World On A Plate

Fall into Salads

               

It's curious to me  how and when we notice changes in ourselves. These type of events tend to sneak up on us.  Maybe the contrast is so start, the moment right, the attitude dropped.  Who knows.  But, I never thought I'd become one of those Californians who returns after being gone for a spell, craving greens. Bowls of heaping salad. Seriously, I grew up in a non-salad New England household.  So maybe the moment was realized given all my recent business travels and the highs and lows of eating on the road. You do start to miss the creature comforts of home.

This preference was more notable while having lunch in a large banquet hall at our annual national conference in Southern Florida.  My dining companions, from the Pacific Northwest and I kept pushing what looked like a spring mix (yes in October) around our plates.  "It's sad looking isn't it?" We politely grimaced. "It's lost its vitality.  Please, could you pass the bread?"  Aren't we on this coast fussy?

Upon my return from Florida and another side business trip to Sacramento I headed straight for my favorite greens provider, Heirloom at the SFFP farmers market.  A big mixed greens bag--fava, red lettuce, and arugula. The question to me was what to compose the salad with.  I wanted the taste of fall, my favorite season--and not because it heralds my birthday but for the apple picking, the crisp air and the sweaters.  So this vinaigrette is a tribute to the tastes of autumn. 

Easy Maple Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 cups salad greens

1 pear or apple, unpeeled, cut into pieces

1/2 cup (3 ounces) blue cheese, crumbled

In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisking constantly, slowly add the oil; set aside.

Arrange the mixed greens on individual plates and top with the pear and cheese. Drizzle with the vinaigrette.

4 servings 

NOTE:   If you don't want to get all bothered with salad for four this vinaigrette keeps for 2-3 days in the fridge.  So shake it up in mason jar and a generous handful of greens and about a teaspoon of dressing will be just what the greens need.

            

Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams--

         

It's that time of the season for sweet potato pie, biscuits and more...so I've dug this out from the archives and warm it up a bit to answer the ongoing question.  Enjoy!

Every Thanksgiving it's guaranteed that someone will ask, 'What's the difference between yams and sweet potatoes?" It seems most don't know and assume 'well, it's two different names so it must be different, right?'  This has been my answer for many years.  Well, this year I've decided to be the smarty pants. 

The short answer is, this--yams and sweet potatoes are similar in that they grow underground and have orange flesh however  each is botanically different from the other.  The longer explanation is that yams are tropical vines of the genus Dioscorea and have a more reddish flesh. Large, starchy, and edible the tuberous roots can grow up to two even three feet long and weigh as much as 80 pounds.  Sweet potatoes belong to the morning glory family and are native to the tropical areas of the Americas. There are two basic types of sweet potatoes: moist (orange-fleshed) and dry (yellow-fleshed).  It's the orange-flesh version that is mistakenly called yams.

You see it was really a marketing angle adopted in the 1930s by some Louisiana farmers looking to distinguish their sweet tuber which they called a “yam” from the dry, pale sweet version grown in the North. So today in American supermarkets, “yams” are sweet potatoes with vivid orange color, and, when cooked, are sweet and moist. The most popular "yam" is the Beauregard, which is uniform in size and shape with smooth skin and deep orange flesh. 

So what we are seeing in the markets, at least here in the States and Canada labeled as yams are actually sweet potatoes with a relatively moist texture and orange flesh. 

Over at Straight Dope the following is offered:

"Contrary to what even some grocery store produce guys think, yams and sweet potatoes are unrelated vegetables, though in both cases you're eating the root of a tropical vine. Sweet potatoes, Ipomoea batatas ("batata" is the original Taino name, whence potato), are an American plant of the morning glory family, whereas yams are of the genus Dioscorea. Yams, which are rarely seen in the U.S. and Canada but are a staple in tropical regions, can grow up to seven feet in length. The name is thought to derive from the West African word nyami, "to eat," which is heard in Jamaican patois expressions such as, Oonu wan fi nyam banana dem?, 'Do you guys want to eat those bananas?'"

A scientific side-by-side comparison

The Bread Bible

by Beth Hensperger

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 large sweet potato, baked and peeled (about 10oz.)

