The golden age of cider donuts is here

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Terrace Mountain Cider Donut

The winning cider donut, from Terrace Mountain Orchard in Schoharie

If you look at the samples in my post on the Tour de Cider Donut from 4 years ago and compare it to the pictures below from this year’s tour, you will notice quite an evolution. Now the miraculous Donut Robot is in near universal distribution, and farm bakeries are pushing the envelope with flavor, coating and the tenderness of the crumb. And the shape requirements have been relaxed somewhat, reflecting the bakers’ confidence with the form.

Lakeside Cider Donut

Lakeside Orchards, Mayfield

Rogers Cider Donut

Rogers in Johnstown, the least favorite of the group

We visited five remote locations on the first weekend of fall, starting in Mayfield, NY and heading due south. The repeating script was that you’d wander on back roads wondering if your GPS had misled you, then round a bend and suddenly there would be cars parked on the side of the road, hayride tractors lumbering through the fields, and crowds of young families with sacks full of just-picked apples.

Sand Hill Cider Donus

Sand Hill in Fonda, made from vanilla cake mix

Sand Hill donut ingredients

Ingredient mix at Sand Hill is proudly posted on the wall

But we were here for the cider donuts and the only actual apple I ate was a Gala sample to save me from a sugar coma at the 4th stop. Donuts were ranked on crust, sugar, cider texture, taste, oil and overall. Crust and texture were the most important components for me. I realized I wanted a crispy exterior which yielded to a soft, nearly pudding-y crumb when I bit into it, and at a couple of places I found just that. One of these establishments stacked the deck by using cake mix as their dough base—a diabolical move they are obviously proud of, since the ingredients label from the package was posted on the wall.

Lined up for donuts at Bellinger Orchards in Fultonville

Lined up for donuts at Bellinger Orchards in Fultonville

Bellinger Cider Donut

Bellinger Orchards, Fultonville

That donut scored #2 on the day, with the top place going to the Terrace Mountain Orchard in Schoharie, high on a hillside overlooking US 88. As a bonus, you get an incredible view of the valley on the way down. (Which impressed me so much I forgot to snap a picture.) I can’t think of a better way to spend a crisp fall afternoon.

Bellinger Donut Room

View of the donut prep room at Bellinger Orchards

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Recipe: Grilled Squid

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Grilled Squid

Grilled Squid

When it’s in oil, it’s calamari. When it’s over the flame, it’s grilled squid. That’s how we roll in my house. And this is one of the easiest yet most delicious preps you’ll find. Just be sure to use a perforated iron sheet on the grill so the tentacles and slippery squid pieces don’t fall between the grates. (Or you could broil in your oven, I guess.) Serves 4 as appetizer or 2 as main course.

Ingredients:
1 lb squid, cleaned and with tentacles separated
1/4 c really good olive oil
1 t dried oregano or 1 T fresh, finely chopped
3/4 t salt

Method: sprinkle salt and oregano over the squid and pour on oil, rubbing with your hands so everything is evenly distributed. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Grill over high flame until translucence turns to white and the squid picks up a little char. Serve immediately.

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Overflowing with okra

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Carol Okra

Carol M likes to cook okra in a hot cast iron pan, no oil, just salt and a bit of garlic

The very hot September in upstate New York produced an abundance of okra at the farmers’ markets. Perhaps coincidentally, readers here and on Facebook have made lots of useful comments on my recent okra posts.

Susan F (I’m using initials because I asked none of these people for permission to quote them), a chef who lives in Saratoga, likes to sauté okra in bacon grease with “a heavy dose of granulated garlic and sea salt.” If you just have a little okra from your garden, she suggests you mix it in with some green beans and cook the same way. Laurel B makes okra “Indian style with garbanzos and tamarind, or spicy with corn and limas and tomatoes, or tossed with corn meal and stir fried with onion.”

For simplicity, Carol M likes unadorned okra rings which are charred on a cast iron skillet or a perforated sheet on the grill, no seasoning other than a little salt. And Phil F in Madrid cuts his okra into bite size pieces and fries it up with some olive oil.

Enough Already! “discovered roasting okra whole on high heat with o.o. coating, salt/pepper, produces a delicious product. Leave room between pieces to allow air circulation so the moisture evaporates, concentrating the flavor. Also the Mediterranean style with tomatoes (I add the roasted okra to a chunky quick cooked tomato sauce. Add lemon juice.) is delicious. p.s. This even works with frozen okra, surprisingly.” Her idea combined with Susan F’s was the inspiration for this delicious okra prep.

