cooking with dad: handmade soba

I love noodles. If I had to rank Japanese noodles from favorite to least favorite - I'd say Gold: ramen, Silver: somen, Bronze: udon and then in 4th place: soba. (Can you tell I've been watching the Olympics?)

When mom said, 'Dad's making soba for dinner' I thought, okayyy... what's the big deal? The big deal was that it was going to be made from scratch. For seven people. For dinner. With a rolling pin. I think my dad's soba just bumped udon out of its Bronze medal position. Maybe even somen's Silver.

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"They like me!"

 

As much as I love getting magazines in the mail, I hate trying to remember which issue has which recipe. So when Cook's Illustrated started offering their content online, I subscribed immediately and cancelled my print subscription. As part of that subscription, I get a weekly email blast with some recipes, product reviews, sponsored promotions as well as links to articles from some of their other publications. 

In this week's blast, they had a link to a review of whisks on Cook's Country. Of the ten whisks they reviewed, only one got a Highly Recommended rating. That whisk, was designed by me years ago when I worked at Smart Design. Even after all these years, it feels good to have your work recognized, especially when it's by one of my favorite magazines like Cook's Illustrated. Yay! 

(Image from OXO)

buttermilk-marinated, flax seed-coated baked chicken

My mom can cook Japanese food like nobody's business, but when I was growing up she didn't make very many "traditional" American foods. She bought the convenience food versions: Swanson's TV dinners, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Chef Boyardee, spaghetti with Ragù-brand tomato sauce and Shake 'n Bake.

I always have fried chicken on the brain but this week, I craved Shake 'n Bake: Well-seasoned, crispy breaded chicken. I have fond memories of helping my mom make dinner by shaking chicken pieces in a plastic bag. I thought I could/should make my own version - perhaps an even healthier "better than frying" version. Traditions be damned.

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tip: deseeding jam

For the thumbprint cookies I made for my TED cookie drop, I needed some seedless strawberry jam. A quick-ish way to deseed jam is to put the jam jar, minus its metal lid, in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds, stir and heat again until the jam is warm. Putting 1/4-cup of jam in a sieve at a time, scrape the jam against the screen with the back of a soup spoon. Discard seeds and start again. Don't forget to scrape the seed-free jam from the sieve's bottom when you're done too. In my opinion, once the jam is warm, the seeds release that much more easily. 

a fruit bowl

When I cook for friends that can't eat certain things (gluten, dairy, sugar, peanuts), I try to be accommodating. It's easy when I'm home but when I need to bring something to an office, based on Edible Arrangements success, I'd say fruit baskets are a good alternative. Since mini-watermelons are so prevalent now, it's easy to make a cute little arrangement.

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TED cookie drop: part 1

(From left to right: semi- & bitter-sweet chocolate chip, strawberry jam thumbprint - although that's a total misnomer, chocolate crackles, butter cookie with chocolate ganache)

I've been fortunate enough to attend the TED Conference in Long Beach, CA a few times and when I had my brownie company, we were sponsors - appearing as sustenance in the Google Café for the attendees as well as in the TED swag bag, as a treat for later. I've always been thankful for their support of my business and of me, so in return, I like stopping by their headquarters in New York with treats for them. It had been some time since my last visit, so I made a few (20+ dozen) cookies for the team. 

The chocolate crinkle cookie recipe was eagerly requested by one of the happy faces I know: Logan, and her compadre, Sam. I guess they think it's an idea, umm, I mean a recipe, worth spreading.

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peach, plum & blueberry pie

Pie. I don't know anyone who doesn't like pie. Especially pie made with peak-season fruit, fresh from the farmers market. Last week, I made two: one with peaches, plums and blueberries; the other was with peaches and blueberries. Happy belly? You betcha.

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trick: smashing garlic

I use a lot of garlic in my cooking. It's always... get out my chef's knife and cutting board. Place flat edge of chef's knife over garlic clove, place palm on knife, smush, then peel. Depending on the garlic, sometimes it's easy, other times I really need to bear down hard. At the end of this task, I always have a cutting board covered with sticky, papery film and dried root tendrils, which needs to be washed/cleaned so I can move onto my next task. That's when I finally thought to let the bottom side of my cutting board do the work for me. Now: 

1) I have a clean board to chop the aforementioned peeled garlic or whatever else 
2) I don't have to worry about the knife slipping on the hard peel - and slicing my hand open

Two reasons don't sound like a lot but they are reason enough for me.