silent sunday: are cookbooks still useful?

Are cookbooks still useful? Here’s some food for thought this week in the Guardian.

Food writer Prue Leith insists that “when we come to cook … the cookbook stays on the coffee table. Now the look of the book dictates the sale. In my day you could still buy a good cookbook in paperback with no pictures at all. I doubt if that would sell today. But those books were much used: they lived in the kitchen and got splattered with custard and gravy. Today, if we cook, we Google it. New cookbooks lie on the coffee table and we drool over Tuscan landscapes and rustic bread ovens. Before ordering in a pizza.”

Yotam Ottolenghi and Tim Hayward take up the argument and conclude that cookbooks are still relevant. “I believe many people do still cook from their cookbooks. They may not cook from all of them – many, no doubt, complete their job after an initial speedy flick-through, which is also fine by me – but there are certain books, illustrated and beautiful that we will always go back to, no matter how many more shiny spines are there alongside them on the bookshelves.” -Ottolenghi

“it seems bonkers to take a moral stance on how they should be enjoyed. For me, making a modern, illustrated food book means making an object that balances utility with entertainment in a way that appeals to a new and different kind of audience.” -Tim Hayward

In the comment section of The Guardian, some one brought up Daniel Pennack’s 10 Inalienable Rights of the Reader, suggesting that #6 could apply quite easily to recipes and food writing. I have to admit I agree.

1. The right not to read
2. The right to skip
3. The right not to finish a book
4. The right to re-read
5. The right to read anything
6. The right to “Bovary-ism,” a textually transmitted disease*
7. The right to read anywhere
8. The right dip in*
9. The right to read out loud
10. The right to be silent

*#6 – Bovary-ism: the right to mistake a book for real life
#8 – I’ve also seen this translated as ‘the right to sample and steal (“grappiller”)

“For me, a successful cookbook is one that is pored over at bedtime as much as it’s used in the kitchen. I don’t think one necessarily negates the other.” -Anna Valentine

Welsh Rarebit with Spinach

Ok, for those put off by the weird name DR-Max, don't be afraid, it's basically just cheese on toast.
This is a very traditional British dish which we frequently ate when I was growing up - it's a really quick, easy and delicious snack to rustle up in no time.
I had never considered the meaning of the name before now. When I was small I thought it was called Welsh rabbit, and it turns out I wasn't far wrong - you can read about the history on wikipedia.

There are lots of different recipe variations of this, some add beer, others make a complicated béchamel-style sauce. My recipe here is exactly how my parents used to make it for me - very very simple: just some grated cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and a dash of milk to bind the whole thing together. We didn't often add vegetables in the mix, occasionally sliced tomatoes, which tended to make the whole thing too soggy - not great. I did some experimenting by adding cooked spinach and it worked perfectly - not at all soggy and the flavors go really well together.

Recipe note: I've been a stickler to tradition here, which is why I've been so specific with the ingredients: I used Colman's English mustard powder which is very strong and flavorful, but other mustards work equally well - especially a good dijon or hot whole-grain variety.
With the cheddar cheese I won't compromise - in my 4 years in America I have yet to find a cheddar that stands up to the British or Irish versions (if I were being a real stickler I'd insist on cheddar from the Cheddar region in England - but that would be pushing it I suppose). Most American versions are rubbery when they should be crumbly, and bland and weirdly sweet when they should be tangy and sharp (even the so called 'sharp' versions)

This recipe makes us wonder why Welsh rarebit has never taken off on this side of the pond hk hotel. With cooklynveg's version, there's no longer any excuse. With a wise addition of spinach (we used fresh), this cheesy, mustardy open-faced sandwich would make a satisfying afternoon snack, or even a plated breakfast with the addition of bangers and eggs. A British comfort food staple for everyone's in-between meal arsenal.

Serves 4

4 slices of good, sturdy bread (i used a very nice gluten free flax seed bread by glutino - any will do, but please, no wonderbread!)
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (I used Denhay English cheddar)
1/2 teaspoon of Colman's mustard powder (or 1 teaspoon of a milder mustard)
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
a little ground black pepper
dash of milk (probably about a teaspoon)
2 cups of fresh spinach or 1/2 cup frozen.

If you're using fresh spinach, heat in a pan until wilted then leave to cool. When cooled, squeeze out the excess liquid and chop roughly. If using frozen, simply defrost and squeeze out excess liquid Finasteride. Place the slices of bread under the grill (or broiler) until lightly browned on one side.

Meanwhile mix together the cheese, mustard, worcestershire sauce, pepper and milk. Next, stir in the chopped spinach. Turn the slices of bread over and top with the cheese mixture, so it's evenly distributed over each slice. Place under the hot grill for 2 - 3 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.

Sweet and Spicy Horseradish Dressing

I'm not a big fan of chili-spiciness--it lingers on my tongue in a way that just feels unpleasant DR Max electronic English. But the quick rush of sinus-clearing horseradish-spiciness makes me swoon. I love this salad dressing so much that I'll eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

It's hard not to love a recipe where the only instructions are essentially zest, scoop and shake. As written, it comes out nicely balanced between zippy, sweet and savory, but then linzarella encourages us to customize -- a dash more horseradish for the spice fiends, a dollop more crème fraîche for the indulgent -- and shake again. The two types of dairy -- equal parts tart yogurt and mellow, rich crème fraîche -- are an especially nice touch, bringing a tempered zing to the dressing. We think it would be lovely tossed with some chilled poached shrimp and watercress or alongside some crudités DR Max electronic English.