1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tblspn light brown sugar

2 1/2 tspns baking powder

1/2 tspn salt

6 tblspns cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup cold milk or heavy cream

Mash or puree the sweet potato pulp by hand, in a blender, or in a food processor until smooth for a total of 3/4 cup.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Grease or parchment-line a baking sheet.  In a bowl using a whisk or electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients.  The mixture will resemble coarse crumbs, with no large chunks of butter.  If the butter gets very soft at this point, refrigerate the mixture to chill the butter.  Add the sweet potato pulp and milk or cream, stirring just to moisten all the ingredients.  The dough will be moist, then stiffen while stirring.  It should be slightly shaggy, but not sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently about 6 times, or just until the dough holds together.  Roll out the dough into a rectangle no more than 3/4' thick.  Take care not to add too much flour at this point or the biscuits will be tough.  Cut with a floured 2" biscuit cutter, pushing straight down without twisting.  Re roll the scraps to cut out additional biscuits.

Place the biscuits 1/2" apart on the baking sheet.  Place the baking sheet on a rack in the center of the oven and bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.  Let rest a few minutes and serve hot.

Breakfast Mexican Style: Huevos Motuleños

                

Over the last year I have become more than a little obsessive with huevos rancheros, the fried eggs on tortilla splashed with a spicy sauce breakfast dish.  The results of my journey has been both confusion but also an education in variations on a theme. You must know that before living on the West Coast I had never known the egg at breakfast outside of a frying pan, benedict or a quiche.  Eggs a la mexicano is a spectacularly terrific start to a lazy Sunday. This post is focused on a few of the egg specialty dishes that I've come across.

Literally "ranch eggs" huevos rancheros (ranch eggs) are prepared so many ways that legions of lovers of this dish adamantly state that traditionally speaking, the eggs should be fried (no poaching!). This may be so, but the confusion may come in that restaurants need to create a sense of special-ness with breakfast-- poaching does that. I would also add that the tortilla should be corn and it needs to be lightly toasted to stand up to the essential runny egg yolk.  The best, I've had are from Primavera, at the Saturday SF Farmers' Market. In my book they do very little wrong in their cocina.

I've also enjoyed Huevos al Albañil or bricklayer's eggs that are popular in Central Mexico. The central ingredient is a green tomatillo and serrano chile sauce  that is added to the pan with the cooked scrambled eggs.  Rather pretty and really a bit of harmony on the plate is huevos divorciados (divorced eggs)where two sunny-side up eggs are "separated" by a red and green sauce over a fried corn tortilla.

And then there's Huevos Motuleños: two sunny-side up eggs served over a fried corn tortilla and beans covered with red sauce, fried ham, green peas and cheese. Originating in the Yucatán town of Motul, there are variations that are made with black beans, plantains, and salsa picante. This dish is an uptown sophisticated type of breakfast. I first had it a few years ago at Casa Carter during our Oaxacan reunion weekend.  Homemade eggy, spicy goodness. I have thought often about that dish for the past two years.

While in Chicago in late August I brunched at Salpicón! where the Mexico City-born chef Priscilla Satkoff offers amazingly tasty and traditional dishes (pictured above this recipe).  In September while in Boulder visiting the Carters once again, I put my plea out for this breakfast.  The variation served here is from Chef Rick Bayless.  The Carters prepare an American variation on pork in the form of bacon instead of ham ---no complaints here!

               

And then there's migas and chilaquiles....but that's for another day!

Cazuela de Huevos Rancheros (good for a brunch of 4)

Cooking Light's Huevos Rancheros with Queso Fresco

Motul-Style Eggs

Adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen

This dish is time consuming, but you can shortcut with store-bought tostadas, and by using canned and doctored black beans.  You should not shortcut the sauce--it's an essential component to this dish.  Also the plantains can be done ahead, refrigerated over night and warmed before serving.

Tomato Habenero Sauce

2 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes

1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 fresh habanero chiles, halved

Salt, a generous 3/4 tspn

2 very ripe plantains

1 1/2 to 2 cups coarsely mashed, seasoned black beans

6 oz. good ham cut into matchstick sized pieces

1 1/3 cups frozen peas, defrosted

1/2 cup/2 oz crumbled Mexican queso fresco (or a French feta)

6 eggs

6 crisp store-bought tostadas

Instructions for Tomato-Habanero Sauce:

Make a day ahead: Roast the tomatoes on a baking sheet 4" below a very hot broiler until blistered and blackened on one side, about 6 minutes. Flip and roast on the other side.  Cool then peel  the tomatoes while catching all the juices over a bowl. In a food processor coarsely puree the tomatoes and juices.

In a 2-3 qt. saucepan heat 1 tblspn of the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, fry, stirring regularly, until golden, about 8 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and Chile halves and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or so, stirring often, until the sauce is beginning to thicken but is still juicy looking. Season with salt; remove the chile halves. Store in fridge.

