Sassy Radish

Hi, friends. Today we’re going to geek out a bit. Sometimes you come here and there are stories or ramblings, but today, think of today as a mini science class. We’re going to talk about amino acids and browning and alkaline dough. I bet you can’t wait to get started.

For awhile now, I’ve been wondering about leaveners and the difference between the two. Why would you ever use baking powder instead of baking soda, and, more importantly, why would you ever use both? I’ve asked many folks this question, and gotten somewhat satisfying answers, but nothing that really made sense. I needed to delved deeper; I needed a super-geeky answer.

Enter a book to do just that, answer all my science-driven kitchen questions – Cooks’ Illustrated The Science of Good Cooking. Just the mere word “science” made me excited. The book was on my shortlist of cookbooks to purchase, but the generous (and lovely) folks over at America’s Test Kitchen, some of whom I met at the Cookbook Conference a few weeks ago, sent me a copy. And the first chapter to catch my eye, Concept 42, was appropriately titled “Two Leaveners Are Often Better than One”.

After reading through the book and thoroughly geeking out, I thought that you, readers, might benefit from a book like this on your shelves. Everyone, I think, could benefit from this book on their shelves. So I asked if they’d be willing to partner up on a giveaway, and much to my delight, they said yes!

Continue reading baking powder vs baking soda – and “the science of good cooking” giveaway!.

I’m always sad when I have to throw out a perfectly good ingredient just because I can’t find much use for it at that very moment. I’ve been too cold to contemplate ice cream, and at the moment, there’s no room in my freezer – as it is chock full of fish (courtesy of the lovely folks from the Alaska Fish Council – more on that at a later date).

But I bet that if you’ve ever made marshmallows, or meringue, or macaroons (or macarons for that matter, you had leftover egg yolk and you probably wondered how to save it, right?

A few weeks ago, when I was elbow deep in testing marshmallow recipes for my hot chocolate addiction, I wound up with quite a few loose egg yolks. I simply stirred the yolks with a pinch of salt, put a piece of plastic wrap on top of the yolks, covered with a lid, and placed the container in the freezer (with a date written on top of a piece of masking tape, which I find to be an indispensable tool in the kitchen). Those yolks will be good for at least about 2 months, and I’m willing to bet that I’ll have that ice cream hankering sooner rather than later. Or better yet, I’ll make lemon curd instead!

I wanted to title this post “Here are the !@#$%^ hamantaschen – Happy Purim!” but that seemed kind of rude, and not really my style. So instead, I’m going to apologize for giving these to you in the eleventh hour. I have a good excuse: I seem to have caught Andrew’s horrible cold and I’ve been feeling lackluster for the last few days. Not so terrible that I’m spending my day in bed, but terrible enough that I am constantly dreaming of a nap, which never happens to me under normal circumstances.

Fully intending to test these hamantaschen on Thursday, I was derailed when I woke up feeling off. At first I thought it was a matter of having coffee and letting caffeine return me to human form, but when the funny feeling didn’t go away, and in fact proceeded to grow, I figured that maybe I was coming down with something. I still decided to make the filling, which consisted mainly of just monitoring the simmering figs and making sure the pan didn’t go dry. I felt like I could handle it – and it went okay. The filling turned out great and in the fridge it went.

That was the end of my culinary effort for the day. Earlier in the morning, I had the foresight to pick up a rotisserie chicken, some sweet potatoes and red onions. So all I had to do was make one side dish (that requires minimal effort) and dinner was ready. I wish I had the foresight to do these things more often.

Continue reading fig hamantaschen.

I hope you’ve all had a good, albeit shortened week. To me, a short week just feels rushed, not that I don’t mind an extra day off, but then the rest of the week has just as much work as a regular one, and the whole thing feels a little frenetic. Maybe that’s why I am feeling a cold coming on. Here are some links I found through the week that range from ridiculous to amusing to kind of not-so-amusing. I’ll let you be the judge of which is which.

Ted Cruz’ goal is to shake up Washington, but I guess the real question is what is his definition of shake-up. My favorite part is on Cruz’ thoughts on Kerry and sentence about Cruz’ military service (he has none).

My favorite author with my favorite quote from my favorite book at Incanto. Also, in case I haven’t said it before, but we got married on Bloomsday! But that was purely by accident.

You can see compassion on the MRI – amazing.

Brave New Drones! Brought to you by Paul Greenberg, Scott Menchin, and the New York Times. Fantastic.

We are so very very very small.

Everyone keeps mentioning this article to me about hipsters moving out of Brooklyn and into the suburbs – it’s created quite a splash and there’s a lot of backlash against it. I don’t know what to make of it because there are so many other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, but that’s beside the point. What do you all think of it?

