Recipe: Umami Butter

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers
Umami Butter

Umami Butter

I happened on umami butter as a sauté base for green beans… fantastic. Also works well with mushrooms. I would consider it for any sautéed food that could benefit from a jolt of this savory accent: steaks, cottage fries, peppers, eggplant. Broccoli and other crucifers I’m less sure about, but give it a try and let me know how it works. Recipe makes 1/4 cup, which you can cool in a ramekin as I’ve done and give to somebody as a gift. (You could also roll it up as a compound butter, but it’s going to be softer than usual because of the liquid component.)

Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz)
2 t dried bitter herbs (I used mint; shiso or basil would also work), OR 2 T fresh bitter herbs, finely chopped
2 t fish sauce (I use Red Boat)

Unami Mushroom Caps

Mushroom caps sautéed in Umami Butter. Be sure to pour the pan juices over the produce when you serve.

Method: melt the butter over low heat and add herbs; sauté at low heat until they have softened somewhat. (You can reduce the cooking time if using fresh herbs.) Add fish sauce and mix thoroughly. Keep some in the pan for the food prep at hand, and transfer the rest to a heatproof container for future use.

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Recipe: Leftover Banana Bread

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers
Leftover Banana Bread

Leftover Banana Bread

The Eagle Brand condensed milk adds a nice richness to this leftover banana bread. A good thing to make after the holidays when you discover lots of blackened bananas lurking in the corners of your refrigerator. Makes 1 big loaf.

Ingredients:
4-6 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 T melted butter
1 t vanilla extract
½ c brown sugar (or 1 cup if you like it sweet)
1 ¾ c flour
1 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
½ t Kosher salt
¼ c sliced almonds (optional)

Method: mush the bananas into pulp with a potato masher, back of a spoon or your hands. Mix in beaten eggs, Eagle Brand milk, melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in second bowl and mix well. Combine wet and bowls and pour into a loaf pan which has been rubbed with butter and dusted with flour. Bake 350 degrees for 60-90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and continue cooling to room temperature before eating. Good toasted with butter or cream cheese.

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Recipe: Accident Bread

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Burnt My Fingers
Accident Bread

Accident Bread, ready for sandwiches. I’ve found family members are much more likely to use the bread when you pre-slice it for them.

Accident Bread happened because I was experimenting with Sirvinta wheat, a heritage grain I picked up at the Maine Kneading Conference. I was under the impression it was a high extraction flour but the resulting dough was quite different than expected. I added a few mix-ins to rescue my bake and ended up with a very satisfying result. After the fact, I realized this is a pretty fool-proof formula any time you want to experiment with flours and ingredients. Makes two 2-lb loaves.

Ingredients:
150 g lively APF starter at 60%
800 g water
100-200 g whole wheat or high extraction flour
800-900 g all purpose flour (you want to end up with a total of 1000 g flour)
100 g mixed add-ins which might include rolled oats/wheat, a few gold flax seeds, rye berries
1-2 T Kosher salt (start with 1 T, then taste the dough as it forms)
1 T olive oil
2 T maple syrup (grade B preferred)

Method: Add water to starter in a large bowl and stir with a spoon until starter is dispersed somewhat. Add flours and mix thoroughly until there are no patches of dry flour. Allow to autolyse (rest) for at least 30 minutes and as long as two hours. Add all other dry ingredients and commence to stretch-and-fold using the method described in this post. Do three rounds of ten stretch-and-folds at 15 minute intervals. Before the third round taste for salt and add more if necessary, and add olive oil and maple syrup. After the fifth round (total elapsed time 1 hour) cover and allow dough to bulk-rise for four hours (more or less, depending on how lively your starter is and the temperature of your kitchen). Shape into two loaves and rest 20 minutes.

After resting, transfer loaves to floured couches and rise another 1 ½ hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 460 degrees with cast iron dutch ovens nd their lids inside. This will take at least 20 minutes. Carefully transfer loaves to the dutch ovens (you don’t need to bring to room temperature if refrigerated), slash the tops, cover and cook 20 minutes. Then take off the lids, reduce heat to 430 and bake another 20 minutes or until bread reaches an internal temperature of 206 degrees. Cool and eat.

 

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Food for Thought: The Writer’s Guide to Bread Baking

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

Richard Dooling is a polymath who has sold screenplays and written bestsellers yet still teaches law at the University of Nebraska. His blog covers diverse subjects of interest to him, one of which is bread baking.

The Writer’s Guide to Bread Baking is an omnibus post in which Dooling presents the craft as an ideal procrastination enabler for writers (a benefit of which your correspondent is well aware) and provides many links to videos, recipes and sources of tools and insight. I don’t agree with all his recommendations, but absolutely can confirm his choices for the two best websites for beginning writer/bakers. Check it out.

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Behold… the wedge!

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers
15 Church Wedge

Wedge salad at 15 Church in Saratoga Springs… can you spot the lettuce?

