I'm not sure when I learned to bake bread, but I am sure when I really learned to bake bread -- not the exact date, but the experience. Now you are going to learn how irreverent I can truly be.
There are many good bread books available and I own several, but in my opinion the BEST is the book that helped me the most in understanding bread-baking. You can still get it on-line, which is where I recently purchased a back-up copy and some copies for my friends: "Bake Your Own Bread" by Floss and Stan Dworkin. Somehow I first came across this book back in the early seventies and in using it I learned the most important lesson of bread-baking -- understanding how each ingredient affects the whole. I also learned that bread-baking is NOT a science (though it can be treated that way), but an ART.
It was probably less than a year after I acquired this book that I was 'hired' (paid for my tuition) to bake bread at a music camp for the summer. This book was my bible for that summer as my basic job was to bake a different kind of bread every day for 80-90 people. It was a BLAST! I had the most fun creating, mixing, kneading, fooling-around with everything from whole wheat breads, to ryes, to sour-doughs, to challah, brioche, etc. And through the whole eight weeks I only had one potential disaster, which of course was a great learning experience for me -- sour-dough rises slowly, and my loaves went more sideways than up. Not a real problem as they baked fine and tasted fine. I survived any chagrin by cutting the bread into smaller pieces!
So here's a recipe and irreverent/anecdotal look at how I bake bread:
Unless I am creating something that needs to be tightly controlled (and that is very rare in bread-baking) my methode-du-jour is to toss things in based on what I want the outcome to be -- taste, texture, etc. I once proved this to a dubious group of college students when we had a Romantic Era Music party at my house. The few who knew how to bake were astounded when they saw me tossing (literally) unmeasured quantities of ingredients into the bowl. The were even more astounded when the result was, well, delicious.
Two night's ago we had a friend over for dinner (main course Julia Child's bouef bourguignon) and I decided I wanted some dinner rolls to go with. Here's what I tossed in -- I'll give you approximate quantities in a minute as I go, since that's exactly what I did.
Regular unbleached white flour
Spelt whole wheat flour
Flax meal
Salt
Regular dry yeast
Honey (I used some locally 'grown' PA honey)
Canola oil
Water
My goal was to create some very light, tasty dinner rolls with a hint of sweet.
Now I know this isn't entirely purist either, but I often, these days, use a bread maker to knead the dough (I never bake in one or even use one specifically for a rise unless I happen to forget about it and it sits in there and that's fine, too.)
So, I started by tossing about 2 1/2 cups of white flour into the breadmaker (I'll have to give you approximate quanitities here as I literally dumped the larger quantity ingredients in from their containers, but I'll also give you a big hint on how to know if you got it right -- texture). Next a 1/2 cup or so of spelt flour (spelt is a whole wheat flour that has a nutty flavor, very nice!). Then about 1/4 cup of flax meal (also gives a nutty flavor and is good for you.)Note: I find leftover dinner rolls to be far less desirable than the original hot ones right out of the oven, so I purposefully cut this 'recipe' in about half.
Then I actually measured a scant teaspoon of salt and a scant tablespoon of yeast using the palm of my hand into the mix. Dumped in about a 1/4 cup of honey and a half cup or so of oil. [On oils: I try to use healthier oils when I bake. Canola is a common one, but melted butter is certainly a choice if you want that flavor added.]
This was all followed by about 3/4 to a cup of water. Turn on the machine on dough setting and watch.
Here's the tricky part: what I wanted was a fairly light, wet dough that would hang together, but still create a very light fluffy dinner roll. As the machine did its thing I checked in and added several dustings of white flour until I had the consistency I wanted. This is one of those things you have to get the hang of. Especially if you are working with heavier ingredients like wheat and flax. I definitely didn't want to force flour into this dough
Once the machine had done its mixing thing, I dusted the wet ball of dough with flour, gave it a bit more hand-kneading, and tossed it in an oiled bowl to rise. Luckily I have a rising feature on my oven, so I covered the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it go for one hour. After an hour the dough had almost tripled. I punched it down and kneaded vigorishly for five minutes. It was still sticky to touch -- ready for second rise in baking pan.
