foodislove

Gaps

2010-05-27T20:19:00.006-07:00

I really do let time go by between posts. Don't let this lead you to believe that I have not been in the kitchen cooking and baking, or out at restaurants dining and criticizing(though I swear if I'm eating, even if I'm critical, I'm enjoying myself.)
This blog was just a random thing and I sometimes forget it's here. My culinary experiences and adventures are still occurring and I will try and share more when I can (or remember too!)

Monday was my first day off after a 60 hour work week(possibly the first one of my life). I wanted to relax with friends, cook and eat well but simply. And what is more simple (or American) than pizza and chicken wings???
In general, I prefer a meatless pizza and based on ingredients on hand (along with personal desire), pizza margarita was the perfect answer.
The sauce was simple. San Marzano tomatoes, one smashed clove garlic, lots of extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, granulated white sugar and about an hour and a half to simmer on the stove. The dough was just yeast, flour, a wee bit of oil and some sugar and water. With time doing all the work, we were able to run to the store (in our car) and pick up fresh mozzarella cheese, some basil leaves and chicken wings.
For the wings, I winged it. I took all the hot sauces in my pantry: Mexican, Vietnamese, American, whatever...threw a little of each in a saucepan with some vinegar and butter to make a "buffalo style hot sauce"; then, mid roast tossed the wings (which had been pre-seasoned with salt, garlic and butter) in the "buffalo sauce", threw them back in the oven for another 20 and when they were done they were tender, juicy, hot and delicious.

Finger foods. Comfort foods. American foods. Appetizers. Call them what you will, sometimes these are the most satisfying and enjoyed meals. Everyone sharing the same food and no cutlery needed.

Gateau A L'Orange

2010-01-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

Per request I made this Orange Spongecake from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for my dads birthday. It is an amazing cake and surprisingly simple to prepare and assemble. The orange flavor is achieved by the addition of both orange zest and orange juice into the cake batter. The sponginess comes from the gentle folding of whipped egg whites into the cake batter. It is a single layer cake, baked in one round pan which when cooled gets sliced into two and filled and frosted.
The frosting in french is called Fourre a la Creme d'Orange. Simply put, Orange-Butter Filling. This is slightly more complex than a traditional cake filling or frosting. It is more like a jam in consistency without the jelliness. This is because butter, sugar, whole eggs, as well as extra yolks along with orange liquor and also more rind and juice, are all added to a pan together(quite easy, no?), which you then must slowly and carefully "cook" while constantly stirring as the mixture slowly thickens. This takes time and patience but is really quite simple. When it is ready it looks slightly translucent and slightly thick but very spreadable. Half is used to fill the cake. The other half, once cool is used as the base for a buttercream! This involves beating a mere stick of butter, tablespoon by tablespoon into the remaining cup/s of orange-butter filling. I found this method flawless and was able to immediately frost the cake.
The outcome is delicate and moist and sweet and orangey. To me, it is not a traditional birthday cake, but certainly a great alternative!

Buu's Birthday Cake

2010-01-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

Now the picture may not do justice to the deliciousness of this cake, but I will tell you it tasted great, does every time and makes people oohhhh, ahhhh and moan while they eat it. I love when I've baked a cake to tell people how much butter is in it. It really is amazing sometimes how much of the stuff you need. Butter cannot be stretched. A little bit really never goes along way. And frosting a cake is really just a nicer, gentler, more guilt-free way of saying buttering a cake.
First off, this cake comes from The Cake Bible. The cake is called All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake. All occasion because it is an easier cake to bake and can be frosted many ways. Downy cause its soft and bouncy(?). Yellow because its got six egg yolks. Butter because you need a stick and a half of the stuff. And Cake because thats what you get when you put all the ingredients together correctly and bake in a pan.
The butter topping for this cake is also from The Cake Bible. Its called the Classic Egg White Chocolate Buttercream. Classic cause its a variation of a classic buttercream(boiled sugar combined with egg yolks with butter then whipped into it). Egg White because whites are substituted for the classic use of yolks. Chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate used to flavor and color it. And Buttercream cause thats what it is, creamed butter and sugar!
This one is great. It has more structure cause of the whites so its thicker overall. It is silky-smooth with intense chocolate flavor and a subtle sweetness. No drop of this is leftover on any plate after a slice of cake is slowly devoured(?). Also, its easy because you don't have to melt and carefully whisk the sugar into the egg. You simply add the sugar to the whipped egg whites without worry that it might harden if. This method does not compromise the texture of the buttercream at all! Happy Birthday!

