Spice Dish

Bread of the Dead

I live in the Mission District, a neighborhood long associated with the Mexican community (Don't even get me started on which taqueria is best-- it's too personal and highly subjective). Now everyone who lives within a 5 city radius of San Francisco knows that we consider Halloween a national holiday (we-go-BIG), but not many people realize that there is also a sizable Dia des los Muertos celebration!

I love walking around my neighborhood and seeing all the marigolds, candles, paper streamers and alters. I also adore the sugar skulls that an old college roommate taught me how to make. 

I decided this year that I wanted to take part in the big celebration put on in my neighborhood. This is not related to Halloween, it is very much it's own thing: a celebration to honor the dead. Food, music, color, candy! The parade takes place on Nov. 2nd and at the end of it everyone brings flowers and candles to place at the big community alter. Another item that people put out is Pan de Muerto or Bread of the Dead. I decided I'd give this a shot. I found this recipe on Chow. It just didn't seem right though. Heat the oven then let the bread sit for an hour? Two packets of yeast? I decided in the end to go with this recipe:

       

Pan de Muerto (Bread of the Dead) 

Ingredients:

 

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (half a stick) margarine or butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup very warm water
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Instructions:

Bring milk to boil and remove from heat. Stir in margarine or butter,  1/4 cup sugar and salt.

In large bowl, mix yeast with warm water until dissolved and let stand 5 minutes. Add the milk mixture.

Separate the yolk and white of one egg. Add the yolk to the yeast mixture, but save the white for later. Now add flour to the yeast and egg. Blend well until dough ball is formed.

Flour a pastry board or work surface very well and place the dough in center. Knead until smooth. Return to large bowl and cover with dish towel. Let rise in warm place for 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Knead dough again on floured surface. Now divide the dough into fourths and set one fourth aside. Roll the remaining 3 pieces into "ropes."

On greased baking sheet, pinch 3 rope ends together and braid. Finish by pinching ends together on opposite side. Divide the remaining dough in half and form 2 "bones." Cross and lay them atop braided loaf.

(I just couldn't get these to look right so I made skeleton heads instead!)
                                  

Cover bread with dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix anise seed, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar together. In another bowl, beat egg white lightly.

When 30 minutes are up, brush top of bread with egg white and sprinkle with sugar mixture, except on cross bones. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

 

I also decided that mine needed a little oomph. I wanted mine to look a little more like the sugar skulls so I added frosting and decorations.

 

These came out sweet, yeasty and I have to
admit... heavy. I love the licorice flavor of the anise and the sweet crunch of the sugar crust, but I think these are best left as an offering. They are certainly sturdy enough to be able to stand up on the alter for a few days!!

I had a great time learning about the history of these little treats and I loved thinking about what they meant while baking them.

Enjoy!
Erin
 

Ahhhh Thursday!

Now I don't know if this is just an urban girl issue or what... but as I walked to the Crocker Galleria Farmers Market  (which makes me the happiest girl ever on a Thursday afternoon) my heel got caught in the grate on the sidewalk. I'm usually pretty diligent when walking around downtown with heels on but today the sidewalks were packed and I was herded onto a grate. I thought to myself ok, no problem walk on your toes. But no. I was jostled and as I braced myself so I wouldn't fall-- my heel promptly slipped into the grate and stuck. Stuck... but good. The woman who jostled me was kind enough to let me accost her (I grabbed her arm as a reaction- and she let me hang on while I freed myself).

Maybe it was the trials I had to overcome to get there... but the market was exceptionally pleasing today. Taking the time away from my job to go poke around the fresh Asian veggies and the amazing fruits always makes me happy, but today I felt like skipping. It's grape harvest time around here and those are amazing. Also, all the fall veggies are coming in which make me giddy.

The Crocker Galleria Farmers Market takes place every Thursday, smack dab in the middle of the bustling Financial District. My first stop this lovely Thursday? Swank Farms of Hollister for some amazing heirloom tomatoes! I love these boxes of joy packed full with little flavor bombs! At 3$ a box-- a real bargain. As soon as I got home I tossed these with some chopped shallot and a basic vinaigrette.... yummm.

I made my way around the market nibbling away at the samples. Most of the farmers here are super flirty. They love to tempt and tease with their treats.