Important: wet doughs will tend to rise sideways more than up. So I decided to cook these rolls in a heavy ceramic-buttered casserole so that the 1 1/2 inch pinched off balls of dough would grow sideways, hit each other eventually and then go up.
Second rise was also about and hour (remember I wanted very light dinner rolls). Bingo, perfect -- set oven to 350 (I might typically have used 325, but I was timing this with the main course). Baked for about 15 minutes. Buttered tops. Baked a few more minutes and viola! Very light, very tasty with butter. I served a small plateful of rolls at dinner and left the rest in warm oven so we could enjoy more still warm as the dinner lingered on.
So -- bake bread with a flair; be creative; have fun; and most importantly learn what the ingredients do -- Dworkin's book is a good place to start. As you'll see if you follow this blog. I use many, many different types of flours and ingredients in my breads.
Joe Koob
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Pungency Rules: Thoughts about Garlic
One could probably write a whole book about garlic -- perhaps someone has. However, today I would just like to toss out a few thoughts about preparing and using garlic. I'll also share with you an easy recipe for mussels that is a favorite of my friends.
I'm not going to wax eloquent about the types of garlic -- there are many and their pungency varies considerably. These are a matter of taste, and more than anything, availability. I try to find a store that sells the freshest bulbs and I tend to like a strong garlic (Elephant garlic and the like seem to me to be rather weak in flavor). Unfortunately garlic does tend to dry out quickly and lose some of its potency, so adjustments have to be made to recipes if you have some bulbs that have been around for awhile.
One can grow garlic fairly easily in the right soil and environs, and I have a friend who has (does) and he typically has a number of varities that are fun to compare and experiment with. So if you have the where-with-all to find varieties of garlic or grow them, you can enjoy playing arpound with a wide variety of recipes and see how different types impart subtle (or not so subtle) changes in taste.
As the title of my blog suggests I am not a purist about very many things when it comes to cooking, but I do tend to have a few considerations in regards to the preparation of garlic that seem to, at least in my humble opinion, affect the flavor in any given dish.
To really enjoy the full flavor and pungency of garlic without additional bitterness added to the mix (pressing seems to do this in my opinion), I find that finely chopping garlic with a sharp knife is by far the preferred method of preparation. And in an even more purist perspective, I don't feel a food processor accomplishes this task particularly well. So for dishes where you really want the garlic to shine through (see 'Mussels ala Koob, below') grin and bear up to taking the time to chop it finely yourself (or if you are lucky and have friends over willing to help in food preparation, set them to the task -- though if you are like me, you will have to finish it off to your own satisfaction).
However there are certainly many instances where garlic can and should be prepared and used as whole cloves, knife-smushed cloves, lightly chopped, and even pressed through a garlic press. As this blog develops I will likely discuss all of these forms of preparation in relationship to a wide variety of recipes. [I tend to use a lot of garlic and, well, it's good for you, too.]
Another important consideration for the use of garlic (onions, chives, etc.) is that size of cloves/bulbs, freshness, method of preparation, at what point you use it in the recipe, how you cook it, etc., all affect the final outcome. So! Use your best judgement and experiment with amounts, etc. Recipes, like the one below, should almost always be treated as guidelines, not absolutes -- three cloves of garlic may be great for one person's taste or a given size/type of garlic, but completely wrong for you.
Mussels ala Koob
What you'll need:
Bag of fresh mussels (2-3 lbs)
1 Bulb (or more) fresh garlic
butter and/or olive oil (other oils may be used based on your diet, preferences, etc. For this recipe my favorite approach is just to use olive oil, but some people really like the flavor of butter with mussels.)
Fresh tomatoes (one or two medium -- for this recipe Romas work nicely)
Optional
Red Bell pepper or a more spicy variety if you prefer
Green Onions
Preparation:
Wash mussels; discard any broken ones. Set large pot on stove with enough water to cover mussels when they are tossed in and bring to a boil (or you could use a steamer and steam the mussels open). When water is boiling toss in the mussels only long enough for them to fully open. Remove immediately and drain and let cool (can be done half hour or so ahead). When they are cool enough remove the mussel meats from the shells and place in bowl. Press garlic cloves and remove outer skin and hard bottom. Chop the entire bulb very finely. Chop tomatoes into about pea size pieces.
