On the Supremacy of Kettle Corn

The first time I ate kettle corn was in Telluride, Colorado. It was at one of the town park concerts, possibly Widespread Panic, the year a monsoon hit about three songs into the first set causing flooding, the ruin of many a Birkenstock, and the cancellation of the show (WP generously entertained everyone with three sets and an encore the following night).

Anyway, the popcorn was awesome - with a perfect sweet and salty crust. I've been tinkering with it at home ever since and have settled on a recipe replicated all over the internets.

We've always had a dedicated popcorn pot (we also have an electric popper but I don't care much for the popcorn it produces). I got our present one at Target, I think. It's just a stainless steel stock pot - about 10 quarts. It's way bigger than we need it to be (look for something around 6 quarts if you decide to become a popcorn fanatic like me) but we REALLY like popcorn. I make regular stove top popcorn with just canola oil and a lot of salt (cover the bottom of the pot with oil, add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of popcorn kernels, pop over medium/medium-high heat, dump into a large serving bowl and douse generously with table salt). But for a better treat, try this:

Kettle Corn
Print recipe only here

INGREDIENTS
* 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup canola oil
* 1 t salt

METHOD
Have ready a serving bowl and two oven mitts or potholders. Add the sugar, salt and oil to a large pot (mine is a stainless steel stockpot that is used only for popping corn) and place over medium heat. When the sugar is dissolved (after 2 minutes or so) add the popcorn. When the popcorn begins to pop, begin to shake the pot without stopping until the popping slows (this prevents the sugar from burning). Once the popping has slowed remove from the heat and transfer kettle corn into serving bowl. Enjoy!

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Now Recommending SplashShopper for iPhone

They did it! Now that Splash Data has launched an iPhone desktop version, making setting up and syncing the device possible AND adding great sorting capabilities I can wholeheartedly recommend the SplashShopper application for iPhone. And I can add another recycled Treo to the Treo graveyard in my desk drawer. Wahoo!

For all you iPhone users, SplashShopper can be had (assuming you've downloaded the new OS) from main screen App Store. You will need an iTunes account to purchase it. At $9.99 it really is a steal. It will totally streamline your grocery shopping. The Books, Wine, and Gifts lists are also quite helpful for jotting down wines you enjoy, books friends have recommended and gift ideas as they come to you.

I'm confident you'll get as much out of it as I do. □

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Blackberries della Nonna

We didn't hit a single Chicago-area U-Pick farm this summer. This would have been a great disappointment had we not had the opportunity to pick bowls and bowls of wild blackberries in the Pacific Northwest.

Blackberry season hits toward the middle of August. The berries pictured above are rooted in the sand on Puget Sound and in the backyard of our dear Nonnie. Were I there long enough to get sick of eating them straight off the thorny vine I would have done any of the following with them: Kristine's blackberry-macerated elk tenderloin (she marinates the meat all day in in smashed blackberries with tamari and garlic and grills it quickly over a high heat to lock in the juices), my favorite blackberry cobbler or a blackberry ice cream. Of course a simple sabayon topped with fresh berries would be great too.

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Intelligencia to Ix-Nay the Enti-Vay

Chicago's Intelligencia Coffee made news recently when they announced plans to phase out 20-ounce coffee and espresso drinks. Quoth Intelligentsia founder Doug Zell, "Drinking our coffee is not like drinking jug wine."

My first reaction to the news was the equivalent of a high-five to Zell. I'm down with moderation. Intelligentsia wants to stay classy and leave the Biggie Coffee to Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald’s.

I thought about Intelligentsia’s motive after reading an editorial in the Tribune which bemoaned the decision on grounds that, “You wouldn't like us when we're not caffeinated,” and called for a resurrection of the 20-ounce cup. (Note: Intelligentsia's Zell is of no relation to the Tribune's Zell.) I struggled to see how the news merited an editorial (because it doesn’t). There will always be a market for jug wine, Super Big Gulps, and super-sized, debt-riddled multimedia/entertainment corporations (maybe not the last one). With 7-Eleven and Starbucks both within shooting distance of the Tribune Tower, the editors will have no problem scoring their caffeine fix.

While I support Intelligentsia’s move isn’t Zell’s statement an admission that up until now they have been purveyors of jug wine? To distinguish themselves from their competitors they should have eschewed the venti from the start.

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Why Flour Type Matters

My children's babysitter had a hard time baking in my house when the kids wanted to make cookies. She had no idea which flour to use. I had four types of white flour in unmarked containers: all purpose (AP), pastry, cake and bread flour. I've since labeled them to reduce confusion.

It's not necessary for the average home baker to keep four white flours. In addition to kitchen standard flour - AP - I highly recommend keeping cake flour.

So, what's the difference? Cake flour has less protein than AP flour, in fact the lowest protein content of all four flours in my pantry. The reduced gluten (protein) yields a lighter, more tender crumb. On the opposite end of the spectrum is bread flour - a higher protein/gluten flour that gives bread and bagels their chewiness. Pastry flour and AP are in between. Pastry flour has a similarly low protein content as cake flour but it's not chlorinated. Chlorinating cake flour serves to further break down the gluten. It sounds horrid, I know. I know of no company who produces a more natural cake flour.

