Kitchen Chemistry: Beer Can Chicken & Potato Salad

Still wondering what to get Dad this Father's Day? How about a wishbone, a funny bone, a case of beer, and (best of all) leftovers? Here's a meal that truly commemorates dear old Dad...

I found fabulous instructions for Roasted Beer Can Chicken in Martha Stewart Living, which I followed almost exactly (though I substituted rosemary for thyme). As a side, I made up a pan of roasted red potatoes seasoned with olive oil, sprigs of rosemary, pepper, and rosemary salt for extra flavor.

Our chicken was a fairly tubby specimen, but he was still extremely stable on top of the beer can in the oven (I was surprised!). He took a little longer to cook than expected, so I basted several more times than Martha recommended. When done, the skin was crispy and the meat was tender. I'd been skeptical about using stout with white meat... but the Guinness flavor was so complimentary that I might never cook chicken without it again. I made Martha's gravy as well, but found it to be weak and unnecessary (don't bother with it!).

Just like Dad, this is a meal that gets better with age (har har). Though we did our very best to take down that dinner, we had two wings, six ounces of thigh meat, and a pound of potatoes leftover for the next day. I told Adam I wanted a delicious potato salad to take on a picnic, and he didn't disappoint. Here's what he came up with:

Combine the chicken (shredded or in chunks) and potatoes in a large bowl with a small diced onion and a quarter cup of chopped Italian parsley. In a smaller bowl, mix together about a half a cup of mayonaise, a quarter teaspoon of garlic powder, a half tablespoon of paprika, a tablespoon of cracked black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of white truffle oil. Spoon this mixture over your chicken and potatoes and stir until well coated. Lastly, add one or two large dill pickles (diced, per your taste), two hardboiled eggs (diced), and salt (keeping in mind that the potatoes and chicken are already salted and may not need much more).

The result is a mouthwateringly zesty salad that pairs well with (what else?) a velvety Guinness.

Happy Father's Day, and Happy Weekend!

xoxo,

Elizabeth

Kitchen Chemistry: Stuffed Pork Chops

Between work and projects and chores and wedding planning, Adam and I have had quite a bit on our plates lately. Metaphorically, at least. All too often our dinners have come to us in styrofoam packaging! I decided it was about time I put some real food on the table, so I surprised Adam (and myself, honestly) by creating a pork chop recipe that was not only yes-I'll-take-thirds delicious, but also quick and affordable. Take that, take-out. 

Kitchen Chemistry: Soup

I'm a girl made for Autumn. An apple pie-baking, wool scarf-swathed, college football-obsessed girl who waits impatiently for the day when glaring summer ripens into glowing fall, when it's time to bring out the biggest stockpot and make soup. Adam is back today with the first in a series of soups that celebrate the season (without dipping into your pumpkin spice latte budget!).  

Soup is the ultimate autumn meal- warmth, color, and rich fall ingredients are just the thing to impress my just-in-from-the-cold guests with my culinary genius. Take, for example, my Taco Soup.

This dish is milk-based (or half & half, or cream, depending on your latitude/metabolism), and utilizes canned black beans and whole kernel corn as primary texture elements. Condensed cream of chicken soup is added for thickness and complexity of flavor (but can be omitted to modify this recipe for vegetarians). My Taco Soup is seasoned with sharp cheddar cheese, garlic powder, onion salt, chili powder, ground cumin, and cinnamon (a side note: from Southeast Asia to New England to the American Southwest, no spice crosses geographic and culinary boundaries like cinnamon).

I garnished the bowl with sour cream, shredded cheddar, red pepper flakes, lime, and chopped cilantro. Elizabeth made the tortilla crackers- they're analogous to oyster crackers in clam chowder, and they were delicious.

For another bowl of soup, check back next week for part II in this series... or watch my Salmon Bisque tutorial videos, here, here, here, or here!

Kitchen Chemistry: Waking Up Breakfast

Happy Monday, friends! I'm pleased to welcome back my favorite guest blogger: my boyfriend/live-in chef, Adam. Bon appetit! 

