expat chow

markthalle im viadukt needs you!

2011-07-07T23:24:00.000+02:00

Markthalle im Viadukt as spied from Tram 13 Dammweg stop

Anyone else been down to the Viadukt Markthalle yet? I saw it by chance while riding Tram 13 across town. It's a permanent food market open pretty much all day, every day (except Sunday) out near Escher-Wyss platz. It's Zürich's small time answer to San Francisco's Ferry Building or London's Borough Market or Madrid's Mercado San Miguel or Firenze's San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale or Barcelona's Mercat de la Boqueria.

view from the main entrance

There are a lot of interesting food stalls, leaning more gourmet than the farmer's market. It's kinda like the specialty food market that appears in the Hauptbahnhof on Wednesdays, only slightly more upscale and more convenient. In addition to quality raw ingredients, there's a variety of ready to eat prepared foods as well. There's also a restaurant at one end of the hall.

In general, the whole outfit seems to actually want your business (how un-Swiss of them) and all the vendors I talked to did a lot of self-promotion: promoting upcoming events, giving me a detailed history of the Markthalle and its aspirations, asking how I found out about the Markthalle, wishing more people know about the Markthalle, etc. After my initial excitement on finding them, I started to feel a little worried that it wouldn't last long given how few customers I saw both times I visited. So I'm here to help get the word out, simply in the interest of good food.

To peak your interest, here are some of the vendors I've tried so far...

Berg und Tal. First, I love the name. Extra points right from the start. They focus mostly on Swiss products but for some reason, are currently carrying a few items from Sardinia, including an excellent olive oil and pane carasau, on which I soon will wax poetic in a future post. It's basically a thin cracker bread, perfect for Italian deli meat and cheese. You probably won't think it's that special. But I spent a week in Sardinia in May and I think I'm in love. I also bought a beet pesto from here and it was tasty and made my pasta such a pretty purple color.

the specialty Italian product wall inside Berg und Tal

pane carasau in its box

lots of pane carasau for my big appetite

The Pie Shop. They sell clotted cream, enough said. Now I can have a proper tea party. They had some meat pies too that I want to try next time.

The British Cheese Centre. Darn good cheddar and lots of it. The very friendly shopkeeper will pull out a novelty sized map and show you where in the UK the various cheddars come from.

The Pie Shop and The British Cheese Centre share a space

Queen of Cakes. We had a vanilla cake swirled with raspberry jam with raspberry cream topping, slightly more muffin than cake but very tasty. The British owner was very friendly. I think they mostly do catering business, but she visits the Markthalle a couple times a week.

simply pretty Queen of Cakes

My son and I shared because I couldn't justify 12CHF on two cupcakes after all the other crazy stuff I bought that day. We inhaled this sweetie in less than a minute and I wished I had another.

Ostbuffet. I was intrigued by their "salzigstrudel" and based on that, I want to go back and try everything else.

I took a chance on this "Salzigstrudel" from Ostbuffet. It was delicious! I'd go back just to eat this.

inside the "Salzigstrudel" - potatoes, onions, ground meat, etc = yum!

I loved these fruit balls rolled in coconut (left side). Though the lady at Ostbuffet sold them to me, I'm not sure which shop they belong to.

Markthalle im Viadukt
open Mon-Thurs 10:00-20:00, Fri-Sat 8:00-20:00
take Tram 4 or 13 to Dammweg stop

wasabi macarons and other weird stuff

2011-06-16T20:57:00.000+02:00

coconut and wasabi macarons from Vollenweider

Vollenweider Chocolatier is kinda new in Zurich. I've passed by it a lot of times with my kids, but it looked a little too fancy for the stroller/roller crowd. I'm not saying I stick exclusively to grocery store cheapies. I enjoy occasionally getting special treats for my kids and don't cringe anymore when they gobble down delicate pricey sweets in under 30 seconds. I like to think I'm creating memories and if I'm lucky, developing a sophisticated palate. Oh, naïveté.

one bite = 2 francs ... fancy treats in the city with mom = priceless

Anyhoo, I finally went to Vollenweider "ohne Kinder" and I just may have found my new favorite treat in Zurich. For the record, I adore Sprungli's luxemburglis, especially caramel fleur de sel. And Ladurée's macarons are irresistible, as is anything French. But Vollenweider is having a lot of fun with their confections and I'm happy to have them in the mix.

they don't label the flavors so you have to ask the salesperson to recite them, annoying

In addition to regular flavors, they have some wonderful whimsical offerings. So far I've tried wasabi, chili pepper, peanut butter, peppermint, coconut, and a couple others I forgot. I loved them all, but maybe the wasabi one the most because it was so surprising and flirty. Peanut butter is a close second and I'll go back for that one again and again. (P.S. Not every flavor is there every time, so you might have to go a few times to try them all.)

Their macarons are small and delicate like luxemburglis. This peanut butter one was super delicate and seemed to start self-destructing after a few minutes.

I tried a few of their chocolates, all good. I liked the chocolate mousse one the best because I'd never had such a thing before. Instead of a thick ganache, the chocolate was filled with a super light and fluffy mousse. It seems so obvious and perhaps every chocolate shoppe makes them, but it was a first for me.

I also tried their chocolate mousse cake, which was sophisticated and yummy even if it's not my preferred style of cake. I'm an American girl and I like my cakes thick, tall and moist not thin and soaked in syrup. They have lots of other pretty offerings including cupcakes, giving me lots of reasons to go back.

And by the way, they have been very friendly to my children and even given out "free" treats to them. And they happily agreed to let me take pictures in the store. So far, so good.

this little cutie was on the house

Vollenweider Chocolatier
Haltestelle Opernhaus
Theaterstrasse 1
8001 Zürich

back in the saddle, mango in tow

2011-06-14T16:48:00.000+02:00

I've neglected this blog long enough. I've got lots of photos and info waiting in the queue, I've just been too lazy/busy/unmotivated to post. So let's give it another go.

Let's start with my new love for Aggarwal: Fine Continental Food (Kernstrasse 27 Zurich, a couple blocks from the Helvetiaplatz market). I started a little cooking club with friends and last week we cooked Indian food, which gave me occasion to finally visit Aggarwal, which according to its website "serves you with the finest food specialties from Asia and Africa, particularly India and Sri Lanka." I went there to buy: Asofoetida (spice that smells kinda like dill pickle relish), Fenugreek (smells like maple syrup), Moong Dal (special kind of yellow split pea, most popular dish in North India according to my cookbook), and Paneer (a basically flavorless cheese added to various curries). Shopping at an ethnic grocery is my idea of a good time.

My hands-down favorite item from this store was the yellow Pakistan mango. So delicious!!! They were so unlike the normal supermarket mangoes. There was none of that soapy aftertaste. They were much easier to peel and cut. The seed is super thin. I've had them before, but they are usually unreasonably expensive (like 6sfr per mango). I went back today to get more mangos. I picked out two perfect ones and the lady said I can either pay 6sfr for the two or 8sfr for the whole box. So of course I took the box and now I'm wondering how many I can eat in one sitting without getting sick. Tonight, I'll find out.

My other favorite item was mango pulp, just a simple can of mango puree. I know nothing of the nutritional value of this item. But now mango lassis are a cinch to make with practically no clean up. This is a little mini dream come true. I was surprised that many of my friends had never had a mango lassi or heard of one. For me, mango lassis and naan are the main reasons to eat Indian food.

Mango Lassi
This is basically a mango smoothie, so you can play around with the ingredient ratio until you like it. Here's what I generally do.

1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mango pulp or cut up mango
honey or sugar to taste (1-2 TB)
ice (optional)
pinch of cardamon (optional)

Side note: For Indian night, I made Saag Paneer and Moong Dal, both so easy, yummy, and nutritious. Why haven't I been making these before??? Maybe I'll post on this later.

baking ingredients in Switzerland

2011-01-16T15:11:00.001+01:00

The Christmas baking rush inspired me to gather all the "baking in Switzerland" information in one place.

Ingredients you can find, but what's it called?

baking soda: aka Natron, available at any grocery, in packets near the other baking ingredients
baking powder: aka Backpulver, available at any grocery, in packets near the other baking ingredients
cocoa powder: aka Kakaopulver. Don't buy the similarly packaged version with sugar (aka Zucker) unless you are planning to make hot chocolate.
molasses: aka Melasse, but make sure you buy it at a Healthfood store, aka Reformhaus. Do not use the Coop Melasse, which is pretty disgusting. Only very dark "blackstrap" molasses is available here, so if you want a lighter flavor, substitute honey for part of the molasses. You could also substitute honey for all the molasses, but obviously the flavor will be different.
sweetened condensed milk: aka Kondensmilch gezuckert, with light blue packaging. Available at most groceries near the coffee creamers or boxed UHT milk
evaporated milk: aka Kondensmilch ohne zucker, with dark blue packaging
canned pumpkin: available for a short time around Thanksgiving at Globus, Jelmoli and some Coops.
chocolate chips: most groceries carry some sort of chocolate bits near the baking stuff. You can get real chocolate chips from some of the Kosher groceries. You can also order them online. Or like most of us, simply cut up a chocolate bar.
semi-sweet chocolate: most regular chocolate manufacturers (like Frey & Lindt) make a chocolate bar called "Cremant" which is about 55% dark.

What you can't find (easily) in Switzerland:

vanilla extract: make your own or use vanilla sugar (substitute about 1 tsp of the sugar in your recipe for vanilla sugar). You can buy it at El Maiz but its very expensive. Friends have reported that the vanilla paste available at Migros and Coop is a good alternative as well.
brown sugar: make your own or order online. Don't get fooled the the wide range of "brown" sugars you'll see at the groceries. These are unrefined sugars that haven't been bleached white, but they are not soft like US brown sugar. Your recipe will miss the extra moisture. Occasionally you'll see Billington's Molasses Sugar at Jelmoli, Globus or Coop and this is real soft brown sugar. But it can be pricey, about 6sfr for 500gr.
pastry flour: not available, order online or import
cake flour: not available, order online or import
bread (high protein) flour: not available, order online or import. Or buy some Vital Wheat Gluten and add 1TB per cup of flour, which is what I do now.
unsweetened chocolate: not available (I've heard of one source, but I haven't verified it). For each ounce of unsweetened chocolate, use 3 TB unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 TB butter or oil.
jello: available at El Maiz, Jelmoli sometimes, and the Kosher grocery on Waffenplatzstrasse.

Here are a few CH online shops where you can find US food items:
American Market
Taste of America
Taste of America

I'm sure I missed a few things, so leave a comment if you think of anything else that should be on this list or have another source that I've missed.

all whole wheat, all the time

2010-05-24T21:57:00.001+02:00

100% whole wheat & standing tall - no squat, dense loaf here

The stars have aligned and I finally have 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe that I'm perfectly happy with. As you may know, make bread with 100% whole wheat is tricky because the bran interferes with gluten development. That means the bread often is dense and nasty. Most "whole wheat" bread recipes only use about 1/3 whole wheat, the rest white flour. But this 100% whole wheat bread is light and delicious. You won't feel like you are comprising at all. There are a couple tricks.

First, beat half of the flour with all of the liquid for a few minutes before adding the rest of the flour. This dramatically improves the gluten development. I first discovered this technique while watching my friend Megan make bread. I loved her bread and she gave me her Grandmother's recipe to try at home, but my version wasn't similar at all. So I watched her make it and there were all sorts of things in her method that didn't match the written recipe. Besides beating in half the flour, she added 4 more cups of flour than called for in the written recipe (it makes three loaves). She hadn't purposely written the recipe incorrectly. She just never got around to updating the recipe to match her real method; the written one was merely an outline to her real process. This could explain why so many recipes seem to be missing a secret ingredient.

Second, use vital wheat gluten to increase the gluten in the dough, improving the structure in the dough, helping the dough rise more. I've been slowly consuming my stash of VTG imported from the US. But Megan found an online source here in Switzerland. Of course, we had to buy it in bulk, but we split it with a few friends and the price with shipping worked out to about 15CHF/ kilo, a very decent price. It hasn't arrived yet, so hopefully we ordered what we thought we did.

Third, grind your own flour. This is not required; I've made most of my loaves with store-bought Volkornmehl and they are delicious. But I finally have a machine that will grind wheat and Megan found a farm in her neighborhood that sells their wheat berries for 1.70 CHF/kilo, a great price compared to wheat berries from the health food store which cost about 5CHF for 500gr. I brought home a 5kg bag, apparently very optimistic about my future bread baking. I think bread from freshly ground wheat does taste markedly better, as well as being much more nutritious (whole wheat flour degrades very quickly - some say it's only good for 24hrs after milling it).

I'm a sucker for cutely packaged food stuffs

100% Whole Wheat Bread

Adapted from Fanny Farmer's Baking Book by Marion Cunningham

Makes 2 loaves. This dough rises super fast, so watch it closely. If it rises too long, it will get too bubbly and the structure will be compromised. The dough may simply have lots of big air bubbles, or collapse on itself into a dense, gooey mess (I say this based on experience!).

1. Stir together in mixing bowl and let stand a minute to dissolve:

3 cups warm water
½ cup instant nonfat dry milk
2 pkg yeast (4.5 tsp)

2. Add and beat vigourously for 2 full minutes:

15oz (3 cups) whole wheat flour
5 TB vital wheat gluten
1 TB salt
1.5 oz (3 TB) unsalted butter, softened
2 oz (1/4 cup) honey

3. Add as much of the remaining flour to make a manageable dough:

17.25 to 22.25 oz (3.5 to 4.5 cups) whole wheat flour

4. Let rest for about 10 minutes. Knead another 6 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Put into greased bowl and let rise until double in bulk, about 45-60 mins.

5. Punch the dough down, cut in half, and form each half into a loaf. Place in greased loaf pans, cover lightly and let rise just above the top of the pans (not too high or the dough will get too much air and it will collapse - it has happened to me many times!), about 45 mins. Preheat oven to 375F(190C).

7. Bake in a preheated oven for about 35-40 mins. Internal temperature should be about 195F. Do not overbake or the bread will be dry. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

Notes:
- Will make 24 rolls on sheet pan, bake 375F for 25 mins

- Instead of water and the powdered milk, you can simply use 3 cups milk. You can also just use water without the milk powder.

- You can substitute oil for the butter if you are avoiding dairy.

- You can replace about 1-2 cups of flour with various grains or other flours, like oatmeal, rye, spelt, amaranth, millet, flaxseed. I almost always add 1/2 cup ground flaxseed.

- You can add more honey for a sweeter bread. You may have to add a bit more flour to compensate for the extra liquid.

market report

2010-05-21T08:53:00.000+02:00

Is there anything happier than spring at the farmer's market? Here's some of what I got a couple weeks ago.

wild italian asparagus and picadilli tomatoes that taste just like candy!)

tiny new potatoes still in the dirt

sweet spring onion, so good roasted

fresh peas

my very happy lunch - sautéed asapargus, tomatoes and onions with leftover red quinoa with black beans and peppers

Laughing Lemon: November

2009-12-22T19:08:00.005+01:00

My friends and I attended another "What's In Season" class from Laughing Lemon in November. As always, it was extremely informative and the food delicious. Thanks Jack and Silvia!

