... when I would have something even slightly negative to say about Alton Brown... but that day is here.
It's 9:25 Friday night, and I am sitting in the newsroom of a Boston TV station that shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. It's where Kevin works, writing news stories for the talking heads to read on air. There seems to be a lot of not-working here tonight... but it is late, and the crew is a lot smaller for an 11:00 newscast than for early evening shows. Supervision is at a minimum. I know this, as I see it first-hand every day where I work. Apparently there aren't many differences between the tiny market stations and the Big City Stations. But I digress...
I knew I would be spending a few hours here tonight, as I have been dying to see this place, and this is really the best time for it (when fewer Important People are around!). I brought a good amount of reading material -- "Rainbow Valley," #7 in the "Anne of Green Gables" Series (I have decided there are 5 books too many in the series, but I'm reading them all anyway), the October issue of "Organic Style" magazine, and the October issue of "Bon Appetit." Imagine my excitement when I saw in the table of contents for "Bon Appetit" that AB is a guest contributor in this issue! And he wrote about BREAD! Well, mostly about yeast, but close enough. How good is life?
The article is pretty much an episode of "Good Eats" on paper. He tells of his first experience with yeast (when he mixed flour, water, and yeast into dough, and wanted to keep it as a pet when he saw how much it "grew"), and then goes into the inner workings of yeast. Nothing I didn't know already, but I love anything he writes/produces/stars in. I was glued to the pages...
The last page of the story is dedicated to sourdough, a subject that has recently become near and dear to my heart. Would you believe that he actually off-handedly disses purely wild starters? He claims that they "can often result in a nasty-tasting and dangerous bread brew" because of the potential for "bad bacteria" getting into the starter. He describes his solution to this problem: "Proto-Dough." I won't divulge the gory details, but it uses commercial yeast!
GASP!
Sigh. As much as I admire and respect AB, this is very disappointing. I never saw it coming. Anyone who has read anything about wild starters should be able to recognize if "bad bacteria" invade. I don't see how there could possibly be anything to fear, and I am the most food-borne-illness-paranoid person I know!
On the bright side, AB's third book will be on a bookstore shelf near you (and me) later this month.
Obviously, I am still in Boston, hence the lack of pictures -- I have no computer to upload them into (as I said, I'm on a TV newsroom computer right now!). Well, there really isn't anything to photograph for my AB rant, anyway. But Kevin and I did, in fact, make it to Algiers (no website!) for dinner Wednesday night, and to Finale for dessert. I didn't take pictures because, frankly, I would be embarassed to be seen photographing my food in a public place.
At Algiers, we ordered the Combination Salad Plate, highly recommended by Kev's dad. It's a large plate with ever-so-artfully-arranged portions of hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, and mujadara surrounding a lovely falafel ball. The salads are served with a basket of warm pita bread, of course. It's a complete meal for 2, and very reasonably priced. All I have to say about it is "happy, happy, happy." I love mid-eastern foods like these, and could eat the stuff for dinner every night. Algiers is at 40 Brattle Street in Cambridge, just off Harvard Square, occupying a building called "Brattle Hall."
And speaking of happy, Finale Desserterie is a beautiful thing. There are two locations, one in Boston (Park Plaza) and one in Cambridge (30 Dunster Street). I get the feeling from the website that the Park Plaza restaurant is a bit more hoity-toity than the Cambridge location. Fortunately, we were in Cambridge. =) Of course, the Cambridge one is frequented by the college crowd, which more than likely contributes to the more casual atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was a bit too crowded and noisy for my taste, but we stuck it out. And I'm glad we did. After much indecision, I chose creme brulee. Would you believe I'd never had it before? I've always been afraid that it would be too slimy for my taste. But for some reason, it seemed like the thing to do. Wow, was it ever! The custard was the smoothest thing ever to have passed my lips, and it was extra-super vanilla-y. It was topped with a variety of fruit and berries, which mixed beautifully with the cool, creamy custard and slightly bitter, crunchy burnt sugar. I am a convert.
