Food Network Magazine

Well, it's that time again...on the road again....this time I am working with Food Network Magazine as Food Stylist for an amazing spread featuring Chef Guy Fieri.

Blackberry Salt

I should really test this before posting about it but I am too excited to wait!!! My friend Anton and I were talking about a salt incorporating blackberries and sugar and I gave him some advice on how to proceed making one...but then I couldn't stop thinking about it and had to try making some. I will post a specific recipe later once I have the chance to test it more extensively and know you will have good results.

Some things I suspected, and were true:

~ Moisture affects this blend. As a finishing salt it's nice to see the colors turn from a lavender purple, to dark violet, as the blackberries take on the moisture of whatever food it is being paired with (pate and chicken are a couple of winners). It's not so nice when you've left some out for sprinkling over an extended period of time - just the air moistens it to a sticky consistency within hours.

~ Dried blackberries have an interesting smell, kind of funky actually, and I knew this, but blending the powdered blackberries with sea salt brought out a fishy type odor - not quite what was expected! Kosher salt and sugar augmented this odd effect and helped with the end result of a sweet/salty/tangy balanced product.

~ Using this salt as a baking rub on chicken yielded a darkly caramelized color when cooked.

~ I made a pate using this blend, both in the prep while cooking the livers, and as a finishing salt. If I do say so myself, it tasted and looked beautiful; more pics of that to come with pate recipe.

Pumpkin Season Rolls Into Town

Photo by Eli Kinne


We have carved our first pumpkin this evening; surely the first of many this season! We hunt for, and make, all kinds of treasures with the formidable pumpkins that proliferate in the holiday season, and forge bonds with friends and family alike over the final products: toasted pumpkin seeds, pies, cookies, breads, even curries!

Tonight, a beautiful array of Cinderella (Rouge Vif d'Estampes) pumpkins where displayed, so vibrant and deeply orange in color that they were reminiscent of a siren red lipstick. As alluring as they were, in the end, a quiet pumpkin with traditional coloring was chosen, and gave us a delicious bounty of seeds. I rinsed them several times, spread them on a sheet pan lined with parchment and drizzled them with McEvoy Ranch olive oil, one of my favorites. A light sprinkling of Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt finished the prep, and then they went into a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. I stirred them several times throughout cooking and while they were still warm, added just a touch of fresh salt. The Jane's blend includes celery, which develops nicely during the toasting process and adds another dimension of flavor without ruining the intrinsic flavor of the seeds. Nutty, crunchy and delicious, I hope this post inspires you to find that special pumpkin and make some toasted seeds, and memories, of your own; this Autumn season, and always.

On the Road Again

A month after acting as Back Kitchen Cook/Chef for Joanne Weir's Cooking Class Series II, under renowned Culinary Producer Chris Styler, I was afforded the opportunity to work with Food Network and Chef Guy Fieri as Food Chef/Stylist for the "Dear Food Network" Holiday Series. If you are interested in learning more about this dynamic dude, feel free to visit his site!

Next up is another job with A La Carte Productions, this time as a Production Assistant for Chef Eric Ripert's latest venture. Very excited to work with him and the crew. This time I get to learn the process from the set itself. I will be taking the filming notes, wardrobe and whatever!

Aubergine

Aubergine & Neufchatel on Pumpernickel with Fresh Oregano and Maldon Crystal Salt. This was part of the welcome food offered to my students at The Champagne Cooking Class that I was fortunate enough to teach at Joanne's beautiful home in Pacific Heights. I have the BEST friends!!!

Avocados - 1 of my favorite things about California

Avocados are amazing little powerhouses of nutrition and taste. Add them to quinoa and not only are your tastebuds happy, so is your entire body. No need for meat, quinoa is a complete protein (the only kind of "grain" that is), and avocados provide more protein and energy than unprocessed meat. As well, avocados are an excellent food, and a well deserved indulgence, for many nursing mothers who want to optimize the extra calories needed to produce milk.
This gorgeous avocado became part of a quinoa bowl with black beans and microgreens. My five year old who isn't crazy about meat loved it.