The next day:

Peel the plantains, cut into diagonal slices about 1/2" thick.  Heat 2-3 tblspns of the vegetable oil in a 10-12" well-seasoned or non-stick skillet that has a lid, over medium heat.  Lay the  plantain slices in a single layer for 3-4 minutes per side until richly browned.  Drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and hold in a warm oven.

In a small pan warm the beans over low heat.  Mix together the ham strips and the peas in another small pan or dish, and warm over low heat.  Crumble the cheese into a small bowl and set aside. Set the pan of tomato sauce over low heat.

Finally, fry the eggs in 1-2 tblspns of vegetable oil.  You will want the egg yolks to be runny.  Spread some of the beans over each tostada, slide an egg on top, drizzle the tomato sauce over and around the eggs letting it run off the tostada and on to the plate. Sprinkle each plate with the ham, peas and cheese, decorate with plantain slices.

On the Road: Chicago

               

No not another tribute to the "man", Jack Kerouac whose 50th anniversary of On the Road has been sufficiently covered elsewhere.  I'm in the middle of a two week run of business travel, Seattle, Chicago and Greensboro, North Carolina. (Fret not there's BBQ to be had!). I also have a bit of down time planned with the Carters in Denver at the end of all of this shuttling around; we'll be dining well, that's a guarantee--even if it is the Denver/Boulder area.

As many of you know by day I am a marketing professional.  I've worked in many industries.  For the past couple of years my time has been spent within the travel industry.  Believe me when I say that this line of work is not one big consideration of which vacation to take next.  However the product is a lot more interesting than semi-conductor chips or anti-virus software where I've previously put my attentions. The business of travel is a curiosity for me: big ships, big tours, and big  or small wanderings. 

This is all a way of saying that I just returned from Chicago.  The city was the location for our annual national marketing conference.  This is the time when we sit with many of our partners and talk marketing and sales.  After numbers and plans we also talked about the next travel destinations that we'll be held sway over: Italy and Spain (even if you've been there many times!). We also talk about trends such as volunteering vacations or staying on a working farm.  And we also consider the new edge of travel, Dubai and the fascination many, including myself, are having with South America.

So before you think 'gee whiz doesn't sound too bad', understand that this business is as competitive as the next.  Isn't it all, eh? The longest day began with a 7am breakfast meeting in the Renaissance Hotel's Great Street restaurant and ended over stone crab at 10pm.  The night before was a long one with the time zone shift and well, the effects of more than a few glasses of wine at a reception and dinner were very present. So it felt right to indulge with a proper breakfast for the long day ahead.  The pancakes offered were from the hotel's sister, The San Francisco Renaissance Stanford Court.  I've re-created my interpretation of the breakfast as it would make a great brunch menu item.

And if your curious about who the breakfast was with and what the banter was and you are a Harry Potter fan mark your calendars to be in Florida in late 2009!  This opening promises to be full of all kinds of wizardry.

Lemon Souffle Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons lemon zest (or more for those "tart" lovers)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup milk

3 egg whites

Raspberry Sauce (recipe below)

Pine Nuts (optional)

Butter (optional)

Fresh raspberries (optional)

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat egg yolk slightly. Stir in melted butter and milk. Add egg yolk mixture to dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). In another medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer at medium speed until stiff peaks form (peaks stand straight). Gently fold egg whites into flour mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white. Do not over mix.

For pancakes, pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes per side or until pancakes are golden brown. Turn to second side when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with raspberry syrup, pine nuts, butter, and fresh raspberries, if desired.

Raspberry syrup:

2 cups frozen or fresh red raspberries

1 cup maple syrup

If using frozen berries, thaw but do not drain. Place the berries in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until berries are smooth. Press berries through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Discard seeds in sieve. Cook and stir juice over medium heat until just heated through. Stir in maple syrup; set aside.

RATATOUILLE: A Recipe for the Senses

     "If you are what you eat, I only want to eat good stuff."

                                                                    -Chef Remy

Take one part ambitious rat with an overdeveloped sense of smell and taste; add the best animation team around and place in the world of high profile restaurants and grill, sauté, and flambé for nearly two hours and serve up in Paris.  Viola an aromatic visual feast.

While I will admit to at first being a bit uneasy with the whole rat in a kitchen idea Remy charmed and won my heart with his dream to 'chef.'  And there's a lot we can learn from this "little chef."  But this is a story not about a rat. No it's a story of Remy who follows his heart and puts his passion into being that dream against all odds. Trite as that may sound the folks at Pixar have assembled a delightfully, sweet and visually edible story to while a way a summer afternoon. 

