Skate, traditional flavors powdered

I wish I could say that I liked this. I really wanted to like it.

This month's daring cooks' challenge, hosted by Sketchy, of Sketchy's Kitchen, was to recreate a Grant Achatz recipe from the Alinea cookbook. I've followed the Alinea at Home blog (http://alineaathome.typepad.com) and wondered whether I could squeeze the powders, gels, molds, trapezes, etc., required to make anything out of that book into my already over-crowded kitchen. This month's challenge was exactly what someone like me, who didn't want to have to buy anything special, needed. Aaaallll we needed to do was figure out how to dry things out without a dehydrator.

The recipe, the combination of flavors, the buttery-ness of the beurre monte didn't work for me. I'll blame it on poor execution, though, rather than an unsuccessful concept, because M and I seem to be in the world wide web minority of people who didn't like this dish.

It's true I wasn't as faithful to the recipe as I could have been.

For starters, I didn't use skate. See, the thing is, I've never tried skate. And although I'm willing to try it, I'm just not sure I would like it. As embarrassed as I am to say this, the texture of live skate reminds me of those tiny toys LK and I put in the bathtub as children that grew into gigantine proportions. So instead M and I used cod.

We made the powders over several days, for no reason other than wanting to take our time. Capers were up first, and were finished in about 12 minutes in the microwave at half the full power level. We then blanched the parsley and cilantro for a second each and let them dry on the counter overnight. The next day, those each were finished in about 2 minutes at the same reduced power level. The lemon zest was next: 3 brief poaching dips in a simple syrup bath, followed by a minute or two in the microwave. We skipped the red onion powder for the obvious reasons -- so maybe I'll blame the failure of this recipe on the incomplete flavor profile. Last was the "brown butter" powder. Wow, the brown butter powder was SO bad. It can't have been close to what other people were eating. There was nothing remotely brown butter about it. Again, we substituted instant milk "for dried cream powder," which I suspect was largely to blame for the off flavor and the melt in your mouth quality of the powder. The banana chips we got from Whole Foods didn't add or ameliorate anything though. Nothing banana about them. Am I making you want to try this for yourself yet?



The beurre monte, though, was a big success, at least as far as being similar to the intended. We sliced the green beans in thin rounds, nothing perfect, and same for the bananas. The beans were cooked in their own pot of beurre monte, and the bananas were placed on the plates in a fanned out pattern. The cod was cooked for just a few minutes in its own pot of beurre monte.

I'm pretty sure we overdid it on the plating of the powders. The design wasn't stunning, and the powders themselves, in that quantity, were far too much and too strong. The bananas didn't bother me a bit.



So we were glad we hadn't invited anyone to dinner. Because we didn't though, we've got a bunch of powder left (aside from the brown butter powder that we promptly dumped), and are trying to come up with ways we can use parsley/cilantro and caper powders. Any ideas?

Can't wait to see what's in store next month!

Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered

• 4 skate wings (cod or flounder are good substitutes)
  
• * Beurre monte
• * 300g fresh green beans
• sea salt/kosher salt
• 1 banana
• 454g butter - 4 sticks
• 300g lemons
• 5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
• 150g cilantro
• 150g parsley
• 100g dried banana chips
• 300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
• 100g cup minced red onion
• 200g capers (brined, not oil)

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is the poaching liquid.

Powders - prepare ahead of time
caper
lemon powder
cilantro/parsley powder
'brown butter' powder

Powders
once dried, all powders should be pulsed in a coffee grinder/spice mill/mortar and pestle then passed through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.

citrus powder
300g lemons
1000g simple syrup
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet

zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder.

Place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

cilantro/parsley powder
150g cilantro
150g parsley

blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

Caper powder
200g capers (the ones packed in brine/vinegar)

run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine.
dry on paper towels and cook in microwave at half power for about 12 minutes.

Once dry, pulse and sift the powder.

Brown Butter powder

100g Dried banana chips
300g spray dried cream powder

preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn. Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds.

grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)
* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.

Fish
Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt

bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

Plating
Take the tip of a small spoon and make a small mound of the citrus powder, the caper powder, and the cilantro parsley-powder. Swirl these around in a hurricane type pattern.

peel the remaining banana into very think slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.

I know you're not big on deli meat...

Why, oh why are the Germans giving you things like this when you have food poisoning?

If I haven't eaten in 4 days, I don't think I'm going to start with this (which was served in the hospital for breakfast).

Bonn's Away!

OK, up and running! Well sort of. As you can see from the photo below, my space and supplies are heavily limited in this hotel. I had a minor panic attack upon arriving, but over the past three weeks we've been here I've managed to come to terms with it. I think by the end of summer I will have become a master of one pot meals; not something I had ever planned to aspire to. But Simone and Jimmy's posts certainly challenge me to try and make lemonade out of these lemons!

Don't get too jealous of these digs you all.



In the meantime, we're making to due with what Bonn has to offer:















It's a carb-lovers paradise over here - which means I should have some killer potato recipes coming for you!

british buns

The transcontinental railroad of my culinary linearity was derailed yesterday.