Red Bell Pepper Pesto with Hazelnuts and Parmesan

This pesto has been called "Magnificence", and has been enjoyed many ways: spread on crostini then sprinkled with microgreens (as pictured), as a sauce with salmon and grilled veggies, even tossed fresh from the fridge with hot pasta for a jazzy twist on spaghetti. It is also very popular as a spread on sandwiches warm and cold, especially with turkey.

Like everyone else "in the know", I'm an organic and seasonal cook, and prefer to use these types of ingredients. So you may wonder, why the jarred peppers instead of fresh roasted? It started when I was given a beautiful jar of red bell and yellow peppers from our local Trader Joe's. One night some time later I found myself playing my favorite kitchen game, started by my mother in Youngstown, OH over 30 years ago, called "What's washed up onshore?" - her game was my first experience with Iron Chef type cooking where the cook must try to make something fantastic from a random variety of ingredients. My version is called "Let's cook from the pantry!". The end result was this recipe, which I've tested many times, and found that it works with any combination of bell peppers, ranging in color from yellow to red. The hazelnuts lend a toothsome but smooth texture and subtly highlight the smokiness of the peppers. If you are unable to find Himilania Pink Salt salt, give Real Salt a try, one or both of them are available at your local Whole Foods or online, and are well worth your time and investment. I recommend these particular salts for their high mineral content, and the way their flavors bring out the earthiness of the peppers.

I now make this pesto in batches (must be the restaurant training) and give the extra as gifts, even though it lasts quite awhile in the fridge and almost forever in the freezer. I hope you like it!

2 12 oz jars roasted red bell peppers in water, drained
½ cup whole raw unpeeled hazelnuts
2 cups grated parmesan, separated
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/4 teaspoon "Himalania"pink salt, finely ground
optional 1 tsp cayenne
optional 2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup EVOO, separated

Combine bell peppers, hazelnuts, 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, cayenne, and pepper flakes. Pulse until ingredients are coarsely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl. With machine running, incorporate 3/4 cup olive oil. Add remaining parmesan, pulsing to incorporate. With machine running, add the remaining olive oil. Makes 5 8 oz. jars. Store in fridge for up to two weeks, freeze, or give away!

Caribbean Chicken and Speckled Rice

This dish consists of chicken (diced dark meat trimmed of excess fat) that was marinated in a blend of: black pepper, cumin, garlic, oregano, salt and turmeric. Quickly sauteed in vegetable oil until crispy, cilantro "fried" along with it at end of cooking. Jasmine rice flecked with black sesame seeds. Topped with fresh cilantro and Halen Mon flake salt.

Joanne Weir and Me

Photo by Andrea Boje


Joanne and myself at the wrap of filming her new cooking show series. She is such an amazing mentor, Chef, friend. I am so grateful for all I learn and experience with her everyday that I am afforded the opportunity. You should check out her books shows and all things Joanne; you won't be disappointed!

Okay, NOW back to the kitchen.

Give Peace A Chance

Photo Copyright by Getty Images

I now believe anything is possible!
Back to the kitchen....

Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes

Tip: You can help everyone eat pancakes together by creating a warming drawer of sorts, with your regular oven. Just put a heat-safe platter in the center of the oven, and set the thermometer to about 185 degrees- when that temperature is reached, turn off the oven and start cooking the pancakes, placing them on the platter in the oven as you prepare them. They will all be fluffy and warm come time to eat!

1 cup milk
1 T white vinegar
1 egg
3/4 cup unbleached AP flour
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2T butter, melted

Make buttermilk:
In a measuring cup, combine milk and vinegar, stir and set aside for five minutes.

Prepare pancakes:
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg and add buttermilk.

In another small bowl, combine flours, salt, and baking soda. Add to the buttermilk mixture and whisk until smooth, then whisk in the butter as well.