I had the opportunity to do some cooking in my sister's kitchen recently and rediscovered how a simple substitution can radically alter a recipe. We were making pancakes and she only had half the amount of cake flour needed. My recipe calls for 2 cups of cake flour; we used one cup of cake flour and one cup of AP. The resulting pancakes were disastrous, a far cry from the light and fluffy breakfast we enjoy so much.

Cake flour is available in the baking aisle of any grocery store. Look for it in a 2# box. I alternately see two brands: Swans Down and Pillsbury Softasilk. As for substitutions, 1 cup plus 2 T cake flour can substitute for 1 cup of AP flour in a pinch. Following our dense pancake fiasco, I don't recommend substituting AP for cake flour. Find another recipe (not all pancake recipes require cake flour) or add cake flour to your shopping list.

For more info on flour varieties check out: The Joy of Baking

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Staycation Crab Cakes on Mixed Greens with Red Pepper Sauce

In a summer of traveling vicariously, I’m cooking foods I’d eat if I were anywhere but stuck in the middle. This week it’s crab cakes, inspired by the Paul family’s east coast adventures.

My recipe for crab cakes is from Wolfgang Puck’s Adventures in the Kitchen cookbook. They are beautiful and decadent. With an almond meal crust and a red pepper cream sauce these are the classiest crab cakes I’ve seen. Atop a bed of mixed greens they make an impressive summer lunch.

Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce
Print recipe only here

Serves 6

YOU WILL NEED
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
½ medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 jalapeño
2 cloves garlic, smashed
½ cup dry white wine
1 pint (2 cups) cream
1 ¼ # lump crab meat
3 cups mixed greens

for the crabcakes:
2 T olive oil
½ medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
½ medium yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
½ medium red onion, diced
1 cup cream
1 t jalapeño, finely chopped
2 t chives, finely chopped
2 t dill, finely chopped
1 t parsley, finely chopped
½ t kosher salt
Pinch cayenne
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
1 c almond meal (found at Trader Joes or grinding almonds)
1 ¼ # lump crabmeat

for the sauce:
2 T olive oil
½ medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
½ medium red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup cream
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD
Prepare the crab cakes:
In a sauté pan , heat the olive oil. Add the onion, red and yellow peppers and gently sauté over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.

In a small saucepan, heat cream and jalapeño and reduce by one-half (so that ½ cup remains). Cool.

Chop chives, dill, and parsley and add to pepper-onion mixture. Stir in cooled cream, salt, and cayenne. Stir in egg and ½ cup each breadcrumbs and almond meal. Gently fold in crab meat. Divide mixture into 12 crab cakes - about 2 ½ ounces each.

Combine remaining breadcrumbs and almond meal on a plate. Coat both sides of crab cake well. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Prepare the sauce:
Start the sauce closer to the point of service, or about 30 minutes before you plan to sauté the crab cakes.

Sauté pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Deglaze pan with white wine and cook until 3 tablespoons of liquid remain. Add cream and bring to a boil.

Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain into a clean pan. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and reserve, keeping warm.
When ready to serve, wash salad greens. Prep a sheet pan with paper towel to drain the crab cakes.

Working in one or two skillets heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté crab cakes for about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown, avoiding over-crowding. Transfer to sheet pan to drain while sautéing all the crab cakes.

Plate greens and arrange two crab cakes per plate. Drizzle sauce over the greens and crab cakes. Enjoy immediately.

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Evaluating Splash Shopper for iPhone

I did my gopher dance this morning when I saw that the great, all-powerful Splash Shopper was included among the web apps for the new iPhone OS. I’ve been an iPhone user for nine months but haven’t relinquished my frumpy Treo because I can’t stock my kitchen without Splash Shopper.

After fidgeting around with the iPhone version for more hours than I’d like to admit, I’m no longer doing the happy dance. My eyes hurt and my hands are twitchy. I’m disappointed with the release. Looks like I’m stuck with the Treo for awhile longer.

Splash Shopper for Palm OS has served me incredibly well. Here’s why I love it:

1. Filtering by store, or category (i.e. vegetables, cereal, condiments) allows one-stop-shopping or hitting a variety of stores with a list of what you need at each store.

2. Desktop application/sync keeps everything backed up and is easier to enter multiple items or new lists.

3. Allowing me to create multiple shopping lists - a shopping list just for an upcoming camping trip and another for my daughter’s beach birthday party.

4. Keeping track of recommended items like wine, music, movies, books. Also, the GIFTS category helps me remember what birthday gifts I need to purchase and organize my Christmas shopping.

The iPhone version fails both sorting/filtering and desktop/syncing. The sorting feature was what made the original software so brilliant; without it it’s pretty lackluster. The desktop version, which will include syncing to the iPhone, hasn't been released yet. Since it’s much easier to start a shopping list via your desktop the new user would benefit from waiting for software updates. Attempting to use the software in its current iteration will only cause frustration.

I encourage new users to wait for updates before purchasing. For now, I’m keeping my version and will waste some more time tweaking it. It’s been a slow summer.


photo courtesy Splash Shopper

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