Sour slaw: my obsession continues

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

So I’m back in Dallas with the opportunity to compare my sour slaw recipe to the original at Highland Park Cafeteria. I’m ready to call it a draw. My concoction is as close as I’m likely to get considering the variability of different prep cooks and individual heads of cabbage.

Sour Slaw Test Bed

Sour slaw test options, lined up for tasting.

But I still had half a cabbage and a little HPC slaw available for comparison. So I prepared a four-way back test as follows:
#1–2/3 water and 1/3 vinegar, vs. 50/50 in the base recipe.
#2–2/3 vinegar and 1/3 water, vs. 50/50 in the base recipe.
#3–50/50 water/vinegar with no brown sugar.
#4–50/50 water/vinegar with double brown sugar.

#1 and #3 were clear non-starters which was good to confirm. You need a good amount of vinegar, and you need a touch of sugar. My tasters pronounced #2 pretty good and #4 “delicious”, maybe better than the HPC. At this point our tasting supply of the HPC was almost exhausted so we just dumped #2 and #4 together. Extrapolating to the volume of the original recipe, this would be 1 1/6 c cider vinegar, 5/6 c water, and 1 1/2 T brown sugar. It tasted just great AND very close to the few shreds of HPC slaw in their liquor that remained.

I’m not changing the base recipe because it’s so close to the original, but I think I just might bring this amped-up version next time my fellow southern expat Deb Jones invites me to a potluck….

UPDATE March 2012: I’ve recently tried two more back-tests because I did not like it that my slaw ended up a little dingy vs. the snowy white in my feature photo. I tried a much shorter cure… just enough for the cabbage to start throwing off liquid, maybe 20 minutes. And I tried substituting white vinegar for cider vinegar. Neither one of these produced acceptable slaw. The short-cure slaw didn’t have the flavor complexity I wanted. And the white vinegar is just wrong. The most likely cause of the dinginess, I realized afterward, is that I’m close to the bottom of a very soupy gallon of organic cider vinegar. Back to the Heinz next time.

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Helpful bread

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

My friend was in a battle with a pit bull. I could say “he was attacked by a pit bull” but it’s more complicated than that. What is undeniable is that the pit bull attacked his family dog on their front porch and that my friend did his very best to defend it.

A dog could not be closer to a family than this one to my friend and his wife and daughter. They called it their “test son” because they raised him from a puppy together to see if they were ready to have a child. So, in every sense, my friend felt like his family was under attack when he saw what was going on.

Early morning, in his underwear, he tackled the pit bull, wrestled him from his front porch, and tried unsuccessfully to pry his family pet from the bloody jaws of the pit bull. A neighbor arrived to help, also unsuccessful. The police arrived and the pit bull was subdued. My friend raced with his dog to a local emergency vet but it was hopeless. The family pet was dead; my friend ended up with bruises and dog bites.

Now, a very tough guy from the streets of New York is subject to uncontrollable crying jags. Maybe it is mourning for his lost family member. Maybe it is thinking how easy it would have been for the bull to turn its rage on him and leave his wife and daughter without a husband and father. I think it is both.

Tartine Country French Bread

Tartine Country French bread (I gave away the loaves with the nice crust)

We had dinner and heard his story and he said it was helpful to talk it through. Now I have to go out of town for nearly two weeks. I am worried about my friend so I baked him this bread. It’s the Country Bread from Tartine Breads. The recipe is very simple but the technique is magical, and the only way to read it all is to buy the book. (Martha Stewart’s website has the recipe but it’s an abbreviated version; don’t settle for less than the real thing.)

This book, actually this recipe specifically, has really changed my perspective on bread. It makes a much wetter dough and you stretch-and-fold it rather than kneading, pulling a huge wad of dough out of the bowl, slapping it around a bit, and allowing it to collapse back into the bowl under its own weight. It’s really sensual and I find myself sneaking away from work to make this bread, in the same way I once snuck away to surf the internet. I also find myself inventing excuses to bake this bread (I made another loaf for a friend laid up after foot surgery) because I like it so much.

The bread gets better each day after it’s baked for 4 or 5 days so, in addition to giving someone the gift of bread, you’re giving them something to look forward to.

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Recipe: Chicken in a Pot

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

Foolproof way to make perfect poached chicken as a base ingredient for other recipes. Actual prep and paying-attention time totals under 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
One whole chicken
Water, about 5 quarts or to cover the chicken
1 T Kosher salt
Optional add-ins:
2 ribs celery with their leaves
2 whole carrots, washed but not peeled
1 onion, sliced into quarters, peeling not needed
½ t peppercorns
1 t salt
3 whole star anise
1 knob of ginger the size of your thumb

Method:
Wash and drain the chicken in a large pot and cover with COLD water. Add mix-ins if desired: anise and ginger if making for an Asian dish, everything else for a western dish. Or, don’t add anything; the chicken will still be great.

