I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.
For Kurt’s birthday week, because I like to celebrate things like birthdays for more than just one day, I always whip up some of his favorite foods. He’ll find scones in the kitchen for breakfast, usually his favorite pasta meal the day before or the day after his birthday, of course a birthday cake, and at some point in the week he’ll be served a meaty meal with some cut of beef. It’s not that he never gets to eat beef any other time of year. But, since I don’t eat it, I don’t choose to cook it unless it’s a special occasion and I’m also cooking something else for myself. This year, I cheated. I didn’t actually cook anything with beef. Instead, I devised a bistro-style menu which would include steak frites for Kurt and moules frites for me. I knew Kurt would prefer his steak to be grilled, and that meant he’d cook it himself. I was left to concentrate on the frites which could be kept warm in the oven while my mussels quickly steamed. It all sounded so easy. I made the fried matchstick potatoes from Barefoot in Paris, and the ale-steamed mussels from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite.
Naturally, my plan fell apart. The potatoes required more time for frying than I anticipated because there were more batches than expected, and of course, frying made a huge mess. The potatoes were peeled and then cut on a benriner with the medium slicing blade attached. They were soaked in water, drained, and dried with towels. Matchstick-size fries are simpler to fry than thicker ones because there’s only one frying step. You don’t have to blanch in oil and then re-crisp since they’re so skinny. Just be sure to use a large pot with plenty of room, use a thermometer to check the oil temperature, and fry in small batches. Once the fries are removed from the oil, drain them on a rack set over a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then keep them warm in a 250-300 degree F oven. Since I was hustling to finish frying all those batches of frites, I didn’t pay much attention to the mussels. Thankfully, they don’t require much attention. I soaked the mussels in water with some flour to be sure they were clean. Then, they were drained and rinsed. In another large pot on the stove, shallots and garlic were sauteed in olive oil. Some good Belgian ale was added and brought to a simmer, and then the mussels were placed in the pan, and the lid was set on top. When the mussels opened, they were transferred to a serving platter, Dijon mustard and butter were added to the ale mixture in the pot, and all of that was whisked to combine. The resulting sauce was poured over the mussels before serving. It all worked out in the end; it just took a little longer than expected.
To serve the frites, they were piled on a platter, sprinkled with chopped parsley, and I added a drizzle of white truffle oil. After tasting them, the time it took to make them and the mess from frying didn’t matter anymore. They were pure, crispy goodness and with truffle oil were beyond words. I was thrilled with the mussels too, and I instantly thought this was the best version of mussels I’ve ever made at home. And, what about Kurt’s steak? He chose bison instead of beef, and grilled it to his own exacting standards. The bistro concept worked out great, but how could it not with a big, shared platter of frites?
This looked a sure-fire idea when I saw it in the January issue of Living magazine. There’s no way a mix of salty pretzels, creamy, fresh peanut butter, and rich, melted chocolate could go wrong. The one-page article was about fresh hard pretzels sold at farmers’ markets. I’d never seen pretzels at our local markets, but I definitely would have bought them if I had. I checked with my friend Kristi, from Austin Farm to Table, who visited several farmers’ markets in different parts of the country last year, and she had only seen pretzels at a market in New York. I’m curious if anyone else gets to buy locally made pretzels at farmers’ markets, or if it’s just the lucky people of New York? Well, regardless of where you get the pretzels, and I found some very good ones at the grocery store, these candies are still going to be outstanding. They’re simple to make and highly addictive.
So, I bought some big, crunchy pretzels and proceeded to smash them which just seemed wrong even though it was necessary here. The crushed pretzel bits were combined with creamy, natural peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, and a little room-temperature butter. All of that was stirred together, and then one inch balls were formed and set on a tray. The tray was placed in the freezer for 30 minutes to let the peanut butter become firm. Then, it was chocolate dipping time. I used milk chocolate, but you could use whatever you prefer. I like El Rey milk chocolate which has a slightly higher cacao percentage than others. After dipping each candy piece and before the chocolate completely set, I sprinkled sea salt on top.
I’ve been craving peanut butter lately anyway, but still, these candies were especially delicious. The little chunks of pretzel encased in mounds of peanut butter inside a chocolate coating were snacking bliss. I should probably conduct some experiments with almond, cashew, and pecan butter just to determine if any one of those is better than peanut butter. And, if I locate any locally made hard pretzels, I’ll try those too.
