Thanksgiving Memories

Here you see images of a huge failure (the Italian style squash tart with chocolate, caramel and rum that was featured in Portland Monthly last month- I almost wonder if they ever tried the recipe, it was so bad, no offense Portland Monthly!!), and some beet pickled eggs that are destined to be deviled. Those were tasty, though I found that the pickling made the eggs a little... tough. Next time I will only pickle them for one day rather than three.

I'm Not Making Pumpkin Pie.

I am making an Italian roasted pumpkin tart with chocolate and caramel, in case you were wondering. I am also making most of the rural Pennsylvania Thanksgiving recipes from Gourmet's final issue (I can't get over its end, by the way. I am completely depressed about it, as I was just learning how special Gourmet magazine was when it was taken from me). We are spending T-day in my father's newly built barn, so it seems appropriate. There will be fires, music, and an indoor grill. Its going to be a hell of a barn warming.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and always has been. I plug my ears and hum to forget what we are really "celebrating", and once I do, I focus on what we celebrate today: food. Food is my favorite! Hanging out with friends and family who love to cook and eat together sounds like a perfect day to me. To top it off with Calvados spiked Cider (Thank you Holly, via Carlyle), and who knows- maybe there will be dancing.

Photos, naturally, to follow.

photo via Gourmet.com

Cassoulet!

All the work was worth it. Even the part when I was trying to rip one of the duck's legs off and I grabbed its neck and a trapped air bubble qucked out. Even when I was pulling tendons out of the braised and very hot lamb shanks and they snapped like rubber bands.

Yes, it was worth it, because cassoulet is by far the most delicious dish ever.

The beans, velvety. The meats, tender and just gamey enough. The crumb layer, crisp and full of butter. Thank you Julia!

I did accidentally drink a whole bottle of champagne during dinner and so I don't remember dessert. But it looks good, doesn't it???

Portland Pie-Off 2009: The Aftermath

Brown Butter n' Bourbon Peach Pie


Squash Solution Pie


Cursive Type Writer Ingredients Card



Yesterday was entirely too exciting. There were around 70 pies to be judged and I was on pins and needles the entire time. When it came time to announce the winners I was nearly in need of an oxygen tank and a scotch.Kevin held my hand and fed me pickles during the really tense moments- I really owe him a card or some flowers. But, the first category announced was for Best Stone Fruit Pie, and I was the winner! My adoring fans (my dad) really gave me a big cheer, and I think the ribbon ceremony was better for it. Really though- I had a lot of friends show up and give me support and I want to thank them for making the day so much fun and making me feel so damn special!

My savory pie, The Squash Solution, did not win anything. I had never made a savory pie before, let alone a savory custard pie, and I didn't actually have a recipe, and it wasn't very good. I was talking to my aunt who is a talented and sensible chef yesterday morning and I was like "MY PIE IS ALL WET! THE SQUASH IS LEAKING ALL THIS DAMN WATER! WHAT DO I DO?" and she was like "MOP IT! MOP IT WITH TOWELS! PUT A STACK OF TOWLES ON TOP AND THEN PUT A BOOK ON IT!" I followed her advice (the mopping part, not the book pressing funny-guy idea), and it really did take care of the water issue. However, next time I will properly purge my squash with salt in advance. I only got to taste it after the voting and it didn't have enough salt and had too much fucking squash in it! So that was kind of embarrassing. So, it looked pretty but was not really a solution for my squash problem after all. The lessons learned: Do not rush when baking. Do not experiment with something you have never attempted before and then allow your delusional self to believe you might win something for it. Do experiment with ingredients you have at hand, but maybe do some research about them and practice once or twice before attaching your name to them.

Brown Butter and Bourbon Peach Pie

One Double Pie Crust* (modified for lattice top)
*Recipe adapted from Bakers Illustrated

3 cups AP flour
10 T frozen butter
7 T chilled lard
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
10 T ice water mixed with 1 T vodka


5 Large, ripe but firm peaches
1 stick of Danish butter
1/2 cup bourbon (I used Corner Creek)
2/3 cup white sugar
5 T potato starch
1 t salt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 t grated nutmeg

Put flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the lard, and then shave frozen butter into the mix (or add finely chopped frozen butter bits, but back sure you don't warm them with your hands as you cut them up). Slowly add in ice cold water+vodka until the dough comes together and is shaggy but not too wet. Split into two lumps, wrap in plastic and chill for an hour.

