Thursday : November 6, 2008

Spinach and Ham Tart

Got this one from Jamie Oliver. The wonderful crust is easier to make than you would think. This tart is perfect If you are cooking for a group. Re-heat it whenever you need it (or you can server it room temperature).

Wednesday : November 5, 2008

Big Winter Classic

Great winter comfort food. It takes a little time, but it's a pleaser. The braising liquid makes a great sauce. With the wine, I put chicken or beef stock. It comes out rich and velvety. Also, letting the beef cool down (best overnight), then reheating it improves the texture. Take the extra time, it's worth it. Sides of mashed potatoes and carrots.

Monday : November 3, 2008

Grow Your Own

Great salad last night. Grilled chicken, carrots, apples and Irish cheddar cheese.

Picked the lettuce from our garden.

Saturday : November 1, 2008

Naked Chef Chicken

A house favorite, pan chicken. Flower dusted, slow cooked chicken with olives garlic, rosemary and crushed tomatoes. Recipe

Side dish of scalloped potatoes. Baked thin cut potatoes with parmesan and cream.

Friday : October 31, 2008

Repetition

Cookbooks don't emphasize it enough: don't have a dinner party and try a recipe that you have never made before. The chances of the meal being stellar is slim. Maybe that's why cooking is considered more of a trade than an art. Making recipes again and again focuses you on what steps are important and which are critical. Five years ago I thought I had pizza dough down. Three years ago I realized that I didn't have a clue five years ago. Today I'm content when it just rises correctly.

Thursday : October 30, 2008

Poolish

Good fresh bread is widely available and doesn't cost that much. So, why take the time to make it yourself? I don't really know, except that it feels like the right thing to do. But, don't think it's easy.

Or, fast for that matter. Good bread takes time to develop. The best manual I have found is "Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer. The poolish, or pre-ferment is the key.

Wednesday : October 29, 2008

Game Day

What can you say. This American gem is consumed by the ton by football fans throughout our country. Beans + sour cream + guacamole + cheese + green onions + hot sauce + ground meat (optional) = Seven Layer Dip.

Saturday : October 25, 2008

Global Trade

Local is great, but sometimes going beyond Main St. gets you something special, like Irish Dubliner Cheddar cheese. Much more flavorful than your run-of-the-mill cheddar. I made some grilled sandwiches spiked with soffritto.

Monday : October 20, 2008

Flavor Balancing

I like making potato salad and coleslaw. I like them because the ingredients are so simple, you can fine tune the flavor balance. Play with the acidity, saltiness, sweetness. Then, throw in a few chicken fingers and you got a party!

Monday : October 20, 2008

Book Review: Jamie at Home

Another good read. I like this guy's style. Simple food, good flavor combinations. He opens the book with some weird copy about his wife thinking he is cheating on her. What's that about? Let's just cook.

Wednesday : October 15, 2008

Dust Them Off

Time to get out those heavy fall recipes. Braises, stews and rattans. I can almost smell the bolognese lasagna from here.

Here we have a long time favorite, chicken parm. I actually like to double-down on the cheese and do a chicken parmesan/mozzarella. Good eating.

Thursday : October 9, 2008

Round Two

Tomatoes are back. Ours are in two locations, on either side of the house. It will be fun to see which location yields best and at what time of year.

Tuesday : October 7, 2008

Book Review: Lee Bros.

I watch the James Beard awards list because they are usually right on the money. The foundation's pick last year for best book was The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. The Lee Bros. story on how they stared their business is wonderful. They have a great appreciation for the food of their childhood and a honest way of documenting the food of the South.

Tuesday : October 7, 2008

Steak and Beets

I picked up some organic beef tenderloin at Whole Foods. It was one of the best steaks I have eaten. It's served up with roasted beets, mushrooms and a cottage cheese-thyme sauce.

Thursday : October 2, 2008

Bomba

These are basically mini calzones, about the size of a golf ball. Pizza dough stuffed with tomato, mozzarella, basil and then fried in oil.

Tuesday : September 30, 2008

A Mouthful

"His visibility put a quality imprimatur on organic products". Great reflection in the Times.

