Consider the Following

I would encourage you all to make your own bread. I am! Of course, I am unemployed and have all kinds of time.

Try the NYT's No-Knead Bread (school of Sullivan). No, I'm not going to give you a link. If you are so lame you can't do a search on NYT.com, you shouldn't be reading blogs nor contemplating making your own bread.

And that leads us to what we think of the newspaper business, these days. I revere good journalism. Hope it comes up with a business model that works.

Soon.

Yoki

New Kitchen

Yes, I'm cooking in a brand new kitchen.  This goes with my new life as a single person.  Yay Yoki!

I'll be posting again, and focusing more on food and recipes than in the past.

Stay tuned.

Kiss me, I'm Irish

Himself and I had a great vacation in Ireland. Or, I should say, grand.

Dublin, Killarney, Galway, the Ring of Kerry, Cloughdaloch, Loch Tae, Co. Wiklow. If you think that is evocative, try:

Grafton Street, the Abbey Theatre, Temple Bar, The Abbey Theatre... I felt as though we were walking through literature.

For my imaginary friends:

The jeweler's tag line is "Since 1798." Maybe Curmudgeon?

Just a taste:

Dublin is renowned for its Georgian architecture and especially its doorways. The doors are brightly painted black, red, yellow, green... and the fanlights are graceful and an ornament wherever you look.
Co. Wicklow is both wild and long settled. Loch Tae, below, is amazing, nothing but bogland and mountains as far as the eye can see; very little vegetation except rushes, heather and gorse.

Still in Wicklow, we visited Cloughdeloch (the Valley of Two Lakes) and a monastery founded by St. Keven in 970; the stone buildings were started around 1260. The first Celtic cross is here, and St. Kevin's Kitchen, the church, still has its original corbel stone roof.














Then to the west, to Kilarney. The Lakes of Killarney from Ladysview, and then a view from the Ring of Kerry:




Finally, the Spanish Arch in Galway, where we also learned about the town's history at the municipal museum. I'd never heard of the Claddagh before, and was fascinated. We bought some Claddagh rings for #1 and #2. The Wikipedia article does not really do justice to the people of the Claddagh, who were quite distinct in their customs from other Irish.

I could go on and on. Just know that smoked salmon is as common and cheap there as ham is here. I want to live there.

It is Pi Day

Yes, today is 3.14. It is Pi Day! It is also Albert Einstein's birthday. As he himself once said, "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity."

I thought I would plumb the truth of that aphorism, by putting this little story together.

I made Albert a special pie today. A birthday pie. A coconut cream pie.

And then I invited him over.

He's a big pie fan.

"Al," I said, "dive right in!"


Albert, wait! I didn't mean...




Oh my stars. Is that the backstroke?


"Yoki," he said, "that was one damn fine pie."

A big thumbs-up from Herr Doktor Einstein.


He seems relatively pleased with it, doesn't he?

Happy Pi Day, everyone! Happy Birthday Albert Einstein!

Love,
Yoki

The Polls are Open!

OK everybody. Read over the 7 entries into the Pi Day contest, and then go here to vote for:

Best Sweet Recipe
Best Savory Recipe
Best Description
Best Picture
Best Attribution
Best Overall

I suggest you open the polling site in a new window or tab, so that you can flip back and forth as you make these critical decisions.

The polls will stay open until 20:00 Mountain DST tomorrow, March 13.

College Parkian will annouce the results on Pi Day, March 14 on the Boodle and I'll post them here. I'll then wipe out the voting site... forever!

Pi Day Entry 7: Yoki's Cherry or Plum Clafouti

Category: Sweet

Description:

Ah, those glorious days and nights in Limoges! Strolling over the river on the roman bridge, exploring the cobbled streets, shopping in the market for fresh fruit, local cheese and fresh bread. Standing in the square while the golden evening light plays over the cathedral's carvings and the peaceful music of the choir escapes to enchant the passer-by. Stopping for a glass of vin ordinaire at an outdoor café. All this, and Astérix too! The rich taste of this classic dessert will transport you to the heart of France, even if you've never been there.

Recipe:

For crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl blend the flour, the butter, the vegetable shortening, and the salt until the mixture resembles meal. Add 3 tablespoons ice water, toss the mixture until the water is incorporated, and form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough lightly with the heel of the hand against a smooth surface for a few seconds to distribute the fat evenly and re-form it into a ball. Dust the dough with flour and chill it, wrapped in wax paper, for 1 hour.

When the dough is chilled, roll it out until it is one inch larger in diameter than a 10-inch pie plate with a removable botttom (I use one with fluted sides). Lift the pastry into the pie plate and press the sides of the pastry gently into the flutes.

While the pastry is chilling, prepare the almond milk called for in the filling recipe.