Roll out half the pie dough for the bottom of the pie. Gently place in pie pan, leaving extra dough overhanging the edge of the pan. Refrigerate. Meanwhile, create lattice top for pie and place in freezer. (Tutorial coming soon!)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Boil a large pot of water, and once boiling put peaches in for 2 minutes to loosen their skins. After 2 minutes plunge peaches into an ice bath to prevent further cooking. Skin the peaches, cut into sixths, and place in a large mixing bowl. Squeeze 1/2 lemon over them (look out for seeds!), pour the 1/2 cup of bourbon on top, stir, and then set aside.
In a large skillet with the flame set low, start melting the stick of butter. When it is completely melted, increase heat to medium or medium high. Whisk the butter as it starts to brown. You are trying to get all those milk solids nice and toasty! I took my brown butter to a dark chocolaty brown, and then I rested the pan in an ice bath to prevent burning. Pour butter over the peaches and stir. Take about half of the peaches out of the bowl and put into the skillet you used for the butter. Put this pan back on the stove and turn the heat to high. Give those peaches a little color, and then return to the mixing bowl. Add the potato starch one tablespoon at a time. Stir well and pour into the chilled pie crust. Attach the lattice top, spritz with water and sprinkle some lovely sugar on top. Put in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for a half hour at this temp, and then give the pie a half turn and reduce temp. to 350 degrees. Bake for another half hour until brown and bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and a shot of bourbon.

PORTLAND PIE OFF 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spent the morning at the farmers market hemming and hawing over the best looking produce and people, and ended up bringing home 15 lbs of peaches. I was tricked into buying this amount, but now I think it was a good thing.

I just made my test pie and MASTERED the art of the lattice top pie crust. I mean, we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Maybe "mastered" isn't the right word. But either way- this one looks great. I shall not reveal my recipe today, obviously, but after tomorrow I will share the details.

Wish me luck. Last year I won a blue ribbon for "Best Pairing With Pie" which means the judges liked the booze I gave them. I was HUGELY honored to get a ribbon! But this year, hopefully the pie will speak for itself. I am bringing the test pie in for staff meal tonight. The chef let me know last night that he was already working on a staff meal to match my pie's down-home fatty appeal. The anticipation is nearly unbearable.

If you are in town, please come to the contest! It is from 1 to 3 or so at Peninsula Park in North Portland.

Photos and details tomorrow.

A Summer Party

As a special hostess with the mostess move, I baked my guests' initials on their slice of pie.
For dinner, steak and rainbow veggie kabobs, bacon wrapped scallops and fillet. For dessert, blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream. For drinks, Pimms Cups and many bottles of rose. A success!

The Great Harvest

I went into the backyard yesterday to glance over the vegetable beds and find some zucchini to bring in for staff meal. It had been 2 days since I last picked the squash, so I expected to find just a few little guys. Well, I don't know what happened exactly, but shit went crazy back there. The squash I found were aggressively large. I brought some to my neighbors, and the rest to work. We ended up using them as a display and then my coworkers brought them home to make jokes with.
I went out to the beds this morning, full of fear, and found three more. It's going to be a long summer of squash recipes. I have included an image of the zucchini noodles and jacky on the zucchini phone, talking to his grandma.

Also: Buttermilk Pie. I can't give out this recipe now as I am still working on it for the pie contest, but this was my first draft effort. Not bad!

Sprout

The garden is in full sprout mode. My starts (tomatoes, peppers, basil) have all added on some serious inches, and the rest are doing their best to catch up. We found the ultimate vintage lounge chair and cast iron fire pit, and the bar is fully stocked. And yet Kevin and I are in the weirdest, most stressful position right now where we are waiting for our loan to finalize, but are living in the house in the mean time. So we don't own it... but we are supposed to... but we don't really feel comfortable unpacking... let alone getting comfortable... So. Mostly I am just having old man problems like heartburn and a short temper and Kevin is suffering horrible allergies and isn't his usual chipper self either.
My dad bought us a stove, being the hero that he is. It is from the 1950's and not only has two ovens but also one of them is a convection oven. He bought it "for my baking". Awww! Dad, didn't you get the memo? I've moved on to frying*!!!!!!! Seriously though, I hope we don't have to move out and find a place to store this thing. It's fucking huge.
I have decided, as an effort to avoid studying for finals (really- the fun never stops) to post a few photos from our fabulous rental property that hopefully by tomorrow will be ours for keepsies. Please admire my fruit trees, giant yard and stinky dogs.

*Now available at Pine State- my very own fried to order strawberry rhubarb hand-pies. They are SHIT HOT.

BTW, It's ON.

