I will try not to make you scroll down too far to get to the recipe. Many blogs today are hard to work with because they are choked with ads, videos, and other clickbait while the actual recipe sits, far, far, FAR down the page.
However, I did want to share some thoughts about why this recipe is important to me. If you just want to scroll down I will totally understand.
Since my last post, I have, with some reluctance, crawled back onto the Keto wagon for the sake of my blood sugar.
Part of my struggle when I did Atkins years ago was being unable to shake the feeling of different foods having moral value and, as a "bad" person who ate "bad" food, low carb felt like food jail no matter how I sliced it. Also, low carb baked goods made with soy flour always tasted strongly of "BEANS" to my palate. It became a stress reliever to just say, "Fuck it, I'm going over the wall, I'm sick of feeling like a criminal / freak!" before grabbing some comfort carb or other, laden with stuff my stomach hated sooner or later, but also laden with warm memories of good tastes.
Prominent among these memories is the "orange sweet roll" / "orange Danish" dough which comes in a can. I learned during a Facebook discussion that some people call the canned dough "whomp biscuits" or "whomp orange rolls", because the instructions on the can used to be to open the can by striking it on the counter ("WHOMP!"). These rolls weren't always available at the store when I was growing up, so they were a more rare treat. After we grew up, my sisters and I would pick up a can for family breakfasts during holiday gatherings. I still enjoy the way they taste hot out of the oven.
I was cautiously optimistic after I learned about the "fathead dough" people have developed for keto baked goods like pizza crust, bagels and breadsticks. After looking up "keto cinnamon rolls" I found a recipe on the Sugar Free Londoner blog which looked adaptable in the direction of "orange rolls". My glaze for the top turned out to be more like a syrup, not a frosting, but it matches the dough pretty well.
KETO WHOMP ORANGE ROLLS
Dough:
1 1/2 cups shredded low moisture whole milk mozzarella ("part-skim" will have more carbs)
3/4 cup almond flour (the finer the better)
2 Tbsp. cream cheese (again, low fat will have more carbs)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. dried orange zest
1/2 tsp. orange extract
Cinnamon filling:
1-2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. (or equivalent; they don't all measure cup for cup. I used a Stevia/erithrotol blend)
2 tsp. cinnamon
Orange syrup:
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. (or equivalent) sugar free sweetener
1/2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. pure orange extract
Heat oven to 375.
I mixed the syrup first, then the cinnamon filling, to give the ingredients time to blend. My cinnamon filling used the 2 Tbsp. of water the original recipe called for, and came out very watery, whereas the filling in the recipe picture looked more like a slurry or paste. Maybe start with 1 Tbsp. water and see what your filling does.
To make the dough, melt the cream cheese and grated mozzarella over low heat until melted but not bubbling. I used a pot on the stove, you can also use a bowl in the microwave, mixing every 30 seconds. Add the egg and mix until blended. Stir the baking powder into the almond flour to distribute it, then add the flour mixture to the cheeses and egg. Add the orange extract and mix thoroughly. Dough will be soft, stretchy and warm.
Divide dough into 6 parts. Stretch each part out into strips, about 7 inches by 2 inches. Spread / spoon cinnamon filling onto each strip. Roll up strips and cut each rollup in half to make 12 small spirals. Place spirals onto baking paper or silicon mat on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 until browned, around 20 minutes. Drizzle syrup onto rolls after they come out of the oven.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Americana: The Betty Crocker Recipe Cards Edition
Occasionally, I will revisit digitized facsimiles of the Betty Crocker recipe cards we used to have when I was a tween / adolescent.
The collection is chimaerical, in that nearly every cake recipe will start with "one box of our Devil's Food / Yellow / White cake mix...", repeat for any food product BC was making in the early 1970's. However, some scratch recipes were provided, and indeed, the "Favorite Muffins" recipe from the "Come For Coffee" section was the first quick bread I learned how to bake. Also the recipe on which I learned how many things can go wrong with muffins. To this day, I cannot bake anything without a recipe directly in front of me to make sure I'm not adding too much oil or stirring the wrong amount of time.
To be sure, there are some food horrors left over from the kind of "Nope" articles that make the rounds on social media. The savory gelatin and cans of cream-of-mushroom/chicken/celery soup were strong.
Sometimes I wonder who they thought they were marketing to, since the recipes calling for canned soup / mushrooms / fruit mingle willy-nilly with the expectation that our homemaker might also want to make a chocolate souffle, Danish aebleskiver (complete with the aebleskiver pan), or know what Fontina cheese is (I just found out what Fontina was last year). There are entertaining hints on the back of the party recipes--the "Children's Parties" cards are a fun read, suggesting themes like a hobo party (with dinner cooked in coffee cans), a Backwards Party, or an ice cream social.
