A trip down memory lane

A few weekends ago, my longtime friend Kate came to visit. We’ve been friends for about a billion years, but hadn’t seen each other in a couple years due to extenuating circumstances – a baby (hers), multiple moves (mine), and life in general (both). It was great to see her and catch up.

One evening, I prepared a fabulous dinner (if I do say so myself)) – Thai coconut shrimp curry and Thai iced tea (a fave of mine).  Over dinner, we got to discussing the best, most memorable meals of our lives, both home cooked and dining out. This is a game I love to play – I love to think back on these outstanding meals, who I enjoyed them with, and how they made an impact.

For home-cooked meals, the answer is easy – mini-Thanksgiving a few years back in Texas. Have I told this story already? Well, I’m going to share it again.

This was a few winters ago, not too long after my family and I had moved to Texas. Having grown up in Pennsylvania, winter in Texas seemed really strange to me. No snow – and often, not even freezing temps. Then, one day, a miracle! A snow storm hit the area. Classes were cancelled for Dad and I (my father is a professor…have I ever mentioned that?). We left the university early and ventured home, with a stop at the local grocery store – which also almost led to the car getting stuck. Funny tangent – the town we lived in gets so little snow, they don’t have a plow. So, snow is left to just accumulate on the roads until it warms up and melts. That, in combination with a whole town of people who are not used to winter driving, leads to some problems.

Anyway, we finally made it home safely. We got dinner started – roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings – and changed into our flannel jammies. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing board games with the house filled with the mouthwatering scent of roasted chicken. Everything was, of course, delicious. This is one of my favorite Texas memories, plus my favorite meal ever.

Deciding on my favorite meals out is a lot harder. Here are some, in no particular order:

Mr. B’s Bistro, the first time I went to New Orleans with my dad. Mmmm, gumbo ya-ya and pasta jambalaya.

The City Tavern in Philly, again with dad. This is just such a cool experience – one of the oldest restaurants in the country – plus, the food is delish. Many of the recipes come straight from Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

The first time Danielle and I went to the Union Oyster House in Boston – also one of the oldest restaurants. I love seafood, and theirs is the best. Oh, Stanley! (That’s what we named my lobster…never mind).

In Burlington, the time I ordered two salads from the Bluebird Tavern, back before they changed chefs and were still awesome. Also, the Peking duck at A Single Pebble is to die for.  Both with Danielle, of course.

Trying to find the best fish and chips in San Diego, which actually involved a plethora of different restaurants. The place at Ocean Beach won, of course. (Dad agrees).

Viva, here is western Mass. Both times I went were outstanding – the datiles make my heart sing.

Gosh, I feel like I must be forgetting some. I’m sure they’ll come to me over the rest of the afternoon, so this may be continued. What’s your memorable meal? Was it just because it was delicious, are were atmosphere and company a factor?

The easiest, most perfect bread you'll ever make

I love baking bread. In another life, I think I ran a boulangerie (fancy way of saying bread shop). I am the first to admit that my regular cooking experiments do not always turn out the way I originally envisioned – BUT, at the risk of sounding just a tad immodest, I am a damn good baker. Bread, cakes, and profiteroles – all tend to turn out exactly the way they should. I have absolutely no culinary training whatsoever. Instead, I think the key is understanding how baking works, and then just making sure you have the proper tools and techniques in place.

So, I thought I’d share a recipe for sandwich bread, adapted from King Arthur Flour. My mom and I have perfected this over the years, and it’s pretty much no-fail. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup hot water

2 cups bread flour (this is key – I’ve tried regular and it don’t work out as well)

1 cup whole wheat or white – and I do recommend King Arthur

2/3 cup milk

2 T sugar

2 T melted butter

Pinch salt

First, attend to the yeast – dissolve 1 t sugar into the hot water, and then add the yeast. Set aside for about five minutes, until it looks frothy, like a cappuccino. This step is skipped in a lot of recipes I’ve encountered, and instead they throw all the ingredients together (as did the original King Arthur recipe). However, this method, called proofing or blooming, allows the yeast to kind of “activate.” The sugar gives them something to eat.

