market report

five peas in a pod - a sight for sore eyes

Jack from laughinglemon.ch generously gave me and Jenna a tour of the Oerlikon farmer's market. He showed us all his favorite vendors, showed us a few to avoid, pointed out special produce, and encouraged us to try a few new things. We had wonderful time and I feel much more empowered at the market now. Thanks Jack! Here are few of the pretty and delicious things I brought home.



I've seen sugar snap peas a couple times at the market, but they were always starchy and nasty. This time, they were perfect, bringing a little tear to my eye. It's strange how the absence of such little things in my life can create such an emotional reaction when they reappear. Only two more weeks for these sweeties.



Crinkly spinach or "spinat grob" from Italy is my new favorite green. I've been getting it every week and sautéing it with garlic and pepper flakes, then serving it with a baked sweet potato and quinoa with dried apricots, dried cranberries, and pecans. It's our favorite regular meal right now, even if it's a bit wintery.



I couldn't resisted this beautiful purple arugula from Italy. It seems nutty, a bit less bitter than the regular stuff. I ate it as a green salad, with scrambled eggs, and with roasted new potatoes and a mustard vinaigrette. I loved it.



And asparagus, of course. I am lazy and make the simplest dishes possible with my produce. For example, I made this meal three weeks in a row for lunch after my shopping trip: sauted asparagus and piccolo tomatoes with pecorino vecchio on whole wheat bread. I like being able to taste the individual ingredients, instead of always being masked by the preparation.

crispy and delicious: fried chicken

fry it up!

My friend wanted to make fried chicken for a party and I suggested a recipe from Cook's Illustrated (because I usually have good luck with their recipes), though I had never tried this one myself. I and all the party-goers thought the chicken was fantastic, but my friend was slightly annoyed by the fussiness of the recipe. So I tried the recipe myself, to endure the fussiness that I unwittingly inflicted on my trusting friend. Besides the strict brining/refrigerating schedule that dominates your whole day, the recipe didn't seem too fussy to me, no doubt because I've built up a fussiness tolerance through years of cooking with Cook's recipes.

Mine was good but not quite as wonderfully crispy as my friend's - I have the will but not the magic when it comes to cooking. But it was still very good, especially cold the next day on a picnic. My friends thought I was a little weird eating cold fried chicken, but where I come from, cold fried chicken is standard picnic fare. I'm definitely making this again soon.


the fussiness begins with three heads worth of garlic cloves that are smashed with the spices - at least I didn't have to peel them


here's the smashed mess


then you combine the garlic mess with 7 cups of buttermilk for the brine - it made me cringe to throw out 3.50sfr worth of buttermilk after the 2 hour brine, but I was afraid to skimp, throwing off the salt to liquid ratio

 
here's my dredging station: chicken, fresh buttermilk (not from the brine) +  egg, and flour

 
dredging is a messy business - fortunately, you can dredge everything and have it sit awhile before throwing it in the oil

 
I'm not afraid of eating fried food, but I'm still a little afraid of frying it - I made my husband drop the chicken pieces in


yummy juicy chicken sealed inside the crispy exterior


can't eat fried chicken without slaw and potatoes - even KFC knows that

Crispy Fried Chicken
Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

1. Cut up one whole chicken (about 3.5 pounds or 1.5 kilos) into 12 pieces.

2. In large zipper-lock plastic bag, combine:
    1.25 cups kosher salt or 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons table salt
    1/4 cup granulated sugar
    2 tablespoons paprika
    3 medium heads garlic , cloves separated
    3 bay leaves , crumbled

3. With flat meat pounder, smash garlic into salt and spice mixture thoroughly. Pour mixture into large plastic container. Add 7 cups buttermilk and stir until salt is completely dissolved. Immerse chicken and refrigerate until fully seasoned, 2 to 3 hours.

