Get Creative!

We had a fascinating Create-A-Recipe Dinner, listening to why/how everyone selected the dish they wanted to create and how they went about experimenting. One thing was clear. . .each dish was made several times before coming up with what was prepared for the dinner. It is how it’s done in professional kitchens as well. In this month’s Bon Appetít issue, several pages were dedicated to the BA test kitchen and for one dish, a Chess Pie, they tested the recipe for 3 days, made 6 pies, 4 revisions and used 16 cups of buttermilk and 12 lbs of butter. In our test kitchens, families benefited from all the trials and revisions. I think it was fun for everyone and the input from our family tasters added to the final result.

Janis created & prepared Gazpacho with Cheese Straws. She made the soup with Green Zebra tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, mangoes, ancho chilies and thai chilies, and except for the mangoes, all from her back yard vegetable garden. She added the mangoes as a result of a suggestion from her husband and it was a perfect addition to the tart Zebras. It was a fantastic gazpacho. Her Cheese Straws were rich and crispy and a creamy contrast to the cool soup. They had a white cheddar and herb filling intertwined with puff pastry. Yum! Bill chose a blended wine from David Caffaro winery in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma, called Fesco. David is known for growing very esoteric grape varieties and making unique blends. His 2009 Fresco is a blend of 22% Alvarelhao, 21% Tempranillo, 21% Tinto Cao, 20% Peloursin, and 16% Carmine. It’s appearance is a deep rosé and it tasted like a light raspberry, strawberry, pomegranate, and cherries. It did not stand up to the soup but boy did I enjoy it as a wine!

Sharon created a Bountiful Potato Gratin [recipe following] to replace the Candied Yams that we always have for Thanksgiving. She started with the yellow sweet potato, then added the Garnet yam, Russet and Yukon potatoes. After making this version with half & half, she added caramelized onions and sliced Granny Smith apples for some sweetness and then added bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil on the top. Her spices were nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Her family enjoyed her trials and also made suggestions each time. The end result was a delicious gratin that was more flavorful than a traditional potato gratin and less sweeter than the traditional candied yam.

Sandy’s Asparagus with Mixed Mushrooms and Parmesan and Asparagus Jus was a big hit. Just click on the recipe title to get to the website with the recipe. Sandy defined herself as a recipe-kind-of-cook and brought a dish from Jean Georges Vongerichten’s cookbook, Cooking at Home with a Four Star Chef. She found a recipe that uses the lower stem part of the asparagus that all of us find inedible but hate to throw away. After removing all the asparagus trimmings, she chopped the bottoms and boiled them in salted water, drained then puréed it all with little of the poaching liquid. What she found interesting is that the asparagus got cooked twice, first blanched and then sautéed in olive oil. Bill served a special Austrian wine that is especially nice with asaparagus; Gruner 2009 Gruner Veltimer, Austria. It is considered to be the only wine to serve with asparagus and for once “they” are right!

Willie prepared an old favorite that he’s been making for years, Fettuccini Alfredo Carbonara He makes his own fettuccini to begin with. He never measures the ingredients but tastes as he goes. It has the traditional ingredients of cream, pasta, butter and cheese, to which he added the carbonera component, fried pancetta, that added a nice crunch and salty accents. We served his dish along with Sandy’s asparagus and the combination was perfect! Bill chose a very rich and delicious, 2005 Chardonnay from Rochioli, South River Vineyard, Sonoma. It stood up to the creamy fettuccini and was delicious all by itself!

Sandi chose to “redo” a Midwest favorite of her family. Frozen Fruit Salad Dessert. The original version uses iceberg lettuce, green Jello, Cool Whip, canned fruit cocktail and marshmallows. She first made homemade marshmallows and then tried to make a pistachio pudding but the color was olive drab and the texture too gritty. She decided to stick with the Jello pudding but made the rest of the ingredients using real whipping cream, fresh fruits, and her homemade marshmallows. Everyone loved her resulting dish and prompted a lengthy stroll down memory lane, recalling all those dishes our mothers took to pot lucks.

