In the 19th Century Chef Antonin Careme took hundreds of sauces in the classical French culinary repertoire and grouped them into four families. Each family had a mother sauce: Bechamel, Veloute, Allemande, or Espagnole. Each mother sauce was made up of a thickening agent composed of equal parts fat and flour (by weight). This agent is commonly referred to as roux. So using my degree in genealogy that would mean that a roux is actually the grandmother of all French Sauces. To honor her I present..."Is it in roux?" Its a mix composed of equal parts fat and flour with one goal in mind, to thicken your stereo.
The biscuits (in the playlist picture) have been topped with a vegetarian gravy that was made with a roux (for those of you keeping track that would be an example of bechamel sauce). The recipe for the gravy can be found here.
J-Fur and I planned on going to Tampa's premiere of Food Inc. this past weekend but the uninsured motorist from Daytona Beach who thought he could run through us instead of going around us foiled that one. Thankfully, no one was in the backseat or things could've been much worse.
Back View:
Side View:
As it was, too sore to run, too car less to drive, I turned to music and food to relieve the stress. The results? The recipe of the week...a smashing success.
Smashed Potato Enchiladas (Printable Version) -2 10 oz cans of enchilada sauce -1/2 cup of salsa -2 cups of smashed potatoes -8 corn tortillas -3/4 cup of chopped green onions -3/4 cup of frozen corn kernels -1 can diced green chilies -1/2 cup of Monterrey Jack Cheese
1. Prepare the smashed potatoes. You may also use mashed potatoes or instant mashed potatoes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Spread 1 can of enchilada sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 13 rectangular pan.
4. Stir the salsa into the smashed potatoes. Mix well.
5. Spread a line of smashed potatoes down the center of each tortilla.
6. Sprinkle green onions, corn, and green chilies on the top of the smashed potatoes.
7. Roll the tortilla and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat until all ingredients are gone.
8. Pour the other can of enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the tinfoil and sprinkle Monterrey-Jack Cheese over the enchiladas. Bake an additional fifteen minutes (or until cheese is melted and starting to brown).
At this point it is time to eat away any neck, back, or mental pain.
At impact, the stereo in our car flew out of its cradle and ended up in our back seat. I'm still not sure how or why it happened considering we were hit from behind. The song playing? Shill's "Pick a Fight." I see a slight bit of irony here.
To express the conundrum I was feeling yesterday, happy to be alive, sore and a bit angry over what happened. I turned to Wussy's "Happiness Bleeds" which expresses the same type of paradox.
Just a reminder, August's playlist is coming this week!
Doug over at ...la cocina de dooglas... has masterminded the production of a homemade nut brown ale. With help from Fede, CC, SS, BTreotch, Karen, and HF, the month long process culminated last night with the unveiling. Dubbed Bust a Nut Brown Ale and decorated with pull away labels that may start appearing throughout the greater Tampa Area, the beer was met with pleasantries such as "I can't believe this is drinkable" all the way to "This is the best beer of the night." My quote went something like this "Beer is gross, it makes my stomach warm" but that's neither here nor there. The unveiling took place at Fede and Karen's place in Clearwater. To accompany it each of the guests brought a dish. HH created a wonderful looking salad topped with Feta and Rosemary Balsamic Vinaigrette, CC baked a fish pie, Doug grilled veggies basted in different sauces, Fede unboxed Dim Sum Dumplings, I slow cooked an Asparagus Risotto, and Karen produced a 16th century gingerbread. Along with ice cream, fresh fruit and veggies, hummus and pita, and tabouli these dishes served as excellent accompaniments to Doug's first batch of Brown Ale. My dish was concocted like this:
Asparagus Risotto Printable version -1 1/4 lb of Asparagus -4 tbsp butter -1 1/2 quarts Veggie stock -1 onion finely chopped -2 cups of Brown Rice -6 tbsp. dry white wine -4 tbsp Milk (or cream) -1/2 C Grated Parmesan Cheese -White pepper, to taste
1. Cut the tips of the Asparagus away from the stalks. Set the tips aside.
2. Coarsely chop the asparagus stalks. Saute in 2 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan for 2-3 minutes (low heat).
3. Pour in 1 cup of veggie stock and bring to a boil. Cook the asparagus for 10-15 minutes, until the asparagus is tender.
4. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
5. Using the remaining 2 tbsp of butter, saute the onion in a large saucepan, until softened.
6. Stir in the rice and cook for two minutes. Stir constantly.
7. Add the 6 tbsp of white wine. Continue to stir. When the wine has been absorbed begin adding stock to the rice 1/2 a cup at a time.
