My Catch of the Day

I love to fish. I vaguely remember, as a young child, fishing for trout in a little pool for kids at a campground vacation in Minnesota with my family. The bulk of the memory is me holding a little fishing rod and being angry that I didn't catch anything because there were prizes for the ones who caught the most fish. I guess even then I had a competitive spirit. Fast forward about 20 years to being invited to go fishing on a pier in Jersey City by my, then new, boyfriend. I was wearing boots and a leather jacket, not quite understanding all I was getting into. He showed me how to cast a treble hook to try and snag a live baitfish and I was surprised to actually hook into one. As I reeled it in, under his instruction, the rod suddenly felt very heavy and it was increasingly difficult to turn the reel. I was encouraged to keep going (my sweetie thought I was being weak and a little strange) and much to both of our shock there was a beautiful striped bass on the end of the line! The bass had gone after my bait fish as I was reeling it in. Not to be too cliche, but I guess you could say I was hooked.


I told you I was in a leather jacket. Manhattan skyline behind me.


Since that day I have had the opportunity to fish from piers, rock jetties, boats and riverbanks for trout, striped bass, bluefish, steelhead, dolphinfish and tuna, although I have not been lucky enough to catch the last two kinds. We fish in the winter and the summer and I find there is something peaceful and beautiful about being on the water at daybreak or sunset and something exciting about literally seeing a fish jump out of the water for your bait.


Peace


Beyond that, of course, is the opportunity to eat the freshest fish you can get. It is a special day that begins with a fishing rod and ends with gorgeous sides of fish so fresh that as you fillet you can have a little sashimi as well. Even though I am a chef, I cannot afford or choose to buy and live all organically and free range, but I take pride in doing what I can to eat cleanly and well.

Striped bass is wonderful because it is so mild that it adapts well to a variety of cooking techniques and flavors. I like to keep it simple so you don't just taste the spices or sauces you have added to it.

For this dinner I rubbed the fillets with some minced garlic and pepper, added a squeeze of lime juice and let them stand for about 30 minutes and then rubbed them with a mixture of salt and chili powder. I seared them in a nonstick skillet until golden brown on each side and gave them a light brush of barbecue sauce in the last few minutes of cooking. Served with a corn and tomatillo salad and some cold lightly dressed soba noodles, it was a perfect summer meal.

A Sour Start

As a recipe developer I have come to expect that the first pass on something unknown will turn out....questionable. The stubborn perfectionist in me always holds out hope that from the start it will be amazing and perfect and delicious and that I am, unquestionably, a genius! Not quite. I must remind myself when looking at the actual finished dish as opposed to the image in my head that the process of creating a recipe is the most valuable part of the process. I remind myself often.

My current project, despite the 90 degree heat in my old house without air conditioning, is no knead sourdough bread made from a wonderful sourdough starter that was gifted to me. I love making bread and have a solid track record with both sweet and savory loaves. I have, however, never made bread from a sourdough starter instead of yeast and I have never made no knead bread. This kind of challenge is right up my alley.

The beauty of the no knead process is two fold. The first is that it cuts several steps from the traditional process and since I do have other things to do with my days (yes, days plural - bread takes time!) than fold, proof, shape and proof various stages of dough, this is perfect. The second is that all the equipment you need is a bowl, a wooden spoon, plastic wrap, parchment and an enamel coated cast iron pot. This is ideal for me since my old house also lacks in counter space and storage in the kitchen.

I started by researching no knead sourdough bread recipes online. I found a range of techniques and ingredients and settled on one based on tips from Nancy Silverton since the starter was from one of her cookbooks. I really wanted to use all starter instead of starter plus yeast so first I had to tend to my starter. I had been keeping it in the fridge so the first thing I did was to let it sit at room temperature for a while and get it all active and bubbling again. It was so warm yesterday this took only a few hours. I then mixed in a bowl some bread flour, kosher salt, honey and the starter. It looked sort of shaggy and dry, which didn't quite seem right so I mixed in a few tablespoons of water. I let it double at room temperature for 5 hours and then let it sit in the fridge overnight, as the research suggested in order to let the sourdough flavor really develop but not allow the bread to over proof and become excessively sticky.



The next morning


My dough the next morning was not quite as expected. It didn't really change at all overnight and still seemed too dry and tight. At this point there was really nothing to do to try and fix it. I knew perfection was out the window on this loaf so it was time to just wait and see what was going to happen. I let the dough stand at room temperature while I preheated my oven with the Dutch oven in it at 475 degrees F for 45 minutes. I then put a piece of parchment at the bottom of the Dutch oven and turned the dough right into the hot pot. I baked, covered, until puffed and firm and then lowered the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and finished baking, uncovered, until it was golden brown and firm when tapped.



The cooling loaf







Checking out the crumb



The bread turned out to not be a total disaster. Although it had a very crunchy crust and a wonderful sour flavor from the starter, there was too much salt and the crumb was too dense. The denseness was really no surprise since I felt the dough was itself was too dry.

