1926 Mouton Rothschild
A 125L Savor Wine. I'd be willing to bet that I won't taste this wine again. Old...very old. Tasted like cigars, leaves, and soy with just a glimmer of fruit. Apparently not a good Bordeaux year, either.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pasta with Garbanzo Beans, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs
Mark Bittman's blog at NY Times, Bitten, has become one of my go-to places for weeknight dinner ideas. Although I love to cook, I haven't had much time to explore the kitchen lately. I am tackling data analysis for my Master's thesis; I think I have made 100+ graphs in the last 2 days.
But, overworked or not, I still love to cook. This article came across my feed reader yesterday describing a recipe for pasta with garbanzo beans, chorizo, and bread crumbs. It sounded great and Antonia was on board, so tonight I made it.
Pasta with Garbanzo Beans, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs
by Mark Bittman
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 lb cooked chorizo sausage (I used two fresh sausages from Nugget Market)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (hooray for the food processor)
4 cups cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans with their liquid (I used two cans, one drained, one not drained)
1/2 lb cut pasta (I used 1 lb. large shells)
chopped parsley (None in the fridge, I used dried parsley)
Since I started with fresh, uncooked sausage, I had to cook the sausage first. I did this on a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the sausages were cooked, I set them aside. In the same skillet, I added 1 tbsp olive oil and added the garlic. I gave it a 1-2 minute hot oil bath and just as it started to change color from yellow to gold, I added the bread crumbs.
The pan was turned down to medium-low and the crumbs were stirred until they turned a deep deep gold, almost brown proper. I didn't let them burn, but they were teetering on the edge. I find the best cooking-derived flavor (as opposed to ingredient-derived flavor) comes when the food is balanced on the edge of browning and .... more than browning. Once the bread crumbs were done, I put them aside.
After letting the sausage cool a bit, I cut it up and gave it another run in the pan, just to make sure the insides were cooked.
Cooking is very relaxing for me, despite what people who have been around me when I cook will say. The serenity of cooking is furthered by some music (I listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde) and a glass of wine. I am down to my last few bottles of Rd 29, so this was a treat to myself.
Next, the pasta water is boiled and salted, and the pasta goes in.
While the pasta is boiling, the garbanzo beans went into a large skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil. One of the cans of beans was drained, the other was not. While they simmered with the olive oil, they received a dusting of salt, pepper, and dried parsley.
When the pasta is maybe 2 or 3 minutes from being ready, drain it out of the water and add it to the garbanzo beans to finish cooking with the sauce. This will let the flavors of the sauce soak into the pasta, as well as have the starch from the pasta thicken the sauce.
After the pasta is cooked through (sample prodigiously while cooking; it is bar-none the best perk of spending time in the kitchen) add the chorizo and toss (carefully).
It's done! Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture and eat.
Thank you, Mr. Bittman.
But, overworked or not, I still love to cook. This article came across my feed reader yesterday describing a recipe for pasta with garbanzo beans, chorizo, and bread crumbs. It sounded great and Antonia was on board, so tonight I made it.
Pasta with Garbanzo Beans, Chorizo, and Bread Crumbs
by Mark Bittman
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 lb cooked chorizo sausage (I used two fresh sausages from Nugget Market)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (hooray for the food processor)
4 cups cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans with their liquid (I used two cans, one drained, one not drained)
1/2 lb cut pasta (I used 1 lb. large shells)
chopped parsley (None in the fridge, I used dried parsley)
Since I started with fresh, uncooked sausage, I had to cook the sausage first. I did this on a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once the sausages were cooked, I set them aside. In the same skillet, I added 1 tbsp olive oil and added the garlic. I gave it a 1-2 minute hot oil bath and just as it started to change color from yellow to gold, I added the bread crumbs.
The pan was turned down to medium-low and the crumbs were stirred until they turned a deep deep gold, almost brown proper. I didn't let them burn, but they were teetering on the edge. I find the best cooking-derived flavor (as opposed to ingredient-derived flavor) comes when the food is balanced on the edge of browning and .... more than browning. Once the bread crumbs were done, I put them aside.
After letting the sausage cool a bit, I cut it up and gave it another run in the pan, just to make sure the insides were cooked.
Cooking is very relaxing for me, despite what people who have been around me when I cook will say. The serenity of cooking is furthered by some music (I listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde) and a glass of wine. I am down to my last few bottles of Rd 29, so this was a treat to myself.
Next, the pasta water is boiled and salted, and the pasta goes in.
While the pasta is boiling, the garbanzo beans went into a large skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil. One of the cans of beans was drained, the other was not. While they simmered with the olive oil, they received a dusting of salt, pepper, and dried parsley.