I couldn't help but stop by the Rainbow Orchards of Apple Hill stand. These girls work their booties off slicing up samples and hawking apples. Granted-- these apples don't need too much schilling as they are pure, crisp, un-waxed deliciousness. Trust me when I tell you the mealy, wax balls labeled "Red Delicious" at your local mega mart... are not. Nope. These on the other hand.... pure joy! I nabbed a few Red Delicious (which really are!) and chatted with the girls who were kind enough to let me snag a picture.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the fact that I have the opportunity to escape my corporate grind on Thursday afternoons and mill about with the farmers and the old ladies picking through the long beans and eggplants. Pure bliss if there ever was such a thing.

If you live in San Francisco and you haven't discovered this gem of a market I say give it a shot! It's small but perfect. You want some eggplant and a challah shaped like a mouse? Check! Smoked salmon and freshly made naan? Double check! Knowledgeable farmers and a spectacular break in your day? Check!

By the way.... anyone know what I can do with India Bitter Melon?

The Spice Cook Book

 
The Spice Cook Book by Avanelle Day & Lillie Stuckey, Illustrated by Jo Spier.
This fabulous book from 1964 was a find at my local used book store Dog Eared Books . This book opens with a John Ruskin quote and continues with a forward by Helen Judy Bond, Professor Emeritus Columbia University. Ms. Bond claims that The Spice Cook Book  in "not just another cook book" but that it is, in fact, "a significant contribution to the important literature on the art of cooking." Lofty goal for a book with pictures of a Dachshund with a fez on! Check it out! Dog--fez, fez--dog. And apparently shorts must be worn with turbans at all times.

This is partly why I love this book so much. It wavers between dead seriousness and true 1960's kitsch!

There is much, much more than just recipes in this book. There are chapters devoted to spices. Chapters such as "Anise: Favorite of the Ancient Romans" in which the reader learns that in anise is 'a useful antidote for scorpion bite'! Who knew?

My favorite chapter might just be "Cinnamon: The Fabulous Spice" for the simple fact that for some completely unknown reason it is illustrated with dinosaurs!

There are some yummy sounding recipes too! Tipsy Caramel Pudding and Lyonnaise Carrots. Roast Goose with Potato Stuffing and Pepperpot Chicken. The bulk of them come with nursery style pictures like this recipe for: Lazy Daisy Chocolate Cake. This chick has clearly had tired herself out cleaning up from the previous night's rager! And nothing is more pick-me-up/hangover worthy like chocolate cake!

There is a Spice Chart that that tells you how to use each spice in each field of food, maps of Spices of the World and Glossaries. All very helpful indeed!! I haven't made any dishes out of this book yet and truthfully most of the recipes seems um... a tad outdated... "Oriental-Style Hamburgers" anyone? I still love this book because it tries so hard to be serious and just comes across as plain ol' whimsical. 

Some day I'll work my way through the "Teen Age Buffet" menu on pg 593 and let you know how it goes!

Erin

Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte with Ginger Crust

I got this recipe from the Sunset Recipe Annual 2002 Edition. I happened to acquire this book when I went on a job interview at Sunset Magazine when I lived in New York. I didn't get the job... but I did get a lovely parting gift.

 

This recipe by Linda Lau Anusasananan can be found on
pg 228.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Torte with Ginger Crust

8 oz crisp gingersnaps
2 tbs sugar
3 tbs butter, melted
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1^1/4 cups caramel ice cream topping
1 qt. vanilla ice cream, softened
1 cup hot fudge sauce
Candied walnuts

No problem! I hit up Trader Joe's for some Double Rainbow French Vanilla, a can of organic pumpkin and a bag of gluten free ginger snaps!

Got home ready to throw this together and guess what?

Things I thought I had had in my pantry:
1) Candied walnuts… nope. A sneaky snacker hit those up!
2) Caramel Sauce… again no…. when did we eat that?
3)  Fudge Sauce…yup…no…. late night chocolate crisis?

Crap.

Things I actually had in my pantry:
1) A jar of Nutella mmm hmm
2) ½ (very small jar) of Butterscotch Sauce… why? I have no idea.
3) Caramels. Always.

Ok… I can work with this.

For the crust:

** I suggest you preheat the oven here, to 325*. Also- while the recipe doesn't suggest it, I highly recommend that you wrap the bottom of the pan in foil to avoid drips.