I promise this blog isn’t turning into a shrine to Ottolenghi, but if you happen to read his fantastic weekly column for the Guardian, the latest recipe is inspired by a recently-acquired by me (gifted by a relative) book called Food Of Life: Ancient Persian And Modern Iranian Cooking And Ceremonies, by Najmieh Batmanglij. Suddenly, I am noticing this book mentioned everywhere, and personally, I’m a little obsessed with it.

A new colony of 9,000 penguins was found in Antarctica. How, you might wonder? Why, it’s the poop trail that gave them away.

And if you missed this absolutely searing piece from Grantland, you must, must read it. For so many reasons Andy Greenwald just nails it. And by it I mean the transformation of food television from Julia and Jacques (and Yan Can Cook [cue suppressed sob here]) to the current shows on the Food Network. And not that I’m on anyone’s radar to have a show of my own, but the only place where I think I, personally, would fit in, is PBS.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend ahead.

I don’t care what anyone says, but on my bookshelf, Jerusalem has found a permanent spot as a go-to book. With all due respect to Marco Canora, I think some of his criticism (while judging this year’s Piglet contest) of the book was a little, well, I’m not sure what to call it, but I was genuinely surprised by some of his criticism. But then again, some of the criticism of the books being judged struck me as odd. Adam Roberts makes a good point when he says, some people’s garbage is other people’s treasure. Also, I’m pretty sure you can get sumac at Kalustyan’s and it’s so worth having in your spice pantry.

I get it – some of the recipes, should be more specific, and in that, the critique holds valid. Yes, it’s better to say how much salt and pepper in the ingredients if you do give a measure for it later in instructions. I’m not going to challenge that. What I am going to challenge, perhaps, is that the food, in and of itself, is gorgeous, celebratory, lush, full of joy and love, and Canora makes no mention of it. And while the recipes might have used a slightly more thorough edit, the food, in and of itself, is what truly makes this book a treasure.

I approach writing about food on this blog simply: If I see a good recipe, whether it’s something I’ve tested on my own in the kitchen, or cooked from a book, I’m going to share it with you because I feel that the only recipes worth sharing and writing about are the ones you want to shout about from tops of mountains, or in the case of living in New York – buildings. And Roasted Chicken Thighs with Clementines is one such recipe.

Continue reading roasted chicken thighs with clementines.

See above? That was the state of my desk Wednesday morning. By Thursday morning, my attempts to declutter have been semi-effective. See the after picture. I hope that you all have had a good Valentine’s Day. I don’t put much emphasis on the holiday and neither does Andrew – this system works beautifully for the both of us. And we pretty much forgot what day it was yesterday (we were traveling) until, at lunch, we realized all the couples around us with flowers and chocolates, and burst out laughing because, for a few seconds, neither one of us had a clue. Anyway, I hope everyone’s day was filled with love: romantic, platonic, pet’s, self-indulgent – whatever the kind, I hope it made you happy!

Relax, you’ll be more productive!

Please stop pairing red wine with chocolate - finally, someone said something!

This week marks 50 years since Sylvia Plath’s death (the Bell Jar made an indelible impression on me as a teen), but when a writer went looking for her obituaries, there were none to be found. Here’s why. Sad and a reflection of that time.

The man who shot Bin Laden. Heartbreaking and disturbing on how the US cares for its vets.

Monsanto found guilty of chemical poisoning in France.

A (lazy) parent’s confession. I kind of just love it.

Last week, I spent one day trailing in the ABC Kitchen. I’ll speak more to that experience some other time (in short: it was awesome!). Here is some great advice from respected chefs on how to make it as a chef.

I heart Spencer Ackerman and Danger Room – this is his crowning achievement: Battle of Hoth!

Unpaid internships are not just a rich girl problem – they’re a problem, period. I’ve said this before and I’ve said it again, people really should be compensated for their work – no one, ever, should be expected to work for free.

I’ll be the first one to say it: when it’s time for pizza, I order a Diet Coke. It’s just that pizza tastes best to me with a cola. And it’s not that I’m so into counting calories, but more that I am very anti high-fructose corn syrup. However, I may have to give that habit up too. Diet drinks are associated with an increased risk of Type II diabetes – yikes!

Apparently, to those not with their head in the sand, NYC just had fashion week! Here are, Momofuku’s pastry chef, Christina Tosi, and model, Karlie Kloss (whose haircut has been apparently dubbed as the haircut of 2013!), work out (in style too, I might add!) and make cookies. The cutest thing I’ve seen all week!

