It’s turkey time!

Posted on November 21, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
2017 Turkey

Follow our recommendations, and your first Thanksgiving turkey can look like this!

Welcome to another Thanksgiving, and another BMF Thanksgiving clips post. We moved our 16 pound turkey from the freezer to the refrigerator on Saturday, expecting it to thaw by Wednesday so we can brine it and then put in the oven Thursday morning. (If this happens to be your first time Thanksgiving turkey, this post is filled with tips to maximize your success.)

Our brine follows the Chez Panisse formula: 2 ½ gallons cold water, 2 c Kosher salt, 1 c sugar. We also throw in a few bay leaves, a few cloves of garlic and a scoop of juniper berries. Mix all this up in your bucket with a big spoon like a witch uses. Then extract the packets of innards from the turkey (there might be more than one, and in more than one spot), drain any liquid inside the bird, and dunk it in the brine to leave overnight in a cool spot, and ideally 24 hours. Put it in neck first, then flip it halfway through. Pro tip: the turkey doesn’t have to be completely defrosted to start marinating, as long as you can reach your hand and get those bags of parts. In fact, a partially frozen bird will insure your brine stays at a food-safe temperature.

We’ve already made our bread machine stuffing and it is getting good and stale so it will be ready to mix up using this recipe (though we’ll cut back on the sage since it’s already baked into the bread).

Chess Pie

Mom’s Chess Pie… mmm.

We’ll likely make cranberry sauce using the directions on the Ocean Spray package, which was a landslide winner in our cranberry sauce taste test, though we’ll also pick up a can for backup. For sides we might mix things up a bit, and make some Highland Park Squash Casserole but substitute a winter squash for the yellow squash. Recipe modification: we’ll cut the winter squash in half, scoop out the seeds and rub butter on the surface, then bake in a 350 degree oven until just tender, maybe 30 minutes. Then we’ll scoop out the flesh and follow the Highland Park recipe from that point. And we just might bake some Mom’s Chess Pie instead of pumpkin just because it’s so good.

On Friday we’ll be fixing sandwiches with the leftover turkey, leftover wilted lettuce salad, cranberry sauce and good old Durkee’s Famous Sauce replacing mayo. We laid in a supply of Durkee’s last year; if you can’t find locally (and you probably can’t) an order today, Monday, should get you a two pack or, why not, the economical 12 pack for Wednesday delivery before the holiday. This will be served with leftover stuffing and gravy at a neighborhood potluck.

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Recipe: Bagel for One

Posted on November 19, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Bagel for One

Bagel for One.

Our Bagel for One recipe is stolen outright from jenniabs3 on TikTok, with just a couple of modifications in technique. If you think making just one bagel is overly indulgent, just imagine the satisfaction of mixing the dough with your own hands, watching it grow, then enjoying it piping hot out of the oven half an hour later. We were baking No-Fuss Focaccia at the same time so didn’t feel guilty about firing up the oven for one bagel; of course you could also multiply the recipe or cook the single in a toaster oven or air fryer.

Ingredients:
1 t instant dry yeast
1 t brown sugar
½ c warm water
120g (a little less than a cup) all purpose flour
¼ t Kosher salt
2 T honey
Your choice of fillings
Your choice of toppings
Egg wash made from an egg white or whole egg (if adding topping)

Bagel Dough

Bagel dough after shaping.

Method: mix the yeast and brown sugar with the water and wait a few minutes for the yeast to bloom. Mix the flour and salt and any desired fillings (such as dried or fresh blueberries, for example) in a small bowl, add the yeast water, and knead in the bowl for a couple of minutes until the dough becomes more cohesive. Cover with a towel and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. Shape with your hands into a ball then flatten and poke a hole in the middle and shape into a bagel.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a quart of water to the boil in a pot just big enough to hold the bagel, along with 2 T honey. Boil for 1 minute on each side for a slightly chewy bagel; adjust the time up or down with less boiling = more tender, less chewy. Drain and then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or a Silpat on a sheet pan or cookie sheet. If using topping (we topped ours with Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel Seasoning) brush the top of the bagel with egg wash to hold it in place, then apply seeds or other topping generously. Bake 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned but not yet dark. Serve hot for best results.

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Recipe: No-Fuss Focaccia

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
No Fuss Focaccia

No Fuss Focaccia.

