it's not what you think, but it's outrageous anyway. i'm not referring to your future loss of respect for me when i reveal that i love wendy's chicken products, brownies from a box, and kraft singles (each one of these un-foodie food loves is predicated on carefully-calibrated expectations that aren't really concerned with the pretentious gourmandism).
i'm referring instead to a matter of word choice - terribly poor word choice. i was reading a review of ko prime in the boston globe when i experienced a precipitous and large loss of respect for that newspaper: my brain registered having read the word "ginormous."* not only does this word look ridiculous, it's, well, not a word. if i were on the mit network and could check in the OED for you, i am 95% sure it would not be in the OED. seeing as a newspaper is a publicly accessible document that has wide readership, it's pretty much deplorable that (a) a writer would even think of using slang like that when any other word would suffice (say, "enormous") and that (b) the copy editor would not have caught that. and take note that the same sentence that contains the offending slang in it also contains the word "redolent." that is a real word, and one that could very well be describing food of some sort. "ginormous" is a word that a high schooler who doesn't know any better might use in passing conversation. "redolent" is not. i knew there was a reason why i don't read boston globe restaurant reviews. shame on you, boston globe.
*the offending word in its context:
Vegetable options include ginormous stalks of asparagus with hollandaise, and pea greens that are far too salty (a recurring issue here) but cooked perfectly and redolent of ginger; pea risotto, however, is overcooked.
24 septembre 2007
21 septembre 2007
a story about bacon
one day, a pound of bacon walked into the kitchen. it accidentally walked into a skillet, but jumped out after getting a little toasty. some onions took its place with a little thyme, and the whole group took a dive into pasta, finding eggs and cheese at the bottom. and the bacon liked the eggs and cheese so much that it jumped up and down so everyone could get eggs and cheese with their pasta.
it seems like many of my food stories are about bacon or some other pork product, huh? this will remain the status quo unless my roommates talk even more about anatomy classes and the resemblance of...yeah. no worries. i'm still a meatitarian, albeit one that very much likes vegetables.
this is the second time we tried a carbonara - the first time ending up not really that creamily eggy. this time, for some unknown reason, was pretty darn good - so good that i am even writing up the recipe! the basic procedure is to add the peas to the pasta when it's almost done, and i think that cooled the whole mixture enough to not curdle the eggs when mixed with it; then the hot onion mixture cooks it completely. that's my guess, at the very least.
the quality of the ingredients is key; we also tried to add enough veg to make it a little more balanced. this is not a carbonara with a whole lot of sauce - it's just sauce-y enough. we bought our bacon at whole foods.
carbonara with asparagus and peas
1 lb good quality thick-cut bacon
2 lbs onions (2-3 large onions), diced coarsely
a few sprigs thyme
1/2c white wine
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1" long pieces
1 bag frozen peas (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 pound pasta (shells, pipette, orecchiette, etc)
1c grated parmesan or other hard cheese (asiago, romano)
4 eggs
salt and pepper
1. fry the bacon on medium heat in a large (12") skillet. when it is done (chewy but not crispy), drain on a plate lined with paper towels. pour all of the rendered fat except for 1 1/2T into a bowl; reserve the fat in the bowl for future use. cut the cooked bacon into small 1/2" long pieces.
2. add the onions to the pan and saute until pale. add the thyme and continue cooking. when onions start to stick to the pan a little, add the white wine and let it boil off, stirring the onions occasionally.
3. whisk together the cheese and eggs in the serving bowl.
4. fill a large stockpot with water and heat for the pasta. add the asparagus and bacon pieces to the onion mixture and cook on medium-low. when the water boils, cook the pasta. when the pasta is about two minutes from being done, add the peas. when the pasta is done, drain, reserving about a half-cup of the liquid. turn the heat on the onion mixture to medium-high to keep it piping hot.
5. pour the drained pasta and 1/4c reserved pasta water into the egg mixture and stir thoroughly. add the onion and asparagus mixture and stir. if the mixture is too thick, add the remaining pasta water. season with salt and pepper.