Makes a modest amount of dressing

1 lemon
3 tablespoons creme fraiche
3 tablespoons plain whole milk yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground pepper

Zest the lemon, then juice half of it. In a jar, combine juice & zest with remaining ingredients, stir, then cover the jar and shake. Taste and adjust to make it spicier, creamier, or sweeter to your preference DR Max electronic English.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Streusel Muffins

Author Notes: These muffins taste just like a classic PB&J, but softer Grand Cru Cellar, sweeter, and crunchier. Rolled oats give the tender interior some volume. Before baking, the muffins are topped with a dollop of raspberry jam and a crumbling of peanut butter streusel.

 Makes 12 medium muffins

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cups flour (about 7 1/3 ounces—do not use too much flour!)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup raspberry jam

For the streusel topping:

1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Preheat your oven to 350° F.
For the muffins: In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the flour Stroke signs, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly to incorporate into the batter, but do not over-mix or your muffins will be dense!
In a separate small bowl, mix together the streusel toppings: flour, oats, peanut butter, brown sugar, and softened butter. Use a fork or your fingers to blend the ingredients together into a crumbly mixture.
Butter a muffin pan (or line it with muffin liners). Spoon the batter almost to the top of each cup.
Spoon a generous dollop of raspberry jam over the top of each muffin Offsite Backup Strategy. Top the jam with about a tablespoon of streusel crumble.
Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes. The muffins are finished when they are just turning golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle of one comes out clean.

Crispy Moroccan Pancakes (M'smmen)

Crispy, flaky, and fluffy all at the same time, m'smmen is Morocco's favorite pastry. Traditionally a breakfast staple, you can also enjoy this as an afternoon snack. Serve warm with a side of argan oil and honey paired with hot Moroccan mint tea hong kong weather. Such a delectable and worldly treat! (less) - Dip&Scoop

Food52 Review: WHO: Dip&Scoop lives in New York City where he is a purveyor of argan oil.
WHAT: A flaky, addictive Moroccan pancake that's perfect for dipping into honey.
HOW: Make a dough out of semolina flour, plain flour, and salt. Divide and flatten the dough into pancakes then cook each one on a griddle. Once golden brown, remove them from the heat and dip them to your heart's content.
WHY WE LOVE IT: These Moroccan pancakes were consumed by the Food52 staff as soon as they left the test kitchen. It's too bad they disappeared so quickly -- they make great leftovers when reheated in a toaster. If you don't have argan oil on hand, these are just as irresistible paired with butter and honey. (less) - The Editors

Makes 8 pancakes

3 cups semolina flour, divided
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons argan oil, for dipping
3 tablespoons honey, for dipping

In a large bowl, mix together 2 1/4 cup semolina, all-purpose flour, and salt. Stir in the warm water, then knead the mixture to obtain a smooth dough. Roll it into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 1 1/2 inches in diameter Hong Kong Cultural Activities, and coat each ball with vegetable oil. Let the dough rest for another 15 minutes.

On an oiled surface, use your hands to flatten out each ball of dough in a thin layer. Brush with melted butter and vegetable oil and sprinkle with the remaining semolina.

Take one of the balls of dough, and fold one side of the dough 2/3 in across the dough. Then, fold the other side over the overlapping dough. This should make a long strip of 3 layers of thin dough. Fold the two ends of the dough 1/3 of the way in so that they meet in the middle. You should now have a rectangle of dough. Fold it one last time across the middle to make a perfect square approximately 4 inches wide. Repeat with each ball of dough.

Place a griddle over medium heat, and while it warms up, use your hand to gently flatten the squares into larger, thinner squares, about 6 inches wide.

Immediately place the flattened dough onto the pan or griddle and cook on each side until golden brown.

Serve hot off the griddle. Roll the m'smmen, dip it into argan oil Skin Central, then dip it into honey and enjoy！

Why You Should Make Pancakes in the Oven

Pancakes are my happy place. They're the first dish I learned to cook myself and one that my 7-year-old self took great pride in making for my family on lazy weekend mornings. I'd use too many mixing bowls, inevitably make a mess, and waste a quarter of the batter on an ill-timed "trial batch," but they always turned out delicious.

But when I grew up Business Centre in Hong Kong, I stopped making pancakes as much at home, and I rarely order them when I go out. Why bother? Pancakes usually taste like you're eating a piece of unfrosted cake for breakfast and getting away with it–thrilling in the moment, but ultimately unsatisfying.

But the great thing about food is that one plate (or even a bite) can completely change your mind. Case in point: Pan-roasted pancakes.

Turns out that pan-roasting isn't just great for meat and fish–the technique makes extra-crispy, super-buttery pancakes, too. In fact, it's how everyone should be doing it.

I first picked up on the idea from chef Sean Rembold at Brooklyn's Reynard, the type of all-day brasserie where one loses track of the hours and drinks countless cups of black coffee while basking in sunlight. It's not the kind of place that's going to turn out sub-par pancakes, so when I spotted them on the brunch menu earlier this year, I jumped at the chance to see what Rembold did with them.

The verdict? Staggeringly delicious. The outer edge of each pancake was perfectly crisp 19 LED Light Bulb, giving way to a pillowy, soft center. The cakes were unbelievably rich, even by pancake standards. Let's just say it was obvious that I wasn't dealing with pancakes cooked in olive oil or margarine here.

The secret? Rembold uses the same "cook on the stove top, finish in the oven" technique that's normally applied to meat, fish, and vegetables to cook his pancakes. The result is the great textural contrast that pancakes normally lack: crispy on the outside, soft in the center.