Put cookies in a Ziploc bag, seal bag, and roll with a rolling pin until finely crushed; pour into a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable rim. Add sugar and butter and mix. Press cookie mixture over bottom and about 1 inch up sides of pan.

Bake the crust in a 325* oven until lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes, then chill or freeze until cold. 5 to 10 minutes.

For the filling:

In a chilled bowl, mix pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and ¼ cup of the caramel topping until smooth. (This is where I used the butterscotch and where I thought it would be a good idea to melt the caramels and swirl them in… um well. Yes and no. The second the caramel hit the pumpkin it solidified making for caramel pieces more than a swirl). Add ice cream and mix until blended.

Working quickly, spoon about a third of the ice cream into the cold crust. Drizzle with 2 tbs caramel sauce and 2 tbs fudge sauce; sprinkle half the candied walnuts on top. (Ok. So I didn’t have the walnuts or fudge. I did have Nutella which is nothing more than a mix of the two right? So I nuked the Nutella and ‘drizzled’ that on top. But my ice cream wasn’t so easily broken up into thirds. It basically PLOPPED into the pan in one fell swoop.)

If this doesn’t happen to you:

Repeat with two more layers, omitting nuts on the top layer. Freeze until solid, about 5 hours, then cover and freeze up to 1 week.

About 15 minutes before serving, remove sides from pan, set torte on a serving plate, and let stand in fridge to soften slightly. Cut into wedges. Serve with additional caramel topping and fudge sauce to taste. (Since I didn’t have caramel sauce I dug the Midnight Moo Syrup out of the back of the fridge and used that. I also had a chunk of dark Ghirardelli chocolate the size of Montana so I shaved that on top.

I wasn't sure if this would be great. Last year I tried the Super Simple Pumpkin Tiramisu from Bon Appetit, which I didn't love, and this seemed really similar. But this came out really surprisingly sweet, spicy and yummy. I was told "Hey, I'd pay more than 10$ for this in a restaurant!" Which is great because we'll be working on this for the next 2 weeks. This makes A LOT. 12 servings at least! But you know... I don't think I'll really have a problem with having to end my days with this lovely treat!   

Enjoy!
Erin

Sephardic Goodness:

It may have been recipes like this one  or this OR it could have been the utter BOUNTY of eggplants at the Crocker Galleria Farmers Market (more on this next week) but I managed to steer the Joyce Goldstein recipe selection to the eggplant variety.

During my lunch hour I popped over to the Thursday afternoon Farmers Market in the middle of the Financial District and scored some fantastic long eggplants and a few, true to the name, purple and white ones that look like well…. eggs. I also managed to nab some of the sweetest, seedless Princess grapes on the planet, a handful of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes and a monster zucchini!

 

 

While I waited for the non-veg items to make it home from the market I got right to work on this:

Yaprakes de Berenjena (Eggplant Rolls with Tomato Sauce)
Pg. 62 from Joyce Golstein’s Sephardic Flavors

Now, I’m one of those cooks that rarely sticks to the recipe on the page. I am all about substitutions. I think this was born out of being a poverty-stricken grad student for so many years. One just can’t always afford all of the required ingredients or the time to get them, now can one? So I will give you the recipe as written – with my changes noted. Sound good? Ok.

For the eggplant:

2 Longish globe eggplants
Olive oil for frying
2 Eggs
Salt

Peel the eggplants vertically in a striped pattern. Cut in half lengthwise and then cut each half crosswise into slices about 1/3 inch thick.

Pour olive oil to a depth of ½ inch into 1 or 2 large sauté pans and heat over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a small bowl until blended. In batches, slip them into the hot oil. Fry, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes, adding more oil to the pan as needed. Using tongs or a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle lightly with salt and let cool.

(Right here I’d love to show you a photo of my mile high stack of golden-fried eggplants, but alas, my camera’s battery died right after I shot the veggies! I put it on the charger and got just enough juice to shoot the results)

For the tomato sauce:

8 Ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (here I used one large can of San Marzano tomatoes- the ones from the market were mealy)

2 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
Pinch of cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice- because I love nutmeg too)

1 Ripe tomato, sliced

Combine the tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce, about 15 minutes. Stir in the olive oil and cinnamon. You will want 2 ½ to 3 cups of tomato sauce.