For filling

1/2 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces dark sweet cherries, pitted, halved (about 2 cups) (or the same amount of freestone European-type plums, pitted and quartered)
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Powdered sugar

Blend almonds in processor until ground but not pasty. Transfer to small saucepan; add milk and bring to simmer. Remove from heat; let steep 30 minutes. Pour through fine strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids in strainer.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Sprinkle the cherries evenly over the bottom of the pastry-lined pie plate.

Using and electric mixer, beat eggs, almond extract, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Add strained almond milk and beat to blend. Sift flour into egg mixture and beat until smooth. Pour mixture over cherries. Bake until set and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 - 40 minutes. Cool completely.

Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Lightly dust clafouti with powdered sugar and serve.

Attribution:

I adapted this recipe from several published in the magazines Gourmet and Bon Appetit over the years. Traditionally, clafouti does not have a crust; it is a pure custard. At our house, though, we like a bit of crunch, so I incorporated a classic French paté brisée into the dessert. This is #1's favourite summer dessert. I usually make it with plums, but couldn't find any good ones in time to enter this in the Pi Day contest, so went with cherries for the photograph.

- Yoki -

Pi Day Entry 6: Wheezy’s Potato and Onion Quiche

Category: Savory

Recipe:

For pastry

Preheat oven to 425.

Chop 1 stick of cold butter into 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour. Continuing chopping, add ½ teaspoon salt, then 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water. Form into a ball, flatten, and roll out tio fit in a 10 inch deep dish pie pan. I sometime just press the dough into the pie pan, since I hate rolling out dough. Pierce crust all over with a fork, cover bottom with waxed paper, then fill bottom with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 7 minutes, cool. If you’ve been preparing the filling in the meantime, leave oven at 425

For filling

Cut a large onion into a medium dice. Melt ½ stick butter in large skillet and add about a tablespoon of oil, add onion, begin cooking on high. Peel about 3 medium potatoes (2 large) and cut into ½ inch chunks.

Add potato to onions, salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking until potatoes are soft and onion is dark and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cut about 2-3 ounces of Swiss Cheese into a fine dice. In a large measuring cup whisk 4 eggs with 1 cup light cream, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Arrange potatoes and onions in the bottom of your prepared crust, sprinkle diced cheese over, then pour the egg mixture over all.

Note: pouring the egg mixture should be done when pie pan is already on oven rack to avoid spillage.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350, bake 15 minutes longer. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

This works well as a potluck offering. In a pinch I use a can of evaporated milk instead of the cream.

Attribution:

This vegetarian quiche is a variation on the Swabian Onion and Caraway tart in The New Doubleday Cookbook. I first modified it because I didn’t have the caraway seeds that recipe called for. Now it’s a family standard.

- Wheezy -

Pi Day Entry 5: Raysmom’s Mom’s Kicka$$ Black Raspberry Pie

Category: Sweet

Word Picture in lieu of a photograph:

The crust is a golden brown and is so delicate the edges tend to fall apart when cut. If done in the correct Mom-fashion, the imperfect seal along the edge has resulted in a plum-black goo in places, with a little drooling down the outside of the pan. There is no question this is a homemade pie. After carefully cutting and lifting and getting most of a slice on a plate, cut a forkful from the pointy end. The fruit fills your mouth with a sweet tanginess and the taste of summer. The crust not only holds it together, it provides a tender backnote that makes you finish it all, even the berry-less edges.

Description:

I think Mom makes this pie to be sure she gets many visits during the summer. What makes it outstanding is its salute to the fruit. It’s all about the black raspberry. A minimum of sugar, an undetectable amount of cinnamon, and berries, berries, berries! Warning: Never, under any circumstances, make this pie with those kumquat-sized, seedy things they try to pass off as blackberries in the store! They lack the natural sweetness and subtlety required for a truly great pie. Extra points if you pick the berries yourself amongst the poison ivy, just like Mom. (Since the real thing is out of season, I got special dispensation from Yoki to not make a cheap substitute for the photo.) The crust is straight from the Betty Crocker cookbook, and it’s the most tender, flavorful ever (not to mention the easiest)! Extra points if you don’t seal the crust properly and get a nice blackberry drool around the edges and in the oven (Mom’s the expert at this).

Recipe:

This recipe is for a 9” pie pan.

For crust

2-2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

¾ cup canola oil

4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Measure flour and salt into bowl. Add oil, and mix until the particles are the size of small peas. Add water one tablespoon at a time, mixing until flour is moistened and dough almost cleans the side of the bowl. Gather dough and loosely form into a ball.

For filling

4 cups black raspberries

¾ cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Stir together sugar, flour, and cinnamon; mix with berries.