No-Fuss Focaccia is a light modification of the recipe of the same name from King Arthur Flour. It’s perfect when you crave a savory flatbread but don’t have the time or patience to manage a long ferment. Makes one 10×13 focaccia, about a dozen servings.

Recipe:
420 g all purpose flour
320 g warm water
1 T (not a misprint) instant dry yeast
1 ½ t salt
3 T olive oil, plus additional for greasing pan and topping
1 T dried rosemary or 2 T fresh rosemary leaves, optional*
Zata’ar or other dried herb for topping, optional

Method: line a 10×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper**, including the sides. Mix flour, water, salt, yeast, optional herbs and 3 T oil in a bowl, first with a spoon then with your hands, until the dough forms a cohesive mass and no streaks of white flour remain. Cover and rest 1 hour or until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Focaccia Parchment Paper

Lining the pan with parchment paper means no-fuss cleanup.

Pour 2 T or so additional olive oil in the bottom of the pan, on top of the parchment paper, and spread it to the edges with your hands. Pour in the very soft dough and let it rest for a few minutes, then push out the dough with your hands to completely fill the pan. Brush on a little olive oil if you like and add zata’ar or another topping if you like. Bake 35 minutes, checking after 25 minutes, until the top of the bread is lightly browned and the bottom is a nice golden brown. Flip out onto a rack and cool before slicing.

*Adding rosemary to the dough will approximate the famous herbal slab sold at Acme Bakery in San Francisco.
**This isn’t called for in the King Arthur recipe but if you truly want no-fuss focaccia you shouldn’t have to wash the pan, right?

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Recipe: Breakfast Sausage Patties with Ginger and Sage

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Breakfast Sausage with Ginger and Sage

Breakfast Sausage with Ginger and Sage, served with pancakes and a nice runny egg.

Breakfast Sausage Patties with Ginger and Sage is a modification of the recipe in Ruhlman and Polcyn’s Charcuterie. No need to deal with sausage casings and stuffing when you have access to fresh pork with a high fat content (like Boston butt) and a mini-chop to grind it. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork, from butt or other with high fat content
2 t Kosher salt
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 t rubbed dried sage, or 1 T fresh sage if you have it, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
½ t ground pepper
2 T ice water

Method: mix all ingredients by hand and form into 8 or so patties. Fry over medium heat until crispy and serve with eggs, pancakes or what have you.

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Recipe: Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Fermented Soybean Stew)

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Doenja

Doenjang Jjigae (Korean Fermented Soybean Stew)

Doenjang jjigae is a savory, filling stew you can make in almost no time once you assemble the ingredients. Doenjang, or fermented soybean paste, is often compared to miso (which drives Korean crazy) but arguably this recipe is superior to miso soup because it has more ingredients and extra complexity so it eats like a main dish instead of an appetizer. Makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:
½ c doenjang*
2 t gochugaru (Korean chili powder; do not substitute regular chili powder)
1 t ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 c zucchini, cut into half-moon slices
1 c potato, peeled and cut into ¾ inch cubes
1 c carrot, peeled and cut on the bias into ½ inch pieces
½ c diced onion
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths including some of the green part
1 Anaheim or jalapeño chili, sliced into ¼ inch rings
½ lb spare rib or other tender beef, cut into small cubes
6 live littlneck clams or 6 shrimp, optional**
1 lb soft tofu, cut into ¾ inch cubes
4 c beef stock
2 c dashi***
Cooked white rice, for serving

Method: combine all ingredients except optional seafood, and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until potato is tender, about 20 minutes. Add seafood if using and simmer 5 more minutes until the clams open up or the shrimp turn pink. Serve with a bowl of rice; you can either pour the stew over the rice or add rice to the stew to your preference.

*You can find the brown tubs of doenjang next to the gochujang in almost any Asian grocery; you can also order a tub from Amazon for under $10 and it will last a long time in your refrigerator.
**Koreans like to find a bit of seafood hiding in their jjigae. If using clams, scrub and soak in water for 30 minutes, If using shrimp, leave the shells on or not, your preference.

Dashi Packet

We used this instant dashi product; 1 packet makes 3 cups of dash but you could use 2 cups water for a more concentrated flavor.

***There are many doenjang recipes out there and most include some kind of fishy marine element—dried anchovies, kombu etc. We used a dried dashi packet that includes both fish and kelp.

