Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream

Parry and I experimented with several homemade ice cream recipes with the ice cream maker he got for his birthday the summer of 2011. Among them were a curry ice cream, basil/lemon balm sorbet and this one for hazelnut ice cream. The following recipe is so simple but so amazingly creamy and intense in flavor as to seem almost to be a Gelato.

Ingredients:

370 grams Nutella
410 grams evaporated milk
1/4 cup hazelnut syrup
hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

Pre-freeze the bowl of your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Combine the Nutella and evaporated milk in a saucepan. Heat on medium-low until Nutella is melted and thouroughly blended into the milk.
Remove from the heat and add in the hazelnut syrup. Whisk until completely incorporated.
Pour into a bowl and refrigerate several hours or overnight until well chilled.
Process in ice cream machine. When ice cream is just about done, add in the toasted, chopped hazelnuts.
Freeze in freezer.

Swiss Hazelnut Torte with Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting

When we were in Switzerland in 1992, the mother of our dear friend Thomas Caratsch, made this torte for us. Parry loved it so much that she gave us the recipe. Parry and Walt went on to win the award of "Best European torte" in a cake contest in New Jersey with this recipe.

The original traditional recipe called for a mocha frosting but we have updated it to add to the hazelnut theme.

Here then is the original recipe for the Hazelnut Torte with an updated chocolate hazelnut frosting.

Ingredients:

6 Egg yolks
200-250 grams sugar
1/2 package vanilla sugar
150 grams hazelnuts, ground (3/4 pound whole nuts)
30 grams flour
30 grams potato flour or corn starch
6 Egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour 9" spring form pan.
Beat egg yolks and sugar with electric mixer on medium til light and thickened (about 5 minutes).
Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add egg yolk mixture to dry ingredients and beat on medium til blended.
In a separate medium bowl (preferably a copper bowl) beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
Gently fold egg whites into rest of mixture until well blended.
Pour batter into spring form pan and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool on rack. When completely cooled remove from spring form pan.
Frost with a chocolate butter cream frosting (see note below).
Garnish with coarsely chopped hazelnuts.

For Frosting:

Make a chocolate butter cream frosting adding Nutella until desired consistency and flavor is obtained.

Nutella Continued: Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

If you love hazelnuts, these cookies can not be trumped. They are soft and chewy with crunchy, toasted hazelnuts. They are unlike any other cookies I have ever had. Adding the extra Hazelnut syrup intensifies the flavor and keeps the cookies soft for weeks.
If I have any cookies left over I use some Trader Joe's Vanilla ice cream and make fabulous ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 11 oz jar of Nutella
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk (or substitute with hazelnut syrup for a more intense flavor)
1/4 cup hazelnut syrup (such as Torrani's)
1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts finely ground in food processor
sifted powder sugar

Directions:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside

Combine Nutella and shortening in a large mixing bowl, beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until combined. Add sugar; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat just until combined.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk and 1/4 cup syrup to creamed mixture, beating on medium speed just until combined. Use a spoon to stir in the 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts. cover and chill for several hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Shape the dough into 1 or 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll the balls in finely ground hazelnuts, then roll in powdered sugar. Place the balls 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet. (They will spread a crinkle as they bake.) Bake for 8-10 minutes or until surface is cracked and cookies are set. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes about 6 dozen.

Adventures in NUTELLA by Paula with contributions from the fam

Though relatively new to the American market, Nutella has been around for a long time. It originated in Italy and is made from chocolate and hazelnuts, which is the European nut of choice. No problem of peanut allergies there. Hazelnuts are in everything from chocolate bars to torts and ice cream. I think the hazelnut is at it’s best when coupled with chocolate.

I was introduced to Nutella when I lived in Paris in the Pre-Cambrian era, shortly after Nutella was conceived. I fell in love with it and was thrilled when a few years later I found it available in specialty stores in the US. Today it is available everywhere. I find the best deal at GFS where you can get 2 of the larger jars for $9.99.

I introduced Nutella to my children and they never looked at another PB and J again (except for Parry who thought Peanut butter was a cheaper alternative to protein while in college and soon discovered he was actually allergic to peanuts!). Corey had a Nutella sandwich (Nutella on Country White bread), without a single alternative, every single day of his entire public school experience! Our family has gone through A LOT of Nutella over the years.

Several years ago while making one of his famous brunches, Walt decided to try making Nutella Stuffed French Toast. It was an instant hit and has been a staple of our Sunday morning brunches ever since. It was the first thing the boys learned to master in cooking and which they have used to impress their friends when cooking for them. As Corey once said: “ I think it is safe to say that Nutella Stuffed French Toast, with or without the creme brulee topping (an over-the-top addition Walt came up with), is the easiest, and most impressive breakfast food, ever.”

Since then, we have gone on to discover or create several recipes that revolve around the use of Nutella. So, let me introduce you to the joys of Nutella. ( More recipes will follow in additional entries.)


NUTELLA STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
For 2 pieces

Ingredients:
2/3 to 1 cup Nutella, or more to taste
4 slices of firm, dense white sandwich bread, such as Arnolds Buttermilk or Country White
2-3 TBS Butter
2 Large Eggs
1-2 TBS Milk
Maple syrup

Lay the four slices of bread out on a clean work surface. With a small spatula spread an equal amount of Nutella on each of the 4 slices; approx 1/3 cup per each pair of slices. (Corey probably has more like 1/2 cup).

Put two slices together to make two sets of stuffed “sandwiches”. Set aside.

In a large plate with sides, such as a quiche dish, beat the eggs and milk together until well blended. Dip the Nutella sandwiches into the egg mixture until each side is completely covered in mixture.

In a 10-12" Skillet melt 2-3 Tbs butter over medium high heat. Place each Nutella Stuffed Sandwich into the pan and fry until nicely browned then flip and brown the other side. Slice and serve with maple syrup.

Variations:
Use Cinnamon Swirl bread instead of white bread (we like the Cinnamon Crunch Bread from Great Harvest)
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top after cooking
Just before serving sprinkle with sugar and use a blow torch or heat gun to caramelize the sugar like brulee.


To be continued.

.

CHICAGO Part 3

FREDHOTS
by Walt and Paula


It’s not really a stretch to have a hot dog at ten in the morning as we have learned from previous encounters in Chicago. We rarely need to eat breakfast following a night in Chicago. And besides, 10:30 in Chicago, is really 11:30 in Ann Arbor, so it’s almost lunch time for us.

With that, we set out for Fredhot’s; no disrespect to Fred, but it’s the Northern suburbs version of Hot Dougs. What’s missing from Fredhots is the perpetual line you experience at Hot Dougs.

In seeing the blank stare of the first timer on our faces, Al, behind the counter directed our attention to the specials of the day. What we chose was the Antelope sausage with a pommegranite mustard, lightly sauteed onions and sprinkled with the Mexican feta-like cheese, on a beautiful poppy seed bun. It was the best looking bun we’ve seen. The meat was slightly gamey tasting but was complimented by the slightly sweet sauce. The bun was full and sturdy, yet soft.

The Chicago Dog was superb, possibly the best we have had yet in Chicago. The tomato was perfectly ripe, the pepper was larger than usual, the hot dog had the perfect snap. We had been thinking it would be hard for a Chicago style dog to stand out from all the rest, given that all are made with Vienna beef dogs. But Fred’s clearly makes the difference by using the best of the additional ingredients.