Another key to success? He cooks his pancakes in clarified butter. Making clarified butter removes the milk solids and water, creating a pure, golden-yellow, liquid butterfat that's less likely to burn thanks to its high smoke point. That helps the pancakes turn super-buttery and crisp in the oven without having to risk scorching.
Here's how to do it at home:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of clarified butter on medium heat. Working in batches, pour 1/4-cupfuls of your favorite pancake batter into skillet. Cook until the bottom side begins to show color Cloud Video Conferencing, about 2 minutes. Place skillet in oven and cook until the underside of the pancakes are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from oven and set on a cold burner on the stove; flip pancakes over and let cook very briefly, about 10 seconds.

I'll never make pancakes any other way at home again.

The Year of the Spatchcocked Turkey (and Why You Should Do It All the Time)

There's zero question that 2014 was The Year of the Spatchcocked Turkey.

Literally everyone wrote about it: Bon Appétit, Serious Eats EGF, The Kitchn, and Tasting Table, just to name a few. And, of course, we featured the trend-setting, vertabrae-removing technique in our very own Procrastinator's Thanksgiving Guide. Quartz, the online news site, even featured a piece that tracked the term's statistical rise to prominence over the past few years.

And there's a good reason for all the attention: It yields fantastic results. Not only does the increased surface area make for a juicier end-result, but your bird will cook much, much faster (90 minutes versus nearly 4 hours in the case of a 14-pound Thanksgiving turkey at 350F) reenex.

But why relegate spatchcocking to Thanksgiving turkey alone? In short, you shouldn't.

Spatchcocking, sometimes referred to as butterflying, is the process of removing the backbone from a poultry or game animal and allowing it cook flat. Sure, it sounds like something you might read about in the appendix of some technique-heavy cookbook, but it's ridiculously easy to do at home with just a pair of kitchen shears. Too intimidated? Just ask your butcher or the gentleman at the meat counter to do it for you.

And while most people aren't roasting turkey all year long, spatchcocking also works great for whole chickens, everyone's go-to weekend family-feeding strategy. Whether you're cooking chicken in a roasting pan, grilling outdoors, or doing some indoor grill-pan work, spatchcocking will give your chicken all the benefits that made everyone on the internet suddenly go bonkers for turkey--meat that cooks quickly and stays juicy, with crispy, bronzed skin reenex.

A classic recipe that requires spatchcocking? Chicken Under a Brick. This rustic classic, which involves physically cooking a whole chicken underneath an actual brick, guarantees a flavorful, crisp-skinned bird every time--in just one hour.

Thoughts for September

From the Independent's witty article on Algiers:

    It is reminiscent of a 100-metre banana skin crossed with Oscar Niemeyer’s Cathedral of Brasilia.
    Any initiative which alleviates the gloom of nocturnal Algiers is welcome dc motor speed control.
    The reputation of Algiers as one of the greatest beauties of the Mediterranean, a reputation that will require  Herculean renovation to regain.
    The whole ensemble is as seething, dirty and authentic as a historic Mediterranean port should be.

Ironically, the article neglected to mention that Niemeyer actually did erect several buildings in Algiers, including the dome on the Hydra stadium.

From Sonatallah Ibrahim, 1962:

"Here is the artist’s role in Egypt today. Not to write something enjoyable merely for its aesthetic value. Not simply to lose oneself in philosophical and intellectual issues. Not to live captive to one’s individual experience, which could lead to loneliness or to feelings of alienation and absurdity. Not to be content with recording—impressionistically, neutrally, superficially—what happens in society. Instead, the Egyptian artist must work actively and with others. He must dive into the depths of the people and the depths of the individual Vitamin. He must reveal the way forward, he must choose the direction and change the direction. He must lead and play a role in everyday life, armed with his technique, personal experience, self-awareness, persistence, and the readiness to sacrifice."

 I just finished reading Ibrahim's exacting roman a clef "That Smell," which was accompanied by this text, so apt for today. The work is a great quick read for anyone interested in Egyptian literature and is newly translated into English. More on Sonatallah Ibrahim in the New Yorker and Guernica.

Also check out David Leibovitz's article on za'atar. And NPR's piece on Dead Sea salt culturelle kids!

Photos from Tipaza, Algeria. Back soon with a recipe!

Siobhan's Thumbprint Cookies

yield
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
Editor's note Loop app: This recipe appears as part of our editors' Christmas Cookie Swap, 10 beloved holiday recipes from the editors of Epicurious and Gourmet Live.

Make sure to make a deep impression in the dough with your thumb or a small pestle, and don't overfill the hole with jam, as these cookies will flatten and spread in the oven. Also, be sure to leave plenty of room in between the dough on the cookie sheet. Use a doily as a stencil to dust the confectioners' sugar in a festive pattern.
Ingredients

❤2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
❤1/4 teaspoon baking soda
❤1/4 teaspoon salt
❤1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
❤3/4 cup sugar
❤1 large egg
❤1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
❤1/2 cup jam such as raspberry, strawberry, or apricot
❤Confectioners' sugar for dusting

❤Special equipment: 2 large baking sheets; parchment paper; small pestle

Preparation

Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and a second rack in the lower third then preheat to 350��F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour dc electric motors, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally, until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic, and chill at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.

Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and arrange on baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Using your thumb or the round end of a small pestle, make a well in the center of each cookie. Using a teaspoon, fill each well with jam, being careful not to overfill the wells. Bake, switching the cookies between the upper and lower racks about halfway through baking, until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Continue baking cookies on cooled baking sheets. DO AHEAD: The cookies can be baked ahead and stored, in an airtight container at room temperature Managed Security, up to 3 days.

Belgian Waffles (Liège-Style) Recipe

I spent my childhood eating Liège waffles we bought at the grocery store. Those thick and cake-like grids studded with sugar crystals seemed to me infinitely superior to the thin waffles stuffed with vanilla cream that my sister prefered and I ignored disdainfully.