While the sauce boils away and the eggplant is cooling, make the meatballs.

For the meatballs:

½ pound ground beef, not too lean
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs (I used about 1/8 cup Matzo meal crumbs – we had it, I’m not gonna waste it)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 small onion

Combine the meat, bread crumbs, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix well and form into walnut-sized balls, making them slightly oval.

 To form the rolls:

Take 1 meatball at the bottom of each slice of eggplant and roll up. Place the eggplant rolls, seam side down, in a wide sauté pan. Cover with the tomato sauce and then with the tomato slices. Place over very low heat, cover and simmer until the filling is cooked, 20-30 minutes.

Here is my steaming sauté pan of Sephardic goodness!

 

Top with 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts and serve hot.

TA DAH! Nice huh?

This was declared to be a, and I quote “BIG HIT” from the resident Jew… although she claimed that it needed cheese (umm so not Kosher). The “serve hot” bit of the recipe… I say hold off for a few minutes actually.  I burnt the living daylights out of my mouth! There is no skin left on the roof of my mouth ……yummy. While I am skinless, it was very much worth it! This dish was surprisingly easy, and so so tasty. I think this might just be that new 'company’s coming let me ‘whip something up’ dish' in my arsenal. I highly recommend the pumpkin pie spice—it is just fan-tab-ulous.

Enjoy!

Joyce Goldstein's Sephardic Flavors

Back to the Bookshelf:

This "cookbook" is more than just a collection of Jewish recipes. It begins with an amazing introduction that explores the history of the Jewish Diaspora and it’s movement into Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

San Francisco chef Joyce Goldstein writes about the recipes born out of this movement with love and affection. The names of the recipes fluctuate from the Spanish, Sopa de Albondigas (meatball soup) to Greek, Skaltsounia (fried turnovers), to Turkish Turlu (a ratatouille) and beyond.

The spices Goldstein uses in these recipes are amazing…. HECK! just the pictures of spices in this tome get me going.

Now, I’m not a Jew… but I’m married to one-- so Jewish food is eggshell territory around here. We’ve established that I will never be able to make kugel like grandma could and if I bring up beets I’m in trouble. However, I am allowed to experiment in the Sephardic realm all I want.

I’m very excited about digging into this book.  While I’m not quite geared up to prepare an on of the amazing Sabbath menus offered in the book I will let the authority in the house pick a recipe and I’ll do my best!! I’ll keep you posted on its outcome.

Erin

 

The Lasagne Gods

    This may be cheating. I didn’t make this last night, I didn’t even make this last week. I actually made this several weeks ago but a) I am so proud of it still and b) both readers of this blog actually shared in the experience!

It was a Sunday, several weeks ago when I got a pretty wild hair you know where. I decided that, even though I had never made my own pasta, didn’t own a pasta maker or have any experience with delicate Italian dishes… I would attempt to make this:

Mmm hmmm. The cover recipe from the April, 2006 issue of Gourmet. Easy Peasy.  I figured, that since I didn’t own the aforementioned pasta maker or know how to make pasta, I would make the ragu myself and buy the noodles. Good compromise I thought. Start with the ragu… make the noodles from scratch on a second attempt another day far, far down the road. Well, after two different markets failed to offer up ANY lasagne noodles of any kind and I found myself next-door to a large chain home goods store and a gift certificate for said store in my wallet…. I threw up my hands and acknowledged the lasagne gods. They had decided that I was to make my own noodles. I toddled on into the store and picked up the only non-plastic, somewhat sturdy-looking pasta maker that my gift certificate would cover. This is what I came out of the store with:                                        

It was perfect. It’s a hand crank-jobby imported from  Italy. 

After returning home, I dug out the magazine. Yup that one up there. On pgs 138-139 is the cover recipe: Lasagne Bolognese, Adapted from Enoteca La Capannina and Mario Batali (Serves 8). 

According to the magazine editors this dish is:

“Refined and gorgeous, this elegant lasagne is simply the best we’ve ever had. The pasta is whisper-thin and flecked with spinach; the ragu is rich and understated; and a silky layer of besciamella (Italian for ‘white sauce’) melds the two for an ethereal eating experience.”