Saturday : September 27, 2008

Local Mushrooms

I found a great local mushroom stand at the farmers market. Ribbon pasta with Shitake and Oyster mushrooms, fried sage, shaved parmesan and cream.

Thursday : September 25, 2008

The Big Cheeses

A light dinner. Hopelessly Blue, Triple cream, baguette, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and million dollar beef jerky.

Tuesday : September 23, 2008

New Edible

New issue of the venerable Edible Austin. Pick it up at all your favoriate places: Central Market, Whole Foods, Asti, Alamo Drafthouse, Hotel San Jose, Austin Public Library, Book People, Boggy Creek...

Thursday : September 18, 2008

In Season

At the Austin Farmers Market this Saturday, it was easy to see what people mean by "in season". I got two words for you: peppers and okra. Not that there is anything wrong with that. There were a few other things around that I grabbed: collards and butternut squash. Which, led to the above: rack of lamb with butternut souffle on braised collards.

Thursday : September 18, 2008

Triangle Wednesday

We pedaled over to the Wednesday Austin Farmers' Market at the Triangle. Perfect weather. We ordered pizza and wine from Mandola's and had a picnic on the grass. Kids, dogs and vegetables everywhere.

Wednesday : September 17, 2008

Cheater Bread

Plenty of holes, not much joy. They call it "no-knead" bread. And yes, it worked. It looked great, didn't take much effort but last the complex flavor I was looking for. This was like bread: great to look at but not much to talk about. There is a video and a printed recipe that is more detailed (they left out the second rise in the video).

It worked well enough. Best eaten right out of the oven. It didn't store well. But, if you want easy bread at home, I don't think you can get a easier recipe.

Wednesday : September 17, 2008

Simple Plan

I attempted to duplicate a wonderfully simple pasta dish at Asti: Capellini Neopolitano with Crushed Tomato, Garlic & Basil. Man, simple is hard!

It was pretty close, but didn't ring the bell. Making my own pasta goes a long way, but not all the way there. I guess that's another reason to keep going out to eat.

Tuesday : September 9, 2008

The Long Mix

The latest (in a seemingly endless series of variations) pizza crust to hit the oven at chez Bowers is a little something I call 'the long mix'. I have been working more flour into the dough. Adding small amounts and mixing/kneadng for an extended time (I use a KitchenAid standing mixer) is working well. I am trying to go back to a more cracker crust. I just need to let it do a short second rise after I roll it out to get some bubbles back in.

Friday : September 5, 2008

Reading: The Reach Of A Chef

I like this guy (and not just because he hangs with Bourdain). His book "Soul of a Chef" was a wonderful read. Great insight into the cooking world. I like reading about what is behind the curtain and Ruhlman has a great view. "The Reach of a Chef" is a follow up of sorts to "Soul of a Chef". The cooking world has changed in the last ten years and these books give a good before and after glimpse.

Friday : September 5, 2008

BLT

Out of my top five sandwiches, the BLT has to be number one (right up there with a MLT). People try to build upon its simple strategy of crispy, juicy and smoky fat. But, additional ingredients usually cloud the beauty of what this sandwich is about. Uncured Apple smoked bacon, garden tomatoes and fresh lettuce. Long live the king.

Monday : September 1, 2008

Twisted Bread Salad

I have been trying some variations of our standard bread salad. Here it is with hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, almonds, cashews and parsley. It worked pretty well. The egg added a heartiness to it.

Friday : August 29, 2008

Beef. It's What's For Dinner.

Red Meat. I don't eat it as much as I use to, so when I do, it's even more fulfilling. My new thing is tasting two cuts side by side. It started a few weeks ago when I was out for dinner at Lamberts. I ordered a hanger steak and my friend ordered a ribeye. We cut them in half and traded. The staunch beefiness of the hanger with the lucious fattiness of the ribeye worked great together.

Above is a chuck-end ribeye and center cut tenderloin, both marinated in rosemary, garlic and olive oil. Served with potatoes, shallots and Pure Luck goat cheese.

