<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/admin/includes/styles/rssdisplay.php" type="text/xsl"?>
	<rss version='2.0'>
		<channel>
			<title>Email Campaign Archives for list &#039;Jane Snow Newsletter&#039;</title>
			<description>Email Campaign Archives for list &#039;Jane Snow Newsletter&#039;</description>
			<generator>N/A</generator>
			<lastBuildDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:15:23 -0500</lastBuildDate>
			<ttl>20</ttl>
		<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - February 3rd 2010</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - February 3rd 2010</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:02:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - February 3rd 2010</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free February 3, 2010  Dear Foodie Friends,  Making shepherd&rsquo;s pie from leftovers would make a lot more sense than what I did Sunday, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be nearly as delicious. This was shepherd&rsquo;s pie done right, worthy of a company dinner. And in the process, I learned a fast new technique for cooking a roast.  I wanted to make shepherd&rsquo;s pie from scratch using roast beef instead of the usual hamburger (Typically, the dish is a casserole of ground beef and vegetables in gravy, topped with mashed potatoes and baked). I had a 2 1/4-pound sirloin tip roast but my brother was arriving for dinner in just two hours. A lean, tough cut like that takes at least 2 1/2 hours to braise into submission, so I nosed around the internet for faster method. I wanted to find out if anyone had come up with a way to microwave meat so that it didn&rsquo;t taste boiled.  I gleaned some tips here and there, and figured, what the heck. I drizzled the roast with some spice-infused oil I had on hand and added tomato juice and lots of sliced onions. I cooked it in a covered casserole on high power for 10 minutes, then 50 percent power for 30 minutes.   What a surprise. While it wasn&rsquo;t the pot roast of my dreams, it was pretty darn good. The meat was just slightly dry and would have been flavored all the way through if it had been braised on the stove, so I&rsquo;ll stick with the old-fashioned method when I&rsquo;m serving plain pot roast. But I&rsquo;ll use the microwave method from now on for roast beef to use in other recipes such as burritos.   While the roast cooked, a pot of potatoes was cooked and hand-mashed with butter, salt and milk until creamy. Then carrots were simmered in the rich braising liquid with a bit of thyme until tender. I thickened the liquid to the consistency of a thin gravy, and stirred in the cubed roast and handfuls of  peas and corn. I turned the mixture into a baking pan, topped it with the fluffy mashed potatoes and baked it until bubbling and brown.   In the middle of this project, my brother called to tell me he would be a bit late. When I told him what I was cooking, he said, &ldquo;Oh, good. I liked that when we had it in the junior high school cafeteria.&rdquo;  By the time Tom arrived, the house smelled wonderful. The shepherd&rsquo;s pie was done and so was a loaf of fresh bread.   Tony dished up portions for the three of us and we ate in the dining room, feeling snug and sheltered from the snow and ice we could see through the tall windows. Not to brag, but it was pretty good for cafeteria food.  ULTIMATE SHEPHERD&rsquo;S PIE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  For the roast beef: &bull; 1/4 cup vegetable oil &bull; 1/4 tsp. salt &bull; 1/8 tsp. each cayenne and black pepper &bull; 1/4 tsp. each dried thyme, oregano &bull; 1 lean boneless beef chuck or sirloin roast, 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. &bull; 1/2 of a large onion, sliced &bull; Tomato juice  For the filling: &bull; 2 tbsp. oil &bull; 3 cloves garlic, minced &bull; 1/4 cup chopped onion &bull; 3 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice  &bull; Salt, pepper &bull; 1/4 tsp. dried thyme &bull; 3 tbsp. flour mixed with 1/4 cup water &bull; 1 cup frozen peas &bull; 1 cup frozen or canned corn &bull; 4 cups mashed potatoes prepared with butter, milk and salt  For the roast, combine oil and seasonings and rub all over the roast in a microwave-safe casserole dish. (If you have time, heat the oil until warm before adding the spices, and let steep overnight). Top the roast with the onion slices. Add enough tomato juice to almost cover the meat. Cover the casserole with a lid (a plate will do, but don&rsquo;t use plastic wrap) and microwave on high power for 10 minutes, then on 50 percent power for 15 minutes per pound. Let stand for 10 minutes before removing lid. Remove roast from pan, reserving liquid. Dice meat into 1/2-inch cubes.  Meanwhile, prepare mashed potatoes.  For the filling: Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and saut&eacute; until they begin to soften. Add diced meat and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until carrots are almost tender, stirring occasionally and adding more oil if necessary. Stir in thyme.  Measure cooking liquid and add enough water to equal 3 cups. Stir into mixture in skillet. Increase heat to high and slowly stir in flour mixture. Simmer about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Stir in peas and corn and cook for 1 minute longer, until vegetables are warmed through. Season again with salt and pepper.  Turn mixture into a 9-by-11-inch baking pan. Cover filling with mashed potatoes. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, until filling is bubbly and potatoes begin to brown. Makes 6 servings.   HELP U COOK     In winter we eat a lot of tubers, and occasionally a potato or two becomes lost in the shuffle. When we find it again, it is wrinkled or has sprouted or has green patches on the skin. The green patches are evidence of a mildly toxic substance, solanin. It forms when the potato is exposed to light. You may trim away the green part and safely eat the potato, according to the Cooperative Extension Service. Sprouts may be trimmed, too, and do not affect the quality of the potato. But if  a potato is wrinkled, it is past its prime and should be thrown away.   THE MAILBAG  From Diane, Brecksville:  I was about to run to the kitchen to begin the process for No-Knead Bread until I came to the pan size. How many of us have an 8-quart pan of the specified material? My kitchen and basement are overflowing with items I have bought for ONE USE so I think I'll wait until next week for readers' feedback. It sounds wonderful though...hope I can wait that long before heading for the kitchen store.  Diane: The pot is essential. It's basically just a Dutch oven. I use a Lodge enameled cast-iron pot. My husband bought it for me a couple of years ago on sale for about $40. Recently I&rsquo;ve seen less expensive off brands in several discount stores.  This is a pot you'll use a LOT. It's the perfect size for chili, stews, and lots of other stuff. I'm making so much bread that I need another one.  You could use a non-enameled cast-iron dutch oven or a cloche. A friend made the bread with a non-enameled cast-iron dutch oven, and the bread stuck to the pan. But local bread expert Kathy Lehr says she uses a non-enameled cast-iron pot, and her bread doesn&rsquo;t stick. The pot must be well seasoned and you must use plenty of cornmeal, she says.  Kathy uses the same recipe I do, but adds a bit more salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons total) and in winter when her house is cooler, lets it sit for 24 hours instead of 18.  Thanks for the tips, Kathy.   From Cindy H., Tallmadge: Any chance you'd be willing to experiment with gluten-free flours in that no-knead bread recipe? My daughter and I have both been living the gluten-free life for a year and I do pretty well, but I miss bread!   I use soy flour or rice flour when I need just a bit of flour for a recipe, and many turn out just fine. I've figured out a nice smooth cornbread with stone-ground cornmeal and rice flour, but most pre-packaged gluten-free bread tastes pretty much like Styrofoam.  Great Harvest has gluten-free breads but they&rsquo;re shipped from their store in Cortland, Ohio,  and that's expensive!  Something about your description of this bread technique sounds like it might work with gluten-free flours, but I don't know enough about the science of bread dough to be sure.   Cindy: I have never experimented with gluten-free flours and am not up for the challenge at this busy time. Maybe someone else is. I&rsquo;ll pass along any gluten-free bread info I receive. I know many other people would like a great recipe for gluten-free bread, too.   From Virginia: My husband, Marc, and I enjoyed making your pork stew with star anise. Not finding star anise in the local market we substituted Chinese five spice powder with good results. Although the stew was delicious, the broth was more like a soup than a stew. Is it meant to be like that? Or does the star anise act as a thickening agent?  Virginia: No, star anise isn&rsquo;t a thickening agent (five-spice powder, by the way, is an excellent substitute). I call the dish a stew because it&rsquo;s filled with chunky ingredients. I don&rsquo;t thicken the broth (trying to save a few calories), but if you prefer a thicker stew, stir in a tablespoon or so of cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water.   From Carol, Avon Lake: I have not been able to find Old English Cheese (used in today's recipe) in a block for many years. Is it available anywhere?   I am 71, and my mother used it to make a yummy sauce she poured over an uncut whole head of cauliflower, steamed; and then topped with dry bread crumbs browned in butter. She made the sauce in a double boiler by just melting chunks of the cheese with a little bit of milk. She often gave me the job of stirring the bread crumbs so they didn't burn. She served it to the family in a round serving bowl, and the entire head of cauliflower topped with cheese sauce and brown crumbs was very appealing.   I have tried other cheeses to make this, but none are as good as the Olde English block cheese. It also made a lovely open-face grilled cheese sandwich which we melted using a piece of toast put under the oven broiler. Olde English in a jar is not the same! The stick Cheddar cheeses are not as good, and Velveeta is nothing like it. Cheez Whiz doesn't do the job either. That Olde English block just had a nice, mild, plain cheese flavor.  Carol: Wow, does that sound good. It conjures up a past era, too, when glamour was applauded at the dinner table, calories and fat be damned. When I shared the recipe for the cheese wafers, I assumed Kraft Olde English Cheese was widely available. It is mentioned prominently on the Kraft website. Can anyone tell Carol where to find this cheese?   From Fred: The theater on Waterloo Road that you mentioned was the Lynn theater. Toward the end not a whole lot was served from the milk bar. But when I was growing up in the late 50s  and 60s, they had a menu that was out of this world. Hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries, onion rings,  etc. -- and the milkshakes were some of the thickest and creamiest in town,  hand dipped and a whole lot of flavors. A friend of mine wanted to buy it but they closed and it&rsquo;s a Blockbuster video store now.  Fred: Thanks for sharing. I&rsquo;ve always wondered what that milk bar was like in its heyday.   Tami Mitchell,  Dine-In Diva Personal Chef Service: To your reader looking for limburger spread, Irene Dever's Stand at the West Side Market carries the spread and the cheese. She is also a great source for local quail eggs, and she usually has duck eggs. Irene is super nice and very helpful.   The Cheese Shop there probably has it, although I didn't verify, but I saw it in Irene's case today. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=103&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - January 27th 2010</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - January 27th 2010</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:32:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - January 27th 2010</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free January 27, 2010  Dear Foodie Friends,  I know,  I&rsquo;m behind the curve on no-knead bread. But I finally succumbed, and there&rsquo;s no turning back. This bread is fabulous. The no-brainer technique produces a world-class loaf with a sturdy crumb shot through with medium-size holes, and a burnished crust so crisp it cracks like a rifle shot when you bite into it. Best of all is the flavor, deepened by 18 hours or more of rising at room temperature.  Can you tell I&rsquo;m smitten?  I&rsquo;ve made almost a dozen loaves since the first one about three weeks ago. I had heard about no-knead bread before, of course, but I thought it was a fad. It first appeared on most bakers&rsquo; radar when Mark Bittman wrote about it in his New York Times column three years ago. His recipe came from a Manhattan baker. I should have paid attention when Bittman wrote that the technique was revolutionary.  Then last fall an acquaintance, cookbook author Nancy Baggett, asked me if I had seen her new book on the subject, &ldquo;Kneadlessly Simple: Fabulous, Fuss-Free, No-Knead Breads.&rdquo; She said no-knead bread was destined to change forever the way people make bread.  I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;d go that far because some bakers actually enjoy kneading and because shaped loaves are difficult to make this way. But the technique has certainly made bread baking a frequent activity at my house. I have been making a loaf about every other day.  I use Bittman&rsquo;s recipe and bake the bread in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Every loaf has turned out perfect, even the one made with soupy dough. You can&rsquo;t ruin this stuff.  A friend who used a recipe from Cooks magazine and baked it in a non-enameled cast-iron pot was slightly disappointed that the loaf was small and that it stuck to the pan (Bittman&rsquo;s recipe make a bigger loaf). I&rsquo;ve read in some on-line forums about problems with the bread sticking to the pan, and difficulty in getting a proper rise from whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours. I haven&rsquo;t experimented with flours yet. As for sticking, it isn&rsquo;t an issue if you dust the dough with flour and use an enameled pan.  The pan &ndash; or a classic French cloche, if you have one &ndash; is essential. Heating it before placing the dough in the pan and covering with a lid causes steam to form, which produces the ultra-crisp crust.  