Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

As I'm sure you've all noticed, many improvements have been made to our blog over the mast week making it more functional and more attractive.

Now that we have the option to respond to a question without having to scroll down to the bottom of the thread, would you prefer having the comments appear most recent ones first instead of last?

Please cast your vote!

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One of my very favorite things to eat are fried clams but rarely do I find them worthy of eating. For one thing, if they are just the strips without the bellies, they are more batter than clam. Only if they are steamers (aka piss clams) so they won’t have the right texture variation from plump juicy to crisp chewy. And if the place uses a low grade commercial oil for frying and doesn’t change it often enough, the fried clams become all but indigestible. I have found one place in the world that makes fried clams exactly to my taste—The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport Maine (see below for contact info). (Actually this was a discovery of my eating partner in crime Elizabeth Karmel of Grill Friends). I have driven miles to get there from wherever part in Maine I find myself.

Sadly and obviously fried clams can’t be shipped, but to my delight, The Clam Shack has just started shipping their lobster roll kit! It is shipped overnight in Styrofoam, with icepacks, and despite the 90 degree weather it arrived in perfect condition—the ice still frozen and the lobsters, even the Styrofoam, smelling only of that dreamy briny/sweet sea-breeze aroma.

Continue reading "The Great Lobster Pig Out" »

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a quick note before I jump back into the blog... I saw this recently and thought some of you would be interested in submitting. if you win, let me know! (here's the submitting link, by the way)

FOOD NETWORK WANTS YOUR "ULTIMATE RECIPE"

New Food Network Series "Ultimate Recipe Showdown" Looking for Entries

NEW YORK, APRIL 24, 2007 - Calling all cooks! If you have a recipe that always gets requested for every family party, consistently wins the neighborhood competitions or was passed down from grandma, then Food Network wants to put them on TV for all of America to see. Food Network is looking for America's best recipes to be showcased on the new series Ultimate Recipe Showdown, it was announced today by Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production. Starting April 25th, Food Network will begin accepting entries for the ultimate recipe contest that culminates in a showdown of epic proportions in Los Angeles. Whether a recipe is a new creation or has been in the family for generations, Food Network wants to know what America is cooking and the stories behind the delicious dishes.

"We often hear from our viewers that they have the best recipe for a number of dishes," said Tuschman. "We're challenging America to send us their best recipes and we'll put the cream of the crop on-air to duke it out for the title of 'Ultimate Recipe.'"

All submitted recipes must be original creations and will be narrowed down by an internal Food Network panel. The recipes will be judged on originality, presentation and above all, taste. The six recipe categories include:

CHICKEN - Whole, Fried and Soups & Stews
CAKES - Chocolate, Birthday and Cupcakes
COOKIES - Chocolate Chip, Spice and Bar
PASTA - Spaghetti & Meatballs, Lasagna and Stuffed
COMFORT FOOD - Sandwiches, Mac & Cheese and Chili
BURGERS - Beef, Poultry and Seafood/Veggie

[WHAT, NO BREAD CATEGORY?]

The top nine entries in each category will travel to Los Angeles in August 2007 and show-off their skills on-air in the ultimate competition. The contestants will compete for $10,000 and the title of "Ultimate Recipe." Entrants should go to www.foodnetwork.com/ultimaterecipe to submit their recipe(s) to the show. The website will also give helpful hints on how to write up the recipe and suggestions for which category is appropriate. Applications will be accepted from April 25 - May 25, 2007.

Ultimate Recipe Showdown will premiere in early 2008 on Food Network.

