad with a warm bacon vinaigrette, and Roasemary/Garlic Roasted Rack of Lamb with a Muscat Grape Sauce. The pre-party, in this case, consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables, avacado deviled eggs, and cucumber gimlet; a light, slightly bitter combination of lime, cucumber, and gin. Mmmmm leftovers.
Seattle Adventure
Posted on 16 March 2010 | No responses
What can be said, other than “wow.” Maybe it is the fact that I rarely get to take a real vacation paired with a hearty case of cabin fever, but for two days I was in paradise.
Seattle? Paradise? Yeah, not what you would typically picture, after all it rained lightly the entire time. But, I kinda like rain, and I definitely enjoyed a city where you have the ability (necessity maybe more accurate) to walk anywhere and everywhere and enjoy the outside.
Between my trip and recent work on the house, I have been quite busy. Nevertheless, below are some photos of the highlights 
Fish at the Aquarium
Green Wall Downtown
Totems Downtown
At the Waterfall Gardens
Snoqualmie Falls (x2)
Post Hike Picnic (Delicious suggestion for the cheese by local vendor)
Shot of Downtown at the Waterfront
Mount Rainier
Sculpture Park and Space Needle
Best Coffee Ever (not only the crema art; Thanks to Seattle Coffee Works)
Sushi Fish (way less expensive than Michigan)
Ultimate Snack Aisle
Fresh Wasabi; Yes I bought some… Yes, it was delicious
Pike’s Market
Ham, Eggs, and Hash Browns… sorta
Posted on 16 February 2010 | No responses
Taking a break from our discussion on breadmaking and my recent preparations for my new role at work, I wanted to display a recent culinary work I got the idea for this past weekend.
Not really sure where it came from, other than a sudden jolt standing in front of the parsnips. I like parsnips… A lot. Again, not sure why exactly, but the sweetness is wonderful and unique, and the texture is hearty without being too terrible for your health.
I think I was craving diner-type food in general; warm, comforting, and not-so-good for you tasting. So, upscale diner meal at heart, but with a twist. Thus, we arrive at Eggs over easy with Canadian Bacon and Parsnip Hash Browns and (a poorly executed) beurre blanc.
Quick Site Update
Posted on 12 February 2010 | No responses
As you may have noticed, the look and feel of the site has been updated considerably. Hopefully this brings the blog somewhere closer to 2010. At minimum, I hope it is a little more functional.
Agree? Disagree? We would love to hear your comments or suggestions.
Ok.. maybe SOME chemistry
Posted on 24 January 2010 | No responses
We return to our bread discussion to talk more about yeast and how not-exact bread making may be. I want to backtrack a little to reiterate that while following bread recipes exactly, down to weighing your ingredients to the 10th of a gram, may not be required, it will likely result in a lot of trial and error until you get used to how the dough feels/smells/tastes and the resulting product.
Trial and error. Ok. But where do we begin? Just like last minute exam preparation, the key is understanding how each part affects the final product. Back to our friend; in the world of leaven breads, yeast is king. As the king, yeast has very specific likes and dislikes. Also as the king, yeast LOVES to eat; the more sugar, the better. We need the king to eat itself crazy, and… expel… the unquestionable necessity, Carbon Dioxide gas. When you wake your yeast up in that very warm water bath, give them some sugar (in some form; brown sugar, honey, your taste..) to provide the feast they require.
Just like a balloon, rather billions of little balloons, one of the by-products of yeast fermentation (eating) gives us the lift we need for delicious bread. When performed as part of a pre-ferment (see: poolish in last week’s post) we fire the yeast up, like warm up exercises for the big game. In my opinion, this is a critical part of making whole grain breads; avoiding an overly dense loaf requires a LOT of lift.
As with any of life’s yins, there is a yang. Ever seen that movie, Akira? There is a seen at the end of the movie where the protagonist turns into a vile, ever-growing mass. A little exaggerated, yes, but that is what happens when our yeasty friends are allowed to feast, unchecked. Practically, this may leave your bread with enormous pockets of gas that can disrupt your bread’s appearance, or worse, the taste. The bane of yeast’s existence is… ::drumroll:: salt. Aside from enhancing the flavor of your bread (and all things ), salt works to counteract yeast fermentation process. In the end, it smooths out the texture of your bread by making sure all the little gas balloons don’t fill uncontrollably.
Final words of wisdom until next time: be careful adding your salt. Though I love salt, as with all things, too much can be a bad thing; the yeast will not eat their way to a gassy end. Instead, you will wind up with salty, flour rocks. For mixing, combine your salt with your dry ingredients, allow the yeast to eat for a few minutes (your warm bath will start produce a foam, think “head on a beer”) and then combine together.
Chemistry my backside!
Posted on 15 January 2010 | No responses
Guten Tag! Most recreational reading into the topic of baking is often punctuated by a statement relating baking less to cooking and more to chemistry. Exact science; I don’t believe. Ok, Ok, I concede that there *is* more attention paid to weights and measures than your average, Wednesday night penne. In addition, I make no such claims about really delicate pastries and the like.