Heat butter/olive oil (hint: unsalted butter is probably best for this, extra virgin olive oil -- keep in mind that mussels could have a bit of a salty flavor). You could use all butter or all olive oil -- what do your tastebuds tell you? Toss in garlic and saute for about two minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes and saute another couple of minutes. [If you decide to add any pepper, add to mix after garlice has been in for one minute. Green onions can be added at same time as tomato.] You can vary this recipe in many ways. The key is the chopped garlic.
When tomato has cooked slightly, add the mussel meats to the pan and toss until covered with the sauce and garlic. Serve immediately (with toast crisps is great!).
This is one of those instances where a great deal of garlic, patiently chopped and lightly cooked, makes all the difference in the world in flavor.
Enjoy.
Joe Koob
I'm not going to wax eloquent about the types of garlic -- there are many and their pungency varies considerably. These are a matter of taste, and more than anything, availability. I try to find a store that sells the freshest bulbs and I tend to like a strong garlic (Elephant garlic and the like seem to me to be rather weak in flavor). Unfortunately garlic does tend to dry out quickly and lose some of its potency, so adjustments have to be made to recipes if you have some bulbs that have been around for awhile.
One can grow garlic fairly easily in the right soil and environs, and I have a friend who has (does) and he typically has a number of varities that are fun to compare and experiment with. So if you have the where-with-all to find varieties of garlic or grow them, you can enjoy playing arpound with a wide variety of recipes and see how different types impart subtle (or not so subtle) changes in taste.
As the title of my blog suggests I am not a purist about very many things when it comes to cooking, but I do tend to have a few considerations in regards to the preparation of garlic that seem to, at least in my humble opinion, affect the flavor in any given dish.
To really enjoy the full flavor and pungency of garlic without additional bitterness added to the mix (pressing seems to do this in my opinion), I find that finely chopping garlic with a sharp knife is by far the preferred method of preparation. And in an even more purist perspective, I don't feel a food processor accomplishes this task particularly well. So for dishes where you really want the garlic to shine through (see 'Mussels ala Koob, below') grin and bear up to taking the time to chop it finely yourself (or if you are lucky and have friends over willing to help in food preparation, set them to the task -- though if you are like me, you will have to finish it off to your own satisfaction).
However there are certainly many instances where garlic can and should be prepared and used as whole cloves, knife-smushed cloves, lightly chopped, and even pressed through a garlic press. As this blog develops I will likely discuss all of these forms of preparation in relationship to a wide variety of recipes. [I tend to use a lot of garlic and, well, it's good for you, too.]
Another important consideration for the use of garlic (onions, chives, etc.) is that size of cloves/bulbs, freshness, method of preparation, at what point you use it in the recipe, how you cook it, etc., all affect the final outcome. So! Use your best judgement and experiment with amounts, etc. Recipes, like the one below, should almost always be treated as guidelines, not absolutes -- three cloves of garlic may be great for one person's taste or a given size/type of garlic, but completely wrong for you.
Mussels ala Koob
What you'll need:
Bag of fresh mussels (2-3 lbs)
1 Bulb (or more) fresh garlic
butter and/or olive oil (other oils may be used based on your diet, preferences, etc. For this recipe my favorite approach is just to use olive oil, but some people really like the flavor of butter with mussels.)
Fresh tomatoes (one or two medium -- for this recipe Romas work nicely)
Optional
Red Bell pepper or a more spicy variety if you prefer
Green Onions
Preparation:
Wash mussels; discard any broken ones. Set large pot on stove with enough water to cover mussels when they are tossed in and bring to a boil (or you could use a steamer and steam the mussels open). When water is boiling toss in the mussels only long enough for them to fully open. Remove immediately and drain and let cool (can be done half hour or so ahead). When they are cool enough remove the mussel meats from the shells and place in bowl. Press garlic cloves and remove outer skin and hard bottom. Chop the entire bulb very finely. Chop tomatoes into about pea size pieces.
