For Dad

Four years ago today, I lost my Dad.  Shortly after that, I started culinary school and I can't help but think that he would have loved hearing about my adventures there.  No doubt he would've loved tasting my kitchen experiments.

As a culinary student, I traveled to Italy and France and my Dad would have been beyond thrilled for me.  I always wanted to have a passport and be a world traveler and he shared that dream with me.  Who knew that food would be my ticket to the life I always wanted for myself?

One of the things that Dad and I always did together was eat.  Back when I still lived in Cleveland, he would drive to my apartment on Sundays and we'd go to a favorite restaurant or a new place we wanted to try, have lunch, and then go to the movies.  When I moved away, he would visit and we'd still incorporate movies and eats into our time together.  That was our thing.

In honor of my dad, I'd like to dedicate this meal to him.  If he were still here with me, I'd make this meal for him and afterwards we'd probably go to see Source Code.

First of all, I'd fire up the grill, a must.  I'd place a basket of homemade tortilla chips on the table accompanied by fresh salsa from my foodie friend Mary's garden.  One of our rules?  Always have some food to eat while you're waiting to eat your meal.

I'd grill some poblano peppers along with some jalapeno and serrano for some heat.  Then I'd process them up with onions and oregano, garlic, some water, salt and pepper.  I'd melt some provolone on top of the burgers and then smother them with the green chile sauce. 

Oh, and I couldn't forget the bun.  Dad loved great bread.  I would run to Zingerman's Bakehouse and pick up a kaiser bun or just a superbly made old school sesame seed bun.  Toast them on the grill, of course, before assembly.

Alongside the burgers, I'd grill some corn on the cob and serve the cobs with softened butter seasoned with salt, pepper, and chopped cilantro.

Finally, we'd have thick-cut sweet potato fries, sliced up in my kitchen, deep fried, and tossed with salt and a pinch of chili powder.

Chilled Coronas with lime in hand, The Mavericks blasting from the speakers, we'd happily stuff ourselves.

TV Alert!

Tonight is the finale of Top Chef All-Stars on Bravo (10 P.M., EST). 

This All-Stars season (#8, if you're keeping track) has been one of my favorites.  Top Chef won the 2010 Emmy Award for Best Reality program and its recipe for success continues to challenge the "cheftestants" and entertain the TV audience.

The current season began with eighteen former competitors who all came close to winning the title of Top Chef. The last two competitors standing are D.C. based chef Mike Isabella and whiz-kid Richard Blais from Atlanta, GA.  They'll go head-to-head tonight after a season of fierce challenges, including fishing and diving for their main course, cooking for Muppets(!), and making stuffing without the use of cutlery and kitchen utensils.

I have become such a fan of this show.  I watch it not for the sometimes immature and ridiculous antics of the competitors (hello, it IS a reality show), but for the creativity of the chefs' dishes, the rare flashes of brilliance. I've also become a big fan of Head Judge Tom Colicchio and love seeing rotating guest judges such as Ming Tsai, Jimmy Fallon (obviously a huge fan of the show), and Anthony Bourdain, whose razor-wit always make me laugh out loud at judges' table.

Tonight's finale features one of my favorite star chefs, Art Smith, formerly Oprah's private chef.  I love his Southern dishes and long to visit his restaurants, Table Fifty-Two in Chicago and Art and Soul in D.C.

Already a bit sad that the season is over, I discovered with glee that a new Top Chef Masters season is about to start on April 6 (Bravo, 10 P.M., EST).  Instead of a cast of unknowns, seasoned chefs compete for the title.  Previous winners include Rick Bayless and Marcus Samuelsson.  Australian chef Curtis Stone (who is everywhere nowadays), Saveur magazine editor-in-chief James Oseland, and former Gourmet magazine editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl are the judges.

The list of cheftestants is here.

(Go Blais!)

Slows BBQ and the Detroit Food Scene

A wonderful article about Slows BBQ in Detroit and its MC, Phil Cooley.  This kind of work warms my heart.

Detroit's Renewal, Slow-Cooked

French Onion Soup

This is a good, go-to recipe for

French Onion Soup.

Just a few small changes/additions...

I would add some garlic to the onions, maybe two-four minced cloves, depending on how garlicky you like your soup.  Then, because this has a beef stock base, I would use red wine instead of white.  It'll give the soup a much deeper, richer flavor than the white wine.

The only bread I have in the house today is whole wheat flatbread pita so I improvised some croutons.

Quick Bread

I tried this recipe today:

Brown Butter Soda Bread

Reasons: 
I had some rosemary in the fridge leftover from the weekend.
I wanted to give something homemade to my neighbor (for previous good deeds) and this recipe made two loaves.
I needed a bread fix.

I made yeast breads in culinary school and love them, but I tend to make quick breads (no yeast needed) at home.  My cravings for homemade bread arrive fast and furious and I have no patience for rising and proofing and rising again.

