A Full Belly

Breakfast @ Blue Bottle

Breakfast @ Blue Bottle, originally uploaded by Alaina B..

Quick trip to San Francisco included breakfast at Blue Bottle Sunday morning. I prefer my eggs a little runnier, otherwise YUM.

Cupcake Recipe for Adriana

- Makes 12 cupcakes -

Ingredients

2/3 cup (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk or 2/3 cup sour or regular milk

Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, a good 5 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each, and the egg yolk.

Beat in the vanilla.

Stir in the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk, just until incorporated. Do not overmix.

Fill lined muffin tins with batter almost to the top. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until set.

* * * * * * * * * *

Vanilla Cream Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of kosher salt
4 cups confectioner's sugar (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Procedure
Beat together the butter, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

Blend in the sugar to form a stiff paste.

Slowly beat in just enough of the heavy cream to make a spreadable frosting. If the frosting is too soft, add more sugar or chill it for a few minutes to firm up.

Homesick Texan's Basic Black Beans Recipe

Homesick Texan: Austin and basic black beans.

This is my basic black bean recipe. It takes little effort and has a rich smoky flavor that comes from chipotles instead of the usual ham hocks or bacon. And, of course, if you’re bored by black beans at least now I have something to point to when I write in the future about really fun things, such as black-bean salsa, corn and black-bean salad or that Austin late-night staple, Mag mud.

"The proof is in the eating"

Adam has his truth hammer at the ready:

Depending on how well Sceral trains the team, it's not going to matter if that oven burns at 1,000 degrees, rotates in a circle, shines my shoes, or calls me a cab in the morning. The proof is in the eating. And we'll see how that goes both while Sceral is at the helm and when he's not.

South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder Ring

South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder Ring - Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories:

So you need a decoder ring! Or at least a wallet card. With a little help from Wikipedia (check out their page on curry!) and the glossary in my copy of 1000 Indian Recipes, we've put together a South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder Wallet Card (800 kB PDF) for your enjoyment, education, and dining pleasure. You can print it out-- single sided so no hassle --and it compresses to standard business card size: 3.5" x 2". You can also not print it out, and just view it on your iPhone. (And if you've never been to a South Indian place, isn't this a good time to try one?)

[Via Not Martha]

Benton's Red-Eye Gravy Recipe

The Church of Allan Benton, John T. Edge:

....Those encounters reminded me to take a second look at a recipe that Allan shared with me a while back. It’s his take on red-eye gravy. And it’s as straightforward as the man himself, as honest as the cured pork that emerges from his smokehouse.

This recipe includes one of my favorite ingredients: "Hot biscuits, for sopping."

You Never Know What You Might Learn @ Serious Eats

Serious Efforts: Whole Deer Neck | Serious Eats : Talk

I am going to receive a whole deer neck via FedEx tomorrow. It has been skinned and frozen solid, but is otherwise pretty much intact. I would like some advice from anyone here experienced with taking deer apart. I would like to remove the muscles from each other and from the bone in as large and unmolested pieces as possible. . . I plan on consulting some books and websites on the matter, but was hoping I could get some pointers from the community. Thank you!

10 Steps to Gardening from Scratch

10 Steps to Gardening from Scratch « Straight from the Farm:

These 10 steps are best applied to a garden being created from scratch.  However, a few of them are good to repeat with an established garden once in awhile.   

It’s only fair to add a bit of a disclaimer here too:  these steps are a tad idealistic and presume you all have plenty of time and resources on your hands.   Reality may not allow you to take all of these steps.  Don’t let that discourage you.  These steps are just what I’d do if I were starting over from scratch.  Use the ones that make sense for you and learn what you can from the others. 

Bird Houses: Using Nature to Control a Farm Pest

Bird Houses: Using Nature to Control a Farm Pest.

John Bansen, a third-generation dairy farmer, demonstrates one of his techniques for using nature to control his fly populations.

To Eat: Minetta's Black Label Burger

Secrets of Minetta Tavern's Black Label Burger | A Hamburger Today:

The finished burger looks so simple, completely belying the rigorous preparation involved in bringing it to table. Although the bun might appear too large, it is so light and airy that as it compresses and conforms around the plump patty the beef-to-bun ratio is actually spot on. The acridity of the onions balances the subtle sweetness of the bun, allowing the flavor of the beef to be fully realized. The Black Label is simply ethereal—tender, succulent, and brimming with the flavor of dry aging: that musky, Roquefort-like tang that is so intoxicating.

I'm skeptical of any $20+ burger, but Nick's DVD extras-esque post about Minetta's $26 Black Label Burger has swayed me. *Added to To Eat List*

Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez's Chana Punjabi Recipe

The Wednesday Chef: Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez's Chana Punjabi Recipe:

This recipe comes from Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez, who runs darling little Lassi in the West Village and has a way with Indian food that makes me weak in the knees.

Creamless Creamed Spinach Recipe

From the Diner's Journal Blog: The White House chef's creamless creamed spinach recipe, "one of Michelle Obama's favorite healthful foods."

Shuklaji's Chaat Cart

Shuklaji's Chaat Cart and the Cheap Eat of my Lifetime in Lucknow, India | The Eaten Path:

Shuklaji’s menu was limited to four choices, each a masterful exercise in minimalism. The first, his take on panipuri, forsook any kind of filling for a more pure experience: The short, mustachioed maestro would simply reach for a crispy puff of hollowed dough, dip it in his own brand of masala water and hand it to me for immediate consumption. He would then reach for another, then another, waiting for the signal to move on to the next course. For round two, Shuklaji would serve perfectly balanced dahipuri, filling the puri shell with slightly crisped potato, a large pinch of spices, a spoonful of yogurt, a drizzle of tamarind and a dusting of cilantro. It was probably the single best bite I took in six months abroad. It was also entirely and immediately repeatable, a virtual conveyor belt of homemade chaat operating at pennies per bite and smiling amusedly at my overwhelmed sense of pleasure. Shuklaji’s final act was a dual serving of aloo tikki, boiled, mashed and fried patties of potato and green peas, spiced conservatively and marked with his wife’s chutneys for a tasty, filling ending to our nightly spoiling of the appetites.