Adam here. Good morning from my kitchen/laboratory. Now that the algae stains have been scrubbed from my range (long story), I would like to announce that my research into the science of food and the psychology of eating is back on track. As usual, I will be analyzing the biology, technology, physiology, and sociology of food from various angles. At the same time, I aim to make intelligent changes to proven formulas with an eye toward progress and innovation. Learning, having fun, and eating enough to fall asleep comfortably (read: pass out) are also goals.

What makes the traditional American breakfast so good? Is it the richness of cream, butter, eggs, and animal fat? The sweetness of maple syrup and fruit compote? Or the soft textures enjoyed in a half-waking stupor? I hypothesize that breakfast food appeals to our most primitive, infantile cravings. In the dawn of consciousness, we want something warm, soft, rich, and bland. The irony is that this meal does everything to prepare the human body for life except wake it up!

There's only so much that can be done to jazz up breakfast. Go bigger, go cheaper, go healthy, or go back to sleep. My objective is to break the breakfast mold by adding texture, color, fresh ingredients and a full flavor profile to an otherwise classic dish.

Tier 1: Crispy hash browns seasoned with salt & pepper

Tier 2: Pan-seared spiral-cut ham

Tier 3: Egg sunny-side up (raw eggs will do also, for a more gelatinous texture)

Cook under the broiler (425º F) for 3-10 minutes, depending on egg strategy

Tier 4: Bull-Fight Corn Salsa

• Sauté 1 sweet onion & 4 cloves of garlic in 4 teaspoons of vegetable oil
• Add 1 orange bell pepper & 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• Add 3 ears bull fight corn (oven roasted, grilled, sliced off the cob)
• Sauté mixture briefly, add the juice & zest of 3 limes, drain & cool
• Add 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, chili powder & ground cumin to taste

Top it off with chilled salsa and serve. The tartness and spice of the salsa is decidedly anti-breakfast. The corn and bell pepper should provide a fresh crunch, while the deliberate layering forces the diner to deconstruct the dish and pay attention to their food. Elizabeth and decided to further flout tradition by eating this at 7:00... PM.

Kitchen Chemistry: Steak on a Sandwich on a Budget

Adam here. It seems that about 60% of my posts involve flank steak. It may be difficult to understand our enthusiasm for this cut of meat until you've tried a few of our recipes. Flank steak is fantastic hot or cold. It can be paired with sweet, sour, savory, or pungent sauces. It is one of the few foods (along with stew and roasted turkey) that actually tastes better as a leftover. Additionally, for a couple like Elizabeth and I, a two-pound steak is usually enough for dinner, a midnight snack, a treat for Matilda, and a brown bag lunch the next day. This is very economical (in terms of time AND money) for a struggling family scraping by in the most expensive state in the union.

This steak started out (along with two of its brethren, which were devoured before we could locate the camera) at Andronico's market, and then made its way to the Aquatic Park in West Berkeley for a brief charcoal grilling. Grilling meat at the park is a truly Hobbesian experience, which requires one to build a fire and defend your meat from stray dogs, stray owners, and the recently released prisoners who inhabit said park. You also have to drink your beer on the sly, as that sort of thing can lead to a heavy fine (the only hope California has of balancing its budget is to fine people who can't afford their own grill).

I marinated this steak in vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper, onion powder, and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper prior to grilling. Traditional charcoal briquettes were used, along with 50 mL of hexane from the lab to accelerate the process. The flank steak was then refrigerated (to immobilize the juices) and slice thin on a diagonal to elongate the grain of the meat. I will persist in calling this a sashimi cut until someone with credentials corrects me.

Our sourdough loaf was toasted and lightly coated with white truffle oil. Be aware that truffle oil permanently "truffle odorizes" anything that it touches. No amount of detergent can take truffle oil down. You should dedicate a basting brush for this ingredient and segregate it from the rest of your cooking tools.