Finished product (wish you were here to smell this bread...to die for):

My fellow foodie friend, Cheryl, visited last weekend and left behind some Meyer lemon marmalade.  Perfect for today's bread.

Mardi Gras

Check out my post on annarbor.com:

 Mardi Gras At Home

Chicken Stock

One thing you do over and over again in culinary school is learn how to prepare stocks.  Chicken, beef, veal, fish...you name it.

Stock is a flavored water preparation; it forms the basis of many dishes, particularly soups and sauces.

I wanted to make some soup last week and discovered that I didn't have any chicken stock in the house.  I usually keep a few quarts of the boxed stock (low sodium version) in the pantry at all times, but we were all out.  I remembered that I'd bought some chicken backs specifically for making stock so I thawed them Monday and today I took out the stockpot and started to work.

All you need to make chicken stock:  a chicken carcass or necks/bones; carrots; onion; celery; parsley; bay leaf; thyme; peppercorns; water.

Put all of those ingredients into a stockpot, add eight quarts of water, bring just to boil, and then simmer for at least two hours.  The longer you can let the stock simmer, the better.

Strain the stock and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  The fat will rise to the top and solidify in the fridge so that you can easily remove it and use your homemade stock.  That's all there is to it!

Onions, carrots, celery.

Parsley (including stems).

Backbones, bone-in breast.

Just about to boil; time to simmer.

Strained stock.

Skimming fat.

The stock will keep in the fridge for three days.  I also try to freeze some as well in case I need some homemade soup ASAP.

A great source for stock recipes (among other tasty dishes) is:  Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Indian Cooking

I've frequented Indian restaurants for years now.  One of my best friends is Indian/Irish.  Whenever I pop in at my neighbors' house, I hope to sample more of his mother's homemade samosas.  But I haven't explored cooking Indian food at home until recently.  It has seemed so intimidating.  Thanks to the new Cooking Channel (my new fave thing), I've been watching some Indian cooking shows and I just picked up the cookbook by Bal Arneson, who hosts Spice Goddess.

First thing's first.  A quick spice tutorial is needed.

Garam Masala - This is a frequent ingredient in Indian dishes.  I bought a jar of it for my ever-growing spice rack only to discover that is actually a mixture of spices (masala literally means spice mix); the composition of which differs by region and personal taste.  Some of the spices included in the mixture could be black and white peppercorns, coriander, cumin, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom.  The list goes on and on.

Cha(a)t Masala - This is another spice mixture, one that has a sweet and sour taste.  This masala can be made up of mango powder, pomegranate powder, cumin, and chili powder, and again, several other spices.

Star anise and whole cardamom pods, and seeds (coriander, cumin, fenugreek) are other handy spices to have when trying out some Indian recipes.  Many times these whole spices are toasted and then ground to add to a recipe.

Last week, I visited two of the three Indian groceries here in town and stocked up on some Indian pantry items:  chat masala; fenugreek seeds; and dried chiles.

Tonight's dinner will be Arneson's no butter Butter Chicken.

Oscar Snacks

I'm ready for tonight's show, are you?

Check out my latest post on AnnArbor.com

My Snack of Choice for the Super Bowl

Couldn't resist posting this photo of my loaded nachos.

Ciabatta Rolls

I was going to post my adventure in the kitchen while making ciabatta rolls.  Photos, tips, the whole shebang.  But guess what?  It was a failed experiment.

The dough didn't rise properly and it was still a sticky, elastic mess after a few hours of sitting in a warm place.  I should have taken a photo to show you, but I just sighed and walked away from the blob of dough.  I'd used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook attachment for the first time.  Did I not keep the dough in there long enough?  Was the warm place not warm enough? So back to the ol' drawing board.

I still posted this attempt because I think it is important to talk about the experiments that did not work as well as the ones that did.  The kitchen is like a little lab.  Sometimes you use your tools and formulas and ingredients and you make something delicious.  Other times, maybe all that happens is a poof of smoke (though not literally, let's hope!)  The rule in our house has always been, "If this doesn't work out, we order pizza."

By the way, this is what a successful ciabatta roll looks like (courtesy of 'wichcraft, NY):

Colbert's Thought for Food...or Speaking of Wings

"Thought for Food" is one of my favorite segments on The Colbert Report.  The most recent segment rightfully pokes fun at what passes for food and what passes for food guidelines in the U.S.

All politics aside, American food habits and products are ripe for ridicule.  Click on the pizza box above and check out this segment about "Wyngz".

Find some of my favorite recipes for (ahem, real) chicken wings here:  Super Bowl Snacks.

Super Bowl Snacks

It's only Wednesday and I'm already daydreaming about Super Bowl snacks.  I've asked G for any requests and he immediately responded, "Wings!"

