A baking and gardening journal. Mostly.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
This would be a fun gift for a foodie, or for Mrs. Iron Chef Leftovers who’s stock answer to “What do you want for dinner?” is “I don’t know.” They are $20 available here.
Heck, you could have a very interesting dinner party using these dice.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I was in The Dray recently enjoying a cold malt beverage and I noticed that a large number of people were ordering a beer they had on tap that I had never tried – Joseph James Hop Box Imperial IPA. In case you are not familiar with them, Joseph James is located in Henderson, Nevada and has been brewing beer since 2006. The Imperial IPA is described on their website as follows:
… has a large Hop Aroma and sweetness from dark caramel malts. This brew uses Simcoe and Cascade hops and is hopped at 5lbs per barrel. The brew is 9.3% ABV, 90 IBU’s, and best enjoyed at 55F. Serve in a 25cl goblet.
Hop Box pours amber, almost ruby in color with an off brown head. Malty with a slightly floral nose and I was picking up something that I could not quite place my finger on (rosemary?) Lots of grain on the initial taste, with hints of flowers and citrus. There is a slight bitterness that fades rapidly with tons of tannins. Lots of sugar coated my palate, which is very odd for an IPA. My opinion kept changing on this beer as it warmed – one sip I thought it was a fine version of an imperial IPA and the next, it tasted like a liquid sweet tart. I can best describe this beer as confusing and inconsistent and I really think I need to retry it.
Overall, Joseph James Hop Box scores a preliminary 3 six-shooters out of 5, with me reserving the right to change the score on a retaste.
by A.J. Coltrane
Images from the Oregon Brewer’s Festival (Saturday edition).
By Iron Chef Leftovers
It is summer and it is hot out, so you probably don’t feel like cooking anything in the kitchen and you don’t always have veggies that can be grilled easily. I tend to eat a lot of salad in the summer – they are quick and easy, refreshing and tasty salad greens are easily found during the summer. Another summertime treat are avocados. Mrs. Iron Chef loves them and they are very versatile. They also make a great salad dressing that is so good that you can actually use it as an accompaniment to fish, chicken or pork (and probably beef, although I have never tried it). All you need is 5 minutes, a few simple ingredients and a blender.
The Software
½ of a ripe avocado, pitted, skin removed and roughly chopped
½ cup good quality yogurt
¼ cup cilantro
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
The Recipe
Take all of the ingredients except the oil and add the blender. Pulse a few times to break up the avocado and then with the blender running, add the oil slowly until the dressing comes together. Add salt and pepper to taste and you are done. Toss with salad or serve as a sauce for meat or veggies.
Notes
A clove of garlic, a squeeze of lime or a small hot pepper would also be nice in this dressing. If you would like the dressing thinner, add some water slowly to dilute until you reach the ideal consistency. This makes about 1 cup of dressing, which is a lot of a salad, but it is so good you might not end up with leftovers anyway.
by A.J. Coltrane
I thought this bread compared not unfavorably to the No Knead bread we’ve all been enjoying.
To back up a bit, I was looking to make a bread with the following characteristics:
1. It needed to be out of the oven within two hours of when I got home from work.
2. I wanted to use the No Knead Covered Dutch Oven method. I wanted a 75% hydration dough, since that’s the same hydration as the No Knead. I went online to find out how much of butter and honey is represented by water weight — it’s about 15% for each. (That’s right, it was another mathy baking thing.)
3. I wanted to use honey, inspired by a Cheese Board Collective recipe that I’m still meaning to try out.
4. I wanted a flavorful end product, so I thought I’d add beer to the mix. And butter.
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| 350 g | Bread Flour |
| 50 g | Wheat Flour |
| 8 g | Kosher Salt |
| 2 tsp | Instant Dry Yeast |
| 1/4 cup (57 g) | Melted Butter |
| 1/8 cup (43 g) | Honey |
| 256 g | Beer (Pyramid Hef) |
| 30 g | Water |
The Process:
1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix at low speed for 6 minutes. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
2. Coat a bowl lightly with oil, then dust with flour.
3. Shape the dough into a ball and place seam side down in the bowl. Use damp hands so that the dough won’t stick as much.
