Today, I cut up two ducks in order to make duck prosciutto out of the breasts and confit out of the legs. To get full value from the ducks, I also plan to make pate from the liver, I am making soup from the carcass, and I rendered the duck fat to have a high Read More …
This post is documenting my journey on learning how to make a pressed cheese. I picked farmhouse cheddar as a starting project since it is a simplified version of cheddar cheese. A key part of the learning experience has been learning how, in my kitchen and with the equipment which I own, to keep the Read More …
I have made many focaccia over the years. This is one I have now made twice and it is a winner. I had the idea that the dough from Cast Iron Pan Pizza would make an excellent focaccia dough, and it does. Focaccia can be topped a number of ways but the key thing to Read More …
We are having a Mediterranean themed Easter dinner and spotted a recipe in The Complete Book of Greek Cooking from the Recipe Club of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, probably the greatest community cookbook ever published. Honey Pie (Melopeta) is an Easter dish from the island of Sifnos. In Sifnos, this would have been made Read More …
This is a traditional English bun for Easter. This version is an adaptation from Bernard Clayton’s Complete Book of Small Breads. On Good Friday, I made the dough, gave it a first rise, and then split it in half. Half I formed into 6 rolls for Holy Saturday, and half I left in bulk, to Read More …
These roasted ribs are an adaptation of a recipe in Saveur magazine in 2008, which in turn was based on the Joyce Chen Cook Book from 1962. I left out the red food coloring from the original recipe as not necessary these days. The ribs took about 90 minutes to roast. 2.33 lbs. of ribs Read More …
Chicken cream stew is an example of yoshoku, Japanese adaptations of Western food. It is a mild and tasty dish of chicken and vegetables in a milk-based white sauce. (Actually there is no cream in it.) The only uniquely Japanese ingredient is some white miso, which seemed to work behind the scenes to increase the Read More …
Cheese strudel is a great cooking project since the result is so impressive and tasty. This recipe is adapted from Nick Maglieri’s instructions on Craftsy. Dough for Pulled (Thin) Strudel Cheese Strudel Filling Flour 1-2 Tbs. vegetable oil (as needed) 12 Tbs. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted Preheat the oven to 435 degrees. With a Read More …
This is another popular filling for strudel. It is not very sweet, and would be very good as a snack with coffee. This version is adapted from Nick Malgieri’s instructions on Craftsy. ½ cup raisins 1 Tbs. rum (optional) 4 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature 1 lb. whole milk ricotta cheese 1/3 cup Read More …
An article in Cook’s Illustrated discussed the virtues of making a pizza in a cast iron frying pan, and indeed, it did turn out very well. There were three things which were unusual about this approach: A long fermentation including the final 1.5 hours in the cast iron pan. A border of cheese on the Read More …