I&rsquo;d love to hear what you think of this recipe. Are you as smitten as I am?  No-Knead Bread  (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting &bull; 1/4 tsp. instant yeast (regular active dry yeast, not rapid-rise) &bull; 1 1/4 tsp. salt &bull; Cornmeal or wheat bran if needed.  In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.   Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.  Scrape dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.   Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.  At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Remove from pan and cool.   Makes one 11/2-pound loaf.  From Mark Bittman, New York Times, as adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery.   TIDBITS January is a good time to remind you to add my email address (jane@janesnowtoday.com) to your list of permitted correspondents. Because my newsletter it is emailed in bulk, some providers (especially AOL but others on occasion) periodically reject it as spam. Sometimes, the provider will allow the newsletter through, but prevent you from opening it. When this happens, it&rsquo;s not us. It&rsquo;s your provider. Be sure to check your junk mail folder and mark my address as permitted or &ldquo;not junk mail.&rdquo; If you are still having problems, you should contact your mail provider.   One other housekeeping note: Mimi&rsquo;s tech guru tells me that we cannot change your email address when you change providers. You must do that yourself by first unsubscribing (click on the &ldquo;unsubscribe&rdquo; link at the bottom of a newsletter), then signing up again at www.janesnowtoday.com. Sorry for the hassle.  If you missed fellow foodie Mike Vrobel on TV last week, you can see a video of his big moment by clicking here:  http://www.wkyc.com/video/default.aspx?aid=95966#/Hollie%27s+Dish+of+the+Week%3A+Sear+Roasted+Chicken++/62657650001  Vrobel, who writes the local blog, Dad Cooks Dinner, www.dadcooksdinner.com, was featured on the Hollie&rsquo;s Dish of the Week segment on WKYC&rsquo;s morning show.   &ldquo;On the one hand, I keep thinking of the things I should have said,&rdquo; Mike wrote in an email.    &ldquo;On the other hand, I didn't have vapor lock of the brain.  All in all, it went as well as I could have hoped.&rdquo;  Although Mike said he was nervous, it didn&rsquo;t show. He was a natural.   THE MAILBAG  From Kathy, Cuyahoga Falls: I remember someone saying they couldn't find limburger cheese anywhere. I saw it at Acme on State Road in Cuyahoga Falls (the kind she wanted, in a jar). It made me laugh because all I could think of was Chubby spreading it on Weezer's neck on &ldquo;The Little Rascals!&rsquo;&rsquo;   Kathy: All I could think of was my brother putting a wad in my grandfather&rsquo;s shoes, then placing the shoes by the furnace register. Ah, limburger memories.   From Jodie Grasgreen: A lonnng time ago, there was a terrific movie house, The New Mayfield, in Cleveland&rsquo;s Little Italy. It was run by Sheldon Weigod, a genius of a host and manager of the theater. One of the treats of watching the eclectic films he offered was to bring a pizza over from Mama Santos across the street. It was allowed and encouraged! I don't recall that beer was disallowed, either. We miss the theater, the pizza and Sheldon.  Jodie: What a great memory. When I first came to Akron in 1978, I remember going to a film at a theater on Waterloo Road. It had a milk bar &ndash; a glassed-in soda shop in the balcony. I thought it was the neatest thing I&rsquo;d ever seen, and was sad when the theater closed. I&rsquo;ve always wondered about the menu, because I didn&rsquo;t get a chance to have a snack there.   From Jean B.: In response to the reader whose turtle candies were too firm, when I make turtles I buy the caramel in chunks at Grandma's Cupboard on Krumroy Road in Springfield Township. I put four pecan halves together on a cookie sheet, then place a small piece of caramel on top of them and place them in the oven until the caramel melts a little bit. Then when they are cool, I coat them with chocolate. My husband and everyone on my candy list loved them.  Jean: How does one get on that candy list?   From K.F., Copley: Loved your latest newsletter! Nina Simonds! I had no idea she had (or has) an Akron connection. Who would have ever imagined that, considering that Akron is a culinary wasteland!  I became aware of her when we lived in Boston in the late 1990s. Many of her recipes are our favorites. I used to look forward to her articles in the Boston Globe.   K.F.: Culinary wasteland? I always thought we were sophisticated way beyond our size because of West Point Market. It may have taken local restaurants a tad too long to get with it, but home cooks had access to an amazing variety of chic ingredients long before those in even larger cities. If you&rsquo;ve ever been to Zabar&rsquo;s in Manhattan &ndash; pitiful in comparison to West Point &ndash; you know what I mean.  On the other hand, we ARE home to sauerkraut balls and kidney bean salad&hellip;.   From Yanni: Is there a place to purchase fresh herbs in bulk during the winter?  I hate having to pay $4  for the prepackaged herbs at the grocery store that would cost 50 cents at a farmers market.  Yanni: Great question. I&rsquo;d like to know, too. I cringed last week when I bought some cilantro for a recipe. I&rsquo;ve been thinking about plugging in the grow light in the basement and planting some seeds, but I worry that the increase in the electric bill would offset any savings. Help!   From Cindy M., Charlotte, N.C.: I hope you can help me. My mother, who is 87, used to make a hot cheese appetizer using Old English cheese spread, the kind in the jar. She would make a mixture and freeze it into small blobs and when having a cocktail party my sister and I (running the kitchen), would put them frozen on a cookie sheet and bake around nine minutes.  They came out like cheese wafers, but were soft and meant to be eaten hot.  She has a taste for them (she is in a nursing home), and we can't find the recipe.  I have searched on line and thought you might recall.  Cindy: Although these cheese wafers are made with block cheese rather than cheese spread, the recipe sounds very close to the one you described. All the other recipes I found were for cheese puffs made by spreading a mixture of Kraft Olde English Cheese Spread and other ingredients on circles of bread and baking them. If anyone has the exact recipe Cindy wants, please share. I&rsquo;d love to give her mom a taste of her past.  CHEESE WAFERS (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 1 lb. Old English cheese (Kraft),  cut in chunks, at room temperature &bull; 1 stick (1/4 lb.) butter, softened &bull; 1 cup of flour &bull; Walnut or pecan halves  Put the cheese and butter in a food processor, blender, or mixer and blend thoroughly. Mix in the flour well. Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a walnut (or pecan) half into each one.  Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool on racks. Wafers may be frozen if there are leftovers, or if you want to make them in advance for a party.   From F.R.: A French friend showed us how to make steak au poivre using coarsely crushed black  peppercorns for the &ldquo;crust&rdquo; on the filet mignon;  but my sister-in-law in San Francisco said she&rsquo;d made this dish with GREEN peppercorns (drained from can).  Do you have a recipe for this?  I would think it is a &ldquo;paste&rdquo; rather than crunchy crust.  F.R.: I have had steak with green peppercorn sauce, but not with a green peppercorn crust. Green peppercorns can be bought dried. That&rsquo;s the only way I can imagine making steak au poivre the classic way, with a crust of crushed peppercorns. I&rsquo;m glad you wrote. I had forgotten about brined green peppercorns. I haven&rsquo;t had them in ages, and I love them. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=102&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - January 22nd 2010</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - January 22nd 2010</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:56:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - January 22nd 2010</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free January 22, 2010  I dropped a favorite cookbook in Tony&rsquo;s lap one day last week when I was running low on inspiration.  &ldquo;Pick something for dinner,&rdquo; I told him.  I&rsquo;m glad I did, because otherwise I never would have tried Nina Simonds&rsquo; recipe for soba noodles with mushrooms. On the page the recipe seems kind of plain, but on the plate it is outstanding.  The recipe is from a slim cookbook I use a lot, &ldquo;Asian Noodles&rdquo; by Nina Simonds. Simonds, who lived in Akron at one time (her father and step-mother had relocated here), is one of the top experts in the world on mainland Chinese cuisine. In fact, in the 1990s the Chinese government hired her to travel to each province and search out remnants of the great cuisine after it was almost wiped out in the Cultural Revolution.  After &ldquo;Asian Noodles&rdquo; was published in 1997, Nina passed through Akron on a book tour and came to my house to cook lunch. In that pre-9-11 era, she traveled with a complete batterie of Asian knives that she toted aboard planes in a carry-on. She prepared a delicate stir fry of noodles, spinach and crabmeat while she told me about her brief stint as a waitress at Tangier, where she was fired because her skirt was too short.  Every recipe I&rsquo;ve tried from her book has been great, so I should have known that the mushroom stir fry would be too. A few simple ingredients produce a light but deeply flavored sauce that is soaked up by the mushrooms and pre-cooked Japanese soba (buckwheat)  noodles. The recipe contains no meat, yet is hearty enough to serve as an entr&eacute;e (although Nina bills it as a side dish).  I couldn&rsquo;t find the kind of mushrooms called for in the recipe &ndash; dried Chinese and fresh  shiitake &ndash; in the nearest store, and I was too lazy to search further. I used Portobello mushrooms instead, and it worked out spectacularly. Also, by mistake I grabbed rice wine vinegar instead of rice wine from my cabinet, and I liked that substitution, too. Here&rsquo;s my version of the recipe.   WILD MUSHROOM NOODLES (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 2 tbsp. (or more) oil &bull; 12 cloves garlic, mashed with the flat side of a knife and very thinly sliced &bull; 16 oz. Portobello mushrooms, sliced thin &bull; 3 1/2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar &bull; 1 1/2 cups minced green onions &bull; 3/4 lb. soba noodles cooked just until tender (about 3 to 5 minutes), rinsed under warm water and drained &bull; 3 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce &bull; 1/4 cup minced cilantro  Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add oil and heat about 30 seconds. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly softened, turning to brown both sides of mushrooms. Lower the heat to medium high and add the rice wine vinegar. Cover and cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 4 to 6 minutes depending on thickness of mushrooms. Uncover, add the onions and cook until onions are softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the noodles and soy sauce and stir-fry briefly to coat the noodles. Add cilantro and toss to mix. Transfer to a platter and serve. Makes 6 side-dish or 3 to 4 entr&eacute;e servings.  From &ldquo;Asian Noodles&rdquo; by Nina Simonds.   HELP U COOK  Wok or skillet? That is the question. I&rsquo;ve tried both and I usually use a cast-iron frying pan for stir frys. Unless you have a stove burner designed to get really hot, you should use a frying pan, too.  The problem with woks and regular stoves is that the sloping sides of a wok do not get hot enough to fry the food properly. If your wok sits on one of those little metal rings that elevate it above the burner, the problem is even worse. Food on the bottom of the wok barely sizzles. Food pieces on the sloping sides warm up and release moisture, turning your stir fry into a watery mess.  To cook in a wok, you need a burner with ultra-high heat. Extra-hot burners were available in the past on only top-end models of stoves (electric and gas), but now are a more common feature. The last time I checked, though, ceramic-topped stoves could not be ordered with an ultra-hot burner.  Even when you use a skillet, an ultra-hot burner is handy for stir frys. My GE Profile dual-fuel stove (gas burners, electric oven) has one ultra-hot burner and one burner that can maintain very low temperature (handy for melting chocolate). The next time you buy a stove or cook top, ask for these features.   THE MAILBAG  From Judy: I burst out laughing when I read your latest column! I have a big &ldquo;movie night&rdquo; purse too! I keep it in the trunk in case we go on a whim.  Judy: Maybe we should all meet up some night and have a pot luck at the theater.   From Iris Stacey: Here is a link for Carol for buying limburger cheese: www.igourmet.com/stinkycheese.asp    From Joy: This is for Carol, the gal who&rsquo;s looking for Limburger spread in a jar. I did a bit of searching and it seems the original jarred spread was discontinued. Upon further searching I found it&rsquo;s now available in an 8-ounce tub from Paoli cheese in Wisconsin.   Here&rsquo;s the link: http://www-paolicheese-com.netsolads.com/limburgerspread.aspx  Iris and Joy: Thanks for your research. The closest I could come was a foil-wrapped piece of Limburger I spotted in the dairy case at the Montrose Acme.   From Carol: Every year two of my daughters and I get together to make candy to give for gifts.  My job is turtles.  No matter if we buy the caramel (at the candy supply store) or make our own, the caramel always gets too hard when cooled.  I've bought turtles at candy stores and the caramel is heavenly soft.  Can anyone give me a recipe for caramels that stay soft?  Also, I didn't used to toast my pecans for pie but I tried it one time and everyone raved that the pie was better than ever.   Carol: I stand corrected. I figured pecans would burn if they were toasted before baking in a pecan pie.  For your caramel question, I turned to the book &ldquo;Candy&rdquo; in Time-Life&rsquo;s The Good Cook series. It&rsquo;s the last word in everything to do with making candy. According to the section on caramels, the candy is basically a sugar syrup enriched with cream. The softness is determined by the temperature the mixture is allowed to reach. Soft caramels are produced by cooking the mixture to the firm-ball stage (248 degrees). Add a tablespoon or so of honey at the outset to act as an &ldquo;interfering agent&rdquo; so the mixture does not crystallize, and stir it while it boils.  