While that’s hanging out, combine the flours, milk, remaining sugar, butter, and salt in a food processor with the kneading blade (or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment – but both mom and I prefer the food processor method). Give it a pulse. Once the yeast mixture is ready, add that in as well. Continue to mix until the dough forms a ball and scrapes the sides of the mixer clean. This does all the kneading for you, too. Nice!

Lightly grease a bowl and add dough. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about an hour. Next, grease your loaf pan. Form dough into a log to fit the pan, and cover with a lightly greased piece of saran wrap. Let rise for about another hour, or until puffy.

Finally, bake in a 350 degree over for 30-35 minutes. Top will be golden – to tell if the bread is done, remove from the loaf pan and tap – it should sound hollow. I recommend removing from the pan right away anyway – otherwise the bottom can get kind of soggy.

Enjoy warm with butter, toasted and dipped in a runny egg yolk, or in any sandwich. This also makes excellent French toast.  Wrapped in wax paper or parchment paper, the ends won’t get stale and it should last several days – not that you’ll want it to!

For an innovative take on bread, check out this method: http://www.sullivanstreetbakery.com/recipes.

Just some general stuff

I’ve been laying low (read: laying around the house) for the last couple weeks, still trying to recuperate from the holidays. I have had a headache, a stomachache, and a general sense of exhaustion ever since I returned to the Berkshires from Texas. Ugh. Maybe I am just getting old.

But the good news – I have been doing pretty well with my “Operation 2012” goals. For those of you that don’t know, “Operation 2012” was something I heard about on The Chew. Carla Hall was talking about instead of making resolutions, Operation 2012 goals help you remember the big picture. These are yearlong goals, so there’s no fear of screwing up right away and throwing in the towel – I have 12 months to get it right.

So anyway, one of my goals is to do a better job of planning meals – something I’ve mentioned a few times in this blog. I’m hoping this goal will help me waste less food and save a few bucks. At least initially, I am going really old school to try and get organized – Monday is pasta night (helpful for Meatless Mondays), Tuesday is chicken/starch/veggie night, Wednesday – a night I often work quite late – is leftovers or bowl of oatmeal night, Thursday is Asian food night, Friday is pancakes or waffles night, Saturdays are left open for some flexibility, and Sundays are slow-cooker days. This makes shopping easy and helps me stay organized. Plus, this way I can cook enough for lunch the next day as well. What do you think? Any other tips?

Once I’ve mastered this step, I can see becoming a little more flexible. For now, though, this is really working. I bought two boxes of whole wheat pasta – store brand on sale for $1 each – which was enough for at least a month of Monday pasta nights. Efficient, yes?

In other news…The CSA I belong to is having a potluck in a couple weeks. It is a relatively small CSA, so this is just a chance for the members and farmers to all meet and get to know one another. I want to go, and yet I’m a little nervous – showing up at these things alone and having to make small talk with strangers can be intimidating. At least here I’d know we all had something in common. I was thinking of making a bulgur salad with dried fruits and nuts in it – a good, healthy and hearty dish. I’m open to other suggestions.

Until next time!

Christmas plans aplenty

Tomorrow afternoon, I fly out of Hartford – and six hour later, I will be home in Texas. Now, I’m sure I have made many snarky comments about Texas and how much I despised living there – all of which remain true. However, a visit now and then to spend time with my family (and a trip to Central Market or two) is something to look forward too.

Naturally, a big part of our family gatherings involve food – well, yeah, I’m involved, so what else would you expect? My dad and I spent some time on the phone planning the big holiday menus. I always make Christmas Eve dinner, while Christmas day is a joint effort – my mom always does some kind of delicious breakfast casserole, and then dad and I do dinner. Often, actually, we end up with waaaay too much food, having two big meals in a row like that. So this year, I though, how can we cut back on the amount of leftovers? At the same time, coincidentally, I caught a special on the Cooking Channel about the traditional Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes, always served Christmas Eve. Inspiration struck!