Further reading leads to me believe that it all comes back to my starter. Perhaps I need to let it sit out of the fridge and feed it for a few days so that it is more aggressive? Perhaps I need to add a bit more water to my recipe as my starter may be firmer than the ones I was referencing? Is the problem as simple as the fact that I tried to make a half batch and the proportions just don't translate?

As I chew this over for a few days and read some more, at least I can be comforted by having some fresh bread to chew on as well.



Dinner for one

Although I live in a household of two, I often feel as if I must cook for six to satisfy my significant other's voracious appetite. The degree to which he can put it away continues to shock me. It can be a challenge to come home after a long day of cooking and try and figure out what to make to satisfy his hunger. It is even more challenging when my own belly is overly full from a day of marathon tasting, but the chef in me can't stand to see a loved one go hungry. Perhaps this is why when I find myself on my own for a few days that I delight in the ability to cook for one: me!
As much as I love my sweetie, there is pleasure in being able to selfishly cook with only my tastes in mind. I love dishes that are more spicy, tart and messy than he cares for. One of my favorite dishes that is all of those things is vegetable rice noodles. I actually make this often for the both of us, but when it is just me, all bets are off. I don't treat this as a side dish, underplay the spice or bother trimming the long noodles to manageable lengths.
I can't really give a proper recipe for this because the pure joy of making it is in catering to my mood that day, but I can share with you my building blocks so that you too can take it and make it just for you.

Vegetable Rice Noodles:

For the sauce:
Lime juice, cider vinegar, honey, soy sauce, hot sauce, minced fresh ginger, peanut butter, toasted sesame oil, red curry paste, salt and pepper.

Mix-ins:
Strips of cucumber, bell pepper, carrot. Sliced scallion and fresh chilies. Whole cilantro, basil and/or mint leaves.

Soak rice noodles in hot water until tender; drain. Toss with sauce and let stand for 30 minutes to allow the noodles to soak up the sauce. To speed this up, cover and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. The noodles will drink up the sauce. Toss in your mix-ins of choice and eat right out of the bowl.

Feeling Corny

The last few weeks in New York has finally signaled that the seasons are changing and summer is just around the corner. Every year this shift is so highly anticipated that when the temperature hits above 60 for more than one day in a row, men and women start walking around in shorts and sandals. I'm as ready as anyone, but I'm still wearing my jacket. I am, to a fault, a realist. 60 degrees is not 80.
This bubbling fervor hasn't left me untouched. While ramps and rhubarb have been great, I'm really starting to crave juicy berries and cherries and, most of all, crisp sweet summer corn. I learned the hard way not to buy the tempting ears all wrapped up in cellophane at the supermarket. Starchy and bland, this corn just ends up making me feel both mad and sad and does not scratch the itch. So this time I tried another route and turned to one of my pantry staples, canned hominy. Hominy is dried corn that has been treated with an alkali, such as lye, to prevent it from sprouting during storage. You can buy it in the same forms as beans: dried in bags or cooked and in liquid in cans. The applications are the same as well. If you buy it dried you need to soak it and cook it until tender and from the can with a simple rinse it's pretty much ready to go. I actually keep both around since they are cheap and last a long time, I can use it depending on my time frame that day.
I had hominy for the first time about 5 years ago and quickly added it to my own pantry. It has a deep corn flavor with a hint of something citrusy and a pleasant chew that holds up in soups and stews, which is mostly how I have cooked with it until now. It dawned on me that since hominy is corn, why don't I treat it more like corn? My summer corn itch was about to be scratched with a roasted hominy salad.
The hominy took very well to being roasted, maintaining its texture without becoming dry or tough, and with a bit of lime and cilantro to brighten the dish, I think I'll be able to make it to summer.

Roasted Hominy and Sweet Potato Salad
Melissa Gaman

1 15-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed
2 small sweet potatoes, about 1 pound, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped if desired, I like whole leaves
1 scallion, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and cubed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl toss the hominy with the sweet potatoes, onion and garlic. Add the oil, chili powder, paprika and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper; toss well to coat and spread in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Roast until the hominy is golden and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cool until warm but no longer steaming, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and squeeze the juice of 1 lime over the mixture. Add the cilantro and scallion and toss. Season to taste with the juice from the second lime, salt and pepper. Fold in the avocado. Serve warm or at room temperature.

From my own test kitchen!