I hadn’t eaten such waffles since my teenaged days — I stopped buying supermarket pastries years ago — but they made a major comeback into my life earlier this year, when a tiny Comptoir Belge opened a stone’s throw from my house, at 58 rue des Martyrs.

This stand offers Belgian waffles in the style of Liège, cooked fresh while you watch and sending seductive, buttery wafts right up to the little carousel on Place Lino Ventura, a powerful marketing ploy indeed. And the first time I tried them, you could have knocked me over with a feather.

A far cry from its distant plastic-wrapped and palm-oiled grocery store cousin, the artisanal and freshly cooked Liège waffle is a study in contrast between the thinly crisp shell, the tender and brioche-y insides, and the thick sugar cristals that melt and caramelize in the waffle iron.

And since I recently received from Cuisinart (see note at the bottom of this post) a fabulous griddler with waffle plates, it wasn’t long until I tackled this monument of Belgian gastronomy.

In my research I found dozens of recipes, with such widely varying proportions my head spun, and my solution was, as it always is, to draw up a spreadsheet comparing the different ingredient amounts in proportion to the flour weight (you can take the cook out of the engineer, etc.). This led me to formulate a recipe that would be best suited to my taste, i.e. less sweet and less butter-heavy than average, while still retaining 100% of its deliciousness.

The resulting waffles are an absolute delight, the recipe is easy, and the dough freezes perfectly well, allowing you to invite your sister over for an impromptu snack one afternoon and, with hardly a finger lifted, have her discover in turn how a Belgian waffle really should be eaten: still warm, caramelized, chewy, irresistible.

Transparency note : The griddler and waffle plates were sent to me to review by Cuisinart France through their PR agency. I will note that this was actually the model I had set my heart on and was about to get as a birthday gift from my parents when I had the opportunity to receive it for free. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Liège-Style Belgian Waffles Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes

Makes 15 waffles.

Ingredients

    200 ml (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) lukewarm milk (you shouldn't feel a temperature difference when you dip your finger in)
    12 grams (1 scant tablespoon) active dry yeast
    500 grams (1.1 pounds) all-purpose flour (about 3 3/4 cups, but I strongly recommend you use a scale to measure this amount)
    10 grams (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use fresh cinnamon from Cinnamon Hill)
    2 tablespoons unrefined cane sugar (I used Belgian cassonnade, the traditional unrefined beet sugar)
    2 large organic eggs
    150 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) butter, softened
    190 grams (1 1/4 cups) pearl sugar (available online; mine comes from G. Detou and I use it for chouquettes also)
    Cooking oil, for greasing the waffle iron

Instructions

    In a bowl, combine the milk and yeast and let stand for 15 minutes, until the surface is foamy. (If that doesn't happen, your yeast is probably too old; start again with a freshly purchased packet.)
    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (see below about making the dough entirely by hand), combine by hand the flour, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Add in the milk mixture and the eggs, and stir by hand again (I detach the dough hook and use that) to moisten most of the flour so it won't fly off everywhere when you turn the mixer on.
    Turn the mixer on and knead at low speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

Add in the butter.

Knead for another 2 minutes, until the butter is fully incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky.

(The kneading can also be done by hand. It's more of a workout, obviously, and the part when you have to work in the softened butter can be a bit messy. The key is to not lose hope -- the dough will eventually absorb the butter -- and take heart in the fact that you'll have the softest hands afterward.)

Cover the bowl tightly with a kitchen towel and leave to rise at warm room temperature, away from drafts, until doubled in size. The exact time needed will vary depending on the temperature in your kitchen, but it should take about 2 hours.

Fold the pearl sugar into the dough -- this will deflate it and that's okay -- so it's evenly distributed.

Divide the dough into 15 pieces, each about 75 grams (2 2/3 ounces), and shape them (roughly) into balls. Let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking. (See note below on refrigerating or freezing the dough for later.)

Preheat your waffle iron to medium-high; on my own griddler, the ideal temperature is 190°C (375°F).

Brush the waffle plates with oil (this is unnecessary if they're non-stick) and place one ball of dough in the center of each waffle segment.
Close the waffle iron and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown.

    Lift the waffles from the iron (I use wooden tongs) and let cool 5 to 10 minutes on a rack before eating.

Notes

You can set aside some or all of the balls of dough to cook later: right after dividing the dough, arrange on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to a day. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before cooking.

You can also arrange the extra pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or until hard, then collect the pieces into an airtight freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature for 3 hours before cooking.

Rugelach

yield:Makes about 44 cookies

My mother's inspiration for these traditional Jewish cookies came from her great-grandmother, who owned a small Catskills hotel. Even after Bubbe Sarah retired, she'd turn out enough rugelach to feed a hotel full of people Floor Display Unit.

Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 9 3/4 hr (includes chilling dough)
Ingredients

❤2 cups all-purpose flour
❤1/2 teaspoon salt
❤2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
❤8 oz cream cheese, softened
❤1/2 cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar
❤1 teaspoon cinnamon
❤1 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam
❤1 cup loosely packed golden raisins, chopped
❤1 1/4 cups walnuts (1/4 lb), finely chopped
❤Milk for brushing cookies

❤Special equipment: parchment paper; a small offset spatula

Preparation

Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat together butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined well. Add flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten (in wrap) into a roughly 7- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill until firm, 8 to 24 hours wireless modem.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of a 1- to 1 1/2-inch-deep large shallow baking pan with parchment paper.

