kthread » cooks

skippin’ jenny risotto and a resolution

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:10:29 +0000

Eating Hoppin’ John the day after brings even more luck, and the dish becomes Skippin’ Jenny—so, I borrowed my fabulous friend Liza‘s idea and made a risotto to stir the peas, collards, and bacon into last night,

and then sliced the rest of the poached pear over a bowl of oats this morning, thinking about all that has happened in the past month.

This afternoon, as big snowflakes fell, I made one of my comfort foods—a portobello mushroom roasted with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, on top of spinach and latkes with goat cheese. The latkes I made with purple potatoes (I have a weakness for purple foods), and their crispiness offsets the silky mushroom that emerges from the oven in a pool of crackling, popping butter.

I have resolved that in 2010 kthread cooks, my online cooking video series, will return. Here’s how to make this portobello dish that I call “mushaboom” in one of the earliest episodes from February 2008 (see all 28 episodes):

Thoughts on what I might cook for the next episode?

kthread cooks: eggs for Julia

Kristen Taylor — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:18:49 +0000

In honor of Julia, and for the PBS Tell Us Your Julia Story event (you can add your Julia story here) we are making eggs with cream. And I am happy to introduce you to my Brooklyn kitchen, the setting for future kthread cooks episodes. Though I cannot warble, these eggs sing the praises of a woman who labored over recipes to let everyone experience her joie de vivre.

You can skip my Julia monologuing, and begin by making mayonnaise by processing one egg for ten seconds, then slowly drizzling in 1 cup of vegetable oil while the machine is running. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice and season to taste; it will keep for a week chilled. Then, dice mushrooms (I use black trumpet here) and cook with 1 teaspoon of oil on med-high heat until they release their juices—about 5 minutes. Remove from pan, turn heat to medium and add two eggs, whisked (reserve one eggshell), and a tablespoon of heavy cream; gently fold eggs until softly scrambled—2-3 minutes. Spoon eggs back into eggshell and then around it on the plate; serve with mayonnaise and with potatoes, if you like (I sautéed baby potatoes and amaranth leaves with garlic).

Bon appétit!

reading recommendation: My Life in France, Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme

listening recommendation: the snappy “French Chef” opening theme

dance recommendation: waltz for Julia and Paul

eggs for Julia wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: beer, your choice

salt recommendation: Fleur de sel, of course (kosher in a pinch)

Your Julia memories?

More kthread cooks episodes on this page and on the Vimeo channel.

from the kthread cooks archive: fried doughnuts

Kristen Taylor — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:35:22 +0000

Happy National Doughnut Day 2009! Last April I fried doughnuts in my mother’s kitchen because Krispy Kreme original glazed become even more beautiful then.

I’ll stand by what I wrote when I originally posted this (great comments on that post), explaining the recipe:

Why fry a doughnut that has already been fried? A turn in a hot pan caramelizes the outside of the doughnut to a crispy shell and returns the inside to a pillowy, soft state.

I hope you celebrate in style and to make these with all of you in all of your kitchens by next year this time (I’ll bring the lard)—

grilled cheese appreciation week: fol epi wednesday

Kristen Taylor — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:33:52 +0000

The ideal food for a rainy afternoon, grilled cheese appreciation week continues with fol epi—a slightly sweeter cheese with a toasted wheat rind played up with a whole wheat pain au levain and crunchy fennel on the side.

I’d pair this with a Sazerac on a Wednesday—

kthread cooks: granola

Kristen Taylor — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:35:57 +0000

With April’s holidays and summits, including last weekend’s America Day III and this week’s G5 Summit with my friends, the serious podcasters David, Alex, and Revaz in Mexico City, we need to keep our strength up for proceedings.

And so this week, kthread cooks granola. Five ingredients: oats, fruit, nuts, honey, salt. Unite, kthread Kitchen Network. Let’s do this.

Recipe: Heat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit (325 if you like your granola crunchier). Stir 2 cups rolled oats with 1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries, etc.) and 1/2 cup nuts/seeds (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, pepitas, etc.). Add 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar), mix thoroughly, spread in even layer on baking sheet. Bake, removing to stir every 5 to 7 minutes, for a total of 20 minutes or until your personal crunch index is achieved. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Clump if you must. Cool. Gift.

reading recommendation: Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon, especially the Seder scene

listening recommendation: “Electric Feel” MGMT per Alex’s inspired playlist (on last.fm; I also like the Justice remix)

dance recommendation: Kass, I am coming to Pittsburgh to snap the Fosse version of “Crunchy Granola Suite” with you and Ahmad

granola wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: kefir

salt recommendation: kosher + Hawaiian red (depends on your fruit and nut choices)

What’s your ideal granola—what sort of granola would you line up “all along the Western front and Eastern shore to receive”? Ratios, ingredients, crunchiness level?

kthread cooks: chess pie

Kristen Taylor — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:01:31 +0000

On Wednesday, I was in New York for about seven hours (it’s a nice day trip from Miami), warming my hands with cider from the Union Square Market and later, sipping hot chocolate with my friend Adnaan (pictures and video of both below). Adnaan and I talked about cities and travel, prompting me to pull Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities off the bookshelf later that night. In the book, Marco Polo and Kublai Khan stretch the fabric of the cities in Khan’s empire and play chess.