One last thought: You may want to check the accuracy of your candy thermometer. I just bought a new candy thermometer and I swear it registers low. I&rsquo;ve used it twice, and have cross-checked the hard-crack stage by dropping a bit of syrup into cold water. When it tested done manually, the thermometer barely registered &ldquo;firm ball.&rdquo;   From Kathy Erwin, Kent: While living out of state, my son has enjoyed preparing frozen falafel for sandwiches. Do you know of any local outlet for frozen falafel?  Kathy: I don&rsquo;t, but I bet someone else can point the way. Any ideas, folks? 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=101&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - January 14th 2010</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - January 14th 2010</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:32:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - January 14th 2010</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free January 14, 2010  It was a very good year. Not only did I eat a lot of wonderful food, from Julia Child&rsquo;s flaming cherry tart to  tuna sliders with wasabi slaw, but life in general was fun for me in 2009. Thanks to a reader request, I spent the last week combing through 52 weeks of my newsletter to choose the best recipes I created or reprinted last year. It gave me a chance to relive a few dinner parties, cook-outs and morning walks in my garden, along with milestones such as our step-son coming to live with us and the publication of my first book.  The book took up a lot of time, and I&rsquo;ve been worrying that I haven&rsquo;t been creating enough interesting recipes for this newsletter. A review of 52 week&rsquo;s worth of writing reassured me that I still made time for plenty of fun.   Last year, friends and I had a Julia Child dinner in honor of her birthday and the movie, &ldquo;Julie and Julia,&rdquo; and I cooked a Caribbean dinner for some writer friends in early March, when winter had lingered too long. There were family birthday dinners, a special Father&rsquo;s Day dinner in June (remember the smoked prime rib with Bourbon mop sauce?) and Friendsgiving in November.  Between special occasions, I cooked a fabulous ginger-pork stew one evening at Tony&rsquo;s restaurant, a brightly flavored ceviche for a charity dinner, and lots of stick-to-your-ribs meals for our teen-ager and his friends.   All of last year&rsquo;s recipes are available in the newsletter&rsquo;s archives, thanks to Mimi and her staff who edit and publish this newsletter. The four recipes I&rsquo;m re-running today, as my picks for best recipes of the year, are:  &bull; The ginger-pork stew, hauntingly flavored with star anise.  &bull; A tropical baked Alaska made with a coconut macaroon and pineapple ice cream swathed in meringue, then baked and served with mango sauce. I made up the recipe for the Caribbean dinner in early March.  &bull; Potato salad with lemon herb dressing, made last May with the first herbs of the season. I pureed the mixed herbs with lemon and mayonnaise for a boffo dressing, and added toasted walnuts to the salad for crunch.  &bull; Jeni&rsquo;s Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, the best recipe by far that I&rsquo;ve found for ice cream made at home. The recipe was developed by the owner of Jeni&rsquo;s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, and to me it&rsquo;s a real find. It produces ice cream with a  voluptuously creamy texture that stays that way even after days in the freezer.   GINGER-PORK STEW WITH STAR ANISE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 lbs. boneless pork roast  &bull; Salt  &bull; Oil  &bull; 1/2 large onion, sliced  &bull; 2 cloves garlic, minced  &bull; 4 quarter-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and minced  &bull; 3 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces  &bull; 1/2 cup soy sauce  &bull; 1 1/2 cups water  &bull; 2 cups beef broth  &bull; 1 cup dry red wine  &bull; 1/2 cup sake  &bull; 1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine)  &bull; 2 tsp. sugar  &bull; 2 whole star anise  &bull; Handful of snow peas (about 18 to 20)  &bull; 1 small package frozen udon noodles (optional)   Trim fat from pork and cut into strips about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Sprinkle with salt. Heat about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of oil in a soup kettle or Dutch oven. In batches, brown pieces of meat in hot fat, transferring each batch to a bowl with a slotted spoon and adding more oil to pan when necessary.  Separate onion slices into half-rings and saut&eacute; in same pan until onion begins to soften. Add garlic and ginger and saut&eacute; 2 minutes longer. Return pork to pan. Add carrots, soy sauce, water, beef broth, red wine, sake and mirin, stirring browned bits from bottom of pan. Add sugar and star anise. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until pork is very tender.  Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Place frozen noodles in water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender, adding snow peas the final minute. Strain. Ladle stew into wide, shallow bowls, Coil 3 or 4 strands of noodles in the center of each portion and garnish with snow pea pods. Makes 6 servings.   TROPICAL BAKED ALASKAS (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; Six macaroon or coconut cookies  &bull; 1 pint pineapple ice cream (or any tropical flavor, such as coconut from Mary Coyle in Highland Square)  &bull; 4 egg whites  &bull; 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar  &bull; 1/4 tsp. vanilla  &bull; 1/2 cup powdered sugar  &bull; 3/4 cup mango puree (see note) &bull; 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted   If using macaroons, press cookies flat to about a 2-inch-square. Freeze ice cream very hard. Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.   Beat egg whites until foamy. Beat in cream of tartar and vanilla and continue beating until soft peaks form. Sift in powdered sugar while beating until stiff peaks form.   Place a small scoop of ice cream on top of each cookie. With a spatula, spread meringue over ice cream. Bake at 450 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes, until meringue begins to brown. While Alaskas bake, dribble about 2 tablespoons of mango puree on each of six dessert plates. Transfer Alaskas to plates with a spatula. Sprinkle coconut over meringue. Makes 6 desserts.   Note: Mango puree is sold in some Mexican food markets. Check the freezer case. Or puree the flesh of two fresh mangos with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and sugar to taste.   POTATO SALAD WITH LEMON-HERB DRESSING (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 8 medium potatoes (fist-sized)  &bull; 1/2 cup chopped red onion  &bull; 2 cloves garlic  &bull; 6 fresh basil leaves  &bull; 6 fresh rosemary needles  &bull; Sprig of fresh thyme  &bull; 4 or 5 large mint leaves  &bull; Small handful of chives  &bull; 2 1-inch cubes of fresh Parmesan cheese (or about &frac14; cup fresh grated)  &bull; 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice  &bull; 1/2 tsp. salt  &bull; 1/2 cup best-quality olive oil  &bull; 1 tbsp. pine nuts  &bull; 1/2 cup mayonnaise  &bull; Coarse sea salt to taste  &bull; 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces   Scrub potatoes and boil in water to cover until tender enough to pierce easily with a fork. Drain. When cool enough to handle, peel, cut in halves and cut the halves into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place in a bowl with the red onion.   While potatoes cook, peel garlic and drop through the tube of a food processor while the motor is running. Add fresh herbs, then Parmesan and process until ingredients are minced fine. Add lemon juice, salt, olive oil and pine nuts and puree. Remove processor lid, add mayonnaise and process until mixed. Pour dressing over warm potato slices and gently fold. There will be too much dressing at first, but the potatoes will eventually absorb it. Season to taste with sea salt.   Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving. Stir in toasted walnut pieces just before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature, garnished with snipped chives if desired. Makes 4 servings.  JENI&rsquo;S VANILLA BEAN  ICE CREAM (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 2 cups milk    &bull; 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. cornstarch  &bull; 1 1/2 oz. cream cheese, softened (half of a 3-oz. package)   &bull; 1 1/4 cups cream &bull; 2/3 cup sugar  &bull; Scant 2 tbsp. corn syrup  &bull; 1/8 tsp. kosher salt  &bull; Vanilla bean (I substituted 1 tsp. vanilla)  Use 2 tablespoons of the milk to blend with the cornstarch and make a slurry. Set aside. In a medium bowl (2 qt.), whisk the very soft cream cheese until smooth. In a 4-quart saucepan, combine remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape seeds into pan, then add pod and stir. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for exactly 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and slowly add cornstarch slurry in a steady stream, whisking rapidly to prevent slurry from sinking to bottom of pan. Return to medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat.  Pour about two tablespoons of the hot mixture into the cream cheese. Whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Add a little more cream mixture and whisk. Add the rest of the cream mixture and stir until incorporated. Add salt and vanilla extract if using, and mix until well blended (about a minute). Pour entire mixture into a heatproof plastic bag (Ziploc) and get all the air out (to prevent a film forming). Close tightly and submerge in an ice bath until completely chilled, about 30 minutes. Or cover bowl and chill overnight (preferred).  Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer&rsquo;s directions. Quickly remove ice cream from machine to a bowl with tight fitting lid. Get it into your freezer ASAP and freeze for at least four hours. If it becomes too hard to scoop, temper the ice cream for a few minutes at room temperature or in the refrigerator before serving.  HELP U COOK If you&rsquo;re puzzled about your incredible shrinking pie and tart crusts, puzzle no more. Pastry shrinks and contracts in the pie pan during baking when the dough isn&rsquo;t given enough to time to relax before it is popped in the oven.  Most bakers know that major crust shrinkage is the result of stretching the dough to fit the pan, rather than gently easing it into the pan. But even dough that has been eased will shrink a bit in the oven unless it has been chilled for 15 minutes or so before baking. Chilling also eliminates the need to line blind-baked (empty) crusts with foil and pie weights before baking.   THE MAILBAG  From Carla Owens: Like you, I had an over-abundance of ham this holiday (our beef tenderloin went lickety-split as well).  An old family favorite that we look forward to every year is ham loaf.    Like you, I had an over-abundance of ham this holiday (our beef tenderloin went lickety-split as well).  An old family favorite that we look forward to every year is ham loaf.  HAM LOAF (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 1 lb. ground ham &bull; 1 lb. ground pork &bull; 1 cup coarse cracker crumbs  &bull; 2 eggs &bull; 1 small  onion,  finely chopped &bull; &frac12; cup tomato juice &bull; 1 tbsp. dry mustard &bull; 1 tsp.  pepper &bull; 1/4 tsp.  salt  Glaze:  &bull; 1/2 cup brown sugar &bull; 1/4 cup vinegar &bull; 1/3 cup water &bull; 1 to 2 tbsp. prepared mustard &bull; 1 tsp. powdered ginger  Mix loaf ingredients together very well, and pack into a greased loaf pan. Mix together glaze ingredients and pour over ham loaf. Bake at 400 degrees for 1&frac12; hours. Makes six servings.  Carla: Thanks for sharing. I love ham loaf! I just polished off the Christmas ham by using the frozen bone in a pot of bean soup. I&rsquo;ll earmark some of the next ham for your ham loaf.    From S.G., Akron: One of my favorite dates is hitting DeViti's Italian Market (on Tallmadge Road in Akron) before movies at Chapel Hill. We've been known to load up on subs, cold salads, and invariably, tiramisu...I've eaten three-course meals during movies (as you may guess, I have a very large purse.) I have no desire to pay $5 for a bottle of water, or consume the junk food offered at the movies theaters at any price! (Tiramisu isn't junk food....right?)  S.G.: I like your style. You can sit next to me any time.   From Kathy, North Olmsted: Regarding sneaking snacks (pop) into movies , I will never forget the time I tried to sneak in a bottle of pop. I chose the plastic bottle with a screw-off cap, thinking that I could quietly and slowly remove the lid, controlling the noise of the carbonation escaping. My plan seemed perfect. I placed the bottle carefully and unobtrusively near my feet so that no one would notice it. Unfortunately, one wrong move of my foot, and the bottle began to roll, roll, roll, down the length of the theatre. What could I do but sit helplessly and let it escape, and spend the rest of the movie thirstily just wishing I had the guts to go in search of it?  Now we spend our summer movie time at the wonderful Auto-Rama Drive-In in North Ridgeville (one of the few drive-ins left) where for a $5 pass we can bring in all the food we want. But we usually end up just buying their food, because they have a wonderful selection of sandwiches, fries, pizza, dessert, and very reasonably priced popcorn! So nice NOT to feel ripped-off at the movies!  Kathy:  Thanks for the heads-up on a drive-in that allows snacks from home. I love drive-ins but  Tony thinks they&rsquo;re the weirdest thing he&rsquo;s ever seen. He had never heard of them until I took him to one.   From Melanie: I have been trying to incorporate more fish into our diet.  I have been buying tilapia, cod and flounder, but they are sometimes "fishy" (strong) tasting. I usually bake them in a casserole type dish. Any suggestions on how to mellow them out, so the family will eat them, rather than end up feeding to the cat?  