Walt had asked Al if he were the owner. He said no, directing us to Fred who was in the dining area bussing a table in a chef’s coat. Fred Markoff embodies two current trends in food. Fred appears to be a pioneer in both. First is the alternate career of the baby boomer, leaving corporate IT, for a passion in food. And secondly, after earning his culinary chops as a chef and manager of other well known establishments, Fred turned a simple cuisine into a more in depth concept, in this case the Chicago canvas of hot dogs, french fries and Italian Beef sandwiches.

The menu board at Fredhots lists Belgian style French fries. This is a claim not to be taken lightly. Belgian fries are twice cooked. The first time at a lower temperature to cook the potato through, again, cut size is important. The second time, in hotter oil to crisp the outside for serving. Fred apologized to us for todays fries explaining that the water content in the potatoes during peak summer french fry season can vary significantly. For Belgian fries, they lacked a little crisp. To us, they were still very good. Fred’s culinary chops show in the sauces he serves with the fries. We were delighted with our two choices of curried mayo and a Thai mayo. Fred researched the most popular Belgian sauces to determine which he could recreate in his limited space. .

While it would be easy to compare Hot Dougs to Fredhots, because of their seemingly similar offerings, both are great places on their own, and worth seeking out.

Fredhots also serves an Italian Beef Sandwich. In taking an idea from mothers in New Orleans, Fred uses the scraps from the Italian Sliced Beef to produce a “Debris” (pronounced Day/Bree in Naw’lans) Po-Boy Sandwich. He gave us a sample of the meat. It was delicious, but we just didn’t have room to eat one more thing, so we promised to return. It’s always a treat at these smaller establishments to have the chef/owner hand you his food to enjoy. Close second to that, and in some ways on a non-food level, even better, is having the owner mingling in the seating area as Fred does, or taking your order, as does Doug at Hot Dougs.

Fred talked with us between helping in the tiny grill area, bussing tables, and waiting on customers. If he were a little less of a food lover and a little more of a business operations manager, given time, he would be like Portillos. In two years, when his lease is up at his current location, expect an expanded Fredhots and additional locations. He appreciated our appreciation of his product and loved talking about his experience, concept and product.

Fredhots is located at 1707 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, Il. Phone: 847-657-9200 or on the web at www.fredhots.com.

We said our goodbys to Fred and hurried onto our next location. We were in a bit of a hurry since Cemitas Puebla is known to close around 3:00 in the afternoon, just because.

In an era when we can text and call each other via cell phone and reach each other any time, any place, the Garff family takes it up a notch...we text and call each other across the country while we are simultaneously having an other-worldly food/dining experience. For example, on August 1, 2010 at exactly 11:40 a.m. PST Parry called us. We were in Chicago, it was 1:40 CST. We were eating lunch at Cemitas Puebla (more on that in Part 4) while he was eating at Bubba in San Angelina, California.

CHICAGO Part 2

PORTILLOS
by
Walt and Paula

Next on our agenda, since we had a whole pizza to try from Burt’s Place ( see Chicago, Part 1) and knew we wouldn’t want much else to eat, but would want to sit and dine on something warmer, we went to Portillo’s Hot Dogs. We had heard Portillo’s was in a strip mall location, but in Chicagoland that’s like saying a grocery store is in a mall, because there are so many Portillo’s in malls. From it’s humble roots as a shack called The Dog House, it has grown into the largest independent chain in the mid-west. If this location is any indication, it is easy to see why. Portillo’s menu offers something for everyone in the family. The inside was a very inviting, roomy, family style environment. It was decorated in fun old time memorabilia with even a full size jeep jitney on a platform raised above the dining tables. It was clean and well lit. We read that Dick Portillo (the owner of this mega chain) began the concept idea in the mid-seventies and they have flourished ever since.

We had a decent Chicago Dog. The Italian beef Sandwich, a famous Chicago treat, was a delightful surprise. It had a nice Italian roll, that you can’t seem to get outside of major metropolitan areas with large concentrations of Italians. The beef was a thinly sliced, braised, chopped beef. The pickled peppers and jalapenos were a must. Adding cheese would qualify it as a close cousin to the Philadelphia Cheese Stake (made from thinly sliced rib eye). To Walt, what made the sandwich was the gravy. Extra gravy is standard. Next time Walt would have ordered it “fully dipped” in which the bun is actually dipped totally in the gravy before they serve it to you. It was a very beefy tasting sandwich and very juicy, due to the gravy. There have been debates on whether the fries are fresh cut or frozen. They are a thicker crisp, crinkle cut potato. They reminded Paula of her childhood. They are the kind of fry that is made when you take fresh potatoes and cook them once. They have a very pale, golden color and crisp texture. The crinkle cut adds more taste due to the high surface area.

Possibly the best thing at Portillo’s was the chocolate cake. Almost as good as Paula’s and except for the drive, a lot easier.

Do Not Do This

By Parry

Free food. It is my alcheles heel. It is my weakness. Along that vein is all you can eat. If I order all you can eat, I have to stuff myself to get my every last penny's worth. This is why I avoid buffets. However, in a late night run to Denny's after a church dance, I decided to to get all you can eat pancakes. What a mistake. OH, the pancakes were just fine, and so were the 6 shots of maple syrup and butter whip cream, it was my stomach that wasn't. I managed to get through 6 pancakes before vowing *Never again*. I did not eat another meal for more than 48 hours after. Such is what happens when you work to live on less, and then stuff your body with more. Just don't do it.

ALL SYSTEMS GO

The before shot. James is amazed at what I'm about to consume. 

Ice Cream? Technically mostly...

By Parry

I remember when I was young and every meal came with ice cream after, or maybe that was just when Granpda Wayne used to come visit. He loved the stuff, and somehow we still do, even after having had an ice cream place ourselves. In San Francisco there are two ice cream places that I've made it a habit to go visit. They are Humphry Slocumbe and Bi-Rite.

Humphry Slocumbe has had some of the most interesting ice cream flavors I've ever had. My favorite by far was the Thai Curry Sorbet. Yea, you heard that right, Thai Curry. At first, my mouth didn't know what to make of the sweet sorbet combined with the distinct flavor of a dinner dish. After a few bites it was won over. While technically, this was not ice cream, the other flavors were. Other flavors I've experienced here include beet, salted carmel, carrot, and butter thyme. All of them were fun to have, and if you are interested in pushing the limits on what you expect from your ice cream, this is a good place to visit.

Bi-Rite is definitely my favorite. Like Humphry Sloclombe, they have some pretty unique flavors, however I have to favor Bi-Rite since half of the flavors aren't beer or rum (which rules them out for me). The Lavender flavor at Bi-Rite is the clutch flavor to get, however don't make the mistake I did and try to get it after some spicey Indian food. It is a really delicate flavor, and to appreciate it your taste buds need to be able to, well, taste it.

Lavendar Scoop

Indian Food

By Parry 

This is a little compare and contrast between four Indian places I've eaten at recently (all in San Francisco). They include the Kasa Indian Eatery (SF), Shalimar (Fremont), Chutney (511 Jones, SF) , and Pakwan (3180 16th St, SF). The more you experience what a food should be, the easier it is to be picky. That is why I can't be too picky when it comes to Indian food! My friend at work mentioned, she thinks that most Indian restaurants are too greasy, especially when compared to what she and her mom make at home. Hmmmm...I probably wouldn't notice, unless they way overdo it.

