Onomatopoeia

Pie Are Round

For Christmas, Kate R gave me a copy of Bubby's Homemade Pies by Ron Silver and Jan Bervin - thank you very much, Kate!  To be honest, when I opened the package, I thought "Pies?"  Kitchen-wise I never really have thought of myself as a baker or pastry guy.  I've heard of Bubby's in New York, and have even had their fried chicken, which is Fan-Frikkin-Tastic even when it has been out of the oven for an hour and transported several blocks (that's New York for ya!).  Mark, Jon, and Mary have had their pie and extolled it's virtues as well.

So when I received this great gift from a wonderful and insightful friend, I thought "Hey-hey My-my, Mark is gonna make some pie" (apologies to Neil Young).  And so I have.

A couple of words on the book itself.  Very very good indeed. There is a profound love of piedom herein, and it is lovingly expressed.  That is balanced with no nonsense instruction: baking is chemical engineering and the margins for error are slimmer than in some other culinary arenas.  They give you plenty of technical background and back-up.  The scope of the book is quite broad all things considered, and includes savory pies as well as ice creams and all sorts of trimmings.  Repeat: VVGI.

My key concern regarding pie is getting the crust right.  The first pie I tackled was their Mile-High Apple Pie, using their All Butter Pastry Pie Dough recipe, which is a classic cold-fat recipe wherein you keep lumps of the fat suspended in flour with juuuuuust enough water to hold it together.  I used Granny Smith's.  It turned out quite nice and I was pleased that the crust maintained a nice flakiness.  Excellent with a Borough Market Cheddar.  Sorry, no pictures of that one.  We ate it at Montara over New Year's celebrations, and Kate got the first slice, as is only right.

Pie the second was in honor of KKatie before her return to school.  Her favorite is peach, so that's what we did.  Another first here: I used a whole vanilla bean!  Another successful All Butter crust for the Vanilla Peach Pie. Wholesomely awesome and awesomely wholesome.  I managed to snap a photo before the last of it disappeared...

Then today happened - a day we had not planned.  KKatie and I got up at 4:00 am to get her to her plane, and as it turned out, her flight was canceled.  So I went to pick her up at the airport at 7:30 am after an hour and a half text messages and phone conversations. With the up-and-down and weird scheduling, today has not felt at all like a normal day, especially since we have to get up tomorrow at 4:00 am to do it all over again.  Mary and I decided this was to be a true vacation day.

So, I made Pie.  Actually, Pies.  Actually, two Pecan Pies.

How did this happen, you ask?  Quite simple, really.  We had a large unopened package of pecans from Costco, and we love Pecan Pie.  And I had The Book, after all.  And it looked like rain...

But why two?   Why, to try new crusts, of course!  These called for either their Sour Cream Pastry Pie Dough or a Nut Pastry Pie Dough, as well as the regular cold fat pastry pie doughs. Both those named above seemed much easier to assemble than the All Butter.  Can't decide: make both and take one to work!  The recipe also called for par-baking the crusts, which I've never done, and that added to the fun.

The crusts were easy to make - I had an easier time than with the All Butter dough.  My challenges there are (1) getting the water right, and (2) my lack of established rolling skills.  The Sour Cream dough recipe cautioned that it was much more delicate than the All Butter, but I found it pliable and really easy to work with.  For the first time I'd rolled out a kinda rough circle!  The Nut dough gets pressed into the pie pan - yet another first for yours truly.  I took the opportunity to get some dedicated par-baking beans, so we are now loaded for bear!  Bear pie, that is.

We will sample one of them tonight and I will take the other to work.  I'll let you know how they turn out!

Love Is The Drug, Roxy Music.

Burgers of the Gods (reprise)

I can't remember if I have posted on this before, but THESE are the best hamburgers ever.  The only way to improve them is by grinding the meat in a meat-grinder.  Hey, it's a texture thing, OK?

Seriously, try these.

Honky Cat, Elton John (God only knows how that got into my head...)

The Salmon Sauce

On Christmas Eve we had our usual party and thanks to all the wonderful guests it was a blast - my fave day of the year, that.  We usually roast a tenderloin that we cut up for sandies and provide a spiral-sliced ham,. This year we substituted salmon (done on the grill VERY simply - olive oil, salt, pepper).  I whipped up a sauce off the top of the cranium and got rave reviews.  Here is the recipe.  Pardon the vague ingredients measures but I was winging it...

