FineFoods Kitchen Tips, Tricks and Info
FineFoods Weekend Warrior
Last week, on the heels of introducing you to Omnivore Books on Food, I promised a “top ten” list of proven cookbooks that are worth having in your kitchen. In addition to my “go to” cookbooks, I also surveyed a few fellow cooks and foodies for their staples. In no particular order,
“Joy of Cooking” by Irma Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker - excellent all around reference
Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”
“The Frog Commissary” was one of my favorites when I worked on charter sail boats. Every recipe is solid and it include additional helpful sidebar information. (It’s out of print but you can get a copy at AbeBooks.com)
“Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” by Deborah Madison made everyone’s lists
“Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking” by Marcella Hazan - Dubbed the equivalent of Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art” but for Italian food
“Classic Indian Cooking” by Julie Sahni
”
The Bakers Dozen Cookbook”
In the category of inspirational suggestions:
“Ad Hoc” and “Bouchon” by Thomas Keller - a scaled down version of his famous cooking that is more approachable for the everyday cook
I like to flip through Donna Hay’s “The Instant Cook” filled with beautiful photos as a platform for inspiration
Cookbooks by Mark Bitman; he has a very straightforward approach to cooking.
If you like Thai food, Kasma Loha-Unchit’s “It Rains Fishes” is a front runner (though difficult to find)
“The Soul of a New Cuisine” by Marcus Samuelsson - overview of West African cuisine that is a source of inspiration for a fellow cook and written in such a way as to make the cuisine accessible to all
FineFoods Kitchen Tip - Cookbooks
For those foodies out there that read cookbooks like paperback novels….have you been to Omnivore Books in San Francisco?
I realize everything is going digital and recipes can easily be found on the Internet, but there is something about having recipe books that you can leaf through for inspiration, take notes and dog ear pages. They become even more special over the years after they acquire food stains from experiments and dinner parties that recall when you tried something.
Owner Celia Sack is a doll and always helpful with suggestions. Even better, she brings in cookbook authors all the time for speaking events that are always insightful and often include a few samples. Their monthly newsletter summarizes all of the upcoming talks for the month that are scheduled on week nights and weekends alike.
Have you been looking for a cookbook from your childhood or that is out of print? Celia suggested to me to look on AbeBooks. It has been a treasure trove!
OK, you might ask, “What cookbooks should I look into?” We will provide some recommendations next week…..
FineFoods Market Ingredient - Plums
Plums are everywhere in the farmer’s markets now. While they make a great snack (especially Black Beauty and Friars), the sweet, juicy flesh of Italian Prunes or French Sugar Plums sings in desserts. The following Plum Crisp recipe was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle by Flo Braker. I love crisps because they are a quick and easy dessert, almost “tossed together”, that’s always a huge hit. If you’re feeling crazy, substitute blackberries or nectarines for a portion of the fruit.
Plum Crisp (serves 12)
Ingredients:
Topping
•1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons unsifted all-purpose flour
•1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
•1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
•1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
•6 ounces (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooledFruit
•2 tablespoons unsalted butter for greasing the baking pan
•8 cups (2 to 3 pounds) small Satsuma plums, pitted, quartered
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/2 cup sugar (if plums are tart use 3/4 cup to 1 cup)
•1 tablespoon flour
•2 tablespoons coarsely chopped crystallized ginger
•1/2 pint creme fraiche, optionalInstructions:
1.For the topping: In the large bowl of an electric mixer, preferably with the paddle attachment, combine at low speed the flour, sugars, spices, salt and walnuts. Add the butter and mix only until a crumbly consistency similar to a coarse streusel forms; set aside.
2.For the fruit: Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 F.
3.Butter a 9 x 14-inch oval au gratin dish or a 9 x 13-inch glass baking pan.
4.In a large bowl, mix the fruit with the vanilla, then the sugar, flour and crystallized ginger. Arrange the fruit mixture in the buttered pan. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before serving warm. If you wish, spoon some good ice cream or creme fraiche over each serving.