4. Remove chicken from buttermilk brine and shake off excess; place in single layer on large wire rack set over rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate uncovered for 2 hours. (After 2 hours, chicken can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 6 hours longer.) (Note: I've seen other recipes that brine overnight, so perhaps you can be more flexible with the brining schedule.)

5. In a large shallow dish, measure in 4 cups all-purpose flour (I used only 2 cups, which was more than enough).

6. In a medium bowl, combine
    1 egg, slightly beaten
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1 cup buttermilk

7. One by one, drop chicken pieces in flour and shake pan to coat. Shake excess flour from each piece, then, using tongs, dip chicken pieces into egg mixture, turning to coat well and allowing excess to drip off. Coat chicken pieces with flour again, shake off excess, and return to wire rack.

8. To keep chicken warm after frying: Adjust oven rack to middle position, set second wire rack over second rimmed baking sheet, and place on oven rack; heat oven to 200 degrees.

9. Line large plate with double layer paper towels. Meanwhile, heat oil (oil should have 2 1/2-inch depth in pan) to 375 degrees over medium-high heat in large 8-quart cast-iron Dutch oven with a diameter of about 12 inches. Place half of chicken pieces skin-side down in oil, cover, reduce heat to medium, and fry until deep golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes; after about 3 minutes, lift chicken pieces with tongs to check for even browning; rearrange if some pieces are browning faster than others. (Spot-check oil temperature; after first 6 minutes of frying, oil should be about 325 degrees. Adjust burner if necessary.) Turn chicken pieces over and continue to fry, uncovered, until chicken pieces are deep golden brown on second side, 6 to 8 minutes longer.

(Note: I fried 6 mins on each side and this was definitely too long, the outside was too dark. I recommend checking the internal temp of the chicken and pulling it out early if it's at 180F/82C.)

Using tongs, transfer chicken to paper towel–lined plate; let stand 2 minutes to drain, then transfer to rack in warm oven. Replace paper towel–lining on plate. Return oil to 375 degrees and fry remaining pieces, transferring pieces to paper towel–lined plate to drain, then transferring to wire rack with other chicken pieces. Cool chicken pieces on wire rack about 5 minutes and serve.

thin, crispy pizza

thin to win

We have a new favorite pizza dough at our house. We like thin, crispy pizza but this is been difficult to achieve in a home oven. I tried this strange recipe from The Bread Bible and loved the results so much that we've stuck with this same dough for months. Here's a little photo story:

You start by barely mixing the dough, just till it moistens the flour and gets scrappy - no kneading!



Then pour oil in a cup, roll the dough in it, cover and rise.



Then plop your science experiment brain on the counter.



Then use your fingertips to lightly push it into a circle, very thin.



After baking, this crust is so crispy that it stands up on its own. No drooping, no folding the slice in half to eat it.



Just look at that golden underside.



Recipe: Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust

Adapted from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

In medium bowl, combine:
4 ounces AP flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Pour in:
1/3 cup water, room temperature

Gradually stir in the flour into the water until all the flour is moistened and a dough just begins to form, about 20 seconds. It will be rough looking, not silky smooth. Do not overmix!

In a small bowl, pour
4 tsp olive oil

Add the dough and turn it over to coat with oil on all sides. Cover and rise at room temperature for about an hour or until double in size. (For better flavor, let dough sit 30 mins at room temperature then put in fridge for 6-24 hours. Remove dough from fridge 1 hour before shaping).

Preheat oven to 475F (220C) with pizza stone. Put dough on parchment paper or baking pan. Press the dough into a smooth round then let rest 15 mins. Press dough further into 10-inch circle. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30-45 mins until it becomes slightly puffy.

Bake pizza dough (without toppings) for 5 mins.

Remove pizza from oven. Add toppings. Bake for another 5 mins or until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

Time: Mix 5 min, rise 1 hour, shape & rest 15 mins, rise 30-45 mins, bake 10 mins = 2+ hours

One caveat: my friend tried it and didn't like it. But she cooked hers on a silpat on a pan, not on a pizza stone. So I suspect her result was quite different from mine.