Homemade Focaccia

Ya baby, homemade focaccia bread!  Do not fear, do not worry.  I am privy to the horror stories of those who have attempted to make homemade focaccia bread, only to have it end in disaster, and swear off baking bread forever.  Heaven only knows that when it comes to yeast breads, I just can't figure out what is going on.

Well, that's all over, my friends.  Ya, that's right.  I have found a recipe for making some of the best focaccia bread I have ever had!  I mean this stuff is really bomb.  My fiance likes it, the folks at work totally dig it, so we must be on to something. 

OK, lets have a quick look at the origins and background of focaccia:

Focaccia is a flat oven-baked bread, usually topped with other ingredients or herbs.  It is closely related to pizza, but not quite the same.
Focaccia is quite popular in Italy, and usually seasoned with olive oil and herbs like rosemary or sage and topped with course sea salt.  School children in Italy will often purchase a slice from a baker on the way to school to be enjoyed at break time. 
A common practice when baking focaccia is the dotting of the bread.  This creates multiple wells in the bread by using a finger or utensil to poke the unbaked dough.  Olive oil is then spread over the dough to preserve the dough's moisture.  In some northern parts of Italy, lard is added to the dough to give it a flakier texture (did not do it with this one and it came out great).
Focaccia can be used as a side to many meals, as a pizza base, or as sandwich bread.

Alright, let get down to the real nitty gritty:

Chile Rellenos, hard to pronounce, easy to eat!

Chile Rellenos (pronounced "ra-ye-no") is one of those foods that not many people know how to pronounce, especially here in the Great Northwest, but also true back in New Mexico.  I am sure if you have ever been to any self respecting Mexican restaurant you have seen this on the menu, but not necessarily ordered for fear of pronouncing it incorrectly or because you just can't grasp what it is.  Let me break it down for ya.

Chile Rellenos are a dish that originated in Puebla, Mexico.  The name literally means "Stuffed Chile". Rellenos consisted of fresh roasted poblano, Hatch, Anaheim, or pascilla (occasionaly jalapenos, but would actually be considered a "popper" if used) peppers. The pepper is then stuffed with Oaxaca or Monterrey Jack cheese, and sometimes meats with rice in variation.  The pepper is then covered in an egg batter or coating of masa flour and fried.

In my opinion, some of the best rellenos I have had are at Pancho's restaurant (http://www.panchosmexicanbuffet.com/) in Albuquerque, NM.  My Aunt Marion says they taste canned, and she does make some delicious rellenos, but they just make my taste buds rock.

Pork Roulade, Simple and Elegent.

Mission criticle:

You have a pork loin sitting in the fridge.  Questions arise in you mind.  What do I do with this? How Did it get here?  Do I chop it into medallions? Do I grill it as is? Do I toss it in the slow cooker and make pulled BBQ pork (8 freaking hours later and only 1 until we actually want to eat)? WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS THING???

Check it out: Pork Roulade!  Oh ya, nothing to it and satisfyingly tasty!

Pork is one of those tough meats to cook because it has a tendency to come out as dry as the Sahara.  And if I know my environmental studies, that's pretty freaking dry!  Hense the reason I never really liked it growning up except for in tamales or pasole (I've never met a breaded chop that I could cozy up to).

Biscochitos!

FALL IS HERE!!

I couldn't be happier that fall has finally come.  People laugh because each year I go through my own kind of seasonal cycle.  I break out the Reggae, Funk, Rap and Rock music early in the Spring to get in the mood for Summer.  Of course I end up burning myself out fairly quickly and feel that I am totally over Summer 3/4 of the way through.  On the proceeding side, I tend to start my love of Christmas music well before Thanksgiving and go all the way past New Years.  I can honestly say that I rarely burn myself out on Christmas tunes.  But Fall... Fall is that spectacular time when the leaves are changing and falling, the air is crisp, and the sun just seems to shine differently, casting a golden hue on everything it touches.  During Fall, my musical tastes are that of Opera (Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Potts, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, etc.), Classical Symphony, and of course, my un-ending love of Flamenco/Latin music.  There is nothing like putting on Pandora Radio set to Classic Symphony or Flamenco and spending a little time cooking some good food.  It moves the soul and the body.  I can feel the music transcend through me to the movement of the knife or whisk.  There is something zen like, something spiritual about it.