(photo from pietopiacontest.blogspot.com)

Lookey lookey- its Pietopia! This is a contest that I am going to compete in for sure. You get to write an essay AND make a pie!!!!! The concept is that you create a pie that represents something going on in your life at the moment. So I guess my pie will be "Utter Chaos and Anxiety*" pie! You write about how each of the ingredients represents something relevant to your situation. Can I really make a pie of whiskey, cereal and asprin? It's going to be a challenge but I think I can!

But seriously, what do I love more than writing creative essays and baking pies? Putting them together is not only thrilling but also signals that there are other dweebs just like me, right here in Portland. I will NOT be revealing my recipe until the day of the contest OBVIOUSLY, but I will keep you posted with any great success or failures.



*Clearly, we are remaining remarkably chipper and enthusiastic. However, buying a house sucks and if you don't want to walk around with the shakes and your cellphone glued to your palm I might recommend that you avoid it.

National Pie Day

I'd like to bake a pie for the holiday, but as Dave pointed out, why the fuck does this special day fall in January? Does it look like I have piles of fruit laying around, begging to be baked? No. Piles of dog hair, yes, but berries and peaches and all of the wonders that make pie good, no.
The only pie that makes sense to me during these frigid, fruitless months is lemon meringue with lemons from somewhere warm. It will go unmade for today, as I have to go to work shortly. The time that I could be spending making one of my favorite winter pies will be spent waiting on friday night assholes and pretending to love every minute of it.

The guilt of not making a pie today... It's heavy. Here is what appears to be a good lemon meringue recipe. Please- someone- make a pie today.

Focus

Back to food!

New Orleans has taken over my brain. I just finally finished reading Gumbo Tales by Sara Roahen, which is a book all about New Orleans food. My auntie sent it to me before my trip, and I read a few chapters before I left and became obsessed with gumbo. I continued reading while I was there, and then when I got home. Every chapter is devoted to a different food that is a part of life in NOLA- gumbo, po'boys, sno cones, oysters, et cetera. I love this writer because she is a woman who only regrets not being able to eat MORE. She loves food, loves the stories behind food, and talks about blacking out because of a po' boy. A girl after my own heart, she is. If she had a chapter on barfing after overdosing on fried soft shell crab, well, I would have to see her birth certificate.
Anyway. I woke up early on Monday morning and read her chapter on red beans and rice. It turns out that this dish is a Monday tradition in New Orleans. This was fate as it was Monday and I was hungry. I was not going to ignore fate as long as it included ham hocks and andouille. We already had plans to make maple bourbon pecan pies for Pine State thanks to inspiration from all the BBQ stops we made on our trip, so when we went to the store for pecans we got all the fixings for red beans and rice too.
You are supposed to make them on Mondays with the hock from Sunday night's ham. Fortunately, Pine State sells amazing southern style country ham and it was down to the bone. We had to pretend we were following tradition, but at least we had the right ingredients. As we made the pies (come try one at Pine State, they turned out well- look at that crust!), the beans soaked and we started cooking.
Red beans and rice are made with any number of pork products. We chose andouille, ham, tasso, bacon grease and bone marrow. Kevin cracked that ham bone with a hammer so that the glorious marrow would seep into the beans, adding to the creamy meatiness. You can see in the first photo that it started out as a thin, soup like creation. You can still make out the holy trinity and the individual beans. Three hours later, the next photo, it has cooked down and the beans have opened up and thickened the stew, and the vegetables have disappeared. The smell alone was worth the effort. I have to say, I think we had great success. I know that I will hear back later that I forgot an ingredient or something, but I think I should just move to New Orleans and have people believe that I've always been cooking this way. I am including the recipe I ended up using, after reading many and creating a composite.

Red Beans and Rice

One lb. red beans
2 links of andouille
1/4 lb. tasso
1 large ham hock with cracked bone
3 tablespoons bacon grease
1 bell pepper
5 sticks celery
1 yellow onion
7 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tablespoon cayenne
3 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon pimenton
chopped green onions and parsley for garnish
3 cups Long grain white rice