Kasa Indian Eatery

A really clean looking, quick moving place with helpful folks serving. Accepts Visa. My friend Marcia and I got four rolls, Chicken Tiki (no sauce), Chicken Tiki Masala (with sauce), karahi Paneer, and a vegetable roll. The reviews on Yelp indicated that the rolls were the way to go here.

Total bill was $20.00. At first, looking at the size of the rolls and feeling the grumbling in my stomach, I was a bit disappointed that I just dished out $20, but after the first bite of the CTM roll, I felt a lot better about it. It was quite delicious and tasteful, I might go back for that one. When it came to the Chicken Tiki roll, it was good but far too dry for my liking. The Karahi roll was all around good as was the vegetable roll. Overall, I would say that you pay more here for the cleanliness, speed, and ability to use Visa, which is great for a lot of folks, although it is not my cup of tea. Cheap and tasty is what I prefer, so unless I am hanging around 18th and Noe, and I suddenly have a surge of money, I think I will stick to other places I have found. Still a good place though.

Introducing Flat Stanley, and Kati Rolls from the Kasa Indian Eatery 

Shalimar (Fremont location)
A little bit of a disappointment. The rice was luke warm, not hot and fresh like the other places I visited. The Naan was a little dense. The Chicken Tiki Masala was good, but not as good as the other places I visited. It cost about the same as the other spots, which is why its safe to say I will not be going back. Sorry Shalimar!

Chutney (511 Jones, SF)
The Safron flavored rice was warm and delicious. The Naan was good, and not as dense as a few of the other places I've visited. The Chicken Tiki Masala was good, and plentiful. The CTM took a little hit to quality in exchange for the sheer volume. Usually when I order rice, naan, and a dish I can down the whole thing without too much effort, but this CTM had me beat. I even took breaks, but I simply could not finish all that Masala. I mean, they really pour it on! The chicken was not as tender as other CTM's I've had and the tomato base for the Masala tasted something like Campbell soup at times, but on the whole it was still quite good. This place also gets major Kudos for having hot sauce that was delightfully spicy and tasteful. This was my second favorite of the places I visited, second only to Pakwan.

Look at all that MASALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Pakwan (3180 16th St, San Francisco)

The Pakwan Indian eatery has been my favorite place so far. I didn't have enough cash on me, but they let me order while I made a run to the nearby Wells Fargo ATM at 16th and Mission.

I think if you can master the simple things, its a good sign of the quality and/or taste of all your dishes.  For starters, the basmati rice here was the best of any place I've been to so far, so hot and tasty! It was the kind of rice I could eat up without needing to put anything on it, but I do anyways. What else am I to do with all that fine Masala. Actually, the lad running the counter mentioned I could get extra Masala, and was so generous as to provide me some. The Masala was by far the tastiest I've had so far at any place. The portions here were a little more conservative, so I easily chowed through my naan, rice, and CTM. Even so, the sacrifice of quantity for quality was worth it, and Pakwan is one place I definitely intend to revisit.

Chicken Tiki Masala with some rice and Naan

From all the reviews I've combed through on Yelp, it looks like Chicken Tiki Masala is the popular dish to get at a lot of Indian places in and around SF. I had been trying to avoid it since I was looking for something more from the subcontinent and not Britain, where CTM was disputably invented. However, I am done fighting it for now and will enjoy that tasty tasty Chicken Tiki Masala. 

And to finish my Indian eating run, I went Bhangra dancing with my friend Marcia! 

The best part of the dancing was that the audience/fellow dancers were mature, decent, and quite respectful. 

Can we call it SF Pizza?

Una Pizza Napoletana

I heard that Anthony Mangieri was so annoyed at being rated the second best pie in NYC that he moved out to San Francisco. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he came. His vibe is so NY. He seems like he is no nonsense, and his pizza place follows suite. With just a few pizza options to go with, I had to do the Bianca: a regular (Cheese) pizza made with Buffalo Mozarella. Why Buffalo Mozarella? Its the kind of cheese that started it all. So...what do I think of this place? Well, it put my mouth on a celestial ride from the fields of buffalo cheese and fresh basil, through the forest of slightly charred crust and back to the salty sea salt used to balance the beauty out. Ok, in other words, it was amazing. The real kicker for me was the salt he used. I'm a huge fan of using different kinds of salt, and there was a great taste to the salt that also brought out the other flavors at work on his pizza. Oh, can't forget the nice tasting olive oil, but that's pretty standard from a New York Gourmet Neopolitan Syle kinda pizza, from what I've had.

As a side note, I Yelped this place and found it had pretty low ratings for how good it was. This is why finding good food is all about the searching, hunting and seeking...and knowing your sources. I always take advice from Yelp or Google with a grain of salt (yuck yuck), and its good to cross check with other sources like foodie friends, reliable guides, and now TV or other media. Zagats is usually pretty reliable. Food network does a pretty good job too. I've been to a few tourist traps in San Francisco since I've been out here that had top Google or Yelp ratings, and greatly disappointed, on all accounts. Know your sources.

Here is a real close Pic of the pie. Lower right hand corner is the crust. Behold the basil, chessy goodness.

And on another tangent, now that Una Pizza Napoletana is in San Francisco, can we call it SF pizza?

May San Francisco only be so lucky... 

Olive oil on Ice cream and Pastrami on a Bun.

By Parry

My first trip to San Francisco of 2011 (back in January) proved to be a productive one , and a good refresher. I went with a couple friends who have not frequented the city too often and were tight on cash, so I took them to Tommy's Joynt. I got the Pastrami sandwich, which is what I always get. It never fails to deliver. It was about $6 for the sandwich, which is simply meat on a bun. The meat is great and the bun is pretty good too. The mustard and horseradish is spicy and delicious. I also got a side of spaghetti for $3. It was basically cafeteria spaghetti, but it was an entire plateful. I forgot that one of the key points of Tommy's Joynt is that it is cheap, which means that not everything tastes fantastic, but at least its cheap. Can't argue with that. The girls I went with were raving about it, so I think they liked it. The key point of Tommy's is to try their meat, otherwise don't bother going. Oh, and take cash, they don't accept plastic.

Pastrami Sandwhich

After Tommy's I took my friends over to Bi-Rite creamery, which also doesn't disappoint. After its appearance on the Food Network I had to try their Sam's Sundae. It is a chocolate Sundae with salt, olive oil, and home made whip cream. The verdict? It was good, but next time I'm going to get the Lavender Ice cream again. In fact, if you only go once, go for that first. Don't get me wrong, from the ground up Sam's Sundae was impressive. They used decent coarse salt, the olive oil had flavor (they were using the right stuff, whatever it was the were using), the whip cream was extra thick (Just how I like it!) and tasted great on its own. The Ice cream was delicious, and I was impressed with the serving size. For $5 you get a pretty decent amount and each scoop is totally and completely packed with flavor. I would say Sam's Sundae was one of those “experiences” that's fun to have, and can be left at that, unless you are the type that just really likes olive oil over everything. That really conjures up some funny images in my head, I mean, just think about it....

Sam's Sundae was one of those things you do to say you did it, or try to say you tried it, but probably isn't necessary, although isn't necessarily bad.

As for the Lavender ice cream, it feels like you are eating a smooth creamy flower. Maybe that sounds a little off, but it tastes just right...so go for it!