8. After 25 minutes add the asparagus puree and tips to the rice. Add more stock. Continue to cook until each addition of stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender. This will take somewhere around 45 minutes.
9. Add the milk, the Parmesan, and pepper.
Now eat.
A note: arborio or risotto rice cooks much faster, probably about half the time. I just prefer the taste of brown rice.
To accompany my long, repititous afternoon of dumping stock, stirring rice, and tasting for tenderness I listened to the sunny song, "Basket", from Seattle's The Blakes. Here they are performing it at Chicago's Ribfest.
I love the stair stepping guitar that makes its presence known sometime after the first minute. It is a little hard to hear on the live version so check out the recorded version on their MySpace page.
Something a little dancier is The Very Best featuring Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) and their single "Warm Heart of Africa." I tried hard not to like this song but it got stuck and wouldn't let go.
Thanks to Indie Soup Runner my rice got a little chewier to the sounds of "Svefnsykt" from Iceland's Mammut.
And as I grated the Parmesan and poured in the milk, Australia's The Temper Trap finished things with a "Fad(er)."
Normally when you give a new recipe creation to someone and their response is "Well...it looks good" I go back to the drawing board and start again. Not in this case. J-Fur wasn't very excited for my Avett Brothers Tart, named that because I made it right before their concert, but she doesn't do fruit desserts. If it doesn't have chocolate in it, there is a good chance she won't like it. The real tests came when I brought it to a faculty meeting and a pre-concert party. Unlike the tester in my own apartment, no one suggested that the only thing good about it was its visual appeal. They loved the taste. That was a great thing, otherwise I would've had a lot of tart to eat myself.
Avett Brothers Tart (adapted from Real Simple August 2009) Printable Version
-8 ounce sheet of Puff Pasty, thawed -1 Tbs. granulated sugar -1 Egg beaten -4 ounces of neufchatel cheese -1/4 cup of regular whipping cream -1/2 tsp. of lemon zest -2 1/2 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar -1 Pint of Blueberries
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the Puff Pasty on a lightly floured surface. Create a 10 x 12 rectangle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put the puff pastry on top.
2.Using the tip of a knife cut a 1 inch border around the pastry, do not cut the whole way through. Brush the border with the egg. Sprinkle the granulated sugar around the edges. Bake until the puff pastry is golden (about 20 minutes).
3. Remove the pastry from the oven and recut the border of the pastry, do not cut the whole way through. Flatten the center of the puff pastry by gently pressing down on it. Let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Using an electric mixer beat the neufchatel cheese until it is smooth. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. Spread the mixture evenly within the borders of the cooled puff pastry.
5. Arrange the blueberries in a single layer over the filling. Cover the blueberries with the remaining half tablespoon of confectioners' sugar.
Serve to any fruit dessert aficionados. Apologize to the chocolate eaters.
I loved the combination of Lemon and Blueberry in this desert. I came across a cake that uses the same recipe for success on A Whisk and a Spoon. Haven't tried this recipe yet, but I plan to.
Obviously, as I worked on this dessert, the Avett Brothers were playing. I wasn't a big fan but agreed to go to the show after BTreotch, HJF, J-Fur, and Broseph vouched for them. They played at the Cuban Club in Ybor and the show was wonderful because of the energy they packed into their set and the way they got the crowd moving. I wish I had video or pictures of the audience bouncing up and down and swinging their arms in various mechanical dances but I left my cameras at home. Oh well, we'll just have to enjoy stuff that other people have captured. My favorite song, the one that really got the place bouncing, was "Kick Drum Heart" off their forthcoming album (and major label debut) I and love and you. The album is due in stores on September 29.
And here is a video for the title track and first single "I and love and you" from their new album. Much slower than "Kick Drum Heart."
Fuzzy, Mello, and I had squeezed into Fuzzy's father's Cutlass Supreme to go egging, something we did a lot in those days. This time, however, we weren't using eggs but tomatoes. Seems Fuzzy's father had recently procured a large quantity of beefsteaks and hadn't thought of removing them before the three of us borrowed the car. For most of the night I sat in the back just enjoying the cool night air and the music playing on the radio. Seeing as the car had no windows in the back, I was left out of the tomato throwing experience. Eventually my role grew stale and I decided to try to toss some from the back seat. I was right behind Fuzzy, who was driving, and I told him to lean forward as I lined up a two story white ranch house in my sights. Fuzzy did just that but instead of my tomato going out the driver side window it hit him in the back of the head and exploded throughout the car. Mello wanted no part of the clean-up so we dropped him off and then by the light of the streetlights Fuzzy and I tried to remove all the tiny seeds from the car. I remember thinking as I cleaned those Cutlass Supreme seats that this would be the last time I misused tomatoes.