The entire collection has been digitized on the Scribd website by the incredibly thorough and thoughtful "Kenneth", to whom I am indebted for this reminder of some happy childhood memories. I actually have cooked / attempted a few recipes from the collection over the years with varying degrees of success (I lost my enthusiasm for fried cornmeal mush after an unkind spatter burn where I couldn't remove the clinging mush fast enough), but always with a kind of pleasure. I felt like I was connecting to something lots of other people were trying at roughly the same time.
Happy cooking and happy eating 8)
Friday, February 16, 2018
Fastnachts, Donuts and Other Shrove Tuesday Indulgences
Because I am not routinely a donut person, when Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras / Fastnacht Day / Pancake Night comes around, I tend to splurge a little.
When I was growing up, Fastnacht Day was basically an excuse to eat your favorite donut, not necessarily a reason to make a batch of traditional Fastnachts (a particular Pennsylvania Dutch variant) yourself. For completeness sake, I'll include a recipe for Fastnachts, but I have yet to make them myself. This comes from a souvenir book (my copy has no copyright info) still sold in PA, I think, called "Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook: fine old recipes". Incidentally, the book also contains a scrapple ("ponhaws") recipe that starts with a hog's head, if you happen to have one lying around:
https://www.amazon.com/Pennsylvania-Dutch-Cook-Early-Settlers/dp/B000CMOR1E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518805824&sr=8-2&keywords=pennsylvania+dutch+cook+book
(WARNING WARNING WARNING THIS RECIPE MAKES FOUR DOZEN DONUTS THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING)
FASTNACHTS
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water (110-115 degrees F.)
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. sifted flour
2 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
3 eggs, well beaten
1/4 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 1/2 - 4 c. sifted flour
(The original recipe does not specify how much or what kind of fat to use for frying, so insert deep fat frying vehicle of choice here)
Soften yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 to 10 min. Add 1 tsp. sugar and 3 cups sifted flour to the milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in the yeast. Cover: let rise in a warm place until doubled. Stir in eggs, butter, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg and enough flour so that mixture can no longer be stirred with a spoon (a soft dough). Cover: let rise until doubled. Punch down dough and divide into two portions. On a floured surface, roll out each portion until about 1/2 in. thick. Cut dough with a donut cutter. Cover dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Fry in deep fat heated to 370 degrees. Fry 3 to 4 min., or until lightly browned. turn doughnuts to brown evenly. Remove from fat: drain.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a kind of donut which I used to buy sometimes in PA which is not always easy to find. Before I discovered places which sold their donuts warm, Country Maid's cream-filled, plain-on-the-outside donuts were my go-to Shrove Tuesday indulgence. It's still not easy, even "living in the future", to find them online (the website looks either hacked or lapsed or something, and the Facebook pages look unattended). I learned in the course of my online search that the bakery is in Bowmansville, called Harting's. There is a website called PA Snacks which offers them in bulk (18 donuts is too many for just me), and I know there are stores in SEPA that sell them.
http://www.pasnacks.com/country-maid-donuts.html
Although I am not motivated to make 4 dozen donuts at a time, I appreciate, and am willing to pay for, a donut which is served while still warm. It's part of the indulgence. For a while, there was a Krispy Kreme bakery on 23rd St. in Manhattan, but alas, that store closed and while the one in Penn Station has perfectly good donuts, they are never hot / warm. However, I know that in other parts of the country, having the "Hot Now" sign lit is still a selling point, and they are memorable when warm.
http://www.krispykreme.com/
I was both horrified and delighted to discover a place underground near Columbus Circle station (a food hall called TurnStyle) which serves tiny, overpriced ($1 each), but warm and delicious donuts, called the Doughnuttery. They also have branches in the Plaza Hotel and Chelsea Market.
