Book Review: Notes on Cooking

I read Notes on Cooking from start to finish while sitting in a bookstore. Then, of course, I bought it. Later, I bought another copy as a gift for my Dad. That’s how great it is.

This clear, little book explains everything from understanding a recipe to straining stock to presenting your dish. The authors’ approach makes it seem possible to cook almost anything and enjoy it while you do. Here’s a great example from the chapter on temperature:

86. Never jump food more than one temperature state at a time.

There are four functional temperature states: 1) frozen, 2) cold, 3) room temperature, 4)warm or hot.

When you move food from one state to another (in either direction), don’t skip over a temperature state by, for instance, taking a roast directly from the refrigerator to the oven, or from the oven to the refrigerator. Only one state can change at a time.

Perfectly reasonable, understandable and helpful, right? The entire book is like that. I learned so much reading it.

When I teach writing, I remind the students how important it is to read. Read widely and read regularly. When you read something that you know in your heart you wish you wrote, you’ve come upon something great that you can learn from. I wish I knew enough to sit down and write Notes on Cooking. Luckily, Lauren Braun Costello and Russell Reich did. And you can read it, too. 

For more, see the Notes on Cooking website. 

YouTube Cooking

As an online writing teacher, I am tech-savvy. As a chef, however, I’m pretty low-tech: I adore printed cookbooks and print out the occasional online recipe. I scroll through the Epicurious and AllRecipes IPhone apps for ideas, but return to my cookbooks for specifics.

Of course, there is so much more available to home chefs. I’ve started exploring the possibilities with My Life Scoop’s article 10 Tasty YouTube Channels for Cooks. Click through for some great ideas.

Here’s how it starts:

After a long day at the office, you may think the last thing you want to do is chop, steam, and stir, when that microwave dinner is two minutes in the making. But cooking can be therapeutic. And whether you're a certified foodie or a comfort food connoisseur, the web is a bountiful resource of recipes and cooking how-tos.


One spot that shouldn't be overlooked in this department is YouTube. Printed recipes are fine, but there's just something about watching food being prepared that can be uniquely instructional and inspiring. You don't need a four-man camera crew and a dream kitchen to host a cooking show on YouTube. The network has been built by real people making real food, and many have garnered a large online following. We've highlighted some of the best below.

Thanks to reader Amy for sharing this link. Other great links to recommend? Email me: ChloeMiller(at)gmail(dot)com.

Marie Huntington Cooks Dinner (or: My First Parsnip)

When I grow up, I’d like to be retired chef Marie Huntington and cook regularly in her kitchen. Or stop by for dinner and eat. And eat.

I ate my first parsnip at her home. I’ve been eyeing the parsnips in the supermarket and even added one to a recent stock, but I’d never eaten the actual root before. It was delicious, but perhaps it was the simple preparation with salt, pepper and olive oil. (What doesn’t taste good with olive oil? Ok, maybe most fruit. And ice creams, unless it is a good olive oil gelato. I digress.)

I wanted to play it cool and pretend I’d eaten parsnips before, but I blurted the truth out. No one at the table blinked an eye. Marie kindly shared the recipe, which you can find below. I look forward to making it.

I was invited to Marie’s house while I visited my friend Shasta Grant Huntington of The Lovely Nest, and her family in Indiana. I’ve been hearing stories about Marie’s cooking from Shasta, her daughter-in-law, for years.

Marie prepared an amazing dinner of Braised Lamb Shanks with Orange Gremolata; Herbed Spaetzle; Green Beans; Roasted Parsnips, Carrots and Fennel followed by Chocolate Cookies, Shortbread Cookies and Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Frosting. No dish came out of a box and almost nothing was left on our plates.

Marie, a surprisingly calm chef before dinner, and her husband shared stories about traveling around the world to meet chefs and taste the cuisine. We sipped wine and it sounded so lovely that I silently wondered if I should work in a restaurant after we move this summer. When we walked into the kitchen and dinner was laid out buffet style and hot, I wanted to ask if Marie had assistants hiding in a backroom.

Marie is a former caterer, restaurant owner, food columnist and cookbook author. You can find copies of her cookbook, Cooks and Company Collection of Recipes: A Collection of Recipes from Main Street, Indiana, on Amazon.


