caneles!!

Wow - I told you I made batter for these yummy french pastries, then left you hanging for over two weeks.

Sorry about that.

I did make the things, and the results were okay by the second batch, tho I've yet to experience the custardy center that is the stuff of legend. Aside from winging it with the mini muffin tins, I also preheated the tins as noted in the traditional recipe, tho this step wasn't mentioned in the recipe I was using. So perhaps they cooked quicker than they ordinarily would, and so the timer was ultimately useless.

The first batch had an aroma not unlike toasted marshmallows. And a similar appearance, too:

A little too dark, and definitely overdone, though Matt was certainly not complaining. I think this might be one case where he preferred the mistake.

I had enough batter left to try again, so I did:

The color was better this time around, and the center was definitely softer than the surrounding crust, but it was still firmly in "cake" category. Very good, nonetheless, but I don't think it's quite what French pastry chefs would call successful.

Third time's the charm?

We shall see.

I think it mainly comes down to the molds, or possibly to tweaking the recipe to work with the tools available to me.

Alternately, if anyone's wanting gift ideas for the coming holiday season, the traditional molds are only $20.00 a piece!

I need eighteen of them.

Get on that, will you?

Terrified.

Yesterday I made batter for caneles (can-eh-lay. alternate spelling: canneles.).

They are a French pastry with a dark brown, crispy, caramelized crust, and a custard-like interior.

Traditionally they are made in copper molds coated with food-grade beeswax.

Copper molds and beeswax!!!
Am I out of my mind???

I do not have copper molds (available for around $20.00 a piece - for one 1 1/2 inch mold) or beeswax (because I don't know any local honey farmers) so I am using mini muffin tins and clarified butter.

And praying.

A lot.

The batter is simple - simmered milk,butter, and vanilla combined with flour, sugar, eggs, and rum. Then it has to sit for at least twenty-four hours.

Then you have to cook them at all these varying temps for like two hours, and hope you can get them out of the molds and they're actually edible.

I keep reading comments like, "On my fifth batch, I got results I was satisfied with."

I'm freaking out.
Why am I doing this?

...Because they sound delicious.

I've been obsessing about them ever since I found out about their existence four days ago, and apparently I've decided to take the plunge. I'll let you know what happens.

anecdote.

I have always loved brussels sprouts.

The first time I tried them - I would've been about seven years old - I loved them so much that I attempted to shove a whole one into my tiny mouth and eat it all at once. The resulting gagging fit was enough to convince my mother that what she'd heard her whole life was true - all children hate brussels sprouts.

And why shouldn't they?

And what was she thinking giving such vile vegetables to her child?

Remorseful, she never made brussels sprouts again. I had to wait until I could buy and make my own food before I ever tasted another.

[end scene]

So sad!!!!

I probably have 20 different brussels sprouts recipes in my collection. I've one recipe that calls for a brown sugar butter sauce that is amazingly delicious, and know a great (if work-intensive) technique for a warm salad that involves separating the leaves of the heads.

We were turned on to a new technique recently:

Grilled Brussels Sprouts

Have you ever??

The recipe called for skewering the heads before throwing them on the grill, but it didn't take long to determine that this was a dangerous and difficult approach that would most likely end with the skewering of ourselves. So we just halved them and used my metal cooling rack as a guard against any of the sprouts falling into the fire.

I tossed them with olive oil [as directed], then added a splash of serrano-infused vodka I happen to have (I'm preserving the chiles from my garden), and some salt and pepper, and put them over the hot coals for about five minutes per side. After I took them off the heat I tossed them with some crushed red pepper flakes and some blue cheese crumbles.

Delicious!!

Important Note.

I've been down for most of a week with food poisoning resulting from a cup of clam chowder purchased from Cafe 251 located at 251 N. Illinois Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. I ate there for lunch on Tuesday, missed work Wednesday and Thursday, attempted to go back Friday, but only lasted until noon.

I am now aware that at least six people from my company alone have gotten sick from eating at that establishment in the less than two years since we have been at this location.

If you are in the area and the idea should arise, DO NOT EAT THERE.

I will be contacting the Board of Health.