And it was.
This week's recipe of the week is unique to write.click.cook.listen for two reasons. First it contains one main ingredient, tomato. Second it can be eaten raw or cooked based on your tastes. I'm going to provide instructions for each:
-4 tomatoes (beefsteak, cherry, or heirloom) -1/4 cup of Olive Oil -1 Tbs. Agave nectar -1/2 cup fresh basil -2 cups of water -croutons (recipe here)
1. Blend tomatoes, oil, agave nectar, and water in blender until smooth.
2. If eating raw, pour soup into four bowls and top with basil. If cooking, pour the soup into a pot and heat over medium until warmed thoroughly. Top with croutons and basil.
Less than fifteen minutes and you're done!
Speaking of cars, two bands I've come across recently that have to do with those monstrosities of metal are TV OFF and Calling All Cars. TV OFF is an electo-pop band from Finland. Their song "Car is on Fire" was featured in June's MAP compilation.
Hailing from Melbourne Calling All Cars is a three piece that plays straight ahead, catchy, rock music. Their first single, "Not Like Anybody", is garnering airplay in Australia and preparing the world for their debut album that should be released later this year.
One of the literary heroes that I like to introduce my second graders to is a boy named Momotaro (the card to the right features a likeness of him and was designed by Kimiko Shiga). Momotaro is a Japanese hero whose name is usually translated to mean Peach Boy. He is called this because legend has it that he floated down from heaven in a peach. There is an older, sexier version of why he is referred to this way, but for obvious reasons I don't share that one with the kids.
Why do we talk about Momotaro? There are a couple reasons. First, it gives them a hero they can relate to, not a muscle bound, web flinging, flying one, but a kid just like them. Second, it gives me the opportunity to bring in peaches for everyone to enjoy. After all, they are such a wonderful fruit.
I enjoy peaches plain, fresh off the back of the farmer's truck. But occasionally I want something else from these Japanese symbols of fertility. In those instances I bake up a delectable peach crisp which is perfect for midsummer through early fall.
-4 peaches -2/3 cup brown sugar -1/2 cup all purpose flour -1/2 cup oats -1/2 cup walnuts -3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -3/4 teaspon ground nutmeg 1/3 cup of unsalted butter softened
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and slice the peaches. Arrange in greased square pan (8x8x2).
2. Mix the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the peaches.
3. Bake until the topping is golden and the peaches are tender. Serve warm. Top with ice cream, if you desire.
My advice is to try to make this crisp last more than one day. J-Fur and I are always unsuccessful.
Recently reunited noise rock band Polvo have leaked the first song off their new album, In Prism, which is due out in September. How appropriate, the song is titled Beggar's Bowl.
I know the video for her new single "Lose You" has been in the blogosphere for a little over a month, but is there a better artist to include with a peach cobbler than Peaches?
This is the second installment of A Baker's Dozen, a series on Write.Click.Cook.Listen, in which I interview a Write.Click.Cook.Listen certified artist asking them thirteen questions. Recently I interviewed (via email) a mother approved Norwegian band called Firetop Mountain. Their song How Can You Dance at a Time Like This began our Something Missing Mix.
TB: Who are the current members of Firetop Mountain?
FM: Michael Stensen Sollien, Kim Stensen Sollien, Anne Mette Hardnes, Olla Helland-Pedersen, and Nils Roland Lier.
TB: What events inspired you to write the song "How Can You Dance at a Time Like This?" FM:Michael: I think this was the autumn of 2006. I remember watching an interview with the Arctic Monkeys on TV where they admitted their lyrics were pure nonsense. At the same time North Korea was doing their first nuclear test. The contrast was too much for me. On one hand the world was threatened by everything from global warming to terrorists and dictatorships, and we're still dancing like it doesn't affect us. Seemed like a good time to write some kind of protest song. And, I'm a terrible dancer.
TB: Firetop Mountain recently released Indians Aren't Afraid of Heights. It was your first album. Describe the emotions that you were feeling leading up to its release.
FM: It took us one and a half years to release the SOB so relief would be the feeling that comes to mind. All the anxiety and insecurities we dealt with before and during recording. When we first held a copy of the CD in our hands we felt ecstatic joy.