The Pixar crew took cooking classes, ate at notable restaurants in Paris and worked alongside Keller at the French Laundry. The commitment paid off in the dishes we see and can nearly taste: steamed pike with butter, braised fennel and heirloom potatoes; grilled petit filet mignon with oxtail and baby onion ragout topped with truffled bordelaise and shaved Perigord truffle. We also learn a few kitchen secrets along the way such as how a fresh baguette should sound, the proper way to chop a leek, and the value of keeping your station, and your sleeves clean. But the biggest lesson comes in the form of how to melt the coldest heart with a warm dish. This lesson comes through Anton Ego, portrayed by Peter O'Toole , the morbidly jaded restaurant critic.

The story made me immediately hungry and has inspired me to deconstructing the dish of the film's name over the next few weeks. There are many variations as there are French mothers. The dish and films' name, Ratatouille is the blending of two French words: rata, slang from the French Army meaning "chunky stew" and for the verb, 'to stir', touiller.

The Baker's Passport - Sri Lanka

               

Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon, just off the southeast coast of India, is a rich tapestry of cultures which can be experienced today through it's rich and diverse food. Julia Child was station here during her time with the OSS.

Sri Lanka's nearness to India has had a strong influence on its cuisine, as did the occupations of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Writer Amanda Hesser, in the IHT poetically described its proximity as "...shaped like a fat tear rolling off the chin of India." As time lapsed the majority of defining dishes have been slightly modified. And it took a lot of cooking from many peoples, cultures and religions: the Hindus and Buddhists perfected the vegetarian dishes; the Christians refined the beef and pork recipes and the Muslims put attention to the mutton and lamb dishes. Many of the recipes revolve around rice, the central grain of curry dishes in Sri Lankan cuisine. Notably curries in this country are spicier than those found in  India. Other staple ingredients include coconut (milk, oil, or grated), as well as aromatic herbs and spices such as curry leaf, fenugreek, turmeric, chilies, and cinnamon.

But what about dessert you say?  Given the climate fruits are a plenty--mangoes, pineapple, papaya, woodapple, bananas, rambuttan, and mangosteen. For us bakers there's kiri pani made from buffalo milk curd and golden syrup; the of Malay origin, wattalappam an egg pudding with jaggary and also kevum made with flour and golden syrup.

Spice traders, specifically the Dutch and Portuguese left behind a meatball curry which is baked in a banana leaf.  Hoppers, a crêpe of sorts with a bowl-shape and crispy edges shows up in many varieties such as honey, milk and the egg hopper containing a poached egg cooked into the center.   The batter is made from from rice flour, coconut milk and then fermented with yeast or the traditonal, and sour tasting, palm toddy liquor.  This favored treat is often found in "bakery hotels" or small restaurants for breakfast or lunch. 

But for me I'd like to try this quaintly named spicey infusion "Love Cake" adapted from Portuguese cuisine, probably around the 16th century, when Portugal dominated the spice trade and controlled a portion of the island. The recipe's cashews and cardamom are native to the island. The rose water fragrance are a Muslim aesthetic and can be traced to Ceylon Muslims or to the Moorish influence of Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages. A country's cultural history all in a slice of cake.  Oh and I'll have mine with a cuppa Ceylon. 

PS: I'm coming home with this must-have Sri Lankan kitchen gadget, a coconut scraper, waste not want not!

               

Bolo d'Amor

Portuguese Love Cake

The traditional recipe, served at graduations and weddings, contains 14 egg yolks. I just couldn't live with that on my mind. So, I asked around at work, my company has one of the most diverse workforces and adapted the following recipe which comes from her handwritten recipe notebook.  She says she got it from a newspaper but doesn't know where as she's moved around a bit. So be it as its too good not to share.  If anyone knows let me know so credit can go where it belongs. The secret is to have a soft texture in the middle and a firm and chewy exterior.  Some say if be slowly bake it and using the right-sized pan is the magic.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups semolina meal (US bakers: Cream of Wheat)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg or cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups raw cashew nuts, finely chopped
4 tablespoons rose water
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
9 egg yolks and 5 whites
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
4 tablespoons honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Warm semolina in a dry pan over medium heat until fairly hot to the touch, being careful not to let it brown.

Put in a bowl and stir to cool. While still a little warm, mix in softened butter using a wooden spoon. Add lemon rind, spices and salt. Mix well, cover and set aside two to four hours.