Melanie: Shop at another store. The fish you mention should never be strong tasting. All three are  mild-flavored fish, so a strong odor indicates they have improperly stored. That said, one good way to neutralize the flavor of seafood a tad past its prime is to soak it in milk for an hour or more before cooking it. A dusting of Cajun spices may help, too.    From Bridget Coffman: If your cookies spread and flatten in the oven, you may have let the dough or batter sit too long before baking.   Another cause of cookies that spread too much is too warm dough or reusing hot cookie sheets.  I have a few varieties of cookies that I shape and stick in the freezer for half and hour before baking so they hold their shape better.  (Russian Teacakes, for example)  Bridget: Thanks for adding to my advice.    From Amy Calhoun: Re: soups &ndash; A great new place that I love is called Whole Day Cafe in Wadsworth. They have great food and a great atmosphere and I especially enjoy their tomato bisque on Fridays. I'm not exactly sure if it is homemade but I do know they make many homemade salad dressings that are very tasty as well as a whole array of desserts.   Amy: Sounds like a good place for lunch. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=100&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - January 8th 2010</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - January 8th 2010</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:50:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - January 8th 2010</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free January 08, 2010  As the eldest daughter, I find myself slipping into my mother&rsquo;s role in the family. In the two years since her death, I have become the one to bring the family together for birthdays and holidays, for example. And while I don&rsquo;t mind making the phone calls and  getting a consensus on dates, I was dismayed last week to realize I&rsquo;ve become the official birthday cake baker, by default. Neither my brother nor sister like to bake, and their spouses are too smart to get involved in this hot mess.  My mother&rsquo;s standard birthday cake, adored by everyone but me, is a 9-by-14-inch chocolate cake made from a box mix and paved with a fudge frosting so hard we actually have had to use a chisel on occasion to crack it. My brother swears Mom once used a drill to make holes for candles.  I made the cake last spring for my brother and last week for my niece because they had to have it on their birthdays. My niece remembers getting one in the mail at college once when she was going through a rough spot. Mom included a small hammer to use on the frosting.   The cake comes with rules. You must eat the cake in order to get the frosting. Filching the frosting off the top is not allowed. The cake is always served in irregularly shaped pieces. The hard fudge frosting cracks crookedly when pierced with a knife (or chisel), and the cake is then cut along the fault lines.  My mother hated to cook and although her food usually tasted good, the recipes often  went awry in some hilarious way. One tiered cake that went down in family lore had frosting the color of Pepto Bismal, and layers that slid apart on the way to a pot luck picnic. Mom pinned them back together with an entire box of toothpicks.  The birthday-cake frosting initially was a mistake, too. Mom had intended to make a creamy fudge frosting, but lost her place in my grandmother&rsquo;s hand-written recipe book and made fudge instead. She spread the fudge over the cooled cake and a family tradition was born.   On my first try last spring I didn&rsquo;t get the frosting hard enough. It was firm, but it could be cut neatly. I thought it was perfect but my family apparently didn&rsquo;t, because they tried to console me. &ldquo;You almost have it,&rdquo; my brother said kindly as he patted my shoulder.  This time I boiled the stuff to the firm-ball stage, then beat it until it began to harden  around the edges of the pan. I spread it rapidly over the cooled cake, roughly troweling on the last spoonfuls seconds before they turned to the cement.   &ldquo;You did it,&rdquo; my brother, sister and niece murmured as they arrived one by one and checked out the cake, which was shiny in spots and rough in others where the frosting had set up too soon, just like Mom&rsquo;s.  I never could figure out the allure of this cake. I always requested a white bakery cake with creamy white icing. Mom&rsquo;s frosting does taste awesome, but as fudge, not frosting.  On Sunday, after we had &ldquo;cut&rdquo; the cake and passed out ragged hunks, I listened as my niece, Heidi, instructed her children in birthday cake etiquette. I noticed that the 7-year-old was way ahead of her. She was gobbling up the cake, pushing aside the frosting in order to savor it last, on its own -- just as everyone else in the family has always done.  Heidi smiled approvingly. Another vote for Mom&rsquo;s birthday cake.  MOM&rsquo;S FUDGE &ldquo;FROSTING&rdquo; (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder &bull; 2/3 cup milk &bull; 2 cups sugar &bull; Dash of salt &bull; 3 tbsp. corn syrup &bull; 3 tbsp. butter &bull; 1 tsp. vanilla  Combine cocoa, milk, sugar, salt and corn syrup in a 4-quart pan. Stir over low heat until sugar melts and mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling until temperature reaches 245 degrees, the firm ball stage on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. With a wooden spoon, beat mixture until it begins to lose its gloss and starts to set around the edges of the pan.  Immediately spread on a cooled 9-by-14-inch chocolate cake or for fudge, pour into a buttered, 9-inch-square pan. If using candles, poke candles through the frosting to make holes, then remove the candles until the frosting cools (otherwise the candles will melt). Makes enough to frost one cake.    HELP U COOK  When toasting nuts, always start with double the amount you need. Keep half in reserve in case you burn the first batch, as I always do.  Just kidding &ndash; kind of. Nuts do burn quickly, so try not to become distracted when toasting them for salads or a recipe. Nuts may be toasted either on the stove top or in the oven. I prefer the oven for larger nuts because the steady temperature  browns them more evenly. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for about 5 to 7 minutes at 350 degrees for pecans and walnuts. .For use in most recipes no oil is required. When the nuts  begin to take on color and taste sweet and crisp, remove from the oven and tip out of the baking sheet onto a counter to stop the cooking process.  I prefer to toast smaller nuts and seeds such as pine nuts, sesame seeds and pumpkin seed kernels in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir the nuts as they toast and remove from the skillet when they are a light tan.  Toasting improves the flavor of nuts in almost any recipe. They only exception I can think of is a recipe in which the nuts will be further toasted, such as pecan pie. Pre-toasting could cause the nuts to burn  &ndash; something I&rsquo;m already good at.   TIDBITS  &bull; Cleveland food writer Laura Taxel joined me at Tony&rsquo;s restaurant recently for some sushi, and she had kind words for my husband&rsquo;s skill. Check out her account of our evening on her blog, Cleveland Ethnic Eats http://clevelandethniceats.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/super-sushi. I have had some marvelous dining experiences with Laura. When her book, &ldquo;Cleveland Ethnic Eats,&rdquo; first came out, I talked her into taking me on a whirlwind tour of about ten places she had profiled, from a Jamaican carry-out that served goat to a the best place (at that time) to buy Chinese seaweed salad.  A few years later when Laura was updating the book (which she does every two years), I returned the favor by introducing  her to  the best ethnic stores and restaurants in the Akron area.  I didn&rsquo;t know Laura had a blog until we talked over sushi. I guess I should have known that with so many amateurs blogging about food, a pro like Laura surely would have gotten into the field. Her blog is terrific. &ndash; plenty of information about her latest ethnic food discoveries in Northeast Ohio, and equally important, it&rsquo;s written with style.  The latest edition of Laura&rsquo;s  ethnic food guide is in bookstores now.   &bull; A heartfelt thank you to those who donated to the Jane Snow Fund for Hunger at my urging in November. After the item ran in the Thanksgiving edition of my newsletter, several people asked for more information about the fund. It is a fund of Akron Community Foundation. It's just two years old. I donate a percentage of my pay for writing the newsletter, and a percentage of the royalties from my book, to the fund. When a bit more money is amassed, we'll start making annual grants to local hunger organizations such as Good Samaritan Hunger Center and the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. Donations may go directly to the Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, Ohio 44307-2407. Either make the check out to the Jane Snow Fund for Hunger or include a note directing that the donation go to that account.   &bull; Mish mosh soup is matzo ball soup on steroids, according to various sources I consulted after learning it is on the kosher catering menu at Totally Cooked Catering in Cuyahoga Falls. It is chicken soup with not only matzo balls but kreplach (meat-filled, wonton-like dumplings), noodles and rice.  Although you can&rsquo;t just walk in off the street and get a bowl of mish mosh at Totally Cooked&rsquo;s snazzy carry out, this week you CAN get the yummy bacon and asiago cheese  scones I wrote about in December. Owner Dante D&rsquo;Avello  made a copy of the recipe for his scone baker, Frank Batch,  to get busy.  The scones will be featured in the carry out through Saturday.  Batch has been trying a new scone recipe each week for a couple of years, Dante says.   THE MAILBAG  From Carol: I&rsquo;m looking for the Limburger cheese that came in a little glass jar. Do you know where I can find it?  Carol: My grandfather used to eat that stuff. As I recall, it was, uh, pungent. I haven&rsquo;t seen it in stores for a long time, but then, I haven&rsquo;t looked. Maybe someone else can help.   From Penny Myers: The best movie snacks to sneak in are small, wrapped candies -- they don't count! I  have never had the nerve to bring in a drink, but I refuse to pay the price so I go thirsty.  Regarding black walnuts , I&rsquo;ve never  removed any from the hulls, but I want you to know  that the hulls make a lovely brown dye for wool. They&rsquo;re commonly used by spinners and weavers who want a natural dye source.  Penny: Just put a can of soda pop in your purse (you do have a big, movie-night purse, don&rsquo;t you? ) Open the can in the dark and slake your thirst.    From Bob: I always look forward to your newsletter. When you were at the Beacon Journal, I always looked forward to your best recipes of the year column. Any chance of doing one with the newsletter?  Bob: Good idea. Tune in next week. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=99&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - December 30th 2009</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - December 30th 2009</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:08:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - December 30th 2009</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free December 30, 2009  I guess I should be passing along a recipe for a fab cocktail canap&eacute; for your New Year&rsquo;s Eve party, or a recipe for pork and sauerkraut or hoppin&rsquo; John for New Year&rsquo;s Day. But I&rsquo;m still trying to use up the never ending Christmas ham, so that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ve been cooking this week. (We had no problem wolfing down the Christmas Eve beef tenderloin, of course).  So far we&rsquo;ve had ham and potato salad, ham sandwiches and potato salad and fried rice with ham. I&rsquo;ve loved every bite, but I&rsquo;m ready for something different.  I found it on the cover of Joyce Goldstein&rsquo;s cool little 2003 book, &ldquo;Solo Suppers.&rdquo;  The photo shows a big bowl of cheese and butter-glossed linguine tangled up with slivers of ham and nubs of asparagus. Or so I thought.  After searching for the recipe with no luck, I finally realized it was a variation of the spaghetti carbonara on page 72. The ham was actually pancetta and the asparagus was optional. No matter. I&rsquo;d just change it to suit my pantry, which at the moment featured a giant hunk of leftover ham.  Asparagus is out of season so I used some frozen peas instead. Sadly, they&rsquo;re the only healthful ingredient in the whole dish, but it&rsquo;s still the holiday season, right? And spaghetti carbonara is so glorious that it deserves at least an annual visit, calories be damned. Besides, I had to use up that ham.  SPAGHETTI CARBONARA (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 1 tbsp. salt &bull; 1/2 lb. spaghetti &bull; 2 eggs &bull; 1/2 cup. fresh-grated Parmesan cheese &bull; 1 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper &bull; 2 tbsp. butter &bull; 1 tbsp. olive oil &bull; 1 1/2 cups diced ham  Bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add the salt and pasta, and cook to al dente. While pasta cooks, whisk together the eggs, cheese and black pepper in a bowl large enough to hold the pasta. In a medium skillet melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saut&eacute; the ham until it is warmed through. Remove from heat.  When the pasta is done, drain well and transfer the pasta to the bowl with the egg-cheese mixture, tossing immediately while adding the ham. When all the strands are evenly coated, divide among two pasta bowls and serve. Makes two servings.   TIDBITS  &bull; Kevin Noon, the knife sharpener who set up shop at farmers&rsquo; markets last summer, is keeping busy at a number of locations this winter. The first Saturday of each month, he will sharpen knives from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at BayLobsters Fish Market, 9224 Darrow Road in Twinsburg  (excepting January); from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at Coit Road Farmers Market, Coit and Woodward roads in East Cleveland; and from 9 a.m. to noon the third Saturday of each month at the Countryside Farmers Market at Happy Days Lodge, 500 W. Streetsboro Road in Peninsula.  &ldquo;I am also available by appointment,&rdquo; Kevin writes, &ldquo;and if someone has ten or more items (knives, scissors, gardening tools, woodworking tools, etc.)  