TB: On May 9th you posted a blog on your MySpace page entitled we got distribution! What was it like trying to find someone to distribute your album?
FM: We thought that we could do without a distribution company until just a few weeks before we were to release the record. We finally came to our senses when we realized no record stores would sell the record if we didn't have a distribution deal. So we called Indie Distribution and luckily we got the deal right away. They've been very helpful.
FM: Being the music nerds that we are, we are influenced by so many bands, even bands that we don't want to mention 'cause that will make us look like dorks. Besides the bands you've already mentioned, I think Jimmy Eat World has influenced us a lot. So has a lot of early nineties power pop bands like The Posies, and Popsicle and Norwegian bands Beezewax and Motorpsycho.
TB: Where has Firetop Mountain performed? Do you have a favorite venue?
FM: We've never been outside of our own country but that's on top of our to-do list. Our favorite venue in Norway would be Palace Grill in Oslo. It encompasses everything about what a venue should be. Great sound, great atmosphere, and room enough for everyone to get their groove on.
TB: What is the Norwegian music scene like? Any up and coming bands we should know about?
FM: The Norwegian music scene has made a huge leap these last few years and there's a lot of interesting bands. The music scene is very small, everyone knows everyone, and especially the indie bands are very good at helping each other out. Our favorites are Sigh and Explode, Lukestar, Harrys Gym, Hiawata!, Little Hands of Asphalt, My Little Pony, and our producer: Ornulv Snortheim. A great blog to keep yourself updated on the Norwegian indie scene is NoMusic.
TB: What are Firetop Mountain's plans for the rest of the year?
FM: We want to play a lot of concerts, of course, and we've discussed that we might go record our second record sometime during 2009. We've got a lot of good vibes from people hearing our new songs and we miss hanging out with our producer in that sweaty basement.
TB: Tell me about Mother Likes it Records.
FM: It's our own label. When we first created our MySpace page we wrote "mother likes it" in the label field as a joke. The name stuck. And our mothers really like our music.
TB: You played your first live show in June 2007. Is that the most memorable one you've played to date? What is the oddest thing that has occurred at one of your live shows?
FM: Our first gig will always stick with us. Everything was just perfect that night so I guess you could say we had a good start. As for odd things happening at our concerts: Michael has a tendency to say very odd things between songs and Kim almost fell off stage once due to her too many beers.
TB: Does Firetop Mountain get a chance to do any cooking?
FM: Until recently Kim, Michael and Ola lived together in Oslo and naturally there was some cooking. We made one kick-ass Mexican Stew! Other than that; Mette is know to whip up some pretty amazing band dinners from time to time, and Ola has a secret chicken burger recipe that'll knock your socks off!
TB: Anything else you would like to say?
FM: Ketchup is not the answer to everything. Mustard is.
To further investigate Firetop Mountain visit their web page here. To purchase Indians Aren't Afraid of Heights go here. To see their mother approved music in action, check out these videos.
How Can You Dance at a Time Like This live in Oslo
Mette and Michael playing Suffocate.
And one more enjoyable song. This is the album version of First Date.
As a follow up to Michael Pollan'sIn Defense of Food, which strongly influenced my June playlist,I decided to take a step back and read his earlier work The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan wrote this book to shed some light on three different food chains (industrial, organic, foraged) that sustain the American population. During his examination of foraging, Pollan wrote in detail about mushroom hunting and the experience he had searching for hidden mycorrhizals.
My childhood experiences foraging for mushrooms were much easier than Pollan's. I didn't need to get up early in the morning, dig under leaves, or traipse through freshly burned forest. Pennsylvania has mushrooms everywhere. So much so that they have to ship an exorbitant amount out of the state (according to the American Mushroom Institute 61 percent of the United State's mushroom crop comes from PA). Granted most of these weren't of the hidden delicacy variety that Pollan sought out, they were just your normal run-of-the-mill white button 'shrooms. Unlike the mycophiles in The Omnivore's Dilemma, I didn't collect the wild mushrooms for cooking. I found it much more exciting to kick the caps and watch them explode. Imagine finding out later that you used to play soccer with 50 dollar a pound cash crops. That would've been tough to swallow.
Not so tough to swallow is this week's recipe of the week. Not sure when I eventually broke down, stopped destroying mushrooms that I found, and started enjoying them in my belly but I'm glad I did:
Portobello Sliders (adapted from Veg Times July/Aug. 2009) Printable Version
8 portobello mushrooms, stems removed 3 Tbs. Olive Oil 2 Tbs. BBQ rub 2 yellow or white onions thinly sliced 1 tsp. herbes de Provence (optional) 1/2 cup barbecue sauce 1/4 cup shredded smoked Gouda 8 rolls
A BBQ Rub Recipe: To make your own rub combine 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of paprika, 3 Tbs of black pepper, 3 Tbs of sea salt, 2 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp celery seed, and 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. Mix well. Store in the refrigerator.