They offer a number of flavors, toppings, and dipping sauces. My favorite is plain vanilla glaze. The price is a self-limiting factor that keeps these gems from becoming too regular a temptation. However, it's a fine diversion for Fastnacht Day.
https://www.doughnuttery.com/
Close to the TurnStyle entrance, there's a booth selling macarons, also a few cookies and liege-type waffles. The Red Velvet was, to put it mildly, heaven. I try to keep on the lookout for macarons which are almost worth their high price, and these were the best I've had.
https://bywoops.com/
TurnStyle has a number of other offerings, not just sweet stuff. I had dinner once at their Yong Kang Street branch and it was delightful, would nom again. The TurnStyle website will give you some info about shops and restaurants, for menus and more data you may need to search the stores by name.
https://www.turn-style.com/
When I was growing up, Fastnacht Day was basically an excuse to eat your favorite donut, not necessarily a reason to make a batch of traditional Fastnachts (a particular Pennsylvania Dutch variant) yourself. For completeness sake, I'll include a recipe for Fastnachts, but I have yet to make them myself. This comes from a souvenir book (my copy has no copyright info) still sold in PA, I think, called "Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook: fine old recipes". Incidentally, the book also contains a scrapple ("ponhaws") recipe that starts with a hog's head, if you happen to have one lying around:
https://www.amazon.com/Pennsylvania-Dutch-Cook-Early-Settlers/dp/B000CMOR1E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518805824&sr=8-2&keywords=pennsylvania+dutch+cook+book
(WARNING WARNING WARNING THIS RECIPE MAKES FOUR DOZEN DONUTS THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY WARNING)
FASTNACHTS
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water (110-115 degrees F.)
1 tsp. sugar
3 c. sifted flour
2 c. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
3 eggs, well beaten
1/4 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 1/2 - 4 c. sifted flour
(The original recipe does not specify how much or what kind of fat to use for frying, so insert deep fat frying vehicle of choice here)
Soften yeast in warm water. Let stand 5 to 10 min. Add 1 tsp. sugar and 3 cups sifted flour to the milk, stirring until smooth. Stir in the yeast. Cover: let rise in a warm place until doubled. Stir in eggs, butter, the remaining sugar, salt, nutmeg and enough flour so that mixture can no longer be stirred with a spoon (a soft dough). Cover: let rise until doubled. Punch down dough and divide into two portions. On a floured surface, roll out each portion until about 1/2 in. thick. Cut dough with a donut cutter. Cover dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Fry in deep fat heated to 370 degrees. Fry 3 to 4 min., or until lightly browned. turn doughnuts to brown evenly. Remove from fat: drain.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a kind of donut which I used to buy sometimes in PA which is not always easy to find. Before I discovered places which sold their donuts warm, Country Maid's cream-filled, plain-on-the-outside donuts were my go-to Shrove Tuesday indulgence. It's still not easy, even "living in the future", to find them online (the website looks either hacked or lapsed or something, and the Facebook pages look unattended). I learned in the course of my online search that the bakery is in Bowmansville, called Harting's. There is a website called PA Snacks which offers them in bulk (18 donuts is too many for just me), and I know there are stores in SEPA that sell them.
http://www.pasnacks.com/country-maid-donuts.html
Although I am not motivated to make 4 dozen donuts at a time, I appreciate, and am willing to pay for, a donut which is served while still warm. It's part of the indulgence. For a while, there was a Krispy Kreme bakery on 23rd St. in Manhattan, but alas, that store closed and while the one in Penn Station has perfectly good donuts, they are never hot / warm. However, I know that in other parts of the country, having the "Hot Now" sign lit is still a selling point, and they are memorable when warm.
http://www.krispykreme.com/
I was both horrified and delighted to discover a place underground near Columbus Circle station (a food hall called TurnStyle) which serves tiny, overpriced ($1 each), but warm and delicious donuts, called the Doughnuttery. They also have branches in the Plaza Hotel and Chelsea Market.
They offer a number of flavors, toppings, and dipping sauces. My favorite is plain vanilla glaze. The price is a self-limiting factor that keeps these gems from becoming too regular a temptation. However, it's a fine diversion for Fastnacht Day.
https://www.doughnuttery.com/
Close to the TurnStyle entrance, there's a booth selling macarons, also a few cookies and liege-type waffles. The Red Velvet was, to put it mildly, heaven. I try to keep on the lookout for macarons which are almost worth their high price, and these were the best I've had.
https://bywoops.com/
TurnStyle has a number of other offerings, not just sweet stuff. I had dinner once at their Yong Kang Street branch and it was delightful, would nom again. The TurnStyle website will give you some info about shops and restaurants, for menus and more data you may need to search the stores by name.
https://www.turn-style.com/
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Food Shop Links, Holiday Protein Edition
I'm finally posting about two shopping trips I made in Manhattan, getting specialty food for my family's Christmas breakfast last year. And by "last year", I mean "Christmas 2016" (Yikes). In lieu of splurging on chocolate or other candy for stocking stuffers, I splurge on meat, cheese and fish. Which do not go into the stockings, because Ew.