Heat nonstick skillet of choice on medium low heat, and pour desired amount of batter (2 oz. is a nice 3" pancake) onto surface. About 2 minutes later, or when a few bubbles pop and hold their shape on top of the pancake, flip and continue to cook until steam is no longer is present, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Fudgy Mini Muffins - Gluten Free, Dairy Free

If you take this same recipe and bake it in different vessels, you will yield different results. In a madeline pan, a gooey molten cake consistency is achieved, with a little crisp around the edges creating a nice texture variance. In regular sized muffin tins lined with paper, they end up also moist but not gooey. In the mini muffin tin, a perfectly sized cake-like treat. However you bake them, they are gluten free with the added benefit of being made with whole grain oat flour and unsweetened applesauce - these little bits of heaven are both wholesome and devilish, and I dare you to try to eat just .... six!

1/2 cup turbinado sugar
3/4 cup oat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
2 oz. mini chocolate chips, vegan chips or chopped chocolate pieces
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar through chocolate. Fold in applesauce and vanilla, just until flour is moist and incorporated. Using small ice cream scoop, fill non-stivk mini muffin tins evenly (about 20 tins will be almost full). Bake in center of oven for 20 minutes, rotating once. Allow to cool ten minutes then remove from tins and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack. Store in airtight containers.

Onion Sprouts!

Oh onion sprouts, I would write you an ode or a sonnet of I could do such things!

Onion sprouts are little nutritional powerhouses, adding amazing flavor and texture as well as nutrients and surprisingly enough, protein!

A bad-but-oh-so-good comfort food favorite of mine is pasta tossed with butter, parmesan, lots of pepper (black or red or both!) and flake salt. It's a pantry staple that I can't eat often but when I do it's lots o fun for my tastebuds - and today was an even luckier day for them than usual! Onion sprouts, added to the top of my bowl of decadence added a fresh element to an obviously heavy ensemble of ingredients, and the sprouts' flavor was even more pronounced with the ambient heat of the pasta, rendering them rich in flavor and faintly crisp in texture . Added to sandwiches and wraps, just as yummy! I will be pestering my grocer for more of these, that's for sure.

Pre-Production

This is me in one of the warehouses that supplies our food - gigantic feeling!

Photo by Andrea Boje

Marshmallows!!!!

1 cup cold water, divided
2 T granulated gelatin
2 cups refined white sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp vanilla extract or the yield of half of a freshly scraped vanilla bean
nonstick spray
cake pan (I have used all sizes from square to rectangular with success)
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup powdered sugar

In standing mixer, combine 1/2 cup cold water with gelatin, ensuring all is wet. Allow to "bloom" for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt. On medium heat, allow sugars to dissolve, brushing sides of pan with wet pastry brush if sugar crystallization occurs. Insert a candy thermometer into pan, turn heat up to high and allow to boil, without stirring, until thermometer reaches softball stage (let it go to 240 degrees for best results), about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, let bubbles dissipate a bit, then turn mixer to low and pour hot sugars slowly in a stream down the side of mixing bowl, as to avoid splatters. Turn mixer to medium and then high, allowing to develop for about 15 minutes. When mixture is very stiff, incorporate the vanilla for thirty seconds, turn of machine.

Spray cake pan with nonstick spray, and scoop marshmallow mixture into it. Using wet hands, press down the mixture until it is fairly even. Allow to set at room temperature for 4 hours.

Sift potato starch and sugar into rimmed pan or plate. Loosen sides of marshmallow in pan with your fingers, then invert from pan onto clean surface, cut into desired shapes and dredge into mixture of powdered sugar and potato starch.

May be stored for up to 1 month in airtight container at room temp.

Recipe modified from Gourmet July 2008

Cooking and Writing For a Living

For those of you who know me, you know I've been working with someone for whom I have great respect as a Chef. For those of you who don't know me, I can tell you this, I am working with a PBS Chef who is also a cookbook author. I am assisting in the creation of a new cook book. I gather information and recipes, I create and test new and existing recipes, and I even get to do some writing!!! Shopping for ingredients, being creative, doing kitchen math, staying calm when things get crazy, and generally having faith has comprised my days as of late. What a satisfying process though! I'll be posting more recipes post-deadline. This here picture depicts Day 1 of cocktail recipe testing. It was tougher than it looks , but fun nonetheless, I am quite a lucky girl!

