Category: Food

I Don’t Know Why You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Hello, hello.

October and November are cruel months for the Seattle dining scene. By the end of November, we will have said goodbye to Iron Chef favorite emmer&rye (where I had possibly the best burger in Seattle one night), the venerable 35th Street Bistro and my favorite pizza place in Seattle – Crash Landing Pizza (whose pies were nearly as good as the ones I grew up eating in NJ – who says that Seattle has no good pizza). Those places will be missed as they were regular stops in the Iron Chef family dining excursions.

Do not shed too many tears though, as we also get to welcome the reopening of Revel Joule in Fremont, the much anticipated opening of The Whale Wins, right next to Joule and Eltana Bagels just a couple of blocks up from Joule. Eltana does a “Montreal” style bagel (if you have not had one, you should try it) and they are as good as the ones I have had in Montreal.

Beer of the Week: Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Kili Wit

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales is a small brewery located in the hills above Hood River, Oregon and they are dedicated to producing farmhouse ales using traditional methods and organic ingredients and they donate some of their profits to social programs.

Their Kili Wit (Kili referring to Mt. Kilimanjaro), is a white beer coming in at 5.5% ABV. From the Logsdon website:

Our Kili Wit is a traditionally brewed white beer with refreshing flavors and creamy smoothness. This is a 100% certified organic beer brewed with local organic barley malt, wheat and oats along with whole cone Oregon hops and African spice. This beer is made with a portion of the proceeds going to the K2 Adventures Foundation that provides community service, medical and educational enrichment for African children.

The beer has recently become available in Seattle, and can be found in 750ml bottles for around $10 at both Bottleworks and Chucks Hop Shop.

The beer pours very cloudy and yellow. There is lots of yeast and grain on the nose with slight notes of orange, spice and coriander with the subtlest notes of hops. When the beer is first poured at around 45 degrees, lemon and yeast dominate the palate hints of very mild spice and coriander, leading to a short, but intense finish. As the beer warms, it becomes drier with notes of banana chips, orange, citrus peel, lemon and coriander. Not the most complex Wit I have ever had, but it would be more than satisfying on a warm day lounging under a tree.

Overall, Kili Wit is an enjoyable experience, just one that you probably can’t afford on a regular basis because of the price. I really like this beer, but at $10 for a 750ml bottle, it is more of a special occasion beer than a regular drinking one, slightly more frequently if you like their social mission.

Kili Wit explodes on the scene with a respectable 3 stratovolcanoes out of 5.

A Pizza And A Pizza(?)

by A.J. Coltrane

Two “pizzas” using the same basic recipe. Both received a 20-minute autolyse prior to combining all of the ingredients. (In other words, I mixed together only the flour and water and let that rest for 20 minutes before continuing with the process.)

This one was hand stretched then baked on a perforated pizza pan. During the stretching I intentionally left some “lip” around the edge. The center got quite thin.

Red sauce, sausage, and sopressata.
With mozz.

 

The “pizza” pictured below was evenly spread in a lightly oiled pan and allowed a 45-minute rise. Even though I made a point to dimple the middle of the dough it still had a focaccia feel to it — the center of the dough rose quite a bit.

Mushrooms, a fair amount of olive oil, and (I think) a bit of very thinly sliced onion. Fresh basil and parm went on late so that they’d just heat through.

Again, it’s basically the same “recipe”, handled somewhat differently but producing two very different results. This stuff fascinates me.

A Hansel And Gretel Ending?

By Iron Chef Leftovers

HANsel?

Visiting Dot’s Deli on Halloween might be worse that going to the gingerbread house in Hansel and Gretel. From their specials menu on 10/31:

Spicy Meatball Sandwich – with pork/stray children, parmigiano reggiano, $10.

I can only hope the chlidren are free range. If meatballs don’t excite you, go with this:

Cassoulet – with poodle confit, toulouse sausage, $16.