Have you noticed? The wedge salad is quite the thing in high end steakhouses recently. The concept is simple: cut a triangle of chilled iceberg lettuce, and pile stuff on it. Blue cheese dressing (preferably house made, with lots of big cheese chunks) and a sprinkling of bacon are essential. Beyond that, it’s open to creativity.

At 15 Church, my favorite restaurant, Chef Brady Duhame topped it off with fried onion rings and added cherry tomatoes and other garnishes till the actual lettuce disappeared. And I’m fine with that. As with stone soup, the basic ingredient is the least important thing.

By comparison, I had a wedge at a local place during our restaurant week that wasn’t even a full quarter of a head. At a food cost of maybe 80 cents max, that’s a poor place to economize. These bozos sealed the deal with a minimal amount of jarred blue cheese dressing and a light sprinkling of bacon bits, which makes me think the wedge is a convenient litmus test of presentation and commitment to customer satisfaction.

Of course you don’t have to go to an expensive steakhouse to have a wedge. You can craft a perfectly serviceable version at home, as long as you use our Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing.

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Recipe: Sautéed Asparagus with Hazelnuts

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers
Asparagus with Hazelnuts

Asparagus with Hazelnuts

The warm sweetness of roasted hazelnuts is balanced by the tartness of lemon zest to create a heartier side dish. Asparagus with hazelnuts would be an excellent accompaniment to your holiday prime rib. Serves four.

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 T lemon zest
1 t Kosher salt
¼ C roasted* hazelnuts, chopped

Method: trim the ends from asparagus spears and peel any that are particularly thick. Sauté garlic in olive oil and add asparagus and lemon zest; cook until tender, about 5 minutes, turning frequently. Add salt and served with hazelnuts sprinkled on top.

*To roast hazelnuts, cook them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes then cool slightly. Remove the husks by rubbing a few nuts at a time between your palms.

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All I want for Christmas is my Instant Pot

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

Am I the last one to know about the Instant Pot? If the answer is no, it’s YOU then there is still time to get/ask for one of these beauties for Christmas/Hanukkah. Just click the Amazon affiliate image above.

Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker with a bunch of smart electronics and a heating element on the bottom of the internal pot. That means you can sauté up some short ribs with seasoned flour, pour in some wine and maybe a splash of fish sauce, and be enjoying meltingly tender meat in about half an hour. You also make savory, juicy Chinese-style salt chicken (though it won’t be as crisp as the birds hanging in the shop window) and a host of other goodies by following the international links on this deceptively sparse recipe index.

In fact, it seems that the biggest market for Instant Pot may be China; half the recipes in the included cookbook are in Chinese without, unfortunately, any available translations. (The very large Instant Pot community suggests that you should cut and paste the individual recipes into a translation utility like Google Translate. The measurements went awry when I did this so I’m waiting for some kind soul to simply post their results.) So if you like to mess with Chinese and other Asian preps, this is your pot. Pho and Taiwanese beef stew are definitely on my list to try in the new year. And there are a bunch of sticky rice preps that seem promising.

How much you ask? Depends on the whim of Father Amazon. On super sale days like Cyber Monday, the price can drop into the sixties. Regular seems to be around $120. This morning it’s $99 but that may change by the time you get there. But even at regular price, its not a huge investment for all the fun you/they are going to have. Go for it.

P.S. Be sure you get the 7-in-1 Instant Pot, not the lesser 6-in-1 model. The only obvious difference is that the 7th function is the ability to make yoghurt, but there are more variables under the hood. Don’t limit your creativity to save a buck or two.

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My holiday cookie bake

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers

At this time of year, I traditionally do a holiday cookie bake of goods to send to faraway friends and family. It sometimes includes a loaf of fruit and nut bread, one year had a stollen (not successful) but almost always includes three cookie items which are different enough that everybody will like at least one of them.

Fennel Pollen Shortbreads

Fennel Pollen Shortbreads

Fennel Pollen Shortbreads. These are delicate and delicious with the funky licorice taste balancing the unctuous butter. If you don’t have access to fennel pollen I would experiment with anise extract since fennel seeds would interfere with the desired smooth texture. Recipe here. Note that these guys are rather delicate so wrap carefully if shipping.

Chocolate Biscotti with Chipotle and Hazelnuts

Dark Chocolate Biscotti with Chipotle and Hazelnuts

 

 

Dark Chocolate Biscotti with Chipotle Chili. Chocolate and chili seem to be a thing nowadays, and this is a good example of why the two contrasting flavors work so well together. Do go to the trouble to roast and husk fresh hazelnuts; in fact, make some extras because they’re delicious and can be used in other bakes. Recipe here.

 

 

Christina Tosi's Corn Cookies

Christina Tosi’s Corn Cookies

Christina Tosi’s Corn Cookies. Chef Tosi wants you to order freeze dried corn kernels from Amazon to give these a rich corn-y taste but subbing in more finely ground corn flour (NOT cornmeal) will probably work as long as the flour is very fresh. They are very similar to peanut butter cookies in their texture and flavor profile… in fact, one of my more discerning tasters thought that’s what they were. Recipe here.