... So, after sleeping for the majority of what remained of Friday, and sleeping until 11:00 AM or so yesterday, I attempted a grocery shopping trip. It went reasonably well, though I did take a nap afterwards, and I actually ended up cooking last night.

And eating!
A lot!

I made Indian-spiced pork chops. :-)

I got the recipe from a suburb addition of our local paper, which regularly provides five easy week-night recipes. This week's were from a recently updated edition of a 1972 cookbook titled "The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook."

Here's what it says to do:

(serves four)

2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 boneless pork chops (5 oz each)
4 tsp vegetable oil

It says to mix all the spices together, pat the mix on both sides of the pork chops, then brush them with the oil and stick them under a pre-heated broiled for 3 minutes per side.

The garam masala I have is already in an oil-based paste form, so I just added a couple of tsp of oil to the whole mix and smeared it on 3 bone-in chops. There's only two of us, after all.

I cooked as suggested, flipping and adjusting cooking time slightly until the part near the bone measured 140 Fahrenheit.

No pics, unfortunately.
Sorry. I'm better, but not THAT better. :-/

Anyway, this was delicious. Despite what newspaper reviewer Joanie Fuson says. (And I quote: "The flavor was a bit overbearing for the kids. Consider cutting the rub ingredients in half.")

What the hell, lady? Maybe you should just teach your kids to use their taste buds. I know we're in Indiana, but you could at least pretend to have a cultural palette. If this had been any more mild, it would've just been salted pork chops. It had a lovely flavor - unique and very fragrant. If your kids don't like it, make them try it some other time.

I served it with baked sweet potatoes, Indian whole milk yogurt, and spicy cilantro relish. We had galub jamun for dessert. And coffee! I hadn't had coffee since Tuesday morning!

Tonight is either spaghetti squash or risotto, depending on what I feel up to doing.

(I actually got hungry around lunchtime today! I had asian soup!)

... and I promise to update you on how we came across all of these Indian ingredients in the first place. But seriously, DO NOT EAT AT CAFE 251.

Pardon My Absence (pt 2)

The Grand Canyon by rail, courtesy of AmTrak.

Very romantic, very scenic, and at times very frustrating. With that in mind, I'd like to talk about Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Albuquerque is the epicenter of Suck.

This was scientifically tested and proven during our trip west.

If you live in or are from Albuquerque, I am sorry. Really, really sorry. You should move! Your life would be a whole lot better! Just ask NPH or French Stewart!

The trouble started about an hour outside of the city.

We were informed that we would be spending over an hour at the station, so practically no one made reservations for dinner on board the train. Because everybody knows that the one thing Albuquerque has going for it, besides hot-air balloons, is burritos.

BUT THEN - We started hitting unexpected red signals, requiring super slow speeds and verification from the home station and a whole bunch of hassle.

By the time we got to the station, we were informed that it would only be a 15 minute stop, and if you had to disembark, you should stay close. So, no yummy overstuffed burritos laced with fresh green chiles for us. Instead: microwavable pizza from the snack car!

But here's the kicker: Because the resident citizenry of Albuquerque is too stupid to realize that unticketed people actually do have to get off the train at some point, we were actually at the station for over an hour!!! Not allowed to go search out yummy food, but put behind schedule minute by minute because people's family and friends wouldn't get off the train!!!!

What is up with that??

[deep breath to decompress]

(This helps, a little...)

So, I have figured out the formula for Albuquerque: The closer you get, the more things suck. The further away you are, the more things improve. But you are left with a residual craving for burritos.

On the way back east, we were given an unexpected gift. We arrived in Albuquerque an hour ahead of the time printed in the schedule, for an hour-plus stay (must've been a typo). We managed to blindly find some super delicious burritos within three or four blocks of the train station.

Fellow passengers were violently jealous.
We were threatened with stoning.
Good times!

An added bonus to train travel: We arrived back in Chicago three hours before our bus was scheduled to depart. In that time, we managed to track down a Pizano's location within walking distance - home to the best pizza we've ever had, and a super selection of draft beer, to boot. Hadn't visited in 4 years. SO glad we had the opportunity.

So I suppose it's all good, despite the existence of Albuquerque.

