Friday, March 23, 2007

have reservations, will travel

Destination: food, or rather, the culinary wonderland of Paris. After 14 years I finally return, this time with considerably more travel know-how and scratch than my college student self, who could barely afford a baguette. We have reservations at Restaurant d'Hélène and Au Trou Gascon. I haven't had a truly great meal since I left San Francisco and I'm not likely to have another until my next Paris trip. So I'm pinning all my hopes and dreams on every morsel consumed in the next few days. I hope I haven't set my expectations too high ; )

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

good pizza in Zurich?

OK, I recant my previous rash statement that all pizza is horrible in Zurich. I had a very nice pizza tonight at Santa Lucia in the Niederdorf - good crust, yummy toppings. And I've heard there are at least two other well-known places in town I should try. And of course, I've had plenty of horrible pizza back in the US. So I reconsidered my objections and decided that a) I complain too much and b) my real complaint is that pizza here is expensive. The personal pizza I had tonight was 25 francs (~$21). In Italy, this same pizza would have been maybe 8 euros (~$11). The most expensive pizza at Chez Panisse is $17. The most expensive at Spago Beverly Hills is $20 and it has caviar on it. Expectations change when you pay more. Yes, I live in Zurich where everything is overpriced so I should just get over it. But what's the fun of having a blog if you can't complain a little and commiserate with your friends?

Monday, March 19, 2007

mexican gelato?

To accompany my mex fest, I made gelato with Mexican chocolate. In short, Mexican chocolate is "toasted very dark...then coarsely ground over heat with sugar (and often cinnamon, almonds, and vanilla)...making a disc that more or less dissolves in milk or water, to drink" - Rick Bayless
It's my favorite hot chocolate. To make it properly, you pour hot milk over the chopped chocolate in a blender, then blend to create a thick foam. Yum yum.

As a starting point, I referenced this excellent gelato posting on The Traveler's Lunchbox. As described in this posting, the main difference between gelato and ice cream is that gelato uses only milk, not cream. This means a more intense flavor because the fat is a "flavor-blocker". You may be familiar with this principle with chocolate - e.g. hot chocolate made with water instead of milk is more intense and dissolving cocoa powder in hot water before adding to cake batter will create a more intense chocolate flavor. I digress.

So I adapted the Chocolate Gelato No. 2 on The Traveler's Lunchbox (adapted from an epicurious recipe) by substituting Mexican chocolate for the bittersweet chocolate and reducing the cocoa powder to 1/2 cup. This resulted in a hyper-chocolatey gelato that about knocked me out. I can't imagine what would happen with a full cup of cocoa. It was well-liked by all but with all this chocolatey goodness, the Mexican chocolate subtleties were practically obliterated.

So I tried again, this time eliminating the cocoa powder and got the result I wanted, basically the flavor of Mexican hot chocolate turned into a creamy, cold dessert (recipe below). It was also vaguely reminiscent of the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity3 in Manhatten (you must go if you're in town - it lives up to the hype).

Despite this, I was not completely satisfied with the texture. It was a little grainy/icy, not creamy enough. Next time I might try adding a tiny bit of vodka, recommended by a Cook's Illustrated sherbet recipe to create a smoother, more refined texture. Also, I might play around with the milk/sugar ratio. The CI recipe mentions that "...sugar makes it harder for water molecules to form ice crystals and thus lowers the freezing temperature of the mixture...sugar also reduces the size of the ice crystals, physically interfering with their growth. Smaller ice crystals translate into a less grainy texture."

Lastly, the TL recipe says to bring the custard to 160F and the epicurious one says 170F. Most of my ice cream recipes recommend at least 180F, which proved exactly right. If you don't get it to custard texture, there's no point in freezing the stuff.

