Category Archives: Recipes

R.I.P., sourdough starter

Leave a reply

live sourdough starter 2006

I forgot to mention that my sourdough starter died.  Sourdough starter is a good thing to have on hand if you like to make homemade breads.  My starter was cultivated using only wild yeast, meaning I did not add any commercial yeast at the beginning.  I’ll be making more soon and will chronicle the process on the blog, as well as care and feeding.  In memory of my fine starter, I have a photo to the right that shows how active it was when it was alive.  One of the wonderful things you can make using a starter is English muffins; all you need is a good sourdough bread recipe.  After the final rise of the whole dough just cut it into small pieces, form the muffins and set them on sheet pans that have been sprinkled with coarse cornmeal.  Cover with cloth and let them rise a bit.  You then “fry” them (both sides) in cast iron pans that have been sprinkled liberally with coarse corn meal.  Bring the pans up to decent heat and then keep them on a very low flame.  You want to cook the muffins through as they brown and not wind up with burned muffins that are raw inside.  If you want perfect circles, form them initially using metal rings, but I think free-form muffins are better.  These muffins will taste so much better than store-bought, and you will blow your family and friends away, since the recipe for English muffins is a mystery to most people.  Split with a fork and toast, then spread liberally with good butter and perhaps a little peach jam.

english muffins in pans

I like to have cornmeal around

Leave a reply

cornbread sqares on a plate

Try to keep corn meal on hand.  If you have corn meal and a few other staples you’ll be able to make corn bread, which means you can fix up a quick meal.  For example, corn bread with an over-easy egg and sliced ripe tomato.  If you have nothing but canned tuna and mayo, just serve the corn bread with tuna salad.  Use the recipe on the side of the container of corn meal you buy, but remember that recipes for corn muffins are sugar-heavy, so use them only if you want sweet corn bread.  Albers is what I use, and there is a solid Southern-style cornbread recipe on the bag.  Whichever recipe you use, get yourself a seasoned cast iron skillet to bake the bread in.  Lodge Logic (the “Logic” line = preseasoned) is very good, and you’ll be buying one of the last decent American-made products.  After you grease the pan put it in the oven and let it get hot.  Then pour the batter in quickly and bake.  This maneuver makes a difference, trust me.

Polenta ala Ina Garten

Leave a reply
Ina Garten's rosemary polenta

Ina Garten’s rosemary polenta

I made a great polenta dish today from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten.  I love all of Ina Garten’s cookbooks because the recipes really work.  This is an older book – from 2002 – but I go back to it again and again.  The rosemary polenta on page 130 is killer, even if you substitute whole milk for the half and half and use commercially-prepared chicken stock.  I have some leftovers which I plan on serving under chicken in pan gravy tomorrow.  Of all the cooked-formed-chilled-cut-fried polenta dishes in my world, this is by far the best; that little bit of rosemary she calls for really makes the dish.  Oh, did I mention that I served the polenta tonight with NY strip steaks?  I nabbed a whole USDA Choice striploin the other day for $5.99/lb.  This is by far the best way to go if you need to feed a group or if you don’t mind freezing what you don’t use right away.  A good striploin does not need much trimming and, indeed, you’ll want to leave that layer of fat on there to lubricate the meat as it cooks.  Simply cut steaks evenly with a sharp knife.  Once you’ve done this a time or two you’ll be a pro – just don’t fear those larger cuts of meat since they often represent a terrific bargain.  When my mother goes into my fridge to see what’s going on in there and she catches a glimpse of a massive vacuum packed slab of beef, she knows she’ll be firing up the Weber for steaks that weekend.