Kevin had the "Italian Teaser," a plate of baby cannoli, lemon curd gelato, and tiramisu. The cheese in the cannoli was tragically undersweetened, and the gelato was more like sherbet than like the silky-smooth frozen treat we've enjoyed so often in Europe. But the tiramisu... oh, yeah. It was as good as anything we've had in Italy.
Just thought I'd let you all know I'm not dead -- I'm just on vacation! Today is my birthday, and my annual present to myself is a week or so off from work. I don't have to go back until October 11th! I am leaving for Boston later today, and Kev is taking me to Algiers (the restaurant, not the city!) for dinner, and Finale for dessert. I'll be in Boston for a few days, and it looks like the weather will be pleasant and seasonable (I spend too much time with my station's meteorologist, I think). So have a good week, and I'll share any culinary adventures I may have had when I get back this weekend!
I love Maine. I love our coastline. I love our mountains. I love our lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, woods, fields, farms, wildlife, plantlife, spring, summer, winter... and especially our autumn, because it brings these:
MacIntosh apples. They're sweet, tart, crunchy, crispy, and juicy. They are, as a matter of fact, the perfect apple. A good, fresh Mac right off the tree could very well be my favorite food ever. They're great to eat out of hand. They make great pie. They make great applesauce. They make great apple crisp.
Friday was a perfect Indian summer day here. Kev and I were on our way to Mount Desert Island when I remembered that it's time to pick apples. There's an orchard about 2 miles from our place that we've gone to for several years now. This yea'r's crop is the best we've ever seen! I heard it had something to do with the rainy spring and summer we had. At least the crappy weather served some good purpose!
One of the best things about this particular orchard (besides its proximity to our apartment!) is that the trees have been kept quite small, so the apples are easily reached and picked...
Can you believe how gorgeous they are?!?
That is a 5-gallon bucket. We worked at something a bit slower than a leisurely pace, and filled it in 15 minutes. We will eat as many of these as we can, and there will certainly be lots of apple dishes made (and blogged about) in the next couple of weeks. I may even go back this week and fill another bucket, and make enough applesauce to last through the winter!
There are a few food blogs I read regularly, and a few I check in with once or twice a week. One of the blogs I check on the less frequently side is "Wrapped in Dough." It's not that I like it any less than my "regular" blogs... I just never think to bookmark it, so I usually run across it on Food Porn Watchand remember to check in. Boy, was I glad I did yesterday.
On Sunday, Astrid (I have so totally loved that name since reading "White Oleander!") posted about "beanie popsicles." An attention-grabbing title, no? It certainly got mine! She's spending a few months in China, teaching English, and discovered these treats "in the wilting Jiujiang humidity the other day." Check out the entry. She almost made me wish we had bean popsicles in this country... almost. But what really jumped out at me from this entry was the passing mention of Jell-O Pudding Pops. Now, I'm not afraid to admit that I have lamented about their disappearance from grocery store shelves for years. In fact, Kevin and I often daydream about their return. I'm pretty sure we had one such conversation just last week!
Imagine my surprise when I clicked on this link in Astrid's post...
They're baa-ack! When did that happen?!? And how did I not know?!? Someone's not properly utilizing his advertising budget!
Now we do the Dance of Joy (bonus points to anyone who can tell me where that came from!).