Heat butter/olive oil (hint: unsalted butter is probably best for this, extra virgin olive oil -- keep in mind that mussels could have a bit of a salty flavor). You could use all butter or all olive oil -- what do your tastebuds tell you? Toss in garlic and saute for about two minutes over medium heat. Add tomatoes and saute another couple of minutes. [If you decide to add any pepper, add to mix after garlice has been in for one minute. Green onions can be added at same time as tomato.] You can vary this recipe in many ways. The key is the chopped garlic.
When tomato has cooked slightly, add the mussel meats to the pan and toss until covered with the sauce and garlic. Serve immediately (with toast crisps is great!).
This is one of those instances where a great deal of garlic, patiently chopped and lightly cooked, makes all the difference in the world in flavor.
Enjoy.
Joe Koob
Monday, February 22, 2010
Having Fun with Sauces
People often ask me what I cook, i.e. what is my favorite type or nationality of food that I cook. The truth is I cook just about anything and I eat almost all foods -- I draw the line at insects and beets (never have been able to stomach beets in any form, though they have always looked good to me). However there are types of cooking that I am better at than others. For example: I seem to have a knack for curries made from scratch (e.g. Indian or Thai) but I have never felt particularly great at Chinese cooking, in spite of lots of good examples set for me by Chinese friends. But if I give a truly honest answer, I love and am fascinated by the whole concept and realm of making sauces.
Now as an example of my irreverence -- I am not a purist about most things. I don't follow strict guidelines to make a Sauce Robert or Sauce Nantua or even a Beurre Blanc. Simply put, I would never make it through the Cordon Bleu school because I would tend to 'do it my way.' I would find it difficult; well, probably impossible, to learn to chop onions or carrots in a precise manner, or perhaps better said, 'do it their way.'
ButI do know how to make sauces and I love to experiment with sauces. So in today's blog I'll share with you a recent simple meal with an experimental sauce.
A couple of day's ago I had some close friends stop over briefly and I offered to cook dinner. One of the local markets had some very nice fresh Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) filets for sale so I picked up two pounds of these for dinner. As soon as I had seen the filets I started to think sauces.
My goal for this dinner was to grill the steelhead over charcoal (yes, I am a bit of a purist about using the real thing, but one can certainly use a gas grill), and then to create a light sauce that added some nice flavor without overpowering the filets. If you are not familiar with rainbow trout -- it is somewhat like fresh-caught salmon, and depending upon the type of salmon, trout tends to be a somewhat/slightly denser fish. The only prep for the fish was to rinse the filets and sprinkle lightly with some white pepper.
First: keys to cooking fish on the grill
Obviously it does depend on the type of fish, but generally speaking 90% of the time I grill with indirect heat -- meaning, I put the coals on opposite sides of the grill and the fish/meat/etc. in the middle. I tend to use low to medium heat to cook things slowly. Always watch fish carefully, it is key to good fish that it doesn't overcook. 'Just done' is ideal, especially with the slightly denser, drier nature of rainbow trout. Plus, if you like a slight smokey flavor, add a touch (I used three small slivers) of mesquite (hickory, etc.) chips at the beginning of the cooking. I find smoking a very delicate business, especially with fish, and people's palates differ on this, so in some ways you have to go with what you like and hope everyone agrees with the end result. I tend toward the lighter side and try to aim for that. BTW there is no need to brine if you smoke this way, though you certainly can and using different brines is a good way to experiment with how the fish turns out.
To the sauce:
Lately I have been pondering the wonderful flavor of the 'roux.' A staple in New Orleans or Cajun cooking, making a roux is all about browing butter and flour to alter/add to the flavor in the dish in which it is used. Essentially what you do in making a roux is to brown the butter and flour (often with the addition of other spices) to whatever degree you wish. This brings a 'nutty' or 'browned' flavor to the butter mixture. How dark your roux is affects the flavor of your dish or sauce differently. Some people like light brown to medium rouxs, others a rich dark roux that may even border on blackening.
So I have experimented with using 'browned butter' in other sauces. I like the flavor and it expands the possibilities of your sauces. For the trout sauce, I started with about 3 tablespoons of butter in a frying/saute pan.
