Month: June 2011

The Beauty of Brioche

Published by Kathy Hunt

The past few Saturdays my morning ritual has been to throw on some clothes and hustle over to our neighborhood farmers’ market. My mission? To get there before someone else buys all of St. Peter’s Bakery’s brioche sticky buns. Thanks to their rich yet light dough, these brioche-based buns are the most divine that I’ve ever eaten. Rumored to have originated in Normandy, France in the Middle Ages, brioche is a light yeast bread or cake made from flour, butter, eggs and, of course, yeast. Its name comes from the verb broyer, meaning to break up. The breaking up refers to the dough’s need for repeated and prolonged kneading. In addition to increased kneading, brioche usually requires three, rather than just two, rising periods. In France this extra time and effort has prompted most to buy, rather than bake their own, brioche. Shops devoted to brioche, known as viennoiseries, have sprung up to serve this need. In the 19th century it became the custom to bake this dough in a deep, fluted pan. The resulting …

The Perfect Finish

Published by Kathy Hunt

Come over for dinner more than a few times and you’re bound to re-experience my white chocolate-almond cake, strawberry yogurt pie and warm chocolate puddings. The reason for the repetition is pretty straightforward — I have about a dozen good desserts in my repertoire. If you’re in a similar position, I would suggest taking a glance at Bill Yosses’s and Melissa Clark’s The Perfect Finish (W.W. Norton and Co., 2010). You may recognize Yosses as the White House’s executive pastry chef and Clark as a food columnist for the New York Times. In The Perfect Finish the two culinary pros come together to share 80 exquisite, easy-to-make sweets. These are desserts that anyone would be happy to add to her collection. Organized according to occasion, the book begins with a section on muffins, scones, breads and pastries, foods that work perfectly for breakfast or brunch. Hence the chapter’s title, “Come for Brunch.” Cookies feature prominently in the next chapter, “Pick-Me-Ups.” Along with familiar favorites such as chocolate chip cookies and brownies, I found such uncommon …

Peekytoe!

Published by Kathy Hunt

The name sounds almost too cute to be legit but peekytoe is, in fact, a type of crab found on the East Coast. Also known as rock or spider crab, this spindly legged crustacean originally was discarded by fishermen who found it in their lobster pots. They stopped pitching it out in the late 1990’s after the owner of Portland, Maine’s Browne Trading Company, Rod Mitchell, dubbed the unloved crab “peekytoe.” This new, perky moniker won over chefs and consumers, who started buying up and eating the bycatch. Peekytoe lives among rocks and in waters up to 40-feet deep. An eco-friendly seafood, it’s caught live in traps with no bycatch. After removing the crab from the trap, the fisherman will snap off one large claw. He then returns the crab to the ocean where it regenerates its missing appendage. When on land, a peekytoe crab will cover itself with algae, grass and other natural debris. This tendency has given the crustacean yet another name, the decorator crab. Adorable nom de plumes aside, peekytoe is prized …

Chicken!

Published by Kathy Hunt

At dinner with friends last night the subject of easy chicken meals arose. Although I don’t cook chicken very often, I do have a surplus of good poultry recipes. While these dishes do require more than three ingredients and take longer than 30 minutes to prepare, they’re definitely worth the extra effort to make. As for cooking tips, I would advise using local, humanely raised, truly free-range chicken. Chances are that, if you buy locally, you can see how your chicken lived, what it ate and, ultimately, what you’re eating. Plus, you’ll find that chickens allowed to roam about freely in grass pastures taste better and are more healthful for you. Needless to say, it’s more healthful for them, too. Jumping off my soapbox, I’ll add that you should always cook chicken to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken to determine if it’s done. VINEGARY CHICKEN Note: If you don’t have white wine on hand, substitute 1/3 cup water and 3 …

Fish – Asbury Park, NJ

Published by Kathy Hunt

I’ve had the amazing fortune of getting good grub around the globe. Anywhere my travels have taken me, I’ve found extraordinary places to eat. Some have been casual and inexpensive. Others have been upscale and costly. Yet, they all have served creative, flavorful, good quality food. Since I do encounter so many great dining spots, l feel as though I should pass along some favorites. To kick off these periodic, brief reviews, I’ll share a bit about a restaurant at which I recently ate, Fish in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Located in the home of Asbury Park’s first post office and outfitted in wood and earth tones, Fish possesses a clean, contemporary atmosphere and an inspired but pricey menu. As the name would suggest, Fish specializes in seafood. Clams, cockles, mussels, black cod, octopus, fluke and bronzini all make their way to the tables. Likewise, more familiar names such as shrimp, scallops, salmon, tuna, halibut, lobster and crab turn up in appetizers, pastas and entrees. Among the delicious seafood dishes tried by my friends and …

What’s New, Cupcake?