Flo Braker notes: You may substitute Italian prunes or French Sugar plums for the Satsuma plums. Alternatively, substitute a larger variety of plum, and cut the fruit into thick slices rather than quarters.
FineFoods Kitchen Tips - Pasting Garlic
A staple ingredient in any kitchen is garlic. It was definitely one of the few, shelf stable basics I had while racing across the Atlantic Ocean to help me create tasty meals. Cooking garlic mellows the bitter, acidic taste of garlic. But what if you’re using it in a “raw” application such as a salad dressing? That’s where “pasting” comes in.
Pasting garlic is a means of breaking down the fibers which does two things. It helps release/ remove the acid and it creates smaller particles that can be more evenly distributed throughout your dish (so no one gets a bite of raw garlic).
Here’s a few quick steps:
•Just as you would to mince garlic, smash each clove with the side of a chef knife, peel and roughly chop the garlic.
•At this point, sprinkle a really good size pinch of salt (preferably kosher or sea salt) over the pile of minced garlic. The salt will act as an abrasive like sand paper.
•Using the side of your knife, “paste” the minced garlic by dragging the knife across the cutting board at a very low angle. You are essentially holding the blade almost parallel to the cutting board and pressing down on the blade with your free hand.
•Periodically gather the garlic back into a pile and repeat until it is smooth, shiny and uniform.
Here’s a quick video to help clarify the knife motion (the key part of the process starts 1:30 into the recording).
Video - How to Make Garlic Paste
NOTE - Pasted garlic should not be used for high heat or sauting otherwise it will burn.
Anther Tip - If you are incorporating pasted garlic in a more substantial item - such as the stuffling for the Seafood Stuffed Poblano Peppers last week - you should mix it into the liquid component first to ensure even distribution.
FineFoods Market Report - Summer
The Farmers’ Markets are bursting with produce right now… here are a few highlights:
Tomato season is starting! It will be a few more weeks before the tomatoes are at their peak, but the heirlooms are starting to come in.
Basil - Yes, you can get basil year round in the grocery store, but nothing beats buying a big bunch of it at the Farmers’ Market and making some pesto or a Caprese salad. Tomatoes and basil love each other so much that if you have a garden, you should plant the basil next to the tomatoes. The basil is thought to improve the taste of the tomatoes.
Stonefruit like peaches, apricots and Santa Rosa plums are here. San Francisco neighborhood trees are also producing right now…. if you are lucky, you’ve got friends with a tree in their backyard. When buying peaches: the term cling indicates that the pit or stone will be hard to remove (the flesh clings to it). Freestone lets you know you will have an easier time getting the pit out.
Berries - Strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are mid-season and our regional olallieberries are almost finished. If you want to pick your own berries, there are a couple of places near Pescadero (Phipps Country Store and Farm and Swanton Berry Farm) that offer several types of berries and other garden goodies. Please check their websites or call to get the latest picking info.
Corn - Grilled, steamed or sautéed, sweet corn is a summer treat. To keep the corn fresh longer, don’t shuck the corn until you are ready to cook - the husks help keep the moisture in the corn.
FineFoods Kitchen Ingredient- Salt
Confused about all of the different types of salt? Here is a primer on the basic types:
Table Salt (Iodized Salt) - A fine grained salt that contains, yes, iodine. Iodine has traditionally been added to salt to provide us with this necessary element. Table salt will often contain anti-caking agents. Both of these additions can lend a bitter flavor to the salt. Iodized salt is useful for baking because the fine grain lets it distribute easily and provides a more exact measurement.
Sea Salt - With its cleaner flavor (often with a slight mineral tang from the salt water), this is one of our favorites for seasoning savory dishes. You can find both fine and coarse grain sea salt. A favorite brand to look for is Baleine (in a tall blue container).
Kosher Salt - The name of this salt comes from the fact that it is used to prepare meats in a kosher manner. It has a great clean flavor and the larger crystals make it easy to grab a pinch of salt. This is our other standard kitchen salt - specifically Diamond in a black and red box.