I started at a food shop in what I call the "Little UK" (I think no one else calls it that at the moment), a group of shops in the West Village near 14th Street. There is a tea shop and a for-reals chip shop, about which more another day, on Greenwich Avenue. My goal on this day, however, was Myers of Keswick, a food purveyor on Hudson Street near Horatio. They have an array of imported shelf stable foods, Christmas crackers every December, and a deli counter full of sausages, Scotch eggs, pasties and pies (displayed on the website as "Fresh Goods"). I haven't tried everything there, but I have yet to try a sausage / pie / etc. that I haven't enjoyed. I usually get the Cumberland sausage and Bangers to cook at home. They also sell scones, and according to the website they'll put (clotted) cream and jam on them for you. I shall report back.
http://www.myersofkeswick.com/
In nice weather, it's not too arduous a walk down to Bleecker Street and Murray's Cheese Shop. In dreadful weather, it's one stop from the 14th St. A/C/E to West 4th Street, with a little walking on both ends. In addition to the bewildering array of cheeses and "specialty foods", they have a charcuterie section with sausages, pates, terrines, hams and smoked duck. I will sometimes get the smoked duck breast, but I keep coming back for the fresh cheese curds, which may or may not be up to dairy farm standards but I like them just fine. The West Village branch has a kind of lunch counter called "Murray's Melts" that offers grilled cheese sandwiches, and there is also Murray's Cheese Bar down the street from the shop (I will have to visit and report back). The website also mentions "classes and private events" including cheese tastings and mozzarella pulling.
http://www.murrayscheese.com/
http://www.murrayscheesebar.com/
From the West Village, we now go WAAAAAAAAAAAY up to Yorkville on the Upper East Side (any NYC resident will tell you how maddeningly, ridiculously difficult it can be to visit two non-adjacent neighborhoods in one trip, although on paper it's Take the F from West 4th, Change To The Q At 34th). This neighborhood doesn't have the same size German population it used to have, but on Second Avenue, Schaller and Weber butcher shop is still offering wursts, landjaeger, cured meats, and imported German foods including sweets, spaetzle, potato pancakes, and coffees (I used to be able to get Tchibo here for someone I loved who got the occasional yen for it). When I cannot find butterkase (German butter cheese) elsewhere (even the cheese shops have not always heard of it), they usually have some in stock. Several years ago I came across a kind of ham there called lachsschinken, which looked interesting and tasted delicious. I brought it to the family Christmas breakfast, and lo and behold, one of the fussier eaters liked it very much, and a tradition was born.
https://schallerweber.com/
The proprietors have opened a tiny space next door to serve hot food (mostly sausages) called Schaller's Stube. They also serve fried chicken and potato pancakes, which I enjoyed very much. I want to go back and try a wurst or two, but the sauerkraut and condiments all contain vinegar, which I can't eat, so I have to ask them to make it plain, which I don't always have the energy to do. The "Teriyaki Brat" looks interesting...
https://www.schallerstube.com/
I started at a food shop in what I call the "Little UK" (I think no one else calls it that at the moment), a group of shops in the West Village near 14th Street. There is a tea shop and a for-reals chip shop, about which more another day, on Greenwich Avenue. My goal on this day, however, was Myers of Keswick, a food purveyor on Hudson Street near Horatio. They have an array of imported shelf stable foods, Christmas crackers every December, and a deli counter full of sausages, Scotch eggs, pasties and pies (displayed on the website as "Fresh Goods"). I haven't tried everything there, but I have yet to try a sausage / pie / etc. that I haven't enjoyed. I usually get the Cumberland sausage and Bangers to cook at home. They also sell scones, and according to the website they'll put (clotted) cream and jam on them for you. I shall report back.
http://www.myersofkeswick.com/
In nice weather, it's not too arduous a walk down to Bleecker Street and Murray's Cheese Shop. In dreadful weather, it's one stop from the 14th St. A/C/E to West 4th Street, with a little walking on both ends. In addition to the bewildering array of cheeses and "specialty foods", they have a charcuterie section with sausages, pates, terrines, hams and smoked duck. I will sometimes get the smoked duck breast, but I keep coming back for the fresh cheese curds, which may or may not be up to dairy farm standards but I like them just fine. The West Village branch has a kind of lunch counter called "Murray's Melts" that offers grilled cheese sandwiches, and there is also Murray's Cheese Bar down the street from the shop (I will have to visit and report back). The website also mentions "classes and private events" including cheese tastings and mozzarella pulling.