Separately, mix cashews with rose water, almond extract and vanilla. Cover and set aside.

Grease 9-by-13-inch pan and line with three thicknesses of wax paper. Butter well the top layer of paper.

In a large bowl, beat yolks and sugar until they have doubled in bulk and become thick, creamy and very light in color.

Beat in the semolina-butter mixture, a little at a time. Add the honey and beat. When well beaten, fold in cashew mixture.

Beat egg whites with lemon juice until they hold firm peaks. Fold into the cake mixture. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 250 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes, until the cake is evenly golden-brown and the top feels firm to the touch.

As the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan it should be a bit moist in center (test with a skewer), remove from oven.  If cake is very moist in the center, switch off oven, cover cake with paper or foil and leave inside for another 10-15 minutes.

If the cake begins to brown too much any time during baking, cover with paper or foil.

Cool cake completely. Do not remove cake from pan instead cut into small servings while in the pan.

               

               

Cruise West to Go Inside

               

If you are looking here for continuation of The Baker's Passport series you'll need to wait another week or so while I get this post out of my system.  I've been away for two weeks on holiday. And while this is a bit of a "what I learned on my summer vacation" this next statement will shock a good many of you so I'm just going to put it out there.

I was on an Alaskan cruise.  Not a big mega cruise ship but a small cruise line, Cruise West based in Seattle.  And do they know how to show a girl a good time. This trip is a huge benefit of my job and the best surprise of all to me is that I would do it all again and again.  There ships are designed for an up close and intimate experience, sorta like Alaska in hi-def.  And they are conscious about the impact they are having and do something about it actively by reaching out to the communities they travel in.  Plus if you are into the nature up-close thing their boats can do "donuts"...oh there a whale, no wait over there...!

Over seven days 70 of us floated among bitty bergs and glacial waters peeping at glaciers, (they are all pretty much receding), bears (looking very lean from a longer than typical winter), and humpback whales, dolphins, stellar seal loins, puffins, and the one of the single most spectacular moments of  my life occurred in 25 degree weather at 12:30am, a viewing of the Aurora Borealis. My 8th grade dream realized!

I'm a bit of a lucky gal as this was my second time in Alaska. I've stayed at Camp Denali during a fall pro photographer's tour a few years back and now I've seen the Inside Passage from a puffin's view (interestingly they do look as they appear on the Trader Joe's cereal box!). So, the icing on the cake on this sailing was that most of the passengers onboard were not only there for the marine and wildlife they were all into talking about light, exposure, pixels and the ongoing raw vs. jpeg debate. (When will this question end?)  Mark Kelly, a local Alaskan and professioinal photographer helping out with the logistics of putting us in the right spot at the right time (see photo above) and their was another professional, Julie Smith, helping us out with all types of photo-related problem solving.

          

Vacations to state the blind obvious, are magnificent things. Often we don't realize how much we need the escape of routines. To be pulled from the ho-hum ordinary into the extra ordinary. To hear stories about others and to think maybe, just maybe I could be that, I could do this or that. That's what this trip did for me. You see if you have a leaning, I mean a real passion for something like nature, or for the bigger prouder "environment" you need to go to Alaska.  The size and shape of the land will shock you and humble you all in one breath. And it'll sneak right up on you and make you re-evaluate most of what you thought was important in existence. Really, it's that big. You learn to use the full range of your senses allowing you to return to your previous existence slightly changed.

Before the trip began I took a rather indulgent and pricey 40-mile excursion south of Juneau on a float plane over the Juneau Ice Fields taking in the Taku Glacier and landing for lunch at the same-named lodge.  Now what drew me to this quiet rather senior citizen outing was of course the notion of eating the pink fish in Alaska in a wild and rustic setting. Oh yes and although I persuade people all day to buy things they may or may  not want I was drawn in by the "your cool beverage will be chilled with chips of 1,000 year old glacial ice." Hey, we all by bottle water so back off.

The lodge site is between two glaciers on the Taku River. Lunch was already in progress.  The BBQ pit was being stoked and fanned with alder wood by the young chefs in preparation for the wild King salmon bake. Inside the lodge the finishing accompaniments of reindeer sausage, baked beans, blueberry coffeecake scones, baked compote and herb biscuits was being pulled together.  There was little to be seen of Scarface the bear that lives well during the season on salmon droppings.