When the pasta is maybe 2 or 3 minutes from being ready, drain it out of the water and add it to the garbanzo beans to finish cooking with the sauce. This will let the flavors of the sauce soak into the pasta, as well as have the starch from the pasta thicken the sauce.
After the pasta is cooked through (sample prodigiously while cooking; it is bar-none the best perk of spending time in the kitchen) add the chorizo and toss (carefully).
It's done! Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture and eat.
Thank you, Mr. Bittman.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
A Day of Bread
Noble Pig asked me, in the comments on one of my previous posts, where's the bread?
Here it is, Mrs. Pig. Three loaves of Rustic Bread, and a big stack of naan. The bread had a wonderfully dark crust that almost took on a caramelized sweetness. It also had a nice crunchy crust with a soft, stretchy crumb. I had quite of bit of leftover biga pre-ferment, so while the bread was proofing and baking, I mixed the biga with water and flour to make an ersatz naan dough. It wasn't traditional, but it did the job.
We had bread for a week from this bake-a-thon - I even sent out a mass email to a student group offering a loaf of bread to the first person who could get to our house to pick it up; there was no way Antonia and I could eat three loaves of bread before they went stale. A loaf of the bread when to a good home within the hour.
Here it is, Mrs. Pig. Three loaves of Rustic Bread, and a big stack of naan. The bread had a wonderfully dark crust that almost took on a caramelized sweetness. It also had a nice crunchy crust with a soft, stretchy crumb. I had quite of bit of leftover biga pre-ferment, so while the bread was proofing and baking, I mixed the biga with water and flour to make an ersatz naan dough. It wasn't traditional, but it did the job.
We had bread for a week from this bake-a-thon - I even sent out a mass email to a student group offering a loaf of bread to the first person who could get to our house to pick it up; there was no way Antonia and I could eat three loaves of bread before they went stale. A loaf of the bread when to a good home within the hour.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Wines, Week 1
This quarter, I am one of the teaching assistants for VEN 125L - Sensory Evaluation of Wines. During the labs, students are introduced to sensory techniques for wine evaluation - difference testing, reference standards, etc. At the end of each lab, the students are given 6 wines to try - these wines are termed savor wines (savor wines from last year).
Week 1 were oxidized white wines. All of the wines were old, but each had a different "old wine" character. Some where outright spoiled, while others had hints of life left in them. All of the wines were tasted blind.
Week 1 - Unintentionally oxidized white wines
1986 Wente Napa Valley Fumé blanc - ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde.
1988 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay, Beckstoffer Ranch - chalk, acetaldehyde
1990 Jordan Alexander Valley Chardonnay (375mL) - honey, Lyle's Golden Syrup
1991 Alderbrook Dry Creek Semillon - plastic, grapey, phenol, floral
1992 Van Der Heyden Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay - acetaldehyde, lemon, soy, brothy/meaty, ashy, boiled mushrooms
1996 Louis Martini Napa Valley Sauvignon blanc - green tea/olive oil, fruity flavors
My favorites were the Jordan (in splits!) and the Alderbrook Semillon. I was pleasantly surprised that some of these wines still had something left - I wouldn't call what was left "life", but there is a spark of something. Other wines, like the Wente and Stag's Leap, were just plain dead.
I look forward to next week's tasting, though I'm not sure what it is.
Week 1 were oxidized white wines. All of the wines were old, but each had a different "old wine" character. Some where outright spoiled, while others had hints of life left in them. All of the wines were tasted blind.
Week 1 - Unintentionally oxidized white wines
1986 Wente Napa Valley Fumé blanc - ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde.
1988 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay, Beckstoffer Ranch - chalk, acetaldehyde
1990 Jordan Alexander Valley Chardonnay (375mL) - honey, Lyle's Golden Syrup
1991 Alderbrook Dry Creek Semillon - plastic, grapey, phenol, floral
1992 Van Der Heyden Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay - acetaldehyde, lemon, soy, brothy/meaty, ashy, boiled mushrooms
1996 Louis Martini Napa Valley Sauvignon blanc - green tea/olive oil, fruity flavors
My favorites were the Jordan (in splits!) and the Alderbrook Semillon. I was pleasantly surprised that some of these wines still had something left - I wouldn't call what was left "life", but there is a spark of something. Other wines, like the Wente and Stag's Leap, were just plain dead.
I look forward to next week's tasting, though I'm not sure what it is.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A weekend of food and Rigatoni with Spinach and Green Beans
I am now technically 5/6 done with grad school. I say technically, because I will be finished with grad school when my thesis is finished, not when classes are over. Nonetheless, it feels like school is winding down.
This last quarter, Winter Quarter 2008, was quite busy. I was TAing for Wine Stability with Dr. Boulton while at the same time carrying out the sensory portion of my thesis research. I spent hours on end holding wine glasses up to blindfolded students' noses. I am glad that data collection is almost complete.
