kitchen Angst!

I have been back from Croatia for two weeks now, And I haven’t even been able to write about my return. Zagreb was an amazing city, and the people were great! I had 16 days to “take it all in” and come home with a new perspective, and understanding of a part of the world I had never seen before, instead, I came home with a deep sadness….

I Knew going into this trip that I wanted to move overseas someday, and live the “European lifestyle”,  but two weeks in Zagreb, Croatia really brought that home for me! Outside of holding down a job in a country where I don’t speak the language, I was able too get a true sense of what my daily life would be like living there. I went out on my own, shopping, exploring, and just tooling about town. Most Croatian’s speak at least enough English for me to have a conversation, and get what I needed, and were very gracious about doing so! I found not only the City to be beautiful, but the people as well!! The food was ” off the hook” I had sausage’s, bacon, local wine, and fresh eggs, cheese, veggies, and anything else I wanted for that matter!!

As in other European cities I have visited, the ” markets ” are the best!! Every day year round they have fresh markets where you can buy fresh produce, eggs, cheese, cream ( unpasteurized),meat, poultry, WHATEVER YOU WANT!!! They are normally in the ” city center ” and very accessible!! I really need to live in a city with that kind of approach to food! Fresh today, in season, and not far from home! I love to cook, but more than cooking I love to create, and design a menu around what is available, and ” in the now”! Tomatoes in the winter don’t excite me, But Squash…. or beets!! bring-em on!!

Here is a perfect example!! I can find cherries in the states, but they are within yards of fresh fish, every day there in season!! One stop shopping at Its finest!! Not to mention It’s only a 10 minute walk from the flat ( where I was staying )!! I found this true not only in Croatia, but also Germany. I haven’t explored enough of Europe but I can say without doubt… other countries are the same! I want to live like that, and I will!!!!!

I am so sorry It’s been so long sense I’ve written, I promise to try and write more often, however I am finding the time harder and harder to find these days.  I am really trying to find a way to live in Europe, and fully enjoy my life.

All my love…

James

That’s right! This boy is going on a vacation!!! not from the “Angst” though, from my everyday boring life!! I’m going to Croatia!! NO SHIT!! I just have to get out of the U.S. for a while, not for good yet, just for a couple of weeks!

I will travelling to Zagreb, Croatia on May 21st and I can’t wait!! I will be there ( or in that area) for 16 days!!!! I want to write about my time abroad on line in many places, “Today” being only one !! I will also post my daily experience’s on Facebook, Myspace, Livejournal, Tweeter, etc… I will be using each to their fullest, and for their own reason!!

Today- ( Kitchen Angst ) will be mainly for the Culinary expereinces I have. If you wish to follow the other aspects of my trip I will have links to my other sites. You can read there as well!  I am going to try to post every day while I’m gone. If I don’t achieve this goal please forgive me in advance!! I will do my best!!!! I am on Vacation after all!!!!

I’m starting this now because I feel that your vacation begins with the booking of your tickets, and I bought mine last week!!! I don’t want to hear any greif about travailing abroad in this economy, My boyfriend ( in Croatia) sent me the money for the ticket!!

Plus I want to talk about getting ready for a major trip. I have a little understanding in this area… I have not only lived all over the United States, But I have moved to the U.S.V.I. and lived on St. John, but I have Travelled to Austria, And Europe! I may not see myself as a “well traveled” Man, but I have traveled enough to understand how to do it well!!

First word of advice is to buy your ticket early!!! Get the best deal you can by planning ahead. Figure out where you want to go and do the research,..What do you want to see, Why do you want to go?,  Festivals? scenery? actitives? History(knowledge)?  I’m not saying you have to buy your ticket months in advance… just decide when you want to go based on where you want to go when you want to be there!! ( don’t let your time off determine when you plan a trip, Plan your trip and then you will know when your time off will be!). I did just this in the fact I want to see Croatia in the summer first! I love snow but If I’m thinking of moving there ( which I am ) I want to see it at It’s best first!I know what snow looks like so I want to see the green side!!

I also want to go through the “packing” side of things, remember if your coming home you don’t have to take everything!!!! Pack only what you need!!!!!!

I will continue this soon!!

James

Whenever It’s slow at the restaurant, and I get board, I turn to my interest of making up a new dish or improving on an old staple. The staff loves these days…I cook a lot, and they eat it all!

Today it was national drop it in the fryer day!! Thats always a big hit!!

This time I focused on the all American breakfast, I fried bacon in a pancake batter, Oh yea!!

Then I fried Chicken apple sausage links on sticks like mini breakfast corn dogs, even better!!

