A Live One

Apologies for the unscheduled interruption in service. Things have been a bit crazy in our household this week (completely un-food-related) and it has severly curtailed my desire or ability to accomplish anything in the kitchen beyond frozen ravioli or takeout burritos. Hopefully the chaos will subside a bit, and I'll have a chance to redeem myself.

My last major food attempt, however, was an unmitigated disaster. I tried to make challah last Friday from an old, old recipe of my grandmother's that I had found when cleaning out her kitchen. The recipe wasn't very clear (literally AND figuratively), and I never remember my grandmother making challah, so I'm not sure as to the origin of this recipe. Maybe it was shunted far back in the cabinet because it sucked? Because my challah sure sucked: hard as a rock, the color of a raw egg yolk, way too crusty, and lacking that lovely lightness and sweetness that an egg dough should have. Breaking off a bit after saying the Motzi was an athletic feat. Sacreligious or not, it went straight in the trash after dinner.

I had been planning on making another attempt today with a better recipe, courtesy of Raptorgirl, but (stemming from the aforementioned chaos) I have a few other more pressing activities to attend to today so it looks like I'll be buying this week's challah and trying again soon.

In the meantime, aside from using a proven recipe, anyone have suggestions about how to make the perfect challah?

Posted by jmakunas at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It has occurred to me lately that in writing about all our culinary adventures it may seem that M and I eat like gourmands every night, spending hours in the kitchen testing new recipes or concocting elaborate dinners. Honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. Most of our cooking experiments are reserved for the weekends when we have time to putter around the market and the kitchen. Maybe I'll try a new recipe during the week, but it better be fast and easy and do-able after yoga class.

In fact, M and I have developed over the years what we call our "stock meals" - meals that we always have on hand, can be purchased inexpensively at Whole Foods, take less than 30 minutes to prepare, and that we never get sick of. In any two week period, I would guess that we eat each of these meals at least once. When I was working the rotation was much, MUCH faster (and I fully expect to fall back on that pattern when I go back to work).

And so, if you peeked through our window on a weeknight (that's not an invitation, by the way) you'd probably see us dining on the following:

- Baked potatoes: My very favorite all-time meal. I eat mine with a bit of sour cream, some of that nasty spray butter, and a glass of Côtes du Rhône. The ultimate comfort food.

- Sausages and egg noodles: Whole Foods makes their own sausages, and we are addicted to the turkey and chicken ones (lower fat, awesome flavor). Our favorites are the Chicken, Lemon, Herb, and Thyme and Turkey Mild Italian. We boil these a bit, then brown them up and serve them with wide egg noodles. This is the one "stock" meal that M always, always cooks.

- Annie's Mac and Cheese: I fought M for years about switching mac and cheese brands (I didn't care how fake Kraft was, I loved it anyway) but once I tried Annie's, I never went back. It always tastes like a special treat to me. We usually have the Shells and White Cheddar, but the Peace Pasta and Parmesan is good too.

- San Francisco Pasta Company cheese ravioli with frozen peas: I love peas, and we eat them often. I think they go especially well with these plump, cheesy ravioli. We aren't big fans of red sauce, so M eats these with a drizzle of olive oil, grated parmesan, and some black pepper. I use the nasty/wonderful spray butter.

- Wendy's Eggplant Gratin: A recipe from one of my best friends that's hardly a gratin (it has a bit of parmesan in it, but that's it) and will change anyone's mind about eggplant. Perhaps I'll post it one of these days.

- Roast Chicken: My standard Sunday night dinner which we usually do in the oven (often with roast or mashed potatoes and garlic green beans) and sometimes on the grill (as "Beer Can Chicken," which is easy and equally excellent). It's just such a homey meal.

- Whole Foods "appetizer" meal: A standard Saturday night meal when we're staying in. We'll go to Whole Foods or some other fun, gourmet grocery store (Dean and Deluca if we're in Napa, Mollie Stone's in Marin, the Ferry Plaza...) and get a fresh baguette, a selection of cheeses and salami, some fruit, maybe a bit of prepared food (like a few slices of skirt steak or some chicken skewers), a little dessert (usually a peppermint brownie or a mini cheesecake to split), and a nice bottle of wine. Then we'll spread it all out on the coffee table and pick at it for a few hours.