Maple-Walnut Cupcakes

2010-01-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

Okay these are to die for. I crave these cupcakes. As most of my recipes do, this came from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. The cupcakes are a simple moist cake with butter and lots of ground walnuts with some cinnamon for spice. What makes them truly unforgettable though is the maple buttercream which tops them. It is, as the Zohan eloquently put it(even though he was talking about hair not food), silky-smooth!
It contains a mere three(!!!) ingredients but through precise combination methods a heaven is created that is one of the best cake-toppers ever.

The secret is simplicity here. Maple syrup, having been brought to a boil is then slowly added to fluffy beaten egg yolks. After the two are combined and cooled, 1 cup of butter is beaten in tablespoon by tablespoon till silky smoothness fills the mixing bowl.
This frosting is like the foie-gras of frostings. Rich , buttery, delicate and unforgettable.

Apples n Apples

2009-11-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

Apple pie. Not as easy or quick as an apple crisp but much more impressive looking. For me, the two are on an equal footing taste-wise. Either one, served warm with vanilla ice cream, is the perfect way to dress up the apples of the season.
This pie was featured in the fall Bon Appetit. They called it an old fashioned apple pie. It called for a combination of pink ladies, golden delicious, and pipin apples (I subbed gala, I like to do one stop apple shopping). Raisins were also on the ingredients list but there were so few (1/4 cup), that I barely noticed them in the baked pie. The crust had an interesting ratio of butter to shortening (1 1/4 cups butter; 1/3 cup shortening) and was sweetened with 1/3 cup sugar.
It was actually quite delicious. Flaky(ridiculously), rich and very subtly sweet.
The apples inside were baked to perfection. Still slightly firm, yet soft enough to gently cut through with the side of a fork. And who wants to use a knife to eat desert?

The Church Ladies Sweet Potato Pie

2009-11-04T09:57:00.000-08:00

I procured a plethora of sweet potatoes from a friends garden early this fall. To satisfy my sweet tooth I decided to bake sweet potato pies. Sweet Potatoes, if accurately spiced, can easily be disguised as pumpkin and proves how interchangeable pumpkins and sweet potatoes actually are .
To start, I boiled then peeled the sweet potatoes. Next I pureed them in the food processor to which I added eggs, half n half, butter and lots of spices. For the crust I made a basic unsweetened all-butter pie crust from Martha Stewarts Baking Handbook. The Church Ladies Celestial Suppers and Sensible Advice cookbook provided me with the pie filling recipe.
The baked pie was smooth, moist, firm and perfectly spiced with a heartwarming combintion of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. There are very few deserts which are as easy as this to help one celebrate fall.

Lemon Curd Tartletts

2009-09-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Yummy! Eggs, lemons, butter and a few other ingredients combine in various ways to form these delicious tart, rich, three-bite boats of heaven. The cooked lemon curd is lemony in every way possible and the crust has a pleasant density due to the addition of egg yolks. The decorative topping is a toasted piping of meringue, which is made by heating the egg whites in a double boiler before whipping them. This is what an excess of lemons and eggs in MY fridge leads to. Lucky me!

Summer Gold

2009-08-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

The easiest way to combine and serve fruit without too much work or time is to merely chop, combine and stir it into a simple fruit salad. The other day I had one mango left from my Costco box of eight, a bunch of crisp green grapes and a solitaire large red plum. I halved the grapes and tossed them together with the chopped plum and mango for a colorful light summer salad of fruit. Since everything looked a little naked I decided to whip up the leftover cream from last weeks milk. At the soft peak stage I added some vanilla extract and a wee bit of honey. Oooheeee. Folded over the fruit it was turned into a divine and sophisticated version of the Furrs cafeteria fruit salads I used to eat when dining with my grandparents back in the 80's.

rice pudding with broiled plums

2009-08-20T10:23:00.001-07:00

My favorite daily email is chowhound.com's recipe of the day. Earlier this week the delivered recipe was for a summer rice pudding topped with broiled plums. The plums get chopped and tossed lightly with granulated sugar and vanilla before being broiled till the sugar starts to carmelize and the skins barely burn. The warm plums are sweet with a hint of vanilla and the sour skins add a contrast and "^pucker;) Served over a warm creamy orange and cinnamon scented rice pudding you have a heaven in a bowl.
Rice puddings are very easy to whip up. They are also a great way to use up a surplus of milk and/or cream that may have accumulated in your fridge. Plus for a rich, sweet desert, this is high in calcium, low in fat and sugar with added nutrients from plums. A quick, easy and impressive desert that makes life easier and rewarding!