               

After lunch we heard the story of the long-time previous owner of the lodge Mary Joyce who in 1935 at the age of 27 decided that just for fun she'd like to drive a dog team 1,000 miles from Juneau to Fairbanks. Frankly, everyone thought she was off her sled but she arrived in Fairbanks, where she learned she was entered in the Miss Alaska beauty contest and declined that in favor of honorary membership in the Pioneer Women of Alaska.   Ms. Joyce also had a salmon-eating cow and a connection to the Smith in Smith-Corona but that's a whole 'nother story.

Finally we were invited to ask questions.  After I asked enough appropriately worded but pointed questions about personal observations on global warming, waste disposal, the source of the wild king salmon (locally caught and sustainable) and about the realness of glacial ice in my glass all was confirmed with the yarn about "how" these young lodge keepers keep their "refrigerated" goods chilled by an itty bitty berg.

Imagine that, all in the last true frontier, and just one day.

Taku Herb Biscuits

Adapted from Taku Glacier Lodge Secret Recipes

These biscuits were all flaky goodness. 

4 cups bread flour

3/4 cup dry milk

2 tsp. baking powder

2tsp. salt

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 level tbsp each of dried thyme, parsley, tarragon, basil

1/2 tbsp. garlic powder

1 cup cold butter

About 1 1/2 cups very cold water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place all ingredients except butter and water in mixing bowl, cut butter into mix (so pieces are not smaller than a peanut).

Make a well and add cold water. Don't add all the water at once. Work enough to make a slightly sticky dough, adding water as needed.

Place dough on floured board. Fold, turn it over and fold again. Do this about 8x. You may need to add a little flour between folds if the dough is too sticky.

Pat into a square about 1" thick, cut into square shaped biscuits or simply use a round cutter.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Best served hot accompanied by butter and honey. 

The Baker's Passport- Tunisia

      

During the middle of the day it was no longer the sun alone that persecuted from above--the entire sky was like a metal dome grown white with heat. The merciless light pushed down from all directions; the sun was the whole sky.

                                                                     – Peter Bowles, The Sheltering Sky

Thousand-year-old mosques, strolls through a medieval medina, and camelback treks across the Sahara can all be found on many a traveler’s list of desires when in the North African state of Tunisia. These rather romantic travel thoughts also bring up that song, “Midnight at the Oasis/Send your camel to bed/Shadows paintin’ our faces/Traces of romance in our heads/Let’s slip off to a sand dune…” Oh I think you get the idea.

According to the “The Momo Cookbook-A Gastronomic Journey through North Africa written by Chef Mourad Mazouz of London whose little gem of a cookbook provides glimpses into the land of the Maghreb, the region of northwest Africa comprising the coastlands and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The collection of recipes bridges the region’s history to the creation of a distinctive cuisine which, over the centuries, has been influenced by Jewish, Arabic, Italian and Spanish culture.

Folklorists have an expression in this region which states that, Tunisians get hungry when they see the color red, the color of appetite and passion. It’s also the color of harissa, a fire-red chili blend made from crushed dried red peppers, garlic, salt and caraway seeds that is central to Tunisian cuisine. Known for its heat and its association with red (passion), another folk tale shares that a man can judge his wife’s love by the amount of spice in his food—if it’s bland then romance is dead.

Given the area's Mediterranean climate fruit is is often often found on the table at the end of a meal.  The quality and range of fruit is said to be outstanding, bursting with flavor.  Tunisia ice cream, or sabayon made with egg yolks and often served with fresh fruits that have been peeled and artfully arranged as if an artist's palette, on a large tray with ice.  Here you’ll find watermelon, cherries, grapes, apricots,and strawberries.  Fruit juice drinks made from oranges,or ruby-red pomegranate whose pressed seeds are often mixed with a sugary rose-flavored water as a remedy for the traveler’s tummy and other fruit are available from street vendors and in cafes. Seasonal fruits include the wild peaches of early summer its interior carrying a deep red color and a jacket of  thick beige fuzz and is similarly and called pêche de vignes of the Lyonnais region; small, bite-sized pears and mishmish, very delicate apricots. Or the Barbary Fig (known here in the States as Cactus Fruit or Prickly Pear) first introduced by the Spanish in the 16^th century available October through December.