[BTW I almost never use measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. I have developed (ask my kids -- they have seen me numerous times prove an exact measure in my hand by dumping it into a teaspoon measure or tablespoon measure) the ability to estimate almost precisely amounts of things -- I use the palm of my hand for small quantities and 'dump' from containers for larger quantities (I know, I know, completely irreverent!).] But for reproduction purposes in this blog I will try to give at least a fair estimate of quantities I use. However, variation is the spice of life and food, and virtually nothing is set in cement. Don't take my quantities as verbatim -- create!
I began to brown the butter over medium-high heat and once it started to develop some color I added two dashes (maybe an eighth of a teaspoon) of flour to add to the browning effect. I did NOT want to add enough flour that the sauce would thicken. I wanted a sauce that would flow over and around the filets. Once I had a medium brown tinge, I added the juice from one freshly squeezed lemon, turned the butter to low and shuffled the pan half off the burner to wait the fish. )It's not done yet, but I thought I would briefly describe the rest of the meal.
I decided to make a spinach souffle to accompany and to use a large bowl of left-over angel-hair pasta as well to finish off the dinner. I'm not going to describe making a souffle in detail here, but you can use any basic souffle recipe as a starting point. Here are the essentials: medium chop 6-8 ounces of fresh spinach; make a one cup or so white sauce; grate a cup of Manchego (or other flavorful) cheese and a teaspoon or so of lemon peel; I used five egg whites and three of the yolks; the yolks helped to thicken the white sauce further; then grated cheese and lemon zest was added; finally the spinach; fold in part of beaten egg whites; then add rest; cook in buttered souffle dish at 350 until set and browned nicely on top.
Noodles: to refresh the noodles I brought some water to a boil, dropped the noodles in for a minute, and drained. I made a sauce with olive oil (we'll talk about oils and such in another blog); lots of freshly finely chopped garlic -- about three tablespoons (by hand -- another purist thing of mine that we'll discuss further on other blogs); chopped parsley and the green part of green onions (about 3-4 tablespoons each), saute briefly and toss with pasta. Voila! I did all of this in a wok -- a convenient size and shape for this type of work.
As this all came together and the souffle neared completion, I finished the sauce for the fish. I reheated the butter to a medium-high temperature and then added another tablespoon or so of fresh lemon, tossed in one-third of a medium cucumber finely chopped (a nice fresh taste for the fish). Immediately removed from the heat and added the two yolks (extra from the souffle) fried and chopped to finish off. Spread sauce over fish and serve. Lovely!
What I learned and had fun with: always creating from ideas and trying them out to see how they work. 'Cooking' cucumbers is unusual at best, but I tried it here, and it worked. Plus the browning of butter added a nice touch to the sauce. Another idea -- add a touch of white-wine vinegar at the end for a tangy flavor.
Enjoy!
Joe Koob
Now as an example of my irreverence -- I am not a purist about most things. I don't follow strict guidelines to make a Sauce Robert or Sauce Nantua or even a Beurre Blanc. Simply put, I would never make it through the Cordon Bleu school because I would tend to 'do it my way.' I would find it difficult; well, probably impossible, to learn to chop onions or carrots in a precise manner, or perhaps better said, 'do it their way.'
ButI do know how to make sauces and I love to experiment with sauces. So in today's blog I'll share with you a recent simple meal with an experimental sauce.
A couple of day's ago I had some close friends stop over briefly and I offered to cook dinner. One of the local markets had some very nice fresh Steelhead (Rainbow Trout) filets for sale so I picked up two pounds of these for dinner. As soon as I had seen the filets I started to think sauces.
My goal for this dinner was to grill the steelhead over charcoal (yes, I am a bit of a purist about using the real thing, but one can certainly use a gas grill), and then to create a light sauce that added some nice flavor without overpowering the filets. If you are not familiar with rainbow trout -- it is somewhat like fresh-caught salmon, and depending upon the type of salmon, trout tends to be a somewhat/slightly denser fish. The only prep for the fish was to rinse the filets and sprinkle lightly with some white pepper.