Most everyone you know loves chicken wings, right?  I admit, I don't do wings, but that doesn't mean that I won't make them for my family.  I've tried a handful of different recipes and so far the current house favorite is:

Emeril's Oven Roasted Chicken Wings

I prefer to serve roasted chicken wings.  It's a healthier (and less messy) option.  The recipe that would make me pull out the deep fryer though is this one:

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings

This recipe is from Chef Michael Symon and he does include directions for oven roasting if frying the wings isn't your thing.  Sriracha is a Thai hot sauce and is widely available at grocery stores.  Sriracha is a great condiment to keep on hand if you're a fan of spicy food.  I use it on my eggs, on any Asian dish I make, and even on my burgers.

I have four pounds of wings in the freezer tagged for Super Bowl Sunday.  I might have to split up the batch and try both of these recipes for G.  I'm sure he won't mind.

Next it's time for me to decide what MY choice of snack is for Super Bowl Sunday...

Yes, Please

I stopped by a local sweet shop to get some fancy chocolates for G's stocking this past Christmas.  Aren't these the most beautiful chocolates ever?

If you're in the Ann Arbor area, I highly recommend stopping by Sweet Gem Confections inside Morgan & York on Packard Rd.

Grocery Monday

Monday is grocery day at our house.  And, yes, I do love Mondays.

I usually go to a couple of stores when I grocery shop.  One store for staples such as canned goods, condiments, maybe this week's produce.  Then a second stop for proteins and specialty items.  Here in Ann Arbor, I'm lucky to have a myriad of choices of grocery stores.  In dreary January that helps, since grocery shopping in the middle of winter doesn't deliver much excitement as, let's say, a trip to the farmer's market in June.

(Bonus points for me today...I remembered to use my own grocery bags.  I didn't leave them at home and then curse at the cash register when I realized that I left them at home.

Roasted poblano peppers.

 G and I have been enjoying homemade burrito bowls since we tried them at Chipotle during our Christmas road trip to New York.  So the first stop I made when I returned home from the store was at my gas stove top.  I placed two poblano peppers on a high flame and let them char on all sides (for about 5 minutes).  Then I placed them in a paper bag and let them sit for about 10-15 minutes.  Once I was ready to make my bowl, I peeled off the skin and then sliced the peppers into strips, discarding the stem and seeds.

Today's protein of choice was beef.  In a medium saucepan, I browned:

1 1/4# ground beef

Then I added:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Then I added some seasonings:

1 T. chili powder
1/8 t. cayenne
1/3 c. water
salt and pepper, to taste

I let the beef and bean mixture sit at a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

In a bowl, I placed chopped Romaine lettuce, halved grape tomatoes, roasted poblano peppers, corn, cilantro, and drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and lime juice.  Then I topped everything with the beef and bean mixture and sprinkled on some chopped green onions.

If G and I wanted to indulge more with these burrito bowls, I could add:

Guacamole
Salsa
Sour cream
Crushed tortilla chips
Pepper jack cheese or Queso Fresco, which is a crumbly white cheese similar to feta, but with a milder flavor.

Instead...

Once I woke up and entered the kitchen this morning, I realized that I had three bananas on the verge of over ripeness.  Those bananas challenged me and the next thing I knew, the white layer cake with lemon curd was trumped.

Throwing away produce is against my religion.  If some berries or greens or herbs are still sitting in the fridge after a few days, I consider it a challenge to use them creatively before they expire and I have to face the guilt of throwing away food (which = money).

So I found a recipe for a banana layer cake and went to work.

Mashed bananas with buttermilk and vanilla.

Mixing dry ingredients into wet.

Cakes rising in the oven.  A beautiful sight.

Cooling cakes and thinking that I need something else to jazz up this dessert.  What can I use as a filling between the layers?

Nutella!

Cream cheese frosting and a bit of garnish.

What's for Dessert?

So we're eating healthier around here, G & I, and we've instituted a new plan.  We eat healthy Sunday-Friday and Saturday is Free Day.  Saturday we can eat anything we want in whatever quantity we want.  We've just started this in the new year and I can already report that Saturdays are a whole new brand of happiness for me.

Tomorrow is Free Day and I woke up immediately daydreaming about what will be on the menu tomorrow.

I'm not a huge sweet eater.  I never order dessert except on a birthday or an anniversary.  (I'll save the tales of my addiction to salty crunchiness for another day.)

On Free Day, though, I save room for dessert.  It's no holds barred.  It's guilt-free.  It's bliss.

Tomorrow evening, our friends, P & J, are coming over for games and dessert.  I'll ask them to bring something chocolate-y and I'm going to make something to share.  I've felt the urge to bake this week so I'm going to take advantage of that on Free Day.

But what shall I make?

Cookies?  A cake?  A crumble?  Ooh...a crostata.  A free-form pie.  That's more for summery fruits though.  And I feel a bit more ambitious than that.

After perusing my usual foodie sites, I've decided to make this:

White Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling

Thank you, Martha Stewart.

Photos to follow!