My bleu cheese spread was prepared with one part crumbled Gorgonzola, one part Cambozola, one part cream cheese, 1/2 part unsalted butter, and salt and pepper to taste, warmed and mixed to a creamy consistency.

The rest is easy. Shove everything (including some baby arugula) between two slices of oiled bread and enjoy. We recommend pairing your sandwich with a strong red wine, as mere beer cannot compete with such a powerfully flavored entree. 

I included sliced Braeburn apples and a few green grapes as a palate cleanser between bites and sips.  Elizabeth testifies that the slice apple works well as another layer in the sandwich. (Editor's note: The apple is a sweet and crisp element that lightens each bite, making it much more suited for a warm-weather luncheon!) However, I scarfed mine before I could try this out, and she wouldn't give me a bite of hers. I guess that's something to try next time...

Kitchen Chemist: Soup of the Day, Part IV & Finale

I hope that you've been enjoying my Salmon Bisque tutorials as much as I've been enjoying the soup- all week long!

Just a few last ingredients to add...

Keep stirring, keep tasting, and then you're done...

This is one of our favorite recipes- it fills our stomachs without emptying our wallets. A tough economy can be pretty unappetizing. When money is tight, it's easy to turn to canned soup, top ramen, or worse. Cheap food doesn't have to make you feel and look lousy. For just a few dollars per serving, this Salmon Bisque (and many other homemade soups and casseroles) is nutritious and almost extravagantly flavorful. Better yet, it's a meal that can be reheated and eated all week, and it freezes well (for those of you preparing for the long winter).

I'd like to hear from all of you foodies out there, and of course, anyone who is culinarily-challenged. What kind of recipes would you like to see here at StB? Restaurant-inspired? Gourmet on a budget? Holiday party appetizers? Gluten-free? Leave us a comment!

Kitchen Chemist: Soup of the Day, Part III

If you've been following along with my Salmon Bisque tutorial, you're already familiar with the ingredients, and you've also seen me cry on camera. Now it's time to get things cooking- and add the feature flavor.

Putting the Salmon in the Salmon Bisque



Tomorrow we'll finish things up with some veggies and a long simmer.

Kitchen Chemist: Soup of the Day, Part II

Yesterday I introduced you to the ingredients for my Salmon Bisque. Now it's time to break out the big knife and hack 'em up. My tip of the day: don't anthropomorphize your veggies. Really.


Butchering the Garlic & Onions:



Check back tomorrow, we'll heat things up...

Kitchen Chemist: Soup of the Day (or Week?)

Soup is easy to make, but difficult to make well. I sometimes give advice on how to fix mistakes, or how to emphasize the best qualities of a dish. Soup is merciless in that the flavor is far and away the most important aspect. It cannot be plated in a dramatic way, it pretty much conforms to the dish you serve it in. It cooks slowly and irreversibly. Once an ingredient is added, it cannot be taken away. A good soup takes hours to prepare, so if a mistake is made, the cook is essentially out of luck.

One of our favorite dishes is Smoked Salmon Bisque, a hearty and creamy concoction that I make from scratch during the fall and winter months. This is one seafood dish that even the seafood averse can enjoy, as there are no bones/skin/fish texture to deal with. When executed correctly, this bisque can serve as the highlight of a meal, or as a mind-blowing appetizer. You can't make too much, because it's even better reheated the next day. In fact, I made about two gallons just for myself. I doubt I'll have to cook (or blog) anything else all week.

For my Smoked Salmon Bisque you'll need:

12 ounces of Smoked Salmon
1/2 gallon of Milk
3 pints of Heavy Cream
3 cups of White Wine
8 Cloves of Garlic
1 Yellow Onion
1 Sweet Onion
8-12 Stalks of Celery 
2 pounds of Red Potatoes
1 pound of Purple Potatoes
1 cup of Vegetable Oil
10 Sprigs of Thyme
4 Sprigs of Rosemary
Salt, Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan and Bread for plating


Here's an introduction to our ingredients:



Tomorrow we'll get cooking!