Probably 1/4 cup mayo
About 1/8 cup sour cream ( I use the Mexican crema type)
Probably about 1/8 cup Dijon mustard
1 shallot diced fine
small clove garlic chopped fine
Probably 2-3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs sweet pickle relish
About 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh dill
A little olive oil

Mix is all together and let it sit for at least an hour in the fridge.  Adjust seasoning (I added more balsamic).

Orange Crush, R.E.M.

Jalapenos 101

Since I like pickling things so much, I though a post on the most recent project would be appropriate.  While some folks see pickling and canning as intimidating, the basic process is pretty simple.  Still, there is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES, including working with the cleanest equipment you can and respecting safe canning practices.

And PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS POST AS A CANNING GUIDE.  If you have not canned before, do more research than just listening to me.  There are many excellent resources in print and on line for you.  I am having fun sharing what I do here, but I am NOT addressing some important aspects; so again, if you are just starting you must DO MORE RESEARCH (it's also super helpful to work with someone who has been doing it a while).

On this project I'll admit it up front: I overbought on the fruit side and got a whole box of peppers from The Milk Pail Market.  It was way more than I needed.  In fact I had to buy more jars and still ended up with a bunch of fruit left over.

In any case, as you can tell, it helps to start with a lot of peppers.  I wash them and cut the stems short.  Most of the time I leave them whole for quarts; however, if I am using smaller jars like pints or half-pints, I like to slice them into strips (rajas) or rings so I can get more into each jar.

Other Ingredients:
Sliced Carrots
Sliced White Onions
Bay Leaves
Coriander Seeds
Cumin Seeds
White vinegar
Pickling or Kosher Salt
Canola or Olive Oil

To prepare the other ingredients you want to slice carrots (I used a food processor this time despite uneven performance) and white onions (got out the mandolin for that; forgot how well that thing works!).  Sometimes for rajas in tall skinny jars I will cut the carrots into long julienne strips and cut the onions in  a thin lyonnaise style, and then carefully arrange everything vertiacally.  Pretty!

What we are going to do here is (1) stuff the jars, (2) pour boiling brine over them, (3) seal the jars and (4) pasteurize them in a hot water bath.

ASSEMBLY

Sterilize your jars.  Place some carrots, onions, some bay, and the seeds in each jar - I use about 1/4 tsp each in a quart jar and adjust by eyeball for smaller sizes.  You are now ready to start stuffing in the fruit and veg.

Stuff in the peppers, puzzling, jiggling, pushing, and cajoling them in tight.  It's OK to be very firm with them.  Add some more carrots and onions as you go.  Proportions are to taste.  I once canned a jar that was 90% onions and just a little carrot and pepper.  I have heard of going with mostly carrots as well.  Why not experiment?  The ingredients are not that expensive.  Leave half an inch head-room in each jar.

Time for the brine. The proportions I have been using (courtesy of an Epicurious.com contributor - thank you VERY much!) is:
4 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup oil (do NOT omit)
1 cup water
4 tsp salt

On the salt, note that if you use kosher salt you should use 50% more or 6 tsp (2 Tbs), as kosher salt is coarser so the grains do not compact as much.  In case you are wondering, kosher and pickling salts differ from table salt in that they do not have anti-caking agents, which will cloud up your brine.  When buying salt for pickling, use salt where the only ingredient is salt.

Mix up your brine and bring it to a boil.  Meanwhile, I like to assemble everything I will need for the canning process.  Here is a picture of the canning station I used for this project:

In the picture above, (1) is the bowl in which I keep the two-piece lids so they are handy.  I like to count out the lids with the jars I intend to use (especially if I am reusing jars) to make sure I have enough.  My canning kettle handles 7 jars at a time so that is how I batch this sort of project. (2) is a heat-proof glass dish that will hold the 7 lids and rings for each canning batch. The tray, ladle, and canning funnel at (3) is where I will actually ladle in the brine from (4) the brine kettle.  I will then seal the jars and they go into (5) the canning kettle to pasteurize.  Before getting going, I usually fill the canning kettle with hot water from the tap and put it on a flame to get near the proper temp.  Note the wire leading out to the digital thermometer I will be using to monitor temperature of the water.  The tea kettle (6) hold boiling water to heat up the lids and also top up the canning kettle if needed.