Enter my fall baking and the greatest cookie on Earth.... The Biscochito of Northern New Mexico!

Le Pichet! (Part 2)

Greeting, friends!
In my absence I completely spaced my follow-up to the posting on taking a visit to Le Pichet in Seattle. Well, here it is:

One Thursday evening, after my friend Ryan and I did Happy Hour at the Matador, we decided to get in a real meal. Well, at the thought of this we settled on being adventurous and checking out Le Pichet.

Upon our arrival, Le Pichet certainly portrayed the vision of a true French Bistro. Atmosphere is everything. The patrons were very laid back, chatting over plates of cheese and olives, bottles of wine and bread. I must say, Anthony Bourdain's rule is that eating the bread at a restaurant is a bush league move, designed to keep you full and away from the really good stuff. But what can I say, a good crusty French bread is divine, and we put down two baskets of it with butter and hearty pours of Knob Creek bourbon.

The good life in little things

Good day, ladies and gentlemen!

Well, it has been a while since I posted.  For that I am profoundly sorry.  "Life gets in the way." a very wise woman once said (Mom).

When I began writing this blog, I did so out of my passion for good food, cooking, and eating.  Since its incarnation, I have expanded to tasting and talking about good, reasonably priced wine as well.  Soon to come this will probably encompass other spirits I enjoy such as scotch and whiskey, bourbon, vodka (the key ingredient to pie crust, to be explained later), etc.  I began this blog also with the intention of speaking to what some may deem "The Good Life" stuff.  With that said, I would like to segawy into a new discussion on one of those "good life" creature comforts I am passionate about: good cigars.

**I hope that those of you who do not partake in such things will not be lost on me (More great food items to come). 

Le Pichet! (Part 1)

I am so excited I am literally ready to jump out of my skin! But I digress.... It has recently come to my attention (Thank you Kim Glidden) that there is such a place in that ever so close emerald city, Seattle, that specializes in the French bistro fare I have been searching for.  A place were I will be free to pursue my gastronomic adventures in discovering and enjoying the foods and many cultures that makes up our strange and awesome world.  Enter Le Pichet.

Going Rustica!

It's often the simple things we overlook.  I know I have said that before, but it bears repeating.  Good food can be simple food.  You don't have to spend hours in the kitchen whipping, chopping, sauteing, braising, basting, or julienning vegetables for a meal to taste good.  You don't need to over spice or flambe your dishes. Simple food is what the best chefs in the world like.  Food that reminds you of home without pretense.

Last night I finally got around to cooking the last of the Butter fish I had in my freezer.  They are such small little things, yielding such little meat, but with a very delicate and rich taste if prepared correctly.  I wanted to try something other than grilling, or baking them, so I salt crusted and roasted them! 

Make no bones about it, these are delicious!

Please do not let me loose you right off the bat, but this posting is about a very taste, not often thought of consumable that may be a little out there for some people.  Today we discuss roasted beef bone marrow!  Now, when you make your own stock, be it chicken, veil, beef, etc., you do so by roasting bones (For that nice taste) basted with tomato paste and sliced vegetables.  You then cook these in water for an extended period of time, at which after many reductions, you are left with a delicious glace de viande, or super concentrated stock that is used in small quantities, along with butter to finish sauces and add an amazing richness to food.  During the concentration process, the natural pectin (The stuff that makes makes jello act like jello) is released from the bones, or specifically, the marrow. 

This time around we are not making stock.  No my fellow foodies, we are roasting the bones and going to utilize the roasted marrow as an appetizer, removed from the bone and spread on baguette with sea salt and parsley.  I know this seems a but strange to some people, namely my friends and family, but I assure you it is fantastic!  Humans from the dawn of time have actually been scavengers, thus consuming tasty morsels like this for centuries.  Today, such well know chefs as Anthony Bourdain (My culinary and foodie hero), Marco Pierre White, etc., enjoy this dish with full hearted enjoyment.