Some things I learned:

- soaking sliced brussel sprouts in water for about an hour before cooking makes them taste so much better. Anise or fennel make them taste milder and also aid digestion.
- persimmon: you can simply press the soft ones through a sieve and have an instant sauce. Yum!
- soaking cavelo nero (black kale) in salted water makes the tiny white moths fall off

lots of funky roots to try: ugly but tasty

my cooking friends getting their hands dirty

loads of butter for frying...

frying up potato cakes in the aforementioned enormous amount of melted butter

potato cakes all puffed up after a few minutes in the oven

salsify, aka "winter asparagus"

salad with persimmon, feta, red onion, pine nuts, and vanilla vinaigrette

main dish: roasted veggies, glazed salsify, kale and potato cake

pretty French style apple pie (with crème fraîche) for dessert

improving on the nie nie mud cake

2009-10-29T18:19:00.000+01:00

My friend suggested that I make Nie Nie's Mud Cake Magnifique by Tongue-n-Cheeky. And of course, I made it because I love special requests. The cake was delicious and not particularly complicated. But the recipe drove me a little crazy, what with the unusual ingredients (olive oil in a chocolate cake?) and lack of explanation for instructions that veered from the cake making norm. But despite this, the cake was a big hit and I've made it three times already.

With this experience, I do have a few improvements to suggest for the cake filling and frosting. The methods in the original recipe resulted in lumpy textures for me. It might have been user error, but regardless, the methods I've described below have given me better and more consistent results. I've also rewritten the recipes to include metric measurements so my local friends can easily make it. The original cake recipe can be found here.

Mud cake

This recipe uses a simple mixing method which make a lush, dense brownie-like cake. Don’t overthink it.

8 oz unsweetened chocolate (227 gr) - (or 5 oz/144 gr cocoa powder plus 4 oz/113 gr unsalted butter)
6 oz olive oil (3/4 cup, 177 ml)
14 oz sugar (2 cups, 397 gr)
4 oz powdered sugar (1 cup, 113 gr)
4 eggs
5 oz flour (1 cup, 142 gr)
3.4 oz cocoa powder (1/2 cup, 96 gr)
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder (above 5000 feet altitude, only use 1 tsp)
½ tsp baking soda
8 oz buttermilk (1 cup, 237 mL) - (or 1 cup warm milk mixed with 1 TB lemon juice, let stand 10 mins to curdle before using)

1. Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Grease and dust with cocoa powder two 9in cake pans.
2. In double boiler, melt the chocolate and olive oil and mix until smooth. Take mixture off heat and bring to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, beat both sugars and eggs until well creamed.
4. Add the room temperature chocolate mixture to the sugar mixture and beat a couple minutes.
5. Add remaining ingredients and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
6. Pour batter into the prepared cake pans (approximately 27-28 ounces of batter into each pan).
7. Bake for 26-28 minutes, or just until center of cake springs back to the touch. Remove from oven. Allow to cool before inverting on a cooling rack and removing from pan.
8. Before layering cake, use a knife to gently cut away any uneven parts at the top or sides of the cake.

Some tips:
1 & 2. Line your cake pans with parchment paper so the cakes pop right out.
3. Use room temperature eggs. Take them from the fridge and let them sit 5 minutes in hot water before using.
4. Use magic cake strips around your cake pans to help them cook evenly and prevent the dome that has to be cut off.

Perfectly Smooth Chocolate Marscapone Cream Filling

The original recipe had you first whip the cold cream and cheese (you can't whip warm cream) then stir in the melted chocolate. This inevitably creates lumps of chocolate. Instead, the below method combines the chocolate and cream into a smooth ganache before whipping (a more traditional method used by every cookbook I own).

6.25 oz dark chocolate (60%), chopped (177 gr)
8 oz heavy cream (1 cup, 237 mL)
8 oz mascarpone (227 gr)
1.25 oz sugar (1/4 cup, 35 gr)

1. Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate.
4. Stir the mixture until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
5. Stir in the sugar.
6. Chill until cold enough to whip, but not more than 1 hour (I read that if it gets too cold, the chocolate and cream will separate later).
7. Whip the ganache into soft peaks.
8. Stir in the marscapone.

You can use it immediately between the cakes or refrigerate for later use.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting

original frosting: curdled texture and way too much sugar

better frosting with super smooth texture, whipped and unwhipped versions

I had a lot of problems with the original recipe – curdled texture, way too sweet, etc. The recipe below uses roughly the same ingredients as the original but employs a food processor method used by both The Cake Bible and Cook’s Illustrated that perfectly emulsifies the chocolate, cream, butter mixture. I’ve also drastically reduced the sugar, but of course, you can add more to taste

