charcoal

This is what happens when you accidently leave pumpkin roasting in a 400F oven for 5 hours while you're out visiting friends.

gyros at home?

greek lamb-burgers anyone?

If I loved Döner kebabs, I guess I'd be quite happy with the Zürich food scene since there seems to be a Döner stand on every corner. But I don't love them (although the ones at that place on Hohlstrasse near the Altstetten train station are pretty good - do you know about this place too? Seems like everyone does), I love gyros and the only one I found in Zürich was not very good and expensive, my favorite combo. So I tried a home-version recipe from Cook's Illustrated with fairly good results. Basically, you make little greek-flavored lamb-burgers and wrap them up in a pita with tzatziki sauce. It was definitely a tasty dinner, but it didn't quite satisfy my gyros craving. I guess I'll have to try this recipe that involves the more traditional rotisserie method.


another tasty way for my beloved griddle to earn its keep

The real fun was the pitas. I like my pitas soft and puffy and these did not disappoint. I used the Bread Bible recipe this time (below). It was easy except it instructed me to roll out all eight circles and let them rest for 10 mins before cooking them. Um, where am I supposed to put all those rolled out circles??? I improvised counter space with a couple baking pans set on drawers.



Also, I can only fit 2 at a time in the oven, so the other circles are "resting/rising" 5-15 mins longer than the others. This might have been the reason the later pitas didn't puff like the first ones. Not sure. But the ones that puffed, puffed sky-high.


look how tall!


I love the internal structure of my puffed up pitas


this definitely was not a one-pot meal


a little peek at the tornado I left in my wake


was this little sandwich worth all that trouble?


The Tzatziki sauce was the best part. I always want more sauce when I get take out. So at home, I got to eat as much as wanted. I'm happy that Coop now carries this inexpensive greek yogurt. It's just as delicious as that Total brand at 1/4 the price.

Gyros
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (greek yogurt works best)
1/2 medium cucumber , peeled, seeded, and diced fine (about 1/2 cup)
3/8 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves or dill

Drain the yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer lined with paper towels for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cucumber, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and lemon juice in colander set over bowl and let stand 30 minutes. Discard drained liquid from yogurt. Combine thickened yogurt, drained cucumber, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic, and mint in clean bowl.

Lamb Patties

4 pita breads
3/4 cup bread crumbs (use the tops cut off the pita bread or part of one pita bread)
1/2 medium onion, chopped coarse (about 3/4 cup)
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 pound ground lamb
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. Process onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, and bread/pita pieces in food processor until smooth paste forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer onion mixture to large bowl; add lamb and gently mix with hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls. Gently flatten balls into round disks, about 1/2 inch thick and 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

2. Stack the pitas, wrap tightly in foil, and place in 350F oven for 10 minutes to warm and soften them.

3. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add patties and cook until well browned and crust forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, reduce heat to medium, and cook until well browned and crust forms on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer patties to paper towel-lined plate.

4. Spread 1/4 cup Tzatziki Sauce inside each pita. Divide patties evenly among pitas; top each sandwich with tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and feta. Serve immediately.

Pita Bread

Adapted from The Bread Bible

16 ounces AP flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
2 TB olive oil
1.25 cup water, room temperature

Mix all the ingredients together and knead the dough 10 minutes in a stand mixer (longer by hand) until the dough is very soft, smooth and sticky to the touch. It should pass the windowpane test. Rise in oiled bowl until doubled, about 1.5 hours. Preheat oven to 475F one hour before baking. Have oven shelf on lowest level and place baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating. After the dough has risen, cut the dough into 8 or 12 pieces and shape each piece into a ball and flatten into disks. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. Roll each disk into a circle a little under 1/4 inch thick. Let them rest 10 minutes before baking. Quickly place dough circles (as many as will fit comfortably in the oven) directly on the baking stone or sheet and bake for 3 minutes. It should puff but not beginning to brown. Remove the pitas and wrap in a clean towel (or tortilla warmer) to keep them soft and warm. Eat immediately.