Diddy Wants to Know: KFC or Popeyes?

DUH, Popeyes!

Scrambled Eggs Cecilia

Goa's Culinary Treasures, India: Travel + Culture : gourmet.com.

But the Scrambled Eggs Cecilia were flawless, and the waiter explained what went into them: tomato and onion, then a fried spice mix including cumin, mustard seeds, garlic, ginger, and curry leaves, with a scattering of fresh coriander on top. And a little dried coriander, too, he emphasized, because the dried coriander is very flavorful in Goa. With the eggs came the toasted white buns known as “local bread”—a staple introduced by the Portuguese some 400 years ago.

As a life-long lover of eggs, I have a special affection for Indian omelets and scrambles. The ones we ate on our recent trip to Orissa were simple yet so Indian— eggs, hot green pepper, cilantro, onion. I made my own version over the weekend. All it lacked was the accompanying cup of instant coffee.

A Day of Eating in Flushing, Queens

A day of eating in Flushing, Queens from Alaina Browne on Vimeo.

This morning I met up with a bunch of serious eaters (including Robyn, Kathy, Kathryn, Zach, Don, Gordon, and Tam) for dim sum at Perfect Team Corp. in Flushing, Queens. We beat the crowds and scored a table by the kitchen so it was ideal dim sum-ing and made getting up early on a Saturday more than worthwhile. But being serious eaters, we didn't stop there. After dim sum we made stops at a couple of the food malls and street stalls before we waddled back to the subway with full bellies. I edited some clips I took with my Mino HD into the short movie above. Enjoy!

Serious Eats: The Year That Was

It's hard to keep up with the insane amount of content that flows through Serious Eats, so I'm glad that Adam is leading the charge (and kicking ass!) on a series of The Year That Was posts this week. It's a great view into the breadth of the Serious Eats beat and the memes and themes that emerged, and a fun way to revisit some of our favorite and most popular posts. My favorite TYTWs so far: Food Media, Burgers, Pizza, New York, Food in Space. May 2009 be even more delicious. Happy New Year!

Recipe: Two-way Gingersnaps

This weekend I finally got around to scratching my holiday baking itch. My kitchen isn't exactly baking-friendly so that I had an itch at all was remarkable. The oven is not quite full-size, has only ever had one rack, and is prone to shut off randomly and without warning. The total counter space is the equivalent of one cookie sheet. [This is a pretty typical New York apartment kitchen set-up and those of us motivated enough usually find a way to coax deliciousness out of these tiny spaces.] I knew I'd probably only have the time and patience for one cookie recipe, so I decided to choose a cookie I love. "Crunchy," "sweet," and "spicy," are three of my favorite food attributes so of course I love gingersnaps and those are what I made. The original recipe is Nick Malgieri's Three-Way Gingersnaps. I couldn't find my stash of crystallized ginger (the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons finely chopped), so I decided to skip it and make mine Two-Way Gingersnaps. If anything, the crystallized ginger might add some more sweetness—these are still gingery enough to please any ginger lover. I also used salted butter because doesn't everything taste better with a little more salt? Feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer. I brought some into the office today and they are almost all gone, so I think it's safe to say that these are also Serious Eats approved.

Two-Way Gingersnaps

- makes about 60 cookies -

Adapted from The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons honey
Raw sugar for coating the cookies
2 or 3 cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans lined with parchment or foil

Procedure

1. Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325ºF. If you only have one oven rack like me, set it in the middle of your oven.

2. Mix the flour with the ground ginger, baking soda, and salt.

3. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until lightened, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and continue beating until smooth.

4. Decrease the mixer speed to low and beat in half the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the bowl and paddle.

5. Beat in the grated ginger and the honey. After they are incorporated, beat in the remaining flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to give a final mixing to the dough.

6. Roll 1/2 tablespoon of the dough between the palms of your hands to make a little sphere, then roll it in a shallow bowl of raw sugar. Place it on one of the prepared pans. Continue with the remaining dough, keeping the subsequent cookies about 2 inches apart on all sides.

7. Bake the gingersnaps until they spread and become deep golden, 15 to 20 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, place the pan from the lower rack on the upper one and vice versa, turning the pans from back to front at the same time. If you know that your oven gives off strong bottom heat, stack the pan on the lower rack on top of a second one for insulation. If you're working with only one rack, just turn your pan from back to front after the first 10 minutes.

8. Slide the papers off the pans to cool the cookies. If you have only one more pan of gingersnaps to bake, readjust one of the racks to the middle level for baking.

Ruhlman.com: Salt!

Ruhlman.com: Salt!.

"So, you, home cooks, even you home cooks with access only to a Safeway or Kroger, a 5-by-4-foot kitchen in a fifth floor walk up and an hour’s spare time between work, sleep, errands, kids, laundry and bill paying: Buy a duck breast and pack it in kosher salt and refrigerate it for a day and then rinse it off and enfold it in cheesecloth (or anything that can breath, a clean handkerchief will do in a pinch) and let it dry for a week on a rack on the counter or dangling from a string—then, slice it and taste. Suddenly you will see. Buy a side of salmon—no, buy a piece of salmon—pack it in an equal mixture of salt and sugar and some citrus zest or fennel, wrap it in foil for 24 hours, rinse it and taste a paper thin slice. A cooking miracle."

A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter.

I remember this! Do you? [via Janelle]