"You want it your f*ckng way?!"

In today's Sunday NYT, the magazine is featuring their annual Food Issue, a must buy/read for any die-hard food obsessive. Among the articles is a piece by Christine Muhlke on the one-of-a-kind NY restaurant Shopsin's General Store, where owner Kenny Shopsin is almost as likely to throw you out as to throw you down a plate of his macaroni-and-cheese pancakes (there's a recipe attached for this unholy marriage of breakfast and dinner, and if you think I'm not making them ASAP you would be sadly mistaken!), with no extra charge for a side of expletives. But my favorite part of the article is the opening paragraph, where I LOVE this quote:

AS THE LEGENDARY bon vivant Ludwig Bemelmans once noted of restaurateurs: “The most strenuous customer-versus-proprietor battles occur in the smart restaurants of Paris and New York. This kind of restaurant, as a rule, is small. It is benefited by a certain type of guest and injured by another, and the latter must be discouraged from coming. In a man confronted daily with the task of separating the wanted from the unwanted, a degree of arrogance is indispensable.”
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Food multitasking: Wild Blueberry Cake

I love food multitasking. How many things can you make that go from dessert after dinner to the perfect morning coffee accompaniment? That's right, not that many. Although who hasn't indulged in that slice of chocolate cake the next morning? Wow, is anything better and more decadent than that?! Okay, this isn't that decadent, but it is darn good. And way easy. I saw this recipe in a recent New York Times Magazine, and even though we don't have those supposedly "special" Maine blueberries they call for, our fabulous Oregon blueberries take a back seat to no berry! And with the season running late this year, it is still possible to find these beautifully ripe mini-orbs of goodness at the Farmer's Market. This cake was delicious, the almond flour giving it a slight nuttiness, the texture moist and crumbly, and the sugar you sprinkle on top right before cooking gives it a perfect snappy crust. It takes no time at all to put together, and if you're tempted by that second piece after dinner...and you will be....resist, because your morning coffee is just a good night's sleep away!
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Wild-Blueberry Cake
by Nancy Harmon Jenkins/NYT Magazine

ingredients:
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
1 cup plus 1 ½ tablespoons flour, plus more for flouring the pan
½ cup slivered blanched almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons whole or nonfat plain yogurt
1/3 cup whole or nonfat milk
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen low- bush, wild blueberries (see note).

method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square cake pan with butter. Dust the pan with flour, shaking out excess. Set the pan in the freezer.

2. On a baking sheet, roast the almonds in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool and pulse them to a coarse grit in a food processor. Add 1 cup of the flour, the baking powder and sea salt and continue processing to a fine grit.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape the sides. Beat in the egg, vanilla and orange zest. Stir the yogurt into the milk and then beat it into the batter.

4. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until combined. Toss blueberries with the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons flour and fold them into the batter.

5. Transfer the batter to the chilled pan. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon sugar on top. Bake in the oven until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a cake rack. Serves 8. Adapted from Nancy Harmon Jenkins.

NOTE: Wyman’s frozen wild blueberries are available at most Whole Foods Markets and health-food stores. When using frozen blueberries, do not let them thaw.

Using my time wisely

There are lots of ways you can spend your time. Some bad, some good. GWB's plan to spread democracy to Muslim countries: bad use of time. GWB reading a book like Three Cups of Tea so he might actually understand what's going in middle east countries: good use of time. My plan to be a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan: well, maybe not a bad use of time, but at best a questionable use of time. Me spending last Monday making Ragu alla Bolognese for a couple of friends: awesome use of time! So to keep it positive, I'll dwell on that.

Last Monday we made plans to have a couple of friends to dinner, and since indoor slow-cooking season is coming to and end, even here in unusually cold and wet PDX, it was the perfect time to pull out this recipe from my to-do list. First off, when it comes to pasta sauces, for me bolognese comes in second only to my beloved carbonara. You spend all day slowly watching something bubble away in a big pot, and when it comes time to serve it up, everyone can taste the love. Forget the trendy food nerd movement, this is real "slow food". I came across this recipe in the NY Times Magazine a few weeks ago. It's adapted from chef Marco Canora of Manhattan's Hearth, Insieme and Terroir restaurants. It's his versions of his grandmother's bolognese, and it was simply stunning. The article also states: "Another indication of a nearly finished ragù is that the evaporated liquids leave behind a sauce as thick as pudding. 'It’s done when it reaches that sexy consistency,' Canora says." Thick, super intense (it has a lot of tomato paste...don't be afraid, it works....that gets cooked to lengthen and intensify its flavor and texture), this was a huge hit, and incredibly easy to put together. All it takes is time, and on a day off with friends on the way for dinner, what could be a better way to make use of it?
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Beef Bolognese
adapted from Insieme in Manhattan

ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ cups finely chopped onions
¾ cup finely chopped celery
¾ cup finely chopped carrots
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1/3 pound pancetta, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups tomato paste
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 cups red wine
2 2/3 cups whole canned tomatoes, drained of juices and torn
4 cups meat stock
Penne or pappardelle, cooked al dente
Grated Parmesan.

method:
1. Combine the butter and olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan set over medium heat. When hot, add the onions, celery and carrots, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables start to brighten in color, about 20 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, and just before it starts to brown, add the beef and pancetta. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is thoroughly browned, about 25 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the milk and cook at a lively simmer until the milk is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until the pan is almost dry. Stir in the tomatoes and the stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 hours (I let mine go for 3-1/2 hours), stirring occasionally. Skim the fat off the surface as it cooks. Toss with al dente penne or pappardelle and serve with grated Parmesan.
Serves 6.
The sauce, after about 90 minutes...looking good!

Captain Kearney's Quagmire

I hate to let reality intrude on our food dreams, but this riveting story in today's New York Times Magazine is don't miss reading. It's not a reality that 99.99% of us would have any idea about. But it is the reality faced daily by Army Captain Dan Kearney in the Korengal River valley in northeastern Afghanistan. As told by NYT reporter Elizabeth Rubin...and man or woman, I can't imagine how she dealt with seeing the things she did...this tells the gripping story of Kearney trying to keep control of a valley filled with insurgents, ruled by people who don't want us there, and having his mission controlled by an Army seemingly content to keep sending men even younger than him into a place where the chances of coming out unscathed, physically or emotionally, are pretty much zero. To quote Rubin's story: 'Just before I left, Kearney told me his biggest struggle would be holding his guys in check. “I’ve got too many geeking out, wanting to go off the deep end and kill people,” he said. One of his lieutenants wanted to shoot every Afghan in the face.' Or these chilling word about one of his men: 'He worried that the Korengal was going to push them off the deep end. In his imagination it had already happened. One day an Afghan visited their fire base, Sandifer told me. “I was staring at him, on the verge of picking up my weapon to shoot him,” he said. “I know right from wrong, but even if I did shoot him everyone at the fire base would have been O.K. We’re all to the point of ‘Lord of the Flies.’ ”.

As I read it it was staggering to think these young men, all under 26, were facing situations that are so far beyond our imaginations. An awesome reporting job.

** as a reminder again, you can sign up at the New York Times website, http://www.nytimes.com , and read the paper for free us by registering your name and email. It's free...and spam free. Do it!

Seasonal Satisfaction

How fortunate. Just as tomato season kicks into high gear, I have the perfect opportunity to showcase this most seasonal of foods and get a little much needed culture at the same time. Not to go all Monte Burns on you, but all I can say is "Excellent!"

The occasion was w's friend Sue's b-day, which she had thoughtfully chosen to hold in Laurelhurst Park here in PDX at an evening performance of the Portland Festival Symphony. As our contribution to the potluck on the grass, we brought along some freshly roasted yellow and red peppers (from pepps we picked up at the Montavilla Farmer's Market that morning), as well as an über-seasonal fresh tomato and basil pasta that we adapted from an article we saw a few weeks ago in the NYT Sunday Magazine. All the food was fab, and again I thank the Gods of All that is Edible that my friends all seem to have mad skills in the kitchen, but I have to say our little pasta killed! It was so easy to throw together, nothing could be prettier with the vibrant yellow and red tomatoes practically jumping off the plate, and of course crazy delicious in that super-summery way. Try this soon, while the tomato bounty is in full swing. Your friends, and your hungry tummies, will thank you!

How nice of them to play at our dinner party!





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Summer Pasta
adapted from the New York Times Magazine

ingredients
5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
12 basil leaves
5 or 6 large ripe tomatoes (red and yellow make a great visual)
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 pound dries penne (or rigatoni)
3/4 lb fresh mozzarella
Country bread

1- Take out large bowl. Add garlic. Pour in olve oil. With scissors, snip the basil leaves into shreds over the garlic mixture. Gently combine. Let sit all day.

2-About 2 hours before serving, chop the otmatoes and add to the bowl. Gently combine.

3- When you're ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add pasta and cook until done. While pasta cooks, cut the mozzarella into small cubes.

4-Drain the pasta and pour it on top of the tomato mixture. Do not stir. Spread the mozzarella on top of the pasta and toss only the pasta and cheese; the cheese will soften slightly, and the pasta will get coated with fat. Then gently stir up from the bottom, incorporating the tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread.
Serves 6

DRINK: Wine, preferably cold and crisp. We took a well-chilled bottle of 2006 Palazzone "Terre Vineate" Orvieto Classico from Italy that was perfect! I could also easily get with an icy cold dry rosé from France or Italy.