Since a friend of mine refused to cough up his lemon cake recipe, I went looking for the best one I could find for Valentine’s day. I found a brilliant one in Shirley Corriher’s new book, BakeWise.
Best lemon pound cake I’ve ever had, and just brilliant. Not too hard either. Maybe I should post the recipe?
Just a sneak peek at what I’ve got to post when I get a moment. First, a lamb and barley stew:
And also, some toying with flavored liquors that I’ve been working on. In this case, a chai tea vodka:
There’s also a ginger-vanilla rum and a vodka flavored with both Sichuan peppercorns, and some Sarawak peppercorns.
Often mangled into “chicken paprikash”, chicken paprikás is a Hungarian goulash, and as such it is perfect for these cold winter months. Tonight, I couldn’t help but make one to fortify myself for the rest of the winter.
Here’s the recipe I’ve used, and hopefully it will be of interest to others. Please make sure that your paprika is of a high quality. If you open it and it doesn’t smell so much like ground peppers, but instead sawdust, throw it out and find something fresh. Please stick to Hungarian paprika though, as the Californian varieties are dreadfully dull.
This should be made in a heavy Dutch oven. I use an 8 quart Le Creuset model, which while not inexpensive is indestructible and will last a lifetime.
| 2 Tbsp | vegetable oil | |
| 8 | bone in chicken thighs (approx. 3 pounds), trimmed | |
| 1 | large onion, sliced thinly in half moons | |
| 1 | medium carrot, julienned | |
| 1 | celery stalk, diced | |
| 1 | green bell pepper, julienned | |
| 1 | red bell pepper, julienned | |
| 4 Tbsp | sweet Hungarian paprika | |
| 1/4 tsp | marjoram, dried | |
| 1 Tbsp | flour | |
| 1/2 C | chicken stock (or water) | |
| 14.5 oz | diced tomatoes, drained of fluid | |
| 1/3 C | crème fraîche (or sour cream) |
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Last night, I walked to Rustico with a friend and had a lovely dinner. One of the highlights, though, was a brilliant hard apple cider called Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouché Brut de Normandie. As the name hints, it’s from Normandy, a region justifiably famous for all things appley including one of my favorite things, Calvados). Prior to this occasion, though, I can’t say as I’d had a hard cider from the region. The estate has been making cider and Calvados since 1837, so they know a few things about the creation.
So how was it? It was excellent, but not what you would normally expect from a hard cider. It was substantially more complex and darker in flavor. There was definitely some mustiness, but not in a bad way, and it went well with the food and the cold evening. If you can find it, it only comes in 750mL bottles, and nothing smaller.
Not a problem for me, I finished it all.
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When the weather turns cool, and things start to look a bit desolate outside, there’s few thinsg more comforting than a bowl of red—Texas chili. Now there’s a lot of different styles of chili in the world, but there’s only one style that mimics what I often ate in Texas. First, you start with a nice cut of meat.
In this case, a roast that was cut into 1/2” chunks. These are tossed with a bit of flour. Then, they’re added to a pot that I’ve rendered down about 3-4oz of salt pork and browned thoroughly. This is an absolutely critical step, and no substitution of ground meat is acceptable. You will probably need to do this in a few batches.
Then, in a blender, I combine a small can of whole peeled tomatoes, 1/3C of good chili powder, a tablespoon of toasted cumin seeds (ground in a mortar), a table spoon of oregano and 3-4 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce. Give it a whirl for 15-30 seconds and it should come out as a very thick slush. Set aside.
Once you’ve browned all the meat, you should have a good bit of fat in the pan. This is when I add 2 medium onions, chopped up and some salt to cook them down a bit. Once they’re starting to get translucent, in goes the tomato/chile mixture and the browned meat. Bring back to a simmer and reduce to the barest heat that will cause a few bubbles to break here and there. I then add about 1oz of unsweetened Mexican chocolate for flavor, which brings somewhat of a mole-complexity to the whole thing. It can be skipped, or even substituted with regular baking chocolate (no sugar!). Cook for 2-3 hours.
If you like beans, and I’m someone who does, then about 30 minutes before everything is done, I add either reconstituted (or canned if I’m in a hurry) kidney or pinto beans and allow them to finish off. If the thickness isn’t enough—and the flour will help with that—then I add a slurry of masa harina and water or beer and allow to cook another 15-20 minutes.
The end result is dark, rich and complicated. Serve with good cornbread. This is not something you’ll want gigantic amounts of, as it’s a very dense satisfying flavor.
Someday, I mean to write down an actual recipe, but I don’t know that I’ve ever made the same chili twice. It’s a technique, not a recipe to me.
The quality, overall, of grocery stories in the Washington, DC area is abysmal. Wait, that’s unfair to an abyss, which at least can hold things. There are four “grocery stores” near me—in one of the wealthiest suburbs of DC—in order of distance:
The first two are sad places, full of decaying produce and empty shelves. Today, wandering through the Giant to get a few very simple things for dinner, I noticed that approximately 10% of the store’s selection, if one can be so generous as to use that word, was out-of-stock. I understand this is holiday season, but that just means you should be on top of things more.
The Harris-Teeter is passable as a grocery store, with a tolerable selection of produce, but a still horrible butcher’s department. Don’t even bother to ask them about special ordering anything, as they’ll glaze over and continue on with their grinding of random bits of animal.