We also did some examination of the twin okra evils of woodiness and slime. You know if an okra is woody because it crunches when you cut into it. I had been in the habit of discarding these pieces assuming their toughness would infect the rest of my dish but this last time I simply sautéed them separately. And you know what? They cooked up as tender as the smaller pieces.

As for slime, Lynn T suggests that “if you cut the end of the okra but just above main part, leaving no air access, you don’t get the slime.” I tried this. The sides of the okra tend to open up during boiling, so out comes the slime. I suppose you could watch the okra like a hawk and take it out of the water when it’s just tender, but if you are averse to slime you should try one of the sauté methods, all of which are slime-free.

Of course, none of these preps will budge the okra haters of the world such as Carol W, who says, “not even the greatest chef in the universe can make okra something I can enjoy. I don’t know what it is – the texture, the basic flavor, I am not sure. but it makes me want to hurl.” To each her own.

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Recipe: Sautéed Okra with Tomatoes

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Okra after Suzanne Watson-Fisher

Sautéed okra with garlic and tomatoes

Our late summer heat has led to an okra bounty this year so I’ve been led to some happy experiments, this one inspired by ideas from reader Enough Already! and local chef Suzanne Watson-Fisher. Like eggplant, okra soaks up some of the cooking oil which makes it wonderfully savory and tender. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 lb okra, stems cut off and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T good olive oil
3/4 t salt or to taste

Method: Heat oil and add garlic; saute until aromatic. Add okra and saute, tossing to distribute heat, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomato and salt and heat through. Serve with grilled meats.

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Recipe: Cream Corn

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Cream Corn

Late season cream corn

If you have late season corn that’s getting a bit scraggly, or just some ears left too long in the fridge, cut the niblets off the cobs and cook with liquid to reconstitute them as cream corn. Allow 1 ear per person.

Ingredients:
Niblets from 4 ears of corn
1/4 c whole buttermilk, or 1/4 c low fat buttermilk plus 1 T butter
3/4 t Red Boat fish salt (if you don’t have any, too bad; use 3/4 t kosher salt and a splash of Worcestershire sauce)
2 t chopped fresh marjoram or 1/2 t dried

Method: cut the niblets off the cobs, reserving the cobs for a vegetable stock. Add to a saucepan with the other ingredients, cover and cook over low flame till heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve with grilled meats.

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A report from the Hudson Valley Winefest

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

Just got back from the Hudson Valley Wine and Beer Festival and am reporting on my experience for those who are thinking about going tomorrow. The festival takes place each year on the Saturday and Sunday after Labor Day. It’s a low key event in the sort of charming (I think because it’s small) Duchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY. Tickets for the day are $25 with no alcohol, $40 with wine access and a glass, $45 with wine and beer access and TWO glasses.

The festival takes place in three exhibition buildings, an open area with food trucks, and two large tents for restaurant food sales and craft beer. The pavilions have a combination of wine tasting and a mishmash of snack vendors offering pretty small samples as well as a few non-food exhibitors. (You will definitely need to buy food, from the trucks or the restaurant vendors, to get through the wine tasting experience. There are some good choices, but at festival prices.)

Most of the wines are quite inexpensive, and there are lots of deals where you get a carry bag when you buy 2 or 3 bottles. If you buy a lot of wine there’s a valet service so you don’t have to carry it with you, though that service stops mid-afternoon so you need to drink and plan early.

Leaving aside the beer for a minute, whether this is a good value depends on your ability to drink a lot of tiny sips of inexpensive wine (and many people were doing their best to get their money’s worth). But a lot of people came in groups (hopefully including a designated driver for each) and were having a good amount of fun.

If this was a Yelp review, it would veer between 3 and 4 stars but settle on 4 for the beer tent. No reason not to pay the extra $5 for a 4 ounce tasting glass and five stubs that can be redeemed for good sized tastes (not sips) of some interesting beers. You can buy more coupons, but I didn’t because I had a long drive home to Saratoga.

If you’re in the area, or if you’re up for a drive on picturesque back roads, check it out.

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A groaning board of fall food festivals

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers

2015-posterThe weekend following Labor Day seems like a perfect time for a food and wine festival. We’re approaching harvest season, the kids are back in school, time to get to work after a summer of frivolity. So let’s celebrate with one last fling!