Blueberry Jam Sandwhich Cookies

2009-06-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine. My favorite thing about monthly cooking magazines is that they follow the season and the produce found within the confines of the magazines pages can also be found at the store or farmers market. I often look at what is in my fridge and freezer and then turn to Bon Appetit for inspiration.
The June issue contained an all-berry desert feature because June is the height of berry season. I am a proud year-round blueberry consumer (frozen) because of their deliciousness and the health benefits (anti-oxidants, potassium, vitamin c, fiber...more or less they are a superfood). My heart was won over by the Blueberry Jam Sandwhich Cookie recipe because a. I love blueberries and b. I had a three pound bag of them in my freezer (frozen are just as good as fresh in this case).

The cookie contains lemon zest and is a basic chill and roll sugar cookie. The filling is a simple homeade blueberry jam (no canning involved since you will be using it immedietly) and a sprinkling of raw sugar on the top of the sandwhich is the final touch. Not having this on hand I just grabbed a few packets from the coffee station in my local grocery store;)

Everything was perfect. The cookies were buttery and soft with a hint of lemon to complement the sweet blueberry jam. And my awarness of the trace-nutrients contained within each sweet bite comforted me through every chew and swallow.

Pot Pie

2009-06-13T00:48:00.000-07:00

If I could eat five meals a day and never get full, I would eat out all the time. I love to cook equally as much as I love to be cooked for. I also love being thin(something I am constantly striving for, but have yet to attain) and it is for this reason that I rarely eat out. Portions are always too big; nutritional needs are hard to meet and bottom line, it is cheaper to eat at home. I know what I am doing in the kitchen so I don't need someone else (to try) to cook for me.

If I had more friends (or more dates) I would definitely dine out more, but since this is not the case, many of Kansas City's dining hot spots are foreign to me. Pot Pie has been on my radar for years and I was recently(finally!) treated to a casual Wednesday night dinner there.

The concise menu is handwritten on a giant chalkboard and can be read from anywhere in the dining room. The options include a chicken and beef pot pie, as well as five or six entrees which include a 1/2 chicken, pork someway, fish, a veggie option and scallops(my pick!) Starters and salads were also available, but tonight was a one course meal so I didn't even pay attention to their details.
The scallops were wonderful. I received four(which to me seemed like a lot and was impressive in portion size alone.) They were seared to perfection(medium) and came with leek and tomato risotto, roasted asparagus(charred to perfection) and an arugula pesto. Bread was served on the side and service was prompt and accommodating.
My mother had the beef pot pie(savory and rich in a puff pastry crust). My dad had the chicken(which I failed :( to try).

Although I hate to criticize (okay, thats a lie), the consensus among all the diners at my table was that everything was a bit over salted. The crust of the pot pie was overwhelmingly salty; the arugula in the pesto was overshadowed by salt and the scallops themselves had also been generously salted. I blame this on what I will call the salt-free table trend.
It is common practice(in 2009) for restaurants to withhold salt and pepper from their guests. Chefs pride themselves on their ability to perfectly season every ingredient and dish which emerges from their kitchen. To affirm confidence in their food, salt and pepper shakers on each table have been omitted and replaced with flowers and candles. As a home cook and host of dinner parties I totally get this. I notice every time anyone I ever cook for reaches for the salt and seasons their food. Do I feel a little inadequate if they need more salt(yes.) Does it cause me to doubt my senses(yes), but would I ever choose to refuse my guests this option? No. Everyone tastes food differently. Age, smoking and alcohol can all alter our taste buds and taste perception. And all the foods one is accustomed to eating regularly also affect how she or he perceives the foods s/he eats.

Maybe I'm getting too deep here. All I really want to say is that the food was overly salty. Period. I guess it is my respect for the chef that leaves me searching for some reason as to why this error was made. Maybe the lack of table-salt leads to overcompensation in the kitchen. Maybe someone had a heavy hand that day and sprinkled a few too many salt grains into our dinners.

The food was delicious and the extra salt was a minor enough detail that dinner could still be enjoyed. Another visit would answer the looming question that persists in my head as to whether or not this is how the food is served regularly or if it was merely an oversight this one evening.