My Sort-of-Crispy Doughnuts [recipe follows] & Miso Ice Cream, did not come out as I had planned. First let me describe the ice cream. I was going to make an unusually flavored ice cream and use miso as a flavoring but my cousin sent me an ice cream recipe with miso in it so it wasn’t an original recipe but it sure was delicious. It tastes like salted caramel and cream. Sharon picked out the brown sugar but no one picked up on the miso. Do try this recipe because it’s a good one! Just click on the recipe title to get to the website with the recipe.

My doughnuts did not come out well As my doughnut dough was rising, I decided to have a light lunch and was getting some avocados and tomatoes sliced and stabbed myself in the hand. Not normally a big deal but that cut wouldn’t stop bleeding after an hour so Bill drove me over to the nearby Clinic to get some stitches.

During this intermittent activity, my doughnut dough wasn’t rising for some reason but I didn’t have time to make another batch so I cut them out to rise in their shapes and left for the clinic. After getting stitched up, I arrived at the dinner. . I decided to just make doughnut holes since we had a pretty rich dinner and one dessert/salad already. The irritating thing about doughnut holes is that not all of them will turn over in the hot oil so I always end up tossing several out because I can’t get them browned on both sides. The doughnuts had a strange almost bitter taste (and, no, I did NOT bleed into the dough!) so I wasn’t happy with the results but it may be because they only got one rising. Sigh….I may never figure out how to make crispy doughnuts.

Bill served a Tokay wine as an after dinner drink, a 2000 Royal Tokaji, 5 Puttonyos from Hungary. A fine ending to a creative evening!

I, for one, have decided to leave the creative recipe tasks to others and return to cookbooks and recipes….wa-a-a-y easier!

Over our dinner conversations, several great ideas emerged for our cookbooks for next year:
1. Each of us choose one of our own cookbooks to use in depth for the entire year
2. Barefoot Contessa books
3. Regional cooking in the US
4. Family favorites

Start thinking about next year and we’ll discuss and decide at our Annual Holiday Buffet at Annie & George’s home in December. Date to be determined.

Cook on!

Here are the homemade recipes:

Sharon’s Bountiful Potato Bake

Caramelize 4 large yellow onions and line bottom of a 13x9 casserole.

Peel and thinly slice a variety of potatoes. I used 2 medium russets, 2 yams, 2 sweet potatoes and 2 Yukon golds.

Peel and thinly slice 2 granny smith apples.

Soak potatoes and apples in 4 cups half and half.
Add 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Arrange potatoes and apples in overlapping rows. Add leftover half and half to casserole. Cover and bake at 375º for 50 minutes.

Combine 2 cups of breadcrumbs with 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. Cover potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Sandi’s Sort-of-Crispy Doughnuts
A
• 1-1/3 C Bread Flour
• 1/3 C Cake Flour
• 1/3 High Gluten Flour
• 3 t Instant Yeast (1 pkg of Red Star rapid rise)
B
• 5 T sugar
• 2½ t salt
C
• 1 egg, room temp.
• ½ C bottled water, room temp.
D
• 5 T unsalted Butter, room temperature

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients A, and B together in mixer bowl.
2. Mix eggs with water in small bowl until well blended.
3. Add to dry ingredients and beat using k-beater (regular Kitchenaid paddle) at #2 speed for 5 minutes.
4. Using the paddle attachment knead for 5 to 8 minutes on #2 speed, adding sprinkles of flour if the dough is too sticky (It should not look like bread dough though)
5. Add in butter and beat additional 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
6. Leave the dough aside on floured surface and let the dough rise for another 30-60 minutes till double in size.
7. Roll the dough properly into ¾” thickness.
8. Let the dough rise for 10 minutes
9. Dip cutters in flour and cut out in doughnut shapes or holes.
10. Transfer cut-out doughnuts to a tray sprinkled with flour,
11. Leave aside for another 30 min. or more to allow the dough to proof further.
12. Heat the oil to 325º - 350º
13. Fry the donut dough until very light golden brown. Keep oil temperature constant. It just takes a 2± minutes per side.
14. Place fried doughnuts on rack to drain.
15. Return oil to 325º - 350º and refry the doughnuts. Do quickly to not burn the doughnuts.
16. Dust with powdered sugar or dip in glaze (that I haven’t created yet)