Roasted Parsnips, Carrots and Fennel

2 lbs parsnips, peeled, and trimmed

1 lb carrots, unpeeled, scrubbed and trimmed

1 fennel bulb, rinsed

4 Tb olive oil

1 Tb kosher salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 Tb minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 425. If the parsnips and carrots are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Slice each one diagonally in 1" thick slices. Remove fronds from fennel, remove core, and slice in half and then again into thirds. The vegetables shrink while cooking so don't make the pieces too small. Place the cut vegetables on a sheet pan. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss well. Roast for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables, tossing occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot. Serves 4.

Paella

Paella, a dish I’ve always ordered out, is now a dish I know anyone can make at home.

My mom and I prepared it together for her birthday. We followed the recipe in the Spanish cookbook 1080 Recipes, which you can find in my Amazon store. You can also find the amazing Le Creuset, which I relied on for this dish and use regularly.

Paella isn’t the easiest recipe to make because of the numerous steps. While I don’t mind cooking alone, this is at least a two-person job. A worrier, I was convinced that we were going to overcook something, from the squid to the chicken to the sausage. Nothing like that happened.

While we followed the recipe, we altered it a little for everyone’s dietary preferences and what was available: no shrimp, no monkfish, no peppers and chicken stock instead of fish stock. Phew!

It is possible to “own” any recipe and mold it to fit your tastes. I encourage you to read different versions of the same dish and notice what is always included and what changes before making your final decision. This cookbook has a number of types of paella, from fresh fish to chicken (which includes fish) to sausage to even canned fish.

Happy birthday, Mom! Cent’anni!

Sushi @ Home and in Ann Arbor, MI

Now that we’ve prepared sushi at home, I think we’ll mostly be eating it out. It was not our easiest cooking adventure, although we did enjoy the results with a glass of chilled Saki.

If you decide to try it at home, I recommend watching these helpful Youtube videos:
Video on how to make sushi
Video on how to make handroll sushi
In the Ann Arbor area, you can buy almost everything you need at reasonable prices at the Hua Xing Asia Market.

The rice requires a bit more attention than other rice, as it needs to be properly cooled and mixed with rice vinegar. Carefully follow the instructions on your sushi rice package.

On recommendations from friends, we tried and fell in love with these two restaurants in the Ann Arbor area: Yotsuba and Godaiko. Both are outside of the downtown area and worth the short drive. Godaiko, next to an enormous Asian food market, has a Tatami room where you can sit on the floor with friends while you feast. Yotsuba is a bit further out and seems more popular; I’d recommend reservations. We were taken by the fresh ingredients, kind service to those of us who had questions about the menu and inventive sushi rolls.

Crispy Waffles with Salted Caramel Coulis

Homemade caramel has always evaded me (think hardened sugar on the bottom of what was once a perfectly fine pot.) This recipe for a salted caramel coulis from Bon Appétit was surprisingly easy. With the addition of heavy whipping cream and butter, the caramel didn’t harden the way other recipes have.

The salt taste wasn’t very prominent. I might add more the next time to help add to the contrasting flavors.

Greek Cooking: Vefa's Kitchen

In preparation for our honeymoon to Greece next summer, I’ve been trying out Greek recipes. Vefa’s Kitchen, published by Phaidon who also publishes the Italian Silver Spoon Cookbook, has an amazing collection of recipes.

For a romantic dinner one night, I tried the Pot Roast Lamb with Lemon. I bought the lamb at Knight’s Market in Ann Arbor and cooked it in my Dutch oven. It was tender and flavorful, but I do think that the flavors could have been stronger. Lemon juice and oregano were the main additions to the dish.

I love a challenge to prepare a new dish, but the risk is that it doesn’t always work out perfectly. The Christmas Honey-Dipped Cookies were delicious (and clearly lasted forever since I made enough for our apartment complex), although the dough didn’t work out for me. The recipe called for rolling it out and stamping out the cookies. My dough wouldn’t roll and simply broke apart. I formed little balls with my hands and baked them that way. With the baklava-like-honey syrup poured on top, they were delicious, although I’m guessing not very authentic.