8 oz heavy cream (1 cups, 236 ml) – for denser, thicker frosting
~~~~ or ~~~~
16 oz heavy cream (2 cups, 473 ml) – for a lighter, fluffier frosting

11 oz dark chocolate (60%), chopped (312 gr)
2-4 oz powdered sugar (1-2 cups, 57-113 gr)
4 oz cold butter, cut into 8 pieces (113 gr)

1. Place chocolate in food processor.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmmer.
3. With food processor running, pour hot cream over chocolate. Process until combined, a minute or two.
4. Stop processor and add powdered sugar. Process until combined, about 1 minute.
5. With processor running, drop the butter pieces in through the feeding tube. Wait until the butter is combined before dropping in the next piece. Let the mixture process about 1 minute after all butter has been combined.
6. Now some options:
• If you used 8oz cream, you can cool the frosting to room temperature (about 1 hour) then frost the cake. The frosting will shiny and thick.
• If you used 8oz cream and prefer a lighter color and fluffier texture, chill the mixture until cold (about 1-2 hours) then whip until thick and spreadable. Do not overwhip or it will curdle!
• If you used 16 oz cream, you must chill the mixture until cold (1-2 hours) then whip until thick. Do not overwhip or it will curdle!

it's nice to have a friend to eat the extra batter

pretty summer soup

2009-08-25T14:50:00.001+02:00

Back when I lived in California, I never felt the seasons come and go and I barely noticed when items like nectarines or summer squash arrived or disappeared from the shelves. Almost everything was available all the time. But in Zurich, I'm in a constant panic, buying much more produce that our small family can possibly consume, worried that some item will suddenly disappear, not to be dreamt of for months.

To help us consume the mountains of produce crowding me out of my kitchen, I've been trying lots of new veggie recipes. Soup might seem silly choice for summer. But I like it because I can cook it quickly in the cool morning, spend all day at the lake, then come home to an "instant" meal that tastes even better than when I made it fresh. My husband made it extra special with his fancy toothpick skills. It seemed a bit much for a meal that would be eaten on a shared TV tray at 10pm while we watched Entourage. But that's summer.

Curried Yellow Squash Soup with Cilantro-Lime

from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop

You may be tempted, as I was, to skip the cilantro-lime puree. The soup is yummy without it. But the puree makes the flavors pop and it's so darn pretty. Just do it.

1. In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat until shimmering:
          2 TB olive oil

2. Add and cook until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes:
          1.5 pounds yellow squash, chopped
          1 medium onion, chopped

3. Add and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute:
          1 TB gingerroot, minced
          3 medium garlic cloves, minced
          2 tsp curry powder

4. Add and bring to boil:
          6 cups broth
          1 medium russet potato (about 8 oz), peeled and diced
          1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

5. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the potato is very tender, about 25 minutes.

6. Puree the soup in batches in blender until very smooth. Adjust the seasonings. You can serve it warm or chilled (refrigerate for several hours before serving). The original recipe suggest chilled, but I prefer it warm.

7. When you are ready to serve the soup (warm or cold), puree in blender until smooth:
          3 TB olive oil
          1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
          1 TB fresh lime juice
          salt to taste (I like mine rather salty)

8. Ladle the soup in small bowls. Drizzle some cilantro puree over each bowl and serve.

The soup can be refrigerated for several days.

correction

2009-08-22T08:46:00.002+02:00

I realized that I forgot to include the chopped scallions in the Black Bean Quinoa Salad recipe. So I updated the recipe to include that.

Also, I was recently reminded (by Cook's Illustrated) that most herbs are oil-soluble, meaning their full flavor isn't released until mixed in oil. So there might be reason after all to use a bit of oil in the salad. Next time, I'll try mixing the cilantro in a couple tablespoons of oil before mixing it into the salad. I'm curious to see if it makes a difference.

roast beef sandwich at Globus

2009-08-21T20:43:00.001+02:00

On Thursday, I saw that the Bahnhofstrasse Globus has a guy outside with huge smokers and stacks and stacks of wood, making roast beef sandwiches. This was a combination I just couldn't ignore. Happily, I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't the best sandwich I've ever had, but it was definitely good grub and a nice change from the standard Zurich street food. I don't know how long he's been there or how long he'll stay. So check it out asap. He's got bbq sauce, but I think the chimichurri sauce is the way to go.

I heart quinoa

2009-08-20T15:36:00.007+02:00

I've been trying to use a variety of grains in our diet and quinoa is certainly my favorite. Quinoa is a magical food with very high protein and a balanced set of amino acids, making it a complete protein, unlike wheat or rice. Plus it's tasty! Most health food stores in Zurich carry it. I've been using red quinoa from Vital Punkt (Stockerstrasse 38, Zurich) at 8.50sfr for 500g (about 3 cups) - ouch! But I heard Aldi is carrying regular quinoa right now for much cheaper. I need to stock up. Here's my new favorite recipe using quinoa.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Adapted from Epicurious

Among other things, the original recipe calls for oil in the dressing, but I found the salad very tasty without it. The original recipe also uses a two-step cooking process for the quinoa, first boil, then steam. I tried it and while this method produces drier quinoa, it was basically the same and I prefer simply boiling and draining the quinoa.

1. Prepare quinoa: In a small bowl or sieve, wash 1 cup quinoa in cold water until water runs clear then drain.

2. In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rinsed quinoa and 1/2 tsp salt. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, until tender. Drain quinoa in sieve.

3. In a large bowl, combine:

cooked quinoa from above
~2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed if canned (two 15oz cans)
1 large red pepper, chopped
1-2 jalapeño or serrano chilies, minced (not optional!)
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander (not optional!)
5 TB fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
splash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 tsp salt

4. Adjust seasoning. Chill until serving. I prefer it cold, but also at room temperature.

Quinoa with Dried Fruit & Nuts
Some of my friends tried this dish the other day, so I'm including this recipe although I don't have a picture. I serve this along with a baked sweet potatoes and sauted greens, like spinach or chard.

1. Prepare 1 cup cooked quinoa (see above for instructions).

2. Stir in:

1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Eat and enjoy!

fried zucchini flowers

2009-06-20T21:25:00.004+02:00

Inspired by my last laughing lemon class, I finally made fried zucchini flowers at home. I was scared to do this before because I knew they were expensive and I didn't want to mess it up. I shouldn't have worried. It was easy.

I had been looking for zucchini flowers for a couple weeks at the farmers' market and finally saw them at Bürkliplatz, at a vendor on Fraumunsterstr nearest to the lake. They were 1.20sfr a piece, not cheap but not too expensive for a special treat. So let's get started (full recipe at the end). You start by mixing up a simple batter and letting it chill while you prep the flowers.

Fried Zucchini Flowers
adapted from Laughing Lemon

I made a few adjustments to the recipe because I didn't have some of the special ingredients on hand. The original recipe includes 20gr chickpea flour in the batter and uses sparkling water instead of tap water.

1 egg
150gr flour
salt & pepper
220ml iced water
2-3 liters peanut oil for frying
up to 10 zuchinni flowers (plan on 2/person)

To make batter: whisk egg until well blended, then whisk in flower and season with salt and pepper. Slowly add water and whisk until smooth. The batter should be somewhat runny. Put in fridge until ready to use (up to 1 day).

Prep your flowers: remove the spines at the base of the outside of the flower. Carefully remove the stamen from inside the flower. Cut off the woody end of the zucchini. You can also remove the zucchini and just fry the flower.

Heat your oil to 360F/180F in a deep, wide pan large enough to accommodate the full length of the zucchini and flower. One at a time, dip the flower and zucchini in the batter and let excess batter drain off over bowl. Carefully drop the flower into the oil. Repeat, only adding a couple flowers at a time so the pot isn't overcrowded and the oil temp doesn't drop. Fry about 3 mins until golden. Remove and hold over pot, flower down to let oil inside the flower drain out. Then place flower on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with salt. Serve them warm. They are not very good cold, so plan your menu accordingly.

Note: Since you already have hot oil, you might as well fry up anything else you have on hand. We cut up carrots and fried them up in the batter - tempura heaven! I wish I had some dough ready for doughnuts or fry bread. I considered frying up cheese and jalapeños but I restrained myself. This is not America.

You can also stuff the flower with a ricotta/parmesan/egg/herbs/breadcrumbs mixture before frying. I'm going to definitely try that next time.

what's in season: june

2009-06-07T14:44:00.005+02:00

I took another Laughing Lemon class last week (with 3 friends, yay!) and got even more excited about the summer produce than I already was. Here are some highlights. I forgot to take pics of the other yummy stuff like a watermelon drink, gazpacho, and zucchini stuffed phyllo pie, but this should give you an idea of the fun we had. Thanks Jack & Sylvia!

We made flavored vinegar with herbs, garlic, and chili. I have to wait two months before enjoying it, but it's pretty while I wait.

Tomato tasting - apparently June not great for tomatoes because Italian tomatoes are already done (best in March & April) and Swiss tomatoes aren't ready till July. But we still tasted several varieties, including my favorite Piccadilli (the tiny oval ones).

ratatouille waiting to happen - we ate it an hour later

cucumber tasting

Samphire, which goes under a variety of german names - meerbohnen, seespargel, etc. It's a crazy little plant that tastes like salt water. It's often served with fish. It was fun to see and taste some completely I've never heard of before.

Beautiful zucchini flowers, which always remind me of my first trip to Italy with my husband before our kids were born. I ate zucchini flowers for the first time at a fantastic little restaurant in Florence. We liked the place so much, we ate there two nights in a row.

zuchinni flowers, battered and deep-fried - I could eat these all night long

baked polenta with rosemary butter, I think

salad with delicious farm-fresh greens and lots off veggies like beets, kohlrabi, purple carrots, baby tomatoes

then we sit down and eat, starting with the salad

then ratatouille and polenta

then this sassy dessert - cherry clafouti

the dessert plate with cherry clafouti, roasted apricots, vanilla ice cream

market report

2009-05-17T08:33:00.002+02:00

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

2009-05-04T19:40:00.002+02:00

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

2009-05-02T12:35:00.002+02:00

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.

pasta by hand

2009-04-09T13:26:00.004+02:00

humble beginnings of my pasta

I took another class from Laughing Lemon, this time "Pasta by Hand". I really enjoyed this class, especially the eating part. We made three different pasta doughs, shaped them into different shapes and ate them with different sauces. My favorite was the tortolini filled with ricotta, bärlauch, and rucola. The dough had a bit of buckwheat and whole wheat flour which made it pretty and so tasty.

The most important thing I learned was that pasta dough has to be kneaded just like bread dough to the windowpane stage. The recipes I've used before never instructed to knead this long. This made a huge difference on the texture, during both shaping and chewing. It seems obvious now - I wonder why I never knew this.

I can't wait to take the other courses, Pasta Art and Pasta Sauces.

So here's the class, all vigorously kneading our dough

mise en place ... initially scrappy dough

7:23mins kneading for each dough

first dough rolled out into logs then cut into bits

then shaped into orecchiette ("ears") - I need more practice

Jack made a brocoli rabe sauce for the orecchiette

extra delicious with crème fraîche

Next, pasta alla chitarra, aka guitar. This cool gadget has a 10m piano string strung across to cut the pasta.

you place the rolled dough on the chitarra and gently but swiftly roll over the wire

eventually the pasta is cut into perfect strips

aren't they lovely?

Jack whipped up a asparagus and broiled artichoke sauce

and we eat!

Next, filled pasta with the buckwheat dough

each gets some ricotta, bärlauch, rucola filling, then folded into half moon, then squish the ends together to get torteloni (a little too big for tortelini)

Jack finishes up the slow-roasted tomato and green onion sauce (my favorite!)

and we stuff more pasta into our full bellies

And of course, some dessert: brutti ma buoni "ugly but good," a very accurate desciption. Jack's recipe is a guarded secret so you'll have take the class to taste them.

gaufre de liege

2009-03-25T22:31:00.004+01:00

Every street fair I've been to in Switzerland and beyond serves up Gaufre de Liege, the dense, chewy, yeasty Belgium waffles (not the light and crispy ones), served with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and sometimes a side of ice cream. I can't resist them and am never satisfied with just one (especially when I have to share with my two boys).

So I hunted down some recipes and settled the one that appeared most frequently, although it seemed absolutely ridiculous - 2 packages of yeast for only 1 3/4 cup flour??? I saw version of this recipe with same yeast with only 1 cup??? Plus, the dough is supposed to be more substantial than batter, like a brioche dough that you can form into loose balls. The proportions of liquid to flour did not add up. I followed the recipe as is and the resulting batter was much too loose to form into anything but a puddle and it was so yeasty, it tasted like beer. I was very worried. All signs pointed to no.

But amazingly, they were practically perfect in every way. Dense and light at the same time and only a hint of yeastiness just like the commercial versions. The secret is the pearl sugar (Hagelzucker in Switzerland) mixed into the batter at the last minute - it caramelizes against the waffle iron, creating its own sticky syrup.

Thanks Megan for letting me use your waffle iron!

The recipe below was originally published in The Boston Globe.

Sponge:
2 packages active dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 egg, beaten

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and the sugar; set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.

2. Sift the remaining flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and egg. With a wooden spoon, stir well to make a smooth batter.

3. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 2 hours to rise until the batter has doubled or tripled in bulk.

Batter:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup pearl sugar

1. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, work the butter, flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and pearl sugar into a paste.

2. Work the butter mixture into the sponge mixture until well combined. Cover, and set aside for 10 minutes.

3. With floured hands, shape the dough into 10 balls. Flatten one slightly and dust it with flour. (If the dough seems too wet to handle, that's OK. Pour the batter directly onto the waffle iron.)

4. Heat a waffle iron until medium hot. Place a flattened ball in the middle of the iron; close the top. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. If the waffle iron is too hot, the sugar will burn. Some electric waffle irons bake on such a high temperature, it may be necessary to unplug the waffle iron intermittently to cool it off. Continue baking until all the waffles are done.

My note: despite its perfectness, I would be curious to see what happens with only one packet of yeast and a bit more flour.

pancakes piled up till they reach the sky

2009-03-14T08:08:00.001+01:00

Here's a new favorite. My husband found this recipe on Epicurious a few months ago and we've eaten them almost once a week ever since. My whole family adores them. My favorite thing is that you make the batter the night before, so there's no time wasted in a busy morning. It makes a lot but don't worry; they are great as snacks, lightly toasted up to two days later. Due to their extreme popularity in our family, we've renamed the "Oatmeal-Buttermilk Pancakes" to...

T's famous disappearing oatmeal pancakes
adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes about 16.

1. In a medium bowl, combine:
       2 cups old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats
       1/2 cup all purpose flour
       3 tablespoons sugar
       1 teaspoon baking soda
       1 teaspoon baking powder
       1/2 teaspoon salt

2. In another medium bowl, whisk together:
       2 1/2 cups buttermilk
       2 large eggs
       1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients; whisk until blended but some small lumps still remain. Let batter stand to thicken, about 2 hours or cover and refrigerate overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 250°F to hold pancakes (they hold beautifully!).

5. Heat heavy large skillet over medium heat. Brush skillet with melted butter. Working in batches, ladle batter by 1/4 cupfuls into skillet. Cook pancakes until bottoms are golden brown and bubbles form on top, about 2 minutes. Turn pancakes over; cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet. Keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with more butter as necessary.

Serve with lingonberry preserves for a traditional Swedish flavor.

crazy carrot

2009-03-10T20:57:00.000+01:00

I thought you all might enjoy this crazy carrot I saw at the Bürliplatz farmer's market today.

poffertjes

2009-02-15T20:44:00.001+01:00

what is hiding under that blanket of sugar?

A gold star for you if you knew what this post would be about just by reading the title. Poffertjes are tiny Dutch pancakes, similar to Danish Ebelskivers, but not filled. They are just covered with butter and a ridiculous amount of powdered sugar, as demonstrated in the picture above. I consumed these almost three years ago in Den Haag (The Hague), but it was such a fond food memory, I had to post it. This is a treat not to be missed.

the cook at the enormous specialized grill, with hundreds of little pockets ready for the batter

deftly flipping the pancakes with a special fork-like tool

the gigantic blob of butter sliding off the pile of Poffertjes

lubed up and ready for eating

züri-schnürre mmh...

2009-02-13T23:54:00.001+01:00

After this convincing argument by my significant other:

"It's not particularly good, but it's not that bad either. And you can only get it in Zürich, so you should try it."

...I decided to sample the Züri-Schnürre. It's like a hot veal spam sandwich. I don't know if it was "Mmmh..." (as advertised in the sign below) but it was tasty in a "I'm really hungry and I don't want a doner" kinda way. If you live in Zürich, you should definitely try it and maybe buy the accompanying T-Shirt. Pepito Snack is at Niederdorfstrasse 10, Zürich. Apparently, "pepito" their signature sweet mayo-like sauce that is applied to a variety of sandwiches. The sauce is tasty but they use a heavy hand so I'd recommend asking for less.

charcoal

2009-01-31T23:33:00.000+01:00

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?

2009-01-28T19:08:00.002+01:00

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

2009-01-23T20:30:00.002+01:00

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

2009-01-23T09:13:00.002+01:00

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

2009-01-19T20:14:00.001+01:00

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

2009-01-14T23:49:00.002+01:00

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