5 POUNDS OF FLOUR LATER…

As you all know, I’ve been on the search for the doughnut of my childhood memories for 40 years. It’s a yeast doughnut that has large air holes, crispy, with a clear sugar glaze. I’ve searched in every country we have traveled to, every city, town and village in the USA we’ve gone to with no luck. Doughnuts vary but most places don’t even make their own doughnut dough anymore. And they call them DOnuts!

So for our next cookbook club dinner I have been experimenting with different flours, yeasts, eggs/no eggs, water vs milk, etc. I’ve changed the ratios, followed advice from everyone I’ve talked to (and no, I am not interested in re-creating the Krispy Kreme donut…).

So far, I’ve gone through about 5 pounds of flours (bread flour, gluten flour, cake flour, all-purpose flour), 3 kinds and brands of yeasts, AND a new KitchenAid Mixer!! This is turning into a $500 doughnut! Now I understand why desserts at restaurants are $7-12 each!

If you own an old “Classic” Professional KitchenAid, the motor is only 325 volts and the gears are nylon. Kneading dough in just not possible on this machine. I stripped the gears on it twice…fixed it the first time but the second time, I decided to upgrade and buy the Professional model with 575 Volt motor. Definitely LOOKS more hefty! Like my old one on sterioids. FYI: KitchenAid’s email customer service is fabulous and I got answers to all my questions.

So on to what I’ve been trying. I’ve got the taste and the crispy exterior part finally figured out after trying 5 different ratios, ingredients, frying temperatures, etc. Now I am trying to get the air holes in the inside and working on the glaze.

• I am learning about yeast and how it depends upon what kind of weather we are having because the same recipe comes out differently on different days.
• I have found that chop sticks work best to turn the doughnuts over in the oil.
• Important not to overfry them to keep the crust thin but crispy.
• 225º-350º is the best temperature for the oil because any higher and the dough turns dark brown too fast and the interior stays goopy.
• I now know why there’s a hole in the middle of the doughnut…

Whether I will create the right recipe by the time we have our dinner is another question but you WILL get doughnuts…they just may not be the doughnut of my childhood. Maybe I just remember a doughnut that never was?

HOMEMADE PASTA THOUGHTS

Well, I finally tried to make my own pasta, pappardelle to be exact. First, what I discovered is that there are multiple recipes for pasta ranging from simple flour and eggs to flour, eggs, milk, olive oil, salt, and each with different ratios. And, then, of course if you want flavors (spinach, garlic, etc.) you have to adjust the ratios BECAUSE, the secret to great pasta is the texture and, in my book, thinner pasta.

Now, the solution to this is to just go out to eat at Osteria in Palo Alto (sorry no web link...they are so well known they have no website) who makes their own pasta and order the Pappardelle with Bolognese Ragu. Their pasta is perfectly prepared and my model for great pasta. OR, get invited to friends who make their own fabulous pasta for dinner. My next best option is to convince Don to teach me how he makes his pasta, which he most kindly did.

So my first attempt used Don’s pasta recipe. Three ingredients, flour, eggs and a little salt and a tiny bit of cooked spinach. I weighed the flour because Don and most of the recipes I looked at recommended this but you also know that every egg is not alike, even if they are labeled “large,” AND the temperature of the day apparently makes a big difference. It seemed like a recipe for guaranteed failure.

I made the well in the flour, popped in the eggs in the middle and using a fork, blended the flour into the eggs very gradually. Then I kneaded the dough for 20 minutes and then added another 10 minutes because one of the recipes said that you can’t over-knead the dough and more is better.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes..this was the easy part.