Soak beans over night or quick soak them in simmering water for an hour or so (I'm sure this is not recommend but if you are irresponsible like me then you can count on this step.). Drain the beans and put them in a pot of boiling stock and water with the ham hock and the spices. Meanwhile, saute your meats in the bacon grease. Add them to the soup when they are nice and brown and tasty smelling. Leave the juices and grease in the pan. Chop the pepper, onion and celery up (your holy trinity) and sweat them out in the same pan. Add this to the soup as well when they achieve the level of doneness that you prefer- we let the onions cook until clear, but the celery and peppers were still a little bit crunchy. Now just let this soup cook for as long as you can stand it. Two hours is the minimum but all day long is tradition. If you have to rush things, smear about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pot while cooking to open them up and thicken the soup.
And of course, during the last 45 minutes of simmering, cook up some long grain white rice. You serve the beans on top of however much rice you prefer, with chopped green onions and parsley (which we forgot) as a garnish. You are also supposed to serve french bread and butter with this dish and Abita beer. You can find this beer in Portland! This recipe serves many people. Maybe ten? Even after 4 of us ate our weight in it on Monday night, we will still be eating only red beans and rice for the next week and not complaining.

The morning after

You would think that Jacky and Hiro did all the work yesterday because they are EXHAUSTED. They both put themselves to bed before people had even left last night, and now are both still trying to sleep off their hangovers.
I am also in rough shape, due to lack of sleep and my own little hangover. But really, I can't complain. Yesterday was awesome. Jessika came over early in the day to get things going, and its a good thing she did. Kevin was running around the house and cleaning, I was in a baking frenzy with two pumpkin pies (which I think sucked), two apple tarts (one of which my landlord's brother knocked off the porch railing as it cooled, if only you could have seen his face) and a tray of sticky buns (glorious). Jessika had to manage the brussels sprouts, the cheese platters, the gratin, the stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls... I was too frantic to even pay attention to everything she was doing. We made beets and sunchokes with lemon rind and candied carrots as well, now that I think of it.
And the sangria! It was glorious. Red wine, sparkling cider and triple sec with cranberries and apples. I am now even more convinced that it's not a party without sangria. We drank tons of wine and also did plenty of Mexican brandy+peach brandy+sugared lemon shots (something Kevin used to serve a lot of in Arizona...creepy...). That might explain the hangover. Or maybe it was the Manhattan's.
I am excited to eat leftovers today because last night I was so overwhelmed and full from eating a million appetizers that I couldn't really fit much more in by dinner time- let alone dessert. We have so many leftovers. The turkey carcass is sitting outside in a cambro, waiting for me. When we ran out of refrigerator room we had to start using the porch. It's coldish outside...
As for now, I am going to start cleaning. We got so much help from everyone last night that my job isn't too overwhelming, but still I'd rather be taking a bath or sticking pins in my eyes.
Which reminds me- this morning a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death at 5 AM by a crowd of redneck psycho shoppers, so skip the errands today people.

Piety

The day after the pie-off I was feeling so happy that I made another pie. This one would have been a real winner too- if only I had known the wonder that is the peach pie! This one, again with the lard/butter crust, was peach basil. Rather than making another herbal simple syrup, I just put in fresh basil from my porch garden. It was delightful and the inside was exactly the right consistency. The pie-off really made me rethink my relaxed attitude and has sent me into a world of very serious baking. No more laughter or games, that much is obvious. 

Last night we went out for some whatevs Cuban food and then to see Encounters at the End of the World- the Werner Herzog film about Antarctica. The audience we were watching the movie with was so dumb! They were laughing at all the wrong parts, including when the confused penguin wanders off in the wrong direction, towards the mountains and certain death. I can't think of anything more sad, unless maybe if it was Jacky. 

The movie is weird, and makes me not want to go to the south pole. However, it did make me realize that scientists are the real crazy people in this world. Forget artists and restaurant people- anyone who chooses to put on a waterproof snow suit and spend three months locked in a tent with a bunch of other nerds, occasionally SWIMMING AROUND UNDER THE ICE WHERE CREEPIES LIVE, is nuts. They are totally nuts! Another group of crazies have decided to spend their time crawling around on the side of frozen volcanos trying to avoid "lava bombs" and also frost bite. Confusing and conflicting temperature dangers! And all for the love of information. I'll stick to pie.

Holy Pie

The pie-off was INTENSE. 49 entries, 8 categories, and over 125 onlookers. You know I got a blue ribbon baby! My pie, Rosemary's Baby, was, if I do say so myself, very attractive. She had style, she had grace, so on and so fourth. The crust was just the way I dream it, flaky, tender and sparkly. The insides... not as dreamy. I made the pie much to late in the day for it to have time to set up before the judging. It was soupy inside. By the time we enjoyed the leftovers for staff meal it was PERFECT. But at 4 pm, not so much. So I was a little disappointed. But I did get a ribbon for "Best Pairing with Pie" which is to say I bribed the judges with spanish dessert wine. I feel pretty good about it! Its kind of the only award that doesn't actually refer to the pie itself, but I don't want to sound like an asshole and complain- I got a ribbon! I never win anything, so this is good. Most people get ribbons for things like "sports!" and "talent!" and I got one for "dessert wine knowledge!"- maybe not even just dessert wine knowledge so much as "actually brought a pairing!" But hey- like I said, I'm very excited and proud. 