2009-01-14T23:48:00.000+01:00

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

2009-01-10T22:26:00.001+01:00

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!

2009-01-10T13:57:00.005+01:00

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.

cranberry sauce

2008-12-30T11:30:00.001+01:00

There's only one recipe that I make exactly the same every Thanksgiving, the cranberry sauce. I wish I was motivated to cook more things with which I can eat it. I think I got this recipe from my first food friend, Michelle, who was one of the first to inspire me to cook more challenging and interesting things. People always ask for the recipe so here it is.

Cranberry Relish
Yield: About 2 cups

12 oz cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 orange, zest and juiced
1 large pear, chopped
1 large apple, chopped
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
pinch of nutmeg

1. In medium saucepan, place cranberries and 2 cups water.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until berries begin to pop.
3. Add orange zest and juice, pear, and apple, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
4. Simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
5. Optional: drain extra liquid to desired consistency.

You can make a couple days ahead of time, stored in fridge until ready to use, or can it.

raw milk does a body good

2008-12-27T12:01:00.002+01:00

For the past year, a couple of my friends have been praising the benefits of raw milk. This blurb from www.realmilk.com explains it quite nicely:

Like most foods, the nutritional quality of milk suffers considerably during processing. Homogenized fat becomes inaccessible, and we need the fat in milk to absorb calcium. Pasteurizing milk kills bacteria essential for its digestion, converts lactose to an indigestible form, interferes with calcium absorption, and destroys vitamins A, C, and B complex. (Child Health Guide, Randall Neustaedter, OMD)

And according to raw milk advocates, raw milk is actually very safe despite the heavy marketing to the contrary. In the US, it's basically illegal, though various communities have found ways (like buying a share in a cow) to still get some. Want to know more? http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/

Anyway, I finally decided to try some, motivated by the benefit of using reusable glass bottles instead of recycling or throwing away seven bottles a week. The Kilchberg farm near my house has a self-serve raw milk dispenser, at 1.50sfr/liter. You just put in some coins, push start, and milk pours into the bottle. The first time I went, they were just bringing a new barrel of milk straight from the barn, so the milk was still warm and so sweet and delicious.It makes me happy to do it, feeling close to the earth and all that silly stuff. I especially love how the cream separates after a day. But since I have a grocery one block from my house where I can get delicious organic, albeit pasteurized, milk, I can't motivate myself to drive out to the farm very often. But every time I'm in the neighborhood, I make a point of stopping by to get a couple liters. Now if they would only deliver : )

just like water machines but somehow much more fun

the Kilchberg farm where we get the milk

Local farms with raw milk:
Kilchberg farm - Stockenstrasse 88, Kilchberg
Adliswil farm - Tüfistrasse 18, Adliswil

I'm thankful for pie

2008-12-05T20:31:00.003+01:00

it's nice sometimes feeling as american as apple pie

This is a gratutious posting about pie. Nothing fancy, just traditional pie. I went to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by my church and, of course, I brought pie. Here's my apple pie with my new favorite pie dough. The key to super yumminess is to macerate the apples in the recipe's sugar for 30+mins, drain off the liquid, boil it down to a syrup, then add back to the pie filling (thanks Ms. Beranbaum!).

And here's my pumpkin pie. Despite its extra luscious, nowhere-near-curdled, perfectly smooth texture, it still cracked (usually a sign of overbaking). No fear - I just baked up some dough scraps into little leaves and hid the unsightliness. The secret to this pie's yumminess is simmering the canned pumpkin with the spices before making the custard. It awakens the pumpkin flavor and gets rid of any canniness. I could use fresh, but both Cook's and Ms. Beranbaum embrace this shortcut, so I feel justified.

I was so pleased that the knife designs survived baking.

Finally pecan pie, um, I mean tart. I only have two pie pans so my tart pan had to pinch hit. But I was so pleased with the result that I do believe all future pecan pies will call this pan home. This is my husband's and my friend Julie's favorite pie so I have lots of excuses to make this pie over and over. Yay!

Per request, I'm posting the pecan pie recipe, for which I take no credit. I'm just good at following directions. You may be tempted to use whole pecan pieces, which are prettier. But don't do it - it makes it too hard to cut the pie and results in sloppy pieces. And don't skip the pecan toasting! It awakens the real nut flavor. Just throw them on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for 8-10mins. Check them frequently to make sure they don't burn. And don't use any nuts if they burn, even slightly - seriously, throw them out and start over - you know who you are : )

Perfect Pecan Pie
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated. For more detailed instructions and illustrations, including a pie crust recipe, see the Cook's website (account password required).

1 batch of your favorite pie dough, rolled out, placed in pie pan, and prebaked (usually 20 mins at 375F) - don't forget your pie weights!

6 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole pecans (8 ounces), toasted and chopped into small pieces

Preheat oven to 275F. Place pie shell in oven if not still warm.

Melt butter in double boiler (heatproof bowl set over pan with water maintained at just below simmer). Remove butter bowl from heat; mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to double boiler and stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.

Pour mixture into warm shell; bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. If your pie crust is overbrowning, cut a ring out of aluminum foil and place over the crust edges to protect them. Transfer pie to rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours. Serve pie at room temperature or warm, with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8.

***If you don't have access to corn syrup or brown sugar (that means you, Zürichers!), there's another version of this pie that uses maple syrup (pricey but at least available in Zürich) and no brown sugar. I can't vouch for it but it's worth a try.

truffle madness

2008-12-01T23:08:00.006+01:00

handmade truffles are easy but take absolutely forever to make!

I took a little chocolate-making class and got the fool idea to make a bunch of handmade truffles for Christmas gifts. So I ordered 256 truffle shells for myself and three friends. It was fun and festive at first, but after about three hours of hard chocolatier labor, I lost all energy and couldn't even look at those stupid things. They taste great, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

The madness began the night before when I made four different fillings: milk chocolate ganache, dark chocolate ganache, and milk/dark/caramel ganache (my favorite), and pure caramel (or as my friend Megan called it, pure Christmas). We planned to roll the different types differently (some in chocolate, some in coconut, some in cocoa powder, etc.) so we could tell them apart. But after about 20 truffles, we got impatient and starting throwing handfuls of truffles in every and any bowl of toppings that were available. So truly, "you never know what you're gonna get," though most of us agreed that the ones rolled in coconut were the best, regardless of the filling.

Above, we are filling the truffle shells with ganache. Then, an hour or so later, after the ganache had chilled and set, we topped the shells with melted chocolate. Then another hour or so later, we rolled the shells in melted chocolate (below) and rolled them around on the special truffle rack (like a waffled cooling rack) to create the signature truffle texture.

This step took the longest by far and nearly drove us all to insanity. We started dipping the truffles one by one, letting the excess chocolate drip off and carefully rolled them around before transferring to the wax paper. Very quickly we started rolling five at a time and after an hour, my friend Julie threw twenty at a time into the chocolate and simply dumped the whole bowl onto the rack. Our kids had fun helping out, mostly by licking chocolate off any and all surfaces.

They turned out quite pretty despite our sloppy technique. I ate and gave away most of my truffles before I got around to taking a pic of them en mass, so luckily my friend Julie took the above pic of our finished product. We each took home 64 truffles and here's my stash after giving away the prettiest ones and eating the ugliest.

Of course, truffles taste even better when they come in a pretty package. I had saved a few Sprungli truffle boxes from previous indulgences, so I repurposed them for my own handiwork. I only wish I had time to print up a cute label. If I ever do this again, I'll make my own boxes to accompany the treats to add an extra personal touch.

weigh it

2008-11-20T22:29:00.003+01:00

isn't it important to know that a piece of paper weighs .15 ounce?

My new favorite gadget (I never tire of saying this) is my new scale, the KD-8000 from MyWeigh, which I bought here for $50. Thanks Kim for bringing it back from the US!

So, how do I love thee? Let me count the "weighs":

- Ounces are shown as a decimal, not a fraction. My old scale used fractions and only did increments of 1/8. So if I needed 1/3, I had to guess.

- It's super-sensitive to 1 gram. With my old scale, I had to periodically push down on it as I added small amounts of flour so it would register the small weight change.

- The auto-off is configurable. I can't tell you how many times my old scale turned off in the middle of me weighing something.

- The max weight is 17 pounds. My old scale's max was 5 pounds, which is ridiculous if my huge glass bowl already weighs 2 pounds.

- It has the option to show the weight in ounces, not pounds & ounces. This means if I need 19.5 ounces of flour, I don't have to mentally convert that to 1 pound 3.5 ounces. (Yes, I should just use grams but I haven't translated all my old American recipe books quite yet.)

- It even has the super fancy "baker's percentage" feature, which allows you to weigh the flour and then show all subsequent measurements as a percentage of the flour weight. I may never use this feature but I love that it's there.

pumpkin galette

2008-11-20T09:12:00.001+01:00

this super flaky crust is my new best friend

I'm totally in love with this pumpkin galette. The pumpkin and caramelized onion filling was so tasty, but the real star is the amazingly flaky crust. It's so flaky, it's like a croissant. I'm excited to try this crust with my pies this Thanksgiving and see how it holds up to more liquidy fillings. I found the recipe on Smitten Kitchen, which has recipes for other galettes that I can't wait to try: wild mushroom and stilton galette and cabbage and mushroom galette.

I made a few substitutions. The original recipe calls for butternut squash, but I used Muscade de Provence, (Muskatkürbis) which is the most popular pumpkin here (note to americans: all winter squash are called "pumpkins" here instead of "squash," one linguistic change I wholeheartedly embrace). I learned in the LaughingLemon class I took a few weeks ago that fully brown Muscade are tastier than partially green ones. Last week at the Zurich Bürkliplatz market, all the Muscade were mostly green. But this weekend in London, I visited the amazing Borough Street Market and found a fantastic display full of only all-brown Muscat (shown below). It should have made me happy but I only got depressed because I don't live in London and can't visit that market every week.

Muscade de Provence in all its glory

Unless you're feeding an army, no one buys a whole Muscade - you get a monster slice like the one below. After cutting, the flavor starts to diminish. So avoid pre-cut slices, cook it asap, and don't scoop out the innards until you're ready to cook it.

To make the filling, you first dice up the pumpkin and roast it for 30 mins. Mine was almost mush after 30 mins. I thought perhaps I should cook it less so the pieces stayed distinct. Still not sure.

With my first galette, I piled the filling high in the middle and folded over lots of crust (shown below). The second time I spread the filling out, leaving only 1.5inches border and only folded over a small border. I prefered the second method.

This galette is so sweet and rich, it needs to be paired with something fresh and tangy, like this nüssli salad with raspberry vinaigrette.

Recipe: Pumpkin and Caramelized Onion Galette
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen - I'm not fussy about my pastry, but the original recipe is, asking you to freeze the flour and butter for an hour, etc. If you are anxious about pastry making, consult the original recipe.

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 TB (4 ounces, ) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup (2 ounces) sour cream - I used saucenhalbrahm (like sour cream but not sour) by accident the first time and it was just as good as the second one with sour cream
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 small butternut squash (about one pound, 500 grams) - I used Muscat de Provence, with excellent results
2 TB olive oil
2 TB butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
1 tsp salt
Pinch of sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne, or to taste
3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits - I had a hard time locating fontina (I have bought it before here, but it's not omnipresent) so I used raclette, which is a sister cheese to fontina
1.5 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves - I used 1/2 tsp dried sage with good results

1. Make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut up the butter into 1/2in chunks and cut into flour using pastry blender or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this mixture to the flour mixture. With a fork, mix in liquid carefully until large lumps form. Do not overwork the dough. Place dough in plastic wrap and lightly and briefly knead with knuckles and until dough mostly sticks together, without lots of dry parts (like 30 seconds). Wrap tightly in the plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2. Prepare squash: Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

3. Caramelize onions: While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

4. Raise the oven temperature to 400F (205C). Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

5. Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.

cran-walnut-banana: magical combo

2008-11-11T13:33:00.003+01:00

When I see an unexpected food item in Zurich, I panic and buy it immediately without having a clue when or for what I'm going to use it. Fresh cranberries, along with canned pumpkin, usually make a short appearance here in the fancy groceries (like Jelmoli and Globus) around Thanksgiving. So I was surprised in October to see lots of fresh cranberries at the regular Coop grocery. I immediately grabbed a bag, worried that this was a fluke and I'd never see them again. I wasn't quite ready to make my traditional chutney for our T-day turkey, so I combed my cookbooks for a cranberry recipe. I chose this cranberry-walnut-banana quick bread from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum, which is definitely yum. I particularly love the contrast of textures and flavors. I knew for sure that it was yum when I husband ate a slice for breakfast without my prompting. He's not much into the baked goods and normally doesn't eat breakfast. So for him to break his routine, I know it's something special.

Rose recommends serving it with whipped cream cheese - I agree!

Recipe: Cranberry Walnut Banana Bread
Adapted from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

1 cup walnuts (4oz, 114g)
2 cups minus 1 TB all-purpose flour (9.5oz, 272g)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 TB unsalted butter, softened (4oz, 113 g)
1 cup sugar (7oz, 200g)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 very ripe large banana
1.5 TB sour cream - I was out and used yogurt, which was fine
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh cranberries, cut in half (7oz, 200g) - it seems annoying to cut them all in half, but according to Rose, it prevents them from bursting and helps them absorb sugar.

1. Preheat oven to 325F (162C) and grease one loaf pan.

2. Toast the nuts on a baking sheet, about 7 mins (in oven that is preheating). Rub off the skins (skins are bitter) and chop coarsely.

3. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar, about 3 minutes till fluffy. Add eggs, banana, sour cream, and vanilla and beat about 1 minute until thoroughly blended. Add flour mixture and mix until just moistened, about 20 seconds. Add cranberries and walnuts and stir about 20 seconds until well combined.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 55 to 60 minutes until the bread is golden and top springs back when lightly pressed in the middle. Tent with foil during last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning (I forgot to do this and my bread was fine).

5. Cool bread in pan about 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool on rack. Bread keeps about 4 days at room temp. Serve plain or toasted with whipped cream cheese.

quarkini to the rescue

2008-10-22T08:56:00.001+02:00

I wanted to eat 10, but at 1.10sfr a piece, I settled for two

I've complained before about the terrible donuts available in Zurich. But last week I stumbled across Quarkinis at the farmer's market and I'm in love. It's a fluffy raised donut ball, with a slight tang from the quark, rolled in sugar. One reason it's taken me so long to find them is that they are hidden behind the counter, so you have to lean over mounds of other yummy bread to see the little basket of delicious morsels. I saw them at both Helvetiaplatz and Burkliplatz markets and apparently, they are also sold in the stores. Maybe everyone in Zurich already knows about these, but if I help one donut-deprived soul find their way to Quarkinis, I will be happy.

vanilla extract: make your own

2008-10-15T19:32:00.001+02:00

I was excited to find a good use for this cool bottle I've had sitting in my cupboard for 10 years

I finally got around to making my own vanilla extract. I had a huge bottle of vodka left over from making ice cream and pie crust, which only require a couple tablespoons each per batch. Since I'm a teetotaler, I have to do something with the stuff besides drown my sorrows. So let the experiment begin. Day 1 was easy: mix 1 cup vodka with two sliced open vanilla beans, seal, shake, store. Apparently, I have to wait about 2 months before it's ready, shaking it occasionally to assist the infusion. I'll report back with the results.

Meanwhile... I've been told that vanilla sugar (readily available here) actually adds more flavor than vanilla extract, because with extract, the alcohol evaporates, taking some of the flavor with it. I don't know if I believe this - my baked goods taste plenty vanilla-y for me. But in the interest of food science, I've also started a jar of vanilla sugar (stick a sliced open vanilla bean in a jar with sugar and let it sit for awhile, refresh with a new bean as necessary). If I have the energy, I'll do some taste tests.

As previously mentioned, vanilla beans are dirt cheap here: 2.40sfr for 3 beans.

pastrami and rye

2008-10-14T20:00:00.001+02:00

hot pastrami on rye with mustard: a match made in heaven

A few weeks ago, my husband discovered pastrami at the SihlCity Coop (has it always been there?) and my first bite of hot pastrami on rye with mustard made my eyes roll back in delight. Katz's Deli, it is not. But while in exile, I'll take what I can get. The first rye bread (the traditional caraway seed version, not simply Roggenbrot), we got was stale and tasteless. So of course, I had to make some from scratch (from The Bread Bible) to celebrate having pastrami back in our lives. Now I just need to borrow a smoker so I can make my own pastrami.

here's what it looks like so you can find it at Coop, near the prosciutto

yes, it's ridiculously expensive - it's about $26/lb vs. about $8/lb in the US
this little pack has less than 100 grams, enough for one hearty sandwich

my rye bread, with a crackling crisp crust