1. Toss mushrooms in a bowl with 3 Tbs. of BBQ rub and 1 Tbs. of olive oil.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and herbes de Provence (if you are using). Cook for about 30 minutes stirring periodically, you want the onions to have a golden look. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat grill (I used an oven grill topper) over medium heat. Coat grill with vegetable oil. Place the mushrooms stem side down on the grill. Brush mushroom tops with BBQ sauce. Grill until 'shrooms are soft and the edges are slightly charred (4-5 minutes). Flip the mushrooms and grill three to four minutes longer. Divide the gouda amongst the mushrooms, place it in the center of each stem side. Grill until the cheese is melted.
4. Warm buns on the grill, spread remaining BBQ sauce on the bottom of the buns. Top each bun with one mushroom and sauteed onions and the remaining bun.
Put a cap on that one! Speaking of mycophiles, a new documentary, Know Your Mushrooms, is coming out this year. It follows two mushroom hunters as they search for wild mushrooms.
Since we've delved into all things rural let's pay a visit to Don't Haunt this Place by The Rural Alberta Advantage. I've had this song for about a month now, planned on putting it on July's playlist, but I had to cut it at the last minute in favor of Firetop Mountain. It all works out since The Rural Alberta Advantage's first album, Hometowns, was released Tuesday. Brackish album review here.
Another band that released their first album Tuesday was We Were Promised Jetpacks. I am placing the video for Quiet Little Voices on here even though, barring an absolutely amazing last three weeks of July, it will appear on August's playlist. I like it that much.
Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I make a list of things I want to accomplish that day. This helps me to focus on an arbitrary goal and complete tasks that I would otherwise avoid. My list for yesterday, the Fourth of July, was as follows:
Buy a grill top accessory for my stove
Get into a low speed chase with a stranger
Suffer from a migraine
Read a Jim Hightower article
Watch a baseball game
Finish J-Fur's scrumptious Blueberry-Raspberry Tart
In all honesty, when I woke up yesterday morning only one of these was on the list, the rest just sort of happened. Which made the Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute stationary? Why, finishing J-Fur's tart, of course. The process of making the tart actually began on the first Saturday in May when J-Fur and I collected five pounds of blueberries from Glover's U-Pick Blueberry Farm in Plant City. It continued with a recipe in the July/August edition of Vegetarian Times for a creamy berry tart. As I mentioned before, J-Fur doesn't do squishy and creamy custard falls under that category. Instead she took over the reigns (I was only allowed to buy the tart pan and raspberries). This is what she came up with:
1. To prepare the crust: Place flour, sugar, butter, salt and lemon zest in a food processor; process until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the egg yolk. Turn the machine back on and add the lemon juice and water through the feed tube. Do it slowly and add only enough for the dough to hold together. Form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Only a lightly floured surface roll the dough into a 14-inch circle. Line a 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom with the dough; crimp the edges. Freeze the pan for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Toprepare the filling: Toss blueberries, sugar, cinnamon, butter and lemon juice together. Put the filling into the tart shell making sure it is spread evenly over the crust.
5. Bake for 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350° F and bake about 10 minutes more (you want the berries to be soft). Cool completely.
6. Decorate the edge of the tart with a circle of raspberries. Cut into slices and serve. If desired top with whipped cream or ice cream.
Topping the dish with some sort of white cream (be it whipped or iced) makes the colors of this dessert red, white, and blue. Perfect for your Fourth of July party.
I passed on Lee Greenwood, Neil Diamond, and Ray Charles for my party soundtrack. Likewise to Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Aimee Mann, and Ani DiFranco. They have their time and place, just not there. My four for the fourth were:
In the 19th Century Chef Antonin Careme took hundreds of sauces in the classical French culinary repertoire and grouped them into four families. Each family had a mother sauce: Bechamel, Veloute, Allemande, or Espagnole. Each mother sauce was made up of a thickening agent composed of equal parts fat and flour (by weight). This agent is commonly referred to as roux. So using my degree in genealogy that would mean that a roux is actually the grandmother of all French Sauces. To honor her I present..."Is it in roux?" Its a mix composed of equal parts fat and flour with one goal in mind, to thicken your stereo. .jpg)