Assembly

Wipe surface with a damp cloth, then cover with a square of plastic wrap large enough to cover the bottom of your pie pan. Put a little more than half the dough in a loose ball in the middle. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and press slightly to flatten. Roll crust evenly in every direction until the dough is 1” larger than the diameter of your pie pan. Peel off the top layer of plastic wrap, slide hand under the lower wrap, pick the crust up, invert, and place in the pan. Peel off the other piece of plastic.

Put filling in and dot with 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Roll out the top crust, repeating the steps above. Trim excess crust to 1” from side of pan. Roll lower edge up over upper edge and squeeze together to seal. Flute the edge, if desired. Cut slits in top of crust.

Bake at 425 degrees 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden and juice bubbles through slits.

- Raysmom -

Pi Day Entry 4: Frostbitten's Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie

Category: Sweet

Description:

The deep chocolate bottom layer of this pie acts as perfect counterpoint to the creamy coconut on top. This recipe makes two pies so resist the temptation to cut it in half. The cooked fillings are too easy to scorch in smaller quantities, even with a double boiler. Trust me on this!

Recipe:

For crust

Bake two 9” shells from your favorite piecrust recipe. I use shortening with a little lard. Cool thoroughly.

For chocolate filling

3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Mix sugar, cornstarch, chocolate and salt together in heavy saucepan. Stir in milk. Heat over medium heat until the chocolate is melted and the mixture starts to thicken a bit, about 6 minutes. The chocolate will look speckled, don’t worry. Remove the mixture from the heat and gradually whisk about a cup into the beaten egg yolks, then pour back into the saucepan. Return to low heat and whisk until the color is a uniform deep chocolate and the filling is quite stiff, about 5 minutes. Pour into the bottom of the prepared pie shells, dividing evenly.

Allow to cool in the refrigerator and let the skin that forms on homemade pudding and pie filling form, you’ll need that for the next step.

For Haupia topping

Make the Haupia while the chocolate cream cools.

1 can coconut milk
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

Whisk coconut milk, milk and sugar together in a small saucepan. In a separate bowl, dissolve cornstarch in water. Bring coconut milk mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and whisk in cornstarch mixture, whisking until thickened. Remove from heat and cool to room temp, whisking occasionally. (I put my saucepan on a snow bank to cool quickly, you could use a bowl full of ice cubes.) Pour evenly over chocolate cream.

Refrigerate for at least three hours before serving with whipped cream

Attribution:

The chocolate cream layer is made from a grimy recipe card that is at least 20 years old. The original came from the back of a box of cornstarch, probably Argo brand. The haupia layer is from the Honolulu-Star Bulletin’s Betty Shimabukuro who writes the By Request column. Hat tip to Boodler Aloha for linking to the haupia recipe.

The true inspiration for this pie is Ted’s Bakery in Sunset, on the north shore of Oahu. Ted’s ships a wide variety of cream pies to supermarkets all over the islands but they are better right at the little hole-in-the-wall store. If you go, go early, Chocolate Haupia sells out most days. Buy a slice to eat now, and a whole pie to take home. Be forewarned, Ted’s pies are comfort foods, not gourmet delicacies. In other words, if you want to avoid transfats, make your own.

- Frostbitten -

Pi Day Entry 3: GreenWithEnvy’s Mountain Oyster Pot Pi

Category: Savory

Description:

This pie can only be made in any month with and R in it, September-April. It is simple to make and really quite delicious. There is nothing so good on a cold winters day then eating a piping hot oyster pot pie. Also oysters are known as a natural aphrodisiac. Eat a few of the oysters raw and you and your partner can enjoy an exciting evening after the pie has been eaten.

This pie is so delicious that the entire pie was eaten and all they left were the oyster shells.

Recipe:

For crust

2 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¾ vegetable shortening
3 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons ice cold mountain water
a dash or two of Old Bay seasoning

For filling

2 pints of select Oysters (raw)
2 pints of Oyster liquor (juice if you wish)
2 cups carrots peeled and chopped
2 cups potatoes peeled and chopped
6 stalks of celery chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes, carrots and celery in a large pot of salted water for 20 minutes. Drain well, and add all the filling ingredients to a greased deep pie plate or casserole.

Cover the top with pie crust. I do not put the crust on the bottom it gets too mushy.

I like to spell something into the pie crust for venting. Whatever is happening for that occasion. If I saw a hawk that day I will write HAWK in the crust. Or sometimes I will put the name of whomever I am serving the pie to. Makes them feel special.

Bake for 35-40 mins until pie crust is golden brown.

Attribution:

This recipe has been in my family for 3 generations.

Whatever possessed the first human to eat an oyster? Did they see animals doing it?
Oyster shells were used to pave some of the early colonial roads.

I have an oyster shell garden.

Growing up in Maryland and living so close to the Chesapeake Bay made eating oysters a yearly tradition.

- GreenWithEnvy -