[serves 6-8]
it seems like many of my food stories are about bacon or some other pork product, huh? this will remain the status quo unless my roommates talk even more about anatomy classes and the resemblance of...yeah. no worries. i'm still a meatitarian, albeit one that very much likes vegetables.
this is the second time we tried a carbonara - the first time ending up not really that creamily eggy. this time, for some unknown reason, was pretty darn good - so good that i am even writing up the recipe! the basic procedure is to add the peas to the pasta when it's almost done, and i think that cooled the whole mixture enough to not curdle the eggs when mixed with it; then the hot onion mixture cooks it completely. that's my guess, at the very least.
the quality of the ingredients is key; we also tried to add enough veg to make it a little more balanced. this is not a carbonara with a whole lot of sauce - it's just sauce-y enough. we bought our bacon at whole foods.
carbonara with asparagus and peas
1 lb good quality thick-cut bacon
2 lbs onions (2-3 large onions), diced coarsely
a few sprigs thyme
1/2c white wine
1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1" long pieces
1 bag frozen peas (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 pound pasta (shells, pipette, orecchiette, etc)
1c grated parmesan or other hard cheese (asiago, romano)
4 eggs
salt and pepper
1. fry the bacon on medium heat in a large (12") skillet. when it is done (chewy but not crispy), drain on a plate lined with paper towels. pour all of the rendered fat except for 1 1/2T into a bowl; reserve the fat in the bowl for future use. cut the cooked bacon into small 1/2" long pieces.
2. add the onions to the pan and saute until pale. add the thyme and continue cooking. when onions start to stick to the pan a little, add the white wine and let it boil off, stirring the onions occasionally.
3. whisk together the cheese and eggs in the serving bowl.
4. fill a large stockpot with water and heat for the pasta. add the asparagus and bacon pieces to the onion mixture and cook on medium-low. when the water boils, cook the pasta. when the pasta is about two minutes from being done, add the peas. when the pasta is done, drain, reserving about a half-cup of the liquid. turn the heat on the onion mixture to medium-high to keep it piping hot.
5. pour the drained pasta and 1/4c reserved pasta water into the egg mixture and stir thoroughly. add the onion and asparagus mixture and stir. if the mixture is too thick, add the remaining pasta water. season with salt and pepper.
[serves 6-8]
08 septembre 2007
it's kinetic!
i was at tosci's for brunch today, and we got treated to a few great samples-for-eater-feedback. one was a "kinetic" tea ball (described as such by not one, but two people) - basically, some sort of longish tea leaf that's bound around a core of chrysanthemum flower. so when you drop the ball into hot water, it slowly unfolds - the guy at the counter described it as turning into a plant to an animal to a plant. pretty cool looking, and it was great chrysanthemum tea. the tea ball stays bound together, so it ends up looking like an exotic water lily like flower - this is the tea version of botticelli's venus. in all reality, it looks most like a medicine ball from spirited away - miyazaki could animate that thing and it wouldn't be out of place at all.
this other sample-for-feedback was even better, such that it deserves its own paragraph: a BAT. specifically, a bacon-arugula-tomato sandwich. tosci's has been using a ciabatta bread for their sandwiches that's really delectable - slightly glossy crust that's pretty thin, masking a slightly chewy interior that's like foccacia with more air pockets. it's easy to bite into, but doesn't totally compact when you eat it. ok, moving on. normally i don't really like arugula because it's so ubiquitous, but it was really good in this sandwich, providing a bit of flavor and a bit of crunch to offset the chewy bacon and the soft tomato. one side of the sandwich is spread with homemade mayonnaise that has lemon zest in it, and the other side is spread with a scallion oil - olive oil with bits of scallion in it. it's somewhere between a pesto and olive oil with some scallion mixed in it. it's also delicious, giving a softer, more muted oniony flavor to the sandwich. all in all, this sandwich is a winner - the best blt i've ever had, for sure. i found it a tad too salty, but i think a bit more lemon zest would do the trick - the lemon zest is key, because it balances the whole sandwich. god, that was good.
this other sample-for-feedback was even better, such that it deserves its own paragraph: a BAT. specifically, a bacon-arugula-tomato sandwich. tosci's has been using a ciabatta bread for their sandwiches that's really delectable - slightly glossy crust that's pretty thin, masking a slightly chewy interior that's like foccacia with more air pockets. it's easy to bite into, but doesn't totally compact when you eat it. ok, moving on. normally i don't really like arugula because it's so ubiquitous, but it was really good in this sandwich, providing a bit of flavor and a bit of crunch to offset the chewy bacon and the soft tomato. one side of the sandwich is spread with homemade mayonnaise that has lemon zest in it, and the other side is spread with a scallion oil - olive oil with bits of scallion in it. it's somewhere between a pesto and olive oil with some scallion mixed in it. it's also delicious, giving a softer, more muted oniony flavor to the sandwich. all in all, this sandwich is a winner - the best blt i've ever had, for sure. i found it a tad too salty, but i think a bit more lemon zest would do the trick - the lemon zest is key, because it balances the whole sandwich. god, that was good.