C'mon! How could you not wanna make this?? I looked over the recipe. Let out a deep breath and got to it (I won’t type out the whole recipe here because it really is two full pages!), but lets just say… after an entire afternoon spent wheeling dough through the crank, simmering a truly savory meat sauce and making my very first, true béchamel sauce ever… this is what was produced:

(Mine looks a bit green because I used more spinach than the original recipe calls for. I had it, and I wasn’t about to waste it so… green lasagne.)

I really am proud of how well it turned out. Both of my, very lucky, but by the time I was finally finished absolutely starving dining companions, were very impressed. They really, really enjoyed it (unless they are amazing actors… are you??). 

I have to say. I really loved the flavor. It was light, delicate, sweet and savory at the same time. It was so unlike American lasagna in every way. Warning here though… it is a lot of work. I look at cooking as a Zen activity. I love getting lost in the moment of it, but for some people this could seem anti-climactic. The taste was amazing, the texture…. brilliant, but it is a process.

I was so proud of myself for making this and I’m so glad I did. I have to admit I haven’t used the pasta maker since but it sits there, on top of the cabinet, as a wonderful ‘trophy’ presented by the lasagne gods.

ALL HAIL THE LASAGNE GODS!

Enjoy!
Erin

Welcome to My Bookshelf

                              

So I feel like I need to start off by declaring I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL. I am not a professional cook (by any means), I am not a professional photographer (as I’m sure you can tell). I’m not an official anything. I don’t even really have a professional career. This all probably explains why I don’t live in the biggest apartment or in the nicest neighborhood. But I make the most of what I’ve got and I have a great time. That said…. please excuse the bad photos and enjoy the random recipes and tips! That’s what this is all about. This also grew out of the fact that I collect cookbooks. I like new ones that actually teach me how to cook delicious foods but the truth is my favorites are the weird little ones I find. I love flea market book stalls, online book sellers and I’m lucky enough to live in a city with an amazing selection of used book stores. Since those totally quirky, ultimately lovable books prompted me to start this—I thought I’d share them with you. I’ll try and list all the books I have, but today I really wanted to offer one up as a "featured book". A nice jumping off point if you will.

 

This is such a great little book. I picked it up at my neighborhood used bookstore because I could not resist the illustrations. A World of Parties: The Busy Gourmet’s guide to Exciting Entertaining by Phyllis Jervey with illustrations by Hide Doki is a classic American, mid-century, suburban manual for the backyard theme party (Charles E. Tuttle Co: Rutland, VT 1964) . It’s got menus for “exotic” fare like the “Polynesian Poo Poo Platter” and “Chinese Coolie Chow” (no really… it does) and of course there’s the “Fiesta” chapter. This book is clearly un-PC and potentially border-line racist by our standards today but it captures that early-60’s, California-by-the-pool vibe so perfectly.                        

 

I haven't made anything out of this yet. Maybe I'm waiting for the perfect summer moment to take advantage of it's full kitsch factor. As soon as I do, I'm sure it will involve deviled eggs and some sort of flaming... something. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Erin

Here We Go!

Ok folks here we go.

 

I live, work and cook in San Francisco. I love my city, I love food and I love sharing my adventures in cookery! My 'thing' right now is collecting old cookbooks. I'm a vintage cookbook whore... I'll admit it. I started this blog to share my collection, to share my culinary experiments and to share the (dorky) thrill I get from all things food! Welcome to my life, my kitchen and my brain!

This is the deal. I cook. A lot. I do it because I really love food. My friends tease that I need my own t.v. show as an outlet. Since I don't have my own show-- my outlet is the parties I throw. I basically invite everyone over and feed them... until their eyes are rolling back in their heads. I always make too much food and I always go kitsch. Themes, color coordination, favors... whatever it takes to make things fun. I love gorgeous food but I don't believe that food needs to win a beauty contest to be good.

Why "Spice Dish"? Well... I love spices. My spice rack is like a kids box of Crayolas. I love heat, I love sweet, I love savory and I love tangy. I'll also be dishing on my faves, my finds and food! So Spice+Dish= Spice Dish.

Spice Dish will be a compilation of all of these things: Recipes I have created and loved, Recipes I dig out of one of my many cookbooks (I can't resist a flea market find), Foods I find in my fair city of San Francisco, Restaurants I dig, Cocktails that get me grinning, Parties and Pretty much anything else I come across as an urban cook.

Thanks for Stopping By! Enjoy!!!

Erin