Still thinking about chess on Friday, National Pie Day (I’ve extended this to International Pie Weekend), chess pie seems most appropriate this year. Thank you Aaron, Laura, Amanda, Lauren, Mica, John, Jessica, Elia, Nina, Ben, Brian, and Lisa for all the thoughtful pie suggestions as I wondered what kind to make—promise that we’ll make them all here on kthread in time.

For now, allow me to share my secret Chess Pie recipe with a filling that crackles with mystery in whatever city and season it is baked:

Recipe: Make pie crust (RLB’s perfect cream cheese crust recipe below), line pie dish. Crimp edges, prick with fork. Bake the empty crust for 10 minutes if desired. Then, whisk three eggs + one yolk in bowl. Add 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cornmeal, 1/2 cup white sugar (or appropriate substitute), 1/2 cup light brown sugar (or appropriate substitute), 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1-2 tablespoons citrus zest (of your choice). Whisk. Add 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup melted and cooled unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of citrus juice. Whisk. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, then 20ish minutes (start checking at 20) at 300 degrees. Take out to cool when the center is just set. Pie will firm as it sets. Garnish with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

for the crust: Rose Levy Berenbaum’s perfect cream cheese pie crust (pdf)

strong reading recommendation: Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

listening recommendation: Time (The Revelator), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

chess pie wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: buttermilk straight, if you can handle it

salt recommendation: (kosher within the recipe)

And this is the citrus stand at the Coral Gables Farmers’ Market where I bought the excellent honeybells:

I’ll try to take video next week of the lovely woman who told me that her father only brings citrus from his grove to this market and has been doing so for the past eighteen years. I also really like the vendors who had swiss chard so small it can be eaten raw, like rainbow lettuce:

Apples were the spectrum of color at the Union Square market on Wednesday,

and there were as many types of cider (apple, pear, with cloves, without),

but this Adnaan clip is unique and makes me laugh (he knows better than to give me video I can use). The Takeaway is quite lucky to have him as their Web Editor:

No matter where and how I travel, I am grateful for friends that help me navigate the paths in, around, and through cityscapes—until I return to the Magic Cottage, where if you look quickly, you just may catch a leaf dancing behind you…

kthread cooks: the color of collards

Kristen Taylor — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:02:19 +0000

In the American South, a bowl of collards = money in the new year. Here’s to a prosperous 2009:

Recipe: (for a houseful of people) Add four tablespoons olive oil or 2 pieces of bacon, diced to a large pot over medium. Heat 3 minutes. Add 1/2 small onion, diced, cook 3 min; add 5 cloves garlic, minced–cook 1 min. Add 6 to 8 cups of water (depending on how many in your house), bring to boil. Chop one bunch collards and one bunch kale into 1/2in pieces, add to water. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. (Throw in diced red pepper if you like.) Season and serve with cornbread. Update: And add a little splash of vinegar (I like apple cider) at the end, if you like. (Thanks for reminding me, Phil!)

Cornbread recipe recommendation: Mark Bittman, New York Times, September 26, 2008 Recipe of the Day
use: whole milk, substitute: 1/4 c light brown sugar, add: 3 chopped scallions to batter

reading recommendation: Why I Live at the P.O., Eudora Welty

listening recommendation: Lost Coastlines, Okkervil River

collards wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: whiskey and rye

salt recommendation: table

Resolutions? New Year’s Day traditions? What do you think should accompany cornbread?

kthread cooks: latkes

Kristen Taylor — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:59:50 +0000

I make latkes the wrong way, as you’ll see, but latkes always feel right as people crowd into the kitchen and surreptitiously select one from the growing pile, volunteering to grate potatoes for the next batch. This is an excellent reason to keep potatoes on hand and just the thing for happy hours in lazy late winter afternoons with visiting friends.