- Papalote: Our very favorite burrito place in the city, we used to live around the corner and now gladly drive across town for their food. The burritos (my favorite: chile verde super burrito with black beans) are very fresh, not too gigantic, and they make their own amazing salsa (from a secret family recipe). We used to go there more than we do now, and I sincerely miss chatting with Miguel while waiting for our order.

New additions:
- Clotilde's Oeuf Cocotte: I think we've made this twice a week since she first posted the recipe. We're still making it with onions, ham, peas, creme fraiche, and a sprinkling of cheddar/jack cheese. We'll have to branch out one of these days, right?

- Double Potato and Halloumi Bake: If Whole Foods continues to stock Halloumi on a regular basis, we'll continue to make this all the time.

And now, it's time for dinner. We're branching out tonight and trying a new flavor of sausages (Chicken, Habanero, and Green Chili) with our egg noodles.

Posted by jmakunas at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So even though I cook a lot, every once in a while I'll make something - either by accident or on purpose - that I'm exceedingly proud of. Last night I threw together a yummy asian-type cabbage salad (of all things!) that was really, really excellent and totally unexpected.

M and I have been eating a pre-made salad from Whole Foods lately called "Cabbage Crunch." I bought a head of cabbage last week because I was planning on making another Nigella recipe but never got around to it and was worried that the cabbage would go bad if I kept it much longer. So I decided to try to make my own "Cabbage Crunch"-type salad and ended up with something far, far better.

- 1 head green cabbage
- chopped scallions (5? 6?)
- toasted sesame seeds (toast in a dry frying pan)
- toasted almonds (as above. I used blanched, slivered almonds.)
- cilantro (about 1/2 a bunch)
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
- sesame oil
- white wine vinegar

Shred the cabbage in a food processor. I used the shredding disk for half and the slicing disk for half which I think gave the salad a lot more interest and texture. Add in the scallions, sesame seeds, almonds, and cilantro and toss. Add in the spices, oil, and vinegar and toss again. Correct for seasoning.

I didn't give measurements, because I didn't use any myself. I just started with a little oil (sesame oil is a strong, distinct flavor so be careful) and added to my own taste as the salad mixed together. I think that the cilantro and the almonds are key here, so don't be skimpy.

I don't usually eat as I cook (except to taste for seasoning, etc.), but I couldn't stop picking at this before dinner. I think that's when I knew I had stumbled on something really yummy. I just finished up the leftovers for lunch, which is a nice change from a traditional salad. I would serve this with marinated steak (as we did last night) or a nice piece of salmon.

Cabbage. Who knew?

Posted by jmakunas at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Everyone's always amazed when I say that I don't like chocolate. It's not that I don't enjoy really good chocolate now and then, it's that I don't crave chocolate that often and more likely than not I'll go for the non-chocolate option on any dessert menu.

It is surprising, then, that my favorite little gift from M - whether it be birthdays, anniversaries, or (as was the case on Saturday) Valentine's Day - is a little package of Champagne Truffles from Teuscher chocolates. Described as "A delicate milk chocolate shell wrapped around sinfully rich dark chocolate with a heart of French champagne crème," they manage to be simultaneously eye-rollingly rich and light and fizzy. The milk chocolate is creamy and crystalline, and the champagne cream hidden in the center isn't cloyingly sweet (just like good champagne).

In my opinion, they're three bites worth of perfection.

Posted by jmakunas at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Posted by jmakunas at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As a matter of course, M and I try not to keep too many sweets around the house. We always have a pint (or two, or three) of ice cream in the freezer, but don't often buy things like cookies or candy or chocolate. Both of us are usually satisfied with a spoonful or two of ice cream after dinner (and lately have been foregoing the ice cream for a clementine from the lovely box we bought at Whole Foods). However, sometimes my sweet tooth gets the best of me, and I find myself frustratedly rustling through our cabinets, cursing the fact that we don't even have an errant Oreo to satisfy my craving.

Last night was one of those nights and so at about 8:30pm I found myself in the kitchen whipping together a batch of my favorite homemade cookies, Snickerdoodles.