http://www.murrayscheese.com/
http://www.murrayscheesebar.com/
From the West Village, we now go WAAAAAAAAAAAY up to Yorkville on the Upper East Side (any NYC resident will tell you how maddeningly, ridiculously difficult it can be to visit two non-adjacent neighborhoods in one trip, although on paper it's Take the F from West 4th, Change To The Q At 34th). This neighborhood doesn't have the same size German population it used to have, but on Second Avenue, Schaller and Weber butcher shop is still offering wursts, landjaeger, cured meats, and imported German foods including sweets, spaetzle, potato pancakes, and coffees (I used to be able to get Tchibo here for someone I loved who got the occasional yen for it). When I cannot find butterkase (German butter cheese) elsewhere (even the cheese shops have not always heard of it), they usually have some in stock. Several years ago I came across a kind of ham there called lachsschinken, which looked interesting and tasted delicious. I brought it to the family Christmas breakfast, and lo and behold, one of the fussier eaters liked it very much, and a tradition was born.
https://schallerweber.com/
The proprietors have opened a tiny space next door to serve hot food (mostly sausages) called Schaller's Stube. They also serve fried chicken and potato pancakes, which I enjoyed very much. I want to go back and try a wurst or two, but the sauerkraut and condiments all contain vinegar, which I can't eat, so I have to ask them to make it plain, which I don't always have the energy to do. The "Teriyaki Brat" looks interesting...
https://www.schallerstube.com/
Friday, January 5, 2018
FOOD LAB -- Brazilian (GF) Cheese Bread Edition
Finally migrating this post over from social media. In the months since I first wrote it, I have located both standard and mini sized muffin tins which serve to bake pao de queijo very well indeed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I fell in love with a GF product called BraziBites -- mixed and frozen cassava (tapioca) - flour batter based on Brazilian Pao de Queijo. One thing I loved was the variety of flavors. Cheddar. Parmesan. Asiago and garlic. They're not cheap, and not easy to find (Costco used to have them for a while, otherwise it's Whole Paycheck or Wegman's), but they scratch a particular "warm bread" itch for me.
brazibites.com
I had also discovered a baked and frozen product called "Against The Grain" which has a similar recipe. Those (larger) rolls NEARLY scratched the same itch, but they got tough sooner than wheat-flour bread. Reheated in the oven, they could quickly turn into rocks. They cost too much to pay for potential rocks. They do have other products besides the rolls. I may revisit them to try the wraps.
http://www.againstthegraingourmet.com/
I started looking for copycat recipes, and the first / only one I found (for a frustratingly long time) looked...insanely complicated, to be brutally honest. The author swore that the brand of tapioca flour made a tremendous difference, Bob's Red Mill would NOT do. The cheese must be low-moisture mozzarella. You MUST use a food processor. The rolls MUST be baked on parchment.
I never attempted a bread this tetchy when I was eating wheat, why would I start now?
Fortunately for me, I have since found a couple of other, simpler recipes which had simple proportions, could be made with whatever tapioca flour your store carries, could be mixed with a blender (or a stick blender), got poured into mini-muffin tins and LET YOU CHOOSE THE CHEESE! The author has had good results with feta. I used the sharp cheddar in my fridge. When mixed, it's like slightly thick pancake batter.
Then I remembered I have no mini-muffin tin.
No biggie. Muffin batter can be baked in a cake pan, those I have. I lowered the temperature and added baking time in case of oops.
The corners rose and the middle did not. Fortunately, the thing was cohesive enough to flip over, and the center baked until it caught up with the corners.
It's better than the frozen ones. I won't need to make a special trip for the commercial brands. Go me 8)
The author of the recipe I used mentions the batter will keep up to a week in the fridge. I am experimenting with creating my own "bites" with an ice cube tray in my freezer. Will update.
UPDATE: They freeze, thaw and bake with little to no impact on taste and texture. Win!