Recipe: (for 2 as a side, multiply as necessary) Peel one large russet potato, grate with microplane into bowl. Pour off juice. Finely dice 1/2 small onion, add to bowl. Stir in one tablespoon of flour, one egg. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering in pan over med-high heat. Add batter and spread thinly; brown each side (~3 min/side). Rest very briefly on paper towels, then plate, sprinkle with salt, top with sour cream or applesauce. These are best made in batches for friends that have become family in a boisterous kitchen.

reading recommendation: Organic Furniture Cellar, Jessica Smith

listening recommendation: “The Chanukah Song” series, Adam Sandler

latke wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: raw mlik or a plummy red wine

salt recommendation: Hawaiian red

Latkes? Raggmunk? How do you like your potato pancakes?

kthread cooks: umami miami

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:51:50 +0000

Rather than the ubiquitous sweets surrounding this season, I’m craving umami, the indulgent fifth taste that I close my eyes to savor.

This is a stack of recipes that I combine into hors d’oeuvres, but anchovy aioli and chicken liver pâté are always nice to have on hand—whether or not you assemble them on toasted bread with slices of hard-cooked eggs between. Be sure to tuck some away for impromptu sandwiches in the reveling that continues into early hours…

Recipe: For pâté: roughly chop 1 onion, cook over med-high until translucent. Put in food processor. Add 1 lb. chicken livers to pan, cook 3-4 minutes each side, add to processor. Process both until smooth, season. For aioli: drop 2 cloves garlic into whirring food processor; add one egg, process 10 seconds. Pour in ~1 cup of canola or vegetable oil, continue to process until thick (about 45 seconds); I add 1 tsp anchovy paste and season. For hard-cooked eggs: put eggs in pot, cover with cold water, bring to simmer for 7-8 min, drain, shake in pot to crack shells, cover in cool water for 3 min, remove, unpeel. Slice. To prepare: toast slices of baguette or brioche, spread with pâté, add egg slice, dollop small amount of aioli, top with sprouts or watercress.

listening recommendation: The Postmarks

reading recommendation: one of Donald Finkel’s collections

umami miami wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: something fizzy

salt recommendation: Hawaiian red

I brought these to a party on Hibiscus Island yesterday—see where these take you–

p.s. Your favorite holiday hors d’oeuvre? What foods are you craving right now?

kthread cooks: aligot

Kristen Taylor — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:42:10 +0000

The ultimate comfort food? Aligot. Traditionally almost equal parts potato puree and Tomme cheese (joined in elasticity), I like to take mashed potatoes in this direction, adding garlic and Tomme/Raclette to Yukon Golds, stirring with figure eight motions.

This Thanksgiving side deserves a place in your dinner rotation all year. I’ll be making this for the family in Atlanta in a few weeks—want to swing by and help me stir? (And, if in the U.S., try to find Thomasville Tomme from Sweet Grass Dairy in Thomasville, Georgia.)

Recipe: [for two, or one with leftovers] Quarter four medium potatoes and cover with water in pot. Bring water to boil; cook for 20 min. Drain in colander. Add potatoes back to warm pot, stir in .75lb of diced cheese (Tomme or Tomme + Raclette) and one large diced garlic clove. Add 1/4c raw milk, whole milk, or cream. Stir, making figure eights, adding dairy until desired consistency. Sprinkle with salt; serve.

listening recommendation: the Aligot Saucisse song

reading recommendation: perhaps Peter Graham, Mourjou: The Life and Food of an Auvergne Village

aligot wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: an earthy red (Merlot or Pinot Noir)

salt recommendation: Sel Gris

Your mashed potato preferences?

kthread cooks: whatever provençal

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:10:20 +0000

This recipe is largely in service of my favorite new technique for peeling tomatoes: with a blowtorch.

The tip comes from a book I bought at Maker Faire called Chef’s Secrets, and Chef J. Bryce Whittlesey (who once worked at Keswick Hall near Charlottesville) instructs the reader that the blowtorch option prevents the tomato from becoming waterlogged by boiling the skin off. And presents an opportunity to play with fire.

The great joy of this dish (which can be made with whatever protein you like) is the way the simmering sauce fills the house with the fragrance of tomatoes, olives, and sunshine; afterwards, consider pouring another glass of wine and opening Julia Child’s marvelous My Life in France.