Alas, that means lots of competing festivals, at least in my neck of the woods in upstate New York. For the past several years I have attended the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival which is a fine excuse to enjoy fall weather and good eats and drink in Spa Park. But this year I’ll be attending the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Festival courtesy of my friends at Albany Yelp.

The top price for the Hudson Valley festival is $45 including food and wine tastings plus five sips of beer. That’s quite a bit less than the Saratoga festival and I am curious about how generous they are with the samplings for that price. One nice feature is that if you taste a wine and you like it, you can buy it on the spot and have it delivered to you as you go home. I’ll report on my findings but not until this time next fall since that’s when my recommendations would be of interest to the next round of festival goers.

In addition to Saratoga, I am foregoing the inaugural Bakers’ Harvest Festival at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, VT which sounds like a really wonderful event (if you’re interested check it out immediately as there are sessions starting Thursday) and the Longhouse Food Festival in Rensselaerville which is a confab of food writers, chefs and foodies at a barn in the country (I think; their website was not written by a food writer) that I’ve always been curious about. Lots to look forward to for a future year.

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Recipe: Greek Fried Rice

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Greek Fried Rice

Greek Fried Rice

Like Chinese fried rice, except it’s Greek! Needed a quick carbohydrate to go with squid on the grill, and found a container of leftover takeout and turned it into Greek fried rice. The net effect is close to the pilaf I could have made from scratch with more time and better planning. Serves 8.

Ingredients:
1 quart container leftover rice (if you’ve got a pint container, divide everything in half)
1/4 c olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch batons OR 1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c chopped mint leaves (optional; if you don’t have any use more oregano)
1/2 t dried oregano
zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 c)
1 t salt (unless the rice is already salted)

Method: Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the garlic and green onions/onion. Saute briefly then add oregano and chopped mint. Saute just until mint is wilted then add the rice and stir vigorously so the oil is evenly distributed. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and toss again. Cover and cook on low heat a few minutes until heated through.

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Recipe: Panzanella (Italian Bread Salad)

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Panzanella

Panzanella

This is a good way to use up over-ripe late season tomatoes, stale sourdough bread and whatever else you might have on hand. Serves 6.

Ingredients (basic):
1 lb or so stale sourdough bread, Italian or other sturdy white loaf
1 lb or so tomatoes, coarsely chopped (be sure to reserve the juice)
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 t salt
1/4 c olive oil
4 t red wine vinegar
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (traditional, but optional to me)
Some chopped or crumbled tart cheese like feta (optional)
A handful of marinated vegetables from the DeLallio counter at the store (optional)
Whatever else you may have lying around (optional)

Method: cut the bread into 1 inch squares and soak in water till crustiness is gone (maybe 20 minutes if the bread is really hard and stale). Squeeze out as much water as you can and place in a bowl with the chopped tomatoes. Let it set a bit to absorb some juice, or just toss with the other ingredients. Allow to macerate a bit before serving. Tastes at least as good the next day.

PRO TIP: if your initial taste is a bit bland, try more salt and vinegar and/or lemon juice. There’s a lot of liquid so it’s important to get its flavor balance right.

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The difference between home cooks and professional chefs

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Burnt My Fingers
Tomato Production Setup

My tomato peeling production setup

The other day I got pressed into service on a canning operation. My job was to peel 25 pounds of tomatoes and pass them on to be made into sauce. This required the set-up you see here: a pot of boiling water to loosen the skins, a pot of cool water to bring them back to handling temperature, a place for the discarded skins and a slotted spoon to make the transfers.

I had been told I didn’t need to worry about the stems but quickly discovered this particular batch of Romas was a bit woody. So when is the best time to cut out the stem-ends? If you do it after peeling the tomato falls apart. So, it needs to be done before they go in the boiling water bath. This is the kind of production-line decision that is made by professional cooks dozens of times a day and is why they are different than even the most accomplished home cooks.

You can do a job very well, but if it’s one-off there’s no guarantee that you will be able to repeat with identical results. I can reliably cook steaks because I once worked in a steakhouse. But I have no such experience with deep frying so my results are more experimental. I expect it’s the same for most of us. In particular, it’s why there’s such a difference between home and professional bakers. You can’t be assured of consistent baguettes until you have made dozens or hundreds of them day after day.

This is not to slight home cooks. It’s fun to experiment and discover new things. But predictability is nice, and if I’m paying for the meal I insist on it.

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