A very simple sugar cookie, Snickerdoodles can usually be made with ingredients on hand in any normal pantry:

- 1/2 C butter
- 1 C sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/4 C flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt

Cream the butter and the sugar, add the egg and the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt, add to the creamed mixture and blend well. Chill for at least an hour, then roll into balls, roll the balls in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, and bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes.

These make lovely, soft little cookies with a sandy texture from the cinnamon sugar coating. Unless, of course, you're jonesing for sugar, and you forgo the "chill for at least an hour" part, bake them immediately, and have flatter, crisper cookies (I do recommend patience and chilling the dough, however).

Eat two immediately with a glass of milk. Eat one for breakfast the next morning. Give the rest to your husband to take to work so they're out of your sight forevermore.

(Recipe makes 2 dozen cookies)

Posted by jmakunas at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Continuing yesterday's little discussion of appetizers and pre-meal munchies, I thought I'd share a bit about my very favorite aperitif, Lillet Rouge.

Michael first read about Lillet a few years ago in Jay McInerney's funny collection of wine essays, Bacchus and Me (highly recommended) and the next time we found a bottle in San Francisco, we had to try it. There are two kinds of Lillet, red and white, with the white being a little drier and the red a little deeper and muskier tasting. Both are blends of fruit and spice (such as orange peel and quinine) that has been macerated and fermented and wine. This mixture is then aged like a normal wine and different vintages are mixed together, giving the Lillet both its fruitiness and its depth.

Lillet is most often served chilled or over ice with a twist of lemon or orange. However, it seems that Lillet is experiencing a surge in popularity - at least in wine-crazy San Francisco - and I've seen Lillet cocktails popping up lately. In fact, I seem to remember a Lillet-infusted martini at the swanky bar at Azie down the street from us.

I mentioned before that I'm super excited that the new Whole Foods down the street is stocking both Lillet Rouge and Lillet Blanc. Indeed, we've had a bottle in our refrigerator consistently since the grocery opened. That bottle is currently open on my counter, and I'm just about to have another glass.

Posted by jmakunas at 06:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As many of you know, M and I were lucky enough to spend two weeks in France last summer with my parents. One of the best parts of our stay was reconnecting with some old family friends who live outside of Paris (in Louveciennes, if I remember correctly) and enjoying a dinner at their beautiful house on a lovely summer evening towards the end of our trip.

The entire evening was - of course - delightful and delicious, but I came away from the dinner with yet another foodstuff that I had to bring back from France (in addition to the wine, cheese, and chocolate that I was already going to smuggle home, not to mention everything else I purchased during Les Soldes!). Along with a lovely glass of Sauternes, we were served little munchies called Twinuts which are (according to my translation of the back of the bag) "a crunchy peanut covered (actually the world is 'enrobed'...hee!) in a delicious, light, and crusty cracker" and they come in many different flavors. They're totally addictive, as I'm sure you can imagine, and our friend Judy said that her family loves them so much she often brings them with her when she visits the US. She kindly gave me a bag of the "Mexican" flavor to bring back with me.

Of course, I knew just one bag would hardly suffice, so I spent a few days in Paris popping in and out of every supermarket to find more Twinuts in all their possible flavor permutations. I finally found them on sale at Monoprix (of course), and brought home about 8 bags that varied between salt (plain flavor), tomato-basil, bacon and spices, chinese, and indian flavors.

Because of some compulsion similar to the last bite axiom, I'm sure, M and I have tried to carefully conserve our consumption of the Twinuts and we still have four bags left. However, we're now worried they're going to go stale soon, and have decided to dive into our stash. Yesterday, we enjoyed the Mexican flavor with a nice glass of Amontillado sherry, and they were still outstanding. It's amazing how such a silly little snack food can make you so happy. I will be truly sorry when they're gone.

Posted by jmakunas at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Ahhhhhh...my favorite feeling: the anticipation of Phish to come.

Posted by jmakunas at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I knew that I had really turned a corner with my cooking skills when I could pinpoint exactly where I went wrong in a less-than-perfect recipe attempt and became willing to try to make the dish again instead of just giving up. This awareness of how ingredients interact, how to build flavors and make them cooperate, and how to time both the cooking and serving of a meal has both made me a better freestyle cook and continues to inspire me to attack challenging recipes.