constant temperature

I've got another gadget for you: the Cuisipro thermometer whisk. As you may have noticed, I love measuring things. When making custards, you have to constantly whisk it and monitor the temperature so it doesn't go above 180F and curdle the eggs. This cutie combines the two functions, with a thermometer built into the whisk. Mysteriously, every internet site I checked was out of stock. I searched for it on the internet for over a year and finally found one for sale last November on eBay. I snatched it up right quick and promptly made some pies.

right on time

Another "absolute necessary" kitchen tool: my new timer, the Polder 898-90 Clock Timer Stopwatch (rec'd by Cook's). I hate my old timer (also rec'd by Cook's) because the stupid start/stop button is so loose that I have to hit it a few times before it takes and the thermometer feature is poorly calibrated. Why I love my new timer:

• I can type in the time with the numbers, instead of repeatedly pushing an "up" button (really annoying when I need 50 mins).


• I can type in exact seconds, if I want to be especially precise.


• It has a "count up" feature, like a stopwatch, so I can time how long something is happening (like when I want to leave something in the oven a few more minutes and keep checking it - I can just start the stopwatch to track the time instead of constantly resetting the timer to 1 min.


• It's super small so it fits in my pocket.


• It has a string, so I can hang it around my neck.

One complaint: the beep is extremely loud (and not adjustable), but it does happily entertain my toddler so I'll look on the bright side.

homemade granola

crunchy bowl of healthy goodness

I happened to be at my friend Jenna's house while she was making homemade granola for Christmas gifts. It never occurred to me to make my own granola, especially living in the land that invented birchermüesli and sells a dizzying variety of granolas. But wow, it was delicious; I couldn't stop eating it. She's more of an intuitive cook and doesn't strictly follow a recipe. But I jotted her notes down anyway and tried it at home. After three tries, I finally got it right.


my favorite way to eat it - with plain yogurt

Two reasons to make it yourself. One - you know exactly what is in it. I was surprised that every granola/müesli I looked at in the store (even bio/organic brands) had lots of preservatives and other numbered ingredients. Two - you can adjust the ingredients to match your preferences. I love nuts and am always disappointed how few show up in the store-bought variety. So I use lots in my homemade mix.  If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. If you hate coconut, don't use it. If you like dried fruit, mix it in immediately after baking. You are the boss. 

Homemade Granola

Preheat oven to 325F(160C).

In a large bowl, combine:
    4 cups oatmeal (whole rolled oats, not instant)
    3 cups chopped nuts (I prefer a mix of cashews and pecans)
    1 cup seeds (I use a salad seed mix that has sunflower, pumpkin, flax, etc)
    1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
    1/4 raw sugar

In a small bowl, combine:
    1/4 cup olive oil
    1/2 cup honey
    1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Add liquid mixture to dry and stir until everything is moistened. Press flat into a baking sheet (about 1/2 inch deep). Bake 20 mins, then stir granola well and then flatten back down. Back another 10-15 mins. Watch (and smell) carefully so it doesn't burn. Cool and store in fridge for weeks.

In Switzerland, it's not particularly cheaper to make your own, since we don't have Trader Joe's and Costco as inexpensive sources of nuts and other pricey ingredients. But it's not too bad; I estimated about 8-10sfr for about 1.1 kilo of granola. A 500g bag of basic granola at Migros costs 4.40sfr. 


raw mixture


flattened into baking sheet

 
one batch fills this 2.2 liter container

it's a circus

In addition to all the kitchen gadgets I ordered myself, my step-mom brought several more as Christmas gifts and I'm having great fun using them. She brought this cute animal crackers kit from Williams-Sonoma and my 4yr old has been very anxious to put it to good use. I was a little skeptical as kits like this often look very cute but don't work very well. But happily, I was wrong; it was fun and the cookies are yummy. 



The cutters work with a spring action. First you press the cutter into the dough, then you lift the cutter with the dough still inside and set the cutter down on your baking sheet. Then you press the lever down to make the impression, holding the cutter down on the sheet. Then press the lever and life the cutter to release the dough. It took some practice to make the impressions deep enough but not too deep, going all the way through. The method is a little fussy and my 4yr old got bored after one sheet. But overall, I liked the kit and definitely liked the results.
 

