As a child I ate from a variety of cuisines which reflected the life and travel of my mother and her mother. My grandmother was a typical White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP), famous in the family for her apple pies, her delicious meat-and-potatoes Midwest cuisine, and her generous, welcoming table. She married a missionary of the church and traveled overseas with him to Hokkaidō. There she raised my mother with the help of a Japanese nanny, whom Mom fondly remembers as oba-san. Between my grandmother sharing her apple pies with the locals and, in turn, "oba-san" preparing traditional country-style Japanese meals for the family, my mother grew up in the epicenter of a small cultural exchange. She took this experience with her and traveled to the U.S., France, Spain, Mexico, and other countries, studying language, literature, and, occasionally, new cooking techniques and recipes. Later, she married a third generation Japanese son of Hawaii and adapted some of the recipes for him. I had the pleasure of enjoying the accumulated results descended through the line of women in my family.

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Wow. I’m in shock; I can’t believe I got these almost entirely right on the second try. (Mess around with 100% whole wheat baking and you will understand the magnitude of my disbelief.) My suggested modifications for the cinnamon rolls as per my last post were bang-on. This batch was very tender all over, from the outermost coil to the delicious innards. Even the cream cheese came out creamier and smoother. Best of all, I didn’t feel like I was eating air—a sensation common when consuming cinnamon rolls made from all purpose flour. I’ve seen the light, and I’m never turning back.

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One of the joys of cooking is the opportunity to work hands-on with new or unfamiliar ingredients.  This week  I wanted a mild side-dish to accompany the leg of lamb; I also knew I wanted Greek flavors, mushrooms, and a carbohydrate in risotto-style or something very similar.  Off I went to the farmer’s market, which coincidentally has a booth selling exotic foods imported from Greece.  There I sampled and bought a wonderful 6 oz hunk of Kasseri, a type of cheese which I had never tasted before.  From Whole Foods I also bought whole wheat orzo and (on a whim) truffle oil, the latter of which is also foreign to my pantry.  Thus began my grand experiment!

The dish came together like this:

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Meat, in terms of both quality and variety, is an unfortunate casualty of the modern grocery mega-mart and the demand for cheap. Unless you know a good butcher or shop at a higher-end chain store, certain cuts or types of meat are virtually impossible to obtain. Don’t believe me? Try buying fresh rabbit for an authentic paella. In Los Angeles county you can supposedly buy rabbit from Bristol Farms, but the prices at said store are very steep and cater to the wealthy rather than the everyday cook. What about fresh (not frozen) cornish hens? Or more esoteric ingredients, like goose liver or sheep’s stomach? Good luck.

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I was browsing Gourmet Magazine online when I saw this recipe for haroseth.  Not being Jewish, I have never tasted haroseth, but the ingredients set my mind wandering—what could I create with fruit and nuts?

To say I love fruit is a massive understatement.  Earnest devotee would be a more accurate description, as would obsessed addict.  This summer I absolutely went wild over the fresh peaches, nectarines, and cherries; for the latter, we actually took a 145 mile round-trip to Leona Valley to hand-pick a few buckets of fruit.  There were no leftovers.

But because I love my fruits so well and because my nutritional needs must be balanced, I am extremely picky about how I consume fruit and what kind of fruit I consume. 

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Chicken Marsala

Modern chicken marsala is usually prepared using chicken breast, which is then butterflied or pounded with a mallet.  However, I find the richness and sweetness of the marsala wine perfectly complement the depth of flavor in dark meat; chicken thighs are also conveniently the right thickness for this dish.

4.64 lbs chicken thigh
1 lb 9.8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
homemade chicken stock
Florio sweet marsala wine
Ruffino Orvieto Classico 2008

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The initial test was very promising.  The roll, especially in the inner coils, was sweet, soft, and tender.  As with all 100% whole grain recipes, however, this one will require further experimentation to bring out the full potential of the dough and the cream cheese glaze.  Here are my remarks and suggestions:

1. Peter Reinhart says to bake the rolls one inch apart on a baking sheet.  Personally, I think I prefer baking them in a casserole dish and letting them rise up against each other.  The outer edges of the rolls dried out a bit using PR's method.
2. Make the cream cheese frosting well in advance, then chill in the fridge.  Also, when initially mixing the ingredients, you may want to whip the cream cheese first to smooth out the texture, then stir in the honey.  When they are combined, add the vanilla extract and only as much milk as necessary to reach the desired consistency.

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The inspiration for this dish came from the popular Greek savory pastry spanakopita and it’s lesser known cousin the kreatopita.  Instead of lamb or spinach, however, poultry is the main star in this recipe; I also went with leeks over onions for a more subtle flavor and added feta cheese for extra richness.  Google tells me the result is appropriately referred to as “kotopita.”  As I’m not fluent in Greek, however, I can’t verify.

3 lbs ground chicken
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 small boxes, reduced fat crumbled feta cheese
1 bag spinach, washed
1 large leek
2 cloves garlic, minced
rosemary, chopped
white pepper, ground
salt
phyllo sheets, thawed

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Muahahaha! I have perfected the 100% whole grain bagel—or at least I’ve come close enough to appease my own inner critic. Here are a few final tips, as this post is probably my last on the subject of bagels:

1. To shape the bagel properly: use an oiled surface. Yes, you heard me. Oiled. I did try using Reinhart's damp surface. Ultimately, the water did the job too well. The dough ends stuck to each other, but the dough also stuck to the surface. So, keep a smidgen of water nearby to seal the ends together, but roll on an oiled surface.
2. When rolling the "snake" out, the dough should be at least 12-15 inches in length. Then, and this is IMPORTANT, do not wrap the snake around your fist.

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I left for Pennsylvania with the notion of having a kitchen-free “vacation.” But when I arrived at the McHenry residence, I could hardly help myself; bordering the back of the house was a patch of elderberry bushes loaded with ripe fruit—and it was all going to rot if I didn’t do something! Sacrilege! I’d never cooked with or tasted elderberries, so preparing this fresh hand-picked fruit was also a rare opportunity and adventure.

Harvesting the berries was simple enough with a little maneuvering and the right equipment. I wore long jeans, my trusty ol’ jogging shoes, a hat, and a fitted long-sleeve jacket to protect me from the surrounding brush and its creepy-crawly inhabitants. Sharp clippers did the snipping, and a rake brought the taller bunches down to eye-level. No comments from the peanut gallery about short Asian people, please.

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