Tax Season Treat

By Parry

What do you do when you don't have time to shop because you work 6 days a week and spend Sunday at church? You eat chili garlic sauce and hummus. This was a late night creation that actually tasted pretty darn good. It was pretty simple, I made some hummus, salted to taste with Kosher salt (love the texture) and put it inside the pitas, but not before I threw the pitas in a toaster, dripped some olive oil on the pitas, and put chili garlic Sriachi sauce on the inside. The effect, spicey yummyness! It wasn't overly spicey (what I am known for) as the sriachi garlic sauce isn't too hot, well, at least not for me anyways. I will also mention that the olive oil was flavored with left over parsley snips giving the recently crisped pita outside a nice taste.

In accounting terms, Goodness (Asset) = Chili Garlic Sauce (can be a liability)  + Hummus (pretty "common stock" in middle eastern countries...yuck yuck yuck) 

Chicago Part 1

CHICAGO
Part 1: Burt’s Place
by
Walt and Paula


Day 1 in Chicago

Most places in Chicago don’t take reservations, Burt’s Place apparently does. We tried to call ahead several times, but the phone was always busy. So, we drove out anyway (from Ann Arbor), with a back up plan, just in case. When we got there at 9:00 pm, it looked pretty deserted. Not very impressive for a place that is supposed to be so popular. It was truly a neighborhood, joint, situated in the heart of a neighborhood with no other commercial establishments around. There were a few diners left and the hostess (who we later found out was the owner) told us they were closed. Walt asked if we could get something to take out. The hostess said, they were completely full tonight, but “if you call tomorrow I can get you in.” Walt muttered something about having driven all the way from the eastern side of Michigan and having tried to call several times, but that we couldn’t get through and then just walked out. She apparently went and talked to Burt (who we later found out she is married to), who told her to give us a free pie. We were sitting out in the car figuring out how to get to the next place on our list, when she came out and asked us if we wanted a free one. Walt went back in to choose one of the pies that had been ordered for takeout but not picked up. He offered to pay for it, but she wouldn’t let him. He thinks he should have taken the one for free and offered to pay for a second one so we could try another flavor (there were three that hadn’t been claimed). What we liked about the pizza for carry out was that they weren’t in boxes. They were on a heavy cardboard round, covered in foil and then a large paper bag that was stapled shut and was more like an envelope than a bag.

Burt’s Place has a pan pizza somewhere between a deep dish and a thin crust. It’s different from a typical Chicago pizza in that the crust is about 1" thick, with a little char on the ends of the crust. It was a little sweet tasting. The amount of sauce would have been too much for a thin crust pie, but it was just right for the thickness of the crust. We ate the first pieces stone cold, since they had been sitting there for awhile. The convenient flat top of a Honda’s four cylinder engine however, proved a nice warming device. We left it there to warm while we went in to have dinner at Portilla’s, our plan B (more on Portilla’s later). But even stone cold, you could tell it was a superb pizza. The sausage was very tangy, in flat clumps and complimented by strips of caramelized onions and strips of fresh green peppers. The toppings offered are pretty basic including cheese, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, black and green olives, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, and banana peppers. You really don’t need or want anything more than that to muck up a really good pizza. It’s all about the crust, sauce and top quality ingredients.

Burt’s menu claims it is “Pizza for Grown-Ups” and “On Time Every Time”. It is located at 8541 N. Ferris Ave, in Morton Grove. They don’t take credit cards. The pies run from $11.25 to $19.25 and up to $2.50 per extra ingredient. They serve alcohol and a few appetizers. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays and their hours of operations vary, so call ahead (good luck getting through) at 847-965-7997.

On a subsequent trip to Chicago we returned to Burt’s Place, this time calling the day before to make a reservation. We felt like insiders this time knowing the protocol. It was very amusing to sit in this minuscule restaurant, at the very table Anthony Bourdain sat, and listening to the phone, which was right behind our table, ringing off the hook. Each time it was answered by Burt’s wife, she had to say, “No, we are full tonight” in a pretty harried tone. Finally, one irate caller let her have it, out of frustration no doubt. Hmmmmm, we could relate.

Never Cook in Someone Else's Kitchen by Paula

COOKING IN OTHER PEOPLE’S KITCHENS


Walt will never let me live down the fact that when we were dating I would never cook in the kitchen in his apartment. I would prepare food and bring it over. I would eat the dinners he prepared. But I wouldn’t cook in his kitchen.

We are often the self-designated cooks when we vacation with family. It is a chance for us to share our latest accomplishments as well as an opportunity to thank the host family for the accommodations. However, Walt never goes anywhere where he will be cooking without a full battery of condiments and tools, And why is that? Because no one else’s kitchen has the tools and ingredients that you are used to working with in your own kitchen. Whatever you make in someone else’s kitchen will never turn out perfectly the way you have mastered it in your own kitchen.

This past year, when I went to Hawaii with my Mom and Aunt to stay with my sister for the month of March, I offered to cook for all the ladies. It is a pleasure for me to cook. I like to eat well, and I knew no one else in the group was going to bother much about meals. I took my recipes with me and gave Elise a shopping list to have some ingredients on hand when I first got there. Since my dating days with Walt, I have become more flexible and willing to meet the challenge of a foreign kitchen. I was not quite up to the challenge of Elise’s kitchen, however. We even had to borrow equipment from the neighbors in order to cook some of the recipes. Nothing I cooked turned out the way it was meant to and was sub par by my standards. Things that I had cooked many times were just so-so. I was disappointed, though I think the others were just happy to have a meal prepared for them so they didn’t have to cook.

The moral: Don’t ever offer to cook in someone else’s kitchen and expect to impress.

Baltimore's Little Secret by Paula

Baltimore has a well kept little secret. It’s a wonderful cookie made at the DeBaufre Bakery called the Berger Cookie, named after the original founders of the bakery, the Berger brothers from Germany . It’s really a very simple cookie and is much like the Black and White cookie in New York and New Jersey. It has a simple soft sugar cookie base. But the topping! Oh My! The topping is outrageous! It is as thick as the cookie and is a thick, fudgy chocolate that is soft and yet firm. It doesn’t melt in your hand, but there is more chocolate in every bite than any candy bar you have ever eaten.

Recently, I was doing a catering job for the opening Gala Fund Raiser for the show “Hairspray”, which takes place in Baltimore. The menu reflected the low country Southern cuisine that is featured in the show. But in a nod to Baltimore, I had to include the Berger Cookie for dessert. A phenomenon that most people here were unacquainted with. I couldn’t afford to order enough cookies directly from Baltimore (you can order them on line) with the budget I had, so I determined to make them myself.

Once again, I had to experiment with the recipes I found on line. Other people have also attempted to recreate the cookie in their own kitchen, which in itself is a challenge, because bakeries have access to ingredients and equipment that the home baker does not. After a couple of tries I found the cookie base that seemed most authentic. But the topping was more illusive. People on line seemed to feel that it was a ganache. I disagreed, though I tried it with the ganache at first. It was clearly not a plain ganache of chocolate and cream. That was too thin and too soft, not the chewy texture of the real thing. I tried adding corn syrup, which improved the thickness, but it was too sweet and again too soft.