If you have suggestions for Greek recipes to try or what went wrong with my Christmas Honey Dipped Cookies, I'm all ears!

Francesca Calloni’s Sausage Pasta Sauce

Thank you to Francesca Calloni for this wonderful pasta sauce recipe from Emilia Romagna. Her mother learned to prepare it while she was living there as a young woman. According to Francesca, it is a part of the Italian “poor man’s cooking” that has become quite fashionable. It is filling and delicious, but not necessarily fancy. You’ll see how easy it is to cook! Francesca adds, “it's usually a winter meal or a summer meal with siesta included ;)”

Sausage Pasta Sauce

1 small onion

2 crushed, dried chili peppers (Francesca’s addition; not a part of the original recipe)

Extra virgin olive oil or good quality olive oil

500 grams of fresh Italian sausage (Francesca includes this link to show what the pork sausage should look like.)

1 can (4 oz or 425 ml) of crushed tomato (Francesca usually puts it in a blender first, but you can put it also just as it is)

pinch of salt

1/2 glass of white wine



To prepare the sausage, remove the casing and chop the meat.

Finely chop a small onion and sauté it in extra virgin olive oil (4-5 teaspoons should be enough). It should become quite golden. Be careful not to burn it.

Add the sausage and stir constantly. When it's almost cooked, add the wine and let the alcohol steam off.

Add the crushed tomato and 1/2 cup of water. Francesca usually rinses the tomato can with a bit more water and adds that to the pot. Let everything cook on a light heat for at least an hour. Don’t let the sauce boil.

It should be ready when you start to see the oil and grease separate from the tomato. At this point, the sauce should be fairly reduced. Francesca recommends to loosely cover the saucepan with a lid or your stove will quickly became a CSI scene because the tomato sauce will splatter. Be sure to allow some of the steam out or it will never properly reduce.

Optional: Add some heavy cream to the sauce at the end.

Serve with tagliatelle cooked al dente (egg pasta) with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Thanks again, Francesca!

Corn Syrup

Corn syrup is not my friend. I have been allergic to it since I was about 12, long before it became cool to hate it. This inexpensive sweetener is in almost everything commercially produced, from the obvious sodas, candies, and donuts to the less obvious breads crumbs, salad dressings and tomato sauces.

It is a simple sugar (unlike the more complex maple, honey or other sweeteners) that is often blamed for our country’s obesity problem. Corn syrup is inexpensive to produce and plentiful in this country. As it has been in the news more and more, companies are finding alternatives and more obviously labeling products that do not contain corn syrup.

Every year, it gets easier and easier to buy products without corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like sorbitol or saccharine. For example, Trader Joe’s has a wide selection of sandwich breads, at least two ketchups and shelves of sauces (meat marinades, sundae toppings and more) without corn syrup. These were the kinds of items I’d either have to make myself or forgo.

I learned how to cook out of an effort to recreate the corn syrupy dishes that other people were eating and I couldn’t. Almost any dessert made at home can be made without corn syrup. For example, a pecan pie can be made with rice syrup instead of corn syrup. I haven’t mastered candy making (caramels or caramel sauce elude me and ruin my pots), but I’ve made many successful cakes, brownies and cookies. Most Kosher for Passover products do not contain corn syrup (marshmallows, jelly cookies, etc.)

How do you avoid corn syrup?

Culinary Institute of America Cooking Demonstration

The Culinary Institute of America offers cooking demonstrations and tastings. A few years ago, my husband and I attended one at Greystone, their California branch. We loved the professional setting and clear explanations. Many food demonstrations skim over the details and are more of an afternoon out than a class. Not so at the CIA.

While I only really remember the white gazpacho soup, I still look at the book On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee which was recommended during the demonstration. This book offers clear explanations of food science and relates it to food and cooking techniques. While that might sound dry, chefs, poets and scientists are quoted throughout. Accessible and fascinating, I highly recommend it. Recently, I’ve been reading about heat and fish texture. Cooking fish well is no easy task and this section helps to explain why.

If you are lucky enough to be close to one of the CIA campuses, I recommend stopping by for a demonstration, taking a full class or just tasting their creations at their restaurants.