Travel by train.
Seriously - DO IT.
If you can at all afford it, do it.
At least once.

If you don't, you might miss something you can never imagine.
Good or bad, it's still a happening.

Pardon My Absence (pt. 1)

We went on a little trip...

Pretty, isn't it?
It was in celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary.

This trip to the canyon was gorgeous and awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking and beyond description, as usual, but we did notice a disturbing trend of young people wearing flip-flops emerging from steep trails and racing to the edge of the rim to balance on one foot, taking pictures with their cameras the whole way.

Wearing flip-flops!

oh my god!!!!

But, since this is a food blog and not a travel blog, let's get down to the matter at hand:

I managed to con my husband into dinner at both the Bright Angel and El Tovar. That's right, two of the most famous National Park lodges EVER. Go ME!! (OK, so we split the cost. I still consider it a win. :-p)

Dinner #1: Bright Angel (The Arizona Room)
Him: The best corn chowder I've ever tasted, creamy with some whole (fire-roasted?) kernels, topped with crispy tortilla strips. There was nutmeg in that soup, I think. Possibly white pepper and cinnamon. Main course was blue corn breaded chicken with an ancho honey sauce, served with hominy mixed with wild rice and some steamed veggies.

Her: A nondescript though yummy green salad, followed by an incredible serving of baby back ribs cooked in a prickly pear barbecue sauce, served with a portion of green chile "creamed" corn and the requisite steamed veggies.

I loved how fully they captured the flavors of the region, and I loved that I wasn't the only person taking pictures of my food.

As a bonus, they prepared one of the best martinis I've ever had. Making it super easy to wander into the crevasse a few yards away...


Dinner #2: El Tovar
... The eldest and grandest lodge at the Canyon, El Tovar is not the kind of place where one feels comfy whipping out a flashing camera to take a snap of the main course. I can, however, tell you what we ate:

Together: Appetizer of mozzarella roulades of prosciutto and basil pesto, served with tiny kalamata olives and marinated yellow and red roma tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil.

(Very, very, VERY good, and I don't even like olives. Ate them all.)

Him: Roasted Half Duck with Citrus Marmalade Glaze, served with roasted poblano black bean rice.

Her: Sauteed Rainbow Trout with Pumpkin Seed Pesto and Rice Pilaf.

This was Matt's first foray with duck, and I'm glad to say it was prepared phenomenally. The flavor of all the dishes was fantastic.

We never ordered dessert.... Perhaps the best capper that could ever be was walking out into the night to see the universe laid bare above us. Thousands of stars, meteors, and the Milky Way tumbling around in the absolute blackness.


(Coming soon, pt. 2: Did I mention that we travelled by train?)

Garlic Soup

Garlic. In. Everything.

This is my motto.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I came across a recipe for Garlic Soup during a random search though my Gourmet cookbook. I had been looking for gingerbread, but... my plans changed.

I tried it; I loved it.
I tried it again; I loved it again.

And so I planned to document its creation and share it with you, dear readers, upon the first given opportunity since the advent of this blog. That opportunity occurred on August 28, 2010.

Step One: Thinly slice one head of garlic:

Yes, one head of garlic.
About 2 inches in diameter.

Step Two: Cook the sliced garlic in 3 tablespoons of olive oil over low to medium heat, until it is tender and lightly golden:

Step Seventy-eight: Garlic Soup with fried crusty bread and poached egg, garnished with fresh cilantro:


... I kinda forgot to take pictures during the process.
Sorry.

Basically you remove the garlic from the pan and fry some sliced bread in the garlic-infused oil, two pieces per person, about two minutes per side. Put the bread into empty soup bowls.

Pour 4 cups of poultry stock (preferably homemade), 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and the cooked garlic into that same pan, and bring to a simmer. Slide some eggs in there and poach them until they're done - whites cooked, but yolks still runny.

Plate by putting the cooked eggs on top of the bread, spooning the broth around, sprinkling with cilantro, and squeezing some lime over the whole thing.

When you tuck in, the broth turns a lovely light buttery yellow, and the bread becomes creamy and velvety by the finish.

So Good.

I have the exact recipe, if anyone's interested.