Turkish baklava has been integrated into the baking culture here. Layers of whisper thin pastry interspersed with ground pine nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios, bathed in golden butter, baked and dipped in a honey syrup in all it’s many shapes, sizes and delights. Sweets in this country are, to an American palate said to be sticky and overly sweet. Pastries are delicate and scented with the fragrance of orange blossom water. Many are filled with dates, nuts and dressed in honey. Zlabiya, is a snake-like pastry with a crispy dark brown shell simply dressed with honey; gazelle horns are delicate, flaky horn shaped pastries with almond paste and sugar. In Kairouan search out the street carts selling the local specialty called makroudh, deep fried semolina pastries stuffed with dates and covered in honey syrup. And for breakfast brik à l’oeuf a thin pastry wrapped around tuna and an egg, fried and served with harissa or if you prefer a sweeter version filled with almond or sesame paste and covered in honey.

Mint tea is the classic and predominant tea choice. The au pignon or the a l’almande, offers up a cup of brew with pine nuts or almonds floating in the cup, this lends a welcoming buttery taste. In cafes you will also see locals drinking Ahwa arbi (Turkish coffee) fragrant with orange blossom or rose water and other espresso-based pick-me ups.  There’s also an aromatic spirit called Boukha made from distilled figs is served straight up at room temperature or chilled and mixed with Coca-Cola. (that’ll certainly keep you going!)

However in through this traveler's window, I see myself in Sidi Bou Said winding and weaning my way through the steep, narrow alleys, lined with whitewashed, blue-shuttered houses to the restaurant at the top, only to sit under the open sky with the brilliant sunlight warming my face as I linger over a few samsa, sipping mint tea, the smell of jasmine dancing in the air.

Samsa

Crisp Almond & Sesame Pastries

About 2 Dozen

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tsp orange-flower water

1 1/2 cups blanched almonds, lightly toasted and ground

1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 oz filo pastry

olive oil, for brushing

lightly toasted sesame seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

Place the water and 1/2 cup sugar into a saucepan and gently heat, stirring until dissolved. Add lemon juice and bring to boil. The consistency will be syrupy. Remove from the heat and add the orange-flower water.  Allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, stir together the ground almonds, orange zest, cinnamon and remaining sugar. Mix together until well blended.

Brush one sheet of filo with olive oil, keep the other sheets covered with a damp cloth. Cut the oiled sheet into 3 lengthwise strips. Place a small spoonful of filling at the bottom of each strip.

Fold the sides over the filling then roll the pastry up along the length. Brush inside the end of the pastry with oil and seal it to the roll. Brush with oil and put on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Bake the pastries for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden.

Lower the pastries a few at a time into the warm syrup, leave for about 3 minutes so the syrup infuses the pastries. Remove on to a plate and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Let come to room temperature before serving.

The Baker's Passport - Senegal

            

The southern area of Senegal , known to many for it's stunning beaches usually speckled with sun bathers from France and for its primary crop rice which is grown in this region called Casamance.  African desserts in countries south of the Sahara Desert are not common.  What is found are mixes of cut fruit  such as mango, papaya, bananas and pineapple or simply just fresh fruit, either way this "course" is called "after chop."

Some of these central dishes to this part of Africa are Tiébou Dienn  {pronounced: cheb-oo jenn}(rice and fish) and chicken au yassa (chicken with lemon, pimento and onions) and maffe (chicken or mutton in peanut sauce).   Drinks include home-roasted coffee with pimento and and mint tea, with the first tea steeped along with sugar and is very bitter.  This first pour is thought to be bad for a woman's health so they do not partake; the second time around water is added to the same leaves and boiled again.  Unlike their Northern neighbors in Morocco who serve only three services of tea--the third being considered the perfect pour. The Senegalese just keep serving it up with more sugar as the enjoy it sweet.

Marcus Samelusson, the Ethiopian-born Swedish chef at Aquavit, has infused his passion for African cuisine into his recent cookbook, Soul of a New Cuisine.  One of the peoples of Senegal, the Fulani  people are known for their love milk. Whether this recipe originates there are more likely from the inspiration that Chef Samelusson found while traveling through the country. Here, in the following recipe he uses rice to create a very luxurious pudding; the creamy flavor is clean and bright from the lime zest, vanilla and small pieces of fresh mango.

Lime-Scented Poppy-Seed Rice Pudding with Mango

From Soul of a New Cuisine by Marcus Samuelson

2 1/2 quarts whole milk

2 cups short-grain rice (14 ounces)

One 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

Finely grated zest of 1 lime

6 ripe mangoes—peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

In a medium enameled cast-iron casserole, combine the milk with the rice, coconut milk, vanilla bean and seeds and the poppy seeds and bring to a simmer over moderately high heat, stirring. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until the rice is tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Stir the sugar, heavy cream and lime zest into the rice and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is sweet and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. Spoon the rice pudding into small bowls and top with the mango.