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What Saratoga Restaurant Week looks like in 2022

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Pork Ragu Taverna Novo

Pork Ragu at Taverna Novo, $25 with app and dessert on the 2022 Saratoga Restaurant Week menu at Taverna Novo. Photo credit: Hinna L. on Yelp.

Being obsessively cheap, we perk up when our local restaurant week rolls round, hoping for some real bargains and creative menu design that motivates us to try someplace new. For 2022 Saratoga Restaurant Week runs from November 7-13; lunches are $15 (they were $5 and $10 last time we wrote about this in 2019) and dinners are $25 and $35.

I’m definitely going to lunch at the Kaffee Haus, which will give me a Reubenator sandwich and a cup of gulash with a soda for $15 when these items add up to well over $20 on the regular menu. Will probably skip the Hideaway, which for $15 gives me a Reuben which is $14 on the regular menu and throws in a salad or dessert. Will also skip a couple of places that agreed to participate in the promotion but didn’t bother to put up a menu; what’s up with that?

For my $25 dinner I’m surely headed to Taverna Novo, which will serve me a small Caesar salad or pumpkin ravioli, an entrée of pork ragu, and a death by chocolate brownie for less than the entrée sells for on its own. And will avoid Panza’s, which marks up 3 of its regular entrees for a $35 menu and makes up for it with a soup or salad to start and bread pudding for dessert.

In fact, a rule of thumb for restaurant weeks might be that the entire promotional menu should cost less than its entree when purchased on the regular menu; e.g. the Taverna Novo promo is giving us a $28 entrée for $25 with extras. It also helps if the restaurant offers a special that is not on the regular menu (a Cuban sandwich at Hideaway, pumpkin ravioli at Taverna Novo) which will draw back regular customers and also make price comparisons against the regular menu more difficult.

Restaurants have had a hard time with the pandemic and subsequent staffing shortages, though the staffing situation seems to be more manageable at local places now that the tourist season is over. But the restaurant business depends on attracting new customers and turning them into repeat customers, and a restaurant week is a golden opportunity to do that. It’s not a time to pinch pennies.

I’m not alone in this philosophy; our local food curmudgeon Steve Barnes put up a long Facebook rant comparing Panza’s offering to another place down the road which serves the same menu every day at a little more than half the price. (We originally linked to the post but Facebook has blocked access for too many redirects, sorry.)

 

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Vote Early! Then make some Election Cake.

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Election Cake

We baked our Election Cake in a bundt pan. Can be sprinkled with powdered sugar if you like.

We voted yesterday, October 31, at a lively site filled with election workers in costumes and lots of voters (our machine was already over 100 a little before noon). If your state provides it, might be a good idea to do the same and avoid potential craziness on official Election Day, November 8.

Then… go home and make yourself some Election Cake!

This savory concoction was enjoyed in post-revolutionary America; election day was a joyous festival that often entailed traveling long distances and partying afterward. The lucky voter would get a slice of cake as a reward, likely accompanied by a cup of rum.

You can do the same with yourself and your friends, neighbors and family members. Start the cake today and enjoy it tomorrow, then cover and keep in the refrigerator and it will be just as good right up through November 8.

Election Cake with Pumpkin Pie Glaze

Election Cake with Pumpkin Pie Glaze

This recipe is adapted from the home bakers version of the recipe from OWL Bakery. Makes 1 bundt mold or 8″ or 10″ round.

Today:
1 c warm milk
1/2 t instant yeast
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c dried or 1 c fresh fruits (optional)

Method: dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and stir in flour. If you are using dried fruits, chop fine and soak overnight in liquor or water. The preferment is ready in 8-12 hours when it becomes bubbly.

Tomorrow:
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 T whole-milk yoghurt
2 T honey or sorghum syrup
Last night’s preferment
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground coriander
1/4 t ground cardamon
Pinch ground black pepper
1 t salt
Last night’s rehydrated or fresh fruit (optional)

Method: using paddle attachment in stand mixer, cream butter then add sugar, mixing until very light and fluffy. Mix in the egg on medium speed, then the the sorghum/honey and yogurt.Exchange the paddle for a dough hook. Add the preferment and mix until just incorporated. Combine all of the dry ingredients before adding them to liquid ingredients and mix until just incorporated, being careful not to over-mix. Gently fold in the rehydrated fruit. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan or cake round.

Proof 2-4 hours, covered, until cake has risen by about 1/3 of its volume. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting and eating.