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Williamsburg / Green Point: Fish Friday and Juxtaposed Gentrification
So, yesterday I attempted for the first time to get to Acme Smoked Fish company's "Fish Friday", in which the factory / warehouse opens a sales counter to the public (smoked fish at a wholesale price) on Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. This trip is a challenge both for cars (parking in Brooklyn is scarce at all times, this neighborhood is more challenging than many) and pedestrians (the closest train has many many stairs). From my neighborhood the ride took two hours yesterday--I think a drawbridge over Jamaica Bay held up the A train. This is not frequent but it is frustrating. When I tried to get to the western corners of Nassau Street getting off the G train I found a warren of stairs and iron fencing leading over the tracks, I think (seven or eight stairs up, over, seven or eight stairs back down before reaching the exit steps). Walk towards / past Lorimer Street on Nassau, a few blocks later bear right on N. 15th Street. A few blocks after that, bear right on Gem Street and there you are. I think the warehouse takes up the entire block, but the entrance is near the western end of the block (from Gem Street you can see Manhattan--that's west), where they have placed a helpful sandwich board sign proclaiming simply "Welcome To Fish Friday". I arrived by the skin of my teeth and was grateful to find the door still unlocked. It really is a warehouse. There's a roped-off walkway leading to a large doorway with thick, clear plastic streamers where the counters are. It's cold in there.
*CASH ONLY* This will be your only warning 8)
By the time I got there, much of what might otherwise be on offer was being put away for closing. The chief attraction for me was their kippered (baked) salmon. I can get perfectly good lox (for my taste) at Costco for an acceptable price. I could buy the kippered salmon at !Localmarket for approximately an arm and a leg, and Costco no longer carries the baked smoked salmon upon which it got me hooked many years ago. I scored a pound and a half for about a dollar an ounce. ZOMG SO FRESH OM NOM NOM. They also carry a variety of types / flavors of lox (yesterday there was a sign promoting "spicy jalapeno", reviewers have mentioned lemon pepper), trout, herring and whitefish/chubs. According to the Yelp reviews I've read, the average price for the lox is about $18 / lb.
http://www.acmesmokedfish.com/
It was warm, so I stashed the fish in a lunch cooler with several freezer packs and looked for a place to eat lunch (I had no way to open the salmon nor any way to wash my hands if I did). My wanderings took me past a place (turned out to be a popup) within a rescue mission called Holy Ground BBQ (they looked not ready to open for business although the smell was divine). A little websearching revealed a story of a barbecue chef on a mission and plans to open a restaurant in TriBeCa this fall:
http://www.ahotellife.com/holy-ground/
I also passed a chocolatier (Cacao Market, associated with Mariebelle chocolates) I may want to revisit. Their website is currently under construction, but I found both a Gothamist article and a Yelp page, which mention offering light meals in addition to the confections, gelatos / sorbets and hot chocolate drinks. The "menu" in the window didn't list either any food offerings or any prices for what they were promoting. Reviews call the place "a little pricey". The New World-inspired chocolate drinks look interesting.
http://gothamist.com/2015/04/22/cacao_market.php#photo-1
https://www.yelp.com/biz/cacao-market-by-mariebelle-brooklyn
I also passed by another restaurant with no visible menu (perhaps Manhattan has spoiled me) called Pretty Southern of which I made a note to research. Definitely want to revisit here--$5 for a biscuit is kind of a lot, but they offer gluten free and it wouldn't be bad to try, once. Apparently the owner was a Top Chef semi-finalist.
http://prettysouthernbk.com/
Finally, I chose Frankel's Delicatessen partly because they had a window menu and mostly because they offered potato latkes. I had mine (they were substantial) with a portion of (what else?) kippered salmon, and listened to a resonant conversation from two improvisation comics / actors down the counter. Apparently People's Improv Theater is still going strong and offers drop-in classes as well as "adjacent" type shows with clowning or scripted pieces.
https://frankelsdelicatessen.com/
https://thepit-nyc.com/
This is why I put up with the other stuff 8)
*CASH ONLY* This will be your only warning 8)
By the time I got there, much of what might otherwise be on offer was being put away for closing. The chief attraction for me was their kippered (baked) salmon. I can get perfectly good lox (for my taste) at Costco for an acceptable price. I could buy the kippered salmon at !Localmarket for approximately an arm and a leg, and Costco no longer carries the baked smoked salmon upon which it got me hooked many years ago. I scored a pound and a half for about a dollar an ounce. ZOMG SO FRESH OM NOM NOM. They also carry a variety of types / flavors of lox (yesterday there was a sign promoting "spicy jalapeno", reviewers have mentioned lemon pepper), trout, herring and whitefish/chubs. According to the Yelp reviews I've read, the average price for the lox is about $18 / lb.