Last night all we had for staff meal was pie. Which usually would be a dream for me but I was kind of over it by that point. By the way- did I mention the worst staff meal I have experienced yet? It happened on thursday and I think I was too upset to mention it at the time. We had crostini with a bunch of weird crap to put on it like bean sauce with floating ham chunks and chunky-rabbit-liver-something-in-a-bowl. We were like "Seriously? Bad appetizers for lunch? Is this IT?" and then they made a salad with tuna that made my mouth itch. "Thanks for the poisonous canapes, you MONSTERS!" Love you guys!

Pie Hole

You guys! I'm entering a pie-off this afternoon! Dave Briggs brought in the tiny article about the contest LAST NIGHT and said if I didn't do it I was a pansy who hates pie. Well we all know that I am a pansy who loves pie, so I decided at ten a.m. as I opened my eyes that I must enter to defend my family name. I'll be entering under the categories "berry" and "local"- so you can try and guess what I'm making. As it is ten thirty now and all my pie plates are at Pine State and I need to track down some rendered lard, I must go. I will update later!

Wasting time

I haven't been writing because I don't have my own computer right now, and haven't updated any staff meal photos. But! What a pointless way to procrastinate doing something I love. 

I am writing with out and visual aid. I know, BBOOOOORRRING!

Meals and staff meals have been very good lately- although I think I am sick of food. So much time devoted to planning meals, looking for new restaurants, trying to remember old restaurants... I want to sit in the middle of a farm and snack on snap peas (the season is over for this, however.) On saturday my friend Grey and I went to his family farm to obtain peaches and broccoli. However, it was too hot to pick anything and so we just floated around the pool and didn't wear sunblock. 

By 6 pm when I was due in for work it was 100 degrees and humid. It was a hideous evening, filled with crabby people and lots of running around wondering what I was doing with my life. However, it had a happy ending. The bar tender and sous chef teamed up for staff meal, preparing frozen mudslides and grilled ham and squash sandwiches. Jessika made a steak and shrimp salad with zucchini. 

We live to make fun of people who order frozen cocktails. It was a funny joke for us to have them... but might it be even funnier how much we loved them? Traaashy! 

As I was mopping the floor, my coworker Shane suggested we go skinny dipping in the Sandy River. Well don't mind if I do! Jessika, Shane, and my beloved ex-roommate Alani and I got in my car and sped off to the river. Led Zeppelin was blaring and heat lightning flashed in the distance. We were a regular team of water nymphs, splashing around in the cloudy moonlight. Train tracks run right over the river where we were swimming, and two trains went by, tooting their horns at our naked asses. 

Back to food. Some restaurants I have visited this week include Clyde Common, (where I will be eating and reporting on staff meal next friday) Nostrana, Thai Noon, Pine State Biscuits (my live-in-lover's place) and Fire on the Mountain for wangs. Clyde Common is where I usually end up after work with my friends, but on this night I was on a date with Kevin. We had a few cocktails and a bottle of Sancerre, lentils with smoked shrimp and avocado, pork rinds with lime, and some spaghettini with cherry tomatoes and orange gremolata. Delicious- I am very excited to see what happens at staff meal. I have heard that they take very good care of their employees at feedin' time. 

I try not to eat at Pine State too often because, well, you know. But my friends can't stay away, and so I end up eating fried chicken very frequently. This week Jessika had a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit with sweet tea- I ended up eating half of it. It was the perfect breakfast! Maybe if I stop ordering McIsley's every time I won't feel so guilty before noon. 

Speaking of Pine State, I am attempting to be their dessert girl. I have dreams of starting a pie company, where I bake pies for small business or private orders. I make an exceptional pie, starting with a real lard and butter crust and using all local, seasonal fruit. This week is crisp week at Pine State. When I went down to Grey's I bought a flat of beautiful peaches and some giant blackberries from Jones Farm. The crumbles on top are made with brown sugar, toasted almonds and some other secret ingredients scattered around. I am hoping they will keep me around.

Once I get my computer up and running (once I buy a power cord for 80 dollars) I will post food photos including but not limited to: eggs benedict with heirloom tomatoes and thyme potato hash!!!