One day it dawned on me that it might be fudge instead of ganache. I made a few batches of fudge. It had to be a dark chocolate, not milk chocolate fudge. At about this time, a friend of Walt’s from Baltimore sent him a couple packages of Berger cookies. I was able to taste the cookie alongside my different versions. I had finally found a fudge that matched the flavor of their topping pretty closely. And finally, I have the perfect Berger Cookie recipe that I can make at home when I can’t have the real thing (which is still a tad better than the homemade version, I admit).

So here then is my version of the Berger Cookie. It’s easy and decadent. Don’t be stingy with the fudge topping, it is supposed to be at least as thick as the cookie.



Cookies: Makes approx 30 cookies
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 TBS Baking Powder
2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup milk
4 ½ cups flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside.
Cream butter, vanilla, sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Add eggs til incorporated. Scrape down sides. Add vanilla.
Alternately add milk and flour mixture just to incorporate.
Chill batter for at least 10 minutes. Dough must be cold before handling.
Roll dough out on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2" rounds and place on parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes.

The topping is more difficult to figure out. People on line suggested a ganache. I think it is more of a fudge. I am including both recipes here.

Fudge:
½ cup whipping cream
½ cup light corn syrup
3 cups (18 0z) semi sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
Bring cream and corn syrup to a boil in a heavy 2 qt sauce pan over medium heat. Boil 1 minute. Stir in chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
Place cookies single layered, flat side up, on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet.
When fudge is slightly cooled and thickened, but still thin enough to pour, pour over cooled cookies. Refrigerate til set.

Ganache:
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 TBS unsalted butter
1/3 c + 2 TBS light corn syrup

Melt all ingredients in a pot on low.
Remove from heat when melted and let sit til it comes to room temp.
Frost each cookie on bottom or flat side of cookie with a very thick layer of frosting (equal to the thickness of the cookie).
Note: Frost when frosting has set up but is shiny and still spreadable. If it sits too long it becomes too set and though it is spreadable it loses it’s shininess.

Let cookies sit over night to reach proper density.

THE BIG LASAGNA
by
Walt

In the fall of 1987, I was at the Harriman House in Harriman, NY for a Columbia University Business School retreat. I don’t remember much about what was taught that week, but I do remember eating a nice vegetarian lasagna ( for an institutional setting). I came home and decided to make my own version of vegetarian lasagna.

Never having had the Italian Grandmother that I had always wished for, nor having had an extensive Italian cooking background, I made the lasagne how I thought it should be made. Strangely, without using garlic.

In graduate school at U of M, I had made what became known as “Walt’s Fireghetti”, a homemade spaghetti sauce with a base of seasoned, sweated onions and mushrooms. That base seemed fabulous for lots of things like spaghetti and stroganoff, so I used that as a jumping off point for the lasagna. Next I added zucchini and green and red peppers to the sweating onion mixture. After adding those vegetables, the resulting liquid in the pan was extremely flavorful. (It could be reduced and added back in, or it could be enjoyed by the chef, sopping it up with crusty bread.) It always seemed like the ricotta layer in lasagna was quite flavorless. So, my solution was to add all the softened, seasoned vegetables that had just been sweated down, to the ricotta along with an egg to hold it all together.

My family enjoyed the lasagna (once the kids were over the age of 16). When I didn’t have mushrooms on hand to use however, Paula and the kids liked it even better. One year, many years ago, I made it for a family gathering in La Canada, California at Thanksgiving time. (One of my nephews, Brian, still makes his own version for his family).

Twenty four years after that first aha moment at Harriman House, still never having gained an Italian Grandmother and facing the escalating price of prime ingredients, it was expedient to use second tier ingredients. Instead of using only the best stuff ( aside from the fresh vegetables), like De Cecco pasta, fresh mozzarella, and Parmesano Reggiano, I used second tier ingredients, such as Barilla pasta and Argentinean Parmesan.

Since Italian cooking is the cooking of Grandmothers and consists of time, texture and tasting (i.e. knowing when things are right), the only way to pass that on is by cooking together.
I think it helped that when I was dating Paula, I cooked for her. And it has certainly helped her to keep me around, because I cook to entertain her. So, since Parry needs help in the area of attracting a wife, we made “Second Tier Lasagna” together while he was home for Christmas.




Here then is the original recipe for
WALT’S VEGETARIAN LASAGNA:

Lasagne Noodles
1 pint container of ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pound Kraft brand part skim mozzarella cheese, grated
1 to 1 ½ jars of Newman’s Sockarooni Spaghetti Sauce or your favorite Spaghetti Sauce
1 large onion, diced
2 medium zucchini, washed and chopped into ½ inch cubes
2 medium red and green peppers, washed, cored, seeded and diced into ½ inch cubes
olive oil
Knorr vegetable or chicken bullion cube
Salt and Pepper
Parmesan cheese, finely grated
9x13 inch glass or lasagne pan

1. Boil 12 noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water until cooked but still firm. Drain and lay on paper towel to dry and cool.
2. Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in a 16 “ saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and lower heat. Sweat onion about 15 minutes. Add peppers and sweat 2 to 3 minutes. Season with chicken or vegetable bullion cube (not diluted). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. In a separate medium saute pan, heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and saute until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
4. In a medium bowl mix ricotta and egg til blended.
5. Gently fold in cooked and cooled vegetables to ricotta cheese mixture. Don’t worry if it seems a little salty, the ricotta can use the saltiness.

To Assemble:
1. Spread a small amount of spaghetti sauce in bottom of pan.
2. Lay 3 noodles (or as many as needed to cover bottom of pan) side by side. Spread sauce over noodles just enough to cover.
3. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
4. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese next.
5. Repeat layering as in steps 1-4 above 2 more times. Ending with noodles. Do not put sauce on top layer of noodles.
6. Cover with plenty of plastic wrap and weigh down with books or weights to compress layers. If made the day before, refrigerate until ready to bake.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Remove weights and plastic wrap. Cover top of noodles with plenty of spaghetti sauce.
Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese or additional mozzarella if desired, to cover and bake another 15 minutes. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Orange Pancakes in Hong Kong , by Paula

ORANGE PANCAKES AT THE PENINSULA HOTEL, HONG KONG


When I was a brand new flight attendant for Pan American and on reserve, one of my first fights out of LAX was to Hong Kong. Flights to Hong Kong were very senior and I was really excited to have been “called out” to go there. One of the flight attendants on the crew, Stancie Sheehan, took me under her wing and showed me the paradise of food, sights (Stanley Harbor still had Sampans in those days), and shopping (the best bargains in the world in 1978).

One morning, while on our layover (in those days we had several days on a layover downline) Stancie called me in my room and said, we are going to the Peninsula Hotel for brunch. The Peninsula Hotel, situated on Kowloon across from the Sheraton Hotel where the crew stayed, was a very famous hotel. At the beginning of the war in the South Pacific arena, many expats, diplomats and military personnel hung out there in order to hear the latest news of the war. Then it housed the Japanese Army during their occupation of Hong Kong. I was a newbie and had no idea what a legendary hotel it was.

While walking up the luxurious, red carpeted staircase to the hotel restaurant, Stancie exclaimed that the only thing I could order were the “Orange Pancakes”. I wondered what could be so great about orange flavored pancakes. And why was I going to a very exclusive restaurant for pancakes? I was soon to encounter one of the thrilling food experiences of my life. Not only was the view of the Harbor and the island of Hong Kong spectacular, but the service was unsurpassed by anything I had ever before experienced. With white gloved waiters and silver serving pieces, I was treated like a dignitary. And the Coup de Gras was the most amazing and mysterious “Orange Pancakes”.

