Bringing inspiration and ideas to better manage your home kitchen
It is officially summer in the Pacific Northwest – it’s after 4th of July which marks the official start of nice weather here. Bring out the tank tops, swimsuits, shorts, sundresses and all the clothing that shows all the skin. It’s the season of calorie …
We’re closing out this 5-week series on burgers with oven-roasted fries. While not always necessary to accompany a burger, fries sure do make it a meal. They’re easier to make at home than you may think. If I order a burger at a restaurant and …
I can’t recall if I was reading her book that I recently purchased or if it was a video of her where I caught this, but Alice Waters was explaining the importance of the ceremony of sharing a meal with someone. Making it special by way of dishware, linens, table settings, flowers, etc. and most of all, making sure to enjoy a meal at a proper dinner table.
Mike and I had found ourselves preparing dinner and then eating together on the couch while we watched a show. I cringe to even admit it. Alice’s words were enough to knock some good graces back into my routine and dining habits. We committed to eating every meal together at the dining table for one month. We began setting the table, sitting across from one another instead of side by side on the couch staring at a screen. And we quickly found ourselves sharing conversation that wouldn’t have been shared had we just watched a show while we ate.
Here are a few things we learned in the process:
There is power in practicing the ceremony of dining together. The dining table can be such a great place of connection in a family. I want to practice the discipline that it takes to take full advantage of that opportunity.
Inspiration:
Alice Waters
When you start budgeting the honest truth is that food and shopping are the two categories where you’re going to feel the biggest pinch. Grocery budgets aren’t hard – you won’t feel that big of a pinch once you set some processes in place, even …
Week 4 of this 5-week burger series brings us to the lettuce wrapped burger. For splurges, I definitely enjoy a burger on a delicious bun. If it’s homemade (or restaurant made), I’m even happier. But at home, we most often enjoy our burgers bunless or …
Everyone has their “go-to” chocolate chip cookie recipe. This one is ours. Well, it’s actually Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s. He’s a bartender in Portland who is a true craftsman behind the bar, and apparently knows how to make really good chocolate chip cookies. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes are the same (or very similar). You’ll see small, if any, variation in ingredients and quantities. What matters just as much as what you’re mixing, is how you mix. Christina Tosi is the master of this. She’s known for her partnership with David Chang of Momofuku. She worked with David at Momofuku to create a dessert menu and eventually the two created the Milk Bar where Tosi creates wildly sweet desserts made with cereal milk and other creative concoctions.
Here’s some cookie rules that Tosi taught us.
The best chocoloate chip cookie!
Using a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars together for 10 minutes (see notes). Add the egg and vanilla and beat until everything is smooth and incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda until they're all incorporated. Then start slowly folding that mixture into the wet ingredients.
Add the chocolate and mix just until combined. Wrap the bowl and let the dough rest in the fridge overnight, if possible.
Bake at 400F for ten minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Cool on a cooling rack.
Inspired by: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Chocolate: You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or your favorite chocolate. We've found a large bar of dark chocolate at Trader Joe's that we love. Sometimes semi-sweet chips are just too sweet.
Mixing Tips:
If you live in an area that grows local strawberries, make sure to take full advantage! They’re not cheap, by any means, so you may not save money by making jams and turning it into every preservable item. But this is a bounty to enjoy …
Week 3 of this 5-week burger series brings us to the roasted red pepper and goat cheese burger, with arugula. There’s a story behind this burger. I first had it at the pub at Campbell’s Resort on Lake Chelan. A group of my gals and …
A quality margarita has to be one of the toughest drinks to find in a restaurant or bar. Why is that? It must be one of the more popular cocktails. And yet at any given Mexican restaurant or bar – good ones for that matter – you’ll find a margarita made with a pre-made mix that tastes something like a sugary lemon lime Gatorade. It’s not that hard to make fresh, although if you’re making a lot of them behind the bar, I can see the draw to use a mix. There’s no excuse for that at home though.
This recipe is adapted from Jeffrey Morgenthaler, a well-known bartender in Portland, OR. I love his approach and the things that he deems important behind the bar. He’s a craftsman. If you’re interested in finding a bartending “cookbook,” I have and really enjoy “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique.” Not only will it provide you with excellent recipes, you’ll learn the fundamentals of good cocktails.
A few notes on equipment and ingredients that you’ll want for this recipe and future cocktails:
Tequila: I’ve heard (and said myself) many times “don’t use good alcohol for mixing.” After experimenting with different tequilas in this recipe, I no longer subscribe to that mantra. Maybe it’s true if you’re drinking whiskey and coke, but it’s not true in a good margarita – the quality of the tequila greatly impacts the taste of the margarita. I’d prefer quality over quantity. I like the flavor of reposado or anejo varieties and some of my favorite tequila splurges are Casamigos and Roca Patron (not Patron, although I’m sure that’s good too). These two tequilas are excellent for sipping neat or on the rocks as well. They’re also expensive. Just buy the best tequila you can afford – even if it’s the premium Jose Cuervo.
Jigger: Bartending is not like cooking; bartending is like baking. You need to measure and measure accurately – it’s the difference between a great cocktail every time and an inconsistent cocktail. So do yourself a favor and get a proper jigger to measure with and take it seriously.
Simple syrup: You’ll need simple syrup in your fridge for this and other cocktails. The good news is it keeps for a long time. So, find a good squeeze bottle and make a batch of 2:1, meaning two parts sugar to one part water. This is the most common ratio of simple syrup. Buying simple syrup is like buying a sourdough starter – there’s no need for it. It’s just sugar and water!
This is the only margarita recipe you'll need. Quantities are precise and perfect. You can use this as a basis to modify citrus (grapefruit, orange, etc.).
Rim the lip of a low-ball glass with salt (flaked salt works best, in my opinion), and then fill the glass with ice. Using a shot glass or jigger with various measuring marks, combine the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup together in a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake vigorously for about 20 seconds and then strain the contents into your glass.
Inspired by: Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Ever grab your towel after enjoying a hot shower and be surprised by a freshly laundered towel that smells more like a dirty, sweaty t-shirt? Not pleasant. It turns out, towels can get a build up of detergent, oils, and other residue that creates this …