Hope your week was wonderful, happy Friday, and a wonderful weekend!! xo

I sure talked a big talk when I claimed to be making Valentine’s Day dinner for Andrew and me. And I bet all of you fell for it hook, line, and sinker. But in reality this year, our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple carries a bit of irony with it. Instead of a quiet just-the-two-of-us-at-home meal, Andrew will be speaking at his alma mater in Boston. What could possibly be more romantic than climate geeks stealing flirty looks, gazing into each other’s eyes, or even possibly meeting their soul mate while listening to my one and only explain the patterns, the trends, the connections between extreme weather and climate change? Exactly – absolutely nothing.

My parents and Andrew’s parents are coming to the talk – they’re forbidden from asking questions. Also, they are to sit in the back, lest their parental instincts take over and they start mouthing “Enunciate! Straighten up!” to Andrew. We’ve got this under control.

Flowers? Who need’em! Just talk dirty-climate to me.

Continue reading hot chocolate and marshmallows.

See above there? Those are some delicious pear and cheddar scones. And what I’m about to talk to you about – has nothing to do with baking, scones, rushed breakfasts, or leisurely brunches. Nothing at all – except this is what has recently been plaguing my brain. So bear with me here…

What has been on my mind lately is how people living in small apartments work at home without having a designated space. There’s a blogger I follow who documents her life in a tiny apartment that she shares with her husband. The apartment, a studio in our neighborhood, is tiny, and she manages to make it look airy and large. Meanwhile, I trip over my own stuff, and our place is about three times the size, and to be perfectly honest here, it feels like a tight squeeze.

Continue reading pear and cheddar scones.

Happy Friday, folks. I hope you’ve had a good week – mine has been kind of frenetic, but not in a bad way. Today and tomorrow, I am spending at the Roger Smith Book Conference, and if any of you, reading this, are there – please say hello. My ticket was very generously provided by the wonderful Brian Samuels, who is one of the speakers. Were it not for him, I’d be at home. So thank you, Brian!

Why you should give yourself permission to screw up.

I am dying to watch am addicted to House of Cards, a new show by Netflix, and think you should, at least, check it out. The lead character is based on Richard III, one of my favorite plays, and Kevin Spacey just nails it. Robin Wright plays his wife, is nothing if not tremendous in this role, very Lady Macbeth-like. While this show might be a game-changer in terms of the future of television, I wonder about the economics. Anyone else?

And speaking of Richard III, a parking lot?? Really?!?

50 Life Hacks to Simplify Your World – some are AMAZING!

A new, strange beauty trend – I’m not sure I get it.

Walter Cronkite on kitchens of 2001. Gotta love it.

A hysterical Old Milwaukee beer ad, featuring the brilliant Will Ferrel, that played during the Super Bowl but only in 3 cities.

On a completely different note, Heidi Swanson talks popovers and technique, and I’m smitten.

And finally, this totally made my week: WTF Evolution. I haven’t laughed this hard in awhile. Scroll down to the seahorse video. Oh, and you’re welcome.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

This, above, might not look like much: bratwurst with cabbage looks humble enough, but let me tell you – it’s something, all right. On a cold February night accompanied by freezing rain, I can’t think of more satisfying dinner. Also, feel free to file this under “Crap, it’s [fill in the day of the week] night, the fridge is empty, and there’s no dinner plan” kind of a meal. Happens in this household more often than I like to admit. And also a random but important aside (and please tell me if I’m alone in this): on the worst kind of nights, the kind where there’s bitter winds and cold rain or sleet, I am loathe to call for take-out because (and follow me here a moment) I feel badly about sending the delivery guys out in this weather delivering my food. I worry that they might get sick and there’s no health insurance; I fret over the fact that people’s driving is more erratic when there is bad weather and the delivery guys might get into an accident. I know my logic is flawed (by not ordering I am costing them income), and when we do order in on such nights, we tip extra for the delivery guys’ effort, but still, the pang of guilt in making them go out into the elements – I feel it every time.

Bratwurst served with sauerkraut is, I’m told, a very common thing in Germany. It’s hearty, hardy fare, downright pedestrian if you think about it; honest cooking without much cooing or pretense. It’s meant to warm you right down to your bones and fill your belly, and goes down beautifully with a pint of beer. Right about now I might crave Florida sunshine, a pool, and an umbrella drink, but for this, friends, you need the all the misery of the Northeast February (or anywhere where it’s cold) with all its inglorious freeze to fully appreciate what visually doesn’t, in the least bit, look arresting.

Continue reading bratwurst, cabbage, and sauerkraut.