The Whole Foods is decent, and contains a good selection of produce, but the prices are absurd, and often there’s strange choices made on what to stock. Obviously, politics is often winning over flavor.
None of these are fit to push the shopping cart of the two stars of the market world: Wegman’s and H-E-B’s Central Market. There is nothing like wandering into Central Market in Austin, not far from my mom’s house, during fall apple season and having not 3 or 4 choices, but 2 dozen, many in either organic or conventional form. Not only that, but they are carefully stacked, arranged and protected from damage. Kafir limes? No problem. Curry leaves? Got it. Want a custom cut of meat? Happy to oblige!
Alas, H-E-B doesn’t leave Texas, and Wegman’s won’t come anywhere near densely populated areas, so either I have to waste a lot of gas driving out, or I have to endure the depressing nature of the stores near me. Fortunately, there’s a few farmer’s markets in Arlington which are decent when in season. I’m also looking into a CSA, now that my travel is reduced.
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Since my sister alternates holidays with her in-laws, this year we decided to hold Thanksgiving a day early. As usual, I cooked way too much food, but it turned out well, and there was plenty for everyone to take home. The menu:
Of course my mom had an opinion about the crispiness requirements for the turkey’s skin, and then didn’t eat any turkey. Some things never change.
Best wishes to all, and never forget what you’re thankful for, 365-days a year.
OK, childish, but sometimes I get a bit wistfull for food of my childhood. Inspired by a homesick Texan, I decided to make a dinner of pinto beans (frijoles a la charra). The recipe I’ve always used is a bit different than hers, but they’re quite similar.
Frijoles a la charra
| 1lb | pinto beans, dried |
| 2tsp | minced garlic |
| 1 | medium onion, diced |
| 1/4lb | salt pork, cut into lardons1 |
| 4 | bacon slices, in 1” pieces |
| 14oz | whole tomatoes in juice, drained |
| 2 | chipotles in adobo sauce, minced |
Note that some people like to remove the salt pork, but not me. I find the texture, when cut into lardons, adds a lovely creamy addition to the beans. Serve with cornbread.
1 A lardon is a strip about 1/4” wide, 1/4” thick and 1” long.
Seriously, what other explanation can there be for this:
I know my chocolate chip cookies, which are a third each fat, sugar and flour (not counting the chocolate chips and egg) would not pass those guidelines. Are we going to say, “Yes! buy that garbage from Kraft, like Snackwells”—are we really this stupid?! Yes, we are!—and forgo making our own? How about banning processed food from our schools, and allowing the handmade stuff, no matter its fat content?
Between that and the skyrocketing insanity around “food allergies”, I just don’t know what’s wrong with Americans. When I was in school peanut butter was king, and I don’t recall any kids dying randomly in unexplained ways. We coddle our children too much, and treat them like Fabergé eggs, in the process creating fragile creatures who can’t deal with anything without a pill.
I’m not saying there aren’t food allergies. I’m just saying that 99% of the people claiming them are liars and disguising their dislike of something in some amoral bullshit of allergies. I know people with real allergies and trust me, you don’t want that.
So, shut up and eat the cupcake you whiner.
Now is the time of the year where hot chocolate is a standard drink in the evening (and morning). I don’t much go for the crappy pre-packaged stuff and have made various mixes of my own over the years. Currently, I use one from Alton Brown as the basis. I’ve modified it slightly and scaled it down to the batch size I use:
| 1C | powdered sugar1 |
| 1/2C | dutch-processed cocoa powder |
| 1 1/4C | powdered skim milk |
| 1/2tsp | salt2 |
| 1Tsp | cornstarch |
| 1/8tsp | cayenne powder |
| 1/2tsp | Ceylon cinnamon |
Mix everything together. For a “mug”, I generally use 5-6Tbsp of the mix and add hot water to the top. This will keep through the winter in an airtight storage container.
1 I often don’t have powdered (confectioner’s sugar) in the house. You can make it by taking 1C of granulated white sugar for a spin in a blender or food processor until fine, and then mixing in 2Tbsp of cornstarch.
2 I use pickling salt.
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From Slashfood comes a great summary of the greatness of the Texas State Fair:
Recently, however, I came across a website for Big Tex, the Texas State Fair. While I will always maintain a warm spot for the food options at Salem, it is painfully clear that Southwest Virginia’s yearly orgy of deep-fried wonders pales in comparison to the pure, unrestrained genius of Texas’ chefs. With items like “Chicken Fried Bacon,” “Texas Fried Jelly Belly Beans,” and “Fried Pop Rocks Fundae,” the Lone Star state has staked an unquestionable claim to national fryolator dominance. I was particularly impressed by “Fire and Ice,” a battered, deep-fried pinapple ring that is covered in banana-flavored whipped cream that has been dipped in liquid nitrogen.
Liquid nitrogen? These guys are GODS.
Need I say more? I went once many years ago, and haven’t been since the Bacon Renaissance began.
Sometimes, when it’s hot, I’m not really in the mood for anything big for dinner. So tonight, a simple creation (thanks France!): a nice vinegary salad with five-minute poached eggs:
Alas, the LED lighting under my cabinets interfered with the photo a bit.
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Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, he of Sin City, Grindhouse, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and El Mariachi fame, makes my favorite breakfast (or midnight snack): breakfast tacos
Beware some of the language, but damn. This is the kind of cooking show we need. Once you’ve mastered that, try his Puerco Pibil.
