The Best Sugar Cookies in the World

It has taken me 35 years (the number of years I have been baking on my own) to finally find the mother of all sugar cookie recipes. Thanks to Katie Wennerstrom who was willing to share this recipe that she got from her Mother in Law (thank you whoever you are). I love my sugar cookies to be thick and soft with some density and not too sweet. I like the frosting to be what adds the sweetness to the cookie.

(pssst The secret is the buttermilk)

This takes 2-3 days to make.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup shortening
2 eggs slightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

In a medium bowl beat eggs, buttermilk, vanilla then baking soda last of all. Set aside to let buttermilk and soda react. Small bubbles will form.

In the bowl of Kitchen Aid sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the sugar. Add the shortening and beat with dough hook to a cornmeal consistency. (note: I don't know if you can do this in a mixing bowl with hand held beater because dough is very stiff)

Turn mixer on low and add the liquid mixture. When completely incorporated, turn mixer on high and beat for 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky add a little flour, but dough should be soft.

Take dough out of mixer, pat into a flat oval, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge over night.

Next day preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough onto a floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut shapes and place 2" apart on un-greased baking sheet. Cookies will puff up spread slightly.
Bake 7-9 minutes exactly. Do not brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and when completely cooled, frost with the following frosting recipe.

Frosting
Ingredients:

1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margarine softened to room temp
1 pound powdered sugar
1-3 TBS milk
1 tsp almond extract

Cream shortening and margarine together in Kitchen Aid. Add powdered sugar alternately with milk until all sugar is used and frosting is right consistency. Add extract.

4th Generation English Toffee recipe by Paula

After that great entry on how chocolate makes the toffee, I know you are all saying, "Where's the toffee?". So, here is the recipe for the "greatest toffee in the world". Remember, use the best milk chocolate you can find and use lots of it.

In all the batches of toffee my Mom would make, every once in awhile, a batch wouldn't turn out. I remember her saying that it must be the butter. One thing I learned this year when making the toffee is that you have to use the best quality butter. Walt had bought a lot of cheap, store brand butter when it was on sale. It greatly affected all my holiday baking but especially the toffee. The butter had too much water to milk solids and the toffee separated in the cooking and caused the chocolate to be mushy.

Another tip about making the toffee is that you can't make it when it's cloudy, raining or snowing. I don't know how they can call it English toffee, when it is always raining there. When it is sunny out, I drop everything else and make the toffee.

And finally, it is really a winter thing. We never make toffee in the Summer.

English Toffee

Ingredients:

1 pound unsalted Butter
1 pound light Brown Sugar
1 pound good Milk Chocolate, finely chopped or grated
Almonds or Walnuts, toasted and finely ground
Candy thermometer
11"x17" jelly roll pan

Prepare nuts and chocolate and set aside.

In a medium size pot, melt the butter slowly over low heat. When the butter is just melted but not foaming add the brown sugar and stir thoroughly with a wooden spoon until brown sugar is incorporated.

Insert candy thermometer without tip touching bottom of pan, and turn heat up to medium-low.

Slowly bring the mixture to a rolling, rapid boil. Slowly is the operative word.
Let mixture boil, without stirring, until it reaches the hard crack setting (300-310) on the thermometer. This should take about 30 minutes if done properly. Do not rush this step.

While mixture is cooking, sprinkle half the grated nuts over pan covering completely in a single layer. Then sprinkle half the chocolate over nuts also covering completely and liberally.

When toffee mixture has reached the hard crack setting remove immediately and pour over the previously prepared jelly roll pan. Tip jelly roll pan to spread mixture as far and evenly as possible. Mixture may not cover entire pan area.

Wait about 5 minutes for mixture to cool slightly, then sprinkle the remaining chocolate over the still hot toffee. Let chocolate sit and melt for several minutes. When chocolate has changed color and become darker, it is melted. Take a metal knife or spatula and spread melted chocolate evenly over the toffee. Then sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top.

Put toffee in a cool place for several hours (can be refrigerated) until chocolate is set and toffee is cool. Cut or break into bite size chunks. Store in airtight container. Will keep for months.

