Food For Thought Book Club @ Garfield Book Company

A Life in Provence Demo Announcement

2012-01-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, I hope everyone made it through last week's storm alright. Thankfully it didn't interrupt this week's meeting. I personally loved A Year in Provence. It was funny, quirky, and despite the fact that Provence is notoriously expensive, Peter Mayle made me think that maybe, just maybe, someday I'll be able to live and eat decadently in the Provencial countryside. Of course, my

Bean Spreads from our 12/28/2011 meeting

2012-01-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I thought I'd post Doug's recipes from our last meeting for anyone who wasn't able to make it. This first recipe is one that Doug found on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, and can be found in its entirety at http://honest-food.net/veggie-recipes/unusual-garden-veggies/ancient-roman-fava-bean-dip/. We ate this with focaccia bread, but it would also be delicious with crackers, and

Tomorrow Night's Demo

2011-12-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, Doug will be making a fava bean spread (with foccaccia), as bean spreads are a staple food throughout Eastern Europe and the fertile crescent (covering Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.) I hope everyone will be able to make it tomorrow night at 6:30 to talk about An Edible History of Humanity. ~ Brianne

Books for December, January, and February

2011-12-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

December: An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage January: A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle February: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Mignonette

2011-12-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

Mignonette Shallot, minced 1 Tbsp Parsley, minced 1 tsp Green onion, minced 1 tsp Your favorite light vinegar ½ cup 1 Mix together all ingredients. 2 Use approx ½ tsp of mignonette per oyster.

2011-12-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

Icing Filled Chocolate Wafer Cookies For the Chocolate Wafers: 1 ¼ cups AP Flour ½ cup Cocoa powder 1 tsp Baking soda ¼ tsp Baking powder ¼ tsp Salt 1 cup Sugar 5 oz Butter, room temperature 1 ea Egg For the Filling: 2 oz Butter, room temperature ¼ cup Vegetable shortening 2 cups Powdered sugar 2 tsp. Vanilla extract 1- To make the wafers, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking

Hot Fudge Sauce

2011-12-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hot Fudge Sauce Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips ¾ cup ½ and ½ ½ cup and 2 Tbsp Unsalted butter 1 stick Sugar ½ cup Salt 1 pinch 1 Melt all ingredients together in a double boiler, stirring occasionally. 2 Serve immediately or refrigerate and gently reheat as needed.

Habanero Jelly

2011-12-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

Habanero Jelly Red Bell Peppers, stemmed, seeded, chopped 2ea. Orange Bell Peppers, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1ea. Habanero chili, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 ea. Sugar (divided) 3 ¼ cups White vinegar

Fried Polenta

2011-12-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

Fried Polenta Olive oil (Divided) 1Tbsp and 2 tsp Small yellow onion, small diced 1 ea. Garlic cloves, minced 3 ea. Vegetable broth (or water) 4 ½ cups Polenta 1 cup Parsley, chopped 2 Tbsp Butter (divided) 2 Tbsp 1 In a medium sized pot, heat 2 tsp of the olive oil. 2 Sautee the onions in the oil until translucent. 3 Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 2 more minutes. 4 Add the

Fried Cucumbers

2011-12-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Fried Cucumbers English cucumber 1 ea. Red bird chili 1 ea. Whole garlic clove 2 ea. Frying oil (vegetable, peanut, or lard) 2-3 oz Rice vinegar 2 Tbsp Soy sauce 2 ½ Tbsp Sesame

2011-12-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Focaccia (Note: this recipe was heavily influenced by Daniel T. DiMuzio’s focaccia recipe as seen in Bread Baking An Artisan’s Perspective) Biga: Bread Flour 10 oz Water (at room temp) 6 oz Instant Yeast ¼ tsp Dough: Bread Flour

Dongpo Pork

2011-12-13T16:55:00.000-08:00

Dongpo Pork Pork Belly (preferably with rind) 1 ½# Banana Leaves 1 ea. Frying Oil (peanut, lard, or vegetable) 2 Tbsp Salt as needed Whole cane sugar or rock sugar 2 Tbsp Star Anise 1 ea. Scallions, chopped 2 ea. Fresh ginger root, chopped 1 Tbsp Rice wine (shaoxing or michiu) 1/2 cup Soy sauce 1 cup Water 5 cups 1 Cut the pork belly into 2- 2 ½” dice. Blanch these pieces by submerging in