and inside: chewy, moist goodness

laughing lemon cooking class

2008-10-13T23:38:00.001+02:00

My friend Jenna and I with Sylvia and Jack of LaughingLemon -
Jack said we're the first ones to ever request to take a photo with instructors

Ever since I met Jack of LaughingLemon a couple years ago, I've been planning to attend one of their cooking classes. Two weeks ago, I finally made it to their What's In Season class and it was everything I wanted and more. You should all sign up for a class right now! He spent about the first hour discussing various in-season fruits and vegetables and introduced us to some interesting varieties available at the local produce markets. I learned about white sweet potatoes from Italy (for baking, not purees - so yum!), sweet pomegranates from Spain (instead of tart ones from Egypt), cavelo nero (my new favorite cooked greens), why my potatoes go bad so quickly, when various veggies are at their peak flavor, etc.

Then he cooked, dispensing all sorts of useful tidbits about how to prepare the various ingredients. Then we (the 8 students) sat down and ate a five course meal consisting of the food he just prepared, plus a few additional items. It was so delicious! And an incredible value at only 65sfr (the other classes change a little more at 90sfr, but still excellent value). I had a great time and can't wait to go to another class.

my favorite dish: pumpkin puree on ginger crust with drops of pomengranate syrup (sorry for the bad pic)

dessert: pumpkin cake with rose hip sauce, which I'd never heard of before but was so yummy - I want to serve it with everything (he sent us each home with jar of the sauce)

eight satisfied customers

butter, cream, and caramel - oh my!

2008-09-25T22:21:00.004+02:00

I could certainly improve on the presentation but it tasted good

I hosted book club last week and provided a little ice cream sundae bar. Here's the menu.

I made most everything from scratch but only one ice cream, Butter Pecan, because I don't have the fancy self-freezing ice cream maker that lets you keep making batch after batch. Some of my book club ladies have requested recipes, so I'm including some of them below. (You'll have to ask Jenna for her hot fudge recipe - thanks Jenna!)

Salted Butter Caramel Sauce
This was the crowd favorite. It tastes like melted toffee - yum yum. This I would eat this sauce on anything (popcorn comes to mind) or simply drink it. Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

6 TB (85g) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt, preferably fleur de sel, which has a more delicate texture than kosher salt

In a small saucepan, warm the cream over medium heat (you don't want to pour cold cream into the caramel or the mixture will clump into hard chunks that you'll have to melt down again - I learned the hard way).

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a large, deep, heavy-duty saucepan. Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar is a deep golden brown and starts to smoke. Watch carefully that the butter doesn't burn (I burned my first batch, better to warm it slowly at a lower heat than fast at a higher heat). Remove from heat and slowly pour the hot cream in a small, steady stream while constantly whisking to prevent clumping. If any lumps of caramel form, whisk the sauce gently over low heat until they're dissolved. Stir in the salt. Serve warm.

This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm gently in microwave or by stirring in saucepan over very low heat.

Peach Melba Sauce
I simply served a raspberry and peach sauce side by side, which the guest could combine over the ice cream.

12 oz frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB lemon juice

Place fruit and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook sugar dissolves and fruit soften. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve warm.

3-4 peaches, peeled, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
about 3 TB sugar
about 1 tsp lemon juice

Same instructions as above. Just taste the fruit mixture and add sugar to taste. Serve warm.

Gingerbread Caramel Sauce
This was supposed to be butterscotch sauce, but I accidently used regular sugar instead of brown sugar. So I added a couple tablespoons of molasses, resulting in a very dark, strong sauce, very similar to the gingerbread caramels I made last winter. Adapted from the Cook's Illustrated butterscotch sauce.

1 cup granulated sugar
2 TB molasses (or less if you want a less strong molasses flavor
1/4 cup corn syrup
3 TB unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature or warmer
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine sugar, molasses, corn syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar melts. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until syrup reaches 280F on candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and slowly stir in cream until sauce is smooth. Stir in vanilla. The sauce thickens as it cools. Serve warm. You can store in the fridge for several weeks.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Wow, I love this ice cream. It's so much more buttery than the commercial stuff. Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated.

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 TB unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted (place chopped nuts in pan over medium heat, shaking occasionally to turn nuts, until fragrant, about 5 mins)

Combine milk, cream, brown sugar, and butter in saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to 175F, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk granulated sugar and egg yolks until it turns pale yellow and thickens so it falls in ribbons, about 2 mins with an electric whisk. When milk mixture is ready, remove about 1/2 cup of the mixture and very slowly whisk into the egg mixture (you are slowly bringing the eggs to a higher temperature without cooking them). Repeat a couple times, then slowly whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan. Reduce heat to low and slowly bring the mixture to 180F (don't cook those eggs!), stirring constantly. The custard should be thick, but not curdled or boiled.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl over ice and stir to bring temperature down (I usually skip this step and simply put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours or overnight). Cover bowl and chill until mixture reaches 40F. Pour into ice cream machine and churn until frozen. At the end of churning, add the nuts and churn 30 seconds to incorporate. Transfer mixture to storage container and freeze until firm. Ice cream will keep up to 2 days but is best on day one.

Zurich is expensive, what else is new

2008-09-23T20:01:00.011+02:00

In any given conversation, I'm likely to discuss at least one, if not all, of the following Zurich topics: the depressing weather, the road construction and resulting traffic, and the high prices (gas is $6.80/gallon here), particularly for food. I'd like to document some of these for my US readers who think prices are high there. You ain't seen nothing.

Below are some comparisons of US and Swiss food prices. I actually started weeping as I made this chart. I knew it was expensive here but when you see it in print, it's shocking. I used normal grocery store products (Safeway vs Migros), not fancy gourmet organic stuff. I also didn't take into account the additional savings available by shopping in bulk at Costco, etc.

Assume $1 = 1 swiss franc. When I moved here three years ago, it was $.78 = 1sfr. The franc is worth more but prices haven't dropped here. So although prices are relatively stable, everything seems even more expensive compared to the US. I've stated prices in normal US quantities, like gallons and pounds, not liters and kilos.

Product	US price	Zurich price	% higher
Milk	$5.80/gal	Fr. 6.25/gal	8%
Ground beef	$3.50/lb	Fr. 7.87/lb	124%
Beef Chuck Roast	$2.49/lb	Fr. 14.37/lb	422%
Beef Filet Mignon	$16.99/lb	Fr. 38.00/lb	124%
Beef Sirloin	$6.19/lb	Fr. 32.40/lb	423%
Pork Shoulder	$2.49/lb	Fr. 13.00/lb	422%
Lamb stew meat	$5.99/lb	Fr. 22.00/lb	267%
Whole chicken	$1.69/lb	Fr. 4.41/lb	160%
Boneless chicken breast	$3.99/lb	Fr. 14.00/lb	250%
Bacon	$5.99/lb	Fr. 9.72/lb	62%
Butter	$3.99/lb	Fr. 6.75/lb	70%
Ricotta	$3.50/lb	Fr. 5.76/lb	65%
Sweatshop eggs	$.25/piece	Fr. .40/piece	60%
Free range eggs	$.32/piece	Fr. .80/piece	150%

Some things are less expensive. Vanilla beans are dirt cheap, only 2.40sfr for 3 beans. In the US, I'd pay $11 for 2 beans. A small packet of saffron (.035oz) costs $16.59, while in Zurich, the same packet would cost about Fr. 5.20.

How do these high prices affect my shopping? When I first moved here, I was paralyzed by sticker shock and got really upset every time I shopped. But with a double-punch combo of simply ignoring the prices and slowly changed our eating habits, we survive. I didn't eat much meat in the US, but here, I've dramatically reduced our family's intake. In stews, chilis, spaghetti sauce, etc., I usually use about half the meat called for in a recipe (for stew, I use 1.5 pounds instead of 3) and still cringe at the price. I usually add more veggies and/or beans to compensate. I'm scared what might happen if I move back to the US. I might eat myself into oblivion just to take advantage of the low prices.

American food products at gas stations and other unexpected places

2008-09-08T11:15:00.003+02:00

In addition to Jelmoli and Globus, there are a few unexpected places to find American and English food products:

- Gas stations often carry different products than the Migros/Coop cartel. On the Run - Esso gas station in Kusnacht, Seestrasse 139 had on my last visit: Betty Crocker cake mix, A1 Steak Sauce, Bulls Eye BBQ Sauce, Arm & Hammer baking soda, etc.

- Cindy's Diner in Wädenswil (south of Zurich, connected to the gas station on the freeway) has, among other things, American cake mix, frosting, and Mountain Dew.

- Orell Füssli English Bookshop (Bahnhofstrasse 70, Zurich) - They have a random assortment of American and English products, like cake mix and tea cookies, on the second floor in the center. They used to also have these products the basement, so check both places.

- Despite the title, the "Brown Sugar" store in Adliswil does not carry brown sugar, it's just a typical low-end Swiss sandwich place. Don't waste your time.

You can also check these online stores:
- American Food Avenue
- Taste of America (they have brown sugar)
- American Market
- Premiere Videothek London Shop
- XpatXchange list of other online shops

I also found this helpful list of where to get certain American items in Zurich.

rant: I hate European kitchen machines

2008-09-04T20:47:00.002+02:00

will Vorwerk Thermomix solve all my problems?

Yea, I said it - I hate European kitchen machines and here's why:

a) I couldn't bring my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer and Cuisinart food processor here because of the 220V issue.

b) I couldn't rebuy the Cuisinart food processor because they don't sell it Europe. The basic KitchenAid stand mixer sells for 700sfr (vs $150 in the US) - luckily I found one for 350sfr. I would have preferred the KitchenAid professional, but it isn't sold in Europe. In fact, most of the models/brands highly rated by Cook's Illustrated, my cooking bible, are unavailable in Europe. So when shopping, I simply have to guess by the box marketing material and...

c) I hate my Euro food processor and blender! I used to make everything in my Cuisinart food processor: pie dough, cookie crumbs, bread crumbs, chopped nuts, hummus. My machine here does a terrible job, always leaving big chunks whirling around aimlessly no matter how much manual scraping and stirring I do. My hummus and peanut butter are terribly grainy. With any thick mixture, like pesto or chile paste, it only combines the stuff near the blade, pushing most of the mixture up the sides. After 5 mins blending butternut squash soup last night, my blender motor started emitting a strange smell and made sad noises. Aaaaargh!

But the clouds have parted and I have seen the light: the Vorwerk Thermomix TM31. Not only is it highly praised by Cook's Illustrated, it's a native Euro product. So for a cool 1000sfr or so, cuilinary heaven can be mine. I'm going to spend all my free time on eBay trying to find a bargain. Wish me luck.

banana cream pie

2008-08-30T18:50:00.001+02:00

bananas in the middle, yum yum

Whatever you're doing, just stop and go make yourself a banana cream pie. It is such a delight. I had forgotten how much I loved this pie. Of course, I've never made the filling from scratch before; when I was a kid, I thought using a pudding mix was making it from scratch. I was surprised how easy to was to make the pudding and it was simply luscious. I made this one for a party, so I didn't nearly eat my fill. I might have to make another one right away so I can eat the whole thing instead of share.

I love the little flecks on vanilla bean in the pudding

unbaked pie crust with the cookie crumbs

Recipe: Banana Cream Pie
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

1. Make your favorite flaky pie crust, fully bake it, and cool completely. The recipe I used recommended rolling out the crust over graham cracker or butter cookie crumbs to help keep the crust from getting soggy. Just keep sprinkling the crumbs (about 1/2 cup total) over and under the crust as you roll it out.

2. Whisk 1/2 cup plus 2 TB sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 1/8 tsp salt in medium saucepan. Add 5 egg yolks, then immediately but gradually whisk in 2 cups milk (whole or 2%) and 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Drop in 1/2 vanilla bean, sliced open. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently at first, then constantly as mixture starts to thicken and begins to simmer, 8 to 10 minutes. Once mixture simmers, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat; whisk in 2 TB butter. Remove vanilla bean, scrape out seeds, and whisk them back into filling.

3. Pour filling into shallow pan to cool(another pie pan works well). Put plastic wrap directly over filling surface to prevent skin from forming; cool until warm, about 30 minutes. Pour half the warm filling into pie shell. Peel and slice 2 bananas on top of half the filling and top with remaining filling. Once again, place sheet of plastic wrap directly over filling surface. Refrigerate pie until completely chilled, at least 3 hours.

4. Whip 1 cup cream, 2 TB sugar, 1 tsp vanilla to soft peaks. Spread over filling and refrigerate until ready to serve.

plum flame tart

2008-08-25T20:41:00.001+02:00

Furthering my attempt to make a least one dessert with each fruit as it comes into season, I made the Plum Flame Tart from The Pie and Pastry Bible. It's so cute and yummy. I don't remember ever seeing an Italian Prune Plum (or Zwetschgen as they are called here) back in CA. But in Switzerland, you can't escape them. Every store has mountains of these little juicy orbs. I love them. I didn't get great pics because I made it for a party and I was in a rush. I only took pics before baking, thus the green, instead of after baking, which was much more purple. I really liked it and would definitely make again.

Anyhoo, I particularly like this pie because it's a cinch to make. Whip up your favorite Pate Sucree (I've included the one I used below), pre-bake it, dust with cornstarch, quarter the plums, line them up in circles, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, bake, glaze, done! I have the details below. I did make a few mistakes:

- the recipe said "sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg", which I did in that order. I thought about mixing them together first, but I decided to follow a literal interpretation of the recipe. This meant there was a not so attractive, visible dusting of cinnamon on the tops of the plums. I'm definitely mixing them together next time before sprinkling.
- in my haste to get to the party, I forgot to glaze it with apricot preserves. This would have made it even prettier and slightly sweeter, which it needed.
- I should have pre-baked the crust a little longer. The instructions said to under-pre-bake so the crust was still a little soft so you can press the plums into it. I thought the crust was underbaked and a little soggy. So I'm doing the full pre-bake next time.

The recipes below are adapted from The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Barenbaum

Pâte Sucrée
In a food processor, process 8 TB butter and 1/4 cup sugar about 15 times until sugar disappears. Add 1.5 cups AP flour and 1/8 tsp salt and pulse again 15 times until butter is no larger than small peas. In a small bowl, stir together 1 large egg yolk and 2 TB cream. Add to mixture and pulse just until incorporated, about 8 times. Empty dough onto the counter and knead briefly until it sticks together. Flatten into 6-in disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 10-30 mins. Roll chilled dough out into 11-in circle, about 1/8-in thick. Place in buttered and floured 9.5-in tart pan and freeze for 2 hours. Pre-bake shell, without pie weights, at 425F for 5 mins, prick the puffy parts with a fork, lower heat to 375F and cook 10-15 mins until golden and set, but soft to the touch.

Plum Flame Tart
Preheat over to 350F. Wash, seed and quarter 2 pounds of Italian prune plums. Sprinkle the crust with 1 tsp cornstarch. Starting at the outside edge, arrange the plums in a circle so that they stand upright, with one pointed end pressing into the base of the crust, the other pointed end up, and the skin side leaning against the side of the crust. Continue in concentric circles, fitting in as many plums as possible. Mix together 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and sprinkle over plums. Bake 45 mins until crust is golden brown and plums are fork tender. Remove to rack to cool. Heat 1/3 cup apricot preserves in small saucepan until melted and bubbling. Strain into small cup. Cool until no longer hot. Brush plums with melted apricot preserves. Garnish pie with whipped cream. Can be stored at room temp or refrigerated, up to 2 days.

fruit leather

2008-08-04T21:59:00.002+02:00

I had way too much fun taking pics of this flexible stuff

My friend Alice suggested that I make fruit leather and who am I to turn down a suggestion? So I picked up 2.5 kilos of apricots at a roadside stand (for 17sfr) and roughly 48 hours later, I have fruit leather. It's not hard, but it's a long wait. After 24 hours drying in the oven, I almost gave up. It seemed like an indulgent waste of energy, keeping the oven on so long. But the thought of throwing away 17sfr of fruit made me persevere. (Realistically, only those growing their own fruit should make their own fruit leather; mine cost about 6sfr per sheet.) And boy am I glad. It's so tasty. Now I just have to stop myself from eating it all in one sitting.

I used this recipe for reference but it made me angry because it says to add 1/2 cup water to the fruit before cooking. I knew this was way too much, but I decided to trust the recipe. I was right: it was way too much!!! My fruit puree was so liquidy that it took days to dry. Only add a tiny bit of water to keep the fruit from initially sticking as you turn on the heat, before the fruit starts releasing its own juices.

ready to eat

rolled up for storage

gotta love that curly-q

Recipe: Fruit Leather

1. Locate your fruit. Roughly 4 cups of fruit will yield one baking sheet of fruit leather. Use any combo of fruit that sounds good to you.

2. Rinse fruit, de-pit and/or stem as necessary, and cut into large chunks. Place fruit in a large saucepan. Add a little water or juice, just enough to keep the fruit from sticking when you initially turn on the heat. The fruit will release it's juices rather quickly. If you add too much, you'll have to cook down the puree for a long time or dry the leather for a really long time (days!).

3. Cook for 10-15 minutes, just until fruit is tender and ready to puree.

4. Puree fruit with food mill or blender. A food mill will also remove the skins and fibers, making for a finer texture.

5. Add sugar, a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, and spices as desired (you can add these while cooking the fruit, but I find it easier to adjust the taste after the fruit has been pureed). The amount of sugar depends on the sweetness of the fruit. My apricots needed tons of sugar (at least 1 cup sugar to 4 cups apricot) and after tasting the final product, I still think I could have added more.

6. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Pour the puree into the baking sheet, about 1/4 inch thick. Any thicker and it will take a lifetime to dry (I only had two baking sheets, so I think I did mine a little too thick, thus increasing the drying time even more). Make sure the plastic wrap doesn't fold over onto the puree. I had trouble with this, so moistened the sides of the pan with a little fruit puree to make the plastic wrap stick to the sides. Worked like a charm. Also, try to keep the plastic wrap from touching the sides of the oven.