First: keys to cooking fish on the grill
Obviously it does depend on the type of fish, but generally speaking 90% of the time I grill with indirect heat -- meaning, I put the coals on opposite sides of the grill and the fish/meat/etc. in the middle. I tend to use low to medium heat to cook things slowly. Always watch fish carefully, it is key to good fish that it doesn't overcook. 'Just done' is ideal, especially with the slightly denser, drier nature of rainbow trout. Plus, if you like a slight smokey flavor, add a touch (I used three small slivers) of mesquite (hickory, etc.) chips at the beginning of the cooking. I find smoking a very delicate business, especially with fish, and people's palates differ on this, so in some ways you have to go with what you like and hope everyone agrees with the end result. I tend toward the lighter side and try to aim for that. BTW there is no need to brine if you smoke this way, though you certainly can and using different brines is a good way to experiment with how the fish turns out.
To the sauce:
Lately I have been pondering the wonderful flavor of the 'roux.' A staple in New Orleans or Cajun cooking, making a roux is all about browing butter and flour to alter/add to the flavor in the dish in which it is used. Essentially what you do in making a roux is to brown the butter and flour (often with the addition of other spices) to whatever degree you wish. This brings a 'nutty' or 'browned' flavor to the butter mixture. How dark your roux is affects the flavor of your dish or sauce differently. Some people like light brown to medium rouxs, others a rich dark roux that may even border on blackening.
So I have experimented with using 'browned butter' in other sauces. I like the flavor and it expands the possibilities of your sauces. For the trout sauce, I started with about 3 tablespoons of butter in a frying/saute pan.
[BTW I almost never use measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc. I have developed (ask my kids -- they have seen me numerous times prove an exact measure in my hand by dumping it into a teaspoon measure or tablespoon measure) the ability to estimate almost precisely amounts of things -- I use the palm of my hand for small quantities and 'dump' from containers for larger quantities (I know, I know, completely irreverent!).] But for reproduction purposes in this blog I will try to give at least a fair estimate of quantities I use. However, variation is the spice of life and food, and virtually nothing is set in cement. Don't take my quantities as verbatim -- create!
I began to brown the butter over medium-high heat and once it started to develop some color I added two dashes (maybe an eighth of a teaspoon) of flour to add to the browning effect. I did NOT want to add enough flour that the sauce would thicken. I wanted a sauce that would flow over and around the filets. Once I had a medium brown tinge, I added the juice from one freshly squeezed lemon, turned the butter to low and shuffled the pan half off the burner to wait the fish. )It's not done yet, but I thought I would briefly describe the rest of the meal.
I decided to make a spinach souffle to accompany and to use a large bowl of left-over angel-hair pasta as well to finish off the dinner. I'm not going to describe making a souffle in detail here, but you can use any basic souffle recipe as a starting point. Here are the essentials: medium chop 6-8 ounces of fresh spinach; make a one cup or so white sauce; grate a cup of Manchego (or other flavorful) cheese and a teaspoon or so of lemon peel; I used five egg whites and three of the yolks; the yolks helped to thicken the white sauce further; then grated cheese and lemon zest was added; finally the spinach; fold in part of beaten egg whites; then add rest; cook in buttered souffle dish at 350 until set and browned nicely on top.
Noodles: to refresh the noodles I brought some water to a boil, dropped the noodles in for a minute, and drained. I made a sauce with olive oil (we'll talk about oils and such in another blog); lots of freshly finely chopped garlic -- about three tablespoons (by hand -- another purist thing of mine that we'll discuss further on other blogs); chopped parsley and the green part of green onions (about 3-4 tablespoons each), saute briefly and toss with pasta. Voila! I did all of this in a wok -- a convenient size and shape for this type of work.
As this all came together and the souffle neared completion, I finished the sauce for the fish. I reheated the butter to a medium-high temperature and then added another tablespoon or so of fresh lemon, tossed in one-third of a medium cucumber finely chopped (a nice fresh taste for the fish). Immediately removed from the heat and added the two yolks (extra from the souffle) fried and chopped to finish off. Spread sauce over fish and serve. Lovely!