2011-12-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

Curried Apple Soup For the Curry Powder: ½ tsp hot paprika ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp coriander ½ tsp cumin ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp tumeric ½ tsp ancho-chili powder ½ tsp ground mustard ½ tsp ground ginger 1 tsp fenugreek 1) Combine all ingredients (should make more powder than needed). For the Soup: 2 Tbsp. Butter 1 ea. Yellow onion (sliced thin) 3 ea. Pink Lady or Granny Smith apples 1 tsp.

Doug's Cucumber Sandwiches

2011-12-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

Doug’s Cucumber Sandwiches White bread sliced length-wise 1 loaf Cream cheese 1# Lemon juice 1 ½ Tbsp Lemon zest 2 tsp. English cucumbers 2 ea. 1- Whip the cream cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Scrape sides of the bowl as needed. 2- Slice cucumbers into desired shape (I like to halve them, and then remove the seed

Crumpets

2011-12-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Crumpets (As modified from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible) AP flour 11 oz (or 2 cups and 3 Tbsp) Non-fat Powdered Milk 1.40 oz (or ¼ cup) Instant yeast 2 tsp Sugar 1 tsp Salt 1 tsp Water (at room temp.) 1 ½ cups Baking Soda ½ tsp Water (at room temp.) ¼ cup Clarified, unsalted butter 2 Tbsp 1) Mix the flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar, and salt together until thoroughly blended. 2) Add

Croutons

2011-12-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

Croutons Challah, diced 2 cups Olive Oil 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme ¼ tsp Dried Oregano ¼ tsp Dried Basil ¼ tsp Salt ½ tsp Black Pepper ¼ tsp 1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2- In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, and toss until evenly coated. 3- Put seasoned bread on a sheet pan, and bake for 10-14 minutes (stirring with a wooden spoon as needed) until crusty and well

Coq Au Vin

2011-12-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Coq Au Vin Bacon or salt pork, lardons 4 oz Mushroom caps 8 ea. AP flour divided 3Tbsp and 3 Tbsp Salt as needed Black pepper as needed Roasting hen or Capon, 8-cut 1 ea. Onion, sliced divided 1 ea and 3 ea. Celery, sliced 1 stalk Carrot, sliced 1 ea. Roma tomatoes, seeded, diced 2 ea. Garlic cloves, crushed 2 ea. Red wine 1 bottle (750ml) Roasted Chicken Stock 2 cups Thyme 1 sprig Bay leaf 1 ea

2011-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Taffy ¾ cup European Style or Dutch Process Cocoa 2 cups Sugar 2 Tbsp Corn starch 1 tsp. Salt 1 cup Corn syrup 2 tsp. Glycerin ¾ cup Water 2 Tbsp Butter 1- In a heavy bottom, 3-4 qt sauce pan, combine the cocoa, sugar, corn starch, and salt. 2- Add the corn syrup, glycerin, water, and butter, and stir until well combined over medium heat. 3- Cook at medium heat until mixture comes

2011-12-08T16:27:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Orange Sabayon Parfait For the Champagne Sabayon: 4 ea. Egg Yolks 2 oz Sugar Pinch Salt 4 oz Sparkling Wine 1- In a non-reactive bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar and salt, and whisk together. 2- Add the sparkling wine to the yolk mixture, and whisk to combine. 3- Place the bowl over a pot of simmer water to create a double boiler. 4- Whisk the mixture constantly as it cooks.