7. Place baking sheet in oven at 140F/60C and let it dry until the puree is stiff and has a smooth surface, 12+ hours. Mine took at least 36 hours.

8. When the fruit leather is ready, peel up the plastic wrap off the baking sheet. To eat, peel off the plastic wrap and chomp, chomp, chomp. To store it, you can roll it up (keeping the plastic wrap on the back), put it in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

pie crazy

2008-07-28T23:21:00.002+02:00

what's summer without a peach pie?

My in-laws graciously brought me lots of goodies on their recent visit, including The Pie and Pastry Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. It's a great read and inspiring. So I've been baking a lot of pies. In the process, I've learned three very helpful techniques:

- To make fruit pies less liquidy and more flavorful, Rose recommends mascerating the fruit in sugar, collecting the juices, boiling the juice down into a syrup, and adding the syrup back to the fruit. I love it and will definitely apply this to other recipes besides Rose's.

- If you add too much liquid to pie dough, too much gluten will form, creating a tough crust. Thus most pie crust recipes only add a tablespoon or two of liquid, making a very dry dough that is difficult to roll out. Cook's Illustrated has a clever technique that uses vodka for some of the liquid. Vodka is 40% alcohol, which doesn't form gluten when mixed with flour. But the additional liquid makes the dough more supple and easier to roll out. The vodka evaporates on baking and adds no flavor. I tried it and the dough was a dream to roll out and tasted great, although some of my tasters slightly preferred Rose's crust. (See the recipe and video here)

- When making the pie crust, you need some of the flour to be coated with butter (to ensure flakiness) and some dry (to ensure tenderness), which is why you have to cut the butter into the flour, not mix. But getting a good ratio every time can be difficult, either having too big of butter chunks with lots of dry flour or most of the butter smoothly blended into the flour. To help get a good ratio every time, Cook's recommends mixing the butter with only half the flour, then stirring the remaining dry flour in before adding the liquid. This means exactly half of the flour is totally coated with fat, while the other half the flour is totally dry. I love it because not only is it so darn clever, but it works!

I wanted to stick to fruit pies in summer, but by popular demand, I made this pecan pie. After the first bite, I was so glad I made it.

apricot/raspberry - pretty, tangy and yummy
I used my own apricot preserves to glaze it - yay for me

I didn't get any good photos of this nectarine/raspberry pie, but I thought it was the best of the bunch

Recipe: Single Pie Crust with Vodka
abbreviated from Cook's Illustrated (see original here)

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (6 1/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening , cut into 2 pieces
2 tablespoons vodka , cold
2 tablespoons cold water

1. In food processor, mix 3/4 cup flour, sugar and salt together. Add butter and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 1/2 cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Flatten dough into 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

3. Use as you would regular pie crust dough, rolling into a 12-in circle about 1/8 thick. Before filling, it should be blind-baked at 435F for 20-25 minutes (removing pie weights after 15 minutes). For all the details, see the original recipe.

scallion pancakes: the snake and the snail

2008-07-18T22:39:00.005+02:00

scallion pancakes - an easy snack

I love food friends. My friend Lily, from Shanghai, likes to show me how to make asian food. It's usually so simple, just something I wouldn't think to make. I like that for her, it's regular weekday food, not a party trick. Plus we get to eat on all her lovely asian pottery.

Last time she made Chinese spring rolls, of which I ate about 20 (I'm such a pig!). This week she showed me how to make scallion pancakes (and sushi, but that's for another post). It was so easy and so fun. Her son calls it "the snake and the snail" because that's what it looks like when you roll it up. My picky 4yr old loved them and the next day, begged me to make them again - music to my ears. I'm hoping I can include grated veggies in my next batch to make this a healthy snack.

1. Mix 2 cups flour with 1 cup water (or more or less, just keep the ratio 2:1) until it becomes a smooth ball. The recipe I used had me put the flour in the food processor and pour boiling water through the feed tube as it processed. This was effective, but probably not necessary. The recipe also said to let the dough sit covered for an hour but I used my after about 10 mins with good results.

2. Tear off a section of dough, a bit bigger than a golf ball. Roll it into a thin circle. Brush with oil and sprinkle on sliced spring onions and salt (don't skimp!).

3. Roll up the circle into a snake (as shown above).

4. Then roll up the snake on itself like a snail, tucking the end under one flat side of the circle so the onions don't fall out.

5. Smash the circle flat and roll it out thin again. It might tear a little with some oil and onions peaking out. Don't worry. It'll still taste yummy.

6. Heat a pan to med-high and brush with a little oil. Fry up the pancake, a couple minutes on each side. You want it golden brown and cooked long enough that the inside isn't doughy.

7. Slice and serve.

normandie caramels

2008-07-09T22:24:00.000+02:00

On our Normandie trip, I saw darling packages of salted caramels everywhere: at tourist sites, at bakeries, at groceries, even at gas stations. I was afraid I might be a sucker for the marketing, but this time the stuff inside was just as good as the outside promised. The caramels were soft, lush, and creamy with a perfect hint of salt. I just wish I had bought more. These are a definite "don't miss" if you happen to be in Normandie.

ravioli

2008-06-20T21:16:00.002+02:00

ok these are not ravioli, but tortellini are more photogenic

Inspired by my friend Astrid's posting on fresh pasta, I dusted my pasta machine off and cranked out some ravioli. It was fun and yummy. I shaped some into tortellini because they are just so darn cute. My favorite part was the filling, which I love to eat on its own because the ricotta is so yummy here, so smooth and creamy. (I had some leftover and scrambled it up with some eggs, it was so good!) I learned a couple things:

- use plenty of flour. On previous attempts, my homemade pasta was always stuck together and was extremely difficult to roll out with only two hands (I've recruited my 3yr old to catch pasta while I cranked and fed in the dough - not recommended). But after watching lots of food TV about making pasta, I learned that pasta should be liberally floured at each stage. It works like a charm. I could fold my pasta sheet as it rolled out with no sticking at all.

- roll dough in small batches. Previously, my pasta sheets were so long, they reached across the room and were very unwieldly. I realized that if I just work with smaller bits of dough, the sheets are a manageable length. Seems obvious, I know. But sometimes I follow directions so precisely, thinking there must be a reason for the madness, instead of using common sense.

- wet filling makes for wet pasta. I made my ravioli at mid-day, leaving them on the counter to air-dry, and cooked them for dinner (the recipe said this was ok). After a few hours, the dough started to get soggy and stick to the parchment paper. I think this was because my spinach was a little too wet. I suppose more liberal flouring would have helped a bit there too.

- space ravioli filling closer together than you might think. I thought my filling was too close, but I ended up with lots of pasta between each ravioli, and thus, less ravioli.

- thickness??? The instructions said to roll to #6 on the pasta machine, but I thought the resulting cooked raviolis were much too thick. I'm going to try #7 next time and report on the results.

filling dolloped out and dough moistened, ready for folding

folded over into raviolis, ready for cutting

in squares, ready for tortellini shaping

The following recipes are adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Pasta
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 eggs

Mound flour on counter and create well in center. Break one egg in the flour well and use fork to beat egg and incorporate into flour. Repeat with other two eggs and mix until all flour is mixed with the eggs. Knead a couple minutes until dough forms a smooth ball. Cut the dough into 4-6 pieces and cover in plastic. One ball at a time, roll pasta out with pasta machine.

Spinach-Ricotta Filling
10 ounces spinach, blanched, drained, cooled and chopped finely (or use frozen - thaw it and drain thoroughly)
1 egg
1 cup ricotta, drained for a few minutes in strainer
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings as necesary. Use to fill pasta immediately or refrigerate for up to a day before using.

Butter-Sage Sauce
6 tablespoons butter
20 to 20 fresh sage leaves or 1 tablespoon dried whole sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add sage, salt and pepper. Cook until the butter turns a light brown, about 10 minutes. Cook ravioli in boiling water until they float, just a couple minutes. Drain ravioli and place in individual bowls. Spoon sauce over ravioli. Sprinkle with cheese.

hot chocolate

2008-06-11T23:37:00.001+02:00

There's something about being served hot chocolate in this manner that makes it taste special. This was part of our breakfast in Giverny, France.

tripe sausage

2008-06-08T23:22:00.001+02:00

This time in Normandie I went too far. I like to try new and weird stuff, but this tripe sausage baked over camembert and apples was almost more than I could take. I could smell it coming to the table and I was scared. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't very good either. I might take a little break from the weird stuff and eat normal stuff I crave.

quick access

2008-05-31T09:53:00.001+02:00

I saw this container in a friend's kitchen and immediately went to IKEA to get my very own (50sfr). It has five heavy duty glass containers in a wood frame. Mine gives me quick access to salt, kosher salt, flour, sugar, and hot chocolate mix. I can easily get a couple teaspoons of these ingredients without hauling out my huge storage containers. It even holds enough flour make few batches of pancakes. I love it!

yucky honey cake

2008-05-04T20:21:00.004+02:00

it tasted as bad as it looked

I tried the Medovnik recipe floating around everywhere on the internet. It was yucky. I threw it away after one slice. Yes, I'm willing to accept that I prepared it incorrectly. But I'm pretty sure that no matter who makes this recipe, it's not going to be anything like the true Czech honey cake. It was a lot of work, too. After making the "cake" batter, I had to roll out five 8in circles and bake them individually.

I'm going to try this other recipe for 15 layer Russian Honey Cake. I like that it uses sour cream instead of sweetened condensed milk in the cream filling. If this recipe fails, I'm going to experiment with a spiced genoise. I'm determined to eat honey cake again!

Some things I learned...
- I did bake the cakes too long. The recipe recommends 3-5 mins, I did 6 min because the cake was so underdone at 5 mins. But after cooling, they were too dry, even after hours of soaking in the filling.
- I would cut exact circles immediately after baking so the cake would line up and look nicer. Plus the cake edges were crispier than the rest of the cake and I don't want to eat that part.
- The recipe has you crumble one layer and use that as the crumb topping - this is a great idea assuming the flavors are good.

freiburg food

2008-04-22T23:00:00.004+02:00

We visited Freiburg last week and though it wasn't nearly as tasty as Strasbourg, we did have two great finds.

First... At the farmer's market, one tiny stand had a long line, apparently only one product, and was selling it at lightning speed. On principle, I like any booth that has a small product offering (here's to you In-and-Out!), so I jumped in line and then tried to figure out what I was in line for. Turned out to be german cheesecake, which is lighter than American cheesecake with a crust. It's made with quark, a yogurt-like fresh cheese not readily available in the US. It was sooooo good. It was so smooth, so light, and totally tangy, not sweet at all. This stand sold three flavors: classic, raisin, and cherry. I'm almost curious enough to go back to try the other ones. I've had Käsekuchen in Zurich a few times, but here it's much more cakey and dry, basically completely different in every way. I highly recommend this if you happen to be in Freiburg.

Second... We're always scanning the food booths to find something we haven't tried before. We found this super yum spätzle/sauerkraut combo at a sausage stand. It's truly inspired. We all loved it, even my 4yr old.

strasbourg: sticky

2008-04-16T21:03:00.002+02:00

Macarons! Almost every pâtisserie in Strasbourg had some, but I liked these from Riss (35 Rue du 22 Novembre). Max and I shared this sampler bag, splitting every one in half so we could taste all the flavors.

I'd never seen these giant macarons before, but lots of places had these in addition to the normal bite-size ones:

The cakes were so colorful and fanciful. I wish I could live there so I could try a different cake each week.

I liked the look of these "baked potato" treats in the back and the lemon tarts in the front. I'll have to try these next time.

strasbourg: savory

2008-04-16T20:42:00.004+02:00

When in Alsace, you must eat the traditional Choucroute garnie. We first ordered this in Colmar last year, not really sure what we were ordering. We ordered one each, based on the cute, normal portions of food other diners were enjoying. This pot arrived. Correction, two of these pots arrived. I was scared.

We opened our pots to reveal an unholy amount of pork in various forms, sitting on top a mountain of sauerkraut. Plus a huge basket of steamed potatoes. It tasted fine, it was just a ridiculous amount of food.

Tyler tried Choucroute again in Strasbourg and received this tasty plate:

He starteted his meal with some foie gras, of course.

I don't know what I ordered but I got some sort of creamy sauerkraut studded with ham bits and maybe nuts??? It also had weird ham slices that had the consistency of salmon sushi. It was pretty tasty but unlike anything I've ever eaten.

The "kid's" meal came with a chocolate mousse dessert, which was dark, smooth and yum.

The restaurant was cute and small, with an interesting deli/meat counter on the first floor. As the name Porcus implies, this place is all about the pork.

I liked these elaborately decorated meat pastries in their window.

strasbourg: sweet

2008-04-12T21:28:00.004+02:00

I want candy!

We stumbled across this fantastic candy shop in Strasbourg, France. OK, it's impossible to miss, directly in front of the cathedral. We loaded up on lollipops, caramels and fruit candies. It's a magical wonderland of pastel fabulousness. And they gave out lots of free samples, American-style consumerism - I love it! I definitely recommend visiting this place if you're in Strasbourg: La Cure Gourmande 5, Rue Mercière

it's cheaper to buy individual pieces by weight, but more fun to buy them in the crazy cute tins

these look like big candies, but they have little sticks making them into short, squat lollipops

the cute door

outside the shop

homemade yogurt, pure magic

2008-04-12T19:17:00.004+02:00

homemade yogurt - try it, you'll like it

When I first read about making homemade yogurt in Super Baby Food, I thought the writer was crazy and thought it was ridiculous to waste time that's already so inexpensive, good quality (at least in Switzerland) and relatively unprocessed. Then I read/heard a few things about how commercial plain yogurt (even organic) doesn't contain much of the the beneficial or probiotic bacteria, which is one of the main reasons to eat yogurt. Plus it often has added milk powder (which increases the lactose making it harder to digest) and is often pasteurized, bla, bla, bla...

Anyhoo, I decided to experiment and was quite pleased with the results. I like anything approaching magic with food and yogurt certainly fits the bill. Scald a little milk, add a bit of starter yogurt, let it sit for a few hours and voila - yogurt! I followed the instructions in Super Baby Food, but there are loads of recipes on the web. Here's my short version:

1. Scald a quart of milk (heat to 185F, just before boiling)
2. Cool to 115F
3. Stir in 2TB yogurt (your starter that should have active bacteria)
4. Pour into sterile containers and put on lids
5. Place in warm place (oven turned on lowest setting - 110F) to maintain temp of liquid between 90F and 120F (ideally at 100F). Leave for 4-12 hours until mixture is firm. You now have yogurt.
6. Refrigerate for a few hours.
7. Add flavorings/sweeteners, eat and enjoy.

Notes: I used whole milk and mine was plenty thick. I didn't add any milk powder or gelatin to thicken it. I used mason jars to store the yogurt in. Mine was done after 5 hours. It wasn't sour at all, which was a plus because I'm trying to get my baby to eat it. If you want it more sour, just ferment it longer. It keeps 1-2 weeks in the fridge. If it doesn't set, either the starter didn't have enough bacteria (maybe too old) or the fermenting milk got below 90F or above 120F, thus killing the bacteria.

one fish, two fish

2008-04-08T23:07:00.000+02:00

the semi-clean spot in the middle was where my salmon was cooking

This is why I don't cook fish. Every time I cook fish, my pan ends up looking like this and I can never get it all off. Does this happen to you? I know I must doing something wrong, but I don't know what. I get the pan hot, use a minimum amount of oil, and don't move the fish during the advised time (about 7mins for salmon). The fish was tasty, but at what cost? I've probably spent an hour trying to restore this pan to its original condition. I've tried all sorts of chemical concoctions (de-glazing and boiling combos of dishwashing liquid, baking soda, vinegar, etc) praised on the internet, to no avail. Any suggestions?

Later that day, I baked a fish encased in salt, aka salt coffin, and it would have been great if I had paid attention to the recipe and realized the cooking times were for a 2-3 pound fish, not a 3/4 pound one. I'll try this method again though, much cleaner.

my single serving fish in his salt coffin

prague: last yum yums

2008-04-06T22:48:00.000+02:00

One last Prague post. We loved these filled donut things - you should definitely have one if you go. There were so many treats we didn't try, particularly lots and lots of cakes. I hope we make it back soon but there are so many places to go still. Thanks Prague. Our tummies are happy.

prague: pork knee and other hearty stuff

2008-04-05T21:02:00.001+02:00

me and pork knee - a phrase seldom uttered

Czech food, I love you. Where have you been all these years? I admit this new crush is based on only a few lucky meals, but seriously, I loved what I ate in Prague. For one thing, I had no idea until this trip that I love cabbage. Here's a sampling of some of the good things we ate.

Our first meal in Prague, we hunted for an hour and finally settled on Restaurace Certovka, near Kampa Park, with a patio overlooking the Charles Bridge. It was absolutely empty (I hate empty restaurants) and we expected the worst). But it turned out to be our best meal of the trip. Here's my meal from here, potato pancakes, ham and sweet apple cabbage - yum, yum, yum!

Tyler had goulash with dumplings, good but not my favorite:

My favorite sausage of this trip was this one topped with sauerkraut and horseradish. I didn't even know I liked either of these toppings but I couldn't get enough of it. At breakfast, this booth was serving the same sausage topped with a fried egg:

Our car driver recommended Olympia, one of the Kolkovna chain, basically a cleaned up pub with better food. After returning home, I've seen lots of bad reviews online from expats living there (expensive, grumpy service, tourist trap, etc.) but we liked it. The food was good (we had much, much worse elsewhere) and seemed freshly-made compared to other places that clearly were serving frozen mass-produced stuff. We could get all the Czech standards in one place, instead of hunting and pecking all over town. The prices were the same or lower than everywhere else we looked (~200kc is a normal main dish price, but on the Old Town Square, you'll pay 2-3 times that). The service was fine, but we did eat slightly off-peak hours. Below is my yum meal of goose leg, potato dumplings and sweet cabbage.

