Anolon Titanium pans
After about two years of evaluating the different kinds of pans we registered for and received as wedding gifts, I think I’ve come to some useful conclusions about what works for me in the kitchen. One, Calphalon’s hard-anodized flat-bottomed wok is a terrible choice for anything resembling stir-frying (hmm, a wok that ought to stir-fry, go figure). Two, despite Cook’s Illustrated’s never-ending love for All-Clad products, I just can’t get the hang of purely stainless-steel pans. My food just sticks way too much.
So, I’ve cooked and cooked and settled on a line of pans that works particularly well: Anolon Titanium. I have two now, a 12″ French skillet and a 5-quart covered saute pan. They’re dishwasher-safe, food develops a reasonable fond but rarely sticks on the hard-anodized surface, and it’s not the end of the world to use metal utensils with them. The stainless-steel handles stay cool and have a comfortable shape. Also, since the pans are heavy-weight aluminum, they retain and distribute heat very well. For all that, and the piece of mind that they’ll last a good, long time, I don’t even mind the price (skillet – $75, covered saute – $130).
The best of every world! But, in LeVar Burton’s timeless words, you don’t have to take my word for it: pick up an 8″ skillet at Amazon for $19 and give it a shot.
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Duncan Hines going dairy!
…and while we’re on the topic of changing kosher certification in the hopes of improved quality, this week’s Kosher Today newsletter reports that Pinnacle Foods will be changing its Duncan Hines cake mixes from pareve to dairy. While I was never very perturbed about the potential Stella D’Oro switch, this would deter me from making my grandmother’s delicious (and pareve) rum cake, so naturally I’m miffed!
To contact Duncan Hines, use this form.
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French’s Worcestershire no longer kosher
So, as long as we’re talking about sauces… I just spied the label of my fresh, as yet unopened bottle of French’s Worcestershire Sauce. The label proclaims proudly, “NOW EVEN RICHER!” Apparently, “even richer” also means “less kosher.” No more OU heksher to be found.
No big deal, right? Well, to my knowledge, French’s Worcestershire was the sole pareve sauce of its kind [update: luckily not true, see comments]. Lea & Perrins, the brand synonymous with W-shire, contains enough anchovy to be designed “OU-Fish” and thus unacceptable for use with meat. French’s, however, with markedly less anchovy puree, worked well in kosher burgers and marinades.
I’ve sent a brief note to French’s hoping to find an explanation for the change. Will post a response when it arrives.
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BBQ Sauce Roundup
The latest issue of the Jewish Advocate featured a recipe crafted by yours truly as part of their “Nine Days” coverage — BBQ “Chicken” Pizza (recipe forthcoming). Since barbecue sauce completely replaced my pizza’s typical tomato sauce, I figured choosing the right sauce would be critical. The recipe was geared toward the average home cook, so I didn’t want to recommend making sauce from scratch (though simple recipes abound and would likely be worthwhile). Plus, supermarket shelves are rife with sauce upon sauce — certainly one of them would fit the bill.
So I trekked out to my local Super Stop & Shop and filled my cart with sauces, ranging from the very cheap to the quite pricey, and only one that’s something of a local variety. I tasted the sauces plain and on pizzas. The results were somewhat surprising, and yielded a couple strong favorites.
On the cheap end were two Hunt’s varieties at $1.29 each, both certified by the OK. Hunt’s Original was simply sour ketchup, but the Hickory & Brown Sugar sauce shows a bit more character: moderately thick, dark, and with a definite (but slightly synthetic) hickory flavor. Nothing special when used on pizza.
For fifty cents more, KC Masterpiece Original (OU-certified) had a nice, lingering heat and slight smokiness, but seemed a bit too sweet. On pizza, though, it was quite imperceptible — flavor almost completely lost between the dough and the toppings.
Emeril’s Sweet Original, at $3.59 with a cRc heksher, was very sweet with a bit of maple flavor, but exhibited absolutely no heat or sourness — very one-dimensional. It was the least favorite as a pizza sauce.
The priciest variety, Bone Suckin’ Sauce, was a whopping $6.49 (OK-certified). This stuff was clearly not meant for pizza. It’s thin and very vinegary, though the apple cider vinegar was a unique twist. On the plus side, it had no unnatural or “industrial” ingredients. Save it for ribs.
Texas Best ($3.19 / OU) had a complex, almost elusive flavor — slightly more sour than it was sweet or spicy, but, on the whole, a well-balanced flavor and good thickness. On pizza, it stood up nicely.
The overwhelming favorite was a brand I had never tried before, but I picked it up because it was labeled “award winning” and “preferred by a majority of US restaurant chefs.” I figured that made it worth a try, but I remained skeptical; the vast majority of “US restaurant chefs” are drones who work at places like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s and are only expected to reheat mass-produced, over-marketed entrees with names like “pizza shooters,” “shrimp poppers,” and “extreme fajitas.”
