Nov 22

Raclette

One of our cold weather dinners consists of raclette. Consider this fondue without the pot and long forks. Raclette is a gruyere-type cheese that is softer and melts better. It’s a common cheese in the French and Swiss Alps. It can be found in well-stocked cheese departments. We prefer the Swiss to the French version. Usually raclette is made from cows’ milk, but I tried some goats’ milk raclette tonight. There was a subtle goaty taste, but not overwhelming.

The traditional way to melt raclette is to expose a wheel of cheese to an open fire and scrape off the melted portion onto your plate. We prefer a less messy approach, which was endorsed by one of Julian’s Swiss colleagues: Put a hunk of cheese and a few parboiled potatoes (we used Yukon Golds) in an ovenproof plate and bake at 450° until the cheese is melted. You can also broil the cheese. Julian will sprinkle a little sweet paprika and black pepper on the cheese before it goes into the oven. When the cheese is melted, serve with crusty bread, pickled onions and cornichons. You can drink a beer, cider, or dry white wine alongside. Our vin du soir was a Beringer chenin blanc, but a dry riesling or gewürztraminer would work as well. While your friendly neighborhood cardiologist might not approve of this as a regular meal, an occasional bit of cheesy goodness can fit into your regime.

Raclette with accoutrements: Boiled potatoes, cornichons, pickled onions, and French bread.

Raclette with accoutrements: Boiled potatoes, cornichons, pickled onions, and French bread.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/22/raclette/

Nov 22

The Throw-Everything-Together Dressing

While turkey is okay, I am a fanatic about dressing (or stuffing, if you wish). My stepfather taught me how to make bread dressing, You do it mostly by feel and taste. There are no set proportions, you just stretch based on the size of your guest list, how many days of leftovers you want, and/or what’s in the fridge. (Yes, this is what we call a gemisch.) Here’s the method:

A loaf of stale bread. Use a bread with some texture for this, such as whole wheat or a baguette. Spongy white bread will take 3 weeks to go stale, and you’ll have a gluey mess on your hands when you add liquid. You can rip the slices apart and leave it to dry out overnight, preferably away from the dog.

On Thanksgiving, dice up some onion and celery. Sauté these in butter or olive oil on medium low heat until the onion is translucent. Add the vegetables to the stale bread crumbs. You can also add bell pepper to the onion and celery. I’d add about half as much bell pepper as celery. You can also add your choice of mushrooms to get more umami action.

Season LIBERALLY (life is too short to eat bland dressing) with salt, pepper, and assorted herbs. My favorite is the Simon & Garfunkel combination. I’ll use fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme. The sage is dried. I used fresh sage once and wasn’t happy with the results.

Now you have to glue the stuffing together. I use a combination of broth and eggs. If you have vegetarians coming to dinner, use vegetable or mushroom broth.

Here’s the most important part, according to my stepfather. Take off your rings, roll up your sleeves, wash your hands, and mix everything manually. No spoon. Make sure you get the liquid, herbs, egg, and veggies evenly distributed.

Have a baking pan large enough to accommodate the dressing ready before you get your hands dirty. Once the dressing is mixed, press it gently and evenly into the baking dish. It will take about 40 minutes at 350° to cook it through. Take the meat thermometer you should use to test if the turkey’s done and stick it in the center of the dish. The temperature should be about 160° to assure that it’s done.

So why don’t I stuff the turkey with this mixture? Check my upcoming post.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/22/the-throw-everything-together-dressing/

Nov 21

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving’s my favorite holiday. It’s not just because my ancestors came over to North America on the Mayflower. It’s a day that gives me the opportunity to play in the kitchen. Now that we live on the West Coast, traveling to see my family isn’t in the cards. Luckily, we have dinner with some of our Friday night friends. It’s a potluck on steroids. Our host makes the turkey, and the rest of us contribute the trimmings. Julian usually makes key lime pie, using the recipe from Mangrove Mama’s restaurant in the Florida Keys. This year my contribution will be two cranberry sauces, raw and cooked. In previous years I’ve done roasted vegetables, other side dishes, or bread.

Our dinners differ a bit from what my family does. For one thing, we eat around 6 pm. Mom is insistent on having the meal at 1 pm. This does not work well with a night owl like Julian. Eating later allows me to work at a more leisurely pace. In previous years I’ve been able to go on a bike ride after preparing the cranberry relishes. We can also watch the football games before we eat dinner, courtesy of being in the Pacific Time Zone. Our dinner offerings are a bit different from what we’d get at Mom’s as well. There are no sweet potatoes with marshmallows, although my friend Shira will make a gelatin salad she affectionately refers to as “green slime”. Wine is always on the table.