I will come to their house. And I sharpen for groups such as churches, condo associations and social clubs.&rdquo;  He can be reached at kmnoon@roadrunner.com or 216-704-9175.   &bull; You&rsquo;ve probably seen at least one scary email recently about exploding Pyrex dishes. Maybe you&rsquo;ve put away your Pyrex dishes because you&rsquo;re afraid to use them. Not to worry. The whole thing is an urban myth.  True, Pyrex was sold by Corning to World Kitchen, which makes the bake ware with soda lime glass instead of the old borosilicate. But the bake ware has been made at the Pennsylvania plant &ndash; first by Corning, and now World Kitchen &ndash; with soda lime glass for 40 years, long before the 1998 sale, according to the myth debunking site, snopes.com. The switch was made because tempered soda lime glass is less likely to break that borosilicate glass.  Snopes points out, however, that all glass bake ware is subject to breaking. Sometimes the bake ware will shatter explosively, as the emails warn. This can happen when it is subjected to sudden, extreme changes in temperature. Read the directions that come with glass bake ware, because brands vary in resistance to temperature changes.   THE MAILBAG  From P.S.: Jane, Merry Christmas to you and your family. Your plans sound lovely. When my boys were teen-agers, they made new holiday traditions out of some funny things. There is Frosty the Meltman (who once was an intact candle in the shape of a snowman), and there is the plastic reindeer stuck upside down on the candy striped pillar candle. They won't let me pitch these things and they look for them each Christmas. You have much to look forward to. Enjoy.   From Lorraine: Jane, I was touched to see that you are starting wonderful family traditions. Even with adult children, our Christmas menu remains the same: a breakfast of eggs, sausages, nut rolls and panettone. Dinner has to be lasagna.    From Michele B.: My two favorite traditions are Christmas Eve candlelight service at church and homemade date-nut bread given to friends and family. The recipe is no secret and can be found in many cookbooks, but it must always be given with a heartfelt wish for a very happy holiday. My very best to you and your family.  Michele, Lorraine and P.S.: Many thanks to you and everyone else who shared their traditions and sent best wishes for our first Christmas with Tony&rsquo;s son. We had a wonderful time, and our teen-ager said it was the best Christmas he could remember. Even the Japanese Christmas cake turned out great (Tony said it was better than the ones he had in Japan!). Happy New Year to all.     From Dante D&rsquo;Avello, Totally Cooked Catering: This is for Paula in Bath who was looking for a great matzo ball soup. Totally Cooked features matzo ball as well as mish mosh soup. We recently launched a kosher style menu plan as a choice for catering clients. You can check it out here http://www.totallycooked.com/menus.html  Dante: Thanks for steering me to your new kosher menu, which certainly must be the most comprehensive in the area. Your other menus look fabulous, too. But what the heck is mish mosh soup?   From Dennis Altieri, Stow: In your newsletter, you mentioned Lou &amp; Hy's chicken soup.  When someone I knew had a bad cold, I would drive from Stow to West Akron for a quart of chicken soup. I have never had chicken soup or any other soup so good I would drive across town. Maybe someone who worked there has the recipe and will share.    Dennis: If they do, you&rsquo;ll be first on the list to receive a copy.   From Debbie Minerich, Akron: In the winter, we have soup nearly every weekend -- usually Sunday nights.  I&rsquo;ve attached three recipes. The kielbasa soup is a tasty change from traditional cabbage soup. I found the chicken barley chili recipe on a box of Quaker Barley, which I've modified slightly to suit our tastes. The chicken cacciatore soup is a Rachel Ray recipe. The leftovers are wonderful baked with cheese-stuffed manicotti.   We also enjoy fresh, warm-from-the-oven home-made bread with our soup.  Because carbs are a major weakness, rather than bake an entire loaf of bread, I bake a mini-loaf from 3 frozen roll dough pieces, which the two of us share. Enjoy!    Debbie: I was going to share just one of your recipes but couldn&rsquo;t choose among them, so here are all three.  CHICKEN CACCIATORE SOUP (Thicker than soup, thinner than stew.) (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 tbsp. olive oil &bull; 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced &bull; 1 medium onion, chopped &bull; 2 large potatoes, cubed &bull; 8 cremini (baby Portobello) mushrooms, chopped &bull; 4 ribs celery, chopped &bull; 1 red pepper, sliced thin &bull; 4 cloves garlic, chopped &bull;1/2 cup red wine &bull; 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes &bull; 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes &bull; 2 cups (or more) chicken broth &bull; 2 tsps. pepper &bull; 1 tsp. red pepper flakes &bull; 3 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped &bull; 1 cup fresh or frozen spinach &bull; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese  Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saut&eacute; the chicken and onion over high heat for several minutes. Add the remaining fresh veggies and garlic and saut&eacute; until they begin to soften. Add red wine, tomatoes and chicken broth. Stir in seasonings and spinach. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 8 to10 minutes, until potatoes are tender.  Ladle into bowls. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired. Good with crusty bread. Makes 4 servings.    CHICKEN BARLEY CHILI (I used a show cooker on low for 8 hours.) (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained &bull; 1 jar or can (16 oz.) salsa OR tomato sauce &bull; 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth &bull; 1 cup barley &bull; 3 cups water or chicken broth &bull; 1 tbsp. chili powder &bull; 1 tsp. cumin &bull; 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained &bull; 1 can (15 1/4 oz.) corn with peppers, undrained &bull; 3 cups diced cooked chicken &bull; Cheddar cheese (optional) &bull; Sour cream (optional)  In a 6-quart saucepan, combine first 7 ingredients. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add beans, corn and chicken and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until barley is tender. If chili becomes too thick, add more chicken broth to thin.  If desired, serve topped with cheese and/or sour cream. Makes ten 1-cup servings.   KIELBASSAS-CABBAGE SOUP (Recipe from Bill Minerich) (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 links kielbasas, cut into cubes &bull; Butter or margarine &bull; 1/2 head cabbage, chopped &bull; 4 carrots, diced &bull; 2 ribs celery, diced &bull; 2 to 3 potatoes, scrubbed (or peeled) and cubed &bull; 1 green pepper, diced &bull; 1 onion, diced &bull; 1/2 tsp. garlic powder &bull; 1/2 tsp. pepper &bull; 1/2 tsp. onion powder &bull; 2 tbsp. dried basil &bull; 1 bay leaf &bull; 1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce &bull; 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained &bull; Water &bull; Ham flavored soup base (to taste)  Saut&eacute; fresh vegetables and sausage a small amount of melted butter until veggies begin to soften. Add spices, potatoes, tomato sauce and tomatoes. Add enough water to cover vegetables. Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Stir in ham base to taste. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=98&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - December 23rd 2009</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - December 23rd 2009</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 24 Dec 2009 01:38:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - December 23rd 2009</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free December 23, 2009  Rarely do we get a fresh start like the one coming up for me on Thursday. I have a chance to create new Christmas traditions (I know, an oxymoron) for my new family. With my mother gone almost two years now and Tony&rsquo;s 16-year-old son with us for just nine months, Christmas could be either a time of sadness for what is past or joy for what is beginning. This year I choose joy, I think Tony and my step-son will, too.  Because of his previous chaotic situation, our teen-ager has no special Christmas ornament for the tree or hand-made decorations from pre-school years. When a teacher assigned his class last week to bring an item that represents a family holiday tradition, he had to admit he didn&rsquo;t have any. Not one.  We&rsquo;re going to change that. For starters, Tony and I bought him an unconscionable number of presents to open Christmas morning, and we have been wrapping and putting one or two under the tree each day. (He deserves &ndash; and needs &ndash; an extra-bounteous Christmas, because he came with only the clothes he wore).   Then, we all decided, on Christmas Eve Tony will close his restaurant early so we can have dinner by candlelight at about 9 p.m., followed by the soon-to-be-annual viewing of The Christmas Story. That&rsquo;s Tony&rsquo;s favorite movie. I&rsquo;m just grateful that so far he hasn&rsquo;t  bought a leg-shaped lamp.  For dinner I&rsquo;m serving roasted beef tenderloin with a red-wine reduction sauce, Dessert will be a Japanese Christmas Cake, another new family tradition. I had never heard of it until last week, when I asked Tony if there was a special Christmas food he remembered from childhood. (Most Japanese families celebrate Christmas even though they aren&rsquo;t Christians).  Tony described Christmas Cake as a layered white cake covered with whipped cream and strawberries. I figured it was some strange Western thing his parents had stumbled upon, but it&rsquo;s not. Japanese Christmas cake is widely eaten on Christmas Eve in Japan, and it is exactly as Tony described &ndash; white sponge cake filled and topped with whipped cream and strawberries. I adapted an easy recipe I found at www.about.com.  On Christmas morning, I&rsquo;ll get up early and make some bacon and asiago cheese scones. Warm scones on Christmas morning sounds like another great tradition. I hope you have a merry Christmas filled with old and new traditions of your own.  JAPANESE CHRISTMAS CAKE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  Cake: &bull; 3 eggs  &bull; 2/3 cup sugar  &bull; 3/4 cup flour  &bull; 1 tbsp. milk  &bull; 1 1/2 tbsp. butter   Topping:  &bull; 1 1/2 cups whipping cream &bull; 4 tbsp. sugar  &bull; Fresh strawberries  Whisk eggs in a bowl by hand or with a portable mixer. Place the bowl over warm water and continue beating. Slowly add sugar, beating until mixture is thick and pale yellow.  Sift flour into the egg mixture, gently and lightly folding in with a spatula. Heat milk and butter until butter melts. Drizzle into batter, stirring gently to incorporate.  Line two greased and floured, 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper. Spread batter in the pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until cake begins to pull away from sides of pans. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.  Beat cream with a mixer, slowing adding sugar until soft peaks form. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Top with some of the whipped cream and about 1 cup halved strawberries. Top with second layer. Swirl remaining whipped cream over sides and top of cake. Decorate with whole strawberries. Refrigerate. Makes 1 cake.  BACON AND ASIAGO SCONE BITES (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 slices bacon &bull; 2 cups flour &bull; 1 tbsp. baking powder &bull; 5 oz. (about 11/4 cups) grated asiago cheese &bull; 1/2 tsp. fresh-ground pepper &bull; 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces &bull; 1 egg &bull; 1/2 cup heavy cream  Fry bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels and cut into small pieces. In a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, cheese and pepper and pulse briefly to mix. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cream. Pour into the processor and pulse until dough comes together.  Transfer dough to a floured board and knead in bacon. Gather dough into a ball. Roll out to an 8-inch square, about 1/2-inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1-inch squares. Place dough pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Makes 64 pieces, or 12 servings.  From &ldquo;Easy Entertaining&rdquo; by the editors at Williams-Sonoma.   THE MAILBAG   From Vivian VonGunten: I hope you can help me. Krieger's on Graham Road in Cuyahoga Falls used to carry a Mexican cheese dip that was delicious. Last year it became unavailable and they told me the company or supplier no longer made it. Even they seemed sad. They do make their own but it's not the same.  Do you know of any such dip from any place that would be a good replacement? It was a fresh cheese dip (refrigerated) with a mild spiciness and included some chopped tomatoes.  Vivian: I don&rsquo;t, but I&rsquo;m open to suggestions. My favorite fresh Mexican cheese dip is the Mad Coyote at West Point Market, although it hardly can be called &ldquo;mild.&rdquo;   From Patti White, Akron: Regarding your favorite-soup query, my all time favorite is She-Crab Soup from Charleston, SC. I have a recipe and have made it at home but it is not quite the same.    Patti: I love she-crab soup, too, and when I make it at home it never tastes as good as the soup I order in restaurants near the shore. Maybe it&rsquo;s because we can&rsquo;t buy the crab roe to stir into the creamy soup.   From Carol, Cuyahoga Falls: For good matzo ball soup, go to Goldie's Deli on Pearl Road in Strongsville.   Carol: I&rsquo;m always glad to add another deli to my list.   From J.N.: I saw an ad for warm-water lobster tails. What&rsquo;s the difference between warm and cold water lobster?  J.N.: Warm water lobsters are actually big langoustines (shrimp-like crustaceans). I've had them in Florida. They don't have claws. They're pretty good, but I wouldn't pay as much for them as I would cold-water lobster, which seem to be sweeter and firmer if I remember correctly.         From Dave: Jane, you&rsquo;re late in taking food to movies. My mom did it for us in 1955, when we went to see &ldquo;Ol&rsquo; Yeller.&rdquo; It was cheaper than movie popcorn at the big markups. We also made hamburgers and took them too, all the time, for years.  Dave: You have me beat by a half century at least. Wow, taking hamburgers to see Ol&rsquo; Yeller. I like your mother&rsquo;s chutzpah.  