Cover the pot. Bring the water to the boil, turn off and let the chicken sit in the pot for 3 hours minimum. DO NOT lift the lid at any time; the chicken is not going anywhere so there’s nothing to see in any case. After 3 hours you may remove it for use in your recipes; I like to leave it for about 5 hours till the water cools enough that I can handle the chicken but it’s still well above the temperature where bacteria will grow.

Remove the chicken and dissect for whatever use you have in mind. Return the bones to the pot and reheat the stock. Simmer it, uncovered, until the stock has reduced by half. This will probably take an hour. Drain the stock and, if desired, chill then skim off the fat that hardens on the top.

You now have one perfect chicken and couple of quarts of great chicken stock. Enjoy!

P.S. If you find dark meat undercooked at the center of the chicken as you break it down after cooking, that means you peeked! Or more likely you didn’t use enough water or the pot wasn’t big enough. At this point you can either turn the heat back on/off and give it another hour of cooking, or finish off the rare pieces with a few minutes in the microwave.

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Recipe: Curried Chicken Salad

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

Makes 4 curried chicken salad sandwiches or entrée-size salad portions.

Ingredients:
1 ½ c cooked chicken, skin removed, cut in ½ inch dice
½ c chopped celery
½ c chopped apple (peeled)
1 t curry powder (sweet if you have it, otherwise any quality blend)
pinch of cayenne (optional)
salt to taste
3 T mayonnaise

Method: Mix everything up and allow the flavors to blend in the refrigerator for an hour; taste. Adjust with more salt if needed.

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Recipe: Easy Chicken Cacciatore

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

Easy Chicken Cacciatore is a variation of the easy pasta technique in which we undercook the pasta, then let it absorb the sauce. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 ½ c cooked chicken, diced
1 T Kosher salt
12 oz dry pasta
12 oz marinara sauce
½ c white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
1 T olive oil (optional)
3 garlic cloves, chopped (optional)
½ green pepper, sliced into strips (optional)
½ onion, sliced into strips (optional)
½ c pimento-stuffed olives (optional)
2 T capers (optional)
Cracked red pepper (optional)
Cheese for garnish

Method: fill a medium saucepan with water, bring to the boil, add pasta and salt. Reduce the heat so it doesn’t boil over. Cook until pasta has just changed color from translucent to white—about 5 minutes and well before the “al dente” point. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up a skillet or saucepan big enough to hold all the ingredients. Sauté the optional onions and peppers and/or garlic in the optional olive oil. Add wine and bring to a boil; add chicken, marinara sauce and lemon juice. (If not using the vegetables, you’ll start with just the wine in the skillet.) Add pasta to the sauce and simmer until it has absorbed most of the sauce. Add olives and/or capers if desired. If you like heat, add a bit of cracked red pepper while the sauce is cooking. Serve with grated or shaved parmesan or other hard cheese.

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Recipe: Potato Chip Pizza

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers
Potato Chip Pizza

Potato Chip Pizza

Two of a guy’s favorite things in a single recipe. This is a great side dish with a piece of grilled meat and a hearty salad. Adapted from Maggie Glezer’s Artisan Baking.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c bread flour
1/4 t yeast
1 1/4 c lukewarm water
1/2 t Kosher salt
1/2 t sugar
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced paper-thin with mandoline
1 medium onion (8 oz), peeled and sliced paper-thin with mandoline
Additional salt for potatoes
2 T chopped fresh rosemary or 1 t dried rosemary
2 T olive oil

Method: Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add water slowly and then beat the hell out of it with a big spoon, hand mixer or balloon whisk. (The original recipe calls for 20 minutes in a stand mixer). The end result will be a very smooth batter with just a little gluten development. Cover and proof 4 hours or until batter doubles in volume. Spread with a spatula onto a silicone baking sheet (Silpat or equivalent) inside a quarter-sheet baking pan. Allow to rest 1 more hour uncovered; it will rise slightly. Meanwhile, slice the potatoes with the thinnest setting of the mandoline and sprinkle liberally with salt, working it in with your hands so all surfaces are exposed to salt. Slice the onions. Allow potatoes to rest 15 minutes; they will throw off a lot of water. Rinse potatoes to get rid of some of the salt and press out water using a colander and paper towels; a little bit of wetness is ok.