Do you remember that list of 50 best cookbooks of all time from The Observer last August? (The top 10 are listed here.) That list was the reason I had to add Nigella’s How to Eat to my collection. I had failed to collect any of her books for the longest time, and I have no idea why that was because I always enjoy her show when I catch it on the Food Network. I did buy Nigella Christmas last year when it was marked down some ridiculous amount right after the holidays, but I didn’t have any of her earlier classics. How to Eat is what I would call a conversational cookbook. It’s written exactly as Nigella speaks, and she conveys her ideas about eating, entertaining, and planning and executing all sorts of meals. The text moves from one topic to another, and sometimes the recipes are really just written descriptions of how she puts a dish together. Mostly though, the recipes appear throughout the text in the conventional way with ingredients listed followed by instructions. It was interesting to read what types of dishes she chose for weekend Sunday lunch parties as opposed dinner parties. The lunches were chicken, pasta, cold meats, or stews, and the dinners were always three courses with seasonally appropriate roasted meats, vegetables, and dessert that usually involved fruit. There were many potato dishes, and many dishes with peas, and most of the desserts were creamy, pillowy creations. Most of the menus seemed a little heavy. Maybe it was because I had read through the book over the course of a few days rather than dipping in and out at different times, but when I arrived at the low fat chapter, it was refreshing to see some lighter fare. Or, I was just in the mood for that. As soon as I read about the noodle salad with sea vegetables and simple teriyaki sauce for fish, I had a dinner plan.
The noodle salad included both dried arame and wakame seaweed. If you’re not sure if you’ll like these, I recommend starting with arame and letting that be your gateway seaweed. It’s very mild in flavor and looks like skinny black pasta once rehydrated. Wakame is only slightly less mild, but it does taste a little more of the sea. Rehydrated, it looks like thawed, frozen, chopped spinach. Both were rehydrated in cool water and then drained. A dressing was made for the noodles with soy sauce, sake, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, dashi, and sesame oil. I didn’t locate any dashi with no MSG, so I bought some bonito flakes and made a simple broth with a little boiling water. And, speaking of sake, I branched out in an attempt to learn more and tried an unfiltered option. The flavor was lightly floral compared to the last sake I used, and it seemed like a kinder, gentler sort of sake. Next, soba noodles were boiled, drained, rinsed, and drained again. The noodles were tossed with the dressing, the seaweeds, some sliced scallions, and I added some sliced orange bell pepper just because I had it on hand. The noodles can sit at room temperature, or they can be served cold. As they sat, I made the teriyaki sauce for the salmon from soy sauce, sake, mirin, and a pinch of sugar. The sauce was cooked in a pan just to dissolve the sugar while the fish was seared in a skillet. After searing the fish on both sides, the sauce was added and was used to baste the fish. The fish was removed so as not to overcook, and the sauce was left to thicken.
I served the noodles topped by the fish with the thickened teriyaki sauce poured over top. I knew this was going to be a good meal. For me, these flavors never disappoint. I made extra noodles, and the next day I enjoyed them cold from the refrigerator for lunch with chunks of tofu instead of salmon. Next time, I’ll probably add broccoli or greens. It’s great to learn this kind of adaptable dish that you can make a little differently each time you serve it.
Something about these cookies intrigued me. The photo I saw of them was fetching, the technique for making them was interesting, and I don’t think I’d ever seen cookies like these before. I came across them in Baking with Julia, and the recipe was contributed by Nick Malgieri. They’re like a Sicilian homemade Fig Newton except for the shape of course. A fig filling, and let me tell you that was one amazing fig filling, was wrapped in dough, rolled into a long cylinder, and cut into pieces which were sliced on the ends and pulled into an X. This was a little bit of a project compared to simpler drop cookies, but I thought the process was fun since it worked exactly as described with no problems. Regarding that filling, it was a grown-up kind of fig filling full of aromatic and delicious things mixed with dried figs like almonds, apricot preserves, golden raisins, candied orange peel, chocolate, dark rum, and cinnamon. I tasted the filling just after it was pureed and realized it could have been served in bowls for dessert all by itself. There’s only a small amount of chocolate, so it doesn’t taste like a chocolate Fig Newton, but the chocolate with all the other filling ingredients makes it a sophisticated mix of flavors. And, the shape is an X which is appropriate for Valentine’s Day even though I didn’t make any O’s, right?