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=97&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - December 17th 2009</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - December 17th 2009</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:50:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - December 17th 2009</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free December 17, 2009  This week&rsquo;s column has so many letters and recipes (keep &lsquo;em coming!) that I&rsquo;ll make this short. I just wanted to tell you about butchering and cooking the baby deer our 16-year-old recently shot.  On second thought, maybe you don&rsquo;t want to know. I DID tell my two hunters that if they were going to kill a deer, to make it a young one because the meat would be more tender and delicious than from a big old antlered buck. I told them I would not cook the meat from a buck, hoping to subtly persuade them to leave the deer alone.  No such luck. The teen-ager, in what he now half-jokingly refers to as &ldquo;a moment of father-son bonding&rdquo; shot a young deer for the freezer and a big buck for the wall.  I was sad to learn that my sweet step-son is capable of killing an animal, but I&rsquo;m happy that we now have some utterly beautiful venison in the freezer. (We donated the meat from the buck to the food bank). The young deer meat is so tender and mildly flavored that I will enjoy turning it into many dinners. The first was a fabulous venison-beer stew made from Julia Child&rsquo;s carbonade of beef recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I adapted the recipe to the ingredients I had on hand, and that&rsquo;s the version I&rsquo;m sharing.  After tasting it, Tony dropped his fork and gazed at me in stunned silence for a couple of beats before blurting, &ldquo;Honey! This recipe is good enough for a cookbook!&rdquo;  &ldquo;Yeah, I know,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;but Julia Child beat me to it.&rdquo;  VENISON OR BEEF CARBONADE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 lbs. venison or lean beef chuck roast &bull; Salt, pepper &bull; 2 to 3 tbsp. oil &bull; 6 cups sliced onions &bull; 4 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed &bull; 1 cup beef broth &bull; 2 tbsp. brown sugar &bull; 2 to 3 cups beer, light or dark &bull; 1 bay leaf &bull; 1/2 tsp. dried thyme &bull; 1 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar  Cut meat into chunks, then cut the chunks into about 1/4-inch-thick slices. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a film of oil in a large, heavy skillet until almost smoking. Brown the meat slices quickly on both sides, a few at a time, and place in a medium bowl. Reduce heat to medium and stir onions into the skillet, adding more oil if necessary. Brown the onions lightly, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and stir in garlic that has been mashed to a paste with a meat pounder.  In a Dutch oven or 9- to 10-inch ovenproof casserole dish, arrange half the browned meat and season lightly with salt and pepper. Spread half of the onions over the meat. Repeat layers. Pour any meat drippings from the bowl back into the skillet. Return skillet to heat and add the broth, stirring to scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in brown sugar. Pour into casserole over the onions and meat. Add enough beer to just barely cover the ingredients. Push bay leaf into casserole to nestle among the ingredients. Sprinkle with thyme.  Cover tightly and bake at 325 degrees (or a temperature that will maintain a gentle simmer) for about 21/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender. Uncover casserole and place on stove burner over medium-high heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Simmer until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.   TIDBITS  &bull; Finally, I&rsquo;m being joined in my campaign against high movie concession prices by the folks at chow.com, who have concluded that the exorbitant popcorn prices in movie theaters justify sneaking in snacks from home.  Chow referred to a New York Times Ethicist column, in which Randy Cohen argued that when a business&rsquo;s rule is grossly unfair, disobeying it is OK, and that the high price of movie popcorn falls into that category.  Chow continues, &ldquo;If movie popcorn were delicious&mdash;organic kernels drizzled with real butter, for instance&mdash;then the sticker shock wouldn&rsquo;t be so bad. But the truth is, it&rsquo;s often stale.&rdquo;  No kidding. When I wrote about theater popcorn for a newspaper article once, a multiplex worker told me the popcorn was popped once a week on the second floor and stored in giant bags. Before screenings, some of the stale popcorn was warmed up a bit in the concession-stand popcorn bin, and a small batch was popped fresh to scent the lobby and reel in customers.  As I&rsquo;ve noted before, I have smuggled in everything from Diet Coke to steamed broccoli. Once my husband and I enjoyed sushi with chopsticks while watching a movie in the dark. I haven&rsquo;t found a good alternative to theater popcorn, though, even the warmed-over stale kind. I&rsquo;m addicted to it.  I&rsquo;m curious about what kind of snacks and drinks other people take to the movies. Or do you think smuggling snacks is wrong?  Chow&rsquo;s article is at www.chow.com   &bull; MyBusyDayGourmet, located inside Sayre&rsquo;s Food Center in Smithville, is offering cookie dough workshops through Sunday, Dec. 20.  There are 10 different kinds and 10 percent of sales go to Hospice of Wayne County. Varieties include chocolate crinkles, apricot pinwheels, buckeyes and peanut butter sandwich cookies, among others.  &ldquo;It works just like our entrees,&rdquo; writes owner Judy Sayre. &ldquo;You can come in and mix the dough  (without going out and buying all the individual ingredients) at our place, leave the mess here and bake them at home!  How easy is that?&rsquo;&rsquo;  Check out the website for details, www.mybusydaygourmet.com or phone 330-669-2572.   HELP U COOK  Egg whites are what make decorative icing set up enough to stack cookies without smearing the tops. But even though the icing dries hard, bacteria may still be present if you use unpasteurized egg whites. Those who are worried about bacteria &ndash; and the elderly, pregnant women and those with compromised immune systems should be &ndash; can use Davidson's Pasteurized Eggs, available locally at Giant Eagle stores. Here's a simple recipe for decorative icing.   D&Eacute;CORATIVE ICING (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar &bull; 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar &bull; 3 egg whites &bull; 1/4 tsp. vanilla &bull; 1/4 tsp. almond extract  Stir ingredients together in deep bowl. Beat at high speed of electric mixer for five minutes. Keep icing covered tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use. Tint portions of icing with different colors of food coloring.   THE MAILBAG  From Jo:     In answer to a previous question, the Diamond Deli in downtown Akron has great matzo ball soup (and terrific sandwiches.)    From Louise: In answer to Deidre's question about shrimp and grits, Southern Living had a great sounding recipe in the May 2009 issue and it can be found online, too: Standard Bistro&rsquo;s Shrimp and Grits.  The link brings up several recipe ideas for shrimp and grits.  In another matter, we recently ate shepherd's pie at the Cheesecake Factory that had a delectable sauce with the beef filling.  Any ideas on what the ingredients might be?  It was more like a gravy than the tomato-based sauce that is sometimes used.   Louise: I haven&rsquo;t tasted the shepherd&rsquo;s pie at that restaurant, so I couldn&rsquo;t even guess. Maybe someone else can help.    From Mitch Allen, Mimi Vanderhaven&rsquo;s personal assistant (and editor of See Jane Cook): I saw the request for a recipe for shrimp and grits. Coincidentally, my wife&rsquo;s co-workers  have been hounding me for the recipe for a grits casserole that I have made for them several times. I don&rsquo;t have a recipe; I just make it. But using what I have learned from you, I took a crack at writing my first-ever recipe.  SAUSAGE GRITS CASSEROLE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 1 cup quick cooking grits (not instant, not old fashioned) &bull; 3 cups water &bull; 1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean) &bull; 1/2 tsp. minced garlic &bull; 8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter &bull; 1 1/2 to 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese &bull; 2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies, including juice &bull; Salt and pepper to taste &bull; 4 eggs  Prepare grits by bringing three cups of water to a boil in a heavy pot and slowly stirring in grits so they do not clump. Simmer as per instructions on box or until thick, about 5 to 8 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently.  (Note: The simmering grits will ultimately boil like lava, throwing molten grits onto your stirring hand, so use a long spoon. Also, the water-to-grits ratio is typically 4 to1, but this recipe calls for 3 to 1 because we want the casserole to be thicker than traditional grits. I'm mentioning this just so no one questions the authenticity of my Southern heritage).  While grits are simmering, brown sausage in a large skillet, breaking up with a spoon or spatula as it cooks. Add garlic and saut&eacute; the final two minutes. Drain off fat. (The grits will likely be done before you finish browning the sausage so remove from heat and cover the pot with a lid.)  To the pot of grits add the browned sausage and all remaining ingredients except salt, pepper and eggs and stir well. When the mixture is well combined and the butter and Cheddar cheese have melted, give it a taste. Grits require a lot of salt, but sometimes the cheese is plenty salty and no additional salt is required. Add salt and pepper to taste.  In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs and add to the mixture, stirring until completely combined. Pour the entire mixture into a large casserole dish and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. If the top begins to brown, then I'm wrong about the 45 minutes.  Mitch: I love the way you wrote the recipe and so except for some minor clarifications,  I&rsquo;m passing it along as is. Sometimes we pros edit our recipes too much, in the interests of brevity and uniformity. We lose the glimpse into the mind of the cook &ndash; not to mention the charm &ndash; that recipes like yours provide. Your grits casserole would be great for Christmas breakfast.   From Geri: I have quite a few black walnuts. My husband has taken off the green shell and got to the actual nut, but how do you crack the nut? Also, after it is cracked how long do you have to wait until the nut dries? He opened a couple of them and the meat was soft. Do you have any suggestions? I was hoping to make black walnut fudge for Christmas. Thanks.  Geri: Black walnuts are incredibly tough to crack. Over the years, people have told me they have cracked them in their trash compactor and have driven over them with their cars. I remember my dad using a hammer. Many people use a vice. I found a tool made specifically for the purpose at http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/BlackWalnut.html. The site recommends removing the husks by stomping on them on old pavement and, with gloved hands, cleaning off the nut in the shell, then letting it dry on newspapers for one week before cracking. Handling the nuts will no longer stain your hands after they have dried.   From Diana Herhold: I wonder if Grandpa's Cheese Barn in Ashland would have the white cheddar cheese that J.N. was looking for to duplicate her grandma's cheese sandwiches. I know that they sure have a GREAT selection of cheeses.   From Beth Oliver: The best white Cheddar I&rsquo;ve found is Adam&rsquo;s Reserve. It&rsquo;s sold at both Sam&rsquo;s Club and Acme supermarkets.   From Tami Mitchell, Dine In Diva Personal Chef Service: Regarding the New York Cheddar question, try Adams Reserve New York Sharp Cheddar. It is made in upstate New York by a local cheese company, Great Lakes Cheese.  It's available at Giant Eagle, Acme, Heinen&rsquo;s, and Marc&rsquo;s. The Cheese Shop at West Side Market also carries it.   I recently won Adam&rsquo;s Cheddar Challenge contest with my Sweet and Spicy Cheddar Cheeseball with Apples and Bacon, and was fortunate to receive a nice basket of their cheese. It's a premium cheese, but is reasonably priced. Coupons are available on the website.  