So, I decided to do a seafood dinner for Christmas Eve. We traditionally had shrimp cocktail that night in my house, so it fits. I’m planning on that, plus a main course – probably pasta with scallops – and steamers or mussels, depending on what’s fresh at Central Market (I also had to give a brief shout-out to what a fab day Friday is going to be – shopping with my dad and bro in Dallas, home of Northpark Mall [amazing], followed by a trip to Central market).

The Christmas day, we’ll have a scrumptious breakfast, as I mentioned. Right not, dinner is shaping up to consist of a crown pork roast (my idea), stuffed with an herbs de Provence stuffing and then rubbed with an herbs de Provence rub, along with scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, some kind of sweet potato dish, and probably another veggie, plus pumpkin pie for dessert. Yup, still gonna have a lot of leftovers.

I haven’t even gotten into the myriad of sweets that will be in the house over the next week. I made sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and cherry-almond snowballs, as well as white chocolate bark and chex mix (plus some homemade dog biscuits, but those are less yummy). My brother made our traditional thin mint cookies – with help, I suspect – and I believe mom is making my favorite coconut macaroons. Then my dad always makes a puffed rice candy that’s yummy, and I’ve promised to make cream puffs for the clan. My teeth hurt just thinking about it all…in a good way.

Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned New Year’s Eve dinner. We’re not usually together for this holiday, so this year will be special. I think there’s beef on the menu, per my brother’s request, along with béarnaise sauce. Yup. Yum.

Anyway, I digress. Happy holidays to all, whatever it is you celebrate in your family. I’ll check back in once I’ve made my return to Massachusetts. Merry Christmas!

Week One(ish) update

So, my tryst into locavorism is going rather well, actually. It is so easy to get overwhelmed and try to be perfect, and it can turn something should be rewarding into something that is stressful instead. To try and avoid a meltdown, and I just taking things slowly and kind of following the layout I outlined in my last post – focusing on the items that are easiest to find locally first, and then slowly adding on.

I mentioned before that milk, eggs, and other dairy products would be the easiest to source locally, and it turns out, I was right! Last week I stopped by Taft Farms to pick up some Ronnybrook Creamline milk and some local eggs (Ronnybrook Farm is in N.Y. about thirty miles from where I live). And yes, their eggnog is the nog that was featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate last week (and yes, I picked some of that up, too – delicious!). Then I decided to take it one step further, so I joined a winter CSA with Cricket Creek Farm, a dairy farm just a little north from me. Every week, I will get a share of fresh milk, eggs, and cheese. They also have a farm store with a bounty of other local products, including some meat, other dairy products, baked goods, preserves, and more. So, that’s taken care of.

Meat has been super easy, too – a trip to Guido’s, which is right up the street from me, makes it convenient – and their meat and seafood prices are really reasonable, too – an unexpected but welcome surprise! Guido’s is also a good source for fruits and veggies, but the exact origin is not always apparent – for example, a bag of spinach may read “Grown in the USA” but not b any more specific than that. For specifics, the Berkshire Co-op has proven to be a goldmine. They even name the exact farm – I got some salad greens from Equinox Farm in Sheffield last week, as well as a tub of Monterey Chevre. I made sme yummy quiche from my spinach, chevre, milk, and eggs a few days ago.

Finally, a made a loaf of bread that used King Arthur Flour – for lunch today I think I’ll have a grilled cheese made from Cricket Creek Farm cheese and my homemade bread. Yum-o!

P.S. What do you all think of the new design?

The short list: Foods it will be easiest to eat locally in the Berkshires during the dormant season.

1. Milk and eggs (and other dairy products, like butter, yogurt, and cheese). Dairy farms are fairly abundant here, and I can find these products easily at Taft Farms, Guido’s, the Co-op and others. I am especially interested in finding raw milk (shh!), which is slightly more challenging, but in the meantime, local pasteurized milk will do.

2. Meat. I already don’t eat a lot of meat. Chicken is the most common form found in my fridge, and I know of several places where I can find local chicken, including those listed above. The Meat Market in Great Barrington is another sure thing, for all kinds of local meat products – even containers of local lard!