Poolish or Dough?

Sticky batter spread out on silicone baking sheet

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place your batter on the cooking sheet into the oven and bake for 10 minutes until it is just set up and provides a surface that will hold the toppings. Mix potatoes, onion and rosemary and arrange on top of pizza. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 45 minutes, turning once. The pizza is ready when the top is filled with crispy potato and onion chips and the potato is cooked through.

Comment: I have made some tweaks to the original recipe. It still seems weird to me but the result is killer. Note that, similar to buying a new tool for a home improvement project, this recipe will require you to acquire two items you probably don’t have, a mandoline and a silicone baking pad. Just do it. You will thank me later.

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If this is a “soft opening” you can tase my ass!

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

A new restaurant recently opened in our area and I went to try it out. The name and cuisine aren’t important. I drove a long way to order three things of which one was unavailable, one was extremely mediocre, and the third never made it to the table because the kitchen was backed up or simply overwhelmed.

I wrote a scathing review on Yelp and was surprised at the response. It was a “soft opening” several commenters suggested so I should give this new spot some time to get its sea legs. Which I will do because I wanted the food these folks claimed to be selling. But meanwhile the original review is valid and it stands. It accurately reflects the experience I had.

Here’s the deal. If you charge people money for your food, you deserve to give them value for their money. You can’t expect them to pay you for the privilege of watching you learn. Give it away free… that’s a true soft opening. Or charge for some basics then surprise them with extra goodies from the kitchen. But don’t take their money till you’re ready to deliver the goods.

That’s my rant for tonight. The 800 pound gorilla in the walk-in has spoken.

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The secret to cooking pasta

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers

The secret to cooking pasta for good tasting Italian dishes is to undercook it, then finish in the sauce so it absorbs lots of saucy goodness. For an easy twist on this, dump a can of chopped clams with the juice into your saucepan of marinara, add some lemon juice and some kind of heat (I use ground red peppers which are available in Italian markets here in the northeast, but you can also use a few flakes of dry crushed red pepper), dump in your undercooked noodles, then simmer until the sauce is absorbed. Basta! You’ve got a pasta dish ready for a sprinkling of parmigiano that’s better than 80% of the food you’ll find in eateries. It’s also very low in fat.

I did a version of this for a local recipe contest in which I fancied up the basic dish by topping with cheese and baking. It’s nice but the basic recipe is just as good.

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Recipe: Baked Ziti with Clams alla Diavolo

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers
Baked ziti with clam sauce

Baked ziti with clam sauce

Portions: Entrée to serve 4

Ingredients:
½ lb ziti or penne or similar pasta
salt
16 oz marinara sauce (I use Casa Visco, an upstate New York brand)
½ onion, finely chopped
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
2 T ground pepper spread or 1 t crushed red peppers (or more if you like)
2 cans (6 ½ oz each) chopped clams with juice
¼ lb sliced mozzarella
¼ lb sliced provolone
grated parmigiano or pecorino

Method: Boil ziti in salted water until they are just beginning to get soft—well before the al dente stage. Drain immediately. Meanwhile, sauté onion until clear in olive oil in a saucepan big enough to hold the cooked ziti. Add clams with their liquid, lemon juice, hot pepper and simmer a few minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and add more hot pepper if you like (I like it pretty spicy). Add drained pasta to sauce and continue cooking a few minutes until sauce is absorbed. Transfer to casserole. Arrange mozzarella and provolone on top and sprinkle with parmigiano or pecorino. Tent with aluminum foil (foil should not touch cheese) and bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees; remove foil and bake 20 minutes more. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

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Noonday onions

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Burnt My Fingers
Noonday Onions

Noonday Onions, you sure taste sweet to me.

Noonday onions. The name just has to put a smile on your face.

Maybe they’re called noonday because the onions are harvested at high noon, after the morning sun has burnt off their volatile oils so they are especially sweet and easy to eat.

Or, maybe noonday onions are delicate new growth that are pulled from the ground when the sun is at its peak, before they can be more mature and bitter.

It’s true that noonday onions are delicate and sweet, making the better known Vidalias seem like horse apples by comparison. We got some the other day at the Dallas Farmer’s Market and enjoyed them thinly sliced into salad or sauteed with squash.

But as to the naming, the simple fact is that noonday onions are a naturally sweet Granex hybrid that, by regulation, must be cultivated within 10 miles of the little town of Noonday, TX.

So there you go. If you happen to have some Noondays or other sweet variety and don’t feel like eating them out of hand, here’s a nice recipe.

Posted in Cooking, Eating | Tagged | 4 Comments