Recipe: [for one] Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, season the protein and flour it (knocking off excess), place in pan, cook 3-4 minutes over med-high, turn and cook 3-4 minutes more. Remove, set aside on plate. Pour 1/2 cup of dry white wine into pan, stirring to loosen browned bits, 2-3 min. Add a chopped garlic clove, bit of anchovy paste (if no fish allergies/concerns). Add 2 medium skinned tomatoes, chopped and 1/4 cup of chopped black olives (I like Niçoise); simmer 8-10 min. Season, add 1 tbsp butter, stir. Plate protein and pour sauce on top. Garnish with basil if possible.

listening recommendation: troubadour folk with tambourines

reading recommendation: My Life in France, Julia Child

whatever provençal wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: a dry white (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc from the Cassis AOC)

salt recommendation: Sel Gris

How do you peel tomatoes?

kthread cooks: ricotta

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:26:46 +0000

I’ve always been fascinated by the Italian whey cheese ricotta and its ability to go from sweet to savory to salty (ricotta salata). Turns out ricotta is easy to make (with cow milk substituting for sheep).

While it traditionally provides creamy inner layers for lasagna, fresh ricotta is even lovelier on top of pasta and crostini–for pasta, I like smaller shapes, with some pork (pancetta works) and a green vegetable (pea sprouts with new peas on the ends are my current favorite) and for crostini, the ricotta with a mostarda or balsamic vinegar (I used fig syrup my friend Jessica brought me from Israel).

Made well, this amalgam of milk protein curds tops a dish rather than slipping shyly into a sauce or tarted up in a cannoli–as a purist, I like to see the one-time cheese by-product step up as the ingredient of note. (Watch this in HD here.)

Recipe: It’s 1:4 parts buttermilk (or clabbered milk) to whole milk; heat until steaming in a pan, stirring. Then, let it boil for five to seven minutes (I went longer and overcooked mine, wanting more curds) and ladle the curds into a colander lined with six layers of cheesecloth. Let it drain for fifteen minutes in the refrigerator. Use immediately or keep chilled in an airtight container (a small plastic tub is perfect) and use within the week.

listening recommendation: “Cheese and Curds and Whey,” The Singing Milkmaids

reading recommendation: Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot series (and the game)

ricotta wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: Pinot Grigio

salt recommendation: Hawaiian red or the very crunchy flat sea salt flakes

What do you put ricotta on/in?

kthread cooks: pancakes

Kristen Taylor — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:09:37 +0000

The wild winds of Tropical Storm Fay are whipping around the magic cottage today.

So we’re making my favorite breakfast food, pancakes, with crispy edges:

Recipe: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Stir. Crack one egg in middle, add 1 cup buttermilk. Stir. Drop 1/8th cup circles in pan with 1/2 in vegetable oil over med-high. Cook until bubbles begin to pop; flip. Cook 45 seconds more. Take out of pan; repeat. Serve with (a dash of truth and) honey/syrup + butter or crème fraîche + salmon eggs. Or eat straight out of the pan.

reading recommendation: A Wind in the Door, Madeleine L’Engle

listening recommendation: “Pancake”, Tori Amos

pancake wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: mimosas, darlings

salt recommendation: peruvian rose

What do you put on your pancakes? (At breakfast, lunch, or dinner…)

kthread cooks: conch fritters

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:32:56 +0000

Should you ever find yourself in possession of a decent amount of fresh conch, you might fritter away an afternoon and the edible mollusks…

(Watch this episode in Vimeo HD here.)

Recipe: Make a batter of 1 cup all-purpose flour, add 1 cup of a golden beer, dice and add 1/4 to 1/3 lb. conch meat (tenderized twice with a mallet), mince and add 1 clove garlic. Heat oil in a pot at least 1 inch up the sides to medium-high (360 degrees) for 5 minutes. Stir together the batter, drop spoonfuls in the oil, turn after one minute, cook another minute. Remove from oil, drain on towels, salt, squeeze lime wedge over. Serve with aioli, ketchup, chutney, or dipping sauce of your choice.

reading recommendation: Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh

listening recommendation: pink noise

conch fritter wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: local beer

salt recommendation: fine pink salt sprinkled immediately after frying

Did you hear the ocean in a conch shell when you were younger too?

kthread cooks: scampering shrimp

Kristen Taylor — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:41:56 +0000

A few weeks ago I moved to Miami for a fabulous new job; to quell bouts of Charlottesville homesickness, I’ve turned to my favorite comfort food: shrimp scampi.

Using a pound of local bay shrimp from Casablanca Seafood Market, I add 1/8c of diced bacon, two cloves of chopped garlic, and the peeled shrimp to a hot pan while the linguine boils. Off the heat, a tablespoon of butter, chopped scallion, snipped chives, and some grated Parmigiano finish the dish.

With a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a bowl of scampi, I swirl my fork and raise my glass to my new adopted city, and think that, perhaps, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

watch this episode in HD on Vimeo

shrimp scampi wallpaper on Flickr

drink pairing: grassy Sauvignon Blanc

salt recommendation: Peruvian pink, fine