Translation for those who don't speak bostonian: I fell headlong int0 the salt mines of baking.

I've often wondered what makes an english muffin an english muffin, besides the english that is. But I was definitely surprised to find that there is no baking involved. It's all in the skillet/frying pan.

That's right, crow is a delicacy, but then so is durian...

I told S that we would never buy muffins again, and I intend to collect on the profits from that statement. It turns out they are pretty simple to make. A lot of waiting for the dough to rise - perfect to make when golf is on. After making them once, I will pretend like I'm an expert. Here's my advice: Make sure you knead the dough for at lease three minutes!



Yea, you like the looks of those buns? They taste pretty good too. S wanted me to expound on how healthy they are - they're healthy, not healthful. Yea... you see those flax seeds? (top right photo if you weren't good at finding Waldo). They also have a bit of whole wheat flour. But at the end of they day I like them because they are a great vehicle for Sarahbeth's spreadable fruit - I'm partial to Billy's Blues (mixed berry for those of you too busy to hyperlink) but we only had the orange-apricot marmalade left.

Multigrain English Muffins: Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe

1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons flaxseed
1/2 cup buttermilk
Vegetable oil cooking spray
coarse cornmeal

- Makes about 12 (Martha Gets 15 - but she's been doing this for a while)

Alright, ready?...

1. Combine warm water, agave nectar, yeast, and butter in a bowl. Let stand for about 5 minutes, it should get foamy. It will also start to smell like yeast, or maybe a hefeweizen.

Zwei. Combine flours, oats, wheat germ, salt, and flaxseed in a big bowl. Add yeast mixture and buttermilk. Mix with your hands until the flour is just incorporated. Put dough on a floured surface, and knead until smooth, at least 3 minutes... yep, there it was.

Tres. Spray a large mixing bowl with the cooking spray, and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. I'm partial to putting it in the microwave (don't turn it on though).

IV. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead for about 1 1/2 minutes, and roll to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out rounds. Roll and cut scraps and repeat.

5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, and dust with cornmeal. Place rounds on sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise in a warm, draft-free spot until puffy, about 20 minutes (Warning: the longer you leave them the more they look like hamburger buns).

6. Heat a skillet over medium - low heat. Working with two or three at a time, place rounds in skillet about one and a half inches apart. Cook until golden brown and dry, about 7 minutes per side. Let cool and split with a fork (this is what gives the muffins the nooks and crannies).

7. Pop em in the toaster, and use as a vehicle for whatever you choose!

Prego! - stay tuned for soft pretzels.

Wie gehts?

So, the first of the transcontinental hello's.

I had my first (of what are sure to be many) strange experience in not being able to call Lindsay the night she left. I arrived home to find that my second wrapping paper shipment had been delivered - sometime in the midst of the deluge of wednesday/thursday. The packaging tube was nearly soaked through when one of my neighbors rescued it and brought it inside. Thankfully, there was only minimal damage to the paper itself, and only on the edges of the ends. Once it's wrapping up packages I don't think any damage will be detectable at all. As always, the paper is lovely. This shipment is spring-hued, and makes me want to think of things to wrap and give away.

On Saturday night Mike and I made a valiant effort at making pot stickers for the daring cook's challenge. The results were tasty if not picture-perfect, and we were pleasantly surprised. We filled them with pork, shrimp, and thinly sliced sugar snap peas and cabbage, reminiscent of our winning Hor's Derby entry last summer. The dipping sauce, of course, was what really made these delicious. We learned a few tricks along the way, and know now that the next time we make them the dough should be rolled out a little thinner. As for the process, whew! Imagine making ravioli one by one. Thankfully pot stickers are not eaten in the same quantity or at the same speed that raviols are downed in our family. We had a great time making them, though it would have been even more fun had Lindsay and Jason been working on their own version as well! In time they'll be able to get into their own kitchen, and we'll have photos for comparison. I can't wait! Maybe then Lindsay will be inspired to try to make these dumplings, which require no special equipment, just plenty of patience, or even the broth-filled version she's told us about. Lindsay, when you get time, I'd love to hear more about spargelzeit - leave it to the German's to have a word wholly devoted to asparagus season.

Our finished products - steamed and pan-fried.

Recipe, adapted from Jen of http://userealbutter.com/

filling

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 cup minced celery
1/4 cup finely grated carrot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated cabbage (3 ounces)
1/2 cup sugar snap peas (2 ounces), thinly sliced

2 tbsp (16g) corn starch
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

dough (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (113g) warm water

flour for worksurface

dipping sauce

2 parts soy sauce

1 part red wine vinegar

a few drops of sesame oil

chili garlic paste

minced ginger

minced garlic

1. Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

2. Make the dough: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

3. Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.

4. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces.

5. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. While holding one circle in your hand, pleat one side of the circle three to four times, so that it forms a cone-like shape. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the cone and fold the other side of the cone to meet the pleated edge. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.