The pastry and the filling were both made in a food processor, and cleaning between steps wasn’t even necessary. The pastry, or pasta frolla, was made by pulsing flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the food processor before adding chopped, cold butter. The butter was cut into the flour by pulsing, and then eggs were added and mixed to form a dough. The dough was kneaded briefly, formed into a log, and covered and set aside. The bowl of the food processor was set back in place, and the filling was made in it next. That was a pureed mix of chopped dried figs, toasted and chopped almonds, apricot preserves, golden raisins, candied orange peel, and yes I was thrilled to use my own candied orange peel again, chopped semisweet chocolate, dark rum, and cinnamon. There are great tips in the recipe such as reminding you that the dried fruit will not become softer or moister after baking. Therefore, if your dried fruits are too dry, they should be plumped in water and drained before using. Although I was tempted to stop there and just eat the filling with a spoon or maybe save a little to plop on top of yogurt for breakfast the next morning, I did continue with the recipe by forming the filling into a log and cutting that into 12 pieces. The pastry was also cut into 12 pieces. Working with one piece of pastry at a time, it was rolled against the countertop into a rope 15 inches long. Then, it was flattened into a three inch wide rectangle. Don’t even bother with a rolling pin. The dough is very easy to press and flatten into the rectangular shape. Just have some flour nearby to sprinkle on the counter to prevent sticking. Next, one piece of filling was rolled into a 15 inch long rope and set on the pastry. The pastry was rolled around the filling and pressed to seal. That filled rope shape was cut into three inch long pieces. Each piece was cut on each end so the ends could be pulled out to form an X shape. It’s really more complicated to write this than it was to do it. The cookies were baked, cooled, and then topped with confectioners’ sugar.
Even though these cookies involved a pastry dough and rolling and shaping, they were far easier than I expected. The dough behaved perfectly, and making the X shapes was quick and painless. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, five dozen in fact, and they keep well for about a week at room temperature. I stashed several of them in the freezer since even we couldn’t get through that many in one week. Whether it was the shape, the fun of making them, or that incredible filling, these have found a place on my favorites list.
Cheryl Tan is a New York-based writer with experience as a staff writer at the Wall Street Journal, In Style magazine and the Baltimore Sun. Her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, Every Day With Rachael Ray, Family Circle, Bloomberg Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, The (Portland) Oregonian, The (Topeka) Capital-Journal, The (Singapore) Straits Times and Elle.com. She is also a regular contributor to The Atlantic Food Channel. I've been following Cheryl on Twitter where she mentions her travels, her work, and where she organized the Let's Lunch group that always cooks up great things with a given theme. You can check on what Cheryl has cooked lately on her food blog as well. Last spring and also last December, Cheryl was an artist in residence at the Yaddo artists' colony, where she was working on her memoir. That memoir, A Tiger in the Kitchen, will be released tomorrow February 8, and it tells the story of how she discovered her Singaporean family by learning to cook with them. I knew I'd hear some good recommendations when I asked Cheryl, what are you reading?
Cheryl: I have a big stack of books I've been dipping in and out of recently--these are a few:
I'm in love with this book -- it's a wonderful narrative about a little town in Brittany, France, where the famous Belon oysters are cultivated. You learn about the people, the stories, the history of these oysters -- I adore travel narratives that share the tales behind what's on your plate. Clark won the 1964 National Book Award for this work -- a great achievement for a food narrative.
Trillin is one of my absolute favorite writers -- so insightful, so funny, always spot on. I'm enjoying reading about his eating journey in America and Europe with his wife, Alice, by his side. I always come away from reading his pieces and books --Travels With Alice is another favorite -- feeling like I've been there, sitting at that table elbow to elbow right next to them. The best travel writing does that for you.
Ken Wells is one of the most engaging writers I know and his appetite for life really comes across in this book -- it's a hugely entertaining account of his journey across America, following the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana, talking to beer makers, drinkers and experts. (While drinking some beer, of course.) I'm not a huge beer drinker but I'm enjoying learning about beer culture and lore in the U.S. -- and I now want to see the World's Largest Six-Pack in Lacrosse, Wisconsin!
This is just an enchanting book about a detective who enters the dreams of a murdered man in order to solve a crime. The writing is lovely and filled with charming little details -- I was hooked from the moment I saw the word "umbrellist" used to describe the protagonist on the first page. I recently met Jedediah Berry at Yaddo, an artists' colony in upstate New York, where we were both working on our books. He's an unusual, fascinating guy, which made me really want to read his book -- which, just like Jed, is turning out to be a real treat so far.