March 24-28, 2008 is when Spring "Break" was scheduled for this year. "Break" is in quotation marks because there really was no break in the traditional sense for me. I was in the lab every day working on my thesis. I have been working on the Methods and Literature Review sections. I think I made some good progress in the quite of the Break-time lab.
A second, tastier consequence of "Break" is that it once again gives me time to do some cooking.
Last night for dinner, I made the pasta pictured above (recipe to follow). This morning, after I began my one day stint as a dogsitter, I started to work on bread. Oh break, I have missed you so. There really is nothing like kneading dough. It is therapeutic in a way very few other activities are. I have been making bread out of Curst and Crumb by Peter Reinhart. I recommend anyone who wants to get into bread baking pick up this book or one of Mr. Reinhart's other books.
Tomorrow, I am going to pick up some ground beef from Mr. Bledsoe at the Davis Farmers Market and will make some kreplach. I may not
fry them as per the NYT recipe, but who knows.
Any any event, it has been nice to be able to cook and blog again; hopefully it won't be so long until I do it again.
Rigatoni with Spinach and Green Beans
1 lb dried rigatoni
2 tbs olive oil
1 big handful of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 big handful of frozen spinach
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
paprika
garlic powder (I'm out of garlic - who knew that could happen?!?!)
dried thyme
dried fennel
cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
2 big tablespoons of hummus
Start pot of water boiling. In the mean time, heat up a large skillet or pot with olive oil on medium high. When the oil is very hot and moves about the pan with little resistance, add in the onions and green beans. Turn down heat to medium and let soften.
When the water comes to a boil add a big pinch of salt (big!), add the pasta.
After about 6-8 minutes, add in the spinach and the spices. When the spinach has unfrozen and incorporated, add the hummus. This gives the sauce body without adding cream or butter. Once that cooks for a minute or two, add in the diced tomatoes. Let these cook for a few minutes. If the pasta is already in the water, add about a cup of the pasta water to the sauce. The starch in the pasta water will help to firm up the sauce. If the pasta is not in yet, don't worry; just add the water.
Keep the sauce simmering over medium-low, allowing it to reduce and concentrate. Add back a little bit of pasta water if the sauce gets to thick. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
When the pasta is just about finished (maybe 1 minute before you would normally take it off), add it into the sauce and let them cook together. This will allow some of the sauce flavor to infuse into to pasta.
I finished the sauce with a little bit of Pecorino cheese. It was a very fulfilling meal which I am about to go eat for lunch.
This last quarter, Winter Quarter 2008, was quite busy. I was TAing for Wine Stability with Dr. Boulton while at the same time carrying out the sensory portion of my thesis research. I spent hours on end holding wine glasses up to blindfolded students' noses. I am glad that data collection is almost complete.
March 24-28, 2008 is when Spring "Break" was scheduled for this year. "Break" is in quotation marks because there really was no break in the traditional sense for me. I was in the lab every day working on my thesis. I have been working on the Methods and Literature Review sections. I think I made some good progress in the quite of the Break-time lab.
A second, tastier consequence of "Break" is that it once again gives me time to do some cooking.
Last night for dinner, I made the pasta pictured above (recipe to follow). This morning, after I began my one day stint as a dogsitter, I started to work on bread. Oh break, I have missed you so. There really is nothing like kneading dough. It is therapeutic in a way very few other activities are. I have been making bread out of Curst and Crumb by Peter Reinhart. I recommend anyone who wants to get into bread baking pick up this book or one of Mr. Reinhart's other books.
Tomorrow, I am going to pick up some ground beef from Mr. Bledsoe at the Davis Farmers Market and will make some kreplach. I may not
fry them as per the NYT recipe, but who knows.
Any any event, it has been nice to be able to cook and blog again; hopefully it won't be so long until I do it again.
Rigatoni with Spinach and Green Beans
1 lb dried rigatoni
2 tbs olive oil
1 big handful of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 big handful of frozen spinach
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
paprika
garlic powder (I'm out of garlic - who knew that could happen?!?!)
dried thyme
dried fennel
cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
2 big tablespoons of hummus
Start pot of water boiling. In the mean time, heat up a large skillet or pot with olive oil on medium high. When the oil is very hot and moves about the pan with little resistance, add in the onions and green beans. Turn down heat to medium and let soften.
When the water comes to a boil add a big pinch of salt (big!), add the pasta.
After about 6-8 minutes, add in the spinach and the spices. When the spinach has unfrozen and incorporated, add the hummus. This gives the sauce body without adding cream or butter. Once that cooks for a minute or two, add in the diced tomatoes. Let these cook for a few minutes. If the pasta is already in the water, add about a cup of the pasta water to the sauce. The starch in the pasta water will help to firm up the sauce. If the pasta is not in yet, don't worry; just add the water.