If you can find it in yourself to push the envelope of your ordinary boundaries, this dish will make you hear color, it will make you see sound! Dine with Chutzpah, my friends!

Let's do this:

Exciting dinning!

Remember the person who first tasted the oyster?  What would our world be like if all we consumed was what we were taught and what our mothers made?  Sure we would still have a great diversification of foods culturally and geographically, but we would not break our bounds, there would be no color to our pallet, culinary epiphanies, shock and amaze to our taste buds.

I write this today from the stand point of a person who grew up in a fantastic home were typical "American" food fare coincided with the culinary diversity of my Hispanic heritage.  Sure we had our household staples: Frito pies, tamales, cheeseburgers, BBQ chicken, orange roughy, etc.  On the other hand, I did have something unique my grandfather and I enjoyed together: sardines! 

One of life's simple pleasures.

It's funny how sometimes we loose site of our true joys.  Friends, family, going out and spending a little money to have some stories for back at the office.  The past few weeks have been so busy that I have neglected one of my simple joys in life, cooking.  I have been simply throwing things together that are nothing to write home about just to be fed.  It's time to stop thinking about cooking and get back to it.
Bruschetta! Yes that's right, bruschetta.  In my opinion, one of life's simply pleasures is a good bit of brushetta.  A slice of tasty and crusty bread mounded high with all those tasty toppings and heated to perfection.
Like I said before, I have been on a bit of an Italian kick lately.  This Sunday, I had some tomatoes sitting on my counter ready to turn when I thought to make bruschetta.  It is so easy and makes a great starter or snack.

The Goods
-2 medium vine ripened tomatoes
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-4 or 5 basil leafs, chiffonade
-salt and pepper to taste
-a dash of good extra virgin olive oil.
-Slices of Jarlsberg cheese

The Maneuver
-Remove seeds and dice the tomatoes into 1/8" cubes.
-Mince garlic and add to tomatoes
-Chiffonade the basil and add along to the tomatoes with garlic
-Sprinkle on the salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil
-Toss the ingredients together and spread it on a toasted slice of bread

What can I say, this is divine dinning.  You can always add a few things like shredded Parmesan cheese for kick, perhaps a smear of foi gras or even pate.  Enjoy these simple starters or like meals.  the key is always in the simplicity.

Once again, thanks for reading and wishing you best eating,

Bon Appétit

Mangia Bene!

Mangia Bene!

(It eats well!)

I don’t know what it is lately, but I have been battling this undying craving for Italian food and pasta in savory red sauce. Not only are pasta dishes so easy to make, they are also so versatile in flavor! Perhaps with the stresses of work and personal life I have just been seeking some comfort food to take solace in. Whatever it is, here is something I whipped together that brings really hits the spot.

Marvelous Meringue!

Let me tell you something my friends, there is nothing like wrapping up a family meal with a nice slice of homemade pie to really cap off the gathering. Rarely do we save room for dessert when dinning out, but when it come to the holidays, there always seems to be one more button we can loosen just to get that little slice of heaven in. This holiday season, I final had the opportunity to work with my future mother-in-law, Patti Harris to learn her secrets to a making a fantastic and oh so flakey pie crust.


As I am sure you can imagine, I was a little hesitant, coming from a background of baking with substitutions to make things healthier, when she pulled out the white sugar and Crisco! Oh ya, Crisco. But, I was dying to know how she does it when she makes her delicious lemon meringue pie (An absolute must have if my "soon-to-be" father-in-law, Bob Harris is around. Throughout my culinary journey I have learned that there is just no substitution for good old fashioned sugar and butter, or shortening in this case. Funny because the next day I spoke with my Uncle Paul in Ireland who relayed to me that the real secret to amazing pie is lard! I know he speaks the truth since I come from a Hispanic heritage were my grandmother made the most amazing baked goods, all with the help from her can of lard.

Now, if you air on the healthier side like me, do not be put off by all this. It is once a year we get to indulge (maybe a few other times too), so don't worry about it. Life is way too short to flip out about the small stuff and miss out on these amazing treats (I just need to practice what I preach right there).

Check this out--->