Carving a Roasted Chicken

A former vegetarian, I remain squeamish about raw meat or meat on the bone that resembles where it came from. That said, I do love eating meat. This presents quite a conundrum.

I was determined to not only roast a chicken, but properly carve it. My father has given me countless lessons on where to place the knife, but without practice, it is impossible to remember.

I used this helpful, instructional video from the Culinary Institute in New York. The best part of the video is that the chef is carving a small chicken and you see how he moves it around on the cutting board. A larger bird, like a Thanksgiving turkey, is easier to carve.

To prepare roast the chicken, I followed the recipe in the New York Times cookbook. I brushed olive oil and spices on the bird.

Food Gifts

If you love to cook, why not make edible gifts for friends?

This holiday season (which happily lasted deep into January!), my husband and I made limoncello, salarom and chocolates for our friends. With some labels from Staples, we were able to dress them up a little, too. In an effort to be green, we used recycled bottles that we collected the last few months.

Limoncello is an Italian lemon-flavored vodka. We actually made two batches. The first one, with a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis, had entirely too much water and tasted terrible. I salvaged it by boiling it down and making a lemon syrup for cakes, teas, etc. The second batch called for less water and less sugar. Limoncello should be served cold and after dinner.

When you make limoncello, you inevitably have batches of lemon left since the recipe only calls for the rinds (sans pith.) I squeezed the lemons and saved the lemon juice. I froze some in small batches and made lemon pasta and lemon muffins with the rest.

Bolognese salarom is an Italian salt mixed with dried rosemary and garlic. I didn’t follow a particular recipe, but instead looked at the jar I had and mixed the ingredients until it looked right. This salt is great for an olive oil dipping plate, meats or really anywhere else you use salt.

To make the chocolates, I crushed candy canes and flavored the lollypops. The ducks were decorated with yellow colored sugar. It was very easy to melt and mold the chocolates. Wilton has an easy guide on their website. I purchased the lollypop sticks, plastic covers and decorating tools at Michael’s.

Private Italian Cooking and Language Class

Saturday night, I led a private Italian Cooking & Language Class for six adults. We met at one student’s home and cooked a four course meal while learning the words for the objects we were using and food we were cooking. There were lots of laughs, eating and new phrases being spoken.

Here’s the menu we followed:

Antipasto: Frittata con le zucchine


Primo piatto: Spaghetti dell’ubriacone


Secondo piatto: Saltimbocca alla romana con spinaci


Dolce: Cannoli

The recipes came from a variety of sources. The Frittata and the Saltimbocca came from the Silver Spoon cookbook. The antipasto (appetizer) was a sliced zucchini omelet and the second piatto (meat dish) was a veal dish. Saltimbocca is veal rolled with fresh sage and prosciutto cooked in a white wine sauce. The name of the meat dish relates to its tastiness - “saltare” means “to jump” and “bocca” means “mouth.” Therefore, the dish is tasty enough to jump directly into your mouth!

The primo piatto (pasta dish) is based on a dish served at Osteria dei Benci in Florence, Italy. To prepare it, a bottle of inexpensive wine is reduced and then garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil are added. The cooked spaghetti is mixed into the sauce, which it absorbs, and is then garnished with grated cheese, red pepper flakes and olive oil.

The student who invited her friends for the lesson is moving to Italy next month. (I’m jealous!) This lesson allowed her to get more comfortable with the language and help her friends to learn a bit before their visits.

The best part of a private Italian Cooking and Language Class is that it helps to make a possibly daunting task – learning a new language – fun and community based. Together, everyone works on the language, cooks and eats. What’s better than that?

If you are interested in arranging a private Italian Cooking and Language Class, please contact me directly at chloemiller(at)gmail(dot)com. We will develop the menu together and I will create a language lesson appropriate for your needs, interests and level. Usually, the classes are held in your home and last three hours. I will provide the recipes and handouts.

Buon Appetito!

France in Atlanta: Maison Robert

The chocolate and pastry shop Maison Robert is a little bit of France right in Atlanta, Georgia.