After this I turned to the more ambitious ideas bouncing around in my head like deep fried eggs? I first soft boiled the eggs so only the whites were cooked, then chilled them down, peeled them, dusted them with flour, and battered them again with a pancake batter and into the fryer they went!! When they came out the batter was a golden brown, and the yolk was still a bit runny, not my best idea but very interesting!! I think if I poached the egg first then battered it, I might like it more! Next time…

Next came the toast! After toasting my bread I slathered it with jam and you guessed it…It got dredged in batter and into the oil It went!!! This was a winner all around, crispy, sweet loveliness!!

The hash was a bit tricky at first. I wanted to make deep fried potato hash, not potato fritters! It took a while, but I soon got the amount of hash-to-batter ratio down I think! Forming them into patties helped create the illusion as well!

Well there you have it, My “new way to die happy”! A fully deep fried breakfast! I your ever hungover, and not afraid of dying from congestive heart failure, look me up, and I’ll be more than happy to fix you a Deep Fried Country Breakfast… With all the trimmings of course!

All I ask is that you don’t give your doctor my name!!

James

I have always enjoyed growing my own herbs, tomatoes, and even vegetables at times, even for the restaurant. I have often designed my specials around what I harvested that day! While I was working in Minneapolis, MN. at the Loring cafe I grew my own purple potatoes right out front in our outdoor seating area! I also had my little herb garden there as well. Every day I would go out and take 10 minutes weeding, tending to the garden and thinking about what I wanted to fix for a special. I would dig up enough potatoes for the night, clip my herbs and answer all the questions asked of me by the patrons sitting near by! There were always a lot of questions, people found it oddly amazing that I grew my own potatoes, and most of them were intrigued enough to return for dinner and enjoy my creation, bragging to their friends that they had seen me dig the potatoes out of the ground just hours ago! This was dinner as theater, at it’s finest!! I did hate it when they would request me at the table, I always tried to pretend I was to busy, but the server  would usually insist I go! My S.A.D. really doesn’t kick in as bad when I’m in my cooking costume so I could manage okay, but I still hated going out in the dinning room!

Now to my leading question! I had someone recently make a snide comment about how chefs all grow their own herbs and veggies, like it was some kind of social statement that we were better than the average man!

I said: No, we just like fresh produce and love seeing the dish through from start to finish!

They replied: sounds pompous to me! The herbs in the market aren’t fresh enough for you?

No, I responded: There too expensive! Herbs are nothing more than tasty weeds, why not grow your own?

As you can see I didn’t make a friend that day, however I just might have put someone in their place on proper etiquette.

In this day and age anything we can do to save some money is well worth the time and effort I say! Grow your own and save that money for something else!

Frugal Wins!!!

James

Friganice are another type of Croatian fritter, only these are easier to prepare and require less oil to fry. They are more along the lines of a doughy thick pancake.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 kg flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

one glass ( 8oz. ) milk

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

combine all the ingredients in a bowl and fry in about 2 in. of oil, until golden on one side, flip, and finish cooking ( about 4 to 6 minutes on each side ). Remove from the oil, let them drain, and dust heavily with powdered sugar. And Now ENJOY!!

now as I said yesterday these recipes were given to me in the Croatian way of writing recipes, I have done my best to translate them into a form that Americans can follow. I haven’t had the time to test them out on my own, so they may need some tweaking. As I get into the kitchen and try them, I will keep you posted on any changes that I my come across, likewise If you try them and find you are having trouble… PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I would love the feed back, and any advice or adjustments that you may find necessary.

My friends favorite meal is Pasticada with Gnocchi: A national Dalmatian dish using veal that has been soaked in vinegar for a few days before prepared. I want to bring this to you soon as well, This is a fine example of a dish that is more regional, and less International, just my cup of tea!

I am planning a trip to visit Him and the area in May of this year, I will be eating my way through as much of the region as I can, I promise to share my discoveries with you as I go! He has also promised at least a day trip to Venice, Italy, A city I have always wanted to see. May won’t come quick enough for me I’m afraid.

James

In a recent discussion with my Friend in Croatia, I found myself again on the subject of food. I am always wanting authentic recipes to import, and introduce to the American public! We started talking about Fritule ( Fritters, to all you Americans out there).   I have Apple Fritters on my brunch menu,  so I was intrigued about how they differ… if at all. He was kind enough to give me some recipes to share with you!

Now they write recipes differently then we do, and they use the metric system so I will have to translate as best I can for you. I will first give you the ingredients as they were given to me, then I will do my best to translate them into an American style.