Diana, Beth and Tami: Thanks for the suggestions. We have two votes for the Adams Reserve White Cheddar, and a link to a prize-winning cheese ball recipe. Cool! And congratulations, Tami.   From Karen Jones, Barberton: To the subscriber asking about sanding sugar, I just purchased some this afternoon at Mr. Bulky's on Howe Road in Cuyahoga Falls.  Funny, but some of the different colors came in both fine and coarse &ndash; go figure!   Karen: Thanks for proving I&rsquo;m not crazy for finding two definitions of sanding sugar.   From Amy Butcher, the Olive Tap, Medina: In addition to the winter farmers&rsquo; market you mentioned, readers have one more opportunity to shop the North Union Farmer's Market at Shaker Square before Christmas. There they will find a delightful array of artisan breads and baked goods,  gourmet olive oils and balsamic vinegars, grass-fed meats, local honey, locally grown winter veggies, gourmet mushrooms, wine jellies, cold-stored mustards, Ohio maple syrup, hand made all-natural soaps, lotions, and even hand crafted jewelry and clothing...the list goes on!  Saturday December 19th, the market will be indoors between CVS and Dewey's Fair Trade Coffee on the Square from 8 a.m. to noon. The market takes a two week break for Christmas and New Year's, and then returns to the same location every Saturday starting January 9 from 9 a.m. to noon. The website is www.northunionfarmersmarket.org.  Also, the Kamm&rsquo;s Corners Farmer's Market has moved to the Cretan Center at 3853 W 168th St. in Cleveland,  just south of Lorain Road. The market is held the second Sunday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through March.  This winter market, while smaller than the Shaker Square one, is still a gem of local, hand crafted products ranging from salsas for all tastes, small-batch locally-roasted coffee, winter veggies, gourmet olive oils and balsamics, free-range eggs and meats, handmade soaps, etc. Again, the market staff, a group of locals who puts its heart and soul into the endeavor, really works hard to get the job done.  www.kammscorners.com/farmersmarket.html.   I hope this helps some fellow readers keep in touch with the local artisans who really need community support at this time of year when the farmer's markets are so few and far between.     Amy: Thanks for the great information. I&rsquo;m all for buying from local producers when possible, especially at this time of year when even a small purchase can mean so much. That goes for local shops and restaurants, too. The next time you&rsquo;re tempted to pull into a Bob Evans or McDonald&rsquo;s, think about how much your $10 would mean to an independent restaurant nearby. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=95&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - December 10th 2009</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - December 10th 2009</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:56:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - December 10th 2009</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free Please join me at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, for a talk and book signing at Wadsworth Public Library, 132 Broad St. in Wadsworth, and from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday for a book fair at Mustill Store at Lock 15 in Akron, off West North Street. Use the parking lot at Cascade Valley Metro Park.    Also, Mimi is now selling autographed copies of my book, Jane Snow Cooks, on her website. Included with every purchase is a free copy of our Holiday Cookie Book recipe booklet with 100 home-tested recipes from Mimi readers.  December 10, 2009  I&rsquo;m having so much fun baking Christmas cookies. I have avoided holiday baking for several years because I don&rsquo;t want to regain all the weight I&rsquo;ve lost. But this year I have given myself dispensation because I&rsquo;m obligated to make cookies for strangers.  Last fall, Good Samaritan Hunger Centers auctioned off a gift basket filled with one of my cookbooks, a homemade cheesecake, a certificate for a cooking lesson, and a certificate for a basket of holiday goodies, to be delivered in December. I&rsquo;ll deliver the basket Dec. 19 &ndash; just 10 days &ndash; so I&rsquo;m busy baking and freezing.  All of the recipes I&rsquo;m using are from my book, and I&rsquo;m delighting in tasting them again (tiny tastes!). Today I made gingerbread biscotti dipped in white chocolate. A reader shared the recipe with me for a holiday cookie story once. I remembered that I liked them but I had forgotten how much. Wow, are these cookies good. I&rsquo;m a sucker for gingerbread anything, but there&rsquo;s something about the combination of mellow white chocolate and rich spiciness that elevates these cookies to star status.  Baking has put me in such a festive holiday mood that I think I&rsquo;ll do it every year. I&rsquo;ll just have to remember not to eat the results.  GINGERBREAD BISCOTTI (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive) &bull; 1 cup blanched whole almonds &bull; 3/4 cup sugar &bull; 1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter &bull; 1/2 cup dark molasses &bull; 3 eggs &bull; 3 cups flour &bull; 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder &bull; 1 tbsp. cinnamon &bull; 1 tsp. ground nutmeg &bull; 1 1/2 tsps. powdered ginger &bull; 1/2 tsp. ground cloves &bull; 1/2 tsp. ground allspice &bull; 1/2 lb. white chocolate coating (the coating disks melt more easily than regular white chocolate chips; just be sure to buy disks that are high quality, with no wax)  Place almonds in an 8- or 9-inch-square pan. Bake at 350 degrees until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool, chop coarse and set aside.  In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and molasses until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, spices and almonds. Add to egg mixture, stirring to blend.  On 2 greased, 12-by-15-inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 4 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on the sheets. Each loaf should be about  1/2-inch thick, 2 inches wide and the length of the baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until browned at the edges and springy to the touch (rotate position of pans halfway through baking). Cool on baking sheets for 3 to 4 minutes only, then cut into  1/2-inch slices on the diagonal.  Arrange biscotti on baking sheets, close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes, until cookies are brown, switching position of pans halfway through. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.  Melt coating in a saucepan. Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate coating. Dry on racks, then store in an airtight container. Cookies may be stored at room temperature up to 1 month, or frozen.  Makes about 4 1/2 dozen biscotti.   HELP U COOK My best bit of advice for cookie-bakers this month is to store each variety in a separate air-tight container. When soft and crisp cookies are stored together, the crisp cookies soften and the soft cookies harden.  More tips:  &bull;    If your cookies spread and flatten in the oven, you may have let the dough or batter sit too long before baking.   &bull;    If your cookies are crisp and you wish they were soft, replace two tablespoons of sugar with two tablespoons of corn syrup.  &bull;    Instead of greasing cookie sheets, line them with ungreased parchment paper. Your cookies will never again burn on the bottoms. When the cookies are done, slip the whole sheet of parchment onto a rack and remove the cookies after they have cooled. The parchment paper can be used again and again.   TIDBITS  One of us can win this one, you guys. I would like all of my readers who are artists, musicians, or just have a screw loose to enter the Second Annual Interfaith Holiday Baking Competition  sponsored by musician John Mayer. I came across this funny, funky but sincere contest (with real prizes) in a roundabout way &ndash; I thought Mayer resembled the young guy who played Geo in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, last weekend&rsquo;s movie rental, and in my research came across Mayer&rsquo;s bake-off site (www.johnmayer.com/blog).  There are no rules except the entry must be homemade and must be a cake. The winner will get four tickets to one of Mayer&rsquo;s concerts (with meet and greet) and a fancy acoustic guitar, and second place will get a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Just bake a cake, snap up to three digital pictures of it, and email them to Mayer.  Mayer, an avowed humbug, got the holiday spirit last year when he baked a cake at his brother&rsquo;s urging. On his blog he writes:  &ldquo;About this time last year I started getting emails from my brother with pictures of cakes he'd been baking. I laughed at first but when he appealed to me without sarcasm that it was undeniably fun and uplifting, I had to try it. Sure enough, baking a cake or two while listening to Christmas (okay, Holiday) music was like a giant dose of premium cheer. I had the happiest holidays in years.  &ldquo;I decided to start a contest on my blog wherein I challenged readers to submit their own baked goods, and the cheer just kept spreading. What I had originally thought was a clever little contest actually turned into a mainline of good feelings for everyone involved.&rdquo;   From the looks of the cake on Mayer&rsquo;s blog, I think he&rsquo;s prefers enthusiasm to perfection. So forget all those techniques you learned in cake-decorating class and bake with your heart. The deadline is Dec. 29. Let me know how you make out.  When shopping for holiday gifts, don&rsquo;t forget the winter edition of Countryside Farmers&rsquo; Market. The vendors have moved out of the meadow and into the Happy Days Lodge for once-a-month sessions through April. This month&rsquo;s market is from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 19. You&rsquo;ll find local maple syrup, honey, jams, fresh-roast coffee, handmade soaps, chocolates, cookies and nut rolls in addition to winter produce, meats and eggs.  Happy Days is at 500 W. Streetsboro Road (Ohio 303) in Peninsula. The website is cvcountryside.org.    THE MAILBAG  From Maryann: In your cupcake story, you said sanding sugar is finer than granulated sugar. Isn't that "superfine,"  the sugar used for beverages and cocktails?  I was under the impression that sanding sugar is a chunkier sugar, much like coarse salt. Isn't that what bakeries use for the colored sugars sprinkled on various holiday cookies-- bigger, shiny, crunchy pieces?  I have looked for sanding sugar for the last two Christmases without success. Do you know of any cake and candy supply shops in the Stow, Cuyahoga Falls or Tallmadge areas?   Maryann: I saw sanding sugar recently at West Point Market, but I don&rsquo;t know where you can find it in your area. As for the definition, some professional pastry chefs agree with the baker I interviewed who said sanding sugar is finer than regular sugar. But I&rsquo;ve also noticed that many websites refer to coarse, colored decorating sugars as &ldquo;sanding sugar.&rdquo; I&rsquo;m stumped. Maybe a pastry chef who is reading this will unravel the mystery.   From J.N.: As a kid my grandmother would make me her special open faced grilled cheese sandwich. She would use her special homemade bread and extra sharp white New York Cheddar from the A&amp;P in Wadsworth. She would turn the broiler on in the oven and put the open faced sandwich right on the oven rack. And we would watch it heat and start to bubble up. It was the best.     But I can't duplicate the cheese. I make her bread all the time, something she taught me while I was a kid.  I have tried lots and lots of White Sharp New York Cheddar, but nothing to match it.  Any suggestions?  J.N.: Short of tracking down the supplier of A&amp;P&rsquo;s white Cheddar in the decade you grew up &ndash; a Herculean task if ever there was one &ndash; I suggest you work your way through the white Cheddars at West Point Market, which has the largest selection of cheeses around. If anyone has a better suggestion, I&rsquo;ll pass it along.   From John Horvath, Solon: I was wondering if you know of any good sauerkraut ball recipes. I&rsquo;m a huge fan of the ones turned out by On Tap and Gasoline Alley. The online searches I have come up with have been pretty lame and don&rsquo;t seem to be of much help. If you could point me in the right direction I would be forever grateful. Also, I just saw that you have a book out. I plan to add it to my foodie collection very soon.  