What I learned and had fun with: always creating from ideas and trying them out to see how they work. 'Cooking' cucumbers is unusual at best, but I tried it here, and it worked. Plus the browning of butter added a nice touch to the sauce. Another idea -- add a touch of white-wine vinegar at the end for a tangy flavor.
Enjoy!
Joe Koob
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Beginning
The Irreverent Gourmet
This is a blog for anyone who likes to eat. Most particularly it is for my friends and acquaintances who have seen me cook and wondered how I actually manage to pull things off in spite of my unorthodox approach (but more on this in a minute). It will be about food and the preparation of food for eating (which after all is the ultimate purpose), with probably a good many anecdotes thrown in.
First a little background. I cook -- according to most of my friends I am a really good cook, but my perspective is that if what I bring to the table tastes good, I've succeeded -- it's not a contest. I learned to cook at a very young age. My brothers (2) and sister and I were all taught to cook when we were young -- essentially the basics: eggs, hamburgers, oatmeal (though my Dad's sampling of my first attempt was less than stellar when I didn't know the difference between a Tsp and a Tbl.), mashed potatoes, and eventually more 'complex' endeavors like cookies.
My mother was a decent cook -- for many years when I was young I considered her a great cook -- she certainly could put together a better-than-average dinner party for my dad's cronies (lifer in the army), and she made such exotic things as Coquilles St. Jacques and marinated flank steak (long before it was de rigueur).
My dad also cooked -- well, sort of. His 'left-over omelets on Sunday were something to try not to remember (a baked bean and french fry omelet!)And I have to confess I was probably influenced by his strange experiments, though for him they were purely practical creations. But he did make a few reasonable things as well -- we used to love his Sukiyaki (Okinawan origin) and his lamb and turnips were okay (for kids -- I think turnips are an acquired taste, which I'm still acquiring).
So I had the right basic influences at home and there were other culinary experiences close to hand, e.g. my grandmother was full-Italian and she made the best home-made ravioli and meat sauce (which if I'm being really generous I might eventually share with you in this column). I always loved visiting my grandmother's house. You could count on heavenly aromas and delectable tastes.
Beyond this (and I will share more on this aspect of my experience as I blog), from the time I entered the Air Force right out of college (Vietnam era) to the present I have travelled quite a bit and with the true spirit of gustatory experience, I tried things. I found that I had a knack of being able to recreate, sometimes with a bit of help, much that I enjoyed throughout the world. And the result is, I unashamedly admit to, becoming quite an Irreverent Gourmet.
Essentially my approach to cooking is always focused on how something will taste when it is placed on the table. I don't get too wrapped up in presentation, although that can be a fun side to food preparation, and I'm very rarely concerned about conventions, the 'right' ingredients, following recipes, etc. You will get the idea as this blog develops.
I do feel there are several aspects to really good cooking that make a major difference, and the most important of these is probably passion. I love to cook. I love to cook for others, and I enjoy immensely preparing seven and eight course dinners for friends and colleagues (something that happens irregularly and perhaps 6-8 times a year). Following very closely on passion as a key to fine cooking is something that can be taught, but perhaps is difficult to learn unless you are passionate about cooking. And that is -- having a very good sense of how any given ingredient will affect a recipe. If you have this knack or knowledge, you can create, and creating is all about how I cook. Recipes to me are merely guides that may or may not form the basis for something I have in my mind to make. Here's a quick example:
Some months ago I had one of my elaborate dinners and the theme I chose was Thai-American Fusion. The pasta course evolved into a barbecue of Pronghorn Antelope (freshly taken in South Dakota) on top of Thai rice noodles. What I had in mind was to transform the antelope (a very strong sage-dominated meat) into a rich goulash-type of barbecue. To accomplish this I mixed both Thai and American flavors and the result was -- perfection -- I'm still drooling. [Now you might ask me for this recipe -- sorry, I don't have a clue what I specifically put in it much less the amounts; but perhaps if I continue this blog I will remember to write these types of things down.]
So you see -- I dream, I do, I create, I have fun and the results are often -- well, yummy. If you like food, if you like to experiment, and if you especially like to read about and fool around with making food that tastes good, you might get a kick out of what I write here.