One Thanksgiving years ago sticks out in my memory. We were living in Dallas, and invited one of my postdoc officemates to dinner. Manisha was from Mumbai (Bombay), India and didn’t know from Thanksgiving. She was also vegetarian. I made my throw-everything-together dressing without meat and had some other protein alongside the turkey for her. Dallas had an ice storm that day. Since Manisha had never driven on ice or snow before, I was afraid she wouldn’t make it up the hills in our neighborhood. (Oak Cliff is one of the few neighborhoods in Dallas with anything resembling hills.) Luckily, she didn’t wrap her car around a tree. We made a pumpkin pie out of Bon Appétit magazine for dessert. Phoebe, our first Russian Blue, was just a kitten and decided that pumpkin pie would be a fine thing to eat. Fortunately, we made two pies and she only tasted one. Manisha enjoyed the unscathed pie and the concept of Thanksgiving.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/21/thanksgiving/

Nov 19

Gray is the New Black

I seem to be wearing a lot of gray lately. It’s not as if I’m a diluted Goth. Maybe it’s the weather. Then again, it may serve to hide the fur that our bums shed.

"Who us, shed? MOMMMM!"

“Who us, shed? MOMMMM!”

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/19/gray-is-the-new-black/

Nov 18

More Rainy-Day Haikus

What’s the deal with haikus, you ask? I think they’re a perfect poetry practice for scientific writers. One has to stuff maximum meaning in only seventeen syllables. Anyone who’s had to fit the results of a research project into a little box for a meeting abstract knows exactly what I mean. Monday was another rainy, traffic-clogged day on the bus, so it was time to write a few more haikus.

Welcome to Winter

Dark at 6 am.

Dark again at 4 pm.

The Sun? What is that?

Dead Giveaway

You can always tell

Folks just back from Hawaii:

Serious sunburns.

Too Much Time on My Hands

Killing time again.

Counting the cannabis shops

On Lake City Way.

And a more sober haiku:

There are many paths

To walk humbly with thy god.

Mass murder’s not one.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/18/more-rainy-day-haikus-2/

Nov 14

The Joyride

[This is an adaptation of a story I told at my brother’s graveside service in 2006. November 15, 2015 would have been Lyle’s 55th birthday.]

Lyle was born with spina bifida. He got around in a wheelchair throughout his life; however, he was obsessed with motorized four-wheeled transportation. American muscle cars were his favorites. He took it upon himself to pass judgment on any car family members bought over the years. At least when it came to my cars, he was not complimentary.

In 1999, when we were living in Greensboro, NC, my partner Julian bought a Volkswagen GTI VR6. This was a limited-edition Golf with a 6-cylinder engine. Lyle was dismissive of this purchase. Never one to have someone disrespect his wheels, Julian plotted a way to show Lyle what his car’s capabilities were. He decided that we’d take the GTI home to New York for Thanksgiving and take Lyle on a joyride.

The day after Thanksgiving was marked for the ride. The weather was dry and sunny. We helped Lyle from the wheelchair to the car, I climbed in back, and Julian revved the engine. The early part of the drive was on back roads. Julian was relatively cautious on the curves. Then we got onto route 104, and Julian’s foot turned from feathery to leaden. The speedometer needle headed toward and above 90 mph. My eyes alternated between the speedometer and Lyle. The acceleration pushed him hard against the back of the seat, and his complexion was going from pale to red. Luckily, local law enforcement had not set up speed traps on the road that day. Once Julian decided that Lyle had had enough thrills, he slowed down and we turned back home.

The GTI rolled into Mom’s driveway. I pulled his wheelchair up to the passenger side of the car so Lyle could get out. Julian asked, “So what did you think?” Lyle’s characteristic response: “It runs.” This was the highest praise he could give.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/14/the-joyride/

Nov 14

Nous Sommes Tous Parisiens

[Translated: We are all Parisians.]

Julian and I are both Francophiles. We love the language, culture, food, and country. It therefore broke my heart to hear about the terrorist attacks in Paris, to the east of the apartment where we stayed less than six months ago. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of this beautiful city.IMG_0379

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/14/nous-sommes-tous-parisiens/

Nov 12

The Montlake Mess

Examine a map of Seattle. It’s bounded on the east and west by water, and bisected by another body of water. As a result, bridges are choke points between A and B. One of the most congested bridges is next to the University of Washington campus, the Montlake Bridge. This bridge is a drawbridge, which snarls traffic at regular intervals during the summer. Immediately south of this bridge are exits from route 520, which includes a floating toll bridge over Lake Washington. As a result, I refer to this neighborhood as the Montlake Mess.

Several years ago I was transporting research samples between my hospital and the University of Washington (UW) Medical Center. To avoid parking charges, the lab manager at UW would meet me at the entrance driveway and I’d pass the samples out my window into his waiting hands. I’d call him about the time I approached the Montlake Mess so he could meet me. This worked reasonably well unless the bridge went up as I was driving down the hill.

This evening traffic at the Montlake Mess was at a standstill. Just south of the bridge there was a congregation of police cars. By the time I managed to get through (after a half hour of spewing nitrogen oxide gases  from my Jetta “clean diesel”), things were more or less cleaned up. I don’t know what happened, but it took me at least half an hour to go three blocks. As a result, I could have ridden my bike home in about the time it took for me to drive home tonight. Such are the hazards of living hereabouts.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/12/the-montlake-mess/

Nov 12

Asian Grocery Shopping

Over the years I’ve been lucky to find Asian groceries in the cities where I lived. They’ve helped expand my repertoire beyond throwing a can of water chestnuts into a pan of chicken and vegetables with some soy sauce and calling it Chinese cooking.The stores and their offerings have evolved over the years with the location and successive waves of immigrants.