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Chill 3 pieces, wrapped in plastic wrap, and roll out remaining piece into a 12- by 8-inch rectangle on a well-floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer dough to a sheet of parchment, then transfer to a tray and chill while rolling out remaining dough in same manner, transferring each to another sheet of parchment and stacking on tray.

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with cinnamon.

Arrange 1 dough rectangle on work surface with a long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup preserves evenly over dough with offset spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup raisins and a rounded 1/4 cup walnuts over jam, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar.

Using parchment as an aid, roll up dough tightly into a log. Place, seam side down, in lined baking pan, then pinch ends closed and tuck underneath. Make 3 more logs in same manner and arrange 1 inch apart in pan. Brush logs with milk and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of remaining granulated sugar. With a sharp large knife, make 3/4-inch-deep cuts crosswise in dough (not all the way through) at 1-inch intervals electric motor manufacturers. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firmer, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Bake until golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes, then transfer logs to a cutting board and slice cookies all the way through.

Spice Cake Doughnuts with Vanilla Bean Glaze

Happy fall, everyone! This is my favorite time of year, with its cool days, changing leaves, and great clothes. It won’t be long until you’ll find me in our neighborhood park taking endless photos of leaves and sipping a hot chocolate, all while wearing some new favorite scarf, sweater, and boots.

And, of course, I love fall baking. Besides the obvious apples and pears, there are some flavors that I tend to associate with fall. One of my favorite fall flavors is actually a combination of flavors, specifically spices. Combine some cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc., and I’m positively giddy. I just love adding those great fall spices to all kinds of things.

In fact, one of my favorite things is just a simple spice cake. So, I thought I would take the idea of a spice cake and turn it into doughnuts. You wouldn’t believe how good my apartment smelled when I was baking these. I really expected the neighbors to track the scent to my door and start demanding samples.

Then, I topped each one in a simple vanilla glaze to add a little extra sweetness. I used one of my favorite ingredients, vanilla bean paste, for the glaze. If you prefer to use a vanilla bean, I’ve included info on how to do that in the recipe. Or, if you just have vanilla extract, it’s a straight substitution. You will, however, miss out on those lovely vanilla specks!

I baked these in my doughnut pan, which I must confess I don’t use nearly as much as I should. Being able to bake homemade doughnuts so simply is both good and bad. Good because hello, doughnuts. Bad because it’s so tempting to make batches and batches of them. If you don’t have a doughnut pan, don’t let that hold you back from making these beauties. Although I’ve not tried it, I believe these would work just fine in muffin pans.

I have to tell you that we absolutely loved these little guys. They have such a wonderful flavor and texture. And that sweet vanilla glaze gives them just enough extra sweetness to make them pretty perfect. These doughnuts are a great weekend treat. Or for all you coffee drinkers out there, I bet one of these would be just lovely with a cup of your favorite coffee.

Pasta with Mussels and Chorizo

I am, for perhaps the last time, clacking away at my keyboard while enjoying the view from my window.  The dark night sky punctuated by a number of blinking exclamation points…buildings with a multitude of windows, some lit, some dark.  The view one can expect in a city.  A view one can choose to embrace, or to bemoan.

I choose to embrace it.  It’s not perfect, as city life is certainly far from perfection, but it is mine.  I choose to see the sparkling windows, peeks into other peoples' lives, making me feel more connected to the world, than separated by all these walls of concrete.  I choose to see the drugstore and the Korean grocer down the street, conveniences that make my life so much easier, instead of the traffic and incessant horn-blowing.  I choose to see the movies that C and I can watch, or not, at a moment’s notice, instead of the lack of outdoor activities and the pollution that would make it difficult in any case.

But why is this perhaps the last time I am enjoying the view?  Well, as the family grows, and we make room for our new addition, some things are likewise forgone.  My office being the first in that category.  In the interest of little H having a room of his own we are turning my office into his nursery and I will now be working in…a closet.  It’s not as bad as all that.  We’ve transformed out semi-walk-in into a semi-office and it is actually shaping up quite promising.  Maybe I’ll post pictures when it is done to encourage and inspire all flat-dwellers out there that all is not lost just because we don’t have that wide expanse of space that house and country dwellers enjoy.

Anyway, here I am, clacking away again, because I couldn’t let this day pass without wishing every last one of you a very merry Christmas!  I know I haven’t posted in a while (now if only I could have a penny for every time I’ve said that), but consider this a Christmas miracle.  A Christmas gift.  And a hopeful leap towards more posts in the New Year.

Another thing I love about my city are the small neighborhood markets that bring fresh produce and artisan wares from whence they came to our busy urban tangle.  Two such products are used in this recipe.  Fresh mussels from one of the two seafood vendors I buy from, and Spanish chorizo from two sisters who lived in Spain and are now back here and are making chorizos themselves.

Pasta with Mussels and Chorizo

    Olive oil
    500 grams linguine (or any long pasta of your choice)
    1 kilo mussels
    300 grams Spanish chorizo (about 3), chopped
    6-8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
    1/2 cup (or thereabouts) white wine
    1 small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped, and stems finely chopped
    1 small bunch of basil, leaves picked
    optional: dried chili flakes