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Sussing out Saratoga Restaurant Week 2016

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers
Squash Soup, Meatloaf Sandwich

$10 lunch special for Saratoga Restaurant Week at Salt and Char

We’re at the midpoint of Saratoga Restaurant Week 2016, and I’ve made an earnest effort to review the meals that are on offer at $5 or $10 for lunch, $10, $20 or $30 for dinner. Some restauranteurs complain about restaurant weeks because they feel they draw the bargain hunters who are unlikely to return. But it’s also an opportunity to be creative and show what you can do at a price point. Diners who might not have tried you previously get a good taste of what to expect and may come back at full price.

That’s what is happening at Salt and Char, an extremely expensive steak house that opened last year on Broadway. The $10 lunch special is a meatloaf sandwich on focaccia, accompanied by a bowl of cardamon-scented butternut squash soup. Brilliant idea to grind the scraps from those expensive cuts (the cheapest steak on the regular menu is $68) and serve with a rich tomato jam. I didn’t like the soup as much and in any case it didn’t go well with the meatloaf: heavy complemented by heavy. A salad (maybe the impressive iceberg wedge I saw on other tables) would have been better. That told me something about the new crew in the kitchen, the original world-renowned chef (Gary Kunz) having stepped back from daily operations. But my wife had the $24 prix fixe which delivered a bowl of French onion soup under a puff of cheese accented pastry, followed by a nicely sautéed chicken breast. The hanger steak is available for a $8 upcharge, allowing diners to sample a signature dish at less than half the usual price. (That’s an ongoing lunch special, not just for restaurant week.) Now I know what the restaurant is like (plusses and minuses to the decor, all minus to the blaring soundtrack which is unfortunately way too common in local places) and what the kitchen can do. I’ll return for that hanger steak.

At the other end of the spectrum are any number of establishments which are serving burgers, sandwiches or other entrées that come close to the price point on the regular menu, and tossing in a cookie or a beverage. That’s not trying hard at all, but better than some folks that can’t be troubled to post their menus: we’ve got something for Restaurant Week, but you’ll have to come in to see what it is. If they don’t bother to plan ahead, one expects that they will not try very hard when you get there.

Tonight I’m headed for the Barrelhouse, a place in the “Arts District” which I tried and didn’t like when it first opened. A $20 special with that lettuce wedge and a mixed grill has caught my eye. With a modest price cut and some creativity, they’ve got me back for a second chance. That’s what Saratoga Restaurant Week is all about, or should be.

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How to know when a recipe is going to suck

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Burnt My Fingers
Bang Bang Turkey

Bang Bang Turkey, after tossing

The New York Times failed me. I looked at their collection of leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipes and plucked out Bang Bang Turkey by Nigella Lawson. I followed it to the letter except for making a couple of strategic substitutions in the aromatic herbs. The result was beyond mediocre—a waste of 1 ½ cups of shredded turkey breast (luckily, I had divided the recipe in half). But when you take a closer look at the recipe, there are several red flags.

  1. The recipe isn’t dated. Only when I clicked this link did I discover it was originally published in 2002. That’s significant because tastes change with the times, and availability of ingredients also changes. I have some vintage cookbooks I love to work from, but I always know what I’m getting into.

  2. The recipe contains suspect ingredients: shredded lettuce, “Chinese chili-bean sauce” and superfine sugar. It was shredded iceberg lettuce back in 2002. The NYT doubtless eliminated the specificity because no self-respecting foodie eats iceberg lettuce any more, but the result is just confusing. How do I shred micro greens? As to “Chinese chili-bean sauce” there are any number of sauces at my Asian market that contain both chilis and beans, so one suspects Nigella Lawson was simply referring to whatever was in her pantry which isn’t helpful. And superfine sugar? How about regular sugar, which most folks have on hand, dissolved in the vinegar as you start to bring the recipe together?

  3. The recipe has appeared in other versions over the years, which suggests Nigella was simply winging it. Googling uncovers recipes (usually for Bang-Bang Chicken, not turkey) without the sesame oil, heated on the stove, and subbing watercress for the lettuce. All may have merit, but don’t present the current recipe as canon.

  4. The recipe is needlessly fussy. Back in 2002 Mu Shu Pork was a thing, and the table assembly aspect of that dish may have informed Bang Bang Turkey/Chicken. You are supposed to spread out the shredded lettuce on a large plate, drizzle some sauce on, mix the turkey separately with more sauce, then finally garnish with scallion and cucumber. And, pass more sauce for diners to add to their liking. But the sauce is viscous so you’re going to immediately mix up the ingredients to distribute it before serving. Now you have a tossed salad, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But let’s skip the needless foreplay.

Of these #2 is probably the most egregious and also the easiest to spot. I should have known better. Any time the ingredient list is either vague or esoteric, ask yourself if the author had a hidden agenda or was simply lazy.

P.S. If you feel like making the recipe in spite of my outrage I would advise more peanut butter, more heat and the substitution of Napa cabbage for lettuce.

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