Finishing Salts - Typically more expensive, the flavor and texture of these salts vary slightly based on origin. Whether it is French Sea Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt, or Black Hawaiian Salt, these salts are sprinkled on cooked meats or perhaps a special salad just as the dish goes out to the table. The larger crystals provide a bit of crunch and a good hit of salty flavor to your special dishes. A great little snack or smuse-bouch is freshly sliced radish with a fruity finishin salt like Indonesian sea salt.
FineFoods Ingredient Tip- Brown Sugar
Brown sugar is white sugar that contains a small amount of molasses (3.5% molasses for light brown sugar to 6.5% molasses for dark brown sugar). This gives it it’s distinctive color and rich flavor. It is finer, softer and moister than white sugar and
more hydrophilic (tendency to attract and hold water). These characteristics can create moister, more tender baked goods that resist drying out. Included in the category of brown sugars is ubiquitous processed brown sugar as well as it’s “raw or natural” cousins turbinado and moscovado.
When measuring from a recipe, measurements refer to “packed” cups so, unlike regular sugar or flour, make sure you pat it down.
If you are out of brown sugar you can actually make it by combining white sugar and molasses (1 cup white sugar with 1 tsp-1 TBS molasses depending on whether you need light or doark).
To ensure freshness and ease of use, always store brown sugar in an air-tight container such as a ziploc bag. Everyone has experienced brown sugar in it’s rock hard form when it has inadvertently dried out. There are several ways to revive it as outlined below (in an excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Food & Wine section in case you missed it).
What is the fastest, easiest way to soften hardened brown sugar?
It depends how quickly you want to use it. If you don’t need to immediately use, place the sugar in an air-tight container, top with a damp paper towel and seal. In a few days, the moisture should have dispersed and softened the sugar. Remove and discard the now-dry piece of paper towel.
If you’re in a hurry you can soften it in a microwave. Place the amount of sugar needed in a microwave safe container and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 10 to 20 second intervals - checking after each and stirring if needed - until the sugar has softened. The total time will depend on the volume and dryness of the sugar. Be careful because the sugar can get too hot (it may start to melt); it might also harden as it cools.
FineFoods Market Report- Nuts
Most folks seem to have a stray bag of walnuts or almonds in their pantry for snacks and cooking. Nuts contain high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (the good, heart-healthy kinds of fats), but these oils are rather delicate and can go rancid if the nuts are not stored properly. So, here are a few tips for storing and cooking with nuts:
Storing
Once you have opened the bag, store nuts in a air tight container (transfer to a Ziploc bag and press the air out). Keep nuts fresh longer by stashing them in the refrigerator for up to 4 months or in the freezer for almost a year. The high oil content of nuts means that they can also absorb funky flavors, so make sure they are well wrapped. Tip: write the date of purchase on the package so that you can keep track of how long they have been in the fridge or freezer.
Toasting
Toasting nuts brings out their flavor and provides a bit more crunch.
For larger volumes (one cup or greater) - Toast them on a cookie sheet in a single layer in a 350 degree oven. Stir periodically. They are done when the exterior is a shade or two darker and you can smell the aroma in the kitchen (generally 5-10 minutes). Obviously, the smaller the nuts, the quicker they will toast. Pine nuts are notorious for burning so keep your eye on them!
For smaller volumes - place in a dry skillet over medium heat and stir frequently.
Remember, nuts won’t be crispy until they cool off. They also get a little darker as they cool, so don’t let them get too toasty in the oven.
For a great simple snack, toast some nuts, transfer to a mixing bowl and while they are still warm, toss them with a pat of butter or drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper. You can also lay a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme on top of the nuts before you put them in the oven.
Chopping and Grinding
Once the nuts are toasted and cooled, they can be chopped or ground up to be used in your recipes. You can also use the back of a clean sauté pan to crush them. If you need to grind nuts to a very fine consistency, use the pulse button on your food processor.
Add comment August 16th, 2011