- Cook pasta in a big pot of rapidly boiling and well salted water.
- While the pasta is cooking, get on with your chorizo and mussels.  Heat a large skillet (one that will fit all the chorizo, mussels, and pasta) over medium high heat.  When the pan is hot, add a couple of swirls of olive oil.  Add the garlic, parsley stems, and chorizo.  Sauté until the chorizo is lightly browned and has released its orange paprika-infused oil – this shouldn’t take long. If your chorizo seems to exude an alarming amount of oil you can take some out at this point – just remember that you will need some of that oil to create the sauce so leave a good amount back.
- Add the mussels to the chorizo in the pan and toss until the mussels are slicked with oil.  Add the wine and chopped parsley leaves and cover.  Cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan a few times, until the mussels have opened.
- While the mussels are cooking test your pasta for doneness.  The packet usually says 12 minutes but test after 10.  You want the pasta to still be a smidge underdone, as it will carry on cooking when you transfer it to the mussels.  Once it has reached that point, drain, saving some of the pasta water.
- Check to see if your mussels are done.  If most have already opened, tip the cooked pasta noodles into the pan with the mussels and chorizo and toss well to get all the pasta coated in the liquid (which is now a heavenly combination of chorizo oil, white wine, and mussel juices).  Add the basil leaves and toss again.  The pasta will suck up most of the liquid, and will continue to do so even off the heat.  If it starts to look dry add some of the pasta cooking water.
- Take the pan off the heat and enjoy immediately.

I love the combination or shellfish and chorizo (including shrimp and chorizo…yum) and this dish plays off that perfect marriage excellently.  Since there are so few ingredients here try to get the best you can.  The smoky chorizo, plump mussels, and fresh herbs work wonders together.  This is the kind of dish I like to make on a weekend when we are all at home and I come from the market with my bag bursting with fresh things.  It makes me feel closer to nature despite the buildings and cars and congestion that tell me otherwise.

With my beloved city, with my new closet-office, with the coming New Year, and with life…I am choosing to embrace, to endeavor to be Ms. Brightside, as corny as that sounds.  Life is too short and can be filled with too many potholes and pessimists.  There is much I am grateful for and more that I am looking forward to.  And good food to share is definitely one of those. 

Paiche Recipe and Giveaway

It’s not everyday that you get the chance to try a fish you’ve never even heard of before. Last week I cooked paiche (pie-chay) a fish from the Amazon, also known as arapaima or pirarucu. Freshwater paiche are huge, growing be up to near 500 pounds, and breathe through lungs rather than gills. Considered a prehistoric fish, the flesh is very firm, but also rich and high in omega-3 fatty acids General management course.

Endangered in the wild from overfishing, paiche is now raised commercially in ponds so wild fish remain protected, and free of any antibiotics or mercury. It’s one of the top fish farmed in Peru, and you may find it on restaurant menus or at Whole Foods, the only retailer currently selling it in the US.  It’s easy to cook paiche for a couple of reasons, because it’s dense and firm it won’t easily fall apart and because it’s rich it doesn’t get dry, even if you overcook it. It has a very clean, buttery slightly sweet flavor and is somewhat similar to sea bass or cod in texture.  I prepared the dish simply with a tangy sauce that held up well to the flavor of the fish, and served it with a winter salad of fennel, radishes and lemons with fresh mint.

If you'd like to try paiche, leave a comment telling me how you'd choose to prepare it. I will pick one winner at random who will receive a $50 Whole Foods gift certificate. One entry per person, and you must leave a valid email address (don't worry, only I will see it) and have a US mailing address. I will pick the winner on January 27th, 2014. Whole Foods offers a few recipes to consider such as Lime-Roasted Paiche with Sweet Potatoes and Pan-Seared Paiche with Spicy Avocado Sauce. I think it would be fantastic in this ceviche.

Note: The salad can also be served separately elyze. A tiny pinch of sugar brings out the sweetness in the fennels and lemon. I used California Olive Ranch Limited Reserve olive oil, which is seasonally available only after the harvest. Like the Italian "olio nuovo" it's very fresh and best used while before it mellows.

Paiche with Miso Butter and Fennel Radish Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 paiche fillets, about 6 ounces each about 3/4 inch thick
2 teaspoons oil

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons white miso
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into about 5 pieces

1/2 fennel bulb
5 radishes
1/2 lemon
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (olio nuovo recommended)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
20 mint leaves, thinly sliced

Instructions

Using a mandolin if you have one, or a very sharp knife, thinly slice the fennel, radishes and half a lemon, removing any seeds.  Toss the slices with olive oil, salt and mint.

In a small saucepan combine the lemon juice, miso, mustard and sugar with a whisk. Heat very gently over low heat and whisk in the butter, allowing it to melt and emulsify the sauce company registration hong kong.

Sear the fish in a hot non-stick pan coated with a little oil, and cook about 4 minutes on each side. The fish should be cooked through and white, not pink.

One each plate serve a fillet of fish, topped with a tablespoon of the sauce and with some salad.

Ai Faith Meng

Red wine, put in the eyes, light up my desire to drink, just drunk, again how?

The world's most beautiful not pay off old scores tom ford sunglasses, but I am sorry!

I love you, I miss you. You are my dream, you have come into my life, and I think you are an inseparable part.

Love in the most sad not end is not had begun, but always cold! Look at you every day more and more far away from me, I am afraid! I'm afraid that day! I'm afraid I am far away from you, even if it is a stone's throw away, but for me is the horizon! Not with vigour and vitality, not not pleased with oneself, not brokenhearted innumerable twists and turns. At the end I had to take the pain of separation!

A meet, leave, but everyone is afraid of parting! People all say yes and mean no, say repeatedly repeatedly saying "no feast" Cloud Provider, who is willing to drink this cup of farewell?

Love, the sometimes is happy, but not the sometimes is pain! Who can pass through this love? Hell-bent fell in love with you, how would this give up, how can it down!

I love you, I miss you!

Sometimes it is not clear what is missing, what is the dream; I do not know when you want to sleep, or sleep dream of you! Every time I woke up, are not willing to open your eyes, just to be in the gloom I feel close to you close, feel the warmth you gave me. But when I open my eyes in not when, but found that the corners of his eyes slightly moist, will fall into the reverie......