 




The recipe comes on the back of the box (and on their website) and the only change I would make is to reduce the cooking time from 14-16mins to 9-10mins. At 14mins, mine were positively burnt (I was frantically cooking dinner and wasn't watching them closely).  Also, I skip the whole 2hrs in the fridge thing. I just roll my out immediately after mixing and stick it outside in the below zero weather for 10mins and then start cutting. Little boys just can't wait all day for cookies.

absolutely "pourfect" commercial break

More gadgets... I saw these "Pourfect" bowls promoted on Rose Levy Beranbaum's blog and immediately put them on the top of my wish list. The bowls cleverly solve one big headache: pouring ingredients into my kitchen aid, particularly while it's running. With a regular bowl, the contents spread out across the bowl lip, forcing me to slosh the bowl side to side to keep the contents from spilling out the sides. In contrast, the Pourfect bowls are oblong with a pronounced channel and wings on the pouring side so the contents pour straight out and nothing falls out the side. I was a little put-off by the infomercial marketing style of their website, especially the videos. But I was pretty quickly convinced, and in true late night infomerical fashion, I bought the whole kit and caboodle: 6 bowls and 3 measuring beakers. And I'm not sorry. I love them and use them all the time. OK, enough of the promo and back to baking!

pie bag

I just had a visitor from the US, so I have lots of fun new kitchen tools to play with. Perhaps my favorite is this pie crust pouch that I got from Fantes (my favorite kitchen supply site). I used to roll my dough between parchment to prevent the crust from sticking to my rolling pin or soaking up too much flour. But the parchment slides all over the counter. Not only does this pie bag help you roll in a properly sized circle (I got the 14in bag, which helps me roll to 12in, perfect for a 9in dish), but if you slightly wet the counter, it sticks in place and doesn't move unless you purposely tug at it. I love it! Best $4.49 I ever spent. See it in action...


my little dough ball, ready to get worked


rolled out to 12 inches


unzip and peel off the top, flip over and peel off the bottom


use the bag to help you flip the dough over onto the pie dish


it doubles as a pie storage bag - I just zip up the baked pie and place it into the fridge without all that fuss with plastic wrap

finally, some real chow!

This post is for city people and particularly anyone from San Francisco. And when I say San Francisco, I mean the city. You know who you are. I'm posting this for people that appreciate places like Shalimar, Cordon Bleu, Home Plate, and Swan Oyster Depot.  I suspect that other people just won't get what I'm trying to say. Maybe I'm wrong.

My husband recently took me to this great little Lebanese joint, der grüne Libanon, at Haferstrasse 7 (I think) behind the HB, a "bad part of town" which, of course, also means fun stores selling interesting and delicious things. We had the mixed grill plate for two, which came with flatbread and spreads (hummus, baba ganoush, etc). It was so yummy, totally satisfying and good value: "only" 25sfr, about $11/person.



Now someone who reads this post might eat there and say, that food wasn't so special, I can get better food here or there, bla, bla, bla. These people don't understand what I'm talking about. I'm not saying this is the best food I've ever ate in Zurich or that I'm a connoisseur of Lebanese food. I'm just saying that this was good, tasty chow at a good price, something quite rare in Zurich. This place clearly takes pride in their food. It made me happy and made me want to go back on a regular basis.



Back in SF, I easily ate out five nights a week, usually spending under $20 for 2 people, with drinks! Not only can I not afford to do that in Zurich, I wouldn't want to. It is just not right to pay 60 francs for a couple curries and some naan. Usually when I say something like this to a Swiss person, they look at me like I'm crazy. "No good food in Zurich? But haven't you been to bla, bla, bla."That's not what I'm saying. I'm talking about chow food, not a special night out. I'm almost convinced this is a cultural divide that cannot be bridged.



Clearly, we were two very satisified customers. Can't wait to go back.