Chia Rolls

These are rolls of a soft texture, flecked with yellow cornmeal and chia seeds, held together with a thin golden crust and accentuated with a egg-white sheen and a sprinkling of flake salt. They are made with a base of white bread flour. I haven't yet perfected an entirely whole grain bread that also uses Chia, but I am working on it! This recipe is born of a sudden early rising epidemic in my world. No longer beckoned to the restaurant by the diners of my town and my own driving ambition, I am cooking during daylight hours both privately and professionally, leaving me both tired and waking on the earlier spectrum of a 24 hour cycle. I remember my Grandma always was the only person who was ever able to wake me in the morning twilight hours (do I call it that, or did she...?) So I got to thinking - how did she do it?!?! And just what did we do so early? Trips to the Vegetable market was one of my favorite things, but that a whole 'nother blog.

I'm pretty sure that most of the time when I arose extra early, it was because of her cooking. Breads, savory and sweet, come to the forefront of my olfactory memory database. There was nothing she could not make, but what I remember most are breads: regular savory breads mixed in her big wooden bowl, fruit breads like an excellent banana nut bread, and of course my favorite: the only-for-Eastertime classic, kolachi! I make breads now too, early in the morning most times, mostly to entice my family from their sleep and to nourish us through the day with homemade foods.

This recipe is similar to traditional Amish no-salt bread in that the bread itself is salt-free, and similar to the Portugese in that it contains cornmeal, but it is both ancient and new with the addition of chia seeds!

Chia seeds add protein and fiber to this bread, satiating hunger.


Dorothy’s Almost No Salt Rolls
Pepper jelly on these is amazing!

Combine 1 cup unbleached bread flour with 2 T yeast, 2 cups water and 1 T honey. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 4 cups unbleached bread flour with yeast mixture and mix with dough hook until no longer raggedy, about 4 minutes. In a stream, add ½ c yellow cornmeal until incorporated. Add ¼ cup dry chia seeds, stopping the machine periodically and adhering the seeds to the dough. You may also need to periodically move the dough down the hook with your hands, to make sure all chia is evenly distributed and the dough is being kneaded sufficiently. Continue to knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes), sprinkling very lightly with more cornmeal as needed if dough gets too sticky along the way.

Oil a large bowl with EVOO, coat dough and cover with damp towel. Place in warm area away from drafts and let proof until doubled in size, about 15 minutes.

Portion dough into 3 oz pieces, and roll into rounds. Divide rolls between two sheet pans coated with EVOO. Make three slashes across the top of each, and let double in size, about 15 minutes.

For shiny rolls, just before placing in oven, brush tops with an egg white that has been whipped with 1 T water, and sprinkle with some flake salt. Place sheet pans in cold oven on the middle rack. On the bottom rack fill a pie pan with boiling water. Set oven to 375 and bake for 10 minutes or until rolls are golden in color, and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven, let cool on sheet pans for 3 minutes and then remove with thin metal spatula, and continue to cool on wire rack for an hour or two.

These rolls are surprisingly hearty thanks to fiber and protein, and go well with sweet or savory items, even with the flake salt on them! They seem quite hard when they come out of the oven but soften upon cooling.

Me and "Jaques the Cooker"!

I was fortunate enough to meet Jaques Pepin this past year at an event hosted by my local organic veggie purveyor, and what a treat. He was interviewed by Doug Keane...and me. Yes, ME! Well, I jest - but I did ask 1 question at the end - in the general Q & Session, "How important is culinary training for success as a professional Chef?" A dream come true, seeing his eyes light with reflection, to hear his thoughts in his response. I am always intrigued to learn more of how our World of Food has changed, and continues to evolve. I can't put into words his response, but he's wise - that's for sure.

About the subject of this blog and using the term "The Cooker" versus "Chef" for Chef Pepin: it's my son who calls him "Jacques the Cooker".  Oh, and to my son, I'm not a Chef; I just "cook all the time"...fine by me!

Welcome

I will be posting food recipes/ideas, and generally saturating the internet with more info about food!