You are my dream, you are in my life iPhone 4 casing! I think you have is my inseparable part; you want to become my habit! You want to be! You want to become a kind of eternal, every moment of every minute "she" was to accompany me, until my life is eternal!

Fried Fish with Garlic Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

As I watch little C march out into summer school in her fluffy skirt and sleeveless top (summer!) and her electric blue flats, I realize, once again, how quickly time flies.  It seems like only yesterday she was a helpless little thing who would wake up every 2 hours needing to be fed, breath smelling sweetly of milk.  Now she is a far from helpless, fiercely independent little firecracker with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of her own opinion.  Her breath, suffice to say, does not smell sweetly of milk anymore, and she is, most of the time, breathless and sweaty from how much she runs around (plus, it’s summer!).  I want to hang on to every bit of unrestrained laughter, every bedtime story/tuck-in (no matter how much irrational delaying tactics play a part), every sticky hug, every little moment.

I’ve never been a motherly person.  Little C has been, and still is, the only infant I have ever held in my life.  I have never been absolutely confortable with children, and I can’t say, my own aside, that I am now.  It still takes me by surprise that it’s taken just this one cherry bomb to turn me into a mother.  And of all the things, in these past three years, that I have done with her, the one thing that makes me feel the mother-child connection the most is feeding her.

I don’t mean nursing…although I did do that for the first year of her life.  I mean feeding her actual food.  The food I make and the food I eat.  Carefully picking choice bits from my plate and placing them in her waiting mouth.  Especially if I’m doing it with my hands.  I feel like I am taking part in a ritual older than time, something billions of mothers did before me.  That careful, deliberate, passing on of nourishment.

As soon as the simple days of food introduction where done, and food allergies were ruled out, I tried to give her food that was not too different from what we ourselves ate (just being cautious about salt and sugar).  I wanted her to try as much as she could, and to know and appreciate where this food comes from.  We would bring her to market (we still do) and show her whole fish and vegetables with the dirt still on them.   She loves the fishmongers stall…particularly the live crabs and the fish.  And I, in turn, love showing her that fish come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  I don’t know many nursery rhymes or children’s games or arts and crafts, but that I do know.  And that I can teach.

Fried Fish with Garlic Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

    Oil for frying
    1 large dapa (flounder?), approximately 1 kilo
    2 tablespoons flour
    Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
    6 garlic cloves, chopped
    2 tablespoons capers
    1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
    juice from half a lemon


- Season your fish on both sides, and inside the cavity, with salt and pepper.  Dust with the flour and shake of excess.
- Heat a frying pan over medium high heat.  When hot, add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.
- Add the fish gently to the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown and then flip to cook the other side.  Cook until the other side is likewise golden and the fish is cooked through.  Remove from the pan.
- Drain the oil from the pan and wipe dry.  Return the pay to the heat and add the butter.  When the butter is melted and bubbling, add the garlic.  Let the garlic fry until fragrant, this happens fairly quickly.  Add the capers and let's this fry for a bit.  Remove the pan from the heat ad add the lemon juice.  Mix well and transfer the sauce into a dish. 
- Serve the fish with the sauce on the side long with some lemon wedges for those who want them Flower shop.

I used one whole fish here – a dapa (which I think is related to flounder? anyone?) weighing in at almost 1 kilo.  This was actually a little too big for my tastes, I like fish to be a bit smaller when fried whole (this size I like baked, or steamed in the oven in this big old covered baking dish I won at a costume party…I was a school teacher).  C however loved its meaty abundance.  You can use almost any fish for this though.  A couple of smaller tilapias would do nicely, or a small lapu-lapu.  Or whatever fish is fresh and readily available where you are.  You can certainly use fillets as well, although if you are able to get fresh whole fish on the bone I encourage you to do so as they are really delicious.

You can scale the quantities for the sauce up if you expect to use a lot.  Actually cube organizers, I think that would be a good idea.  We had this with steaming hot rice and I loved the sauce both smothered on my fish as well as squashed into my rice.  It's a notch above regular lemon butter sauce and packs a lot more flavor.

Little C is not the perfect eater, and now that she has her own opinions it is not as easy to get her to try everything SKI TRIP, but she does love her fishies, especially if she sees them on the bone.  In fact, she seems to enjoy fish best when she sees me picking the meat for her from a whole fish on my plate.  And I never feel as “earth mother” as when I am doing just that.  That, at least, is one big mission accomplished in my book.

Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks

Although I fell in love with cooking all by myself, far away from home, where I had no choice but to learn how to feed myself or starve, I draw inspiration from many people.  Some I have never met Dating, some I have known all my life.  My great-aunt R falls into the latter category.  She’s my grandmother’s younger sister and has a long and colorful history of great cooking.

As a child, she taught me how to make pineapple upside down cake and apple pie.  When I was older, she demystified the workings of callos and bacalao ala Vizcaina.  Like most cooks of the generation before my parents, she uses no exact measurements or hard-and-fast recipes (except when baking of course…she was a well-accomplished baker in her heyday!).  To learn anything, I had to sit patiently and listen carefully, asking the right questions lest I end up with a whole pig’s leg in my tiny kitchen (“make sure you see the hoof!”).

These days, she is happy letting others do the cooking for her most of the time, despite her souped-up kitchen (which C and I look upon with admiration and envy).  We dine out (she loves swanky French food) or in (she also loves C’s sinigang), and always have a grand time (if you get her, my grandmother, and their other sister together the stories will floor you, as will the good-natured, though at times high-octane, teasing).