I have an Atlas hand crank pasta machine that I bought over 20 years ago and never even taken out of the box. I set it up on my kitchen table and after dividing the dough into the six logs, starting rolling it through the machine at setting #1. I folded the dough into thirds and rolled it through again. I did this 3 times for setting #1 and #2. Then I started rolling it through the successive numbers, UNTIL I got to setting #6 and the dough fell apart and stuck to the rollers. Okay, so I’m stuck with non-paper thin pasta...
But halfway through my 6 logs, I discovered that if I take the dough to #5 and then fold it up and run it through the #1-5 setting again, once for each setting, I got really long and really thin pasta!! Eureka!

Mistakes I made:
1. I did not let the sheets of pasta dry enough before cutting them
2. I forgot to sprinkle corn meal over my cookie sheets before piling the cut pasta ribbons on them. That helps to keep the pasta dry so they don’t stick together before I boil them. I had to throw away the pasta that stuck to itself because I couldn’t get them apart again. . .sigh.

I made a Lamb Ragú for the pasta and for the few ribbons that didn’t stick together and ended up being eatable, the pasta was divine!

Is it worth all the trouble? I am not sure. Counting the time it took to make the ragu, I spent 3 hours and needed Bill’s help to pull the pasta from the machine so the sheet wouldn’t stick to itself. We could drive to Osteria and have dinner in that amount of time AND, no clean up.

I may try Thomas Keller’s recipe before I give this up. Another cooking friend told me that this is the best pasta he’s ever made and you know how I love Keller’s cookbooks!

My next project is to make my own doughnut recipe. I am thinking it will be a cross between a popover, beignet and doughnut. Commercial doughnuts are too heavy, IMHO, anyway. So for our next cookbook dinner, that’s what I’m going to create….or at least try to create. It’s probably going to take a lot of trials, and errors and a big mess in our kitchen and I’ll have to exercise twice a long every day to counter the calories!

Cook on!

Fast Food My Way Dinner, Aug. 7, 2011

Jacques Pépin, along with Julia Child, has changed the way American’s cook and made gourmet cooking approachable. This dinner, for each of us, was one of our easier preps. His recipes were simple with very few ingredients and steps and yet produced delicious entrés that everyone enjoyed. His recent two books, Fast Food My Way and More Fast Food My Way, are current examples of his philosophy of not being too serious about exact amounts or instructions. They were simple and we could interpret his ingredients as well as his amounts according to our tastes.

We only had 4 courses this evening with 7 entrés. We began the evening with Cheese Crostinis that Sharon selected to prepare. The key ingredient is the tomato and it’s the right season for finding ripe and sweet ones. Our cool summer is not producing great tomatoes in our backyards yet but in the hotter areas like Grass Valley, they can be found! The slice of baguette is topped with a slice of tomato and Gruyere cheese, popped into the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese and served immediately. Easy peasy and yummy. Bill brought a bottle of Giavi nonvintage Prosecco Superiore, Prima Volta Brut from Italy to bring out the fruitiness of the tomatoes but with enough acid to accent the gruyere cheese. The little bite of sparkle to this wine added to the festivity of the evening.


Sandi prepared Jacques' Smoked Trout Salad with Horseradish Cream. Again, some chopping/slicing but basically assembling ingredients and preparing the horseradish cream. The saltiness of the smoked trout was contrasted with sweet tomatoes and the creamy bite of the horseradish cream. Very delish! This dish was enhanced with a serving of Bourgogne 2009 White Burgundy, Michel Bouzereau Et Fills from Cote D’Or, France. The buttery flavors from the wine added a nice creaminess to the trout salad while standing up to the saltiness of the smoked trout.
Bravo Bill!

