Cooking School

Oh, I've been inspired!!

I've recently read two really great books, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School and The Sharper the Knife, the Less You Cry, both by Kathleen Flinn. They aren't cookbooks, and yet I feel like I've become a better cook practically overnight just by reading. During a mid-life crisis/job loss, Flinn decides to enroll in Cordon Bleu, and she shares her story in The Sharper Your Knife. Later, while living in Seattle, and again facing a job crisis, she begins giving cooking lessons to women who know virtually nothing about preparing (even remotely) healthy meals at home.

The first thing I did was subject my family to a taste test. Our regular table salt in one bowl, kosher salt in the other. The kosher salt won, hands down. What an unbelievable difference! The table salt clearly is only good for things like homemade playdoh (not that I make much of that anymore).

I've made this soup; easy, fast, and good. The meat, in particular, was delicious, and even the tomato bits were not bad.

Not-Really Minestrone Soup

1-1/2 lbs. lean beef, cut into bite sized cubes
2 T. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 quarts beef stock
1 c. spaghetti sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz. can of beans, drained
28 oz. can tomatoes, undrained
1 T. dried mixed Italian herbs
1 bay leaf
1 can mixed vegetables
1 c. elbow macaroni
grated parmesan cheese

The beauty of this recipe is in its adaptability. What do you have in your pantry and fridge? All the fresh vegetables? Some? Substitute something else, or skip what you don't have. What kind of beans do you like? White? Navy? Kidney? Something else? How about tomatoes? Try fire-roasted, or diced, or Italian style. Nothing labeled "Italian herbs"? Toss in a variety of oregano, basil, thyme, etc. Don't have canned mixed vegetables? How about frozen? What pasta can you use up, instead of macaroni?

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven, sear the meat in oil over high heat until very brown. Remove meat from pan; pour off excess fat. Add onions, carrots, celery, and cook until tender, stirring around the bottom and edges of the pan. Add the stock, browned meat, spaghetti sauce, garlic, beans, tomatoes, herbs and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Bring to a boil, skimming if necessary, then cover and reduce heat to simmer for about two hours. Skim and stir occasionally. Add more water if needed during cooking. Add the vegetables and the macaroni and cook another half hour. Check seasonings, adding Tabasco and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with a bit of parmesan atop each bowl.

Serves 8-10.
-----------------

She also included a recipe for no-knead bread. I found a similar one that I could specifically make in my new cast iron Dutch oven. I don't consider myself a baker, and I'm particularly not a bread baker. Although this requires little effort (even less for me, since Trevor did all of the measuring/mixing), it takes time. The dough must rise overnight. I'm making this again, later today.

No-Knead Artisan Style Bread

3 c. regular flour
1 t. active dry yeast
2 t. salt (Kosher, you'd better believe it!)
1-2/3 c. warm water (110 degrees)
Optional herbs: 1 t. chopped fresh rosemary and/or thyme and/or sage

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and herbs, if using, and mix well. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy-looking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.

Generously flour a work surface. The dough will have risen and will be covered in bubbles. Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust it with flour. Fold the dough in half, and then form the dough into a ball by stretching and tucking the edges of the dough underneath the ball.

Liberally flour a kitchen towel (do not use terrycloth). Place the dough ball on the floured towel. Cover with another floured towel. Let the dough rise for about two hours.

Preheat an oven to 450. Place a lidded Dutch oven or deep heavy duty casserole dish (with lid) into the oven to preheat.

Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Remove the lid and gently turn the dough ball into the ungreased baking dish, seam-side up; shake the dish so the dough is more evenly distributed.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the baking dish and let it cool on a rack before slicing.

-------------------

These were fun and entertaining books, fun reads that really taught me simple cooking basics. These books have impacted our family. As I type, Robert's beef noodle soup is on the stove cooking. He's searched for years for the best way to get the flavor from the bones--this time, he's roasted them in the oven prior to simmering, based on recommendations from Flinn's books. I'm so encouraged!

Book Reviews

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

Another mindless installment in the ridiculous life of cookie queen Hannah Swensen. Great fluff that requires no thinking on my part.

Firehouse by David Halberstam

The 40/35 firehouse in NYC sent 13 men in response to the World Trade Center terrorist attack on 9/11. This is a very topical story about the firehouse, about as much as I could handle. I prefer to avoid much in-depth reading of something so awful and overwhelming. Because it was such an overview though, it didn't make for great storytelling or paint a very vivid picture of the firemen.