Another thing she enjoys nowadays is gifting C and I with food.  The lamb shanks I used here were from her.

Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks
(adapted from Incredible Baked Lamb Shanks in Jamie Oliver's Cook With Jamie)

    2 lamb shanks
    75-80 grams butter, cold but malleable
    4 sprigs fresh rosemary
    10 fresh sage leaves
    2 sprigs fresh thyme
    Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
    1 large carrot, peeled and finely sliced
    1 white onion, peeled and sliced into half moons
    2 leeks, sliced (note that I am using the local leeks which are much smaller that the huge Western hemisphere varieties)
    About a wineglass of red wine

- Set aside 2 sprigs of rosemary and 4 sage leaves.  Pick the leaves of the rest of the rosemary and thyme and chop.  Chop the remaining sage leaves as well.  Mix the chopped herbs with the butter.  You can alternately whiz everything together in the food processor.  Season with salt and pepper.  I like to season this until it is just above your usual level of saltiness as you will be spreading this all over the lamb and it will get diluted by the wine and vegetables.
- Using a small knife, take one of the lamb shanks and cut between the meat and the bone from the base of the shank upwards.  You want to make a hole big enough to put your finger in.  Repeat with the other shank low interest loan.
- Divide the herb butter between the “pockets” you have cut at the base of your shanks, pushing it all the way in.  Rub the remaining butter all over the shanks themselves.
- Tear off 2 arm-length pieces of foil and fold each in half to give you 2 large pieces of double-layer foil.  Divide the garlic and vegetables between the 2 pieces of foil.  Lay each shank on each pile of veg, crack some black pepper over that and another light sprinkling of sea salt, then top with the extra rosemary and sage.  This is how it will look.
- Carefully pull up the sides of the foil and then pour a swig of wine in each parcel.  Gather foil around each shank and seal shut making sure they are closed tightly.
- Arrange the parcels in a baking pan and place in a pre-heated 375F oven for 3-3.5 hours or until lamb is very tender.
- You can serve the parcels directly so each person can open their own serving, or transfer everything into a serving dish making sure not to lose any of the buttery juices!

Yet another recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Cook WithJamie.  If you were to say that I am totally enamored by this book you would be absolutely right.  Honest, delicious, earthy cooking…and these lamb shanks are a perfect example.  I’ve changed the quantities, as well as the cooking temperature and time, but essentially the method remains the same.  And what a method it is!  These were some of the softest shanks that ever came out of my oven.  Wrapping the meat and all the aromatics in foil (and see to it that it’s tightly sealed please!) creates a little steam bath that keeps the meat moist and flavorful, and renders it sinuously pliant.  The lamb ends up soft and sticky, drenched in intensely flavored buttery juices.  I plan to try this using other flavor combinations as well.

Aside from the gifts of lamb shanks, we have also received slabs of steak, Campbell’s soup, fresh apples and pears, olives, duck confit, little cans of mandarin oranges packed in syrup, beef ribs cut for kalbi, and rotisserie chicken.  Once she appeared on our doorstep with a whole leg of lamb!  I think it’s sufficient to say that we love my great-aunt R’s generous, if sometimes random, care packages.  Almost as much as we love her hk massage.

Family, and those you choose to be your family, are pretty special in my book.  Give someone in your family a hug this weekend! :)

Police Investigating Nigella Lawson Over Drug Use

nigella lawsonAfter Nigella Lawson admitted to using cocaine during a trial against her former assistants, British police have gotten involved Hong Kong Festival. According to Eater, the authorities in England say they will investigate claims made against Lawson regarding her drug use.

Her ex-assistants, whom Lawson and her former husband accused of stealing money, were found not guilty. And over the course of the trial the two women said that Lawson has allowed them to make purchases in exchange for silence concerning drugs. They also testified that the celeb chef smoked marijuana in front of her kids Cloud Service. While the police are investigating the matter they have expressed that "the witness's admissions did not by themselves provide sufficient evidence to bring charges." Therefore there is currently, "no imminent prospect" that Lawson will be accused of a crime franklin templeton.

Smashed Sontarans

Baby potatoes (about 5cm/2” in length) OR regular potatoes, cut  into 5cm/2”  chunks. Leave the skins on
Salted water (for boiling)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Other seasonings, you see fit.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.  Slick a cookie sheet with olive oil

Parboil the potatoes in the salted water.  Drain and tumble onto the oiled cookie sheet.

Press the down on the potatoes with a  spoon, fork or the bottom of a sauce pan.  You can smash flatish or just press down enough to rough up the surface.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and other herbs and spices as you see fit.

Drizzle more olive oil on top.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are cooked, with crispy brown bits.

Sports News Update – what you need to know

SOCCER - Melbourne skipper Mark Milligan is set to play in Friday night's A-League clash against Adelaide United after overcoming the knee injury that ruled him out of Australia's past two matches in Europe Property investment portal.

RUGBY - The Wallabies will arrive in Dunedin on Friday in preparation for Saturday's third and final Bledisloe Cup clash against the almighty All Blacks.

LEAGUE - A member of Australia's rugby league squad was robbed on the first night after the team arrived in Manchester for the World Cup lace and embroidery.

SWIMMING - New national head swimming coach, Dutchman Jacco Verhaeren, has been tasked with preparing Australia to knock the Americans off their perch.

SURFING - Mick Fanning has missed a chance to claim his third world surfing title when he was beaten in the quarter finals in Portugal.

GOLF - American golfers Dustin Johnson and Bo van Pelt will be aiming to make their move up the leaderboard when the second round of the Perth International tees off on Friday MPLS VPN service.