I do, however, believe much of baking, particularly organically leaven goods, can skillfully be ‘eye-balled’ to produce fantastic results. It may take a few tries, but with attention paid to learning what each component of various breads does, you too can save yourself tons of money, impress your friends, spoil your taste buds… you get the picture.
Let’s start with that wonderful organism that makes much of it possible: yeast. First rule: the fresher the better. These things die, even without you boiling them to such an end. If you don’t bake every few days or enough to feed an army, stick to the convenient little packets. But which one? What is this “quick rise” stuff? At their most basic, they are the same, it is about what you want. If you want a quick, tasty, better than your grocery bagged breads, go with the quick rise. Alternatively, if you have the time to let the flour mellow and the flavors fully develop, go with active dry. They are sold to us in what is essentially a coma and we wake them up with warm water. Warm, hot even, not scalding and not stale bathwater. If you want more of a warm and fuzzy, use a thermometer and get it to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
So go ahead… it’s just yeast, flour, and water, right? Sort of, and though the flavor of flour can be… good… you’re better off using a couple other tricks for wow factor. If you have the time, a pre-ferment can make all the difference in the world. Take about a 1/4 tsp of yeast to a half cup each of flour and warm water (and, yes, I believe you can eyeball it) into a bowl. For this kind of pre-ferment, sometimes called a poolish, we want to get to the consitency of slightly thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, leave it on the counter for a little while (30-60 mins maybe) and then put it in the refridgerator overnight.
What will this get us? First, the water is going to soften the grains of flour, giving us a very smooth texture and mellowing the flavor. Moreover, the little bit of yeast we awakened will start doing one of the things they do best: expelling carbon dioxide gas to give our bread the ’spring’ it needs. This process is critical to producing deliciously airy loaves of whole- and multi-grain breads.
Next time, we return to talk more about our little fungal friends, their turn-ons, and get a little closer to the final product.
Happy New Year Hangover Food
Posted on 3 January 2010 | No responses
Well, first, let me say ‘Happy New Year!’ and I wonder what 2010 will bring.
The first thing it brought, naturally, was a slight headache and a feeling like I was swimming through reality. Hair of the dog aside, there are two schools of thought on what should be consumed to lessen the effects of a previous night’s party: greasy or bread-y. Though I don’t think it’s a real word and I actually cooked both types of hangover food, I will expand on what “bread-y” concoction was produced.
I’ve done this before and to tell you the truth it’s really easy, though possibly not entirely authentic: Bread Pudding. There are a couple reasons for this choice. First, the sweet but not too heavy dish is easy to digest and, if worst comes to worst, easy to ‘undigest.’ Second, preparation for a long night of partying typically results in leftover hotdog and hamburger buns; they’re not super expensive, but why waste, right?
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Tear up the unused buns and throw them into a pyrex baking dish (9×9) and toss with raisins, bananas, or some other fruit. In a bowl, combine 2 cups milk, 2 eggs, a dash of salt, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnimon, and some kind of sweetening agent. One of my personal favorites is maple syrup. Pour the liquids over the contents of the baking dish, ensure the liquid is mostly absorbed into all the bread and LIGHTLY sprinkle some additional cinnimon on top. Bake until the top of the dish toasts lightly brown.
Company Christmas at the Detroit Marriott
Posted on 15 December 2009 | No responses
With one more company Christmas party under my belt, I wanted to take a moment to reflect. Once again, I was amazed at the ability to produce high quality food for almost 2500 guests. In addition, through a somewhat strange series of events, I was blessed (geeked may be more accurate) to receive a gift from the restaurant and event staff.
Let’s take a step back… 7 really. Every year, our company sponsors a knock-out Christmas party at the Detroit Marriot. On October 25, 2009, I told the story of how I, aspiring chef/cook/foodie, had the opportunity of a lifetime to attend a personal tasting for the event, hosted by the Marriott event staff and Chef Franz Josef Zimmer, executive chef of 42 degrees north. Fast forward a couple weeks. Admittedly, I do not ‘advertise’ on the internet as much as I should. Sometimes I find it hard enough to keep up with writing content, let alone be an active member of the web community.
That is why I was shocked to hear from one of my coworkers (literally, the nicest and most thoughtful person and the primary reason I am even able to tell this aspect of the story) that, on a return trip to solidify more of the event details, my blog was a topic of conversation. Despite my lack of “internet presence,” they found the entry I wrote; I assume from a service that goes and captures any internet mention of names or keywords. Nevertheless…I was elated.
What’s more, my coworker explained Chef and/or his team were, maybe equally, delighted. After some brief reminiscing, she also mentioned the possibility of being able to attend a special “learn and cook” session with the Chefs. Along with reiterating my enjoyment with the tasting, I reinforced the notion that further opportunities and experiences, mere possibilities to learn more about the art, would be met with even more joy. Honestly, I try to learn all I can from books, TV, internet, and peers, but rarely do I get the opportunity to spend time with professionals of food-craft.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. However, not everything works out like you think it will. We are often flanked with blessings we never realized were blessings and never saw coming. In comes the gift I mentioned earlier; to me, a gift of extraordinary magnitude and thoughtfulness: a bottle of Chef’s own Olive Oil. I was taken aback that I was in mind to receive anything, let alone something so uniquely personal with consideration to my past acclamation of the oil.
