The spice rack of our dreams

Sometimes we take way too much time overthinking a project. But then other times, all that weighing and intellectualizing and Talmudic discussion of all aspects and possibilities pays off.

We're on an organizing kick -- for a few halcyon weekends, we don't have any commitments, so now is probably the only time until, say, next October that we can work on these little projects, like reorganizing my dance video collection, or purchasing, finishing and filling pine shelves with 800 CDs.

Or building the spice rack that my Omnivore and I have been discussing for, lo, these many years.

When we first moved into this apartment, he brought his spices. I brought my spices. At some point we had three large cans of paprika and four bottles of Canadian mustard. We had bags of coriander. We had more cardamom than you could shake a pod at. And we had no place to put all of these goodies. There were mismatched tins and jars and bottles in our pantry, underneath our table, in the windowsill. And all the disorganization predictably led to us making ridiculous pronouncements like, "Sweetie, I think we need to pick up a can of paprika. We must be out of it, since I can't find any here."

Conventional spice racks just didn't seem to fit the bill. Lots of jars on a lazy susan? We have no cabinet space. Spice rack hanging on the wall? We have no wall space. Cute plastic stand that holds twelve jars of spice? Um, we have 31 spices and no counter space.

We liked the magnetic tins that so many places are selling now, but they never give you enough of them in the prepackaged sets, and the steel boards accompanying them were always too small. It's expensive to get those tins anyway, but it's also hard to find just the right size.

Fortunately Will, over at Leland Tea, came to our rescue. Will sells his own wonderful blends of tea (check out his Pear Caramel--mmmmmm) in tins slightly larger than what we needed, but he kindly special ordered smaller 2-inch tins for us.

We got a 2 foot square steel board from Pottery Barn, a roll of magnetic tape from Brownie's Hardware, some labels courtesy of the old Brother P-Touch and we're in business. Oh, how I love our new spice rack...

Now on to organizing my desk. Ack.

The flavor profiling quandary

I was amused recently to read the blog of a Top Chef follower who suggested a drinking game in which everyone takes a shot whenever someone says the words "flavor profile."

Contestants on Top Chef seem to really like using the phrase in discussing how fabulous their dishes taste. "I think my flavor profile was right on..." is a typical pronouncement, or "I think I constructed a flavor profile that was very fresh and innovative..."

But despite the explosion of analytic interest in flavors, I've yet to hear exactly what the heck a flavor profile is. Now I'm curious. Is it:

1) a portrait by Giuseppe Arcimboldo?










2) What the FBI might use when searching for a quark, e.g. "Suspect was a strangely charming particle from top to bottom...."







3) Or have I got it all wrong -- are they actually referring to a "Flava" profile?

Give me a break, Jake Linzinmeir

This month's Bon Appetit sports a feature entitled "Snow Day" spotlighting Telluride chef Jake Linzinmeir's "tiny kitchen." Of course, I read this menu for 8, which featured lobster pot pies in incredibly cute little mini-dutch ovens, with great interest. In a little sidebar box "Small Kitchen, Big Ideas" they say,

When you see Jake's tiny kitchen (left) it's hard to believe that this entire menu was made in such a small space. "The smaller, the better," he says. "Too much space breeds disorganization. If the room is too big you lose the intimacy of what's happening in the kitchen." The centerpiece of the room is a black La Cornue stove that Jake bought from the original importer..."

That brought me to a sputtering stop. A La Cornue stove????

Okay, I have a few comments. First of all, I see five people standing in his kitchen. Jake, your kitchen is not tiny. The first page of the feature shows a lovely wooden table that apparently seats 8. Jake, your kitchen is not tiny. Jake has a La Cornue Chateau 165 ('only slightly less impressive than the Chateau 180') stove. JAKE, YOUR KITCHEN IS NOT TINY.

Plus, even if your kitchen were tiny, making pot pies, polenta squares, a salad and some port poached pears for eight people is not, in point of fact, a big freakin' deal.

I'll admit, straight up, that total jealously is involved. I want a La Cornue stove. It's not going to happen. First of all, there's no way anyone could get a La Cornue stove up the stairs to our apartment much less through our door. And even if they could magically get it into our kitchen "space" it would probably break through the floor and crush the occupants below us.

Now some of you may say, "But how do you know that Jake has a La Cornue Chateau 165 ('only slightly less impressive than the Chateau 180')?"

I know. I've been looking at these ovens for a good long while. I know.

Jake .. Jake, m'boy...your kitchen is not tiny.



Now, OUR kitchen is tiny.

The Great Empanada Melee, plus Moliterno al Tartufo

I will not be bested by an empanada, I tell you. I WILL NOT.

Oh, I've made fancier food than you, you ...you.. you turnover. I don't care how much cayenne pepper you have in you. I will prevail!

Every so often when I get new food magazines, I get inspired -- some might say I get a bee in my bonnet --about making certain things. This month it was empanadas. Turkey Empanadas, as suggested by Cuisine Magazine. They looked so simple -- like nice easy comfort food. Go ahead, Cuisine says, make this "quick bright tasting" Orange Poblano Mojo to go along with it. Just buzz everything in a blender til smooth. This refreshing slaw is perfect -- julienne the vegetables and toss the slaw with vinaigrette before serving. So simple, so easy.

Meanwhile, three and a half hours later...

Oh, it was tasty. Sure, yeah it tasted great, blast them. But here's how I would make these %^&!# empanadas --knowing what I know now.