One of my favorite Looney Toons shorts (it has some great lines):

Beer of the Week: Pelican Pub and Brewery Kiwanda Cream Ale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The Pelican Pub and Brewery is located in beautiful Pacific City, OR, and has been around for 15 years, although there beers are just starting to show up in the Seattle market. We sampled the Kiwanda Cream Ale from a 22 oz. bottle. Kiwanda clocks in at 5.4% ABV and 25 IBU. From the Pelican website:

Inspired by one of America’s traditional 19th century beer styles, Kiwanda Cream Ale is pale gold with a fruity, floral hop aroma. A sweet malty flavor and a smooth snappy finish round out this tasty, refreshing brew!

Kiwanda shows as very pale in color with very little head. There was almost nothing on the nose – a minimal amount of grain, but that was about it, which was very disappointing. The first few sips were drier than I was expecting from a Cream Ale; almost to the point of being tannic. There were hints of cream and barley but it was subtle and you almost had to go searching for it. I kept hoping that the flavor would develop as consumption progressed, but it never really developed beyond subtle hints. We even tried some food to coax flavor out of this beer, to no avail. I kept hoping for a Boddington’s but got something closer to a Bud.

Kiwanda was a real disappointment as I tend to like Pelican’s beers. This beer had absolutely nothing going on and really wasn’t something I have any inclination to go back and try again. Pelican Brewery’s Kiwanda Cream Ale flies out of here with just 1 Pelecanus erythrorhynchos out of 5.

Thunder Trade A Quarter For Two Dimes

by A.J. Coltrane

The trade:

Unable to work out an extension with James Harden the Oklahoma City Thunder traded the Sixth Man of the Year to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, breaking up the young core of the Western Conference champions.

The Thunder acquired guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick in the surprising deal that was completed Saturday night. Oklahoma City also sent center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston.

Functionally it breaks down to Harden for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and a couple of mid-first-round draft picks. The draft picks could be expected to return Vladimir Radmanovic level talent, or be flipped again for other assets.

What the ESPN guys think of it:

Good or bad move for Oklahoma City?

Adande: Bad move. It’s not that Harden is the critical element to the Thunder’s success. (In their only NBA Finals victory against the Heat, he scored just five points.) But the familiarity this team had built was a big part of its identity. They were comfortable. They knew exactly what this group could do. Now they enter the unknown — and that includes the career of the promising Jeremy Lamb. Potential means you haven’t done anything.

Gutierrez: Good move. Kevin Martin might not be able to play point the way Harden did, but he’ll be just as aggressive a scorer when needed. Martin also has never played on a team this good. In the short term, it shouldn’t hurt their title chances. If Lamb or the draft picks work out, it could mean even better things down the road.

Haberstroh: Definitely a bad move for the short term, and potentially a good move for the long term. There’s just no two ways about it: The Thunder just lost an Olympian and got very little in return for this season. Kevin Martin is a brittle, one-dimensional player who might be the worst defender at his position. This is about a small-market team seeking future flexibility. Remember, the Lakers earn $250 million a year off their TV deal, but the Thunder make only about $15 million from theirs. Presti has to play a different game, thanks to the harsher CBA that was supposed to help his cause.

Stein: Normally I have nothing but praise for the most decisive of teams — and perhaps Presti will ultimately be proven to be a visionary for moving Harden out faster than anyone imagined — but it’s way too soon to throw out words like good. The Thunder undeniably got a lot here. Two future first-round picks, 2012 lottery pick Jeremy Lamb and an accomplished scorer in Kevin Martin is a legit haul. But the Thunder also just broke up a trio of All-Star-caliber kiddies that truly loved playing together. They had the option of playing this season out and then dealing with everything in July had they wished. That likely would have meant matching a max offer to Harden in restricted free agency and quite possibly waiving the likes of Kendrick Perkins via the amnesty clause, but isn’t that better than telling Durant and Westbrook that Harden is gonzo mere hours before opening night?