Now, onto the meal. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it for the hors d’oeuvres (mini deep-dish pizzas and mini smoked salmon sandwiches). I did, however, make it in plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the meal.
Starting with the salad, a lettuce salad with caramelized onions, bacon, feta cheese and a creamy bacon dressing, it was a welcome diversion from the “standard” Caesar salad. Though it seemed like a heavy start to the meal, the acid in the dressing effectively cut through the heft of the dressing, and paired well with the sweetness of the cheese and onions.
The salad was followed by the main course: a (fairly large) crusted filet with a little cream (mushroom?) sauce alongside garlic mashed and roasted potatoes, asparagus, roasted parsnip, and blistered tomato. The exclamation point was a triple chocolate mousse with dollops of chocolate and caramel sauces. Overall, a touch on the heavier side than what I am used to, but still delicious. Service, aside from a couple of minor bumps, was good. I was extremely pleased that, despite the crowd, every dish was well seasoned; something I think is largely waning these days.
All in all, it was a wonderful evening and, in addition to the hard work of the party committee, I truly thank, from the bottom of my heart, the chefs and all the event staff at the Detroit Marriott for a great time.
On a side note, if any of the staff happen to catch wind of THIS entry and are looking for a tester, writer, blogger, photographer, or protégé, please feel free to give me a jingle.
Super quick weeknight creamy pasta mit turkey
Posted on 10 December 2009 | No responses
This SMS text length (I loathe ‘tweets’) recipe will satisfy your mid-day winter tastebuds.
What you’ll need (Makes 4 days for one)
- 1/2 med onion diced
- 1 cup white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup shredded hard cheese (your choice)
- fresh parsley
- 1 cup whole wheat pasta (I dug the medium shells)
Bring a saucepan full of water to boil, season water. In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute the ’shrooms, set aside. Drop pasta into boiling water. Saute the onions, add the turkey and brown slightly. Pasta should be just short of al dente, drain, don’t rinse. Lower heat in skillet add back mushrooms and pasta, toss to combine. Slowly add cream while stirring, add half of the shredded cheese. Toss in the pan to combine and thicken over low heat. When sauce has coated pasta and thickened slightly (~2-3 mins), add remaining cheese, parsley, and season to taste.
So what do you do with a Turkey carcass
Posted on 5 December 2009 | No responses
Sounds morbid, right? But seriously, here you are, exhaustedly cleaning pans, plates, and flatware, avoiding the recent centerpiece to your Thanksgiving meal. Even I was tempted to throw my hands up and discard it with the other rinds, peels, and the like. Thankfully, that sacrilege left my mind and I sucked up and bagged it for some later use.
We all know what that use was. Short of a dog toy, there is little more you can do with the shell of a Turkey, picked clean of almost every meaty morsel, other than make Turkey stock. It is a pain. It’s also totally worth it.
Word to the wise, however. First, try to somewhat match the flavors you gave the turkey in the first place. More important is to make sure after you make the stock (turkey, water, herbs, onions, celery, etc.), strain it into a container and put it in the fridge. This will give the “unnecessary” fats a chance to float to the top so they can be skimmed. What your left with is a powerful elixer that will envelop your senses and transport you right back to the blessed event when you use it.
We had an abundence of chopped vegetables from Thanksgiving veggie plates, especially in the realm of cauliflower; I have nothing against it in its raw form, but it isn’t my favorite. Paired with the copious amount of leftover heavy cream, I was drawn to the logical conclusion of cream of cauliflower soup.
First, and this is key to anyone using stock/broth, warm the Turkey stock in a pot. This will prevent shocking your soup ingrendients with a bunch of cold liquid.
Ingredients
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped, (leaves are ok!)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6-10 cups cauliflower, chopped coarsely
- 3 bay leaves
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1/4 fresh parsley
- 2 c heavy cream mixed with 1/2 cup lowfat milk
- a couple tablespoon sized pieces of blue cheese, stilton or roquefort
- 3 c Turkey stock
In a large pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium. Add onions and celery and cook until onions become translucent. Add cauliflower and cook for 2-3 minutes, season lightly with salt. Toss in minced garlic and cook very briefly, until fragrant.
Add warmed stock and herbs, increase heat to med-high and bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer soup mixture for 5-10 mins, until cauliflower is fork tender. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves and Thyme stems, cooling briefly. With a hand/stick blender, blend mixture until all ingrendients are pureed. Return to med-low heat and add cream mixture, stirring to combine. Add blue cheese and continue stirring until cheese has melted into the soup. Taste and perform final seasoning. Do NOT let the mixture come to a boil!
Garnish with more fresh parsley and croutons (i.e. leftover stale bread)
Hope your holidays were equally tasty; it can be the gift that keeps on giving… until you tire of it