Turkey Empanadas with Mushrooms and Mole

For Pastry:
2 1/4 cup flour
6 Tbsp chilled and cubed butter
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 cup ice water
1 egg

For filling:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tsp ground fennel seeds
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 lb ground turkey breast

2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms
2 Tbsp chopped Mexican chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita, e.g.)
1/3 cup dry sherry

1 can hominy, drained (15 oz)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup pitted chopped green olives
salt to taste

1 egg beated with 1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup raw chopped pepitas
Paprika and kosher salt

First off, I would start this whole mess a day early. Save yourself hassle and give yourself a break. Make the pastry and at least chop the vegetables beforehand. As I discovered, this is not a recipe you want to be messing with while you're hungry -- that's when things start to get dangerous for all involved.

To make the pastry, mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Add in the butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry blender, or two knives until it has the consistency of pea sized crumbs. (The original recipe called for 8 Tbsp of butter, but that made the dough SOOOO unpleasant to work with, so I've decreased the amoutn here.) Add in the egg and stir to form larger clumps, add in the ice water a couple of tablespoons at a time. Stir until you get a nice clump and then turn out on a floured board. Knead for a moment or two to combine and then divide the dough into six balls. Flatten each into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for a half an hour or overnight.

For the filling, saute the bell pepper, onion, garlic and spices in the olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add in the turkey and saute until browned. Stir in the mushrooms, chocolate and sherry and cook until the liquid is absorbed -- about 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and add in hominy, cilantro and olives. Cool, or refrigerate overnight.

To make the empanadas, preheat the oven to 400 F. Roll out the dough circles to about 7" disks. Put about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of filling in the center and fold in half. Trim the edges and then use a fork to seal them. Transfer the empanadas to a baking sheet lined with parchment, or even better, a silpat.

Brush the tops with egg wash and then sprinkle pepitas and paprika and salt on the tops.

Bake until golden for about 30 minutes.

Poblano-Orange Mojo

Okay, I'll include this one too, because it was really tasty and relatively easy to make. Do NOT make this one ahead, though, as the sour cream will curdle in the lime juice.

1 poblano chili
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 navel orange, with rind, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. toasted pepitas
2 Tbsp water
Juice of 2 limes
salt to taste

Char the poblano chili over a flame or gas burner, until it's black on all sides. Put it in a paper bag for 15 minutes to cool, then peel and seed.

Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend til smooth. Done.

Here's what kept us from fainting as we made the empanadas. A bit of Moliterno al Tartufo, a lovely little sheep cheese flavored with TRUFFLES. Ahhh.. cut me another slice of that.

We liked it better even than the more popular boschetto al tartufo which is a lot milder.

While at the cheese counter, we were waiting for a sample of Moliterno, and another customer came over with a question for the cheesemongers.

"My brother sent me over here to look for an Italian cheese? He said it's got herbs and grass on the outside of it and tastes like wild cherries?"

Eric takes a moment to scan the case and picks up a wedge of Vento d'estate and hands it to him. "This is what you want."

I just look at him. Now I know that I'm not the only one who has mysteriously absorbed cheese lore by osmosis.

Got a cheese emergency? Cheese Doctors are here to help you.

A New Year's Eve Tea Party

After such a busy 2006, we decided to have a low-key, quiet little afternoon tea to mark New Year's Eve.

"This is low-key?" my Omnivore inquires as I prep yet another thing and start mentally planning out the table layout. Maybe it's neurological disorder, my inability to envision small, quiet parties.

But for us, this was pretty restrained...

On the menu this time:

• Sesame-Crusted Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches
• Cucumber Radish Smorrebrods with Lemon Pepper Cream Cheese
• Chestnut Minicakes dipped in Chocolate
• Buttermilk Currant Scones
• Shortbreads & Madeleines

In addition, Ms. Art Attack brought us a lovely selection of teas from our favorite local tea parlor, Leland Tea Company. Will, the proprietor, creates the most amazingly delicious blends all himself, and for our tea, Ms. Art Attack chose the pleasantly spicy Tiki Tiki Chai, a batch of Kisses (chocolate from Scharffen Berger and rose). She also brought us more of our current favorite, Organic White Peach. Utterly perfect on a cold day.

The Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches are a favorite of mine and are based on Martha Stewart, as are the smorrebrods. I got to use my newest gift item, a mandoline, to get lovely paper thin slices of cucumber and radish -- I love cool kitchen gadgets.

Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches
Makes 2 Dozen

The chicken salad may be made a day in advance and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

• 1 roasted 3 1/2-pound chicken, meat removed and shredded
  
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons homemade or prepared mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons finely chpped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced crosswise to yield 1/4 cup
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 very thin slices of white sandwich bread
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
• Mizuna leaves, for garnish

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and sesame oil. Add this to the chicken and combine well. Add the cilantro, chives, and scallions and combine well. Add salt annd pepper to taste. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.

Spread each bread slice with butter, reserving some butter for garnishing. Spread and even layer of chicken salad onto half of the slices of bread. Top with the other half of the slices to make sandwiches. Trim the crusts. Cut each sandwich on the diagonal. Arrange the sandwiches long-edge down in a row to form a horizontal pyramid. Spread the remaining butter along one side of the pyramid. Spread the toasted sesame seeds along the buttered edge to cover. Garnish the platter with mizuna.

Cucumber Radish Smorrebrods

Lemon-Black Pepper Cream Cheese
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

16 thin slices white bread
1 cup very thinly sliced radishes
1 cup very thinly sliced English cucumber
Thin lemon zest strips, for garnish


Stir together cream cheese, lemon zest and juice, and pepper in a bowl. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 week; let soften before using.

Spread each bread slice with about 2 teaspoons Lemon Pepper cream cheese. Arrange radish and cucumber slices on top. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds; discard scraps. Garnish with lemon zest.