CANNING

Once the jars are stuffed, they move to the tray, crowded towards the brine kettle. Bring the brine to a boil.  Pour boiling water over the lids to get them hot and start softening their seals.

Using the canning funnel, ladle boiling brine into each jar.  I usually fill each 2/3 to 3/4 full and move to the next one. This gives the brine a chance to settle.  I then top-up and use a chopstick  to winkle down between the fruit to get as many air-bubbles out as possible. Top-up again, leaving 1/2 inch head space in each jar.

Seal the jar with the two piece lids, tightening firmly by hand (yes, they are likely to be be hot so have pot-holders handy to help).  Place them in the canning kettle.  Pasteurize them at a temp of 180 to 185 degrees F for 30 minutes for quarts, about 20 minutes for smaller jars.  I prefer this to boiling when I am doing multiple batches because it means the water is not too hot when you are ready to put in the next batch. I also think tit cooks the fruit gentler, leaving them more crunchy.

This is cool applied physics .  Apart from killing any unworthy agents in your jars by bringing the contents to at least 180 F, this expands everything in the jar and the jar itself.  Excess air gets forced through your hand-seal of the lids. Later, when the jars cool, everything contracts, and that's when you get a good seal: I love the *ping* of a sealing jar lid!

After proper pasteurization, remove the jars and place them either on a rack or a heat-proof surface and LEAVE THEM ALONE.  They will seal as they cool.  If you have any questions, refer to THE OTHER RESEARCH WE BOTH KNOW YOU HAVE DONE ON PROPER CANNING PROCEDURES, which will be much more informative than this personal missive.

TA-DAAAH! This particular endeavor was the biggest project I have ever done.  I ended up with 25 quarts, 16 pints, and about 8+ half-pints.  Want to guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?

If you want more information on pickling, I strongly recommend The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich.  Great book and I use it as my basic reference for all things picklish (Picklesque? Picklorian? Pickl-a-delic?).

And I haven't even discussed kraut.  Ah well, another post...

Who Is It?, Talking Heads

A Post For Camden

Camden, please pay attention.

Take two slices of bread (you may have some you've baked yourself; if not, I like the Alvarado Street Bakery brand because of it's great textures.  Slice some Cotswold cheese and place it between the two slices of bread.  Put this assemblage into a small pan over low heat.  No butter, no mayo, no nuffink.  If you like, place a light weight - like a small pan lid - onto what is obviously going to be a grilled cheese sandwich of course.  Brown it gently.

You end up with this.  A grilled cheese that wants to be cheese bread.  The Cotswold melds into the bread itself - another reason why highly textured bread surfaces are recommended - and it becomes difficult to tell where one stops and the other begins.

Simple, direct, and right up your alley; I think of you whenever I make this.  Recommended for breakfast.

Up Cherry Street, Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass

Ahhhh, summer

Some Things Do Not Skip A Generation

Take baking, for instance.  My nephew Camden has taken on bread and man the guy is good.  His mom, my sister, is also a fabulous baker, hence the title of this post.  Both of them are pretty hard core.

For instance, Camden has created his own sourdough starter. I have yet to meet it - either in person live or through the oven door - but frankly I am impressed.  It's the kind of thing where I know I would start one, probably make a couple of batches of bread from it, forget about it somewhere, and find it three weeks later late at night as it is peering into the refrigerator looking for something to eat after consuming all the dog food.  You are a better man than I am, Mr. Sourdough-Starter-Tamer (three rings, a chair, a whip, and some errant yeast and you are in business).

In any case, he brought us a loaf today!  Not of sourdough (his starter is apparently on the fritz), but of struden bread or something like that (what is that stuff called again?).  It is made with polenta, ground oats, wheat bran, and cooked brown rice.  And it is excellent. 

    It is also huge:    (Potato provided for scale.)

In exchange I gave him this month's WIRED magazine, which features articles on the current state of gaming.  One of his other passions: he is working as a games tester these days.

Thanks, Cam, we will really enjoy this one!  You are right: it is excellent toasted.

V-2 Schneider, David Bowie

All In A Day's Work

16 24 oz. jars of kraut with juniper and 10 quarts of short-brined dill pickles. There, now I've got THAT  out of my system...

Actually I think one or two of the pickle jars may not have sealed. Hmmm.