Comments, ideas, techniques, thoughts, questions, and requests are welcome. Just be prepared for the unorthodox, with that one caveat -- it needs to taste good when you put it on the table.
Best, Joe Koob
This is a blog for anyone who likes to eat. Most particularly it is for my friends and acquaintances who have seen me cook and wondered how I actually manage to pull things off in spite of my unorthodox approach (but more on this in a minute). It will be about food and the preparation of food for eating (which after all is the ultimate purpose), with probably a good many anecdotes thrown in.
First a little background. I cook -- according to most of my friends I am a really good cook, but my perspective is that if what I bring to the table tastes good, I've succeeded -- it's not a contest. I learned to cook at a very young age. My brothers (2) and sister and I were all taught to cook when we were young -- essentially the basics: eggs, hamburgers, oatmeal (though my Dad's sampling of my first attempt was less than stellar when I didn't know the difference between a Tsp and a Tbl.), mashed potatoes, and eventually more 'complex' endeavors like cookies.
My mother was a decent cook -- for many years when I was young I considered her a great cook -- she certainly could put together a better-than-average dinner party for my dad's cronies (lifer in the army), and she made such exotic things as Coquilles St. Jacques and marinated flank steak (long before it was de rigueur).
My dad also cooked -- well, sort of. His 'left-over omelets on Sunday were something to try not to remember (a baked bean and french fry omelet!)And I have to confess I was probably influenced by his strange experiments, though for him they were purely practical creations. But he did make a few reasonable things as well -- we used to love his Sukiyaki (Okinawan origin) and his lamb and turnips were okay (for kids -- I think turnips are an acquired taste, which I'm still acquiring).
So I had the right basic influences at home and there were other culinary experiences close to hand, e.g. my grandmother was full-Italian and she made the best home-made ravioli and meat sauce (which if I'm being really generous I might eventually share with you in this column). I always loved visiting my grandmother's house. You could count on heavenly aromas and delectable tastes.
Beyond this (and I will share more on this aspect of my experience as I blog), from the time I entered the Air Force right out of college (Vietnam era) to the present I have travelled quite a bit and with the true spirit of gustatory experience, I tried things. I found that I had a knack of being able to recreate, sometimes with a bit of help, much that I enjoyed throughout the world. And the result is, I unashamedly admit to, becoming quite an Irreverent Gourmet.
Essentially my approach to cooking is always focused on how something will taste when it is placed on the table. I don't get too wrapped up in presentation, although that can be a fun side to food preparation, and I'm very rarely concerned about conventions, the 'right' ingredients, following recipes, etc. You will get the idea as this blog develops.
I do feel there are several aspects to really good cooking that make a major difference, and the most important of these is probably passion. I love to cook. I love to cook for others, and I enjoy immensely preparing seven and eight course dinners for friends and colleagues (something that happens irregularly and perhaps 6-8 times a year). Following very closely on passion as a key to fine cooking is something that can be taught, but perhaps is difficult to learn unless you are passionate about cooking. And that is -- having a very good sense of how any given ingredient will affect a recipe. If you have this knack or knowledge, you can create, and creating is all about how I cook. Recipes to me are merely guides that may or may not form the basis for something I have in my mind to make. Here's a quick example:
Some months ago I had one of my elaborate dinners and the theme I chose was Thai-American Fusion. The pasta course evolved into a barbecue of Pronghorn Antelope (freshly taken in South Dakota) on top of Thai rice noodles. What I had in mind was to transform the antelope (a very strong sage-dominated meat) into a rich goulash-type of barbecue. To accomplish this I mixed both Thai and American flavors and the result was -- perfection -- I'm still drooling. [Now you might ask me for this recipe -- sorry, I don't have a clue what I specifically put in it much less the amounts; but perhaps if I continue this blog I will remember to write these types of things down.]
So you see -- I dream, I do, I create, I have fun and the results are often -- well, yummy. If you like food, if you like to experiment, and if you especially like to read about and fool around with making food that tastes good, you might get a kick out of what I write here.
Comments, ideas, techniques, thoughts, questions, and requests are welcome. Just be prepared for the unorthodox, with that one caveat -- it needs to taste good when you put it on the table.
Best, Joe Koob
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