The chocolate aroma broke through the surprisingly cold, southern air, and warmed us before we started drinking an authentic hot chocolate.

My friend Alethea kindly bought me a mixed box of chocolates. I’m a hoarder, so I’ve been trying to limit myself to one a day. So far, my favorites are the dark chocolate ones with flavors like cognac truffle and mocha truffle.

Katia, working above, joined her parents' business. She is now the fourth generation in the family of pâtissiers-confiseurs. In response to my corn syrup allergy, she carefully marked which chocolates I could eat in the mixed box. I decided the few that had corn syrup in the decorations or the marzipan were reserved for my husband. Otherwise, well, you get the picture.

If you are in the area, I hope you’ll check out this lovely little store. Living far up north, I think I'll be ordering online.

Eating & Buying Fish

My husband and I recently visited the Georgia Aquarium and were reminded (perhaps ironically!) about the importance of eating fish.

They had pamphlets put out by the Monterey Bay Aquarium about how good fish is for your body. We are reminded that “it's often rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help boost immunity and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and other ailments. Omega-3s are especially important for pregnant and nursing women, and young children. Unfortunately, some fish carry toxins that can become harmful when eaten frequently.”

Here are the fish from their Best of the Best list:


*The Best of the Best: October 2009

• Albacore Tuna (troll- or pole-caught, from the U.S. or British Columbia)


• Mussels (farmed)


• Oysters (farmed)


• Pacific Sardines (wild-caught)


• Pink Shrimp (wild-caught, from Oregon)


• Rainbow Trout (farmed)


• Salmon (wild-caught, from Alaska)


• Spot Prawns (wild-caught, from British Columbia)

You can also print out their Seafood Watch list. This list doesn’t only consider what is good for you and your body, but also the fish and our oceans.

Happy eating and shopping!

Silver Spoon Cookbook X2

The Silver Spoon Cookbook advertises itself as the “Bible of Authentic Italian Cooking.” While that’s a lofty goal, I don’t think anyone could complain with the outcome.

My husband gave me the English version as a gift a few years ago and I received the Italian version as a wedding present. I love having both copies depending on my mood, company and measurement tools.

The Italian one comes in a great orange plastic case. Both copies are heavy and carrying it around could be a substitute for going to the gym. They are worth it – for good cooking and keeping your Italian skills up to par.

You can browse some of the recipes online. I’ve enjoyed looking up an item – like pork chops – and discovering a new way to make them. From the cookbook, I made a perfect Pappa Al Pomodoro (Tuscan Bread Soup with Tomato) and a few calazoni with ricotta, mozzarella and ham.

Why have cookbooks if you can look things up online? As a writer, I love the feel of the paper. As a chef, I like sitting with a cup of coffee and browsing through the book for inspiration as I make my grocery list for the week.

I’ve mulled over the idea of slowly making everything in the cookbook like Julie did in Julie & Julia, but I’m pretty sure I’ll never be cooking “Pig’s Liver in a Net” or a few other “exotic” sounding dishes, so I think I’ll still to what interests me.

What’s your favorite cookbook?

Chocolate Truffle Makine Class at Sweet Gems

I love to plan menus. The next one on the horizon is Valentine’s Day. I prefer to eat a luxurious meal at home instead of going out and facing the crowds.

As I start to ponder what to make next month for my husband, my mind goes directly to chocolate. I can’t help but remember the chocolate truffle making class I took last summer at Sweet Gems in Ann Arbor, MI. You can read all about the amazing class here.

Lentils & Soup

When I wrote a family history poem that included the lentils my Italian-American 101 year old great aunt used to eat growing up, she was horrified. She asked, “Why would you tell them that we were so poor we had to eat lentils?”

Lentils were a poor person’s food: a cheap, nutritious way to feed a large family. In a soup, the cook could extend the meal even further.

Lentils no longer have that reputation. You see them in soups, salads and as side dishes in everyday and fancy restaurants. My favorite lentil dish in a restaurant is the crushed red lentil soup at Palm Palace in Ann Arbor.

It is true that lentils are inexpensive. If you buy them in an ethnic grocery store (like Jerusalem Garden in Ann Arbor), they’ll cost even less than at your local supermarket. They come dried in a little bag near the other beans. You can buy them in fancier packages in Whole Foods or other upscale supermarkets, but why spend the extra money?