Here's my final Mexican chocolate gelato recipe, adapted from The Traveler's Lunchbox:

2 ounces (4 triangles) of Mexican chocolate
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup evaporated milk (whole milk is ok, too)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks

Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water (to cool mix after cooking). Coarsely chop chocolate. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan bring milk, evaporated milk, and about half of sugar just to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add cocoa powder and chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat yolks, remaining sugar and salt until thick and pale. Add hot chocolate mixture in a very slow stream, whisking, being careful not to cook the eggs. Then pour the mixture back into saucepan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 180°F (don't let it boil - it will cook the eggs, yuck!). Pour custard through a sieve into a metal bowl set in ice and cold water and cool. Chill custard, covered, until cold. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden for several hours.

Friday, March 16, 2007

mex fest

My father graciously hauled over 6 pounds of tortilla press from the US. After my first batch, I will never buy tortillas again. I was worried that my memories of fresh masa would taint my enjoyment. But thankfully, I was wrong and they were great. I even mastered the time honored technique of laying the tortilla dough on the hot griddle by sweeping my hand backwards over the grill (see video below).


Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen provides wonderfully detailed instructions for this simple task (I love this cookbook). They're so easy - mix 1 cup masa harina with 3/4 cup water, roll dough balls, press and toast on griddle for 15 secs on first side, 30 sec on next side, then another 30 seconds on first side again. Hold cooked tortillas in a kitchen towel or warmer. I learned a couple things:

  • cook longer than you think (a full 30 seconds on each side) or the middle tastes uncooked
  • the tortillas stay soft in the warmer so don't worry if they seem a little stiff after cooking
  • ziploc bags (cut open) are the perfect plastic for pressing - plastic wrap is too flimsy
  • non-stick skillet is not necessary. I used my cast iron pan. The tortilla sticks for the first few seconds but then releases (if the pan is the proper temperature)
And what would fresh tortillas be without guac and pico de gallo? Oh, Mexican food, I love you so!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

chocolate sprinkle donuts


Yet another food item that isn't quite right in Zurich: donuts. Yes, I can get donuts here, but they are rather dense, too bread-y, a little dry, a myrid of complaints. So I made my own. Is there a better way to use a whole quart of oil in one sitting?


nothing better than a loved one enjoying your creations


I used the Brioche Donut recipe from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard, executive pastry chef at Spago Beverly Hills. It's good, but not exactly what I was looking for. On the good side, they were light and fluffy and relatively easy to make. But it wasn't sweet enough for me - only 1TB sugar for 20 donuts. Yes, the glaze can do a lot of the work. But I like my donuts to be able to stand on their own. Here's a couple things I learned:

- Despite the ridiculously sticky dough, I resisted adding more flour (yea, me!) and only lightly dusted to roll and cut. The dough was much easier handle than I anticipated. Don't let the stickyness scare you into over-flouring and thus toughening your dough.

- The hardest part is maintaining the oil temperature - between 350-360F, particularly on my lame electric range. Under 350, the donuts absorb too much oil. Over 375 and the oil starts to break down. When you put the dough in, the temp will drop slightly so you have to have the heat properly adjusted so the temp can recover quickly. You must carefully watch the temp the entire time - don't get distracted.

- Use milk chocolate for the glaze, duh. I tend to use at least 55% dark for all my baking so it didn't occur to me that it wasn't appropriate for a donut. Perhaps it would have worked if the donut was sweeter. But to my taste, the dark chocolate was too bitter for this treat.

- The glaze was too runny, leaving only the thinnest layer on the dipped donut. After the glaze cooled a bit, it thickened, which made it easier to get a thicker layer - so much better. Still the glaze wasn't nearly glossy enough. I might prefer a pwd sugar/milk icing instead.

- They really are only good for about 2 hours, then they get a little tough. The next day, positively gross. Eat them while they're hot.