Verrier: Bad move. If the mandate was to avoid the new CBA’s more draconian luxury tax at all costs, kudos to Sam Presti for his guts and for positioning his club to be in the title picture long-term. But I don’t know how OKC can rip a piece away from a young core that was three wins away from a title — five days from its opener, no less. Decent return, but why take the risk?

My take:

On Harden:  I’ve never been as in love with Harden as most of the media. I think he played as well as he did in college, and thus far in the pros, mostly on guile and “old guy moves”. He’s not an elite athlete. He mostly creates his shot through misdirection against second tier opposition. I think that’s why he mostly disappeared against the Heat during the playoffs — the Heat had great athletes who knew what they were doing, and it left Harden “without anything to say”. In short, I don’t think Harden is a cornerstone guy, but he’s going to get paid like he is because that’s how the league works. Calling him “A Quarter” is being generous, though it makes the title of this blog post work.

On Martin:  Gunner without a conscience. Terrible defender. All the stuff mentioned above. Rental. I don’t think the Thunder are good enough everywhere on defense to cover up his weaknesses. Think Ricky Pierce, minus the divisive personality.

On Lamb:  I really liked Lamb in college. He’s a long shooting guard with lots of potential. I think the Thunder are hoping that he can take Thabo Sefolosha’s minutes, like real soon. Lamb took a backseat to Kemba Walker in college, and I’m not sure he can be assertive enough to have a big impact at the NBA level.

In summary:  The issue is that the Thunder are counting on Lamb to get good, fast, but he’s only 20 years old. Alternately they’re hoping to get lucky with one of the draft picks. They spent their money on Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Perkins and unless Ibaka figures out a way to contribute on offense the Thunder will likely come up short year after year.

Shortly after the trade Kevin Durant offered a one word tweet:  “Wow”.

Durant is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2015.

Enchilada Sauce – Another Use for Green Tomatoes

By Iron Chef Leftovers

If you have green tomatoes, one of the best things to use them for is enchiladas. You can easily use the tomatoes to replace tomatillos in the sauce and get something that tastes about 100 times better than anything that will come out of a can.

The Software
3 lbs. green tomatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces, woody parts removed
¼ cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, diced, seeds removed
2 cups stock or water
Salt

The Recipe
In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until they begin to become translucent. Add garlic and cook for additional 30 seconds until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the tomatoes, pepper and liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are tender. In several batches, take the contents of the pot and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sauce begins to boil, continue to cook until it thickens (5-10 minutes), stirring about every minute. Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency, add salt to taste and it is ready to use.

Notes
You can pretty much put this over anything – pasta, chicken, pork, veggies or enchiladas. If you like it hotter, add more peppers, or better yet, add some serrano peppers. If you like it less spicy, remove the pepper or reduce the amount. If you want a super kicked up version of this sauce, when you add the garlic, add 1 ½ teaspoons of the following: cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika, adobo, garlic powder and black pepper. Follow the recipe as is otherwise.

The Ballard Beer Revolution

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Holy hops, Batman! Ballard is really becoming a hotspot for beer. I saw this on myballard.com, yet another brewery opening soon. That means when Peddler Brewing opens, we will have the following breweries in a 1 mile radius:

Hale’s Ales
Maritime Pacific
NW Peaks
Hilliard’s
Reuben’s
Populuxe (if they ever get their act together and finally open)
Peddler

I am not surprised that a brewery moved into the old Maritime space. I think it is a good location for a small operation.

If beer is not your thing, there you can always visit my friend Jason at the fun tasting room of Domanico Winery. Now if we could just get a distillery….

Yeast, Bacteria, Temperature, And Taste

by A.J. Coltrane

While browsing pizzamaking.com I’d been noticing a bunch of references concerning the effect that temperature has on flavor during fermentation, though I hadn’t been able to find real, concrete specifics.