When I first lived in Dallas, there was an Asian grocery around the corner from my apartment complex. It dealt mostly with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean products. I don’t recall seeing any kimchi there, although I wasn’t adventurous enough back then to look for or buy it. By the time I moved back to Dallas in 1992, the store had disappeared. I think the building was razed to make way for the Cathedral of Hope church – or at least its parking lot.

Greensboro, North Carolina is a hotbed of Southeast Asian cuisine in the Southeast. Many Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrant families were sponsored by various local churches and charities, particularly members of the Montagnard ethnic group. Our default dining option in town was Saigon Cuisine, which actually made the Saveur magazine 100 around 2001. I recall one rather large grocery store where I was able to find all the herbs I needed for bun bo Hue, my favorite Vietnamese soup. I also frequented a tiny shop run by a friendly Cambodian woman who always offered interesting samples.

Here in the Seattle area we have a plethora of Asian supermarkets to rival some of the Anglo chains in size. A brief rundown:

Uwajimaya. This is the 800-pound gorilla of Asian groceries in town. The mother ship is in the International District of Seattle, and smaller branches are located in Bellevue and Renton. It offers a diverse spread, but its roots are Japanese. It’s a little thin on Southeast Asian products and herbs, but there are other options for those nearby.

Viet Wah is predominantly Southeast Asian. It’s up the hill from Uwajimaya, in the Little Saigon neighborhood. It has other branches in the south end of Seattle. You want tapioca starch noodles and sawtooth herb, they’re there. There’s also a small grocery in the same plaza as Viet Wah, next door to the Tamarind Tree restaurant. We’ll duck into the smaller grocery for provisions if we’re eating at Tamarind Tree.

HT Market took over what used to be Larry’s on North Aurora Avenue. It tilts Southeast Asian; however, it has the standard Chinese barbecue pork and whole roast duck deli.

99 Ranch is a West Coast pan-Asian chain that has branches in Renton and Edmonds.

We ran across HMart in Bellevue last Saturday. It definitely skews Japanese and Korean.

There are several Indian groceries on the Bothell-Everett Highway and at Crossroads Mall and in the Overlake neighborhoods of Bellevue. Mayuri is one of the stores.

Seafood City is a large supermarket at Southcenter Mall that carries primarily Filipino food. In the north end, you’ll find small groceries such as Manila Manila in Lake City and Fil Am in Shoreline.

Walking into an Asian grocery can be a daunting experience for someone who thinks broccoli is an exotic vegetable. Even for people with a bit of knowledge of the assorted cuisines, it can be confusing. My advice is to start modestly with items that at least look familiar. For example, buy a bunch of Chinese broccoli and experiment; alternately, buy a bag of frozen potstickers. Take along a friend who has some experience. Try some of the samples. (I nearly passed out when my sister, who dislikes most Asian food, took a sample of a bun stuffed with bean paste at Uwajimaya and said it wasn’t bad.) Julian and I will purchase “experiment foods” at Uwajimaya. Some of them are very good; others don’t get bought again. Don’t be afraid to ask the store staff for recommendations, especially when you’re facing a shelf of 50 different brands of fish sauce.She or he will be able to steer you toward items that match your needs.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/12/asian-grocery-shopping/

Nov 07

The Infamous Eggnog Bread Recipe

“Christmas Creep”, the phenomenon of getting Christmas-themed products into stores earlier and earlier each year, is getting out of hand. We saw eggnog in a neighborhood grocery store before Halloween this year. This example has its upside, however. You can start making eggnog bread now and freeze it for gifts in December.

Eggnog bread is the anti-fruitcake. I don’t use artificially-colored candied fruit or peel, although the original recipe (from Southern Living magazine, published in December 1983) called for it. You don’t have to make the recipe months in advance, soak it with booze, and store it wrapped in cheesecloth until you foist it on unsuspecting relatives, friends, and coworkers. The lack of alcohol makes it an appropriate gift for folks who don’t imbibe. Finally, it’s edible! Your aforementioned relatives, friends, and coworkers will love it. So here’s the recipe:

Infamous Eggnog Bread

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 cup commercial eggnog (low-fat is fine)

1 cup of a mixture of dried fruit: raisins, dried cranberries, figs, dates, snipped dried apricots, or dried cherries

½ cup chopped pecans (walnuts or almonds can also be used)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Combine eggs, sugar, and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with eggnog, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in fruit and nuts.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 8 ½” x 4 ½” x 3” loaf pan or a Bundt pan. Bake at 350° 1 hour and 10 minutes (shorter for a Bundt pan) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf.

Notes:

  1.  If you have relatives, friends, and coworkers who don’t do nuts, just increase the amount of fruit accordingly.
  2. The recipe can be doubled easily, but tripling is a bit much. If I’m in baking frenzy mode, I’ll make two separate batches.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/11/07/the-infamous-eggnog-bread-recipe/

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