We served the next 3 dishes together. Sandy prepared Baked Salmon topped with bread crumbs and chopped hazelnut. The hardest part for her was to get her oven to get down to 200º but at this temperature, the salmon cooks for about 40-45 minutes and stays moist and tender. The Sun-Dried Tomato and Salsa Mayonnaise sauce combines fresh salsa that one can purchase from gourmet grocery stores with, what else? Mayonnaise and sun-dried tomatoes….duhhh! She chose a mild salsa to use for her sauce. The great thing about this dish is not only is it fast and simple to make but she made it ahead of time since it can be served at room temperature. This preparation and serving method makes it easier for the host/hostess to visit with their company rather than slave in the kitchen all evening.

Janis chose Pépin’s Broccoli Rabe and Pea Fricassee. Janis is the vegetable queen of our group and always chooses recipes that I don’t initially select to try. But, once I taste her dish, I end up adding them to my repertoire of vegetable sides. She did not disappoint for this dinner either! The bite of the rabe is nicely contrasted with the sweetness of the young petite pois. And as with the other dishes, few ingredients and easy to prepare.

I made Cubed Potatoes with Garlic and Sage because I loved it when I tried this recipe a few weeks ago. This time I followed his recipe and used whole garlic cloves instead of chopping them. I think I prefer the roughly chopped garlic to the whole cloves because the garlic is more evenly dispersed with each bite. The other change I made to his recipe is, although it does add one more step, I deep fried the sage leaves instead of the chiffonade of fresh sage he recommends. I like the crispy texture it gives the dish. This dish is generally made at the last minute but because I was transporting it, I sautéed the potatoes for 10 minutes at home and then did the last 10 minutes of sautéing the garlic cloves and potato cubes at the dinner. The exterior is definitely crispier when doing it at the last minute but for bringing the dish to a "not-so-pot-luck dinner," doing it in two steps worked. Just make sure to dry the sautéed cubes with paper towels and lay single layered on a jelly roll pan lined with paper towels to transport the potatoes.

Bill selected an Etude, 2004 Pinot Noir from the Carneros region of Napa. This wine was paired beautifully with this course. The salsa on the salmon as well as the bitter background tastes from the broccoli rabe and the garlic from the potatoes called for a wine that shows some fruit, a bit of tannins and spiciness without overwhelming the salmon. Etudes did the trick…amazing!

And, of course, we always have the final sweet bites (or two) to our dinners. Willie prepared the Vanilla Praline for our first dessert. Using Bryer Vanilla Ice Cream, Pepperidge Farm Cookies (although he and Sandi think that Trader Joe’s Shortbread cookies is a better choice when they tried this recipe the first time) and softened Chocolate Nutella. He and Jacques created a simple but delicious dessert. His dish was made even more appealing but serving them in Sandy’s ice cream sundae dishes, don’t you agree?

Our last sweet bite were Crepes with Banana-rum Filling that Marianne chose to bring. Crepes were so popular for a while (remember Crepes Suzettes?) and then they disappeared for years and have been back in vogue, especially at Farmer’s Markets. Crepes do take some time to prepare but they are so worth the effort. These were enhanced with slices of banana in a rum laced buttery sauce….what’s not to like?

Bill chose a French Barsac from Sauternes to go with both dishes: Chateau Coutet, 2005. He continues to amaze us with his wine choices that both compliment the flavors of the dishes while the taste from each entré enhances the wines.

I usually don't show much of the home or table of the host but this table was beautifully set and Willie took such a great photo of it, I have to share it with you! They have such a beautiful home and a warm setting for our dinner. Sandy's kitchen was once featured in the Sunset Magazine so you know I am not being biased with this praise!

Our next dinner should prove to be very interesting! We are to bring a dish we have created from scratch using a recipe we created, using the 3-point balance that we learned from Josiah Slone OR a redux of an old favorite dish into a new dish. Bring copies of the recipe to share or send it to me in electronic form and I will distribute it after the dinner. The recipe does not have to have exact ingredients (unless it’s a dessert) but a list of ingredients and ratios. This dinner is not designed to intimidate you but to let loose your creative side and have fun with new ingredients or new combinations. Our hosts for this evening will be Sandi & Willie.

