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It Takes a Shopping Cart

waverly112010
November 20, 2010 By 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

pizza
November 16, 2010 By 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)

soup
November 12, 2010 By 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

bread
November 1, 2010 By 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.

Smelling pleasantly of yeasty bread, my kitchen is both toasty and full of potential toast! Now then, what can we mix next?

The Locavore’s Advantage

supper
October 27, 2010 By In the rabbit hole, three points kitchen

Some Charm City media love for renegade locavore dining. Just keep quiet if you recognize the porch.

Did Someone Say Toast?

toast
October 25, 2010 By In eat me, three points kitchen

Toast, as friends well know, is one of my most favorite comfort foods. An odd choice for a wannabe foodie, perhaps, but I am the kind of low-rent aficionado who can still appreciate the power of crispy bread smothered in peanut butter. Especially when dad makes it.

My father being absent and my store-bought bread being moldy (ewwww, I hate that) when I went to make my midnight snack last night, I decided to stir up a batch of no-knead bread before retiring. This bit of yeasty deliciousness has already been blogged about endlessly elsewhere, but in the face of fancier loaves I had half-forgotten about my once go-to breakfast standby. Consider this post a shout out reminder for anyone else who may have also unintentionally pushed the recipe to the back of the box. It’s endlessly forgiving of sloppy measurement and substitutions. I like to cut the water down to 1.5 cups and sub in a cup of rye flour and some caraway seeds when I’m feeling fancy.  And if you have a fear of bread baking and have actually never even tried it, you can put that one to rest right now. If you can stir, you are prepared to succeed here.

Now if you’ll pardon me, I think I hear some fresh toast popping up!