The 5 Minute Face: The Quick & Easy Makeup Guide for Every Woman by Carmindy

Boring, nothing new. In fact, there were plenty of old things that I didn't think people did anymore, so there.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

I guess I haven't read this book before. I'd looked at the amazon reviews, many of which panned the book for being a duplicate of what can already be found online, or for the nothing-special recipes. Although I'm quite familiar with PW's blog, I enjoyed reading through this recipe book and fondly "re-living"/remembering her experiences shared in the past. While there were a few new recipe additions, I also was reminded of other recipes I'd wanted to make in the past. It's a nice book to check out from the library.

The Victory Club by Robin Lee Hatcher

Nice light reading that was all but forgotten two weeks later.

Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

These are such mindless, predictable books, yet apparently I can't stop reading them. This is a mini-holiday story which follows the exact same formula as the other Hannah Swensen stories: New character is introduced, Hannah finds a dead body, she bakes cookies and shares recipes while illegally interfering in a police investigation, solves the crime unexpectedly, is threatened by the murderer, and saved at the last minute. The end.

The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother's Hidden Life by Jasmin Darznik

This is the fascinating true story of the author's mother, Lili's, life as a young girl in Iran. Married at 13, she abandoned her first child and divorced at 14, and continued to pursue her education against all odds. The book reads like a novel and provides historical insight into the modernization of Iran and subsequent Revolution, along with detailed cultural elements . An excellent read, highly recommended. As this is easily the best book I've read in some time, I'm passing the book on to Holly.

Book Review - Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

I'm on a reading roll here, and Ruth Reichl's Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise makes it worthwhile! I found this recommendation after finding Julie & Julia so disappointing. While I love reading about food, I don't put much stock in restaurant reviews, I would never go to the restaurants mentioned in the book, and I would certainly never eat 90% of the food Ruth adores. But the writing is FUN, and the story is fun--leaving me hungry for more (haha).

As the new food critic for The New York Times, restaurants are on the lookout for Ruth. She begins creating a variety of disguises and personalities to go with her "costumes." Along the way, she discovers hidden parts of her own personality coming through her characters. It's written in a story format and weaves in her personal life, family and friends. I completely enjoyed her writing style, and while I have no interest in the subjects of her other books, I might pick them up later just because she's a fun storyteller. She's currently the editor of Gourmet Magazine.

Although Ruth is focused on a lot of eating out during this time in her life, she also includes a dozen or so recipes from her own kitchen. Some of these look great, and I'll be giving them a try.

If you have nothing to read, if you like food, this book is recommended.

Book Review - Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

It's snowing, perfect time for me to catch up on reading and reviews.

* * *

Author Julie Powell was a judge a week or so ago on my favorite program, Iron Chef America, and I requested her book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen from my library. I started reading this morning. It's okay. It was rather funny that she started writing her story on a blog. Before I knew this, I'd already been thinking that some of my blogging buddies are better writers. I wish I'd read the amazon reviews first, because then I never would have bothered with the book. It's autobiographical; she's bored with her life and lack of a career so decides to work through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There's a lot of crass language, and it seemed that she wasn't comfortable with the "f" word but felt she should insert it every couple of pages. If I didn't have anything better to read, I'd probably stick with it.

I've never been a Julia Child fan (and certainly not a fan of French cooking either) but I recently read the autobiography, My Life in France. It was an excellent read about her life in general, her wonderful relationship with her husband, her early training, cooking, and co-authorship of her first few books, and of course, her life in France.

Recommendation: Don't choose this poor substitute. If you want to read a good book or if you have any interest in Julia Child, read My Life in France instead.

Book Review - The South Beach Diet Cookbook by Arthur Agatston

The South Beach Diet Cookbook by Arthur Agatston. I'm not really sure what I was expecting from this book. I cut waaaay back on white carbs two years ago. I would never expect my family to go along with my new way of eating, but since I'm the cook, I've been able to make some adjustments that they aren't really aware of. To say that Robert doesn't like trying new recipes is putting it mildly.

I didn't find most recipes in here to be anything anyone besides me would eat. But I did find some that I'll try. Some of the ones that I thought might possibly appeal to Robert include the words: Couscous; Edamame; Tuna; kebob; fat-free; sugar-free; whole wheat. Some of you know my husband. (Alright, you can stop laughing anytime.) Now you can see why he thinks I live in a dream world.