04 septembre 2007
poundcake II
i vaguely remember having promised to update you all on the longevity of the pound cake. i also vaguely remember having forgotten - ok, i very distinctly remember having forgotten to do so. so with respect to elvis' poundcake, i'd like to report that the texture improved over the next several hours or so. its crusty exterior stayed crusty, but as egg-ful things are wont to do, it tasted much less eggy after the cake cooled and set completely. i think it had about a week's shelf life?
and onto bigger, better things, or at least, more chocolatey things: chocolate pound cake. i can't remember why i made a chocolate pound cake; i guess just because. this is a recipe i'd made before, generally in loaf pans to make a pound cake for chocolate raspberry trifle. i also wanted to test the efficacy of beating the butter and sugar to provide the cake's structure, and i have to confess and bite my tongue - it really helps. in fact, it's pretty amazing how much it helps. the chocolate pound cake that i made relies heavily on the butter and sugar for its tight crumb, and cake flour for its tenderness, and brown sugar for spicy caramel overtones. i would recommend billington's dark brown sugar for the best spicy caramel overtones - i'm pretty sure that 95% of said overtones come from this particular brown sugar, which i've used before to great effect in brown sugar pudding. this particular cake is fantastic plain, but if you need to fancy it up, just drip a chocolate glaze over it. don't bother with powdered sugar, which i hate with a passion on cakes and tarts because you just end up inhaling it and choking, just as you're about to take a bite. it's annoying at your dinner table when you're with good friends, and embarrassing in social situations as you cough and hack.
this is one of the few cakes that i would recommend using good ingredients for: get the cake flour, the valrhona cocoa (sold in bulk for not too much more than regular cocoa at whole foods), the good brown sugar, etc. don't skimp on beating the sugar and butter or your pound cake won't have as soft and beautiful a texture as mine did.
chocolate pound cake
2 1/4c cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4c unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (i used valrhona from whole foods)
1/2t salt
1/4t baking soda
1c sour cream (8 1/2 oz)
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2c dark brown sugar, packed
6 eggs
2T butter, melted
2T cocoa powder
1. Do not preheat oven. Mix together the melted butter and 2T cocoa powder, then brush on a 12-cup bundt pan, making sure the entire surface is covered well. You can also use a 10-cup bundt pan but the bottom of the cake will not be flat.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together baking soda and sour cream.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until homogenous. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl's sides with a rubber spatula each time.
4. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately in batches, beating until just combined.
5. Pour batter into the bundt pan, tap it a few times to get rid of the air bubbles, and put in the middle of cold oven. Set oven to 350F and bake cake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Pound cake keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature 1 week. Alternatively, pound cake may be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil, 3 months.
[makes 16-20 servings]
and onto bigger, better things, or at least, more chocolatey things: chocolate pound cake. i can't remember why i made a chocolate pound cake; i guess just because. this is a recipe i'd made before, generally in loaf pans to make a pound cake for chocolate raspberry trifle. i also wanted to test the efficacy of beating the butter and sugar to provide the cake's structure, and i have to confess and bite my tongue - it really helps. in fact, it's pretty amazing how much it helps. the chocolate pound cake that i made relies heavily on the butter and sugar for its tight crumb, and cake flour for its tenderness, and brown sugar for spicy caramel overtones. i would recommend billington's dark brown sugar for the best spicy caramel overtones - i'm pretty sure that 95% of said overtones come from this particular brown sugar, which i've used before to great effect in brown sugar pudding. this particular cake is fantastic plain, but if you need to fancy it up, just drip a chocolate glaze over it. don't bother with powdered sugar, which i hate with a passion on cakes and tarts because you just end up inhaling it and choking, just as you're about to take a bite. it's annoying at your dinner table when you're with good friends, and embarrassing in social situations as you cough and hack.
this is one of the few cakes that i would recommend using good ingredients for: get the cake flour, the valrhona cocoa (sold in bulk for not too much more than regular cocoa at whole foods), the good brown sugar, etc. don't skimp on beating the sugar and butter or your pound cake won't have as soft and beautiful a texture as mine did.
chocolate pound cake
2 1/4c cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4c unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (i used valrhona from whole foods)
1/2t salt
1/4t baking soda
1c sour cream (8 1/2 oz)
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2c sugar
1 1/2c dark brown sugar, packed
6 eggs
2T butter, melted
2T cocoa powder
1. Do not preheat oven. Mix together the melted butter and 2T cocoa powder, then brush on a 12-cup bundt pan, making sure the entire surface is covered well. You can also use a 10-cup bundt pan but the bottom of the cake will not be flat.
2. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together baking soda and sour cream.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until homogenous. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl's sides with a rubber spatula each time.
4. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately in batches, beating until just combined.
5. Pour batter into the bundt pan, tap it a few times to get rid of the air bubbles, and put in the middle of cold oven. Set oven to 350F and bake cake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Pound cake keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature 1 week. Alternatively, pound cake may be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap and foil, 3 months.
[makes 16-20 servings]
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