One of the things I love most about my job is the ability to be creative every day. But being a professional recipe developer does not mean you get to cook whatever you want. Don't like anchovies? Too bad if puttanesca is on the list to be tackled. Don't care for blue cheese? That burger you've been assigned is a bacon blue cheese burger, you know, with the extra stinky kind of blue cheese. Yikes. In my kitchen, I decide the menu and often end up treating it just like a test kitchen. Here is a recent experiment I worked on to give an idea of how a recipe developer's mind works, or at least my mind:
I recently came into some leftover rhubarb, a handful of underwhelming strawberries, and two Meyer lemons which had been dezested (I call them bald citrus). I couldn't decide what to make: Meyer lemon pudding or panna cotta with strawberry rhubarb compote, a tart or pie (I also had some cream cheese for a pie dough recipe I like), a simple pot of preserves for breakfast? Then it hit me what I truly wanted. A no-fuss, tasty dessert: strawberry rhubarb crisp.
After a bit of research and a look through my cabinets I decided on a game plan. I was going to macerate the sad berries in a bit of red wine and sugar to enhance their berry-ness, toss with the rhubarb, Meyer lemon juice, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt and a pinch of black pepper to play into the flavor notes of the red wine. The topping was going to be my favorite kind: a crumbly sweet mix of oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and, of course, butter.
After securing the right size baking dish and giving it a healthy rub of softened butter I was ready to get this crisp in the oven. I faced a few last minute questions as I began to toss the elements of the filling together. Should I drain the strawberries or use the macerating liquid? If I used the liquid, did I need to double my flour? Erring on the side of a juicy, rather than dry, crisp, I added the liquid and just slightly increased my flour. Nothing is worse than a gummily thickened fruit filling. I also had a pause as I was about to add the black pepper. Was this only a good idea in my head? I decided it was better to find out and tossed it in.
45 minutes later, I had a gorgeous bubbling crisp:

Overall the dessert was delicious and it did not even make it 24 hours in my 2 person house. Here are my tasting notes: the fruit filling was a little looser than I would have liked and I probably should have doubled my flour. Especially because I was glad to have included the winey macerated liquid, which gave the dessert a rich flavor. The black pepper was a back note, but it was definitely there and I'm not sure next time I'd put it in. I couldn't decide if I really liked it or not, a feeling that usually means it does not belong. The topping, the proportions of which I borrowed from an old Gourmet recipe, was a little too sweet, especially because the rhubarb I had was not that tart and the Meyer lemons are also not as sour as a regular lemon.
It ended up being a tasty dessert for a blustery night and another good learning experience from my test kitchen.

Responsible Drinking

A few days ago I was lucky enough to attend a dinner pairing local dishes with The Naked Grape wines (http://www.thenakedgrapewine.com/), a sustainable winery in California.
I hear the word sustainable a lot in the food world and it always gets the nod. As in, everyone nodding their head and generally murmuring "yes, yes...sustainable...very good." And it is. Don't get me wrong. But I wanted to hear a bit more about they were doing to be a sustainable winery and where the pricing of the wines would land.
It was a treat to have the winemaker, Hillary Stevens, there and she has a very obvious passion for what she does. She was able to tell me about using ladybugs to combat their aphids instead of pesticides and how they repurpose the water that naturally collects in their low lying areas for other uses around the vineyard. It started to make a great deal of sense to me what they were doing and why it is important. Of course, it still needed to taste good. Luckily, The Naked Grape wines are delicious and affordable at around $10 for any of the four varietals: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each has a unique flavor profile, but all are easy drinking and pair well with foods. One of my favorite pairings from the evening was the Pinot Noir with a seared duck breast and apple compote.
Although The Naked Grape only launched within the last year, I have already seen the label in several of my local go-to spots for wine. (In New Jersey, this can be anyplace from my local deli to a 50+ year old liquor store.) It feels good to know that I can make smart choices about not only what I eat, but what I drink.

It's a new day

Here I am. I am exactly where I never thought I would be: writing a blog. But it's a new day.
When blogging first caught on it seemed that everyone was signing up and then sounding off about whatever they felt like. Anyone who knew me figured this would be perfect. Finally, somewhere to put all my "opinions," of which there is a never ending supply. It seemed to me, however, that weighing in on projects at work was very different than throwing my opinions out into a universe of strangers. I mean, who really cares how I am learning to like blue cheese?
But, of course, I am wrong.
There are people who care. They care because they have the same experience or want to learn something new. There may always be bloggers who just want a place to vent but the majority are looking to share and learn and sometimes even just have a place to write.
So that is my plan. To share my experiences, recipes, tips, and, I suppose, opinions. This starts a new day for me so I thought it would be appropriate that the first recipe I share is one for a sweet treat to start your new day.

Banana Double Chip Muffins
Melissa Gaman

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
2 large mashed ripe banana, about 1 cup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/3 cup milk (I used 1% in a pinch and they are great with that as well)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon rum extract, optional, (I know you may not want to buy a bottle or generally dislike artificial flavorings, but I really think a little bit enhances the natural rummy taste of a ripe banana. They will still be great without...just my two cents)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line 12 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners, or line up 12 silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Stir in the chocolate and butterscotch chips and make a well in the center. Add the banana, butter, milk, egg and both extracts to the well and stir into the dry until just combined. Divide evenly between the muffin cups so each is about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with a bit of melted chocolate, but no raw batter), about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Cool in the pan (or on the pan if using the silicone cups) for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Unmold from the silicone liners, if using, and store muffins in a resealable plastic bag or container.

makes 12 muffins

**Note: These "muffins" are tender enough to also be a delicious dessert...or snack...I'm just saying. Baker beware.**