Monday : August 25, 2008

FDA Warning

Thank god that whole 'don't eat tomatoes' mess is over. Although, if you were getting yours from a farmers market (or your yard), it probably went unnoticed. I know the FDA is looking out for our health, but I think they called that one a little early. Above is a straight-up caprese. Delightful.

Friday : August 15, 2008

Fry Daddy

This tempura batter is dead simple. Flour and soda water. That's it. The only other tricks are getting the oil to the right temperature (leave a kernel of popcorn in the oil and wait for it to pop) and cutting the vegetables to similar size pieces.

Monday : August 11, 2008

New Flavors

This was a fun dish to make. Rarely do I go outside my cooking comfort zone and use spices that I am unfamiliar with. Above is an Indian carrot salad on lamb. Lots of cumin, lemon and a spice mix that I have never heard of: Garam Masala. It was great.

Thursday : August 7, 2008

Comfort Food

The number one comfort food dish for my wife is chicken fingers and mashed potatoes (house made of course). Panko breaded chicken breast, pan fried. Truffle oil mashed potatoes. Cream pepper gravy with garlic and paprika.

Tuesday : August 5, 2008

Full Rack

For my wife's birthday, I made rack of lamb. She hasn't been a fan of lamb. I usually get loin chops, but she thought they were too fatty. Whole Foods had racks on sale, so we were off to the
races. I love lamb and was looking to get it back on our home menu.

It was a hit! A bone-gnawing good time. I served it up with roasted vegetables and pan juice.

Tuesday : July 29, 2008

Hunger Strike

Not to worry, just kidding. I have still been eating. Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I have been preoccupied with a new business venture (not food related, but hopefully that will be coming around soon). I miss posting and hope to be doing regular installments soon. Thanks for tuning in and don't give up on me. More food may-ham to come, I promise.

Christian

Wednesday : July 9, 2008

Fourth of July

Patriotic dinner of roasted chicken, braised leeks and potato salad with chives and house mayo.

Friday : June 27, 2008

Fried Green Tomatoes

That's right, just like the movie! Except nobody dies. The frying quiets the tartness of the under-ripened tomatoes nicely. We dipped them in a little Oka's.

Monday : June 23, 2008

Spinach Salad

Spinach salad with chopped egg, bacon, red onion, feta and a honey vinaigrette.

Friday : June 20, 2008

Rotolo di Zucca e Ricotta

Rolled, stuffed pasta. Think of it as an Italian sushi. The only trick is that you need fresh sheet pasta to make the rolling part work. This one is filled with roasted squash, spinach and two different ricottas. Topped with parmesan and clarified butter.

You need to roll the whole thing up in a dish towel and have a vessel large enough to boil it in. I used a deep roasting pan, sitting on two burners of my cook top. The good news is that you can make all of this ahead of the time, so it would be great for a dinner party.

Friday : June 20, 2008

Edible Summer

The new issue is hot off the press, this time locally. Edible Austin is now printed at Whitley Printing, on SmartWood paper with organic vegetable dye ink. I think it looks even better. (Edible's new website looks nice too. Ladies, you have been busy.)

Wednesday : June 18, 2008

Satin Ribbons

Handmade pasta is a wonderful thing. It should have a completely different name from dried pasta. They couldn't be farther apart.

Tuesday : June 17, 2008

Mini Burgers

Not very hungry but would like a hamburger? Mini burgers got you covered. Ground bison on Italian rustic loaf was my starting point. The variations are: caramelized red onion and cheddar and a traditional BLT (bison, lettuce and tomato).

Friday : June 13, 2008

Coaxing the Bubble

My pizza dough recipe has been pretty consistent for the last year. The one thing that I wanted to improve on was more bubbles in the crust. I let my dough rise twice (an hour at a time). Now, my extra step is to let the rolled out dough rise for another 15 - 20 minutes (a third rise). That is when the great bubbles have time to develop. It's also an automatic timer for when the oven has had enough time to heat up and retain the set temperature once you open the door to put your pie in. It's a two-for-one.

Thursday : June 12, 2008

Use Those Tomatoes

Hopefully your garden is full of tomatoes, because it is getting a little dangerous using those store bought ones. Tomato and bread salad with basil, red onion, roasted bell peppers and celery heart.