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Molly

T-Day: What’s Cooking in Baltimore

November 25, 2010 By Molly In eat me, three points kitchen

A vegetarian feast! (for two). B and I have both been a little under the weather, so as far as menu planning went, the key ingredient was ultimately what required no outside resources to prepare. We had plenty in the fridge to work with, however, so it wasn’t exactly a master round of Iron Chef or anything.

To get specific:

Butternut squash soup of my own devising (roasted squash, a couple potatoes, onion, veg stock, some sweet curry powder, a little milk, etc.)
Roasted root vegetables with a maple syrup/mustard/garlic powder glaze
Roasted rapini with garlic
And since that big red cabbage would not stop begging me to pay some attention to it, braised red cabbage with a sprinkle of goat cheese for good measure

In honor of family Thanksgivings of days past, we sat down to dine at 4 p.m. without really thinking about it and then wondered how that tradition got started exactly.

What’s everyone else cooking/eating today?

It Takes a Shopping Cart

November 20, 2010 By Molly In eat me, three points kitchen

This morning’s market outing marked the last week of our CSA share.

The aisles were packed extra tightly with shoppers despite the increased chill–perhaps the coming holiday summoned everyone out of bed with roasted root vegetables on their mind. I had to get unusually aggressive just to avoid having my eggs snatched out from under me while I paid for them. Celebration kitchen stress was already wearing down nerves before anyone even got going in the kitchen, it seems. I also overheard more than one consumer ask for advice on appropriate purchase amounts for feeding ten or so family members–a reminder of how rarely we actually gather everyone together around the table these days.

As for me and my house, we won’t make it through the winter with this week’s haul, but at least I should be able to manage to feed everyone through Thanksgiving. Who’s coming over?

Pizza Heaven

November 16, 2010 By Molly In eat me, three points kitchen

The apple, as they say, falls in proximity to the tree, so it probably comes as little shock that my dad is also at home running experiments in the kitchen. Here he offers his advice on how those of us living far from the Windy City can enjoy deep-dish pizza straight out of our home ovens.–MS

If you are going to be in Chicago soon, then stop in to Giordano’s on Rush St. for authentic deep-dish pizza. If you cannot make the trip, then try this. You need approximately $15.00 and about 3 hours. This puts the “pie” in pizza pie. You have to sit down to eat this 2 1/2″ tall crust with layers of cheese, pepperoni and sausage, tomatoes, more cheese, and more everything.

You can make a spectacular 14″ or two 9″. I prefer the two 9″. You can make one pepperoni and the other sausage.

The crust is unique. It is made with three different fats–olive oil, melted butter, vegetable oil–and also contains cornmeal for a subtle crunch.

The filling is Mozzarella and Provolone cheese, sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, (you can sub sautéed vegetables, but make sure they are very dry), canned diced tomatoes, garlic, sugar, pizza seasoning, and grated Romano.

Do it right and you are in pizza heaven.

–Tom Sheridan

Kale Soup for the Sick (with a Side of Mostly Whole Wheat Bread)

November 12, 2010 By Molly In eat me, three points kitchen

I’m the kind of person who likes to crawl into their man-cave when sick. The down side of this is that when the fridge is empty, the only path to sustenance is to drag one’s self from said cave to either the kitchen or the grocery store. I decided that combing my hair would be more work than chopping veggies, so I opted for culinary duty. Plus, all those market veggies had come to the party last Saturday and had yet to get a worthy invitation for a good ~~dance~~ dish.

Now, I’m not normally a broth-based soup person. I like it blended or stewed, but not with bits of things floating in admittedly tasty almost-water. However, two weeks into a hacking cough, hot water with honey was getting pretty boring (even if the menthol cough drops had deadened most of my taste buds) and I wanted something with enough liquid that I could dip in for a ladle or two of hot liquid in between meals. As I had fresh navy beans, kale, and even a parmesan cheese rind on hand (I really think that part is essential to a broth worth sipping–do not skip!), I made a small vat of this soup, making it a vegetarian version by skipping the sausage and substituting vegetable stock for all liquid (though at less volume than indicated in the recipe–probably about 7 cups total). It was super tasty and perhaps the most effective medicine I’ve tried so far. Plus, half went into the freezer and I’m now prepared for the next time I am either too sick or, more likely, just too tired to cook.

I was also out of bread, so this morning I fired up Sir Mix-a-Lot again. B has asked me to work on a 100% whole wheat loaf for him, and since my parents had brought me a bag of whole wheat flour from a local Ohio source, I decided to give this King Arthur version a try. As this flour was a pretty course grind, I erred on the side of caution and did half-and-half with some white unbleached bread flour, and kicked in some vital wheat gluten for good measure. Since I wanted this to be the simplest (read: neatest) making of bread ever, I vowed to only do a mixer knead–not a pinch of flour on the counter. In the end, the dough was beautiful and the rise amazing. I think this household is primed to go 100% on the next venture!

Keep safe and stay healthy out there, everyone! I’m sure trying to leverage a holiday bird one-handed is no fun at all and you certainly don’t want to get caught by family members coughing on the turkey.

Sir Mix-a-Lot

November 1, 2010 By Molly In eat me, three points kitchen

I used to say that bread kneading by hand was a great way to vent stress and anxiety after a long day at the computer. But I have just learned something very important: watching your brand new KitchenAid stand mixer knead that same dough can be just as, if not more, cathartic. After years of insisting that this appliance was just a pricey gadget I could get along without, we have become fast friends and I suspect are unlikely to part ways anytime soon.

Anxious to get things swirling, I mixed up a starter for my usual King Arthur French Baguettes before heading to bed last night. On reflection, however, this recipe didn’t seem quite difficult enough to christen the new arrival. Did I recall a bread recipe that required kneading until “your upper arms are strapless gown-ready”? I did. Unable to waste my already-started starter, New York Deli Rye was simply added to the production docket.

Though I’d never tried out the rye recipe before, the baguettes have been made in this kitchen a few times already. This batch, however, was one of the best I’ve ever turned out. Perhaps less exhausted by the process than normal, I even felt that my shaping and baking were more professional. The spritzing and slashing and even the whole “ice in the cast iron under the loaves” were all accomplished. (In the case of the slashing of my dear baguettes, accomplished poorly, but I’ll keep practicing. When I did the rye, I fared a bit better. I found that it really helps matters to use just the very tip of a razor and say “aaaaand slash” aloud as you work.)

I don’t think the French need be jealous, but the New Yorkers may have something to fear over here in Baltimore. This is some seriously amazing rye bread. I did have to supplement the machine knead with a little old-fashioned counter work to get the dough a bit less sticky (one whole minute!), but I am quite confident that without a mechanical friend to lend a hand, we would never have gotten close.