Adam's Bachelor Thanksgiving, Part One: Potatoes

Thanksgiving has a slightly different meaning for everyone. Whether it be food, drink, family, religion, national pride, or football, Thankgsiving is a true holiday and a time for celebration. I was lucky enough to grow up with a big family, and with my extended family nearby. My memories of this holiday are mostly of them: my sisters taking far too long to primp for church in the morning, my Father maxing out on the religious potential of the holiday (the Philokalia always appears right when I'm about to start on the stuffing), my Mother turning around just in time to catch me sneaking a bite of crispy skin straight off the turkey, "The Princess Bride" entertaining us kids while we waited for dinner at my cousin's house, my Aunt Laura playing board games with us long after dessert was over, and my Grandmother's pies which were (and still are) worth skipping dinner for.

Family is such a dynamic thing. Missing out on time spent with my the people I love is something that I feel acutely. I want to see how my littlest sister is faring in high school. I want to hear all about my brother's escapades as a college freshman (and pretend that I was wilder and crazier in my day). I want to unload my own problems and adventures on my parents and see in their faces that I'm not the first to experience such things. I want to sit quietly with my grandparents, appreciate the stories I have probably heard dozens of times before, and mark the passing of one more precious year with them. I want my older relatives to mark how far I've come from the little boy who always got his nice clothes dirty playing wiffle ball with the cousins. I want to sit across from my girlfriend, nurture the traditions of our own little family, share a bottle of wine, and wait for the day (decades from now) when we can look back and say, "I remember when..."

But these are strange times! I sit here in my Berkeley apartment, a thousand miles from "home," desperate for a way to make Turkey Day special. I have a feeling I'm not the only one who's feeling a bit isolated this holiday season. At this point, I say thank God for the Internet, and thank God for food (both of which I am learning to use to their fullest potential). I am starting to earn a reputation in my family (and StB's as well) for my culinary skills, and I think withholding guidance from my loved ones at this time of year would be immoral and flat-out un-American. So, I have decided to prepare "remote Thanksgiving" and prevent this sumptuous feast over the internets, so that my table can become your table, and hopefully a good time can be had by all (especially if this thing goes viral).

Preparation of a "One Man Thanksgiving" is both challenging and liberating. On the one hand, it's a traditional day and the food should reflect that- and this will certainly be comforting on a lonely holiday. On the other hand, there's really only one person to please (ME). As us Basques say, "that throws a grenado right in the Paella." The solution is a lot like Thanksgiving itself- a little of everything. For you, dear audience, and for myself, I will prepare some traditional dishes, some borrowed recipes, and some things that I'm making up on the spot.

The menu for my solitary feast is as follows:

Twice-Baked Potato with Bacon, Parsley & Parmesan

Honey & Rosemary Glazed Smoked Ham Hock with Honey-Carrot Confit & Caramelized Onions

Bruschetta with Warm Gjetost-Raspberry Spread & Dates Batonette

Plenty of Light San Francisco Ale

Let's start with that Twice-Baked Potato...

In my family, potatoes are so ubiquitous as to become invisible. Every holiday meal features a heaping dish of the fluffy mashed kind. My cousin's family is Irish and StB is half Idahoan, so a lack of potatoes could result in severe withdrawal symptoms. To most people, a potato is a potato. The only question is how long you cook it, and whether or not you leave the skin on. With my twice-baked potato recipe, I'd like to shift the paradigm. In this case the questions are, "how many ingredients can we pack into one spud?" and "how can we make this humble tuber look and taste like its own flavorful garden of Eden?"

To follow along, gather up the following ingredients and press play!

Two or Three Russet Potatoes

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter

1/2 Cup Cream

1/2 Cup Parsley, Chopped

Crispy Strips of Bacon (as many as you please)

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan

Salt & Pepper to taste

The Potato Gets Baked

The Potato Gets Baked... Again

Check back tomorrow, and we'll talk Turkey. Errr... rather, Ham & Carrots...