Al Dente

Quick Note on the Emile Henry Pizza Stone...

Back in December I wrote a blog post on the Emile Henry Flame Pizza Stone. At the time, I didn't have one myself but I did mention that I'd like one for Christmas. Indeed, I received one and last night I finally got around to using it...Yes, some things can take a while.

I received the slate-colored rectangular stone and it performed beautifully last night. I made two homemade pizzas. Both baked beautifully on the stone, and the crusts were quite thin and crispy. I especially liked the way the pizza dough was easy to maneuver on the smooth surface. Once the stone cooled, I found it very easy to clean. Even though the stone is dishwasher safe, the nubbins of baked cheese and dough that remained on the stone were easily wiped off with a sponge. (With the porous unglazed stones, the bits of cheese  and sauce often bake onto the stone and become a hassle to scrape off and remove.)

So, if you need to get a new pizza stone, I suggest this one. I love the feel of the stone itself and the performance overall.

--Melissa A. Trainer

Ground Cherries by Another Name

They call them ground cherries in the Pacific Northwest, but this fruit, which looks like a very small cherry tomato, only yellow and wrapped in a tomatilla-like husk, is actually called Physalis and is sold in all the grocery stores in my part of Germany. In the U.S. I've only seen them on occasion at farmers' markets.

Whatever the name, I have always been addicted to their sweet-tart bite and can polish off 50 of them easily in a single sitting. At the the farmers' markets they are sold in bulk from a big bin, but here I love how they're packaged: very carefully in small plastic containers, to assure that the fruit together with their husks don't get damaged in transport from Columbia, where they are grown.

Are you a Physalis fan too?

--Tracy Schneider

Fasching: I Am A Jelly Doughnut

Valentine's Day came and went without much fanfare here in Germany. But today is the start of Karnevale (or Fasching, as they know it here in the Southwest parts), and it's a full-blown affair.

The season begins, technically, on November 11th at 11:11 am with balls and other events, but the party begins in earnest today with Weiberfastnacht or Women's Day. Women take to the streets in the cities of Koln and Dusseldorf, to remember washer-women revolt of 1824, and cut off men's ties.

The fun continues, with parties and parades, on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) and Fastnachtdienstag (Schrove Tuesday), right up until Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday) when the celebrations end and Lent begins.

Part of the fun is eating Berliners, German jelly doughnuts, and reveling in sugar and grease. Are you celebrating Mardi Gras this year? What's on the menu?

In 1997, Madeleine Kamman Gave Thoughtful Timeless Advice...

I have been writing for many years now. As a result, I often forget about what I wrote fifteen or even twenty years ago. Yesterday afternoon, I was poking around online and funnily enough I found this article that I wrote for the food section of The Seattle Times in 1997! Of course, I had a more pressing deadline at that moment, but I decided to reread that article, which features a cookery demonstration class given by Madeleine Kamman.

At the time, Madeleine was visiting Seattle and giving a demonstration at the Seattle Central Community College's Culinary Arts Program in order to promote her book, "The New Making of A Cook, The Art, Technique and Science of Good Cooking." The book is a revision of her classic work originally published in 1971. You can read my original article online, but one point that remains timeless is Madeleine's advice to rely on techniques and  to learn to think for oneself while cooking.

Throughout that cookery demonstration nearly 15 years ago, Madeleine reiterated this philosophy. She told students to follow the ingredients as the ingredients sat before them. She urged the future chefs to "read" flour by pinching it to determine its texture. She even nudged the students out of their seats and put them on the spot up on stage...she asked them questions and made them think! I felt for those students at the time because I had taken many cookery classes  myself. It was always with great trepidation that I answered a chef while he or she was standing over a stove. I dreaded when one of my teachers would look into a pot, grab a spoon, take a taste, look me squarely in the eye, and then ask me what I thought! Gasp! Gulp! Shrug! Mumble...

In any event, this is a fabulous way to teach and learn...Over time, it truly builds culinary intuition, confidence, and skills. I really need to find my copy of The Making of A Cook. Have you ever taken any great cookery classes and learned tips that withstand the test of time? If so, speak up!

--Melissa A. Trainer

Making Delicious Discoveries On Vacation

Don't want to rub it in too much for those of you stuck with a case of the winter blues, but it was 80 at Waimea Beach on the North Shore of Oahu on Tuesday. No, I didn't go surfing. But sure have been having a blast watching the wave riders.

While many vacationers love to stuff their days with activities, my approach is super chill. The one thing I do get fired up about is exploring local farmers markets, hole-in-the-wall grocery stores and road side fruit stands. The mission is to try something new every day.

Last night, that was hebi, a firm-fleshed fish that reminded me a little bit of albacore tuna. I bought it at the fantastic Sunday market, a popular collection of farmers, coffee roasters and the lone fisherman. The other options included mahi mahi and ahi, which I've had before. So, seared the spear fish and served it with a green Thai curry. Really tasty.

Tonight, I'm going to take a whack at prepping my own sashimi, which could be a challenge because I know the sushi masters use knives that have surgical sharpness. Maybe that's one reason poke is such a big deal around here. It's easier to chop than to slice.

Who knows what I'll discover tomorrow?

-- Leslie Kelly

Quick 'n' Fancy Valentine's Dinner: Stuffed Lobster Tails

I was skimming through my e-mail inbox on Friday when this subject line caught my eye, "Correction: Lobster Tail Pricing." After a long week of work a glass of wine and a lobster tail sounded like the perfect way to unwind. The $9.99 each price tag clinched the deal for me.