http://www.acmesmokedfish.com/
It was warm, so I stashed the fish in a lunch cooler with several freezer packs and looked for a place to eat lunch (I had no way to open the salmon nor any way to wash my hands if I did). My wanderings took me past a place (turned out to be a popup) within a rescue mission called Holy Ground BBQ (they looked not ready to open for business although the smell was divine). A little websearching revealed a story of a barbecue chef on a mission and plans to open a restaurant in TriBeCa this fall:
http://www.ahotellife.com/holy-ground/
I also passed a chocolatier (Cacao Market, associated with Mariebelle chocolates) I may want to revisit. Their website is currently under construction, but I found both a Gothamist article and a Yelp page, which mention offering light meals in addition to the confections, gelatos / sorbets and hot chocolate drinks. The "menu" in the window didn't list either any food offerings or any prices for what they were promoting. Reviews call the place "a little pricey". The New World-inspired chocolate drinks look interesting.
http://gothamist.com/2015/04/22/cacao_market.php#photo-1
https://www.yelp.com/biz/cacao-market-by-mariebelle-brooklyn
I also passed by another restaurant with no visible menu (perhaps Manhattan has spoiled me) called Pretty Southern of which I made a note to research. Definitely want to revisit here--$5 for a biscuit is kind of a lot, but they offer gluten free and it wouldn't be bad to try, once. Apparently the owner was a Top Chef semi-finalist.
http://prettysouthernbk.com/
Finally, I chose Frankel's Delicatessen partly because they had a window menu and mostly because they offered potato latkes. I had mine (they were substantial) with a portion of (what else?) kippered salmon, and listened to a resonant conversation from two improvisation comics / actors down the counter. Apparently People's Improv Theater is still going strong and offers drop-in classes as well as "adjacent" type shows with clowning or scripted pieces.
https://frankelsdelicatessen.com/
https://thepit-nyc.com/
This is why I put up with the other stuff 8)
Friday, August 18, 2017
FOOD LAB--GF POT STICKERS, CATCH-UP
I've been making these for a while, but hadn't made either a Food Lab post or a link here to the recipe that inspired me, so I'm catching up now.
I fell in love with the convenient, inexpensive (pork) pot stickers from Trader Joe's last year, and wanted to be able to make a GF version so that I wouldn't be risking eventual indigestion on a regular basis. (Sooner or later, if I consume "normal" amounts of wheat, I get stomachaches. Pasta accelerates this, but more than trace amounts of dough or bread do the same thing more gradually.)
Fortunately for me, Trader Joe's also regularly sells ground pork 8)
The first recipe I found was on a website called BrokeAss Gourmet.
http://brokeassgourmet.com/articles/gluten-free-potstickers
There are ingredients I don't use in their recipe (corn starch and vinegar), and it's possible to substitute finely chopped kale or even Brussels sprouts for the Napa cabbage. Because I don't always have either the time or the energy to both produce the filling and manufacture the dumplings at the same time, I have experimented with frying up the filling ingredients ahead of time (and even freezing them) and found the results equally good. Meat, cruciferous goodness, onion, sesame oil, tamari, ginger, what's not to like? (Don't answer that. I have friends with allergies to soy and / or cabbage and all its relatives)
Gluten Free Proto-Potstickers
1 lb. ground pork (the packaged version from TJ's is an 80/20 lean /fat mix)
2 cups finely chopped or shredded Napa cabbage OR kale OR Brussels sprouts
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4 tsp.minced ginger (I'm working my way through a proportionately large bottle of ginger paste)
6 cloves garlic, minced (can also be shredded on a box grater)
6 T. soy sauce or tamari (check labels, as many soy sauces contain wheat)
4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. black pepper
Rice paper wrappers / pasta (large rounds)
1-2 T. Whichever kind of oil you prefer to use for frying
The original recipe calls for salting and letting the cabbage sit for a while, then wringing moisture out of it. I omitted this step because I didn't see it when I first read the recipe. Since I often pre-cook the filling, I continue to omit this step.
I mix everything but the wrappers together in a large bowl and cook it, semi-crumbled, over medium heat. I cover the pan for a few minutes until the cabbagey goodness has cooked down to its final size. Since it's a filling, the meat needs to be cooked but doesn't need to be browned, and this also gives me a chance to cook down some of the moisture which would otherwise make the dumplings leak. The original recipe called for corn starch in the filling as (I imagine) a sponge for that moisture. You can use a potato masher to break up larger chunks of the cooked filling if needed (thank you Rachael Ray for the tip). When the moisture in the pan looks like more / mostly oil / fat and not much water / juice, it's ready to come off the heat. If you're freezing the filling for later, spoon the cooled filling into your storage container / bag of choice with all the pan liquid--it keeps the meat moist. You need to thaw the filling before making the dumplings so that you can scoop it into the wrappers.