4th of July at Relaxation Station Bed and Breakfast in Lake Wildwood, CA

Several members of the Crowing Coq Cooking Club had the good fortune to spend 4^th of July at the Relaxation Station Bed and Breakfast with it’s delightful owner, Sharon on the shores of Lake Wildwood in the Sierra Foothills.  There was much cooking and merriment in addition to adorable children and breathtaking fireworks as we shared our nation’s birthday. 

Sharon has a fantastic house right on the lake with magnificent views from every room and two fabulous porches brimming with comfortable tables and chairs, herbs, flowers, tomatoes and citrus and our course, Buster, the guard dog.  The lake is deep blue and surrounded with lovely trees.  Skiers, boaters, kayakers and swimmers drifted by as we enjoyed our margaritas on the beach.   

Willie and Sandi arrived on Sunday afternoon to join Tina and Bob and their kids Lauren and baby Isabella.  Sharon’s refrigerator was stuffed to the max with all the food for the next several days.   Some spent the afternoon basking by the lake (it was hot!) enjoying pina coladas and others stayed inside where it was cool to watch the Tour de France. 

Sharon has piles of magazines, books (including lots of cookbooks!), DVD’s, and toys and games for the kids in every room, but soon the kitchen was the scene of the action as Tina, ably supported by sous chef Lauren, put together our dinner. Unfortunately, the dinner was so good, we forgot to take a picture of it, so you’ll have to imagine Tina’s grilled pork loin with blackberry sauce and mango salsa accompanied by coconut rice and grilled asparagus beckoning to us on Sharon’s Provençal dinnerware. Dessert was a refreshing lemon curd lightened with crème and giant blueberries and raspberries.

Sharon’s turn came the next morning as she concocted a Mexican brunch with breakfast burritos made up of roasted potatoes, sausages, eggs, 3 different kinds of tortillas, a variety of toppings, mimosas and a assortment of fruits.  And no one who tried it will forget the ‘Butt Pucker’ Hot Sauce!!  At least one member of the club was reduced to tears as he gasped for breath after a tiny taste. 

Brunch was followed by the annual 4^th of July Wildwood Lake Boat Parade.  This year’s theme was movies and the kids especially loved watching the decorated boats float by playing the themes from their movies.  Since it was so hot, the group spent most of the day on the beach or the dock enjoying the sunshine and cooling off in the ‘Relaxation Station’ (see pic at top of post!), a huge air-filled lounger with net on the bottom to let in the cooling lake water (and mulch!)! 

We bid farewell to Tina, Bob and their kids in early afternoon, but were soon joined by Sharon’s son Dan, his wife Lori and their adorable children, precocious Abby (age 7) and social director Taylor (age 4) who organizes a mean game of hide and seek.  Lori tried to catch a fish for dinner in her kayak, but was unsuccessful, so Sandi and Willie retired to the kitchen to prepare the 4^th of July feast beginning with cooling watermelon mojitos served in Sharon’s Mexican glasses.  We enjoyed crab cakes, potato salad, Cuban corn, and grilled asparagus followed by Willie’s strawberry ice cream served on pound cake. 

The air cooled a bit as the sun went down. Dan brought his boat to Sharon’s dock and we all clambered in and motored across the lake to get a good spot for the fireworks.  It seemed to the kids that it would never get dark enough for them to begin but once they did, it was amazing!  The lake was filled with boats and the sky was filled with sparkling fireworks that lasted for almost half an hour!  After the last colors died away, the sounds of the boaters horns and applause filled the night and when we looked up, instead of fireworks, the sky was filled with stars. 

In the morning, we had another lovely brunch on the terrace overlooking the lake.  It would be easy to get used to living like this!  Many, many thanks to Sharon for a wonderful July 4^th!  
A good time was had by all!

Sandi W