Excellent advice from Bittman

Mark Bittman's New York Times column today offers nothing but great advice for the home cook. Print it out, keep it, hold on to it forever.

I already do a few of these things, Parmigiano-Reggiano is the undisputed kind of cheese, and I keep some in the house at all times even though it is a little pricey.

But I think the best tip of the lot is about the stock. I don't use boulion cubs, nothing but salt, but I sadly to use a lot of canned or carton stock and I hate it. But making stock is a pain in the ass for little reward. His advice to just throw an onion, carrot, and celery stalk into some water and let it simmer for a little bit is great stuff and I'm going to start doing it as soon as I can.

The only one I would take issue with is the bread crumbs. I guess I could make a batch and hold on to them, but it seems like such a pain.

The perfect chocolate chip cookie

The New York Times did a piece this week about its quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I actually whipped up a batch of my very own on Saturday to bring to a couple of BBQs we were attending. Reading the article, I want to make some more. I especially want to try some sprinkling some fleur de sel on them before they go into the oven.

One interesting part of the article was the one baker who lets the dough sit for a day before baking. Last year when we were making holiday cookies Rory and I had an oven issue. I had made the dough, but couldn't bake so it sat in the fridge for a day. I didn't notice any real different in the taste or texture, but then again it may have something to do with the unsweetend coco I add.

Leeks

I feel like everybody I've been reading or watching lately has been cooking with leeks.
I think There was a Good Eats a couple of weeks ago, Jamie Oliver this weekend cooked with leeks and then yesterday Bittman had his recipe of the day with leeks. Keeping all three thing in mind I attempted to concoct a nice pasta dish with some different ingredients. The end result was good, but would be better with some other ingredients.

Here's what I did and would do differently.

1 pound of whole wheat pasta
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic crushed
2 TSP red pepper flake
4 leeks chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
3 oz. prosciutto
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil salted water for pasta

Turn heat to medium high. add oil to dutch oven and add crush garlic and red pepper flake. Cook until garlic starts to sizzle and remove, add leeks and cook for five to seven minutes. Add wine and stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat. Place prosciutto on top of the leeks, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove lid and prosciutto. Add cream and start to puree sauce with immersion blender. Add prosciutto and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

The results were good, but this could be better. I know the cream make this dish a lot less healthy but I might make this in the future and use pancetta or bacon for the fat and then add it again later instead of the prosciutto. I would also probably add the dried porcini mushrooms to give it a different flavor and texture.

Appetizers

I'm not a fan of making appetizers. It's too much work for too little reward in my mind. Give me a side or a main course any day of the week over an appetizer. But today my boy Bittman offers 101 Simple Appetizers in 20 minutes or less. The NY Times column details loads of appetizing canapes that looks pretty quick and simple.

The ones that stick out on this list for me are the skirt steak and the shopped shrimp with pesto mayo. Further down the rumaki with portabello would be great as well. Now I have some new ideas in case I need to bring an appetizer anywhere.

Will entrees go the way of the dodo?

Kim Severson's piece in the NY Times Wine and Dining section today intrigues me. It posits that the entree is headed for extinction. It makes me think about the first time I took my parents and sister for tapas at Cafe Iberico. They had never been and my mom and sister were big fans.

My dad hated it though. He's used to having a plate of food put in front of him and that's what he eats. He wasn't used to all this different stuff. we went to Iberico a couple of years later and he got pallea and enjoyed the experience much more.

But it makes me wonder if my generation will see the demise of the entree. According ti wikipedia I'm smack dab in the middle of Generation X. The Baby Boomers, which my dad is a part of, don't like the idea of the entree going away, but who knows what will happen in 15 or 20 years? Is Severson just identifying a temporary dining fad or is there something to it?

As for my buddy Bittman this week I have to wonder if he phoned this one in. Smoothies in December? Really? Maybe it's the fact that we got six-inches of snow here in Chicago yesterday and it's still snowing now but I'm kind of dumbfounded by his column this week. Give me a stew recipe or some soup. I just can't stop shaking my head.

Mashed potatoes, a discussion

The NY Times Dining and Wine section this week discusses Thanksgiving. The lead story on the Web is about mashed potatoes (registration required). I'm a big fan of mashed potatoes and have made a handful of varieties, but after reading the article I have realized that this most important of side dishes can be a very personal thing.

I like to think I make a pretty good standard mashed potato. I use red potatoes and typically add sour cream, butter, salt and pepper. I'm not against adding other ingredients, I have made a Bittman recipe that adds garlic, caramelized onions and mushrooms, and its fantastic.

But the articles insistence on technique is what bugs me. I find using a masher to be an exercise in futility and use a hand held mixer to make a light and fluffy dish that has garnered good reviews from friends. I am hoping Santa brings me a submersible (immersion?) blender for Christmas that I plan on using in the future for the dish.

I am also surprised at their endorsement of Oxo products. Don't get me wrong, I have a number of their kitchen gadgets and find them to be very useful, if not some of the best I have, but for the NY Times to name them with another vendor surprises me. It is the NY Times.

I found Bittman's piece in the section this week interesting. Making the gravy ahead of time is a good idea. One that I may take for Turducken. I also like the idea of the bourbon sauce, another possible addition for Turducken fun.