Having just celebrated Chinese new year, I have Asian cookies and sweets on my mind. It's always around this time of year that I pull out Pichet Ong'sThe Sweet Spot and leaf through it, looking for treats to make to celebrate the lunar new year. It's hands down the best book on Asian desserts out there -- there are some recipes for traditional favorites of mine (mango sticky rice, fried bananas) as well as modern desserts he's created. I love that he uses ingredients like Horlicks (the British malted milk drink) and kumquats that you don't often see in American desserts. My favorite recipe in there, though, is his lemongrass frozen yogurt recipe -- it's incredibly easy and makes for a refreshing end to any meal. My guests always love it when I pull that out of the freezer for dessert.
Thank you for participating, Cheryl. Check back to see who answers the question next time and what other books are recommended.
Apple fritters, apple dumplings, or a buttery apple-filled coffee cake would have been delicious, but I wanted to keep things a little less indulgent at least until Valentine’s Day. So, I found a great way to use the apples I’ve been getting from my CSA in Martha Stewart's Healthy Quick Cook. These are easy, little tarts to make with store-bought phyllo dough, and I even found whole wheat phyllo dough to make them that much more virtuous. The phyllo tart shells are baked empty to keep them very crisp, and the cooked apples with their syrup get spooned into the shells just before serving. The recipe was kept simple and low-calorie for a dessert by using minimal amounts of butter and sugar. I did complicate matters just slightly by adding two additional ingredients with rosemary and lemon zest.
Once the phyllo was thawed by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight, the sheets needed to be cut into squares. I doubled the recipe to make eight tart shells instead of four and used six sheets of phyllo which were stacked and cut into seven inch squares. I’m terrible at eye-balling a straight, even-sided square, so I used my trusty, kitchen ruler. Ordinarily, when using phyllo, each piece is brushed with melted butter before another layer is added, but here, the butter was only used on the second of three layers. A scant bit of sugar was sprinkled on each layer, and three squares were stacked for each tart. The stacked layers of dough were then gently fitted into ring molds that had been sprayed with oil. I used English muffins rings. Then, the tart shells were baked for about ten minutes until crisp and golden. Meanwhile, apples were chopped and combined with lemon juice and apple juice, and I left the peels on them. Butter was melted in a skillet, one tablespoon of sugar was added to caramelize, and a splash of cognac gave it another layer of flavor. Out of instinct, I added some sea salt to the caramel. Then, the apples and juices were added to the pan and were left to cook while the sauce reduced, and that’s when I added a sprig of rosemary. The cooked apples and sauce were spooned into the tart shells, and I garnished with chopped rosemary and some lemon zest.
If you don’t have ring molds or English muffin rings handy, you can also just make little stacks of crumpled phyllo sheets to be baked and then topped with the apples. On television years ago, I saw Michel Richard prepare a recipe involving just that with multiple layers of apples and phyllo pieces served with custard. But, if you have a way to form cup shapes with the layers of phyllo, they hold the filling perfectly. I loved how they shattered into flaky bits when cutting into them with a fork. And, the caramel sauce with lemon and subtle rosemary flavor made the apples special without being too rich.
Last weekend, when it was about 75 degrees outside which is just the way I like it at the end of January, we stood outside around the grill and watched as these potatoes crisped over the open flame. If I were making these potatoes again today I’d opt for a grill pan inside on top of the stove since right now, it’s 50 degrees cooler than it was last weekend. The potatoes would still be great grilled inside, and the sour cream drizzle, chile powder, and chopped cilantro have a lot to do with their flavor. Although, if you do have the opportunity to place these on a charcoal grill, the added smokiness they'll attain will make them even better. I received a review copy of a new, little book from Sur la Table called Everyday Grilling. It includes 50 recipes covering everything from appetizers to salads, sandwiches, vegetables, main dishes, and desserts, and there are some great grilling tips too. An enticing photo sits next to each recipe, and I was immediately drawn to the grilled mozzarella and anchovies in chard leaves, the grilled cauliflower steaks with tahini sauce, and the grilled eggplant cannelloni with ricotta. There’s a stir-grilled chicken, mushroom, and baby bok choy dish prepared in a grill wok, and plank grilling recipes for salmon, shrimp, and papaya. There’s even a grilled banana split for dessert. The grilled fingerlings with their toppings looked like they’d be great as a side dish or as party food. The fingerling shape makes them naturally pick up-able, and the toppings are like those of a simplified stuffed baked potato.
I used French fingerlings but any oblong, little potato would work. They were par-boiled on the stove first. The goal of the initial cooking is to get the potatoes just tender but not completely cooked through. Then, they were drained, sliced in half, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt, and placed on a hot grill for about five minutes per side. Last, they were topped with sour cream that had been thinned with water to make it pourable. The chile powder sprinkle could be whichever kind you prefer, and I used a mix of ancho and chipotle powders. Last, chopped cilantro was added, and last weekend I had plenty of cilantro in my herb garden but I haven’t checked its status since the arctic blast arrived.