In those days, although I had done a fare amount of cooking, I was still a novice and these little pancakes mystified me. They were like little miracles. They were sort of like a crepe but smaller and not browned. And they were filled with the most light and airy orange flavored filling that oozed out when they were cut open. How they got that filling in those crepes without it running all over the place, I could not figure out.

After that first trip, I returned to Hong Kong many times. I even took my Mom and Walt there on separate trips. And each time I went, besides the many other wonders of food and shopping, I had to go back for my orange pancakes.

Many years later, after I had retired from flying and Pan Am had gone out a business, a friend was going to Hong Kong on a trip with her husband. Knowing that I had traveled a lot, she asked me if I knew of some places to recommend to her in Hong Kong. Without missing a beat, I told her she HAD to go to the Peninsula Hotel and try the orange pancakes if they were still there. To my amazement, they were, and she came home as awed and mystified as I was. But, before she left Hong Kong, she asked if she could have the recipe for those amazing little pillows of sweet air. This is not one of those stories in which they charge you a fortune for their secret recipes. Sure enough, they sent her the recipe! It was however, written for the ingredients and measurements that are used in the British cooking system (Hong Kong was still under British rule at that time). It did take a bit of tweeking on my part, but I was eventually able to make a fairly good re-creation of them. The only problem is that I still can’t quite get the hang of folding in the orange filling so that it doesn’t flow out before the plate reaches the table (see picture), a skill that still alludes me.

Here then is the recipe for the Peninsula Hotel Orange Pancakes as I have worked it out.
Bon Appetite! And let me know if you figure out how to fold in that filling so it stays.

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
3/4 cup + 2 TBS all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
½ cup or 4 oz Evaporated Milk
3 eggs
1 cup water

Orange Butter Cream Filling:
14 TBS sweet cream butter
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
Orange zest of two oranges
½-1 TBS Grand Marnier (this can not be substituted with a non alcoholic liquid)
½ TBS Cognac
Juice of two oranges

Mix flour and sugar, add 1/3 of the evaporated milk and eggs one at a time. Add the rest of the evaporated milk and the water. Batter will be very thin.

Preheat an 8" non-stick saute pan on Medium-Low. Lightly butter pan. When pan is hot and butter melted but not brown, add 1/4 cup pancake batter. Swirl pan to spread batter over entire bottom of pan in a very thin layer. Let sit a minute or two. When batter appears set in middle slightly lift one side to make sure it is set.* The pancake should be pale in color, not brown. Immediately spoon about 2 TBS orange filling into middle of pancake. Quickly fold pancake by bringing one side into the middle over the filling, then fold the opposite side into middle and slightly overlap the first side. Repeat with the last two sides to form a small, square pillow. With a sharp, flat, wide, metal spatula, carefully lift pancake up and gently flip onto serving plate so folds are on the bottom, taking care not to puncture or open pancake. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, garnish with orange slices and serve immediately. Re-butter pan each time you make another pancake.

* Often the first or second pancake is a throwaway until the pan gets to the optimum temperature.

Add this one to my bucket list...

Seattle Cheese Festival

Recipe-less

Now, I realize that this doesn't look like much but it's the best I can give you from my desk with a crappy camera phone. I am rather proud of it, however.

Last week, I dumped a huge can of enchilada sauce into a pan with intentions to make some kind of mexican soup. I added a can of black beans, a can of corn, a can of diced tomatoes, a cup of brown minute rice, leftover chunks of chicken (from the salsa-ranch-chicken wrap I made the night before...so good). I threw in a little cumin, some cinnamon, a good amount of cocoa. Honestly, I cannot explain to you how my brain works or why I would add cocoa but it seemed right at the time.

It didn't seem quite right as soup, so I decided to let it cool and maybe add some liquid, with some sour cream and avocado when the time came to eat it. Well, I came back a few hours later and had...solid soup. I accidentally made a rather large quantity of mexican chili. Then again, I guess you can't call it an accident if there is no real end goal in mind...right? The point is that I am enjoying said chili for lunch today and it is a little spicy for me, but actually really tasty. Here's to happy cooking accidents...

Yum :)

Comfort Food

So, I have this thing about grilled cheese sandwiches...Maybe it's my love of cheese and carbs. And while there is something so charming about two pieces of Wonder bread with a slab of American "cheese" in the middle, I'd like to think I'm a little classier than that. I sound like a snob. Great.

Anyway, in college I discovered the joys of cooking with a George Foreman grill and my grilled cheeses were never the same. I concocted a mozzarella and pesto version that became a bit of a staple for me. Just yesterday, I was eating my salad covered in delicious blue cheese and thought, "This needs to be melted and gooey between some kind of fancy pants bread." So here's what I'm thinking...blue cheese and bacon, with a little walnut oil. It sounds a little crazy, but I have a feeling it could work out well. I'll have to break out the George this week and let you know.

Hawaii on a Dime

Hawaii on a Dime
By Paula

It can be very expensive to eat in Hawaii, but if you know where to go and how to eat like the natives, it can be not only reasonable, but quite cheap and great food.

This past spring when I went to visit my sister on Oahu I discovered some great food that didn’t blow my small budget.

My sister lives in Laie, on the still quiet North Shore where restaurants are a rarity, unlike Honolulu or the other bigger cities. However, I did not suffer for lack of great eats.

The first day of my trip, there was one of the many common small farmers’ markets, this one inside the cafeteria at BYUH. Besides the expected pineapples and fresh vegetables, I discovered Ahi Poke for the first time. I was blown away. For $5.00 you got a huge portion of Ahi Poke, which is raw, marinated tuna, and the usual 2 scoops of steamed rice. Ahi Poke is in effect, like sashimi. If I had purchased that size serving of tuna sashimi in a Japanese restaurant, I would have paid $25. Being with two older women (my Mom and Aunt) who didn’t appreciate raw fish, I bought two more helpings of Ahi and rice and took them home. That evening for dinner, I lightly sauteed the already marinated poke, served it with the rice and some stir fried snow peas we also bought, and they loved it. Wow, a great dinner for 3 for only about $10!
Over the next 3 weeks we proceeded to experience a variety of foods. Following is a description of the highlights.

We ate fresh cooked garlic shrimp at Fumi’s shrimp shack, making a buttery mess all over our hands and clothes. Then we bought some raw shrimp from Fumi’s to take home. I beheaded the shrimp and cooked the shells and heads in water to make a broth that I used to make a Shrimp Garlic Risotto that amazed the crowds.

Since we couldn’t eat out every meal, I did do some cooking as well. I loved shopping in the grocery store, because there are so many Asian and Hawaiian foods in abundance that you can’t find here. One of the ingredients that they use is to make a Japanese curry. Japanese curry is different than Indian curry in that it is sweet, not hot and spicy. The brand I found is called Golden Curry byS & B. You can buy it on the mainland, but it is one of the things that is actually cheaper in Hawaii. The great thing about it is that in about 20 minutes you can have a great curry with any kind of meat and vegetable combination hot and sauced. It’s so quick to make you have to wait for the rice to finish cooking. It is cheap and filling and delicious.