Regardless of the case, when is it okay to mention this kind of critique to the server? Is the end of the meal appropriate or is this sort of rhetorical feedback only permitted in a blog on the internet?

Cream Scones

2009-06-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

Waking up hungry, with the day off and a fridge full of three weeks worth of raw cream skimmed off farm fresh milk, I was left no choice but to whip up some all-cream scones. A cream scone normally has butter, eggs and cream, but this variation omits egg and butter alltogether and replaces them with cream. The result is a richer and softer biscuit, perfect with a cup of black coffee or a glass of milk.
I used the bible(The Joy of Cooking) for the recipe(currant and orange zest variation.) A funny coincidence, the Chowhound emailed recipe of the day was cream scones(I did not get the email till after I had made scones). Ha! I've used this same scone recipe for years and it has always yielded wonderful reults. All-cream scones are much quicker than the tradional because the tedious "cut the butter into the flour untill you get pea size pieces" step is elimintated. Happy Baking!

Pizza Bella

2009-05-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Since I've now visited Pizza Bella three times and have been equally if not more satisfied each time, I feel that it deserves a mention here at food is love. Really there is not much to say other than FABULOUS.
The pizzas served here are roughly twelve inches each, served on a large ceramic plate and sliced into four large pieces. Of course one pizza is more than a meal, but after having not eaten all day and sweating away to Zumba at the gym, a girl like me can with no doubt eat one entire "pie" if you will, along with a cold beer and be completely satisfied.
What makes Pizza Bella so great isn't one thing alone. The dough is delicious, thin as wax paper but strong enough to bear the weight, moisture and grease of a melange of toppings. The crust is airy and crisp with just the right amount of chew.
The pizza that interested me the most on my first visit was what they call simply Potato. On arrival and at first glance the pizza looks like it is being served a la mode, because post-bake a scoop of shredded radicchio tossed in balsamic vinegar is placed in the center of the pie, adding volume and a beautiful contrast of color. Beneath the radicchio slaw, covering the pizza is a sheet of sliced Yukon potatoes, Gorgonzola cheese and olive oil.
Upon biting into the pizza, you first get the softness of the potato on your teeth, followed by the heavy salt and strength of the buttery Gorgonzola. The crispy radicchio and the sweet balsamic vinegar provide the perfect contrast to the heavy flavors and textures brought by the potatoes and cheese. This is a pizza for serious food lovers. The flavors are strong and they are not for the weak of taste bud. I think Pizza Hut would call this one the Scalloped Potato Pizza.
To drink I chose the Brazilian beer Xingu, suggested by the friendly and informative server. Xingu is a black beer, a lager made from black-roasted malts, which color the beer black during the brewing. Cold, sweet and light to perfectly complement my pizza.
I am definitly going back here again. There are at least ten pizza's on the menu, with toppings that include egg, pancetta, chorizo, pesto...the list goes on. In addtion to pizzas there is always an entree special as well a few appetizers, salads and desserts.
Please go eat here now and share the pizza love!

Grinders

2009-05-14T14:46:00.000-07:00

So it seems to me that Grinders is well respected and well know for their pizza here in town. I've heard about it word-of-mouth as well as in published reviews and personal blogs. Last night after attending the Gwar show an intense hunger drove me to the pizza counter wherein I ordered a slice of simple cheese pizza. Not even three minutes later my name was called and a slice dropped down in front of me. Ascetically the pizza did not appetize me. It was very white, barely a dash of sauce peeking out from under the cheese either here or there. I could tell that the slice hadn't been permitted proper heating time in the oven because I could see the half-melted shreds of mozzarella which had been grated on to order, perched upon the melted cheese from the pizza pie's orignal baking. After a sprinkiling of chili-flakes I took a bite. Then a few more. I of course, ate the whole thing and here are my observations/judgments/critiques:
The Crust: a good, thin, crispy white flour pizza dough. A key compontent of any pizza.
The Sauce: missing in action. I didn't really see any and could barely taste any, it seemed to have been put on to add enough moisture to keep the pizza from being dry.
The Cheese: bland, run of the mill mozzarella.
I'm going to assume that what brings people to Grinders is the art, beer and atmosphere. And it is for those things that I will return.