Feeling under the weather, I recently made a quick lentil soup for myself. I soaked half a bag (about half a pound) of green lentils for about an hour. Then, I diced a carrot and a whole yellow onion. I lightly sautéed them together in extra virgin olive oil. Once they were lightly cooked, I added the lentils (drained and rinsed) to the stovetop mixture. To make soup, I added a box of chicken stock. (You could easily replace the store-bought chicken stock with your own stock or water with spices of your choice.) After lightly boiling the mixture for about twenty minutes, I had a thick, filling soup. I ate it hot, topped with some grated cheese, extra virgin olive oil and crushed red pepper.

Needless to say, there was enough for another two lunches. After a good nap and some hot tea along with the soup, I was cured.

What is your favorite quick soup recipe?

I Heart Zeppole

Little fried balls of dough, they can be found at every fair, Italian-American festival and boardwalk “down the shore” in New Jersey. The dough might be a little sweet, but not terribly different from pizza dough. They are made to order and then put in a paper bag that absorbs the grease (and stains your shirt, if you are unlucky.) You can add powdered sugar or do what my mom and I do: add salt. Hold the bag tightly closed with your fist then shake it hard so that each ball is perfectly covered in sugar or salt. Be sure to eat them while they are hot.

I cannot find zeppole in Michigan or nearby. While Ann Arbor offers everything a girl needs to live, eat, and cook, the zeppole are missing. I’ve searched street fairs (like the enormous Art Fair), the State Fair close to Detroit and even the Italian Festival in nearby Toronto. No zeppole. You can find zeppole-like items: fried elephant ears or funnel cakes. Not the same. They are always too sweet for me.

In Atlantic City this fall for a Tiziano Ferro concert, my mom and I found zeppole. Forging dinner, we got a big plate of freshly made ones. I think I ate enough to get me through this second year in Michigan. Next summer, though, I’ll be due for more.

I’ve never had much success frying at home. My husband, voting for good health and a long life, doesn’t think we should have a fryer at home. I’m a little nervous using an old fashioned pot of hot oil without a temperature gauge. So, we’ve decided that some things are better eaten out. If only we can find them.
Zeppole are a very southern Italian dish (much like pizza and many of the Italian dishes that made it early on to the USA.) According to Wikipedia, they are essentially the donut to the St. Joseph’s pastry, which I would argue against.

My maternal grandmother’s family hails from Sala Consilina (SA), a place I’ve visited a number of times (and admittedly, never seen a zeppola.) In a cookbook I picked up there, La Riscoperta degli Antichi Sapori: Ricette traditionale del Vallo di Diano, zeppole are made with white flour, olive oil, rosemary, mandarin peel and salt. That sounds right.

If you wanted to try to make zeppole at home, here is a sweet-looking recipe from Bon Appétit.
If you know where we can find them close to Ann Arbor, please, please, please let us know.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new cooking blog! I will discuss dishes I’ve cooked & eaten, restaurants I’ve tried, cookbooks I’ve read and more. I currently live in Ann Arbor, but I travel to Washington, DC and northern New Jersey often.

As you read my blog, you’ll notice I’m quite biased towards Italian food. I am Italian-American and I spent four years in Florence, Italy. While I was there, I took an amazing cooking class at the famous Trattoria Zibibbo. For over a month, every Saturday we cooked a traditional Tuscan dish in a professional kitchen and then sat down to professionally eat it. It was like an Italian holiday every weekend.

I’ve started doing cooking exchanges with friends with different culinary backgrounds. We’ve taught each other how to cook some Thai, Japanese and Russian dishes so far. What better way to learn something new, get together with friends and share a great meal?
I’m not a professional chef and I like to experiment. I’m volunteering as a writer and taster for a cookbook fundraiser Hepatitis C. For more information, you can read the call for submissions here. The picture of focaccia above is one of the recipes I tested and enjoyed eating. Nothing better than fresh bread on a cold winter night.

Do you have a great recipe or restaurant you think I should try? I look forward to hearing from you.