4. Let rise 60 minutes. With about 10 minutes to go preheat a dutch oven at 450F.
5. Carefully invert the bowl so that the dough gently falls into the dutch oven. Slash the dough if desired. Place the lid on the dutch oven.
6. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more.
The bread had a lightly crispy, buttery crust. The wheat flour, beer, and butter all combined for a flavorful interior. And it went from the mixing bowl to the table in under two hours. Next time I’m going to try a few stretch and folds before placing the bowl in the final rise bowl. Slashing didn’t do anything for it, but if I can get a little more gluten development maybe I’ll get a better shape next time — I’ll definitely be making this one again when I don’t have much time for baking before dinner.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
I like beers that are different. I have a ton of them stocked in the beer cellar right now that will keep me writing beer reviews well into 2013 (assuming the Mayans were not right). Recently, I saw an update to Chuck’s Hop Shop tap list that Fort George Spruce Budd Ale was on tap.
Here is the description of the beer from the Fort George website:
With the help of many Fort George fans we picked over 120 lbs. of Spruce tips, leaving our arms aching from the constant stabbing of the Spruce needles. Through all of that pain of picking over 35 lbs. of Spruce tips for each batch came a beer that cannot be rivaled in deliciousness. With nothing more than organic pilsner malt and Spruce tips for ingredients, this beer might be the best thing you have ever put in your mouth. With Spruce tips being full of vitamin C, this beer is incredibly good for your health* and can lead to a longer life.** With each glorious sip you are able to realize what an adventure into the woods taste like. With hints of Spruce, citrus, and more Spruce, these beer tastes like a Spruce tree. With the summer heat in full swing, grab a growler of Spruce Budd, find a some shade underneath a tree and enjoy life.
*Probably not true
**Definitely not true.
This beer clocks in a 4.9% ABV and is brewed with no hops (the spruce tips essentially replace the hops). I picked up a growler and the beer appears to only be available on tap.
Spruce Budd pours pale yellow in color with lots of carbonation. There are hints of malt on the nose, but not much else – it has the aroma of an American Lager (i.e. Bud) without any hint of adjuncts. The initial taste was slightly fruity and crisp, without much going on. After a few seconds, you get a burst of raspberry and spruce in a short, dramatic finish. It reminded me of a Jolly rancher candy – slightly sweet, slightly tart. The spruce flavor is balanced and it does not overpower a very subtle beer. As the beer warms, it become slightly bitter and tannic, but not hop like, and the bitterness and tannins fade quickly. Mrs. Iron Chef made the comment that she felt the beer was lacking something, and I immediately said “hops” – I had been thinking the exact same thing that she was. A bit of inclusion of hops would make for a more complex beer and probably would have helped the finish to linger just a bit longer.
Spruce Budd goes down extremely easily and would be perfect for sitting on the back deck on a hot day. The beer is light and refreshing and you feel like you can enjoy several without thinking about it when the weather calls for an ice cold beverage, but you want something with more complexity and flavor than a Bud.
Overall, Spruce Budd is interesting if you have never tried a beer made with spruce, and definitely refreshing if you are looking for something light and not hoppy, but still want something with flavor.
Spruce Budd gets 3 Piceae out of 5.
by A.J. Coltrane
Ok, so it was up against two potato salads and this dessert, and the dessert won the “winner” medal, even though the dessert wasn’t a “side dish”, which is what the medal was supposed to be for, but I’m not bitter at all, even though a dessert isn’t technically a side dish, I don’t think anyway… don’t you agree?
Seriously, the medal said “WINNER” on it.
Anyhow, here’s the chickpea salad recipe that I “borrowed” from somewhere and I can’t find the recipe again, but it’s always a hit. Even the 1,000,000 kids at the BBQ ate it, they about wiped out a big tupperware container of the stuff. (At least it seemed like 1,000,000 kids.)