3. Root veggies and greenhouse produce. Again, places like Guido’s and the Co-op label what’s local – often naming the specific farm it came from – so while these items are in season, that’s a no brainer.

4. Flour and most other baking supplies. For the sake of this (and because I strongly believe in its superior quality), I’m going to call King Arthur Flour, based out of Vermont, local. Honey and maple syrup (and all manner of other maple products) should also be fairly simple. I also know a local woman you puts together her own spices and spice mixes. Local chocolate and coffee beans are also available.

Ok, so what does that leave me without?

Seafood: Obviously, because I don’t live in a coastal town, seafood is not particularly abundant. It would probably be possible to find some from the other side of the state; I’ll have to look into that (Mazzeo’s does have a meat and seafood counter at Guido’s, I’ll have to check it out more carefully). Meanwhile, I don’t buy a ton of seafood – mostly shrimp, occasionally a salmon fillet or some sort of white fish. When I do, I’ll be on the lookout for wild caught instead of farm raised – and continue to base decisions of the Monterey bay Aquarium’s safe seafood list.

Cereal – and other whole grains, including pasta, and dry beans: Again, I’ll just have to try to get the best versions of these foods that I can find.

Condiments, olive oils, and other convenience items: It may be possible to find some of these items locally – pickles, for example, should be fairly straight forward. I just haven’t looked that closely yet. Otherwise, see above for my planned strategy.

And most obviously, fruits and veggies not currently in season: This will be the hardest. In the dead of winter, what is more appealing that the bright red strawberries imported from Mexico or wherever it is they come from? What I’ll have to remember is that while these items look good, their taste rarely lives up to the hype. I’m sure I’ll break down and by bananas, apples, grapes, etc. throughout the winter. I’ll try to limit it, and focus on what produce I can get locally. I’ll also consider Berkshire Organics as a good source for these items – while it may not be local, at least I’ll know its fair trade, organic, and/or sustainable.

So, what am I forgetting?

Thanksgiving round-up

So, the reason that I haven’t posted in a few weeks is because I’ve been in Thanksgiving mode around the clock. With the holiday behind us, I can take a (quick) minute to breathe before I begin Christmas chaos mode.

As I am sure I mentioned at one point or another, I hosted Thanksgiving this year. It was small – my mom, my grandparents, and myself, plus the dog – but perfect. Not that I’m bragging, but…

My menu: for pre-meal nibbly bits, I offered rosemary roasted cashews (a Barefoot Contessa recipe that I love), homemade pickled beets, store-bought plump green olives, and a block of Cabot sage cheese – which I had to specially order online, because apparently they are no longer offering it in stores (worth it though). Drink options included fresh, unpasteurized apple cider, sparkling water, and plain water – my family are non-drinkers, so wine was not an option…this time.

For the main course, I prepared an herb and citrus 14.5 lb turkey (herbs de Provence are mixed with butter and olive oil and slathered on the skin, and then the bird is stuffed with fresh herbs, a onion, and citrus wedges – based on a Giada recipe). It was cooked perfectly and plated up beautifully, if I may say so.

For sides, I had glazed pearl onions, an apple, onion, and celery dressing (Rachael Ray’s recipe this time), traditional green bean casserole, sour cream mashed potatoes, homemade from scratch gravy, orange-cranberry sauce, and homemade parker house rolls. Yup. Read ‘em and weep.

My grandmother brought a pumpkin pie and a minced meat pie, and I made fresh whipped cream.

Comments from the diners included, but were not limited to: “perfect” “delicious” “best Thanksgiving ever” and so on.

I know I’m gloating a little here (a little, she says), but I really am quite pleased with myself. It was a big undertaking, and it came together beautifully, from the tablescape to the rolls to the leftovers (turkey tetrazzini, yum). Sign me up for next year.

In the meantime, I am going to Boston with Danielle this weekend to celebrate my birthday and eat lots of lobstah (I can’t wait!). Then before we know, Christmas will be here. Happy holidays!

Photos to come!
Update: Finally added the pic! See above.