Here's a detail pic of the Pork Knee I ordered at Olympia's sister restaurant. Who can resist ordering something with a description like this: "Knuckles roasted on black beer, with onion and grandmother cabbage crackles."

Below is Olympia's menu (click for a closer look).

prague: honey cake

2008-04-04T23:36:00.002+02:00

I picked up a last piece on my way to the airport, so no time for staging this pic

I didn't try honey cake, aka Medovnik, until my last day in Prague, and then only by accident. I had skipped breakfast and was starving outside Troja Chateau. There was only one restaurant and they didn't have any breakfast items. The waiter suggested something from the dessert menu and I luckily selected honey cake, my new favorite cake! The first bite was heaven and it only got better and more satisfying. No law of diminishing returns here. The waiter said it was a 1000 year old recipe. I can't wait to try making it myself. If anyone knows where I can get one of these in Zurich, please let me know. I want to have a Medovnik party asap!

Here's the honey cake story from The Prague Post
Check this fun blog entry I ran across, waxing poetic on Medovnik.

prague: langoše

2008-04-02T20:14:00.004+02:00

langoše "pizza"

The other main treat at the Prague easter market was Langoše, which I'm told is actually Hungarian. In Prague, it was served with garlic, ketchup, and cheese - not a particularly good combo. But the fried bread is double yum, so we tried it again, but with nutella, which was delicious. You know you are eating something good when people come up to you asking where you got your food. Price: 50 crowns, about 3USD/CHF.

I was fascinated by the enormous mounds of dough they emptied from huge plastic sacks onto the table, then proceeded to cut with a monster serrated knife into individual dough portions.

ok, the picture is horrible but nutella was a winner

prague: trdelnik

2008-04-01T23:04:00.002+02:00

When traveling, I love trying new food almost more than seeing the sights. Here's the first of several fun foods we tried in Prague - Trdelnik. It's a sweet dough rope wrapped around a metal bar, which is spun over a flame until golden, then rolled in a sugar/cinnamon/nut mix. It's yum and not hard to find. At the old town easter market, there were at least a dozen booths. I ate three or so, then switched to langose, which I'll blog about next.

I was a little worried that one of these enormous trdelnik replicas (each booth had one) would fly off in the gusty wind and take us out

best when warm, also works as a wrist band

gadget envy

2008-03-21T12:12:00.003+01:00

I saw a link to this SideSwipe Spatula Mixer Blade for KitchenAid stand mixers on David Lebovitz's blog and now I'm desperate to have it!

recipe added: rolls

2008-03-18T20:45:00.001+01:00

Per request, I added the "Best American Dinner Rolls" recipe to this post. Happy baking!

Tarte au Citron

2008-03-13T22:04:00.003+01:00

I was anxious to eat this last piece, thus the boring pic

Finally, something to blog about. I tasted a yummy Tarte au Citron at a dinner party a couple weeks ago and was inspired to make one of my own, mainly so I could eat a lot more of it. I stumbled across Thomas Keller's recipe that is used at his restaurants The French Laundry, Bouchen and Per Se. I've had the pleasure of dining at The French Laundry twice, due to the tireless efforts of a good friend, which involved months of persistent calling and checking cancellations online. I've never made one of his recipes before, so I was a little intimidated. But this was quite simple and even in my inexperienced hands and sad, little kitchen, almost perfect.

I got the recipe off Epicurious (click here for recipe) and it was amusing to read the comments. So many commenters had made alterations to the recipe, e.g. using Splenda instead of sugar, cutting back on the butter, etc. and then complained about the results. Hmm.

I followed the recipe to the letter, including using the pine nut crust and maple syrup mascarpone whipped cream. This recipe uses a sabayon technique instead of a lemon curd, so it's really light and smooth. I liked the pine nut crust, but the flavor is so subtle that I'd probably just use a regular pâte sucrée next time. I loved the cream and would definitely make it next time; the maple syrup gives such an interesting flavor. I found the recipe for the cream in the comments, which said it came from the original cookbook recipe. Simply whip up 4oz cream, 3tb mascarpone, and 1-2TB maple syrup. Yum.

So many commenters complained about the filling not thickening that I was worried, especially as I whipped like a maniac for several minutes with no thickening. Aaa! Then I remembered the key to getting custard-like things to thicken is temperature (at least 160F), not extra whipping. So I whipped out my handy-dandy thermometer and of course, my filling was only at 135F. I turned up the heat and within a minute I was up to 160F and my filling was perfectly thick. Crisis averted.

I did not have a kitchen torch, so I used the broiler as recommended. I was scared because the recipe says "it" happens in just a few seconds and I wasn't sure what "it" was and I was terrified of burning my tart. But after 10-15 seconds, little bubbles appeared on the top of the tart and like magic, a deep brown spread across the top. I did have to turn and move the tart around to get a more even browning. And I was timid and pulled when I was only spotty brown, not truly golden. It should have looked more like this.

This recipe is a keeper.

crumbs make me happy - that means people ate it

my cookbook, casualty of my sloppy cooking

what did I order?

2008-02-17T23:01:00.002+01:00

Swiss cuisine is so predictable that if I see something I don't understand on the menu, I order it. Sometime I ask the waiter what it is, but I usually don't understand their explanation enough to figure out what I might get. Almost every time, I've gotten something really yummy.

Yesterday at Hintergiessboden on Zugerberg was no exception, though there was a twist. I thought I was ordering fish. The waiter returned and asked me something that I thought meant "do I want it all cooked?" This was confusing so I asked if the fish was too big and perhaps he was asking if I wanted only a half portion. After a couple of minutes, we realized that I had ordered "fleisch" (meat), not fish and he was asking how I wanted it cooked, medium or well-done. We settled on medium and I awaited my fate. I got a steak, nicely presented and delicious, covered in garlic butter. Throughout the meal, I was raving about the meat, how tender and tasty it was. It didn't cut like a regular steak, it kinda fell apart like a roast.

Later that night I translated what I had ordered and discovered that I had eaten....

you guessed, horse meat. Specifically, I had ordered Fohlenfillet, which translates to foal or young horse. So not only did I eat a horse, but the horse equivalent of veal. I wasn't disgusted like I eaten a spider or something. I just felt dirty and a little sad, like I just ate a puppy or endangered animal. So gauche. Today, I've been treated to all manner of neighing and clip-clopping around the house.

we started with housemade garlic bread, super yum

Max opted for the horse-free Aelplermagronen, the swiss mac n'cheese

tarte tatin

2008-02-17T00:35:00.002+01:00

I agreed to bring a tarte tatin to a dinner party this week. This worried me because the last time I made a tarte tatin, the caramel was super liquidy and promptly spilled all over my pants on the drive to the dinner party. I served soupy tarte tatin and spent the night in sticky jeans. But this weekend, my tarte tatin was spot on - yay!

I forked out 7.90sfr/kilo for Granny Smith apples from Italy (why??? Italy is so close). I also treated myself to a new non-non-stick 9in pan, since I didn't have the right size for this dish. It was hard to find; almost everything is non-stick here. When I asked the sales clerk if this pan could go in the oven, she looked at me with shock and horror and asked why I would do that. Sometimes I wonder why I bother asking anyone anything?

caramelizing beautifully

I drew a circle on the parchment paper to help me roll the dough to a 12in circle

trying to fit a 12in circle into a 9in pan - why?

flipped perfectly, with one little bit of dark caramel from a hot spot on my new pan - argh!

I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe but next time I think I'll use my favorite free-form tart pastry instead of this egg pastry, which didn't excite me.

gingerbread caramels

2008-02-16T23:06:00.002+01:00

the recipe made about 150 caramels, which took forever to individually wrap

I was inspired by my friend, Michelle, to make gingerbread caramels, which taste like just like your best Christmas memory. I took them to Megan's baby shower and they were a big hit.

The recipe calls for corn syrup, which I can't buy here. But luckily, Michelle brought me a couple bottles when she was in Zurich during a short layover last year. I made a huge mess of the kitchen, not remembering how big candy boils before it cooks down. I switched to bigger pans twice, resulting in this sticky mess...

Candy requires very specific temperatures so I had three thermometers going, just in case. But all three were giving dramatically different readings as shown in the pic below. I panicked and tried a meat thermometer, dangling it into the bubbling cauldron with tongs. Of course, I promptly dropped it and had to fish it out with the tongs. Then I realized that I had attached the wrong sensors to my digital timers/thermometers. Once I switched the sensors to their proper owners, I got better readings but still a couple degress off from each other. I think I cooked the candy to 248F, which would be hard ball stage, but my candy was still quite soft. I'll cook it a little higher next time so the caramels keep their shape. But in any case, this recipe is a keeper. Thanks for the inspiration, Michelle.

Gingerbread Caramels
From Martha Stewart, my notes in green

Makes about 12 1/2 dozen

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
2 cups light corn syrup
4 cups granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Coat an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on short sides. Coat parchment. (Make sure parchment covers the whole pan - I left a tiny bit exposed on the long sides of the pan and I had to unstick the caramel with a knife)

Bring cream, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and molasses to a boil in a large pot over high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. (make sure this pot is at least twice the volume of your initial mixture as it grows when it reaches a boil - I used a tall stock pot) Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan, and continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage), about 20 minutes. (Some candies require that you don't stir the mix to avoid crystallization, but this recipe says to stir frequently. I didn't have a problem - the candies were super smooth)

Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt, and spices. (Make sure you really stir. When I poured the caramel into the pan, a hidden chunk of spices plopped out and I had to mix them in the baking pan, which was not easy) Immediately pour onto prepared sheet, without scraping pot. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hours without moving.

Coat a large cutting board generously with cooking spray. Pull up parchment to unmold caramel, and invert onto the cutting board. (I did not invert onto cutting board - I simply lifted caramels and parchment onto the cutting board, cut into pieces on parchment, and peeled off pieces to wrap individually.) Remove parchment. Cut into 1-by-1 1/4-inch pieces (My pizza cutter worked well here). Wrap each in cellophane or waxed paper (I used parchment paper, but cellophane would have been prettier). Caramels can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

measure it

2008-02-09T23:36:00.001+01:00

One of my favorite gadgets is my Super Fast Thermapen Digital Thermometer. Yes, it's expensive, but it's so worth it. I get an accurate reading in seconds, so no losing heat from the oven or food cooling down while I'm waiting for that stupid little dial on old school food thermometers to creep around. Wondering what you might use it for?

don't get sick from your meat
don't curdle your custard (180F and it turns into scrambled eggs)
ensure your ice cream base is cold enough (40F) so it will freeze in the ice cream maker
boil your candy to the proper consistency: soft ball, firm ball, hard ball, soft crack, etc
and...

don't kill your yeast (100F is usually best, but definitely nothing over 120F)

maintain deep-frying oil at optimum temperature (360F), so your food doesn't soak in too much oil (too cold) or burn (too hot, duh)

know when bread is done by the internal temperature (195F-205F depending on the recipe)

Yes, I am a gadget geek and also have an infrared model so I can test surface temperature. This is great for pancakes which cook the best at exactly 350F.

sloppy croissants

2008-02-03T23:27:00.000+01:00

Inspired by my friend Astrid, I attempted to make croissants. Per usual, I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe, aided by Sherry Yard's instructions in The Secrets of Baking. Despite my poor and lazy effort, they tasted pretty darn good, probably because of the 12 oz (24TB) of butter for 12 croissant. I ate three in one day (one slathered in Nutella) and felt like I might have a heart attack at any minute. They were definitely better than Swiss croissants, but as Astrid says, that's not saying much. Here's what I learned (I was in a hurry so I didn't take pics of all the steps and the pics are blurry and ugly - sorry)...

This is the butter block that will be rolled between the dough layers. Getting this cold butter into a 7in square was the hardest part. Obviously, I'm not a perfectionist. That is the smoothest I could get that stupid block o' butter without throwing it out the window and calling it quits.

Then I folded the corners over the butter and chilled for 2 hours. Then I rolled out to 14in square. This involves banging the dough/cold butter with the rolling pin to soften it. I thought bang meant bang, and I banged too hard creating lots of chunks of butter in my dough instead of smooth layers. Must be more gentle next time.

I folded it in thirds like a business letter, then again, creating two "turns" in pastry terms. Then chill 2 hours and repeat. I chilled the dough in the fridge overnight before the final roll and shaping. This didn't have any poor effect on the dough (like over yeasty flavor or something).

I rolled to 20in square, cut and rolled up the croissants. Mine are so ugly, esp. compared to Astrid's. Only that one in the top right-hand corner any hope of being pretty. Then they rose for an hour or so.

After a couple minutes in the oven, there were pools of butter under every croissant and I was expecting the worst. However, they puffed up nicely and were flaky, buttery, and delicious. They were however, quite heavy - not sure why. Next time I will roll more gently so the butter evenly spreads in the layer - I think that's my main problem. I froze six shaped but not baked ones. I'm curious to see if they bake up ok.

there's nothing better than a croissant fresh out of the oven - ok, maybe two croissants fresh out of the oven

america: the spoils

2008-02-02T17:02:00.000+01:00

In addition to lots of eating, there was lots of shopping in America. Switzerland has nothing like a Bed, Bath & Beyond or Sur La Table or even the kitchen section of Target. I have to go all the way to Paris to get a proper kitchen store like Mora or E. Dehillerin.

My biggest investment was my first KitchenAid attachment: the Kitchen Aid Fruit & Vegetable Strainer, Food Grinder and Slicer/Shredder Attachment - yay! This means I don't have to spend hours hand-cranking 10 kilos of apples through my manual food mill to get apple butter next fall.

I got several bread-making supplies from King Arthur: hi-gluten flour, vital wheat gluten, diastatic malt powder, caramel color So I now I can really bake proper bagels.

fourteen pounds of brown sugar - you can see where my priorities are

sprinkles - apparently the Swiss don't care for sprinkles shaped like dinosaurs, vampire bats, and lips

what kitchen is complete without an avocado slicer?

we saw this oil dispenser in the Crate & Barrel catalog and just had to have it

Plus various other knick-knacks:
> universal silicone lids - plastic wrap never sticks, so I thought I'd give these "universal" lids a try
> non-tapered french rolling pin
> 55 decorating tip set - I'm not much into decorating cakes, but I like to have a nice variety when I do
> silicone cupcake molds - I'm hopeful, but not sure if they'll work

Still on my list: cute cake stand, bamboo cutting board, three baguette pan, proper china

cooker man

2008-01-30T20:17:00.000+01:00

On Christmas morning, this apron and chef's hat from me was a big dud (I think Max actually screamed in digust upon opening it). But now he loves it and calls it his "cooker man." He loves helping in the kitchen and insists on wearing this gear when he does.

america part 8: in-n-out

2008-01-25T19:21:00.001+01:00

I dedicate my last America food entry to In-N-Out Burger: fresh, fast and delicious.

But now I must say goodbye and return to bratwurst, rösti, and schoggi gipfeli (chocolate croissants) in Zurich. Thank you America - a good time was had by all.

america part 7: super size

2008-01-18T17:40:00.001+01:00

Everything in my swiss cooking life is small. My oven doesn't fit my half sheet baking pans. Fitting anything in my fridge is a Tetris puzzle. Milk comes in liters, not gallons. Eggs come with 4 instead of a dozen. The largest bag of flour or sugar is 1 kilo (2.2 pounds). My freezer is a joke. So visiting America is like Jack climbing the beanstalk.

we seem to drink a gallon just as fast as a liter

the package says "anything goes with eggs"

kiss that garlic press goodbye

"spread the fun"

america part 6: gyros

2008-01-16T05:16:00.000+01:00

Does this make you hungry? I want to eat another Gyros sandwich right now just looking at this pic. Back in the day, a few of us would just get a couple pounds of gyros meat and snarf it down. In Zurich, I can get a Doner sandwich on practically every corner. It's a similar idea but the meat tastes different, the yogurt sauce is thin and spicy instead of thick and tangy, and it uses flatbread instead of a fluffy pita. In short, nothing like a Gyros. I had this one near Belmont park at Mission Beach. It was a special treat.

america part 5: mexican

2008-01-15T18:42:00.000+01:00

fish and shrimp tacos - one of my must-have foods while in San Diego

Mexican food is far and away what I've missed the most being away from CA. I've eaten Mexican almost every day since I've been here and I can't get enough: carnitas, carne asada, fresh tortillas, mexican rice, refried pinto beans, salsa bars, horchata... ok, I'm going out to lunch right now.

Even better is simply the experience of eating out. I can be anywhere in San Diego and think, "I feel like eating tacos" and within a couple minutes, I'll drive by some Albertos or Robertos or Alibertos (almost always a variation on "bertos") taco shop where I can easily park, plop down $5 and be eating fantastic, fresh tacos in 5 minutes. It makes me so happy.

Zurich has a few mexican restaurants, but
a) it's too expensive - 25sfr for a burrito?
b) they usually use bottled salsa that tastes like tomato sauce - gross. There's just no excuse. Fresh, interesting salsa is the whole point of mexican food and it's so easy to make.
c) it's more "fancy" (duck enchiladas, anyone?) and tex-mex, than good ole california taco shop style.

this is what mexican food should look like: cheap, messy and delish!

this is where mexican food should be eaten - the beach!

gotta love those taco shop prices - $.99 guacamole and $.69 salsa

carne asada torta, an old favorite - grilled flank steak and guac on bread

america part 4: donuts n' things

2008-01-15T18:38:00.000+01:00

was $2.60 ever better spent?