MAKING THE DUMPLINGS:
If you've never worked with rice paper wrappers before, they come out of the package dry and stiff, and you run them (ONE AT A TIME--don't ask me how I know that) under water until the whole thing has had contact with the water. The original recipe talks about doubling them and cutting out circles by tracing a small bowl, which will make them look like traditional pot stickers. I am somewhat lazier. I fold each wrapper in half right after wetting them, and let them soften like that. Then I spoon the filling (no more than two tablespoons) onto half of that half-circle, then fold in half again for a rather larger, but very efficient, 90-degree quarter-circle shape. You will need a plate or other surface to put the wrapper down while it softens, and then again after you fill the dumpling and press the edges together. Fry the pot stickers on one side until a little brown / crispy-chewy, then turn over, add water, and steam for a few minutes. The original recipe I linked above has good instructions about the fry-then-steam process, with photographs.
Serve with condiments as desired.
I fell in love with the convenient, inexpensive (pork) pot stickers from Trader Joe's last year, and wanted to be able to make a GF version so that I wouldn't be risking eventual indigestion on a regular basis. (Sooner or later, if I consume "normal" amounts of wheat, I get stomachaches. Pasta accelerates this, but more than trace amounts of dough or bread do the same thing more gradually.)
Fortunately for me, Trader Joe's also regularly sells ground pork 8)
The first recipe I found was on a website called BrokeAss Gourmet.
http://brokeassgourmet.com/articles/gluten-free-potstickers
There are ingredients I don't use in their recipe (corn starch and vinegar), and it's possible to substitute finely chopped kale or even Brussels sprouts for the Napa cabbage. Because I don't always have either the time or the energy to both produce the filling and manufacture the dumplings at the same time, I have experimented with frying up the filling ingredients ahead of time (and even freezing them) and found the results equally good. Meat, cruciferous goodness, onion, sesame oil, tamari, ginger, what's not to like? (Don't answer that. I have friends with allergies to soy and / or cabbage and all its relatives)
Gluten Free Proto-Potstickers
1 lb. ground pork (the packaged version from TJ's is an 80/20 lean /fat mix)
2 cups finely chopped or shredded Napa cabbage OR kale OR Brussels sprouts
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4 tsp.minced ginger (I'm working my way through a proportionately large bottle of ginger paste)
6 cloves garlic, minced (can also be shredded on a box grater)
6 T. soy sauce or tamari (check labels, as many soy sauces contain wheat)
4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. black pepper
Rice paper wrappers / pasta (large rounds)
1-2 T. Whichever kind of oil you prefer to use for frying
The original recipe calls for salting and letting the cabbage sit for a while, then wringing moisture out of it. I omitted this step because I didn't see it when I first read the recipe. Since I often pre-cook the filling, I continue to omit this step.
I mix everything but the wrappers together in a large bowl and cook it, semi-crumbled, over medium heat. I cover the pan for a few minutes until the cabbagey goodness has cooked down to its final size. Since it's a filling, the meat needs to be cooked but doesn't need to be browned, and this also gives me a chance to cook down some of the moisture which would otherwise make the dumplings leak. The original recipe called for corn starch in the filling as (I imagine) a sponge for that moisture. You can use a potato masher to break up larger chunks of the cooked filling if needed (thank you Rachael Ray for the tip). When the moisture in the pan looks like more / mostly oil / fat and not much water / juice, it's ready to come off the heat. If you're freezing the filling for later, spoon the cooled filling into your storage container / bag of choice with all the pan liquid--it keeps the meat moist. You need to thaw the filling before making the dumplings so that you can scoop it into the wrappers.
MAKING THE DUMPLINGS:
If you've never worked with rice paper wrappers before, they come out of the package dry and stiff, and you run them (ONE AT A TIME--don't ask me how I know that) under water until the whole thing has had contact with the water. The original recipe talks about doubling them and cutting out circles by tracing a small bowl, which will make them look like traditional pot stickers. I am somewhat lazier. I fold each wrapper in half right after wetting them, and let them soften like that. Then I spoon the filling (no more than two tablespoons) onto half of that half-circle, then fold in half again for a rather larger, but very efficient, 90-degree quarter-circle shape. You will need a plate or other surface to put the wrapper down while it softens, and then again after you fill the dumpling and press the edges together. Fry the pot stickers on one side until a little brown / crispy-chewy, then turn over, add water, and steam for a few minutes. The original recipe I linked above has good instructions about the fry-then-steam process, with photographs.
Serve with condiments as desired.
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