| Ingredient | Action Required |
| 3 cans chickpeas | opened, rinsed |
| 1 English cucumber | diced to chickpea size |
| 1 Red pepper | diced to chickpea size |
| 1 med. red onion | finely diced |
| 1/2 bunch parsley | minced |
| 2 large lemons | juiced |
| 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil | add to taste |
| salt | add to taste |
| pepper | optional |
I think maybe the kids liked the colors.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
From the Mashiko Facebook page on why you should have come into the restaurant for sushi on July 3rd:
Get your sustainable sushi on tonight! We won’t be here tomorrow ’cause we’ll be busy blowing stuff up.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
One of the reasons I like Brouwer’s Café in Fremont is that they tend to have the occasional short production, experimental beer from a local brewery that, if you blink, you will miss. That was the case recently when I was in for lunch and I saw the Dark Star with Lavender and Rosemary from Fremont Brewing on cask. Curious, I had to give it a shot, although, I have to admit that lavender tends to overpower beer and I am not a great fan of Dark Star to begin with.
Dark Star is, as you would expect, a very heavy, dark stout with just a hint of light able to penetrate its murky depths. Lots of roasted malt and smoke on the nose, with a serious lack of any floral characteristics of the lavender (this is a good thing). Heavy chocolate and roasted flavors appear of the front of the palate with just a hint of oatmeal, giving way to a slightly woody sensation (not really oak, more like chewing on a twig) with hints of rosemary. It finishes long and heavy with a subtle lavender background, but in a very pleasant way.
The restrained use of lavender was nice (it did not remind me of soap as so many lavender beers tend to do) and the beer overall felt like I was drinking a liquid Theo Chocolate confection. I was very surprised that the flavor profile did not change as the beer warmed.
Dark Star was a pleasant experience, but I don’t know that I would order more than one – it is a really heavy beer and didn’t pair too well with any of the food we had. Still, Dark Star with Lavender and Rosemary manages to score 4 Nibirus out of 5.
By Iron Chef Leftovers
Photos by Mrs. Iron Chef Leftovers
On a recent trip to Portland, Mrs. Iron Chef and I made a stop at Olympic Provisions for brunch. Located in a group of warehouses in the southeast part of the city, it would be easy to miss if you didn’t know exactly where it was. Olympic Provisions specializes in cured meats and it is a very industrial looking space. The food however is to die for.
Wanting to sample the charcutiere, their menu lists all of the current cured meats they have, priced at $4 per ounce. They had about 15 on the menu when we were there.
Not knowing what to order, we stared our meal with the Chef’s Choice plate, which included 2 salame (cacciatore and andalusiuan), 2 pates (pork liver and country) and pickled vegetables. The salame was fantastic, the cacciatore, probably my favorite salami, was sweet and peppery was as good as some of the ones that I sampled in Italy. The andalusian was off the charts good. A great balance of spices with a hint of heat and clove, I could have eaten it all day with some bread. I would seriously go back to Olympic just for that salami. The pates were both outstanding. The pork liver was smooth and creamy with a nice balance of pork flavor and just a hint of liver taste; it was a pate that I would serve to someone who had never tried pate. It was amazing on the crusty bread that came with the platter. The country pate was a flavor bomb, and with the addition of a touch of the stone ground mustard on the board, was among the best I have ever had. The veggies, while good, had a lot of vinegar and would not be enjoyable if you did not like your pickled food really tart.
For our meal, we had the sweetheart ham sandwich and the eggs benedict. The eggs were probably the best I have tried. Perfectly cooked poached egg pillows sitting on top of sliced ham and an English muffin, covered (but not drowned) in hollandaise sauce. The sauce, with just a hint of lemon, exploded when the runny egg yolk combined with it, producing an unxious, delicious experience.
The ham sandwich, piled high with thin sliced, house cured ham, a fried egg and a brioche bun, was pork overload; the perfect sandwich for the morning after a little too much to drink. The perfectly cooked fried egg provided a wonderful contrast to the slightly sweet and smoky ham, especially as the yolk ran out of the egg.
Olympic Provisions has a small but “something for everyone” brunch menu with most items priced between 8 and 12 dollars. The Chef’s Choice plate was $16, and I believe the most expensive item on the menu for brunch. They also offer an extensive beer and wine list and have the hard stuff for those who are inclined.
They also have a second location in the Northwest of Portland. I would head back to Olympic Provisions any time I am in Portland, but I really need to get there at some point for dinner, which I am told is equally as outstanding as brunch.
Overall, Olympic Provisions garners 5 laurel wreaths out of 5.
FlatbreadGarden 