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i should be packing, and doing countless other things to get ready for my upcoming trip, but i just have to share this incredibly interesting happening with you while it is fresh in my mind. it concerns the birth of a new group called “the experimental cuisine collective.” i think it will have enormous impact on our food world. first a little background explanation.

over the years i’ve often been described or introduced as a food scientist which i’ve always been quick to refute out of self-defense. that was because people, at least unconsciously, divided the world between science and art, and when it came to food, science was considered the antithesis--equated with nutrition, absence of emphasis on flavor, and devoid of humor.

gradually i came out of the closet into which i really couldn’t stuff myself for too long, given my excitement and desire to share what i was discovering about the way ingredients interact and the power this offers to create the best possible tasting things. a marriage between science and art is the ideal. you have to know why, you have to know how, and you have to know what. by “what” i mean what is good if not great.

Continue reading "Science Rules" »

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Believe me, I’m grateful that Elliott takes care of the great outdoors here in Hope so that I can sit on the back porch and write about it! But come late August I get nervous when he starts making threatening noises about mowing the back lawn again and that I’d better pick the flowering garlic chives before he mows them down (he knows this to be an unforgivable offense but still it propels me into action).

Regular chives with round leaves have lavender blossoms which bloom early Summer but garlic chives have flat leaves which I find more flavorful, and delicate white blooms that smell very aromatic and make an exquisite and tasty garnish. They are particularly lovely sprinkled on salads such as this cucumber and onion salad. I also cut the leaves into small slices and freeze them for baked potatoes during the Winter.

My garlic chives plant was given to me by my cousin Marion Bush whose company “Wild Edibles” in Westchester NY supplies wonderful things from ramps to lobster mushrooms to restaurants in the greater NY area. She learned from her mother my Aunt Margaret who in turn learned from our Great Uncle Nat who founded the New England Mycological Society. Years ago Aunt Margaret taught chef Larry Forgione about wild edibles and also provided him with them for his restaurant. She likes to joke about how they used to meet like drug dealers in the early hours of dawn in a parking lot in Long Island as my Uncle David didn’t want it known that she was doing this!

The one plant that Marion gave me over 20 years ago is now growing everywhere except for the spot where I officially planted it, which means we may eventually have a lawn of garlic chives. This does not please Elliott. But look at the bouquet I harvested and decide for yourself!

It reminds me of a sad/funny moment at Uncle Nat’s funeral in the Berkshires. The ground was carpeted with thyme. Aunt Margaret couldn’t resist saying: “Are you supposed to have (a) wild thyme in a graveyard?” Thus carrying on another Uncle Nat tradition…punning.

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due to the extraordinary amount of rain we've had this summer and the extraordinary amount of rocks in our soil, one towering cherry tree toppled with a resounding thud missing our house by a mere 3 feet. it served as a major wakeup call that when you live in the forest you need to assess the state of trees that shade the house to keep it cool in summer but can also be a major hazzard. we hired a terrific tree guy to assess what needed to be trimmed or felled and he reduced the toppled cherry tree to wood chips in short order.

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Elliott and I have been arguing for years about whether the sun ever sets directly in the gap. I took the no 'way' position while he took the 'sooner or later' one. he was right and here's proof. in fact, it only happens two times of the year, around june 10th as the sun is heading north for its longest appearance of the year and again on july 10th on it's way back the other direction.

This year I got really lucky because in the midst of a rainy windy weekend, the sky cleared and the sun sank toward the gap just as we were returning from dinner with my new digital camera in my bag.

One other person was there with no less than 4 cameras. Apparently he's been coming to photograph the event for about as many years as we've been arguing about whether it existed or not! He says it's most dramatic when there are some clouds in the sky. I'll have to go back in July!

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When friends come to town and invite me for lunch, asking me to chose the restaurant if it’s downtown in my neck of the woods my mind leaps to Gotham Bar and Grill. if it’s uptown, it’s Alto. And I’ve never been disappointed.

My friend Anna Schwartz, who owns a wonderful art gallery in Melbourne Australia was making one of her all too rare visits last week and staying a mere few blocks from Alto. it was an easy choice. And happily, after something like 15 tests, I had just perfected my ideal of a German chocolate cake for my new book. so I walked up town with two pieces—one for Anna to share with her husband Morry and one for chef Scott Connant.

Continue reading "Where to Go!" »

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