Keep the sauce simmering over medium-low, allowing it to reduce and concentrate. Add back a little bit of pasta water if the sauce gets to thick. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
When the pasta is just about finished (maybe 1 minute before you would normally take it off), add it into the sauce and let them cook together. This will allow some of the sauce flavor to infuse into to pasta.
I finished the sauce with a little bit of Pecorino cheese. It was a very fulfilling meal which I am about to go eat for lunch.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Weekend Re-cap
This weekend was quite productive for me. I was able to:
1) Can the walnut butter that I had made
2) Bake 2 loaves of bread
3) Make 4 quarts of chicken stock
4) Read, cover to cover, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.
5) Catch up on sleep.
On #4, I recommend that everyone go as soon as possible to the library or bookstore and pick up this book. The food that we eat is a subject that needs to be sorted out and I think this book goes a long way to clarify things.
Walnut Butter Jars
Last week on Tuesday the Pomology Department, which shares Wickson Hall with the Viticulture and Enology Department, put out walnuts for people to take home. There must have been 50-100 lbs of walnuts. I took home a few bags worth, spent the next two days shelling them, and turned them into walnut butter. As you may note by looking below, there is not much to making nut butters.
After making the walnut butter, I put it in jars, made a label and a little tag, which more or less includes what is stated in the preceding paragraph.
Walnut Butter
walnuts, lightly toasted (7-10 min in a 250ºF oven)
walnut oil (or peanut, olive, etc.)
salt (optional)
Place walnuts in food processor. Blend until it forms a paste, and add a little bit of the oil to fix the consistency. Add salt if you desire.
After making the walnut butter, I put it in jars, made a label and a little tag, which more or less includes what is stated in the preceding paragraph.
Walnut Butter
walnuts, lightly toasted (7-10 min in a 250ºF oven)
walnut oil (or peanut, olive, etc.)
salt (optional)
Place walnuts in food processor. Blend until it forms a paste, and add a little bit of the oil to fix the consistency. Add salt if you desire.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Fresh Fettucini with Pesto
Another day, another lunch. How I enjoy vacation time!
I can never find the pasta dough recipe, but it is really easy:
Fresh Fettucini with Pesto
3.5c flour
4 eggs
pesto
olive oil
garlic
Add 3.5 cups of flour to a food processor with 4 eggs. Pulse until mixed, but not to where a ball forms. Add a little dash of water if necessary. Turn out and knead into a ball. Let sit for 20 minutes. Cut into 8 parts and roll out on a pasta machine. For this, I rolled the pasta out to "1", or the thinnest setting on my machine (which I broke in the process of making this pasta, but that is another story).
Once you have sheets of dough, let them sit for ~20 minutes to partially dry out. Dust the dough with flour on both sides and roll up like a cigar. Cut off the frayed ends then cut into thin rings - when you unwrap them you will have fettucini (or whatever shape's thickness you cut them to). Put into salted, boiled water for 3-5 minutes and its done!
For the pesto, I took a little olive oil and infused it with a clove of chopped garlic by chopping the garlic and adding it to the cold oil in the pan, then turning it on to medium. As soon as it bubbles, I turn it off. The result is garlic flavored olive oil, with cooked garlic but not browned. I tossed the finished pasta in the garlic oil, then added some pesto, which I bought from Nugget. Then I ate.
I only made ~10 stands of pasta for my late, so if you were making the whole recipe, I would add more than 1 clove of garlic.
I can never find the pasta dough recipe, but it is really easy:
Fresh Fettucini with Pesto
3.5c flour
4 eggs
pesto
olive oil
garlic
Add 3.5 cups of flour to a food processor with 4 eggs. Pulse until mixed, but not to where a ball forms. Add a little dash of water if necessary. Turn out and knead into a ball. Let sit for 20 minutes. Cut into 8 parts and roll out on a pasta machine. For this, I rolled the pasta out to "1", or the thinnest setting on my machine (which I broke in the process of making this pasta, but that is another story).
Once you have sheets of dough, let them sit for ~20 minutes to partially dry out. Dust the dough with flour on both sides and roll up like a cigar. Cut off the frayed ends then cut into thin rings - when you unwrap them you will have fettucini (or whatever shape's thickness you cut them to). Put into salted, boiled water for 3-5 minutes and its done!
For the pesto, I took a little olive oil and infused it with a clove of chopped garlic by chopping the garlic and adding it to the cold oil in the pan, then turning it on to medium. As soon as it bubbles, I turn it off. The result is garlic flavored olive oil, with cooked garlic but not browned. I tossed the finished pasta in the garlic oil, then added some pesto, which I bought from Nugget. Then I ate.
I only made ~10 stands of pasta for my late, so if you were making the whole recipe, I would add more than 1 clove of garlic.
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