Zurich might have an endless supply of pastry shops, but they don't have a Donutopia. It's wonderful to be a land full of tiny run down donut shops, named such hopeful things as Yum Yum Donuts and Donut Heaven. Excepting Krispie Kreme, why do all donut shops look exactly the same, particularlywith the same empty, nicked, bright yellow tables frequented only occasionally by the down-n-out or wasted out-past-curfew teens? But the donuts are always awesome! Glazed raised, old fashioned, sprinkled cake, chocolate twists - it doesn't matter to me. I love them all. But with donuts, it's always the case of diminishing returns. They are so cheap, you have to by at least a half dozen. And the first one is so good, you have to eat a second, which makes you sick. Then you go for a third, just in case the second was a fluke. Then you never want to have another donut. Good times.

everything & more

After all my bagel baking trials, I had to get my hands on the real thing. OK, almost the real thing, since I'm not in NYC. I had an everything bagel with onion and chive cream cheese. We also got a cinnamon sugar and a blueberry one, for comparison. They were good (and cheap!). But, I have to say that my "perfect"bagel was at least as good, if not better. Something I would have never discovered but for living out of bagel territory. Thank you Zurich.

america part 2: barbeque

2008-01-11T07:27:00.000+01:00

this is only half of the full brisket we attempted to consume over several meals

The Swiss love to grill (hot and fast), but not barbeque (low and slow). So since we wouldn't be visiting a bbq state like Texas, Tennesee or South Carolina, my husband mail-ordered this enormous slow cooked beef brisket, an enormous pork roast, and lots of sausage (totally different than Swiss/German sausage and totally yummy) so we could eat real barbeque while in the US. It was all good, but our favorite was the pork, which we shredded and ate in sandwiches with vinegar sauce. I think he ordered from www.willyraysbbq.com as recommended by this article. If you're in San Francisco (our old home town), you can indulge by visiting Memphis Minnie's, which has excellent 18hr brisket.

(Sorry the pic isn't better - I've been relaxing this trip and not as attached to the camera as I should.)

america part 1: milkshakes

2008-01-08T08:06:00.000+01:00

chipped mint milkshake, aka pure heaven

I'm in America for the Christmas holiday, thus the blogging break. I'm eating like a maniac. Exhibit A: diner milkshakes. We estimate about 1/2 gallon of ice cream per shake, which includes a "side car," the metal cup containing the rest of the shake that couldn't fit in the shake glass. In my book, any milkshake that doesn't come with a side car isn't a milkshake at all. Oh, it was good. Especially after downing 28 oz of vanilla coke and then periodically interrupting my slurping with crispy onion rings and dripping bites of bacon cheeseburger. I love America.

our beverages - quite disturbing all stacked together

peanut butter shake - we swapped sidecars so I could eat some of it

indoctrinating our son on the fatty ways of America

bacon cheeseburger and onion rings
you just can't get burgers this deliciously greasy in CH

sliders - kiddie burgers

my husband opts for the slightly lighter option, but it still has bacon :)

bread & butter, or 100% whole wheat and lovin' it

2007-12-17T23:06:00.000+01:00

First, I decided I love the Poilâne-style Miche I made last week. The BBA recipe notes that Poilâne thinks his bread tastes best on day 3 after the flavors have time to meld. The author, Reinhart, says he likes it 3 hours out of the oven. I agree with Poilâne. I didn't like it much on day one. But on day three, I kept eating more and more. The flavors were more complex and it had retained so much moisture. This is good bread.

it's flat and ugly, but oh, so good

Second, I had some leftover whole wheat from the miche and decided to try a 100% whole wheat bread recipe from Crust & Crumb, an earlier Peter Reinhart book (BBA author). It uses a poolish and has a pretty high water ratio to keep it moist and light, unlike most whole wheat bread which is really dense. Well, this recipe delivers what it promises. This bread is sooooo yummy, so moist, so flavorful; I can't stop eating it. It also has cooked brown rice, which makes for a fantastic texture. I've been eating it with huge chucks of this organic local butter shown below. At the time, I felt a little silly paying a slight premium for this butter, but it's totally worth it. Is there anything better than freshly baked bread and cultured butter?

I'll post the recipe soon, when I have more time (this is beginning to be a trend, aaahh!).

falafel in no time

2007-12-16T22:36:00.001+01:00

My husband brought me back a falafel maker from his trip to Jordan. I love that he thought to bring me a kitchen gadget. He's the best and so is this falafel maker. No more tedious quenelle forming and lots of uniform fried nuggets in no time. Ty said the cooks in Jordan would pop falafel into oil super fast, spraying oil all over their hands, making 100 in the time I make 10. I go slow and methodical, like all my cooking.

my son always loads up his plate when we have falafel and veggies

My son loves falafel so this is one of our favorite nutritious and easy meals: hummus, sliced veggies (carrots, cucumber, peppers), falafel, and pita. Sometimes I'll make a little diced tomato, cucumber, yogurt salad to accompany.

I can't easily get prepared hummus here so I started making my own, which couldn't be easier and is super yum. I use the Cook's Illustrated recipe. I get the Tahini at Reformhaus on Renweg or at Jelmoli near the Mexican food section. For falafel, I just get the powdered mix, available at most health food stores. You add water, wait a few minutes, then fry it up - remember 360F is the proper oil temp for frying.

Hummus

Makes about 2 cups, serving 8 to 10

(15 ounce) can chickpeas , drained and rinsed
1 medium clove garlic ,minced or pressed through a garlic press
3/4 teaspoon table salt
pinch cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice , from 1 large lemon
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 40 seconds. Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes; serve cold. (The hummus can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

TGSE: Day Ten, kinda

2007-12-13T18:55:00.000+01:00

pugliese, so pretty

OK, I missed posting last night because my bread wasn't done till about 1am and so I couldn't try it until this morning. I made pugliese with the sourdough starter. It was great! Of course, it was spiked with a little commerical yeast, so it was big and fluffy. The pumpernickel was my favorite, so moist and chewy. I will definitely work that into my routine. I still want to try regular sourdough and get it right. I also want to try some of The Bread Bible sourdoughs. But I just don't have the time right now. Maybe I'll wake up my starter again after the holidays. Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

pugliese, so chewy

TGSE: Day Nine

2007-12-12T00:23:00.000+01:00

I'm starting to think this will never end and you and I both will be bored to tears come day 10.

my flat sourdough

That said, I made the basic sourdough and pumpernickel today. The sourdough tasted quite good, particularly as toast, but was quite flat. I don't know why. It rose fine but didn't pop in the oven like most breads. Perhaps the flour? I didn't use any vital wheat gluten. It also had a tight crumb, which I don't know if it should have or not.

my plump pumpernickel

The pumpernickel on the other hand, started out as sad, tiny lumps (I planned to put them into sandwich loaf pans as suggested in the recipe, but they were way too small) but plumped up beautifully during proofing and again the oven. I haven't tasted it yet as it is past midnight they still need to cool. So we'll see. The crust is really soft - is that right? I wish I could have a real perfect example of the bread instead of just a picture and description when I bake.

I shaped another miche tonight and will bake tomorrow. The first time I was lazy and used Ruchmehl instead of sifted organic whole wheat. This time I had organic whole wheat grain ground fresh for me. Then I sifted out some of the bran, as instructed by the recipe. I also halved the recipe so my KitchenAid could knead it. The texture is completely different, which is encouraging. I'm very curious to see how it tastes in comparison to the first loaf.

Must sleep...

sourdough after scoring

sourdough out of oven

moist, but tight crumb

buttery sourdough toast - yum

TGSE: Day Eight

2007-12-10T23:59:00.000+01:00

I finally made the bread of the cover

I remembered why I don't make sourdough bread. Because I don't like sourdough bread. The bread was good and very pretty, but not what I crave. So after all that effort, it wasn't very satisfying. I'm still going to make the other breads this week, just to complete the project. We'll see if I like the others better. I'm tired and going to bed.

the gigantic dough proofing in my banneton

scored with my lame

this monster weighed in at 4 pounds

TGSE: Day Seven

2007-12-09T21:16:00.000+01:00

Oh, the suspense! I did not bake my bread today. Since I was having fondue tonight and wouldn't be eating this bread, I opted to retard the shaped bread in the fridge tonight and bake it tomorrow.

What did I do? Well, I added a ridiculous 32oz of flour to the firm starter and had to knead it by hand, since it was way too big for any non-commercial mixer. I'm not one of those "love to knead" people, especially with this unwieldy mass. I thought I was going to sprain my wrist. I gave up after 20 minutes, though it still wasn't really passing the windowpane test, and threw it in this 6qt container for a 4 hour rise.

after a 4hr rise, double trouble

Then I shaped it into a boule (or ball) and plopped it seam-side up in my banneton (proofing basket), which I haven't used in probably 3 years. Then into the fridge (I hardly had space considering my barm is taking up quite a bit of real estate). Tomorrow I take it out for another 4 hour rise, then bake. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I also made a firm starter for sourdough bread that I'll mix together tomorrow and bake on Tuesday.

I hope this basket can hold double this dough

christmas market food

2007-12-08T23:53:00.000+01:00

We visited the Einsiedeln Christmas market today and found some new food that we haven't seen before. It's always exciting to find something different than the ubiquitous bratwurst, garlic bread, Opelchüechil (fried apple slices), raclette, and roasted chestnuts.

this was the most popular food stand,
so we had to try it...

pork on a stick, with bread

real donuts are hard to find in CH
these were fresh, super yum and served with vanilla sauce

we were lucky with donuts - here's a second booth
frying up person-shaped berliners (jelly donuts)

it was cute and had a bit of jelly spilling
out the top of the head, like brains

we also saw egg nog, aka Eierkirsch
does that mean egg nog spiked with kirsch liquor?

and of course, the ever popular Glühwein
I wish they had a non-alcoholic version for us teetotalers

TGSE: Day Six

2007-12-08T22:19:00.000+01:00

I'm in way over my head. I started to read The Bread Bible's sourdough chapter and I'm overwhelmed. It's so much more complicated than I thought and I'm afraid the sourdough culture is going to start dominating my life. My life is already dominated by one baby, I don't need another. Plus, my fridge is too small to keep so much of this stuff around. I should really just throw away the whole thing and forget all about wild yeast.

Anyway... My barm has refrigerated overnight and is looking very healthy. I scooped out 1 cup to add to my bread starter. I decided to make a Poilâne-style Miche first, sourdough tomorrow, and pumpernickel on the third active day of the barm (all recipes from Bread Baker's Apprentice). After that, I'm going to probably just refrigerate it until after the holidays, then decide what to do with it.

Tomorrow, I will actually mix, shape, and bake the first bread. I'm excited!

TGSE: Day Five

2007-12-07T22:05:00.000+01:00

It's alive!!! When I woke this morning, the seed culture was again busting out of the container. Yay! I just stirred it couple times yesterday, as instructed by Mr. Reinhart's recipe "correction," which adds oxygen to help the yeast along. So I was able to proceed with the barm today after all. It's sitting in the fridge overnight and tomorrow I can make the firm sourdough starter. The end is near.

In answer to Margaret's comment about throwing half away - yes, it feels like a big waste. It took 4 cups of flour to yield one cup of seed culture. Instead of throwing away half, I could have put it in a separate container and maintain both. But since you have to divide the seed culture every day and the barm every three days, it starts multiplying out of control. If I had kept all of it to this point, I'd have 8 batches of seed culture to deal with.

And it only gets worse. Today I once again discarded half and added 16oz flour and 16oz water to turn the seed culture into 6 cups barm. If I had kept all 8 seed cultures, I would now have 16 barms, 96 cups worth. That's a lot of barm, considering the sourdough bread recipe only calls for 2/3 cup for 2 loaves. Even after one batch of bread, I still have to use up 4+ cups of barm in three days or I have to throw some away. After three days, the barm must be "refreshed," meaning I have to at least double the volume every 3 days by adding equal parts flour and water. Typically, you use or discard all but 1 cup by day 3, then refresh it back up to 6 cups. I guess I will be baking a lot this week to use up that precious barm. Or if any of my Zurich readers want some of my barm, leave a comment and we'll arrange a hand-off.

TGSE: Day Four

2007-12-06T20:57:00.000+01:00

My dough was supposed to double, but it's didn't grow one milimeter. So I'm pretty sure I've had the same problem detailed on Peter Reinhart's blog. Basically, the dough rises like crazy on day two, then goes completely dorment. Yep, that's me. Remedy: stir it every few hours till it wakes up again. We'll see. So I'm stuck on day four until it wakes up.

homemade italian sausage

2007-12-05T16:24:00.002+01:00

breakfast casserole with homemade sausage

I tried to make it look appetizing but I'm not so sure

Switzerland is the land of sausage but not the "italian sausage" that we americans are so used to using. Back in the US, I used "italian sausage" meat instead of ground beef all the time to make quick and easy pasta sauces. But here, it's not readily available. I've decided that american "italian" sausage is not italian at all. I asked for it at a couple Italian butcher/delis in Zurich and they were totally confused by my request. I searched for months with no results and finally found something labeled "italianisch wurst" at a booth at the Wednesday speciality food market in the Zurich Hauptbahnhof. I don't remember the name of the booth, but it sold handmade pasta and italian deli meats like pancetta. I was skeptical, but it turned out to indeed be "italian sausage" and made for a very nice pasta sauce.

Then, my friend Cyndy mentioned that she makes her own sausage. She has the Globus Bellevue butcher grind up the pork shoulder and pancetta (2-1 ratio) and then adds her own spices at home. She doesn't bother to case it, just uses what she needs immediately and forms the rest into patties and freezes them for later. Great idea! So I got the recipe and finally tried it this week. It is fantastic and plus, I know exactly what is in there since I watched him grind the meat, with no extra junk. I got it at Globus Bahnhofstrasse and they ground it while I watched, no pre-order necessary. They were confused at first at my request given in broken German (I said something like "macht das gleich als hackfleisch, mit die gleich machine, alle zusammen, gemischt" which loosely translates "make it equal to ground meat, with the same machine, all together, mixed up"), but they were happy to help.

I made a breakfast casserole that Cyndy suggested (original and version I was given - I cut the bread into pieces instead of just slices and cooked for about 50mins instead of 30). It was quite good (I was skeptical), but once we tasted the sausage we desperately wanted to eat it on pizza. So that will be our next meal with this yummy stuff. Even if you're not in the culinary wasteland of Zurich, I still recommend making some homemade sausage meat just for fun. It's a real treat!

Here's Cyndy's sausage recipe. I used 400g pork shoulder and 200g pancetta (cost=20sfr) and decreased the other ingredients accordingly.

2 pounds fresh, ground pork shoulder, run through the largest hole of the butcher’s grinder
1 pound pancetta, run through the same grinder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1.5 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

Place pork shoulder and pancetta in a large mixing bowl. Mix with your hands just until well blended. Add the salt, fennel, pepper, oregano, basil and parsley and mix just until well blended. Work quickly as the warmth of your hands changes the texture of the sausage.

She recommends using the sausage with pasta sauce, lasagna, pizza, stuffed peppers, meatballs, soup, breakfast casserole, etc. Thanks Cyndy!

TGSE: Day Three

2007-12-05T15:52:00.000+01:00

Around 3am last night, I got up to feed my crying baby and happened to peek in on my seed culture. It had risen all the way to the top of my 1 quart container and was pushing the lid off - AAAH! So I quickly transferred it into a bigger container, before attending to my baby. I was too sleepy to take a picture, so you'll just have to believe me. Today, I threw out half (as directed) and mixed in 4.5oz flour and 4oz water. Same tomorrow then hopefully onto the "barm" stage.

before discarding half and mixing in day 3 ingredients

after discarding half and adding day 3 ingredients

safe and sound in its new 50% bigger home

rolling sticks

2007-12-04T23:04:00.000+01:00

exactly 5mm - I love being precise

My new favorite low-tech gadget is these rolling pin sticks that ensure your dough is rolled evenly to a specific thickness. They come in various sizes like 1/8 in, 1/4in, 1/2in, etc. You place them on either side of the dough and roll your rolling pin over them and the dough. No more uneven dough, no more guessing how tall the dough is. These are called Teighölzer in Zurich and I got them at Manor (although I heard they are available at Migros, etc.). You can also use rolling pin rings, basically rubber bands of various thicknesses that slide on the end of your rolling pin.

Also, if you aren't rolling your dough between parchment paper, start today. No more dough sticking to the counter and no more extra counter flour in your dough. Just roll your super sticky dough between the parchment, stick it in the fridge or freezer for awhile. When firm, take it out to cut or manipulate as needed. If your dough has lots of butter - act fast. My sugar cookies and gingerbread dough go from ice cold to practically liquid in under five minutes.

rolling pin sticks also double as a great toy

TGSE: Day Two

2007-12-04T22:25:00.000+01:00

As expected, not much is happening yet. After 24 hours, it had not risen at all:

I added 4.5 oz flour and 4 oz water:

but 7 hours later it's already risen quite a bit.

The recipe calls for high-gluten or bread flour. Since I don't have access to that, I'm using Halbweissmehl at 13g protein, which is about the same as bread flour. I know that "Halbweissmehl" means half-white flour, but besides that I don't know what it is. The ingredients just show wheat, so who knows?

What else? I did get a very friendly response (shown below) from Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice, to my inquiry about the texture of the day 1 seed culture. It's silly to say, but it gave me all sorts of warm fuzzies to get such a prompt and personal response from the author (or a representative signing his name?) of a cookbook I use so frequently. I'm encouraged and inspired for the rest of this experiment. I'm also toning down my previous comments about this cookbook - today was a good day, I can pass that along.

-------------------------

Hi Tanya,
I think there was a typo there, but the good news is that it doesn't matter--it will work either way, whether wet or firm. During the next feeding back down on the water to make a dough that's firmer, like baguette dough, and you'll be right where you need to be (and even if it's wet, it will still work--we've made starter using both wet sponges and firm doughs). The other thing to be concerned about is a tendency for the seed dough to come alive and then to go dormant for a few days. If this happens, stir or knead it twice a day and just wait a few extra days for it to come back to life and then resume feeding it as directed. There's a long explanation for this on my blog (in the archives) and also in the my new book on whole grain breads. Regardless, the key is that it will work no matter if you are patient with it. In a few days you should have a viable starter.
Stay in touch and let me know it goes.
Sincerely,
Peter