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Recipe: Gonzalez Food Market Macaroni Salad

Posted on October 30, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Gonzalez Food Market Macaroni Salad

Gonzalez Food Market Macaroni Salad.

Gonzalez Food Market Macaroni Salad comes to us from Robb Walsh, who explores the less-traveled backroads of the Texas barbecue trail for his Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook. The raisins add a note of sweetness that makes us think Miracle Whip is the best choice for the dressing, though you are welcome to use mayo. Makes about 16 servings.

Ingredients:
8 oz dried elbow macaroni, about 1 2/3 cup
½ c celery, chopped
½ c onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
¼ c raisins
1 c Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Method: cook macaroni in a generous amount of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and pour cold water over to stop cooking. Stir in other ingredients and refrigerate at least 4 hour and preferably overnight. Taste before serving and add salt and pepper as needed,.

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Recipe: Chocolate Saratogas

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Chocolate Saratogss

Chocolate Saratogas.

Chocolate Saratogas are the contribution of Mrs. Frank H. Miller, daughter of former Senator from Missouri Edward V. Long, to the Congressional Club Cookbook (1993 Edition). There is a tradition of crackers with chocolate in the South, but I have no idea why these are called “Saratoga” chocolates. Being sited in Saratoga Springs, NY, birthplace of the potato chip, of course I had to try them. They are like Heath bars, with a pleasant chew you could probably eliminate by tempering the sugar to a higher temperature. Makes 25 or more Chocolate Saratogas.

Ingredients:
Saltine crackers
1 c unsalted butter
1 c dark brown sugar
1 12-oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate morsels

Method: preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 10×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, including sides. Cover the bottom of the pan with individual saltine crackers, side by side but not overlapping. Melt butter in saucepan and add sugar. Bring to a low boil, stir until sugar is melting, then continue to cook 3 more minutes until the mixture is nicely caramelized. Pour over the crackers, tilting the pan to evenly distribute the caramel. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. When chocolate is softened use a spatula to evenly spread it on the top.

Congressional Club Cookbook

The Congressional Club Cookbook, a gift from my sister.

Cool to room temperature then cut into squares. I initially tried cutting along the border of the crackers but found it didn’t matter; Mrs. Miller says this recipe should make 50 servings which mean you’ll be cutting each saltine in half. Chill in the baking pan until serving; I found the bottom is slightly tacky so the pieces will stick together but can be separated for erving,

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Eating at the Skidmore dining hall

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Burnt My Fingers
Skidmore Dining Hall Meal

My meal at the Skidmore dining hall.

For the past few weeks I’ve been eating lunch at the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall at Skidmore College. It’s organized in the same way as the dining halls at UMass Amherst, which I loved when my son was in college, though on a more modest scale. Let’s take a look.

Dish Drop Off

Dish drop-off station near the entrance.

In both cases, there’s a big dirty dish drop off area right at the entrance so you have to pass through it (almost—in both cases it’s slightly offset behind a wall) to get to the food stations. Considering that we are dealing with 18-21 year olds, like the one I still have at home, this makes sense. Make it easier to recycle than not and they just might do it.

Todays Menu

Today’s menu.

Once inside, the dining hall is divided into stations and you can visit as many stations and eat as much as you want. For someone who’s tried to game the Las Vegas buffets at the Bellagio, this is important. How does a dining hall like this plan to defeat me? For one thing, no trays, so I’m limited to what I can carry. But I can always go back for more.

Corner Deli

Corner Deli.

You can review a daily menu on a board as you enter and make preliminary plans. The most popular station seems to be The Corner Deli where you can get a sandwich made to order (like mom would do if you were at home?) and I discovered the pro trick of ordering your sandwich, then going to other stations like the salad bar to round out your meal while it is being prepped. I also liked the Back to Basics station, which provided me with a perfectly roasted and seasoned chicken thigh one day.

Skidmore Dining Accolades

The food has won a number of awards.

So, how is this food? Pretty good but not as good as UMass, and I know why. The latter offers up a number of creative recipes which can be prepared on an institutional scale (like the Subbaswamy family squash curry I experienced in 2015, recipe unfortunately unavailable), while Skidmore is ad hoc. Students work most of the stations and their preps are formulaic, not creative.

The good news is that the ingredients are of good quality and the students like the experience. The dining hall has been packed, every time I’ve been there.

Skidmore Dining Hall

Exterior of the Skidmore dining hall.

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