The Last Remaining Piece of VanLeer Chocolate in the World

Funny Story.

For many years my Mom made her famous English Toffee. She made it for gifts and then started a small cottage industry selling to friends and family. She would make so much that she would go through hundreds of pounds of chocolate each holiday season (she only made toffee in the winter during proper weather conditions). She bought her chocolate wholesale, but in order to do so she had to purchase a minimum amount. So, she would offer to buy chocolate for her friends at church so they could add to her order and they could get the wholesale price.

After testing numerous brands, she found a brand she loved called VanLeer. It had the best melting capabilities and the perfect flavor. I remember sitting in her house tasting samples of the different milk chocolates they made and determining which one was the very best for the toffee. They all had slight but very distinct flavor differences.

The orders came in 50 pound boxes with huge 10# slabs. My children were fed chocolate by their Grandmother from the time they were infants, and feasted on pound blocks that she would cut off and give them to nibble on, like a giant lollipop.

I am convinced the chocolate makes the toffee. There are probably thousands of "the best English Toffee" made out there, but none of them could hold a candle to Mom's and I am sure it was because of the chocolate.

Unfortunately, VanLeer went out of business and sold their operation to Caillebaut. I have nothing against Caillebaut, but their milk chocolate wasn't the same and they did not keep the VanLeer recipe.

Mom was determined to find every last ounce of VanLeer chocolate before it became extinct. She talked to Caillebaut and convinced them to send her the last of their stock. But finally, it ran out and Mom, so disheartened, discontinued her toffee business. That was about 12 years ago.

Fast forward to 2011. I was visiting an old friend of Mom's who used to order chocolate from Mom when she would put her order in to VanLeer. Gwen wanted to show me something in her pantry. It was a container filled with a 5 pound block of VanLeer chocolate! It had to be at least 12 years old! It had been wrapped so well that it was in almost perfect condition. She offered it to me as she was no longer able to cook or utilize the chocolate.

So, armed with probably the last existing piece of Van Leer chocolate in the entire world, I made once more, a batch of The Best English Toffee in the world!

Gooey German Chocolate Cake Bars

okay, here's the thing...sometimes i get into these moods where i need to cook. in the last two days, i've made corn bread, chocolate covered oreos, eggplant and tomato stacks, and these. i affectionately call this sugar casserole. or diabetes. i'm just being honest here. i found a recipe on some random blog that used cake mix as a base for cookie bars, and was topped with sweetened condensed milk and thought, "hmmm, i wonder if this could be a good way to get rid of all that random junk in my pantry." it was. behold, gooey german chocolate cake bars.


warning: this stuff is not pretty. see the picture? don't mind my half eaten blob and dirty fork off to the side there.  if you actually wait for it to cool (i clearly could not), it can be cut into bars.  despite the hideous appearance, i have received rave reviews from everyone that has tried it. so! go make it.

mix these together until they form a dough:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter

press the dough into a foil-lined 8 by 8 glass dish.

dump whatever you want on top. no, seriously. w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r you want. i can't even give you super accurate measurements because i just started dumping, but my best guess would be:
1 bag (3-ish cups?) german chocolate cake marshmallows (i found them at target. chocolate marshmallows covered in coconut. seriously. i'm guessing normal marshmallows plus a 1/2 cup of shredded coconut would do the trick, if need be)
1 cup chopped pecans
10(+...) oz chopped chocolate of your choice (chocolate chips work, i assume. i just used all the random leftover chocolate bars in the pantry)

then top with the magic sauce:
1 cup of sweetened condensed milk

bake at 350 for 25 minutes. take it out before the marshmallows burn. don't try to eat it right away...trust me on this one...remember the picture? let cool 30 minutes. it WILL be rough getting that junk off the foil, but it's better than trying to get it off the dish. cut into squares. go into sugar coma (less of an instruction, more of a warning).

the sweetened condensed milk seeps through the marshmallows and keeps the cake dough base really moist, plus it mixes well with the chocolate.  the marshmallows get crusty on top but keep their gooey-ness and help everything to stick together well.  there is something about that yellow cake flavor that makes these taste sooooo good...but i'd be interested to try different flavors too.  did i mention that you need to make these?

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.