Chocolate Coated, Peanut Frosting Filled Wafer Treats

2011-12-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Coated, Peanut Frosting Filled Wafer Treats For the Wafers: 150 gram package Oblatne plain wafers 1# 2oz Creamy peanut butter 1 Tbsp Vegetable Shortening 1 ½ Tbsp Butter 1 cup Powdered Sugar 1 Tbsp Light corn syrup For the Chocolate Coating: 1 1/2# Semi-sweet chocolate 1 pint Heavy cream 1- To make the peanut butter frosting, put the peanut butter and shortening in the bowl of a

Challah Bread Pudding

2011-12-06T19:33:00.000-08:00

Challah Bread Pudding Black Tea 1 bag Water 2 cups Raisins and candied orange peels 1 cup Challah, diced 4 cups Whole Milk 3 cups Vanilla Bean, split 1 ea. Sugar 1 1/3 cups Cinnamon ¼ tsp Nutmeg ¼ tsp Eggs 2 ea. 1- Brew the black tea in the 2 cups of water, and then soak the raisins and candied peels in this for 4 hours or overnight. 2- Toast the diced challah in a 275 degree oven until very

Challah

2011-12-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

Challah Bread Flour 12-14 oz (plus more for kneading) Active Dry Yeast 0.25 oz Salt 0.30 oz Honey 3 fl oz Eggs, Large 2 ea. (plus one for egg wash) Water, room temperature

2011-12-05T19:30:00.000-08:00

CarbonnadeBacon, diced 5 oz Vegetable Oil as needed Chuck roast, diced 1 ½# Yellow onion, sliced 8 oz Garlic, sliced

2011-12-04T19:27:00.000-08:00

Candied Pecans 1 ea. Egg whites 2 tsp. Water ¾ cup Sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. nutmeg ½ tsp. ginger 1# halved pecans 1 Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 2 In a bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. 3 Add water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to whites and whisk until thick and opaque. 4 Add pecans to mixture and toss to coat. 5 Spread pecans on a sheet pan (treated with non-stick spray), and

2011-12-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Doug’s Bruschetta Foccacia 1 cookie sheet Garlic Cloves, whole 3 ea. Cherry Tomato Chutney 2 ¼ cups Crumbled blue or Gorgonzola Cheese 2/3 cup 1 Slice the foccacia in half as if to make a giant sandwich, and then cut into 3” x 3” squares. 2 Toast the cut side of the bread on a griddle, a grill, or a cast iron pan. 3 Cut the cloves of garlic in half and, while the bread is still warm, rub the

2011-12-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Memphis-Style BBQ Sauce(With heavy influence from the work of Bill and Cheryl Jamison) Smoked butter 2 Tbsp Yellow onion, minced 1/3 cup Garlic, minced 3 cloves Cider vinegar 1 cup Tomato sauce 1 cup Worcestershire sauce 3 Tbsp Dark brown sugar 1 Tbsp Smoked salt 1 ½ tsp Black pepper, ground ½ tsp Smoked paprika 1 tsp Chili Negro, dried, seeded, stemmed, finely ground ½ ea. Hot Sauce (I use Marie

Bacon

2011-12-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Bacon Kosher or Pickling Salt 4 oz Tinted Curing Mix** 0.5 oz White sugar 1.5 oz Molasses 0.5 oz Cracked peppercorns 2 tsp Fresh bay leaves (very thinly sliced) 2 ea. Pork belly 2 # 1 Place all ingredients

Tonight's Demo

2011-11-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I am sure you are all waiting in anticipation to hear what tonight's demo will be. So, without further ado, Doug will be making carbonnade, which is a hearty, Belgian stew. The exciting news (besides the fact that it's made out of the delicious combination of beef, bacon, and beer) is that it was what he made for his competition earlier this year in which he got 2nd place.

Doug's Thanksgiving Recipes

2011-11-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, Thanksgiving is this week! Can you believe how quickly November has passed? Anyway, I'm super swamped at work, so I'll make this quick. Doug passed along these recipes a while ago in case anyone needs some Thanksgiving inspiration. I am so sorry I'm just posting these. I hope anyone who wants to still has the time to prepare. --------------------------------------------------

2011-11-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

I'm splitting today's post into to entries, since it's so long. In the spirit of this cold November weekend, I'm going to share my mom's recipe for orange cranberry bread, or at least my adaptation of it since my mom refuses to use a recipe for anything. Mom's Orange-Cranberry Bread (I made muffins) - 4 cups all-purpose flour - 2 cup brown sugar - 3 teaspoons baking powder- 2 teaspoon

2011-11-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

I love the fall. The air gets crisp, the leaves explode with color, and as you all know, fall in the Northwest is pretty much our last opportunity to get a glimpse of the sun. However, I think what I love most is the food. Food in the fall is hearty; designed to warm from the inside out. There is something so homey about meals enriched with the deep, earthy flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and curry.