America Is Waiting, Brian Eno and David Byrne

Savory Grilled Eggplant

This is a little different.  I've been making this for about a year now in different forms.  Yummy, at least to my taste.  It keeps for about a week - I guess, never lasts that long - and is good for a lot of things (see suggestions below).  This is a bit salty and sweet, with Asian overtones, but can go with a variety of cuisines.

Savory Grilled Eggplant

1 large eggplant
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves (or to taste), chopped
1 tsp hot sauce, optional (e.g. Sriracha, etc)

Prepare a fire for medium to hot grilling.  Mix together the soy, vinegar, garlic, and hot sauce.  When the fire is ready, slice the eggplant (crosswise, into circles) into just under 1/2" pieces and place immediately on the grill.  Spoon/baste some of the sauce onto each slice, using almost half of it.  Cook the eggplant for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the fire and your taste.  Once it has browned a bit, turn it (you will probably need a spatula) and spoon/baste more sauce onto the cooked side.  Cook for another 2 to 5 and turn again.  Spoon any remaining sauce onto the slices (especially any neglected spots) and let them sit for a minute or so more.  Put the slices imediately into a tupperware and seal it.  Let stand at least 10 minutes (this will allow them to steam and draw some of the juice out of the veg).

I usually don't super cook these but let them brown a bit and allow the steaming to take care of the end cooking.  If you aren't sure, I suggest doing two at once at a couple of levels of doneness - sometimes firm is good, othertimes crispy is what you want.

Suggestions:  Add some ginger and/or a spot of sesame oil to the sauce for a more Asian direction.  I like this as a sandwich on toasted bread with mayo, a little red onion, and cilantro (and sometimes a dab of Vietnamese garilc/chili sauce).  Good as a side dish with poultry and pork.

Hey Ya, Outkast

It's A Living...

Today Mary and I joined Jean and Craig at the NASFT Fancy Food Conference at Moscone Center.  Holy crap.  It was stupefying.  Hundreds of exhitors and thousands of attendees, most of them pros and in the business, but a few touristas like us were along to much things up.

So here is what it's like.  You go into Moscone Center, which has a huuuuge open exhibition hall - oh wait, I mean TWO huuuuge exhibition halls - and there are all the exhibitors with their booths set up.  This is a full-on trade show, and the buzz is terrific.  People meeting each other as old friensds in the business, snippets of overheard conversations ("he always does that, says he'll call you, I think she's for the chop, have you heard he's now in New York, haven't seen you since you were in seafood, I don't know about that new product can we get some?"), displays displays displays, obvious business meetings and deal-cutting (that is what people are there for), and of course...

...samples.  Cheese.  Salami.  Prosciutto.  Coffee.  Salsa.  Chicken Tika Masala.  Tea.  Candy.  Crackers.  Cheese.  More cheese.  Wine.  Pickled stuff.  Smoked fish.  Cheese.  Chocolate.  More chocolate.  Chocolate and cheese.  More coffee.  Olives.  Anchovies.  Garlic.  Cheese.  Chocolate.  Ohmygod.  The highlights of the day:

• Running into Alice and Greg and later going over to Teance to see the teapots and cups they have created for Alice's project.
• Meeting the guys from Schizophrenic Chipotle and Daniel's Fire Roast and talking to them about recipes. Great guys with a good sense of humor and honestly good products to boot.
• Getting an appreciation for the food industry as just as complex as the insurance/reinsurance indistry, but with a broader variety of characters, directions, scale and attitudes.

There were one and two person shops, and there were companies like Jelly Belly and KRAFT. There were little booths with home-made products, distributors' booths with mutltiple products (including "Your Store Name Here" labels), and national highbrow exhibits with huge expansive booths and meeting areas.  It went on and on and on and on and

Craig actually registered us as part of his company, Sirius Business Solutions. Here's my schpiel:

We are small business consultants, helping our clients predominantly through establishing an online presence, but also providing additional support consulting including business plan and operations assessments.  We're here to bnetter understand the food industry ans well as identify possible improving prodiucts and relationships for our existing clients.  Can I try some more of the [insert fabulous product]?

I figured if someone was asking, they should get a decent answer, and also that is pretty much the truth.  So if someone said "Really? I am looking for help with my website and integrating an online peresence with my current business model", I would have said "Hold it a sec, let me introduce you to da man..."

Yes, I will try to go next year. Per Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors: "Oohh, Mama".

Anya's Bunny Song section from I've Got A Theory from Once More With Feeling, Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 6.