Croatia

Fritule:

2 Yogurt

2 eggs

6 spoons sugar

some rum

almonds

raisins

lemon peel ( or orange peel )

20 to 26 spoons of flour

1  packet of baking powder

mineral water

Soak the raisins in the rum and let set. Chop the almonds fine. and combine all the ingredients.

To cook:

In a large pot add about a liter of oil ( sunflower oil ) on med heat, heat the oil until the batter bubbles when it is dropped in. with two spoons drop the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides ( you will need to turn them over half way through ). Remove form the oil, let them drain, and dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Serve warm.

Now some helpful hints to decipher this recipe!

1 Yogurt is 200g, so 200g=7.054 oz.

a spoon is a Tablespoon

1 packet is 7g, so 7g=0.246 oz.

16 Tablespoons=1 cup

1 ounce= 30 grams

America

Fritters:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 & 1/4  cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1 granny smith apple ( diced )

sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, in a small bowl beat the eggs in the milk, add the wet to the dry mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula. mix in the apples and reserve

To cook:

In a large pot add about 1 quart of oil ( vegetable oil ), on medium heat bring the oil to 325 degrees F., using two spoons drop the batter into the oil and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 10 to 12 minutes, ( turn them over half way through ). Remove from the oil and let drain, dust with powdered sugar just before serving, serve warm!

As you can see these two examples are very similar, with just minor differences. this shows us that food is much more universal and blended together than we may have believed. I know in my limited travels, I have found that I was more shocked by the similarities, than the differences!

He has given me more recipes that I wish to share with you soon!

Until then I’m off to discover more great foods from far away lands!

James

Most people don’t think that using a different hand, changes anything. Well I’m here to tell you IT DOES!

I really didn’t understand it myself, until I had the opportunity to work in a “left-handed” kitchen! Yes I worked in a kitchen totally set up for a south paw!!!! My boss and the owner was lefty as well so He set it up the way He wanted and didn’t care if a person how was right-handed came in and had a hard time!

It was His kitchen, so they would have to deal for a change!!!

I loved it, I couldn’t believe how much easier my life was! Everything I had always struggled with in the past was a breeze here. It sounds odd but even the placement of the refrigerators, or how the doors open, make a HUGE difference and most can be adjusted for those of us using the wrong hand. The can opener was in the right place for me, I no longer hit my knuckles on the wall while using it. The stove was positioned so that I could get to everything and still have my cutting board on the left side of my station!! I was in Heaven!

From that point on it was our joke that you had to not only have tattoo’s to work in our kitchen, you had to be left-handed as well! We pulled it off for a while, I think we were in business for just over a year before we got our first right-handed cook. And boy was it fun to watch him struggle… He kept bitching…Why can’t we move this?, why is that there?, I hate this set up, this kitchen is all ass-backwards!! I hate you guys!!!!! We would just laugh and say “get over it, we did for years!”

Now to go a bit deeper into the whole thing. I have a few knives that have left-handed handles, but their hard to find.  however when you hone your blade, the hand you hold it in determines which side is going to be more sharp! If a right-handed chef picks up my knife and tries to use it they will think it’s dull, I love this, It keeps them from ever grabbing my tools! Even after I show them that when I use it, it is as sharp as theirs they have a hard time believing that it makes such a difference.

Now days you can find just about anything made for us lefties, but as I said they are not always easy to come across! Most stores just don’t stock them!

I found this great site that offers a wide range of things for all of us south paws! ( You will also find other links to more sites on there )!

Well I hope I’ve opened your eyes a bit wider, and maybe taught you something.

I really just wanted to rant about being back in a right-handed kitchen!!

James

 Sweet-Potato/Pecan pie: My Favorite!!!!!

This is an intense, and labor intensive recipe, but I assure you the end result will be well worth the effort! This is my favorite pie for the holidays, or any occasion for that matter! Hell I eat this for breakfast if I have one made!!!!

This recipe makes only one 8-inch pie, so I normally double it for larger gatherings.

The Dough:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 of a whole egg, vigorously beaten until frothy ( reserve the other half for the sweet-potato filling )

2 tablespoons cold milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

The Sweet-Potato Filling:

2 to 3 sweet-potatoes ( or enough to yeald 1 cup cooked pulp ), baked

1/4 cup, packed, light brown sugar

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 an egg, vigorously beaten until frothy ( reserved from above )

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoonvanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pecan Pie Syrup:

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup dark corn syrup

2 small eggs

1 & 1/2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

3/4 cup pecan pieces or halves

Chantilly Cream:

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon brandy

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons sour cream

For the dough:  Place the softened butte, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer; beat on high speed until the mixture is creamy. Add the 1/2 egg and beat for 30 seconds. Add the milk and beat on high speed 2 minutes. Add the flour and beat on medium speed for 5 seconds, then on high speed just until blended, about 5 seconds more ( overmixing will produce a tough dough). Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a 5-inch patty about 1/2 an inch thick. Lightly dust with flour and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. The dough will last up to a week refrigerated.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Very lightly flour the top of the dough and fold it into quarters. Carefully place the dough in a greased and floured 8-inch round CAKE pan ( 1 & 1/2 inch deep ) so that the the corner of the folded dough is in the center of the pan. Unfold the dough and arrange it to fit the sides and bottom of the pan; press firmly in place. Trim the edges. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

For the sweet-potato filling: Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed of electric mixer until the batter is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not over beat! Set aside

For the pecan pie syrup: Combine all the ingredients except the pecans in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly on slow seed of electric mixer until the syrup is opaque, about 1 minute; stir in the pecans and set aside.

To assemble: Spoon the sweet-potato filling evenly into the doug-lined cake pan. Pour the pecan syrup on top. Bake in a 325 degree oven untila knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 & 3/4 hours. Cool and serve with the Chantilly Cream. Store the pie at room temperature for the first 24 hours, then refrigerate, If there is any left!

To make the Chantilly Cream: Refrigerate a medium-size bowl and beaters until very cold. Combine cream, vanilla, brandy and Grand Marnier in the bowl and beat with electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute. Add the sugar and sour cream and beat on medium just until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Do Not Over Beat! ( Over beating will make the cream grainy, which is the first step leading to butter. Once grainy you can’t return it to its former consistency, but if this happens, enjoy it on toast!) I have screwed this up on purpose a few times!HAHAHA

James

This is another one of those holiday staples, that I feel are made out of tradition, rather than actual enjoyment! I will admit when I was a young boy I loved the overly-sweet side dish with the roasted marshmallows on top. As I grew up though, and my love for all things high in sugar waned, I found the thought of that gooey, sweet, sticky mess very unappealing. Don’t read into this, that I no longer like the vegetable, Just the traditional side dish! I feel the Yam, or sweet-potato, ( and yes there is a difference ) is sweet enough without all the added sugar.

Yams: are much bigger, and milder in flavor.

Sweet-potatoes: are more the size of a standard potato, and sweeter, as the name implies.

They are both Tubers, and with minor adjustments, can be interchanged in most recipes,  although I really don’t recommend it. Both are readily available at your local supermarket.Insert Fun food fact here:

A note about cooking your sweet-potatoes… during the early stages of the cooking process enzymes break down the starch into its glucose units, so remember one simple rule of thumb, the less starch you have, the less liquid you need! I wouldn’t advise boiling your sweet-potatoes, instead roast, or saute them. This will keep you from having a soupy mess! You can always add more liquid, but it is hard to get out once it’s in. 

Another bit of advice: If you want to make a sweet-potato puree, start by making regular mashed potatoes, only before you add your cream and butter, add your sweet-potato puree, this will give you the starch you need to ensure the body ( or texture ) you want, and it make it easier to control.

So I say… Leave the marshmallows for the campfire, and smores, and serve your sweet-potatoes with less sweet and more savory! I thank you will enjoy them more, I know I do!

Here is a site with all kinds of sweet ideas for you to ponder! I hope you find some you like, I did!

James

P.S. Remember to give thanks for everything in your life. My Uncles mother just passed away on Tuesday,  She had a long and very happy time on this earth, so even though She will be missed, I am thankful that I knew her, and that she has moved on, after such a beautiful life.

This is the one dish, where I separate myself from my family, and run for door! You see in my house growing up We always used the canned cranberry sauce, you know it I’m sure, It retains the perfect shape of the can right down to the rings around it! Mom would just plop it out of the can and slice it onto the serving plate, and be done with it! YUK! Lets just for fun talk about using real, fresh, cranberries this year K?

It does require a little more time to prepare, but not that much, and the end result is so much better! You can buy fresh cranberries at any supermarket these days, they come in a bag, in the produce department. They are cheap and easy to fix.

I have a site for you to see some different ways you could prepare you beautiful berries! Now I like to just put my washed berries in a large, thick bottomed sauce pot with just a small amount of water, and cook over medium heat until the cranberries start to give off their liquid. Then I add some sugar, minced fresh ginger, ground cloves, and a dash or two of lemon juice. Let this cook for a bit and blend with an immersible blender, or in a standard blender, and season with salt to taste! Boom, Done It’s really that easy!

Plus you can always buy an extra bag for decorating your table, they really are beautiful, and festive!

Enjoy,

James