John: If I didn&rsquo;t know better I&rsquo;d think your email was a plant. Yes, I have a book out and the best recipe for sauerkraut balls (I tasted &lsquo;em all) is in it. The recipe I prefer came from the old Bavarian Haus on East Market Street in Akron. The chef showed me how to make sauerkraut balls, and cautioned that the mixture is very soft before it is frozen. Do not add more flour, because that&rsquo;s how it&rsquo;s supposed to be. When fried, the sauerkraut balls will be crisp outside and soft inside. Here&rsquo;s the recipe. And by the way, you can get my book, Jane Snow Cooks, from Mimi by clicking on the link at the top of this newsletter.   SAUERKRAUT BALLS  (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive) &bull; 1  1/4 lbs. ground ham  &bull; 6 eggs  &bull; 2  1/4 tsp. granulated garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder  &bull; 1 tsp. black pepper  &bull; 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper  &bull; 1 medium onion, minced fine  &bull; 5 lbs. sauerkraut, drained and chopped  &bull; 5 to 6 cups flour &bull; 1 egg beaten with 1 cup milk  &bull; Flour for coating  &bull; Dry, unseasoned bread crumbs  &bull; Oil for deep-frying  In a very large bowl, combine ham, eggs, garlic, peppers and onion. Add sauerkraut and mix well with your hands. Add flour a little at a time, kneading until the mixture is smooth and can be shaped into soft balls. Use only enough flour to achieve the proper consistency. The mixture will be sticky.   Pull off chunks of the mixture and roll between your palms to make balls the size of a golf ball. Place on cookie sheets and freeze until firm, about two hours. While frozen, roll in the flour, then in the egg-milk mixture, then in the bread crumbs. Freeze again and transfer to plastic freezer bags until ready for use, or fry immediately.   To fry, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry a few at a time (straight from freezer) until the coating is golden brown and a fork easily pierces to the center. If the oil is too hot, the outsides will burn before the insides thaw and cook.   Makes about 96. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=94&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
				<item>
			<title>See Jane Cook - December 2nd 2009</title>
			<description>See Jane Cook - December 2nd 2009</description>
			<author>Jane Snow</author>
			<pubdate>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:08:02 -0500</pubdate>
			<subject>See Jane Cook - December 2nd 2009</subject>
			<content><![CDATA[ 


 
  

 
 


 
 


 
  Winner of two James Beard Awards  for food writing.  SPONSOR LINKS  
 

 Fresh Seafood from Boston  Totally Cooked  Will you run out of money in retirement?  Babin Kitchen &amp; Bath  Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates   FAVORITE SITES  Dad Cooks Dinner   King Arthur Flour   Penzeys Spices   Rare Seeds   Sushi Katsu   USDA Nutrient Database   Del Mio   Pick Your Own Farms   Caranos Cucina   Exploring Food My Way  Mimi Vanderhaven   CONTACT JANE  Email Jane  Jane's Personal Appearances   Subscribe To This Newsletter  




 Subscribe Free Note: Please join me at 2 p.m. Saturday for a talk and book signing at the Barberton Public Library, 602 W. Park Ave. in Barberton, and for a signing from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Bookseller, 39 Westgate Circle in Akron.    Also, Mimi is now selling autographed copies of my book, Jane Snow Cooks, on her website. Included with every purchase is a free copy of our Holiday Cookie Book recipe booklet with 100 home-tested recipes from Mimi readers.  December 2, 2009  When I told Tony I planned to make a turkey pot pie with the Thanksgiving leftovers, he began mumbling dialog from A Christmas Story: &rdquo;No turkey sandwiches, no turkey pot pie&hellip;&rdquo; I realized the movie (one of his favorites) was his only cultural reference for pot pie. He had no idea what a pot pie actually tasted like.  We sure as heck had enough turkey for pot pies, sandwiches, and everything else Ralphie&rsquo;s dad mourned in the film after the neighbor&rsquo;s dogs tore through the kitchen and heisted the family&rsquo;s golden-brown bird. Tony and I cooked two turkeys for six people this Thanksgiving, thanks to Tony&rsquo;s latest invention and a vague and fluctuating guest list. Tony has been beyond anxious to try out the motorized rotisserie he built, so he cooked one turkey outside over coals and I cooked one in the oven.  Both turkeys turned out great, but how much turkey can six people eat? Even with help from the dog, we still only ate about half a turkey, leaving plenty of leftovers. That weekend, Tony and his son were going on a male-bonding trip to a friend&rsquo;s hunting palace (he calls it a &ldquo;cabin,&rdquo; but it has two full stainless-steel kitchens with dishwashers), so I made a pot pie for them to take and share.  The pot pie must have wowed Tony, because despite the distractions of ATVs, taxidermied animal heads galore and other alluring guy stuff, he found time to call and rave about dinner.  This recipe is one of only two or three that I created with canned soup. I did so because I was trying to clone KFC&rsquo;s comforting pot pie for a story several years ago, and the chicken chain sent a press release listing the ingredients: Campbell&rsquo;s cream of chicken soup and Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. The version I came up with is a dead ringer, and so easy to make that I&rsquo;m glad I  cooked two turkeys.  ALMOST KFC TURKEY POT PIE (Printer Friendly Recipe Archive)  &bull; 4 cups cooked turkey in bite-sized chunks &bull; 1 sheet Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry (half of a 17  1/4-oz. box) &bull; 6 medium potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.) &bull; 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots &bull; 1 cup frozen peas &bull; Salt, pepper &bull; 2 cans (10  3/4 oz. each) Campbell's condensed cream of chicken soup &bull; 2 soup cans milk &bull; 1 1/2 tsp. sugar  Measure out turkey and set aside. Remove puff pastry sheet from box and thaw at room temperature. Meanwhile, scrub potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (peeling is not necessary). Place in a large pot. Add carrots. Barely cover with hot water. Cover pot, bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes.  Place frozen peas in a strainer. Pour potatoes and carrots over the peas in the strainer and drain. Season with salt and pepper.  In same pot, combine soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Heat to a simmer. Stir in sugar. Add shredded turkey and vegetables and simmer until warmed through.  Unfold pastry sheet and roll out on a lightly floured board to a rectangle slightly larger than a 9-by-12-inch pan. Pour hot filling into pan. Moisten edges of pastry and place over filling, moistened edges down. Fold edges over rim of pan and press to seal.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Makes 6 generous portions.   TIDBIT What soup do you crave when the temperatures dip? Are you a vegetable-beef kind of person or do you prefer a soul-warming bowl of cream of broccoli soup? Or maybe lobster bisque, French onion or bouillabaisse?  With so many soup bars popping up in restaurants and markets, I&rsquo;m planning to write a story for Mimi about the soups we love and where to get them. I&rsquo;d appreciate any tips on great restaurant soups, as well as your favorite soup to cuddle up with when it snows. Drop me an email (and please include your first and last names and city). Thanks for your help!   HELP U COOK Anyone who has watched a cooking show or read a cookbook in the last decade knows that pasta should be cooked al dente. Many people actually know what that means &ndash; literally, &ldquo;to the teeth,&rdquo; or in essence, not mushy. But not many people know how to tell when pasta reaches that point.  Years ago, I was told to fling a strand of spaghetti against the wall and if it stuck, it was done. While I loved this method, it wasn&rsquo;t very accurate (and eventually the walls looked like hell).  Biting into a strand is less messy and more accurate, as long as you know what properly cooked pasta should feel like in your mouth. (It should be resilient but not hard in the center).  The best method, though, is to remove a strand or piece of pasta from the boiling water with tongs, cut it in half and look at it closely. Pasta that isn&rsquo;t quite done will have a chalky-looking, hard core. The hard core will dwindle to nothing as the pasta continues to cook. Ideally, you should keep testing the pasta and remove it from the heat as soon as or shortly before it is done, depending on whether it will be heated further during saucing.   THE MAILBAG  From Michele: Regarding Dorothy Tucker's question about storing fresh parsley: As soon as I get parsley and cilantro home from the store (or basil from the garden in the summer) I trim the stems and plunge into a short pitcher or vase of cold water. I trim the stems and change the water every other day. They stay fresh and fragrant for more than a week.   From Paula, Bath: Do you know of any place in or near Akron that serves a good matzo ball soup?    Paula: Since the demise of Lou &amp; Hy&rsquo;s Deli in West Akron, many Jewish deli specialties have been hard to find. Try Ivan&rsquo;s Deli in Fairlawn. I haven&rsquo;t tasted the soup, but I&rsquo;ve seen it on the menu. Any other suggestions?   From Deidre: My friends and I ate at Harry and Jean&rsquo;s in Canfield. We fell in love with their shrimp and grits &ndash;  Romano grits with shrimp and a Grand Marnier butter sauce. I am usually pretty good at coming up with the recipe, but this one has me stumped. Would you have any ideas?  Deidre: I&rsquo;ve never gotten into grits, although maybe I should. Perhaps someone else can come up with a recipe.  From Jane Day: I used the Land O&rsquo; Lakes recipe to make a pumpkin roll but it cracked. Any idea what I did wrong?  Jane: Did you roll it up with a towel the minute it came from the oven? If not, that could be the problem. If you rolled it hot from the oven and it still cracked, you probably baked it too long. That, too, will cause a rolled sponge cake to crack. Bake it just until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Don't go by the time in the recipe, which almost always be off for the quirks of your particular oven.   From Joy: I saw the question about cake spice from Priscilla in your Nov. 18 newsletter. It&rsquo;s a mixture of six assorted spices, and it can be ordered from the Spice House (a chain of Chicago-area spice shops)  http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/cake-spice    From Lynn: Regarding cake spice, I buy it at Penzey's. Check the website to order online www.penzeys.com or visit the store on Chagrin Boulevard in Beachwood.  Joy, Lynn and others: Thanks to all those who shared their sources for this spice mixture. I had never heard of cake spice, but apparently it is a cinnamon-ginger type mixture for use in apple pies, spice cake and similarly flavored baked goods, according to the descriptions on the websites. 



  CONTACT JANE The only way Mimi and I can keep this newsletter going is by increasing the number of readers in order to attract underwriters. Please share this newsletter with your friends and urge them to subscribe. It's free! If you have a food question, recipe request or comment, E-mail Jane Snow at jane@janesnowtoday.com Please put "FOOD" in the subject line. 
 ABOUT JANE SNOW Jane Snow is the former food editor of the Akron Beacon Journal. Her work has appeared in newspapers nationwide. She has won two James Beard Awards for food writing and has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives in Akron, Ohio, with her husband, Tony, a sushi chef and owner of Sushi Katsu, an Akron sushi bar.
 A portion of the proceeds generated through sponsorships of this newsletter go to the Jane Snow Fund For Hunger at Akron Community Foundation.   If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter please click here to unsubscribe. 
 Jane Snow's eNewsletter is copyrighted and distributed by Mimi Vanderhaven's Fabulous Buys
 Newsletter Archives
 Online Web Version of Newsletter








]]></content>
			<link>http://www.janesnowtoday.com/newsletter/display.php?List=1&amp;N=93&amp;M=840&amp;C=ec4dc8acb4ab29df1c7e178513287840</link>
		</item>
			</channel>
</rss>