Last night's dinner - another Nigella creation - was hardly challenging, but I was making do with substitute ingredients (one of which I'd never used before) and was in a post-yoga state of starvation while cooking. I had chosen to make "Chicken with Chorizo and Cannellini," a quick dinner of poached chicken breasts atop some blanched kale (see above re: never been cooked in my kitchen before) on a bed of sautéed chopped chorizo and cannellini (little white kidney beans). That's all there is to the recipe. Seriously. That's it. And it was yum-my...except for a few things....

First of all, I couldn't find Spanish chorizo at the new Whole Foods. Spanish chorizo, I believe, is cured and thus more like a dense and spicy pepperoni or salami than a true sausage. I made do with the WF homemade chorizo, which was uncooked and in a traditional sausage casing. First mistake: I tried to chop and sauté this per recipe directions when I should have just squeezed it out of the casing and broken it up into smaller pieces, as it would have cooked a bit faster and been a lot easier. Second mistake: I dumped the beans in with the chorizo about 3 minutes too early (see above re: getting the chorizo to brown faster) and by the time it was done, we were approaching that ever-appetizing beanmush stage (and I wonder why M doesn't adore beans...). Third mistake: I bought and poached the world's biggest chicken breasts ever. I had no choice! They were the only organic free-range breasts at the store! I tried to trim them down, I took off the tenders and I trimmed all the fat, but they were still gigantic. (Sing it with me folks: "And we wonder why Americans are fat!") There's just no way to poach such a large piece of chicken in a reasonable amount of time (again, see above re: ashtanga-induced hunger) and not have it be a bit stringy. Sigh.

But for all that the meal was wonderful, a really excellent mix of flavors with such little effort. I loved that the main carbohydrates in the dish (the beans) were also a great protein source. I appreciated the extra vitamins (and shot of color) that the kale delivered. And anything that uses chorizo (Spanish or otherwise) definitely gets my vote. To top it all off, I got to sprinkle our special sweet, smoky Spanish paprika on top of the chicken, the perfect finishing touch to tie all the pieces together.

Mistakes be damned...I'll cook this one again and again to get it right.

Posted by jmakunas at 01:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So we're back from San Diego where we spent a joyful weekend celebrating the marriage of my best friend Michelle to another of my good friends from college, catching up with old friends and family, eating wonderful food, and enjoying some balmy SoCal weather.

Because Michelle is my best friend and knows me extremely well, she gave me a lovely cookbook gift for helping her with some silly wedding stuff. She's the one who began my Nigella obsession in the first place by giving me How To Eat a few years ago for my birthday. I had never read a cookbook before that fit so perfectly with how I think about and approach food, how I want to cook for my family, and how I want to feed my children someday. I don't think I've ever cooked a bad Nigella recipe, and I'm constantly returning to her books to experiment, tweak, and explore. I've been wanting Nigella Bites for a while, and as we drove up from San Diego yesterday, I devoured the entire book, marking off a week's worth of recipes to try.

I drove straight to the Whole Foods when we got home and last night I made "Double Potato and Halloumi Bake" which is just roasted veggies with some halloumi (greek cheese) melted on top at the very end. You'd think this wouldn't be anything special, since it's just a potato, a sweet potato, an onion, a bit of garlic, a red pepper, and a yellow pepper tossed with oil and pepper, roasted, and then sprinkled with cheese and broiled for about 5 minutes. But this is exactly why I adore Nigella's recipes: it's gorgeously colored, the flavors work perfectly together (the peppers don't overpower, which they have a tendency to do), took all of 20 seconds to prepare, and is going on permanent rotation in my kitchen. M loved it too...always a good sign.

The only thing was that I couldn't find Halloumi (I thought I'd seen it at WF last week, but I could have seen it elsewhere). We substituted Kasseri instead, and it was good, but I'd like to try the original recipe. Eh...it's just an excuse to head over to Berkeley this weekend and stop at The Cheeseboard.

Posted by jmakunas at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)