I pulled into the Whole Foods parking lot after work (yes, that Whole Foods parking lot) and grabbed a shopping cart. The fishmonger gave me two lobster tails, six escargot at $.89 a piece and compliment. I grabbed some salad greens, chives, cherry tomatoes, a loaf of brioche and a bag of Alexia Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes with Sea Salt. (Yes, I bought a bag of pre-made mashed potatoes and yes, they are awesome.)

The shopping took me about as long as the cooking prep. About 15 minutes to transform the brioche, chives and cherry tomatoes into stuffing for the lobster tails. The escargot just required baking, and the mashed potatoes microwaving. In less than a half hour everything was plated and on the dinner table, sparkling wine was poured, and diners were dining on sweet and succulent lobster meat. Quick and fancy.

Stuffed Lobster Tails

Ingredients:

2 lobster tails (6-8 oz. each), thawed if frozen
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 slices brioche bread, cubed
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
salt, to taste
lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the lobster tail belly side up on a cutting board. With a chef's knife, slice the lobster tails down the center without cutting all the way through the shell. Place on a baking sheet.

2. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter, bread , chives, and tomatoes. (Add a small bit of water to moisten the bread if desired). Spoon the bread crumb mixture over the lobster tails. Dot with cubed butter.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the lobster meat is opaque and the crumbs are brown (internal temperature should be about 140 degrees-F). Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves: 2

Recipe and photo credits: StellaCadente*

Happy Valentine's Day!

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Sipping Nature's Own Sports Drink

Coconut water exploded as a drink trend a couple of years ago and shows no signs of cooling off. It's supposed to provide hydration on hyper drive. Or, is it all hype? Water's always best, studies prove time and again.

But there's nothing that quite satisfies that feeling you're living on island time like sipping right out of a fresh coconut. During my week-long visit to Oahu, I'm making a point of having a fresh coconut every day. I picked up the first at a roadside fruit stand for $2. I love watching the coconut seller hack a hole through the tough husk and handing over the whole thing with a straw stuck in that hole.

The water inside is lightly sweet and not as coconutty as you might imagine. Depending on the size, there's probably 1.5 cups of liquid. Which is just right for one serving. And it's a heck of a lot more fun to sip out of a coconut than a box of coconut water.

-- Leslie Kelly

Champagne and Fried Chicken? Yes, Please!

Back at the end of October my friend Tawyna, proprietor of Le Grande Courtage, hosted a Champagne and food pairing party for World Champagne Day. And who am I to refuse such an invitation?  Now, when you think of food and champagne pairings you might think of chocolate-dipped strawberries, or caviar and salmon toast points, and well-heeled ladies in long gowns sipping from flutes. But, with a little imagination, you can take the fuss out of sparkling wine and pair it with simpler fare.

Tawyna arranged a nice spread of snacks for us to nibble on as well as a variety of sparkling wines to compare. Most of the options were a bit unconventional, but they complemented the wines beautifully: spicy Asian salad, truffled popcorn, white chocolate fondue, salted caramels, tomato soup, and granny smith apples. 

My favorite pairing, though, was Louisiana fried chicken (think KFC-flavored).  It may seem a bit lowbrow to pair a glass of Champagne with fried chicken, but the acidity in drier sparkling wine cuts right through the fat to cleanse your palette, lending itself to pair well with greasy fried chicken and fried foods in general (duck fat fries, please). 

Click here for some more of Tawnya's fun Champagne and food pairing ideas.

What foods do you pair Champagne with?

*Champagne flutes

*Wine buckets

Photo via deenbros.com

 ---StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

 

 

The Aloha Spirit Lives Large At The Beach Picnic

One of the many reasons I LOVE visiting Hawaii is the culture of the cookout. Every weekend, families and friends drag coolers and grills and assorted food to the shore and have a daylong feast. 

This week, I'm hanging loose on the North Shore of Oahu, where the free entertainment revolves around watching world class surfers do their thing, riding some mammoth winter waves. It's a giddy thrill that lasts a few seconds and then they do it over again. I've been to this great state at least a dozen times, but have never seen surfers as skilled as this before. 

On Saturday, I hit the beach in Haleiwa and saw no fewer than 10 massive picnic gatherings. Some were celebrating birthdays. There was even a wedding. But they all had one thing in common: The smell of the smoke drifing off those cookers was a little bit of teriyaki heaven. Today, I'm heading down to the famous Sunset Beach, where there's a competition. I'm feeling like the big winner.

Every year when the gray Seattle skies start dragging down my sunny disposition, I make a vow to head to the Islands. This year, I finally pulled it off, thanks to cashing in beaucoup frequent flier miles and getting a generous offer from a family friend to crash at his vaction cottage, aptly named the Surf Cabin. I've been watching the waves roll in from my deck every morning while sipping my cuppa and it truly is paradise. 

On the food front, I'm picking up all sorts of local goodies, from fresh coconut, just picked papaya and pineapple to spicy ahi poke. All of which is best enjoyed while sitting on the beach, of course.

-- Leslie Kelly

Sunday Snaps: Super Cute Valentine's Mini Cheesecakes

Source: hungryhappenings.com via Renata on Pinterest

 

These mini Valentine's cheesecakes could not be more adorable. Incredible what people think up with a little imagination and food coloring, no?

For some more visual Valentine's inspiriation, check out my Valentine's Treats board on Pinterest.

Are you cooking up anything special for Valentine's Day? 

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Pinterest @pomodorista