One of the first nights there, Elise raced us over to the little local strip mall that serves the basic needs for Laie, of post office, doctor’s office, fast food, hardware and grocery store. There was a food truck in the parking lot, one of the original food trucks, that was going to be there for only another day or so. The truck moves from one area of the island to another every few days to be able to reach the islanders. It was Leonard’s Malasada truck! If you have never had a Malasada, and most people haven’t, I feel so sorry for you. A Malasada is a Portugese style donut. I am not a donut fan (even though I owned and ran a donut shop for 6 years) but these had me mesmerized from the get-go. I became a junkie. I had to get my fix. I followed the Malasada truck all over the island for the next 3 weeks. The thing is that they are made to order, while you stand there. They are fried right on the spot. They are light like a yeast donut but better and they don’t have a hole. They can be filled too. I found my favorite to be the plain ones sprinkled with either cinnamon sugar or a pink sweet and sour sugar called.li.hing. The haupia (coconut custard) filled were my second favorite. It was a good thing I was running every day!

While I was running daily, I happened by a small shack of a restaurant in the middle of the neighborhood near my sister’s home. I didn’t think a thing about it. While talking to Walt one time he happened to mention one of the places I should go try while there, called the Hukilau Café. That name seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why, until the next time I ran by that small little shack of a restaurant. Apparently, it had been on the Food Network. So, of course we had to try it. The only problem was the hours it was open, which were never convenient for our schedule. We were able to get to it once, however, for lunch. We tried the Teriyaki Burger and the Loco Moco, both of which were fun local surfer type cuisine. Good, huge and filling.

Then there is the Shave Ice. I am sorry, but for those of you who think you have had shave ice and have had it anywhere other than Matsumotos, you have never had SHAVE ICE. I have tried it at the competition next door, and they just don’t compare. Don’t be tempted by the shorter lines next door, into thinking Matsumotos couldn’t be that much better to warrant having to wait in a much longer line. The line is longer for a reason, folks. They are that much better. The ice is finer, and the flavors more distinct. For me, there is no other way to have a shave ice than all the way. That is, with Azuki beans and ice cream. My favorite flavors are the island fruit flavors, flavors you won’t find anywhere else, like Liliko’i, Lychee and Guava. I went to Matsumotos at least 5 times in the 3 weeks I was there. I even bought the little recyclable cone holders and kept them in the car so I had them just in case we were driving by.

And while we are talking about Hawaiian fruit flavors, I found flavors of ice cream and sorbet, especially Tropilicious brand, in Liliko’i, Lychee and Guava that were to die for.

One day when Elise and I went in to Kaneohe to shop, we stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant so I could try Pho. It is their national soup, and if made correctly is made from a broth that has simmered in a pot on the stove nonstop for years! It is just continually added to. The depth of flavors and richness of the broth cannot be duplicated because of its age. In an unassuming mall, in an unassuming little restaurant I tasted one of the greatest soups I have ever had. After lunch when I went to use the restroom (which required going through the kitchen!), I had the chance to see that indeed the broth was authentic. There inside the kitchen on the stove was a huge pot simmering away with scraps of meat and bones in the garbage close by. I had been given a rare glimpse of Heaven.

If you want to eat like a real native, then one cannot get off the island without trying the Spam Musubi. Ok, Ok, you hate spam. Have you ever tried it? One time recently when the boys wanted me to make Fettuccini Carbonara, and I didn’t have any pancetta or bacon, I used my secret ingredient–SPAM. The boys loved the pasta, and I never told them it was Spam. To this day, they don’t know the secret ingredient. Ha! Spam is not as bad as you think! Spam Musubi
is a slice of fried spam on a bed of sticky rice flavored with a special seasoning blend and held together with a strip of Nori (seaweed used in sushi). It is the Hawaiian version of a Welsh Pastie. A hearty working man’s sandwich with all the essentials (starch, meat and flavor).

And finally, another great place for sandwiches was at Kono’s at the North Shore Market Place in Haleiwa. The Thai Chicken Wrap and the Kalua Pork, a Hawaiian version of pulled pork, were phenomenal. I went there at least two times and the second time, bought one to take on the plane ride home with me the next day. The poor passengers next to me had to watch me as I went into my “this is Heaven” trance.

Since I have returned to the mainland, I have recreated the Spam Musubi fairly successfully. I have tried to recreate the Thai chicken wrap, not so successfully. I found Ahi Poke being served at a local upscale restaurant and was of course disappointed. Though it was beautifully served, the portion was half the size, and twice the price and not nearly as fresh. And forget finding or making any of the other singularly ono Hawaiian dishes. They cannot be recreated with the same authenticity. I will just have to go back if I want Lilikoi shave ice or Kalua Pork.

Kerrytown in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Kerrytown.

By Paula.

Last Summer some dear friends of ours, Paul and Julie Lichtenberg, told Walt and I about an amazing store they discovered in Traverse City, Michigan, called Fustinis, that carried only oils and vinegars. They brought us a small bottle of truffle oil as an example of the exceptional quality of their products. Walt and I were thrilled that they thought to bring us such a nice souvenir, but wondered how a store that sold only oils and vinegars could be so exciting.

Fast forward about 6 months. I had gone to lunch in downtown Ann Arbor, with my friend Rachail. Afterwards we thought we would go to check out Kerrytown, a cute little shopping area by the Farmers Market. We hadn’t been there very long, when we stumbled upon the very same store Paul and Julie had told me about. We walked into a world I had no idea could exist. A store filled with the most amazing and exciting olive oils and vinegars.

The owner, I suppose, gave us a “tour” of the shop by way of explanation and then proceeded to give us samples of individual vinegars and oils, the likes of which I had never even imagined. Then she proceeded to combine flavors and orate on the various possibilities in foods and in recipes that excited the imagination.

I couldn’t stand it, I had to buy. I bought an 18 year old balsamic vinegar for Walt and a Meyer Lemon oil. My friend bought me another bottle of Provençal Herbed Vinegar as a Christmas gift.

Tasting all the vinegars in these cute little tasting cups reminded me of a time when Parry was about 3 or 4 years old. We had a collection of flavored vinegars in our kitchen that intrigued him and he asked to taste them. Walt proceeded to give Parry a taste of all the various vinegars which Parry loved. Knowing my family would really appreciate and enjoy the shop, I determined to bring them all there as soon as everyone was home for the holiday. We couldn’t wait for Walt, who had to work during business hours, so I brought the kids. Just as I expected, they were as blown away as I was. I asked the proprietor to give them the nickel tour. Their taste buds were as tickled and tempted as I thought they would be. We ended up with two more bottles, Basil oil for Corey and Lavender Vinegar.

We now have a very extensive collection of oils and vinegars and hopes for many new food experiences together.

Now, I suppose a purist would balk, and perhaps this will only be a trend, but for now it is a fun taste sensation that gets the creative juices flowing.

The Big Bake

The Big Bake

By Parry

Which happened on the 21 December 2011

Christmas cookies. So good, so necessary, so missed when not made. The last few years have yielded less and less, and so, to ensure we carry forward more then just a few presents, but perhaps also a few extra pounds from 2010, we devised a baking day. A Tuesday set aside for the making of nearly countless cookies, and treats.


The day began with a breakfast of some fresh monkeybread, which was devoured swiftly enough.

Our Cocoa-Latte machine tragically started smoking from over use, so I was sent to TJ Maxx to find a replacement. Upon my return I found the house in full scale mass cookie production. Corey had friends over, and my Aunt Elise and Grandma Beth had also joined in the action.