I clicked on the "where to buy it" button to see if they are available in my area, since I hadn't noticed them at my favorite grocery store (probably because I don't exactly spend a lot of time in the "frozen novelties" aisle...). They are not, in fact, stocked at my store. They are, however, carried by the competitor. The evil competitor. The store I go to about three times a year, because they carry one or two things I can't get at my store, but I always have such a hideous experience at that store that I live without those items for long periods of time until I forget how much I hate the place, go back, and have another hideous experience. Today was no exception. For whatever reason, the skeeziest people in greater Bangor shop there, and the employees, I think, all have negative IQs. Pardon my superiority complex, but I'm sure you'd be equally horrified if you went to said store. It just transcends description. I think that The Food Whore (I highly recommend her blog, by the way -- clever writing fueled by a crazy catering schedule and a dry, sarcastic sense of humor) would have a lifetime supply of diary entries if she shopped at this store! But I braved said store today for the love of Kevin and Jell-O Pudding Pops. He doesn't know they're back, and will be home tomorrow & Friday, so I wanted to surprise him. What an exciting life we lead...! =)
I got them home and just had to open them almost immediately (I did make myself eat lunch first, at least). Now, not to complain any more than necessary, but when you look at the pictures on the box, don't they look exactly as they did in the 80s and 90s? Especially the vanilla one! That sort of flat, rounded-top, old-fashioned Creamsicle and Fudgsicle shape...? And should there be an "e" between the "g" and the "s" in Fudgsicle? Fudgesicle? They both look right. They both look wrong. I've never cared much for them, so I've never really thought about the proper spelling of their name. Anyway... I have to admit I was slightly disappointed when I pulled out a considerably smaller, eerily phallic Pudding Pop.
Popsicle took over the brand, but changed the shape to match their other products! Knowing what I know now, and looking at the picture, I can recognize that the shape is different... but can't you see how I could have been fooled? So much for nostalgia. I wondered if they would have the same texture... smooth, cold, slightly soft, and creamy, with a very thin icy shell. You can make all the pudding pops you want at home, but you'll never attain the texture of the original Jell-O Pudding Pop. I've tried. They just freeze too hard and too icy.
The pops have the same texture as the original. All is forgiven.
This dish was inspired by this recipe at epicurious.com, but it really turned into something entirely my own, based on my tastes and supplies!
Pilaf-Stuffed Squash
Ingredients:
2 buttercup squash (or should that be squashes?)
olive oil
1 packet Kashi Seven Whole Grains and Sesame Pilaf (which isn't truly pilaf -- it has no added herbs, spices, or other seasonings)
olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp ground dried sage
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375.
Cut squash in half ("vertically," from stem end to blossom end). Scoop out seeds and pulp (save the seeds -- they can be roasted* just like pumpkin seeds!). Place squash halves cut side down in an oiled baking dish. Bake 35 - 40 minutes, until squash flesh is tender.
While the squash bakes, prepare one packet of Kashi pilaf as directed on the package. Set aside.
Saute onion in small amount of olive oil until translucent. Add sage, saute 1 minute more. Add pilaf, lemon juice, salt, pepper, almonds, and cranberries. Stir until all ingredients are heated through.
Place squash halves on plates. Fill cavities with pilaf. Garnish with cranberries and squash seeds (if you chose to roast them) or almonds (if you didn't roast the seeds!).
One squash half with pilaf makes a very satisfying vegetarian entree!
* To roast seeds: separate them from the pulp, removing as much of the "string" as you can. Rinse well, then pat dry. Toss with just enough oil to coat, and salt to taste. Roast at 300 for about 45 minutes, until toasty and crunchy. Before today, I hadn't roasted pumpkin/squash seeds in years. Yum!!!
I cooked just one squash, so I have plenty of pilaf left over for lunches this week. =)
If you looked at the original recipe, you saw that it calls for acorn squash. I prefer buttercup -- I like the flavor better, and I think it looks a lot more like an acorn than acorn squash does! I actually (unintentionally) overcooked mine a bit, so the shells were pretty soft -- not quite suitable for serving on plates. But I really like the roasty, caramelly flavor it got from being cooked those extra few minutes.
As much as I like rice, I thought this dish would be a lot more fun with the Kashi grain mix. It has a variety of nice flavors and textures from the different grains, and is even healthier, with lots of fiber, protein, iron, and cholesterol-lowering oats. I'm really glad I tried it. I may never eat plain brown rice again!
Also, I left the squash flesh intact in its shell, rather than mixing it with the pilaf. I think it's fun to scoop up a forkful (or spoonful) of the pilaf, scraping up a bit of squash along with it.
I'm sure this pilaf would make a great stuffing for summer squash, too... or bell peppers... or even turkey for you crazy meat-eaters! And, of course, there's no reason not to serve it as a side dish on its own.