- Lastly, people love donuts. This is a great way to make friends and influence people. :)


cutting out the dough ... ready to go


frying 'em up ... waiting for some glaze

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

american pie in europe

Although one of Switzerland's official languages is Italian, the pizzas in Zurich are nothing like Italian ones. In fact, most are pretty horrible. So like everything else here (except cheese, bread and pastries), I have to make it myself. I finally got a copy of "American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza" by Peter Reinhart and proper pizza making has finally begun in my kitchen. I tried the Margherita pizza with Neapolitan dough and it was great, although it must be enjoyed within minutes of exiting the oven before it was hardened into something else entirely. The dough is finally exactly what I've been looking for. It stays super crisp, it's flavorful, and it's thin - almost too thin. As I started to shape it, it quickly got paper thin and I had to handle it more carefully. My oven goes to about 280C and the pizzas cooked in 7 mins (with pizza stone). I tried a pesto pizza and it burned to a literal crisp after 4 mins - not sure why. I have a lot to learn and a lot of experimentation to do. But with this crust, I'm inspired. If only I could recreate my favorites from Pizzetta 211 in San Francisco...

Now for the book itself. Although the recipes are good so far, the pizza "hunt" story was disappointing. I prefer the more obsessive research style of a Jeffrey Steingarten, a man who tasted 35 ketchups on 10 large orders of fries in his "Festival of Ketchups, a grand competitive tasting." So the sparse tasting research done, or at least documented in the book, by Mr. Reinhart was pretty lame. His trip to Italy included only a couple tastings in select cities at the most recommended restaurants. When the "best" place was closed, he just tried another down the street since he was only in town for a day. Yes, this is probably a more efficient method but completely doable by any average pizza lover. I'd much rather read about a manic foodie devouring numerous samples all over the map, camping out for days if necessary, actually discovering something rather than just confirming the general consensus. He claims to have tasted many pizzas in New York, but text focuses on an uninteresting account of various "Ray's" pizza joints (which in his own admission, is already better documented in an independent film). To his credit, he does dedicate three whole pages to Pizzetta 211, my fave pizza place in my old San Francisco neighborhood. So clearly he has good taste (wink, wink). The problem is: where is the info? I could forgive everything above, if he eventually boiled his experience down into a detailed account of what makes each pizza style different and how these styles have evolved. Some of that is embedded in the rambling story but I had to work too hard, for too little. However, it still services as a cookbook and that's why I bought it. Enough said.

more gadgets

Here are two more of my favorite kitchen gadgets...


My garlic mincing skills have much to be desired, so I typically use a garlic press instead (yes, I know the flavor is different). My old garlic presses were really hard to press - I often had to wedge it against the counter and throw my whole weight against it. So I upgraded to the Zyliss Susi Deluxe garlic press, which I love! It's easy to press, even easier to clean and I don't have to peel the cloves before pressing. Unfortunately, this model is out of production now, but here's a review of the new Zyliss models.



My newest "gadget" is a flour duster, for dusting countertops before kneading or rolling out dough. Before I would simply use my hands or a spoon to spread flour lumps around, which always resulted in much too much flour, unevenly distributed. The duster gives a even, thin layer. It's a simple, silly thing but it makes me a happier baker.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

birthday cupcake


I'd never made a birthday cake that I like. They are usually edible (particularly with some ice cream), but a little too dry or too dense for my taste. I almost started to think that perhaps it wasn't my baking, but that I just don't like cake (I rarely like cake at restaurants either). But finally, I made a cupcake I adore and that was also a hit with my guests. So much so that I immediately made a second batch. To get evenly sized cupcakes, I put the muffin tin on the scale as I portioned out the batter to make sure each cup got the same amount. I discovered that exactly 2 ounces of batter created the perfect cupcake that didn't spill over, thus avoiding an unsightly lid that is difficult to frost.

I even loved the frosting (it looks a little dry in the picture, but it was creamy and delicious!), which is usually the worst part since I hate buttercream and every cookbook I own seems to think that buttercream is the only and/or best choice for a birthday cake. The frosting needs some adjustments to improve the glossiness, but it's certainly on the right track. I used about 65% dark chocolate for the cake and about 50% dark for the frosting (it was for my 3rd old's birthday so I didn't want to go too dark).

I used the Cook's Illustrated Dark Chocolate Cupcake recipe with their Chocolate Ganache frosting. There are two important elements of this cake: a) a small addition of sour cream, giving a little tang and more moistness and b) melting together the cocoa powder, chocolate, and butter before adding to the batter - releases more chocolate-y goodness!
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