MAKE AHEAD The rice pudding can be refrigerated overnight. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 12

photo: J.C. Durka

Brownie Points @ Work

               

I have long harbored a cynical baking world view that not as many mothers baked from scratch as we may like to believe.  Lest, I start crushing everyone's view of motherhood let's just agreed that if the house smelled like baking what's wrong with that, right? And while my mother did bake from scratch she also when she returned to the workplace there were brownies from a box. They do fill a niche need.

However, I can't tell you how many times I've labored over a cake for a big dinner party or birthday gathering where the cake is devoured but no one says a word about it.  It's somewhat confidence deflating for the baker. If anyone had someone at home as a child who did bake from scratch they would have an idea about how much effort (not time...it's really not that much more) went into baking from scratch, certainly the accolades would be running wild. While this may be my ego whining but I started casually investigating this theory over the past few years. 

"Oh yes, I can bring a cake for 30. Certainly, homemade, what else?!"  I willingly volunteered. Brunches, birthdays and office events, wherever, whenever. It's at gatherings like t his where I've been tapped on the shoulder and asked if it's difficult to bake from scratch.  Usually I would casually wave off the compliment, slightly embarrassed and worried for my baking reputation. Once, however I let my guilt overcome me and ended up gifting a total stranger. I'm not cold. How could I not? It was at a friend's huge birthday bash one of those affairs that has just the right amount of sophistication. I had agreed to help out a friend pull it all together by lending catering services and prep support.  I baked and simply decorated a 20" chocolate cake. (Yes, I have a pan that big!) . 

Out of the corner of my eye a woman with a huge 2 carat-diamond approached me. 

"I know I don't know you and I'm sure that this is impossible to bake. Well, really, I don't bake. But my husband just can't stop talking about your cake. It reminds him of his mother's cake. She just passed away last year. He's near tears over there."  She bit her lip. "It would mean the world if, well, could you..."

My heart went out to this woman. I began to think I could save her husband's soul memory of his mother not to mention solidify her young marriage.   I certainly didn't need to have stronger proof of my theory than this.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked in a hushed tone. She nodded. "Duncan Hines."

"What?" she said, confused.

"Everyone likes to believe 'mom' baked from scratch. Truth is that she did but it was from a Duncan Hines cake box."

She grabbed and hugged me and took her leave smiling.

Many years have passed since that day.  But I continue to test the notion. On Friday afternoon I sat in a conference room overlooking San Francisco's Civic Center waiting for 16 office mates to participate in a Brownie Blind Taste; in front of me where three different brownies made from three recipes and three types of chocolate.  One was a Betty Crocker brownie mix featuring semi-sweet chocolate; another was prepared-from-scratch version made with Nestle Chocolatier bittersweet chocolate (62%) and the third made from Baker's unsweetened chocolate.

People love chocolate.  Since I had come across a new bittersweet chocolate from Nestle that held up pretty well in a side-by-side tasting against Ghiradelli I thought it might be worthwhile to put it to the brownie test.  There's no better demonstration of a chocolate's qualities than this all-American treat. Everyone loves brownies.  The division seems to come in preference to either a cakey or chewy consistency. 

So which brownie won over the crowd?  By an astounding 75%....(drumroll) Betty Crocker.  So while I am smugly reassured that my theory continues to hold up my new favorite is from Nestle.

Oh, and while you may want to do your blind taste panel, the guys and gals in the office of varying ages and places in the States overwhelmingly chose the chewy over the cakey.

            

Nestle Chocolatier Brownies

Quite possibly this is one of the best brownie recipes around.  The brownie is rich, moist and chewy.  Clearly many mothers did not bake in the style of the "moms" at Nestle! This final recipe shared here is a slight variation from the one on the package and from the product's website, verybestbaking.com where there is a cookie recipe that I'll be trying later this recipe with the 52% morsels. 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 tbsp water

10 oz. pkg of Nestle Chocolatier 62% bittersweet morsels

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup AP flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 325º F. Line 9-inch-square baking pan with foil; grease.

HEAT in a double boiler the package of morsels, sugar, butter and water over low heat, stirring constantly, until morsels and butter are melted.  The consistency and color should look like vanilla pudding. Pour into medium bowl. The liquid should be warm but not steaming hot before proceeding to the next step. Stir in eggs, one at a time, until mixed in; add in vanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda and salt;  mix well.

POUR into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 16 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift brownie from pan with foil to cutting board. Carefully remove foil. Cut