Published by Kathy Hunt

Ask me to bake a cake and I can whip up something in a snap. Ask me to decorate that cake, to make it cute and whimsical, and I start to panic. As much as I love a bit of kitsch in the kitchen, I’m a disaster at making food fun. My smiley face pancakes will make you cry. Swan napkins? Complete ugly ducklings. Yet, somehow I’ve managed to recreate many of the adorable cupcakes featured in Karen Tack’s and Alan Richardson’s Hello Cupcake (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008) and What’s New, Cupcake? (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010). Similar to its predecessor, What’s New, Cupcake? offers an assortment of clever but easy cupcake designs. Along with the ducks pictured on its cover, it provides steps for constructing dogs, squirrels, skunks, moose, flamingos, crocodiles, hippos, polar bears and walruses. Animals not your favorite? How about chrysanthemums, roses, apples, golf greens, badminton shuttlecocks, karaoke microphones and ants on a picnic? Follow Tack’s and Richardson’s concise instructions and you can craft any of these. Since I’m a sucker for Halloween, …

Eye-popping Purple Asparagus

Published by Kathy Hunt

They sat glistening in the sun like a display of amethysts at Tiffany’s. One look and I knew that I had to have them. No, they weren’t sparkly earrings, strappy sandals or the latest handbags from Elaine Arsenault. They were one of nature’s gems, purple asparagus. Unlike white asparagus, which is merely green asparagus that hasn’t seen the light of day, purple asparagus hails from the Albenga region of Italy. There farmers propagated seeds from hardy, opened female plants, producing a variety known as Violetto d’ Albenga. With this variety the stalks grow larger but there are fewer of them. Although its stems appear purple in color, its feathery leaves remain green. Similar to other asparagus, Its flesh ranges from pale green to white. Twenty percent higher in sugar than its green counterpart, purple asparagus possesses a mildly sweet taste. Due to its low fiber content it’s also tenderer than green and white asparagus. These differences in taste and texture make purple asparagus perfect for raw salads. When blanched alongside its green and white relations, …

Planet Barbecue!

Published by Kathy Hunt

With grilling season in full swing I’m sharing another quality cookbook devoted to the barbecue. Back in April I had raved about Francis Mallman’s Seven Fires Grilling the Argentinian Way (Artisan, 2009). Today Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue Planet! (Workman, 2010) has captured my attention and my trusty Coleman. Covering six continents and 60 countries, Planet Barbecue! is aimed not only at globetrotting but also at curious cooks. Filled with color photos and over 300 global recipes, it provides a fascinating glimpse at how people around the world grill food. If you like to grill, you’ve probably encountered Steven Raichlen in one form or another. He hosts the PBS cooking series “Primal Grill with Steven Raichlen,” possesses a line of grill tools and seasonings, blogs about grilling and writes award-winning cookbooks on – what else – grilling. He’s been called ‘America’s grill expert.’ After reading and cooking from Planet Barbecue! I understand why. This is a highly comprehensive yet user-friendly book. Planet Barbecue! starts with a brief discourse on the discovery of fire and beginnings of barbecuing. …

Cool Foods for a Hot Season

Published by Kathy Hunt

Thanks to a recent and premature East Coast heatwave, I’ve already started thinking of ways to beat the summer heat. While I could always spend the day in a frigid Starbucks or hovering over our struggling window air conditioner, I do have a few other, less radical tricks for staying cool this summer. As you might expect, they involve food and plenty of it. You may have heard how in Morocco, India and other steamy or arid lands folks cool off with hot and spicy foods. Steaming hot teas are especially popular for they hydrate and make the consumers sweat. Keep on drinking and hydrating. Keep on sweating and cooling off. Truthfully, I’m not a fan of the ‘hot drinks and food in summer’ practice. Give me a icy glass of water, a little cold soup and I’m chillin’. That brings me to the first food trick, chilled soups. Sometimes referred to as “liquid salads,” cold vegetable soups do wonders for heat sufferers around the globe. In Spain and Portugal the overheated reach for red …