Happy Gillis

2009-05-14T08:31:00.001-07:00

Being that I live about twelve houses away from this Columbus Park gem, it surprises even myself that I do not eat here more often. Credit for that can be given to the abundance of Vietnamese restaurants located within an equally convenient space. Happy Gillis offers homemade soups and a variety of meaty and meatless sandwiches for lunch. Being the Vietnamese-loving foodie that I am, I chose their version of the Bahn Mi sandwich. Wonderful! The sandwich was chicken pieces(moist and perfectly cooked) on a lovely ciabatta roll with julienned carrots, sliced cucumbers and jalapenos, an abundance of whole cilantro leaves(yum) and a dousing of nuac cham(a sweet/sour/hot and ps. fat free flavorful sauce that is served with everything in Vietnamese cuisine). Nuac cham is a combination of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chilies, possibly diluted with water and also possibly including shallots and/or garlic. The Gillis version is on the sweeter side(any side will do for me) and serves as the perfect moistening agent for the chicken and veggies. On the side, instead of a useless herb garnish or lethal potato chips, each plate gets a small serving of fresh fruit. Today's was ten or so plump, sweet, fresh(!) purple grapes.
What I love so much about the food here, is that they use fresh, quality ingredients focusing on quality over quantity. I can eat the entire plate placed before me and not feel overly full or guilty. All I feel leaving is satisfaction and pleasure!

Another Burger

2009-05-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

So gourmet burgers seem to be the newest food trend to hit the mainstream in Kansas city. I for a long time resisted becoming a follower of this new burger obsessed city, but after my mothers day brunch at Blue Stem I have been converted. Brunch on Sunday at a fine place like this always has a special menu, sprinkled with wonderfully prepared twists of typical brunch fare: Eggs Benedict, french toast, biscuits and gravy yada yada yada. Arriving STARVED and a bit hungover, wanting something salty that would probably leave me feeling guilty later, I was torn between the fried chicken livers and the kobe beef burger. I chose the burger with pleasure! It came out on a yummy egg bun, medium as ordered, topped with plenty of melted swiss, bacon and an over easy egg! On the side were pommes frites(fancy name for french fry), but these french fries deserved the special name. They were fried golden, practically greaseless and seasoned mimimally, to enhance the flavor of the potato(i think they used yukons). A side of sweet homeade ketchup completed the masterpiece that would be my brunch. Everything was wonderfull. The meat in the burger was rich and perfectly seasoned. I had a few bites whole, and then kind of deconstructed the thing(it was massive, at least 1/3 lb), and picked at it. Wonderfull is how I would describe what I had! To drink I had coffee(roasterie), water(sans ice, how i like it and also how they serve it!) and a bellini(peach nectar with a wonderful proseco in a champagne flute). I feel a leisurly brunch requires at least three different kinds of beverages, ya know, to really evoke that sort of luxury allowed by brunch.
The service was perfect, the music(ratatat) pleasant and the atmosphere comfortable and inviting. I do believe Blue Stem is truly wonderful. And burgers are definitly my newest obsession so be on the lookout for more burger posts from me!

My First Blog

2009-04-15T11:27:00.001-07:00

So what better way to start off my new blog then with a quick review of a newish restaurant located in Lawrence, Kansas, Dempseys Irish Pub. What brought me here was not the promise of whiskey or Guiness, but the gourmet burger stand that I heard was located inside. The small menu consisted of six or seven burgers, four kinds of fries, a salad or two(to cover the bases I presume) and some shakes for desert.
Although I am a proud meat eater, I choose the falafel sandwhich(I am also a proud Jew with many proud opinions on falafel). The large crisp patty arrived on a plainish egg bun with a deliscious tzadiki sauce, pickled cauliflower and pickled red onion. On the side I choose sweet potato fries. The were cooked perfectly and seasoned with a sprinkling of sugar and spices I could not quite identify. Needless to say they were moist and needed not to be dipped in any sauce. One of my dining companions ordered the kobe burger(fabulous) and the other had the Romesco burger(green beans on the burger adding a nice textural contrast and interesting flavor pair). To drink I had a Bohemia, but the options ranged from Odells, Pilsner Urquell, to Boulevards.
All in all the experience was a success. Next time I plan to order the Black and Blue: blackened spices, bleu cheese and granny smith apple chutney, and fries cooked in duck fat on the side.
The atmosphere is comforting, rustic and simple. The music enjoyable. The service left nothing to be desired. I think anyone could dine here and leave satisfied and impressed.