While looking for that information and re-reading Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible, I came across this [pg 30]:

…When chilled, the yeast goes into dormancy, slowing its activity and producing more alcohol. The decreased activity gives the bacteria a chance to feed on the sugar, develop more, and produce more acetic acid. Temperatures of 40F to 50F are ideal for the formation of acetic acid; 55F to 90F results in the formation of blander lactic acid. Acetic acid imparts a far more sour quality to bread than lactic acid. As an added benefit, acetic acid also strengthens the dough’s structure, although too much of this acidity would ultimately weaken it. Some bakers prefer the milder flavor provided by lactic acid.

Emphasis mine. The angels weren’t singing or anything, though right now I’m thinking it’s a key component of flavor development that I’d initially overlooked/undersold.

On a not-unrelated point, within the last year Iron Chef Leftovers and I attended a bread-baking class taught by a local professional baker. The guy kind of wrinkled his nose when one of the students expressed a high opinion of Peter Reinhart’s level of knowledge and contribution to the craft. (I don’t think it was one of us, though we had previously attended a class taught by Reinhart and learned quite a bit.)

Anyway:  a quote from Reinhart’s Artisan Breads Everyday [pg 52].

Pain a l’Ancienne Rustic Bread

I first introduced the concept of cold-fermented wet dough in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. While the idea isn’t new or original, it has blossomed during the past few years into various no-knead, overnight rise permutations…

Maybe it’s just me, but it feels to me like Reinhart is taking credit in a backhanded kind of way for the no-knead idea and the general increase in popularity in the use of the refrigerator to retard fermentation. “it has blossomed the last few years into… (these other guy’s come-lately stuff)”. It’s a fairly common thread that runs through his writing — I can see now why the guy might have wrinkled his nose.

It’s just me, right?

—–

Note: The Bread Baker’s Apprentice is still highly recommended.

Quick Chicken Parm

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Chicken Parm is one of my favorite things – how could it not be, breaded chicken, sauce and cheese. Recently, I had a family member have a health scare and it got me thinking, is there a healthier way to make chicken parm and still have it taste great. This is particularly useful if you don’t have any sauce on hand (and you would never buy sauce from a jar, right?) This is what I came up with.

The Software
3 chicken cutlets, 3 oz. each, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, patted dry
2 tablespoons, herb infused olive oil (see note below)
2 oz. mozzarella cheese, either sliced very thin or shredded
1 oz Parmigiano reggiano grated
1 tomato, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds (enough to cover the surface of your chicken)

The Recipe
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat until just starting to smoke. Add chicken and cook on the first side for 2 minutes and the second for 1-2 minutes until done. Remove excess oil with a paper towel. Heat your broiler. On a baking sheet covered with a sheet of foil, place the chicken, top with tomatoes and then top with cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Serve to happy guests.

Notes
Start to finish, you can have this on the table in 10 minutes. Notice I did not use salt – there is plenty in the cheese that you won’t need it. Check on your chicken constantly when under the broiler – it can go from bubbly to burn in a hurry. There is no need to preheat the broiler – you are just melting the cheese, not cooking the chicken. If using an electric oven, keep the door slightly ajar, the broiler will cycle off and on if you don’t and it will take a lot longer to melt the cheese. The recipe can be easily scaled and obviously you can add more tomato or cheese if you want. The key to this being a quick recipe is pounding the cutlets thin. If you don’t want to do it, buy your chicken at a butcher shop or megamart with a butcher counter and ask them to do it for you. They should have no problem with doing that.

Notes on Infused oil
To make the herb oil, you can either buy it or make it yourself. I like to throw a sprig of sage, rosemary, tarragon and thyme into about 1 cup of oil with 2 garlic cloves. Heat over medium heat for 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month. If you are feeling really lazy, just toss the herbs and garlic in the oil you are cooking the chicken in and leave them in the pot, following the directions for cooking the chicken in the recipe.