Oysters on the half shell

2011-10-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I hope you all have enjoyed October as much as I have. This month's demo requires an adventurous spirit (at least for the duration of Wednesday night), as we will be eating, wait for it..... raw oysters! Considering the topic of this month's read, I doubt anyone is surprised, but I hope it is exciting news nonetheless. Doug's demo will include a mignonette sauce, which is

The Art of Eating In

2011-09-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is in a little over a week from from now. As you all know, this month's book is The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove. I hope you all can make it! Look for another post later this week letting you know what this month's demo will be. Cathy Erway is a New Yorker with a passion for sustainability and thrifty-spending. The Art of Eating In is her

Kitchen Confidential

2011-08-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, Below is this month's demo to go with our reading of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. This is also a reminder that our meeting has been moved up a week (this coming Wednesday rather than August 31st). Let me just begin by saying how excited I am to take on some of the responsibility for running the club. I am extremely excited to work more closely with you all. As you

Summer in a Bowl

2011-07-25T23:45:00.001-07:00

Hello All,Food of Thought is in 2 days! I am sorry I am a little late in posting the demo. As most of you know Doug is getting married and will not be doing our demo. We were originally thinking another chef from PLU could step in as a substitute, but due to extenuating circumstance they are short staffed and don't have enough people to spare. Do not fear, even in his absence Doug has our

Puttin' Up

2011-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,After all the valuable and useful information you learned in Farm City, we though an equally thought provoking demonstration was necessary. The main theme of Farm City is using what you have in a sustainable way. This is why we thought a demo on canning would be perfect. Not only does canning give us thousands and thousands of ideas/recipes, it is also something you can easily do at

Farm City

2011-05-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everyone,It's hard to imagine gardening with such icky weather, but I came across some photos from the Farm City website. There is a link on the right hand side titled "Farm Photos" which will take you to her Flickr.I though they would be fun to share; help you visualize as you read. The pictures also convey how big her garden really is. She also has a lot of animals running around

Fresh Friday on Garfield Street

2011-05-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

Good Afternoon!Today is the grand opening of Garfield Street's Gardener's Exchange. The Gardeners Exchange is a neighborhood effort to provide fresh and seasonable produce to Tacoma area residents throughout the 2011 growing season. Fresh Friday's vision and mission include the desire to: -provide fresh and sustainable produce -encourage organic growing practices -increase awareness and education

Our First French Cooking Demo

2011-04-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon Everyone,Book club is in 2 days! I have been holding Doug's upcoming demo a secret until the last minute however, it is time to share! If you are like me, some of the recipes in Sharper Your Knife where a little intimidating and daunting, however we are all capable enthusiastic cooks! On page 165 there is a sweet little recipe for Coq au Vin. Coq au Vin is french cooking at its

Kathleen Flinn's Blog

2011-04-20T09:18:00.001-07:00

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I realized this morning I have not posted a link to Kathleen Flinn's blog. I always find it a fun to peruse an author's website or blog because it allows you to get to know the author a little more. Remember Kathleen will be here so please come with questions. It is a special treat for us to meet her and talk with her intimately so I cannot reiterate enough how important

Culinary Week at PLU

2011-04-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon,Next week is Culinary Week at Pacific Lutheran University. This year's theme is "A Tour of Asia." April 16-21st there will be several demos and conversations concerning all things Asian. Some discussions feature spice, dumplings, and Asian curries. Doug has a lot of involvement with the demos and presentations so it is definitely worth stopping by.The complete schedule can be found

July's Title

2011-04-12T09:21:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!I would like extend a thank you to everyone who cast a vote for our July title!It was a close tie between Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India and Sex, Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour, but Climbing the Mango Trees was the winner! However, I will keep Sex, Death, and Oysters on my list for titles in the future.I hope you are enjoying Sharper

Summaries of July Titles

2011-04-04T11:11:00.001-07:00