Of course, I was put in my place when “Cattlemen’s” ($2.49 / OU) turned out to have a distinctive, tangy flavor, with just enough heat. Plus, it was dark, thick, and satisfying. On pizza, it was best equipped to match the bite of red onion and cheddar cheese and didn’t diffuse into the dough like lesser sauces.
So, if you have time and the inclination, make your own sauce and play with the different flavor components until you find the perfect combination. Or, save yourself the trouble, and give Cattlemen’s or Texas Best a try.
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Tnuva Hard Grating Cheese
Since Tnuva products landed on these shores, I’ve been wholly unimpressed. All of their cheeses I’ve tried have been bland, over-commercialized, and uninspired. And Tnuva’s “Hard Grating Cheese” (their take on Parmesan) isn’t much different.
I first tried it in small chunks at room temperature, and I could hardly taste anything except the flavor of stale bread. Only for a brief moment after lots of chewing and determined tasting could I detect a slight bit of Italian cheesiness.
Not to be discouraged, I tried grating the cheese over a plate of pasta, and, when hot, detected a bit more flavor.
The price (on sale at the Butcherie for $2.50, normally $2.99) made it less than half that of Miller’s genuine Parmigianno-Reggiano, but Miller’s superior taste and texture is worth every penny.
Since Tnuva is Israel’s largest producer of kosher food, I figure I must be missing something. So I cast aside their English-language website and went for the straight dope… the Hebrew. In Israel, it seems, they sell a wider line of cheeses, including cheddar, provolone, and roquefort — varieties I’d be excited to try. Instead, they stick us with umpteen mediocre kinds of “feta-style” cheese. Go figure.
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Review: Dougie’s BBQ & Grill (Manhattan)
There are those who say that Dougie’s is passe… not what it used to be. But for those who get to chow in New York only now and then, it can really hit the spot…
I realize that everyone hip already knows all about Dougie’s, but still – I think it is appropriate to talk about our incredible meal.
Read Tzvi’s review
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Pareve Pastry and Ice Cream Recipes?
In the Discussion area:
Emily O asks for help finding pareve recipes for authentic French pastries and ice cream. Read the post and respond!
(Not registered to use the discussion boards? It’s simple, all you need is an e-mail address: Sign up here)
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Pareve Shortcakes / Biscuits
In these parts, we have a reliable supply of dairy biscuits in the nearby supermarket bakeries for enjoying as part of a breakfast sandwich or a strawberry shortcake.
But what about when that breakfast sandwich nixes the cheese and piles on the beef fry? Or when that delicious dessert comes after a meat meal?
The answer is a pareve biscuit, of course (and, in the latter case, non-dairy whipped topping). So, I cracked open my recently-purchased copy of Cook’s Illustrated’s The New Best Recipe to resequence their tried-and-true shortcake recipe. Switching butter with margarine (Earth Balance sticks, in fact) was an easy choice, but what of the half-and-half? In today’s experiment, I went with soy milk and two tablespoons of vegetable oil as my cream replacement. I don’t know if it’s related, but my dough seemed much stickier than it ought to have been, so I added more flour (than the 2 cups listed) to compensate.
Long story short, they turned out well for a first try: a bit crustier than a typical buttermilk biscuit, and not as thick (probably pressed the dough out too thin). They’re great warm, but we also enjoyed them after being refrigerated. In the future, I might try making them without sugar and instead with savory flavorings, like garlic and rosemary, as a main course accompaniment.
PAREVE SHORTCAKES / BISCUITS
Adjusted from The New Best Recipe, page 950
Makes 6 shortcakes
• 2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more to dust work surface and biscuit cutter
• 5 Tbsp. (about 2 1/4 oz.) sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt (omit if margarine is salted)
• 8 Tbsp. (one stick) cold unsalted pareve margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. pareve soy milk
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt (if required) to combine. Scatter the margarine pieces over and process until the mixture resembles coars meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Mix the beaten egg with the soy milk and vegetable oil, and pour mixture into the flour mixture. Combine with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.
Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick, being careful not to overwork the dough. Flour a 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter and cut out 6 dough rounds (KB note: used a 2-inch cutter and cut 12 rounds total, after combining scraps). Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (Dough rounds can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before baking).
Bake until the shortcakes are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let cakes cool.
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Shabbos Long-Cooking Recipes?
Can a dish other than chulent survive the long cooking hours necessary to serve warm for Shabbos lunch? I’m not talking about warming food up on Shabbos – that’s easy enough. I’m looking for a recipe that gets put up before Shabbos. “Set it and forget it”, as the infomercial goes. My wife believes that such a recipe exists, but I’m skeptical. I’m convinced that ingredients of our traditional chulent recipe enable the long cooking times. I figure that the high-starch content insulates the chulent from moisture loss, and the fatty cuts of meat keep the meat from drying out. Our recent attempt with meatballs-in-sauce resulted in meatballs that would be called “dry and gravelly”, if I was feeling kind.
How about you? Do you have a recipe that you put up on Friday and serve for Shabbos lunch?
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