Salmon in parchment

Leave a reply
Salmon fillets in parchment packs ready for the oven

Salmon fillets in parchment packs ready for the oven

Salmon fishing on the West Coast will be drastically reduced soon, so I made some tonight as sort of a “last hurrah,” since I won’t be buying it much if it goes significantly up in price.  As a nod to lighter fare I cut a side into smaller fillets and then baked them en papillote — in parchment paper.  You can, too.  Cut folded parchment sheets into hearts which, when opened, exceed the area of the salmon – which should be placed flat on one side of the heart – by about two inches.  Be sure to salt and pepper the fish first, and then add to the top some fresh herbs or a slice of orange.  Whatever you like.  Then fold the salmon-less side of your parchment heart over the top of the salmon and start sealing the packet, tucking the two layers of parchment under, beginning at the top.  When you reach the point at the bottom of the heart you need to do a “tuck under” with your last “fold ‘n crimp.”  Bake them on a sheet pan at a preheated 350 F. for no more than 15 minutes or so for 5-ounce fillets.  It depends on your oven, but if you dry them out you’ll be really sorry.  Make an x-shaped cut in the parchment with a sharp paring knife without getting a steam burn and serve in the paper with sides.

tomato feta salad

The really fabulous thing about this meal was my famous tomato-feta salad – always a hit here.  This is so easy to make, but relies on one expensive ingredient:  hazelnut, almond or walnut oil.  In my opinion you should have one of these on hand at all times to add a little special zip now and again.  A few rich ingredients like this allow you to pull off some classy last-minute meals.  Costco sometimes sells these oils in trio packs for about $17, and you can keep them for about two years.  I don’t care what anyone says, when I store mine in the back of the fridge I have seen no rancidity for 24 months; my fridge is at a steady 37 F.  What you need to have on hand is:  good tomatoes cut into eights.  Feta cheese – the real thing – in small cubes.  Use about 1/3 of the volume of your tomatoes.  Orange juice.  Lemon juice.  Onion powder.  Sliced red onion – as much as you like, but not too much.  Whole Calamata olives, which you can buy without pits in a jar, if you don’t want to deal with pits.  Use the same volume of olives as you do cheese.  If you buy a huge jar at Costco (where else?) it’ll keep for ages.  One of the oils I mention above.  Salt and pepper.  Make a vinaigrette out of the oil and orange juice by simply whisking them together, using proportions you like but heavier on the oil, something like 1/2 cup oil for every 1/4 cup OJ.  Add a splash of lemon juice and a shake of onion powder.  Whisk again.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk.  Correct seasoning and oil/acid ratio.  Whisk – whisk – whisk.  Set aside.  Mix the rest of the stuff gently in a large bowl.  Add as much dressing as you like, reserving the rest for future use.  Toss gently and allow to sit at room temperature for a half hour before serving, but pop in the fridge if it’ll be longer.  You will not believe how good this salad tastes.

I also roasted some French string beans (yes, this is a no-no and you should only roast big, bad string beans, but I was dealing with leftovers and had to do something different).

roasted green beans

Iced tea on the cheap

Leave a reply

Heat wave.  You might not think that 80-something Fahrenheit is all that bad, but to wimps like us in the Berkeley area, it’s pretty hard to take.  We have no insulation in our houses, no AC and not enough room for a pool in the backyard – not that we would have one if we could, since residential pools are a waste of resources, but it’s nice to fantasize about a dip.  What is easily attainable, though, is a never-ending container of iced tea on the kitchen counter.  Go get one of those gallon-size so-called “sun tea” makers.  They are of glass and often have some kind of horrible motif painted on them, like beach balls.  There’s a spout so you can serve yourself all day long by simply having the thing on the edge of your counter.  Spend about $5.  Next, get a big box of 1 ounce tea bags at a restaurant food supplier like Smart and Final, which sells a box of 24 for about $4, last I checked.  Throw a tea bag in the jug and fill it up with cold tap water.  Start drinking it in about two hours.  I don’t add sugar but I often toss in a cut-up lemon.  If you are so damned spoiled that you can’t drink iced tea at room temperature, then add ice, but then you might want to make your brew with two tea bags.