Pre-cooking the potatoes made them fluffy on the inside, and grilling made the cut surface crisp while lending flavor from the grill smoke. These were easier to prepare than potato skins or twice-baked potatoes, and the toppings were simple, fresh, and well-matched. It’s a fun, useful book, and I’ll be turning to it for grilling ideas year-round as long it’s warmer than 25 degrees outside.
, and the ale-steamed mussels from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite
. 
with the medium slicing blade attached. They were soaked in water, drained, and dried with towels. Matchstick-size fries are simpler to fry than thicker ones because there’s only one frying step. You don’t have to blanch in oil and then re-crisp since they’re so skinny. Just be sure to use a large pot with plenty of room, use a thermometer to check the oil temperature, and fry in small batches. Once the fries are removed from the oil, drain them on a rack set over a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then keep them warm in a 250-300 degree F oven. Since I was hustling to finish frying all those batches of frites, I didn’t pay much attention to the mussels. Thankfully, they don’t require much attention. I soaked the mussels in water with some flour to be sure they were clean. Then, they were drained and rinsed. In another large pot on the stove, shallots and garlic were sauteed in olive oil. Some good Belgian ale was added and brought to a simmer, and then the mussels were placed in the pan, and the lid was set on top. When the mussels opened, they were transferred to a serving platter, Dijon mustard and butter were added to the ale mixture in the pot, and all of that was whisked to combine. The resulting sauce was poured over the mussels before serving. It all worked out in the end; it just took a little longer than expected.
to my collection. I had failed to collect any of her books for the longest time, and I have no idea why that was because I always enjoy her show when I catch it on the Food Network. I did buy 
last year when it was marked down some ridiculous amount right after the holidays, but I didn’t have any of her earlier classics. 
, and the recipe was contributed by Nick Malgieri. They’re like a Sicilian homemade Fig Newton except for the shape of course. A fig filling, and let me tell you that was one amazing fig filling, was wrapped in dough, rolled into a long cylinder, and cut into pieces which were sliced on the ends and pulled into an X. This was a little bit of a project compared to simpler drop cookies, but I thought the process was fun since it worked exactly as described with no problems. Regarding that filling, it was a grown-up kind of fig filling full of aromatic and delicious things mixed with dried figs like almonds, apricot preserves, golden raisins, candied orange peel, chocolate, dark rum, and cinnamon. I tasted the filling just after it was pureed and realized it could have been served in bowls for dessert all by itself. There’s only a small amount of chocolate, so it doesn’t taste like a chocolate Fig Newton, but the chocolate with all the other filling ingredients makes it a sophisticated mix of flavors. And, the shape is an X which is appropriate for Valentine’s Day even though I didn’t make any O’s, right?
, will be released tomorrow February 8, and it tells the story of how she discovered her Singaporean family by learning to cook with them. I knew I'd hear some good recommendations when I asked Cheryl, what are you reading?
by Eleanor Clark
by Calvin Trillin 
is another favorite -- feeling like I've been there, sitting at that table elbow to elbow right next to them. The best travel writing does that for you.
by Ken Wells 
by Jedediah Berry 
by Pichet Ong 
. These are easy, little tarts to make with store-bought phyllo dough, and I even found whole wheat phyllo dough to make them that much more virtuous. The phyllo tart shells are baked empty to keep them very crisp, and the cooked apples with their syrup get spooned into the shells just before serving. The recipe was kept simple and low-calorie for a dessert by using minimal amounts of butter and sugar. I did complicate matters just slightly by adding two additional ingredients with rosemary and lemon zest.
. It includes 50 recipes covering everything from appetizers to salads, sandwiches, vegetables, main dishes, and desserts, and there are some great grilling tips too. An enticing photo sits next to each recipe, and I was immediately drawn to the grilled mozzarella and anchovies in chard leaves, the grilled cauliflower steaks with tahini sauce, and the grilled eggplant cannelloni with ricotta. There’s a stir-grilled chicken, mushroom, and baby bok choy dish prepared in a grill wok, and plank grilling recipes for salmon, shrimp, and papaya. There’s even a grilled banana split for dessert. The grilled fingerlings with their toppings looked like they’d be great as a side dish or as party food. The fingerling shape makes them naturally pick up-able, and the toppings are like those of a simplified stuffed baked potato.