We made afore mentioned Monkeybread plus Chocolate covered pretzels, Russian Teacakes, Dresdner Stollen, Homemade Oreo's, Nutella cookies, English Toffee, Pfeffernusse, Scandanvian Thumb Prints, and Chow mein Chocolate clusters.

My personal favorites are the Scandanavian Thumbprints (although due to my recent discovery of a nut allergy, we altered the recipe to be made with pecans instead of the time honored walnuts) and Monkeybread. I hit my sugar limit pretty quick, but we all were fairly sugared out by the end.

My Grandmother kept asking what we were going to do with all the cookies we had made. I honestly was not sure, but after giving some to the helpers, as well as a few unsuspecting victims we have found, it was fairly easy to give them away. Not quite a charitable offering to the poor and needy, but certainly a token of appreciation and friendship, which is so often what cooking can be about. Obviously, there are many ways to give to friends and family, but one way that we personally enjoy doing so is by cooking. I think that part of it is about leveraging our personal talents to serve others.

When it gets down to it, I don't think that it takes a fancy feast or deluctible desserts to give. I do think it takes a good a heart and the purist of intentions that I can muster. Yet, when it's my family, we're going to make that fancy feast as well. Why? Tradition. That, and we know how to do it, and we wouldn't ever be satisfied with anything less then our best. I think we also enjoy a challenge. We find challenges, whether it is outdoing the French Onion soup we had in Paris once, or making a good infusion between Mexican and Italian food, we strive until we get our dish to taste the best we can. Even then, every time we make a dish, it's not necessarily a science, but an art of reading the ingredients and working with them to help bring out their best. The fruit of these labors is often tasty, varied, surprising, and almost always worth it.

Paula's Stollen Quest

Firstly, a link to this Stollen can be found HERE.

Or, the recipe is included after my Mother's comments.

Paula's Stollen Quest
By Paula

My hunt for the perfect German Stollen recipe began about 16 years ago. After having tasted a Dresden Stollen while as a Flight Attendant for Pan Am, in Germany during at the Kristkringle Market, I was smitten. I ate my way through many a Stollen in the years after I had retired, but nothing came close. People here considered any sweet bread with fruit and nuts and, horrors, frosting, on it, to be Stollen. Or you could buy the imported German products that looked like the real thing, but always ran just short of a true Dresden Stollen.

I found recipes on line, in cookbooks and even from German friends, but nothing came close enough. Though they always said they were an authentic Dresden Stollen, not just any Stollen, they always had the same ingredients and directions. I was fooled time and time again. They always looked gorgeous, tasted really good, but did not have quite the right density and texture. And there was something else that was missing, I didn’t quite know what.

I ordered some “authentic Dresden Stollen” from Germany recently, so I could taste it again and see if I could figure out the recipe myself. But the product that arrived, though beautifully and convincingly packaged, was nothing more than the German imports you can buy in World Market.

So my hunt continued.....until this year.

Our neighbors, who receive the New York Times daily newspaper, were out of town and offered us their papers while they were gone. We happened to get the Wednesday, food edition, a much coveted section. And to my interest, this particular issue had an article about “the perfect stollen”. Being somewhat skeptical, but always willing to give it a try, I set about getting the ingredients for the new recipe. I noticed this recipe did seem different than all the others from the outset. That gave me some hope. First of all it took 5 days to make, because it has to ripen. Secondly, it called for a half pound of butter in the finishing process along with a ginger-sugar mixture that was sprinkled on top before the final dusting of powdered sugar. Thirdly, it called for a “starter” that was added to the dough in the mixing process. Finally, it called for much more fruit and nuts than the other recipes. It sounded really promising.

Well, to cut to the chase, it is the PERFECT DRESDEN STOLLEN recipe. The texture is phenomenal, the density amazing and the flavor just like I remember. The only problem is, waiting the five days before trying the next batch. And contrary to popular opinion, Stollen is not dry. When properly made, it is quite moist, and retains it’s freshness for weeks.

The recipe below is from the New York Times, Wednesday, December 16, 2009. The article: “Stollen With Staying Power” is by Melissa Clark. The recipe was adapted from a recipe by Hans Rockenwagner of Rockenwagner Bakery in Los Angeles.

Christmas Dresden Stollen

2/3 cup black raisins

2/3 cup golden raisins

½ cup dried cherries

1/3 cup dark rum

1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1 package active dry yeast (1 3/4 ounces or 2 ½ teaspoons)

½ cup milk, at room temperature

4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cups plus 3 TBS sugar

2 3/4 cups ground ginger

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved

2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg yolk

½ cup chopped candied ginger

½ cup mixed candied citrus peel (optional, see note)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1. The night before baking, mix raisins, cherries and rum in a small container. Mix almonds with 1/4 cup water in another container. Cover both and let sit overnight at room temperature.

2. The next day, in an electric mixer with paddle, set on low speed, mix yeast with milk until dissolved. Add 1 cup flour and mix until a soft, sticky dough forms, about 2 minutes. This is the “starter”. Transfer starter to a lightly greased bowl, cover with greased plastic and let rest for 40 minutes at room temperature.

3. In an electric mixer with paddle and set on low speed, mix remaining 3 cups of flour, 3 TBS of sugar, ½ tsp ginger, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, lemon zest and vanilla seeds. With motor running, pour in 1 cup melted butter. Mix on slow for 1 minute, then add egg yolk. Mix until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute more.

4. Divide started dough into 3 pieces. Add starter to mixture in bowl, 1 piece at a time, mixing on slow until each addition is thoroughly combined, 2-3 minutes after each addition. After started is absorbed, mix dough on a medium speed until glossy, 4-5 minutes.

5. Add almonds, candied ginger and citrus peel if using, and mix on slow until combined, 2-3 minutes more.

6. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until fruit and nuts are inside dough rather than stuck on surface and dough is smooth and glossy, about 5 minutes. Place dough in a medium bowl and cover with plastic. Rest for 1 hour to let rise slightly. Then knead it once or twice, cover with plastic and let rest for another hour.

7. Divide into 2 equal pieces and shape each into an oval loaf about 8 inches long. Stack 2 rimmed baking sheets on top of each other, lining top pan with parchment. Place loaves on doubled pans and cover with plastic. Allow loaves to rest 1 more hour at room temperature.

8. About 20 minutes before this rise is completed, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove plastic covering loaves and bake for about 1 hour and internal temperature taken from middle of each loaf should be 190 degrees.

9. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and 2 1/4 tsp ground ginger. When stollen is done, transfer top pan holding loaves to a wire rack (leave stollen on pan). While still hot, brush stollen with remaining 1 cup of melted butter, letting butter soak into loaves. Sprinkle ginger sugar on tops and sides of loaves. When loaves are completely cool, cover loosely with waxed or parchment paper or foil and let sit at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.

10. The next day, sift 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar over loaves, rolling to coat bottom and sides evenly with sugar. Wrap each loaf in plastic and let sit at room temperature for at least 2 days before sifting remaining ½ cup confectioners’ sugar over loaves and serving.

Yield: 2 loaves, each about 1 ½ pounds.

Note: If you can’t find (or do not like) candied citrus, substitute an extra ½ cup candied ginger.

Thanks again to the Stollen Recipe from the New York Times, Wed, December 16, 2009: "Stollen with Staying Power" by Melissa Clark :-)